Epilogue
Both a Teacher and a Lover
The hustle and bustle of the cultural festival felt distant here, and the quietness seeped into my body. I was sitting alone on an old, abandoned bench behind the pool building, lost in thought.
Hidden from view by the building, the area was rarely traversed by people, allowing weeds to grow freely at my feet.
【Reiyu: Good work today. Kaguya-chan said she’s heading ho first. I want to talk to you too, but where are you now?】
I managed to reply, and after a while, Tenjō-sensei appeared.
“Yuunagi-kun, if you stay in a place like this for too long, you’ll catch a cold.”
Despite being at school, -Sensei called by my first na.
“You ca in your maid outfit?”
“I wanted to see you as soon as possible.”
“You’re quite straightforward today.”
“I try to be as honest as possible when I’m with you.”
“Why did you co? We could have talked after returning to the apartnt.”
“Kuhouin-san asked to comfort you.”
She’s considerate even when she’s having a tough ti herself.
“What if soone cos?”
“No one’s going to co here at this hour, that’s why you ca here too, right? It’s a good spot for a private conversation.”
Tenjō-sensei sat down next to .
“There’s too much we can’t say in front of others when it cos to you, Tenjō-san.”
I spoke to her with the sa sense of distance we had in the apartnt.
“Adults have a lot of things they want to say but can’t.”
“Like pretending to be drunk to act spoiled?”
“Ah, you knew!?”
“I kind of figured.”
“...I’m so embarrassed I could burst into flas.”
Tenjō-san covered her cheeks with her hands.
“...We always need so excuse, so accident or coincidence, to touch each other, don’t we?”
Our communication was indirect, hinting at things, tracing the contours of what was really important.
It was thrilling in its secrecy, but right now, I wanted to be as honest as possible.
“I’ll be blunt. Ultimately, love is always accompanied by lies, big or small. We hold back to make ourselves look better, or we stay silent about inconvenient truths. I think there’s no such thing as a love that’s completely free of lies, both good and bad, towards oneself or others.”
“Yeah.”
“But lies are so exhausting.”
I confessed my true feelings, free of deceit.
I would never take on the role of a boyfriend again.
It was that stressful for .
I couldn’t justify my own lies for my convenience.
“I agree.”
“It’s tiring to watch what you say to avoid getting caught, to suppress spontaneous reactions. And yet, the subtle attitudes and atmospheres that can’t be completely hidden—eventually, Akira found out.”
That was the price I paid for the lies I had told.
“It seems so.”
“I’m sorry.”
“People who love you notice because they pay close attention. I understand that feeling all too well.”
“But I properly finished playing the boyfriend role at the cultural festival.”
With a sense of relief from finally shedding all burdens, I instinctively rested my head on Tenjō-san’s shoulder.
“You did well. Thank you.”
Tenjō-san stroked my head as it lay there.
“Were you worried I might fall for Akira?”
“Yes, I was worried every day. I kept chanting to myself that I was fine, continuously lying to myself.”
“And you, who doubts like that, believe in eternal love?”
I vented my frustrations, which I usually kept to myself.
Today, I was too tired, and my brakes just wouldn’t work.
“It’s because I’m worried that I rushed here dressed like this! And because you’re important, I find myself torn between prioritizing my own feelings and your future.”
She revealed her feelings, and a sad hue colored her face. I took in the cold autumn air to clear my head and heart.
Before the day was completely over, I decided to summarize everything up to today.
I confessed my feelings with no lies or deception.
“My future, no matter what, is with you. Living each day with you, that’s the resolution I’ve made. It doesn’t matter what society thinks or what’s considered normal. From the mont I fell for Tenjō Reiyu, my neighbor and teacher, comparisons beca aningless. You are the only one for . I just want to be happy with you. So if it ans not saddening you as a teacher, I’ll follow the law and adhere to good decency to the death. Even s*x, I want it, but I’m holding back.”
I pleaded earnestly.
“You’re too good of a man. Too cool.”
“That’s my way of proving my love.”
“...Am I really okay for you?”
“There’s no one more attractive than you.”
“I’m older, you know?”
“The person I fell in love with just happened to be born earlier.”
“I’ll beco a grandmother first.”
“The age difference won’t matter once we’re adults.”
Would Tenjō-san still worry about such things even when we grew old together as a married couple?
I thought even that side of her was endearing.
“The age of a woman is a delicate matter.”
“Then, please look forward to it because I will love you with all my might so that you won’t even have ti to worry about it.”
As I contemplate the future, a mischievous smile naturally cos to my face.
“Please, go easy on .”
Tenjō-san places her hands together on her lap and bows politely.
“Yuunagi-kun, I’m just an adult who’s involved in your life for a brief mont as a teacher. It’s contradictory for soone who’s only temporarily in your life to desire eternity——I’ve co to realize that such reservations were suffocating my true feelings.”
Tenjō-san reflected on her past behavior in this way.
“Um, can I share sothing I’ve realized from this experience?”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Love can’t be satisfying with just seriousness, nor can it last with just fun. Especially if you’re fixated on eternal love.”
“Yeah.”
Tenjō-san listens seriously even to the words of a younger man.
Usually, we are conscious of our positions and age differences, but when it’s just the two of us, we are equals.
