CH 60

“Well… so in the end, everything got exposed, right?”

Time passed and we were in the living room of my house.

Sakuramiya-sensei asked me while I was sitting on the floor.

If I were to paraphrase her question, it would be “Shinozuka-san found out that we are dating, right?”

I nodded my head and replied, “It’s not that she found out… it’s more like I willingly told her.”

“I don’t know the entire situation, but couldn’t you have kept it a secret? Even if my father was around.”

Sakuramiya-sensei was right, we could have kept it a secret.

However, I had chosen to be honest with Shinozuka-san in the end because I was serious about our relationship.

“I… did it because I was serious about it. I didn’t want Souji-san to misunderstand… even though things got weird in the end.”

“…Segawa-kun…”

Sakuramiya-sensei was deeply moved by my words. She might be someone who could be easily impressed by mere words.

Even if I had cheated for real, I felt like she would forgive me if I sincerely apologized. [TL/N : Bruh…]

“Baka…”

“Did you say something?”

Shinozuka-san muttered quietly.

Sakuramiya-sensei was the first to react.

“You’re a teacher, right? Do you realize how abnormal it is to date a student?”

“Well… yeah. But, I fell in love, so what can I do?”

“Are you not embarrassed to be a thirty-year-old woman who got involved with a high school boy?”

“Why do you have to say that to me, Shinozuka-san?”

A verbal exchange between Sakuramiya-sensei and Shinozuka-san began. I had no room to participate.

I noticed that Shi-chan was about to start her commentary, but then I saw Kaede holding her mouth shut. It seemed like she was trying to read the situation.

“I like Minato because he’s Minato. It’s not normal for a teacher to participate in a heroine race. It’s a different story.”

“Don’t say that to me. Besides, I like Segawa-kun too.”

…Are these two forgetting that I’m here?

Blushing heavily because of them declaring their feelings for me I couldn’t help but keep my head lowered because of embarrassment.

Then, Kaede whispered on the sofa.

“I… I also…”

Before I could respond to Kaede’s statement, Shinozuka spoke up.

“Please look at this more objectively. It’s abnormal for an aunty to date a high school boy.”

“A-aunt… w-wait, I’m still in my early thirties!”

“That’s why women in their thirties are like this.”

“I’m only thirty years old, so don’t talk about me like I’m some old woman!”

Sakuramiya-sensei protested with teary eyes.

In response, Shinozuka calmly replied with blank eyes.

“Anyway, it’s only for now. When Minato turns thirty, Sakuramiya-sensei will be forty-two. Do you understand?”

“Why are you saying something like that… I understand the most about it.”

“If you understand, then why are you dating Minato? You should find someone closer to your age.”

“That’s not the point. Besides, I can’t date someone who’s older than me.”

“Wow… how did someone like her become a teacher? We need to rethink the way we issue teaching licenses.”

“Don’t look at me with contempt. I’m not indiscriminate or anything.”

“Oh, speaking of which, didn’t you say you were looking for someone to marry at the culture festival?… Was that not a joke and actually serious?”

“That doesn’t sit well with me! That was just to liven up the atmosphere and I used Segawa-kun’s advice as a reference…”

Sakuramiya-sensei started to say something but stumbled over her words. Shinozuka immediately interjected.

“What advice did Segawa give you…? Wait, does that mean you were already dating before the cultural festival?”

“N-no, that’s not it. We weren’t dating back then.”

“Then what was the advice about?”

“Well…”

“Come to think of it, Sakuramiya-sensei, you called Minato out at the beginning of September, didn’t you? I didn’t think much of it at the time, but… oh, right, it was from September. That’s when he started to show signs of mental exhaustion!”

With excitement as if a missing piece had fallen into place, Shinozuka stood up from her seat with force, putting both hands on the dining table and shining a sharp gaze.

“What was your purpose for calling out Minato, Sakuramiya-sensei?”

“N-no, I didn’t… I didn’t ask him for anything…”

Sakuramiya-sensei sweated profusely, blowing a poor whistle as she did so. Is she really that bad at lying?

“You asked him for something? What did you ask Minato to do?”

She dug her own grave and was hit right away. It would probably be better to be honest from now on.

Shinozuka-san had already revealed that Sakuramiya-sensei and I were dating, so there was no point in lying now. Instead of Sakuramiya-sensei, who had tears in her eyes, I decided to explain.

“Wait, I’ll explain everything….”