#Side Story 29. Trampled fate, blooming flower (3)
* * *
“Why. “Why are you here now?”
I started sobbing.
“Oh no. “I’m not angry!”
I was confused.
“I was just worried because you came back much later than expected. “To the point where I even had ridiculous thoughts about what might be wrong with my teacher.”
I was embarrassed.
“I still believed it. “The teacher will definitely come back.”
While bragging.
“Because you promised me a sword.”
I smiled and smiled.
“―I will definitely come back.”
I remembered it.
The distant, distant past.
The day the teacher left.
Honestly, it’s a shameful memory.
I also blamed the teacher because I couldn’t go with him.
I also thought that the juniors who were able to go with the teacher were a bit disgusting.
I, who was supposed to reassure everyone, was the most anxious and asked them to come back.
Of course, the most shameful thing was that after fighting until just before, I hurriedly went to see the teacher off and ended up hugging the teacher covered in blood and filth.
Still, the teacher’s hands were really warm as he comforted me without showing any sign of dislike.
So much so that I could send the teacher off with a smile.
…I regretted it in the end, though.
I couldn’t follow the teacher.
I couldn’t protect anything.
I was the only one who survived.
I just have to wait.
So so so so.
But yes.
As expected, the teacher kept his promise.
It took some time, but he eventually came back.
“…teacher?”
But why?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
I’m excited.
My heart is pounding.
Even when I said this, the teacher didn’t say anything and just watched me with a complicated expression on his face.
It’s been a long time since we met, but the teacher’s behavior was to keep his arms still and not hug me.
I suddenly feel anxious.
Could it be again?
Could it be a lie again?
“Are you mad at me?”
Yes, I understand.
The teacher kept his promise.
Because I couldn’t keep my promise.
No matter how much I apologize. This is unforgivable.
But still, I would rather have the teacher be angry.
What if the feel of my arms and the warmth coming from my breasts touching each other are lies?
If it’s a hallucination or illusion that I’ve always seen.
Or if it was just a dream.
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I.
“-no.”
…ah.
“I’m not angry.”
I stiffened.
It’s a little bitter, a little sad, a little embarrassing, and very complicated.
Still, the warmth contained within it and the teacher’s clear concern for me were evident in the teacher’s voice.
And the hand that cannot be mistaken as he hugs me and pats my back just like the day he left.
So so so so so so happy.
I inadvertently started crying.
I burst into tears again and buried my face in my teacher’s chest.
I have cleaned my body every day just for this moment.
I was so ashamed and embarrassed that I ended up showing such a messed up face to the teacher.
I ended up hastily opening my mouth.
“Are you tired? Because you’ve come a long way. “Yes, you should rest quickly.”
speak for yourself
You understand it yourself.
Yes, it is.
Because I waited so long, you must have gone through a lot of trouble.
But as soon as I saw him, he cried like this and was comforted, making the teacher tired.
I feel embarrassed once again.
So I tried hard to swallow my tears.
I did what I had to do.
“The bath… needs to be heated, so it might be difficult to prepare it right away.”
“Would you like to eat first? “I’m sure he will be the boss.”
“please wait for a moment. “I’ll get ready right away!”
Turn around, lower your head, and run as if running away.
No, I’m running away.
To hide this messy face from the teacher.
And to quickly go to the spring to wash my face and prepare a meal.
Uddangtang!
Is it because I was in too much of a hurry?
Is it because tears cloud my eyes?
I fell a few times along the way, but I didn’t care and just got up and ran again.
And I thought.
Let’s prepare a sumptuous feast.
Today was a day that could be celebrated by using up all the groceries that we had saved.
…Even more so in the sense that perhaps today, the teacher may fulfill another promise he made before he left.
My cheeks blushed with a slightly cheeky anticipation.
I smiled happily.
* * *
“There isn’t much to prepare, but eat a lot. teacher!”
“Is this… you prepared it all?”
“yes. “It’s a shameful feat.”
While giving a humble answer to the teacher, I felt a little proud.
That’s because there was a sumptuous feast on the table that I thought was admirable.
boiled potatoes.
Steamed potatoes.
Potato salad.
Potato soup.
potato salad.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been eating only raw potatoes or occasionally a few steamed potatoes for a long time.
When I think of setting such a luxurious table, I feel guilty for committing such extravagance.
This time! Surprisingly, they even prepared potato pancakes and French fries.
Because of that, I ended up using up the last of the cooking oil I found in the frozen ruins a few years ago.
But it wasn’t a waste.
Rather, thinking that I used it to treat the teacher, I wanted to thank the Lord for giving me cooking oil for this moment.
“…You’re good at cooking.”
“That is an overstatement.”
Is that why?
The teacher’s admiration made me smile.
