TL: Attendance! Comment for free candy!
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Following the voice, I looked over. The speaker was a petite student with an air of mystery about her.
From her outfit, sunglasses, she seemed to be just a passing Shanhaijing Genryumon student.
However, I noticed that after Shun carefully examined the newcomer, the look of suspicion on her face grew increasingly strong.
Someone she knows?
As I was thinking this, the Shanhaijing student spoke again in a calm tone.
"An adult and a child causing such a commotion on the street. If there is no reason for it, then as a member of Shanhaijing, I cannot simply ignore it."
"I-I'm not doing anything strange with sensei!"
Shun said somewhat nervously.
I then stated my identity, and repeated the lie Shun had previously made up, that "Shunling who had newly transferred to Plum Blossom Garden got separated from Shun, her older sister."
After hearing this, the Shanhaijing student shifted her gaze between Shun and me with a strange look, pondering for a moment.
"Sensei of Schale and… Shunling, was it? Heh, I see. I understand the general situation now. My apologies for troubling you both."
"Not at all, it's us who caused you trouble."
"In that case, I will take my leave first." The Shanhaijing student paused slightly, then smiled. "As for this Shunling little sister, I will leave her in sensei's care to return to Plum Blossom Garden."
I felt a slight chill at the odd tone in her voice.
"Of course, of course."
Then, the unknown Shanhaijing student left just as lightly as she had arrived, disappearing without a sound.
Only after staring tensely at her back until it vanished at the end of the road did Shun finally let out a heavy sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness, we weren't suspected of our real identities…"
No, the way she spoke made it clear she saw right through the fact that there was no "Shunling" at all, she simply chose not to point it out.
I asked, "Shun, do you know that Shanhaijing student from earlier?"
"…I'm not sure." Shun shook her head vaguely. "From some small details, she feels like someone I sort of know. But since she seems to be in disguise, I can't be certain. And if she really is who I think she might be, she shouldn't be in a place like this at this time…"
I let out an understanding sigh.
"Even people with great authority sometimes want to avoid the noise and seek some peace and quiet."
"Huh?" Shun startled. "Sensei, do you know who I was thinking of?"
"No idea."
I said solemnly.
"But I do know that someone who can resist the urge to strike up a conversation with me, and even refrain from giving their name, is certainly not an ordinary figure even within Shanhaijing."
"Wow, sensei, that's kind of a turn-off… though you might not be wrong?"
Out of the mouths of babes, and at least she admitted the truth, so I let it go.
In any case, thanks to this interruption, Shun seemed to have gained some new perspective, and for now was willing to talk to me calmly.
I took the opportunity to press forward.
"Shun, you don't want to turn back into an adult because you also want a brief moment to breathe away from heavy responsibilities, right?"
"…Yes." The black-haired girl nodded. Her emerald eyes carried a sense of melancholy that did not match her current appearance. "Kokona too, and the children too… I hate how everyone always pushes all the responsibility onto me. As an instructor of Plum Blossom Garden, although I have authority comparable to Shanhaijing higherups, I must also bear the corresponding responsibilities."
She poured out her usual grievances to me.
"When I'm working, from the moment the children wake up in the morning, I can never take my eyes off them for even a second. If anything happens, I have to clean up after it, and I often can't even attend my own classes as a Shanhaijing student…"
"I'm tired of all these responsibilities. Taking care of the children exhausts me physically and mentally. Everything I have to face is difficult."
I looked at Shun and asked in a low voice.
"Is that really what you think?"
"Of course. Today, being able to live freely like a child, I felt very happy."
Shun asked back.
"Sensei should understand too, right? How exhausting it is to take care of children. Responsibility is just too tiring. Just like sensei today, you went through so much trouble taking care of me, and even got injured because of me."
Tiring or not…
I hadn't really thought about that before.
Perhaps, as Shun said, becoming an "adult" itself is something tiring.
And thinking back on the many students I've met, with all their different personalities, and the trouble they've caused me, I can't help but sigh.
Sensei is like that. Students just need to focus on their own lives and wait for the day they're called to Schale for duty, but sensei has to think about a lot of things.
Even today, running around with the child-shrunken Shun, and worrying myself over her refusal to turn back…
"But," I couldn't help but lift the corners of my mouth, "I'm actually pretty happy to be relied on like this by Shun."
"Happy…?"
Shun frowned unhappily.
"Please don't lie to me. What is there to be happy about?"
I countered.
"Then what about you, Shun? Spending a day with me, acting spoiled however you liked, were you happy?"
After hesitating for a moment, she gave a small, reluctant affirmative answer, just as I expected.
"So, isn't that reason enough for me to be happy too?"
"Why would that be enough!? Do you mean that if someone who causes you trouble is happy, sensei would feel the same way too?"
The way she put it made it sound like I had some kind of strange hobby.
"The key point is, Shun, you didn't intend to cause me trouble, right? You know how to be considerate of my difficulties, you're willing to return kindness to me, and you want me to be happy… I think that if that's the case, then I can feel genuine joy in seeing you smile."
Shun herself should understand this better than anyone during normal times. That's why she could suppress her accumulated stress and present herself as a gentle and considerate person.
But because of the medication's side effects, her body and mind had both become younger, and with the instincts of a child taking over, she could no longer suppress herself. That was why she was now venting all her pent-up grievances to me.
However, that did not mean Shun had lost the sense of responsibility that had been carved deep into her bones over her long instructor career.
After hearing my words, the black-haired, green-eyed girl was visibly moved, then fell into a long silence.
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