I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 34 I have a strong sense of boundaries.

"Huh? Is it Tsukino? Why isn't it me? I also want to be called into Sakuraba-sensei's office alone!"

"What are you thinking? He's in the top three of the grade, the top student in our class. Who are you and why are you being called?"

"Yes, it's perfectly normal for a new homeroom teacher to get to know the top student in the class on their first day, right?"

"But don't you guys think Tsukino-kun is a bit too handsome? Is there any possibility that Sakuraba-sensei might fall for him?"

"Get out of here! You're not allowed to insult Sakuraba-sensei like that. Do you think she's the kind of girl who only cares about looks?"

"Nonsense! What else would we look at if not your face? Were we supposed to look at your soul? You don't have any special abilities."

As Tsukino Gen left the classroom with his schoolbag, accompanied by the young, beautiful, and mature teacher, there was a slight murmur of discussion in the class.

However, because Tsukino Gen's daily life was so well-foreshadowed and his stats were so high, no one made any strange connections.

After all, life isn't a light novel, and fantasies of having some kind of ambiguous relationship with the new teacher are quite rare.

Even Sakura Kazama was just packing her schoolbag, feeling a little regretful that she wouldn't be able to leave school with that boy today.

Although it was a short journey and not exactly on their way, it was still a precious experience.

in the corridor.

Many students have already left, and it seems that there is no more wonderful experience than the journey home from school. It seems to be the most obvious understanding of freedom for children of this age.

The footsteps, one after the other, were crisp and clear.

The gloomy weather meant no sunlight could penetrate the corridor; the only glimmer of daylight cast a hazy, gray filter over the entire world.

When we arrived at this familiar office, many teachers were already packing up and preparing to leave.

When it comes to leaving get off work and leaving school, it's really hard to say which is more exciting.

It seems that Sakuraba Yuki has only been here for a day, but she has already handled interpersonal relationships quite well. Every teacher who leaves greets her with a smile before leaving, including Tsukino Gen.

After all, this boy was well-known throughout the school, both among the students and the teachers.

Once most of the people had left, Sakuraba Yuki had tidied up the things on the table. During this time, Tsukino Gen stood quietly to the side, neither urging her nor showing any unease.

Finally, Yuki Sakuraba looked up at him.

Her smile remained gentle and beautiful. Even with glasses on her face, it couldn't hide her graceful charm; in fact, it added an intellectual beauty to her.

"Tsukino, it's been a long time."

This sounds like a belated greeting.

These are the words that should have been said the moment I first saw them today.

However, Gen Tsukino understood the other party's intention, and he didn't feel there was anything to complain about or feel wronged about. He was a person who didn't like to be pretentious, and besides, he might be the one to forget that memory first.

"It's been a long time, Sakuraba-sensei."

The young man answered in a low voice.

Sakuraba Yuki's smile became even brighter, a clear difference from the smile she wore in the classroom.

In the classroom, it's more of a polite gesture from the teacher's perspective and a way to connect with students.

Now, she seems more like her true self, revealing her true feelings like the sun breaking through the clouds.

"Didn't you expect me to come to this school?"

She asked.

Gen Tsukino smiled. "I've felt for a long time that Sakuraba-sensei's professional abilities are more than sufficient, and this is just a reasonable progression. It's not unbelievable at all. You certainly deserve to be at this school."

Sakuraba Yuki leaned back lazily in her chair and stretched comfortably, perhaps because there were no other teachers staying there at the moment.

I don't know if they still really see this boy as the same child they had in the orphanage back then.

She didn't even realize that this move would perfectly showcase her figure.

The exaggerated curve of the chest area creates an impact as if it's about to burst the buttons off the shirt.

Fortunately, Gen Tsukino is a gentleman, and his gaze is not here, or at least not always there.

"Tsukino-kun speaks more maturely now. He doesn't seem like a child anymore, and he's become much more handsome."

She smiled as she looked at his face, her gaze sliding down to his physique. Suddenly, as she looked at him, Sakuraba Yuki found herself feeling a little awkward and looked away.

I don't know what suddenly came to mind.

Or perhaps they felt it was somewhat presumptuous to look at a 'student' with such eyes in a school setting.

However, Tsukino Gen didn't seem to notice any of this. "People grow up, you know. Sakuraba-sensei hasn't changed much; she's still young and beautiful."

Sakuraba Yuki looked at the boy with some dissatisfaction, "What hasn't changed? When I met you, I was still in school. Now, every year on my birthday, I'm reminded that I'm getting old. Sigh."

"Why not just skip your birthday celebration?"

Sakuraba Yuki blinked, then chuckled.

An eerie rosy blush appeared on her fair and delicate face.

"You're still so funny. Well, talking here is boring, how about we take a walk together?"

she says.

Gen Tsukino thought for a moment and asked softly, "If someone sees us, won't it cause trouble for the teacher?"

"Snapped."

Sakuraba Yuki stood up and gently flicked Tsukino Gen's forehead with her finger, a gesture she remembered Tsukino Gen liking to make to her.

