I'm speechless.
How should I answer?
Not only did I not understand the type of question she was trying to ask me, but I couldn't even remember who told me this name in the first place.
"So—?"
She crossed her arms and pursed her lips.
Not like a child, but like a strict teacher.
"Well, if I have to remember..."
I don't have a clear answer.
However, there's something I can infer from an interaction with a certain teacher.
To be honest, it was that teacher who called Takamura by that name long before I did.
...But if I do that, I'll be mercilessly betraying him.
Would I really do something so despicable just to protect myself from this woman...?
Isn't Sustrous Aron's heart the heart of a self-sacrificing hero?
Isn't Sustrous Aron's heart one that is willing to make sacrifices?
"Then, a traditional punishment would be more fitting, wouldn't it, Aron…!"
Oh, that's enough.
Forgive me, Kouta...!
"—That would be Kouta. He always called you that, so I naturally started calling you that too. That's all."
"… …"
She stops and evaluates the answer, her hands curled up like "The Thinker".
"…So, I must have gone to school with Kuwagawa-kun…"
She mutters something strange.
"What was that, Takamura-sensei?"
"Nevermind me. It's just that, that ruffian of a baker. He went to school with me."
"....Ah. I see."
Honestly, I'm shocked.
But I'm not as surprised as I should be.
It's crazy that both of my mentors knew each other at some point, but they're both so individually odd that it only makes sense.
Even so, Takamura says it so casually, so it's more of a mundane fact than a shocking discovery.
"...It was an alias I was given throughout high school and university."
"...I think you mean 'nickname', Sensei."
A piercing glare.
"...Anyways, is that why you hate it so much…? You should have told me. I would have stopped immediately."
Takamura's eyes wander carefully.
"I suppose that would have been a more logical approach…"
But, it's no secret that she isn't paying attention to me anymore.
Those wandering eyes just so happen to be glued to the pink box on the table.
"I'd find it pleasing to have a meal over this, Aron-kun."
She says it just before I can assume the reason for her wandering eyes.
"---Eh?"
Well, of course.
Even that of a cold woman cannot resist the temptation of such a beautiful cake…!
"... …"
So.
I sit to the right of my Sensei, on the shorter edge of the western dining table.
She supposes the longer side, albeit the closet chair to mine.
I don't comment on her positioning. It's ingrained in her mind to be this way. Or rather, coded into her skull.
—It's a bit strange, I have to admit, how she opened up suddenly.
Not as if she wanted to explain the discovery, but rather, she wanted to discuss it casually with me.
…How should I put this?
…In a plainer way, out of nowhere, Takamura seems more human.
So, I'm a bit taken aback.
"So, Aron-kun."
She turns to me at an angle.
That stoic look is still worn like a mask on her face.
"The alias I was given during my previous studies."
"'Nickname', Takamura-sensei."
—Well, I was asking for that slap.
But, it was much lighter than before.
Like a light tap as if she were petting the backside of my palm.
"When I was in high school, I had already become the woman you know me as today. I had taken up my family's extended role, so that meant I had more power in the house rather than my father."
She talks casually as I open the shortcake.
"------ah—."
She doesn't make a clear note of the design, but I can tell she saw it.
"...Well, my father was very sick. So I became the head of the Takamura family. And, my classmates called me a childish nickname to mock me for my professional countenance."
She slides the cake towards me to eat.
"'Taka-chan' was the name my parents called me back in elementary school. I have no idea how, but soon all of my classmates referred to me that way. That is, of course, only because we were so little."
Huh. What a simple tale.
I can't say I'm disappointed, but I'm not particularly satisfied with her answer.
"Is there a reason you don't have a last name, Takamura-sensei?"
"Hm?"
I blurt out the question abruptly, and it startles her.
As in, her eyes perk up like a cat.
She lingers for a moment before answering, as if she didn't fully know the answer.
"I don't have a real last name, Aron-kun. That is why."
"...Oh?"
I've met (supposedly) people who hadn't had middle names, but was it even possible to not have a last name?
Or, in her case, a "real last name"?
…Regardless, it's none of my business to poke around. I've asked a rude enough question, considering it may originate from family issues.
And, to be fair, I disassociate from the answer completely due to its inherent absurdity.