After looking at me and Sennojo-san with a stern gaze after we got out of the bath, Makiri-sensei said.
"We were just talking man to man."
Hmph, Sennojo-san turns away, his eyes flushing red.
He then turns to Makiri-sensei and continues.
"Chiaki should go take a bath for the first time in a while."
"No, thank you"
"Don't need to be modest. Tomoki-kun, I will entertain you. Besides, if you want, you can stay at my house today."
When Sennojo-san said this happily, Makiri-sensei let out one sigh and then said.
"It's getting late, and I'm going to take him home. I can't have Tomoki-kun being pushed around anymore for my own convenience."
At Makiri-sensei's words, Sennojo-san looks somewhat forlorn and then says.
"...Surely, we shouldn't keep Tomoki-kun, who is still a student, late."
At Sennojo-san's words, Makiri-sensei stands up.
Then she smiles and then says.
"I'm glad I was able to talk to Dad today. ... Then I'm gonna go now."
"Fuhn. ... I'll see you off."
Makiri-sensei laughs softly at Sennojo's words.
Then the three of us went to the front door and Makiri-sensei and I got into the car.
"You two should come to visit again. ... You are always welcome."
"That is... I wonder?"
Makiri-sensei answers in a troubled manner with a swimming gaze, while Sennojo-san smiles somewhat happily.
He was definitely still misunderstood.
"And one more thing"
"What is it?"
Looking somewhat tired, Sennojo-san turned his gentle gaze on Makiri-sensei, who asked back,
"...Congratulations. You're becoming the adult you've always wanted to be."
He told Makiri-sensei in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice.
What is he talking about?
With this in mind, I looked at Makiri-sensei's profile, and she looked somewhat awkward.
"……Thank you"
She mumbled quietly.
"Then I'm going home. See you, dad."
"Yeah, be careful. ... I'll see you again, Yuuji-kun."
Sennojo-san smiles gently at me, while I smile wryly,
"Yes"
I reply with a word.
Soon after, Makiri-sensei started the car and his figure was out of sight in no time.
The inside of the car was silent for a while.
From what Sennojo-san said earlier, Makiri-sensei looks somewhat awkward.
I'm curious, so I ask her.
"A little while ago ... What does he mean by becoming the adult that Makiri-sensei wanted to be?"
Instead of answering my question,
"I'm going to take a little detour."
She said.
I remained silent and nodded my head in affirmation.
Then, after a few minutes of driving around, Makiri-sensei parks her car and gets out.
I followed her.
As I step out of the air-conditioned car, a heat-laden night breeze caresses my cheeks.
Immediately, sweat oozes from my forehead.
"A detour... is it here? It's just a park, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
While saying that, Makiri-sensei goes on.
I walk after her.
It was a small, compact park that could be seen anywhere and was not popular at all.
Then, when we went all the way to the back, there was a fence.
The park was apparently located on a hill, and from here one could look down on the cityscape.
"When I was a student, I used to come to this park alone."
Leaning against the fence, Makiri-sensei said this nostalgically.
"...Do you come here to see this scenery?"
She nods slowly at my words and then says.
"Yeah. ... I don't really like the view here, though."
"...Eh? You said you come here to see a view you don't like... What does that mean?"
Not understanding the true meaning of Makiri-sensei's words, I was asking that question.
With a forlorn expression on her face, she said.
"Looking down from this park and seeing the cityscape and the warm home light, I've always... so lonely."
At her words, I see the scenery below.
Family happiness must be there.
"I think I lived a well-to-do life. Still, I don't have any friends. ... The fact that my father doesn't come home until late and my mother is not there. ... It was hard for me and I was lonely"
Makiri-sensei says while narrowing her eyes.
I am sure that in her eyes, the lights of this cityscape are shining brightly.
"I still remember the pain and the loneliness. I'm sure I'll never forget it. ...So. I wanted to become an adult who can reach out to kids who are lonely and in pain just like me. That's why... I wanted to be a teacher."
She then turns her gaze to me.
With a very, very apologetic, weak smile.
"Tomoki-kun. You say that you have been "saved" by me. But I think that's not true. ... Because I selfishly overlapped my former self with you and reached out to you. ...... What I did was nothing but childish ego. Because that's how I felt saved. "
"……Ha?"
"...Disillusioned, aren't you?"
Makiri-sensei says with a very anxious look on her face.
After I thought about the meaning of her words...
"Regardless of the motive, it doesn't change the fact that I was saved by Makiri-sensei."
Respond while being amazed.
"……Eh?"
Makiri-sensei has a surprised expression on her face.
I look at her, let out a sigh, and then say.
"To begin with, even after hearing what you just said, for me, Makiri-sensei is still kind enough to want to do for others what was never done to you... I thought you were a very wonderful person."
Upon hearing my words, Makiri-sensei had a dumbfounded expression on her face.