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With unsteady steps, Ms. Akane came in. I know that Ms. Akane can drink a lot, but I guess Teacher Saeki can drink even more, huh. Hm? What about Teacher Saeki, then? Since she drank, then she couldn’t have driven home by car.

「Ah, some for me too, please.」
「Teacher Saeki, when did you get here? Or rather, you don’t seem like you’ve drank at all.」
「Shizuru is so unfair. She never gets drunk no matter how much she drinks and she never gets a hangover, you monster. Think about the people drinking with you.」
「My condolences. Then did you stay over at Ms. Akane’s room yesterday?」
「That’s right. Besides, you still need some treatment. Come, show me your injuries.」

That is true. As we can see, currently the nurse Ms. Akane can’t really be of much help. I guess Teacher Saeki is here because she anticipated that. No, I can’t imagine her thinking that far. She probably thought of the next day while drinking it down.
If that isn’t the case, then that wouldn’t explain why Ms. Akane doesn’t go drinking with her.

「The inflammation has gotten smaller. Still, it will get worse if you force yourself, so keep that in mind. 」
「Still, what a sneaky thing to do. If they had any complaints, then they should’ve just told you directly. Don’t they know that they’ll just get caught later anyway?」
「Frank people like you are rare, you know. You’re about the only one I know who directly went for direct confrontation after being bullied, Akane.」
「Ms. Akane was really rash, then.」

If I had added “back when you were young”, I’d probably get glares from both of them. I’d probably get squeezed in my painful spots if I said anything unnecessary while the treatment is ongoing. Even I can read the mood.

「Just like how returning sarcasm with sarcasm won’t solve anything, things like that likely won’t end unless you directly confront them. I was just putting that idea into practice.」
「Like I said, the only emotionally tough people can do that, you know. If everyone was like that, then bullying would never happen in the first place.」
「While that is pretty extreme, I do understand the logic.」

There’s probably no one my age that can just accept and bear nonstop bullying. I can bear it just because I’m mentally an adult, but there’s no way a kid in puberty would have the same mindset.

Then what should I do? Resign to it or resist? In the end, these are the only two ways to resolve this.

「Still, injuring my wife is unforgivable.」
「Um, I’m not your wife though. Rather, do you also talk about me like that at your workplace?」

If she does, then I really don’t want to come near that hospital again. They’ll probably have some strange thoughts about me, mostly leaning on yuri.

「It’s alright. Even if I do talk about it at work, everyone knows that I’m already married.¹ They’ll just think that I’m talking about someone I really care about.」
「Eh, Ms. Akane, you’re married?」

Honestly, it’s surprising. She doesn’t cook after all, and, in the first place, she generally goes to my room after coming back from work, so I really expected her to be single. Besides, Teacher Saeki stayed over, so I didn’t think she had a spouse.
Ah, maybe it’s the same with the manager, that her husband passed away. I guess a lot of people die young in these times.

「Mph, you thought of something rude, didn’t you? Kotone.」
「I’ll say it in advance, but her husband is alive and well. He just works at night, so by the time you’re back, he’s already off to work.」
「By the way, he’s not a host or anything like that. He runs a fancy bar.」

I did think that he might’ve been a host. I see, with his line of work, then I really wouldn’t see him in the morning, more so at night. With that considered, then it makes sense why Ms. Akane doesn’t cook.

Since he’s running a bar, then he likely has a cooking licence and he’d probably be a better cook than Ms. Akane. I’m interested in him now. Mostly on the recipe side of things.

「I’ll introduce you sometime.」
「You’ve said that to me a lot too, but I wonder why I haven’t met him yet. Akane?」
「I can’t help it, he’s busy with his own things. Besides, if I tell you where his bar is, you’re definitely going to go drink there, aren’t you?」
「Naturally.」
「I can imagine you drinking the place dry, so no. The tabs are going to be no joke.」
「Even I wouldn’t drink that much, you know? Seriously.」

Teacher Saeki, just how much can you drink? Still, why am I getting entangled in alcohol talk this early in the morning? I am a highschool student, you know? Though I’m an adult on the inside.

Rather, we talked so much I didn’t notice, but it’s going to be dangerous if we don’t leave soon.

「Umm, you two. We need to go soon.」
「Uwa, crap. The head nurse is never going to shut up if I get late.」
「We still have some time since we’ll go by car. You won’t refuse now, would you? Ms. Kisaragi.」
「With how my leg is, I’ll still be late even if I head out now, so I’ll gratefully accept the offer.」
「Good then.」
「Shizuru, take care of Kotone! I’ll be leaving then!」

Seeing her scurry away, the two of us had a smile. Ms. Akane is a pretty lively person, so the atmosphere around me feels a lot lighter compared to yesterday. That kind of stuff is a real talent. Moreover, she doesn’t seem to be aware of it.

It’s not something I or Kotone can do. Unconsciously making other people feel better is something I don’t feel like I can do.

「I’m really grateful that I met Ms. Akane.」
「She’s the best friend I’m proud of. She might follow you for the rest of your life, but take care of her.」
「Of course.」

Chance encounters are important. When it’s with someone you can welcome with all your heart, it’s even more valuable. You might get into fights occasionally, but reconciliation is possible exactly because you’re friends. Still, there are encounters that you inevitably would rather not welcome. Now, will that unwelcome one behave today?

「Tell me if anything happens. You’re Akane’s wife after all, so I’ll make sure to protect you.」
「You’re awfully different from yesterday.」
「It’s your fault for changing so much. With how you are now, I gladly welcome you.」
「Then thank you very much. Will you come by occasionally?」
「Gladly so. Naturally, I’ll bring some drinks.」

Come to think of it, people I consider to be friends are two underage girls and two adults. No, numbers aren’t a problem, what’s important is what’s on the inside. If all of them came into my room, it’ll probably be chaos.

Well then, I’ve gotten my glee back, so it’s time to work hard again today at school!

1. Lyly: yuri noises tragically vanishes into the horizon