Gen Tsukino certainly didn't enjoy it; he wasn't a masochist. He just had a strange sense of familiarity.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What trouble could this possibly cause? Don't think that just because you've grown up you're an adult like me. I'll always be your older sister."

Sister? This title sounds unfamiliar.

However, it seems that this was indeed the name we used to call it.

Back then, when Yuki Sakuraba was still in school, her visit to the orphanage was part of a practical training program. Perhaps it was because Gen Tsukino was different from the other children, or perhaps it was because such training was mostly boring and a rather grueling experience.

So she developed a very close relationship with this special boy, and Dean Chishima jokingly said that they were more like siblings.

Gen Tsukino didn't really want to establish such a relationship at the time, feeling it was an unnecessary burden.

Moreover, at that time, he had not yet fully integrated into this world or adapted to everything here.

But the woman kept insisting, "I'm not a teacher yet, so just call me 'sister'."

If you keep emphasizing it like this, it's as if you can only call her Sakuraba-neechan.

"That's fine."

Gen Tsukino nodded.

The boy carrying his schoolbag and the woman with her handbag walked out of the office together; most of the people in the school had already left.

I didn't encounter any strange looks on the way.

Looking at the facilities of the high school, Yuki Sakuraba, who was standing next to her, smiled and said.

"As expected, this kind of place suits you better. It's really unfair that someone like Tsukino-kun grew up in an orphanage."

This seems to be a sentiment that Sakuraba Yuki used to express. Compared to the average serious teacher, she still had a bit more childishness. I wonder if she has erased it over the years.

"You've said these things many times, haven't you, Sakuraba-sensei? It's like saying them a few more times will change things, and I don't think there's anything wrong with them."

"There's nothing wrong with that? Look, you're still calling me teacher."

Sakuraba Yuki suddenly turned her head, her brows furrowing slightly, as if she were complaining about her little girl.

Gen Tsukino blinked. "Is there any connection?"

"Of course!"

Sakuraba Yuki said seriously, "It's because you grew up in an orphanage and you seem more mature than most of your peers. So, you avoid forming relationships. You seem very gentle, but you never get too close to anyone. Because you feel that feelings would be a burden for you."

Gen Tsukino hadn't expected that she would say such a thing upon their reunion.

He couldn't help but smile wryly, "So, after all this time apart, you're saying such heavy things the moment you meet again?"

Sakuraba Yuki looked at him curiously, "So, Tsukino-kun, you're quite good at joking around now?"

"That's not the case either."

Sakuraba Yuki nudged the boy's arm with her shoulder, somewhat annoyed, and then whispered.

"Stop pretending. Do you think you can become distant from me just because we haven't seen each other for so long? I'm your homeroom teacher now, and I won't allow it."

"What does your being my homeroom teacher have to do with this? And just because you're my homeroom teacher and we're in the same school, shouldn't we be mindful of maintaining a certain distance?"

Gen Tsukino wasn't deliberately avoiding contact with the other person; it was just that, remembering Yamazaki Jihei from before, the school might take that into consideration. After all, they probably wouldn't have trouble figuring out what kind of person Yamazaki Jihei was in private.

As the new homeroom teacher, Sakuraba Yuki is an extremely charming young woman, so she should be more careful about her private interactions with students.

The two had already left the school together and were out on the street, where their interaction seemed much more normal.

Sakuraba Yuki turned her head and gave Tsukino Gen a strange look.

Why should we pay attention to distance?

"Ok?"

Tsukino Gen seems stumped by the question. What a strange question! Are you an airhead?
However, I always felt that there was a certain degree of lack of intelligence in her personality.

Sakuraba Yuki thought for a moment and said, "Could it be because my appearance back then was so amazing to you that you've started to have inappropriate fantasies about me now that you're all grown up?"

"what?"

What kind of brain circuit is this?

No, should a teacher say something like that?
Or is this simply a characteristic of this country?
Sakuraba Yuki looked at Tsukino Gen seriously, "I'm sorry, Tsukino-kun, I admit you are indeed very handsome now, and have the qualifications to make women of any age fall in love. But the age gap between us is too big, and we shouldn't be thinking about these things."

"If that's the case, then you don't need to consider it in such detail, okay?"

Gen Tsukino rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Sakuraba Yuki couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Just kidding, why are you taking it so seriously?"

"It was you who started the nonsense."

At this moment, Sakuraba Yuki put away her somewhat frank and unrestrained smile and became more serious.

"I'm your teacher, and also your older sister. I don't need you to think about these things for me, don't worry. I'm not a teacher without boundaries."

"alright."

Gen Tsukino nodded.

Sakuraba Yuki suddenly turned her face and smiled at Tsukino Gen.

"By the way, how about we go out for barbecue to celebrate our reunion?"

The relief I had just felt was replaced by a renewed sense of doubt.

Do you really understand the concept of boundaries?

……

Thank you all for the monthly tickets and recommendations! I promise to update tomorrow morning! Even if I still have insomnia!


(End of this chapter)