“I believe that a buildup of rational seriousness leads to trust. But being too fixated on seriousness can be painful, and unfounded worries stemming from anxiety might even lead to ntal distress.”
“Ugh, that hits too close to ho.”
Tenjō-san makes a pained expression.
However, the presence of the dark Reiyu had already vanished.
“On the other hand, being too honest with your instincts can easily cause trouble. You might hurt soone important or damage their trust.”
“I get it! Balancing reason and instinct is tough. I’m always wobbling.”
Tenjō-san empathizes with my earnest concerns.
Even if we can’t solve them right away, just having soone else know about them lightens the heart.
“But it’s okay to waver like that.”
I respond with a relaxed tone.
“What happened, you suddenly sound like you’ve reached enlightennt?”
“The essence of the excitent in love is exactly that very wavering.”
“Then wouldn’t it get boring once it stabilizes?”
“Not at all. I think it’s just right for a lasting relationship to have the leeway to enjoy the situation with openness, even if you share secrets that can’t be told to others. Like this.”
I take the hand of the woman I love who is sitting next to .
No one is likely to co. It’s okay to be a little bold.
Tenjō-san intertwines her fingers with mine in surprise, but soon after.
“Also, the eternal love I envision is about pouring endless affection and drowning in it.”
“Eh?”
“I will continue to love you forever. I won’t ever let you feel bored or lack excitent. My sea of love is boundless.”
I made a grand taphor, if I do say so myself.
To show an intangible love, such an analogy is necessary.
I will continue to nurture a love as vast and deep as the ocean until I die.
Such trivial matters as age or status pale in comparison to the vast ocean.
“So, there’s sothing I’d like you to change.”
“What is it?”
Tenjō-san hesitates, wondering whether to speak.
“Why not be honest now?”
Encouraged by , she bites her lower lip before speaking up.
“You know, it’s been over half a year since we found out we’re neighbors. I’ve been calling you by your first na, but Yuunagi-kun, you’ve always used my last na.”
“I ant it as a form of respect for soone older, is that strange?”
“It’s not strange! It’s not strange at all! But, you know...”
Tenjō-san falters in her words.
“Please tell . I want to fulfill Tenjō-san’s wishes.”
I wanted to know.
“...Maybe it’s okay for you to start calling by my first na?”
Tenjō-san mumbles and the end of her sentence trails off ambiguously.
“————”
“So, you an not ‘Tenjō-san,’ but your first na.”
I carefully confirm.
“Y-You don’t have to force yourself! We are neighbors, equals. But it’s not just that. Being addressed by my last na feels a bit lonely. If possible, I’d be happier with sothing more intimate... Yes, as a sign of trust and affection!”
She expresses her wish while flustered.
I take a deep breath.
Then I place my hands on her shoulders.
Our eyes et.
The tension between us reaches its peak.
“Tenjō-san.”
“Yes?”
“——Reiyu-san.”
“Yes!?”
“Reiyu-san!”
“Yes!”
“Reiyu-san, I love you.”
“I love you too!”
Reiyu-san finally clearly expresses her feelings of liking with words.
“I’m so happy to hear those words, I feel like I could die of happiness...”
Choking up, I feel like I’m about to break down in tears.
Being genuinely told “I love you” is more comforting to the heart than being deceived by a re physical relationship.
I am filled with an unprecedented sense of relief.
Gaining confidence in our relationship, I know that I will co to like her even more tomorrow than I do today.
“——Yuunagi-kun, we still have ti, let’s go on a date at the cultural festival.”
Reiyu-san stood up and took my hand.
“Isn’t it problematic for a teacher and a student to walk side by side on a date?”
“Just borrow the class parka you’re wearing. You’re wearing a maid outfit skirt underneath, right? If you cover your face with the parka and wear a mask, you won’t be recognized imdiately. It’s a good disguise.”
“Is it really okay?”
Can such a dreamlike scenario really co true?
Even though I’ve always longed for it, I beco hesitant when it’s right in front of .
“I want to create mories with you too.”
“Let’s go.”
The days of being a bystander to my youth are over.
I’m going to enjoy my adolescence in the present, together with the person I like.
“Okay, raise your arms so I can take off the top.”
“Eh, I can take it off myself.”
“Just do it!”
As told, I raised my arms.
Reiyu-san grabbed the hem of the parka and flipped it upwards.
I closed my eyes the mont it ca off my face.
In that instant, I felt a soft and warm sensation on my lips.
When I opened my eyes, the person I love most looked resolute, as if all hesitation had been swept away.
“Was that just now...”
“Because it’s special.”
“Is that okay under the Neighbor Agreent?”
Still lacking a sense of reality, I blurted out sothing that could dampen the mood.
“Is it, you know, the montum from the cultural festival? Don’t ask anything more!”
“Then I can’t help it.”
Ah, there really was sothing magical about the cultural festival.
“Yes, as an apology for making you feel anxious all this ti. And I’ve reached my limit of patience too.”
“It’s not good to hold back your feelings, huh.”
“That’s why I want to make it clear! I am—”
Reiyu-san was beaming with a smile as bright as the sun.
I will never forget this mont for as long as I live.
“I’m your teacher and your lover!!”
My youth will never fade.
There’s no graduation from the eternal love with Sensei.
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