It’s a little embarrassing, but the cooking skills I learned while serving my teacher at Geomtap were something I was proud of.
Although I am ashamed of my past as a woman, traveling around battlefields where I could only cook steamed or boiled potatoes.
“But you’ve been surviving by eating nothing but potatoes until now?”
“Hehe, can that be so? “Sometimes we even ate special meals.”
“Special meal?”
“yes.”
No matter how much you are a sword master, you have long heard your teacher admonish you that eating only potatoes every day will make you sick.
I brought out a special meal.
“Here is grilled fish and seasoned seaweed.”
“…Did you really go all the way to the sea and catch fish?”
“yes. Because it is frozen and preserved, its freshness is slightly reduced, but it is very nutritious.”
The sea is amazing.
People, animals, plants, and bugs.
Even though almost everything on land has died or frozen, the ocean still maintains its ecosystem.
Although it is a bit difficult to catch fish and dig up seaweed hidden deep in the frozen sea.
“Okay… then let’s eat first.”
“Yes, teacher.”
He looked at me with a very complicated expression for a moment, probably surprised that I was taking such good care of my diet.
After nodding in the end.
The teacher ate his spoon.
And then he looked at me again.
“…glass?”
“Would you like some water?”
“No, that’s not it… Why are you sitting next to me?”
I paused in response to the teacher’s question as he alternately looked at me sitting across from and next to the empty table.
I knew that it was not polite for a student to sit next to his teacher like this, not only to dare to pretend to be his teacher.
But…
“Can I sit here?”
“No, there’s nothing I can’t do, but…”
“Thank you for your permission.”
A little bit of guilt.
Deep relief.
and.
pleasure.
Inside, I clung closely to the teacher.
Teacher, I’m sorry for taking advantage of your kindness, but I just couldn’t bear it.
The temperature I felt for the first time in a very long time.
Anxiety that this might be a dream.
So the feeling of my anxiety melting away under the teacher’s body temperature is actually very warm and reassuring.
I stayed as close to my body as possible and listened to the teacher help me eat.
Cutting the potato pancakes.
Slice the fish flesh.
I put it on the spoon.
…I briefly considered feeding it myself, but that would be too embarrassing.
Still, it was a pity that I could only help in this way. As I was looking at the teacher, I suddenly realized.
“You also have scars around your eyes.”
“….”
“Ah, but it doesn’t look ugly. “In some ways, you look cooler than before.”
Stop.
I touch the corner of the teacher’s left eye after stopping the spoon.
Just by looking at this scar, I could see how fierce the fight had been since the teacher left.
…Including the fact that there were no other juniors with the returning teacher.
Were you concerned about the scar?
He looked at me blankly.
The teacher sighed slightly.
“I tried to ask at least after I finished eating, but I guess I couldn’t.”
“…?”
“What on earth happened to this world?”
“…You mean what happened after the teacher left?”
Rattling.
Putting down the spoon.
My heart felt a little heavy at the question the teacher asked.
It was such a heartbreaking, painful, and regrettable thing to even think about.
But…
“No, even before that.”
“yes?”
“Why did the world become like this and where did I go?… No, if possible, tell me the whole story from when we met.”
…What does this mean?
I can not understand.
It was natural to be curious about what happened after the teacher left, but I couldn’t understand why he was asking about what happened before.
Unless you suddenly developed dementia…
“…Ah.”
Suddenly.
I realized.
“Have you really lost your memory?”
“….”
“I see… That’s why you were late coming back.”
I barely understood.
Even if you went all the way to the farthest star, why are you so late?
If you had forgotten who you were and where you had to go, even if you were a teacher, there would be nothing you could do about it.
It breaks my heart to think that the memories we made together over hundreds of years have disappeared from your memory.
Even more so when I think that perhaps even the last promise may have been forgotten.
“glass.”
“Don’t worry too much, teacher. “Because I remember everything about your past.”
but.
I actually laughed.
I am so thankful that you came back in the end even though your memory disappeared.
And in the midst of all that, I was embarrassed and happy that people still remembered me and called me by my nickname.
Smiling quietly.
I said.
“If you have forgotten, I will tell you everything.”
“….”
“If you listen to stories about the past from me, it will be easier to regain your lost memories.”
Yes, it is.
Even if you lose your memories, if you are a teacher who eventually returns, you will surely regain the rest of your memories quickly.
…It’s a little unfortunate that if that happens, you’ll also remember some of my shame.
Oh no.
It’s not a shame!
What a relief!
I had no intention of distorting the facts while you were losing your memory.
I made a bit of a slip of the tongue…no, I just made a mistake in my thinking.
Because I’m a little crazy, there are things like that.
After gently rebuking the greed that was rising in my heart, I smiled.
“Now then, where should I start?”
