"That's good. Hmm, it seems like your mood has improved. You have a nice smile now."

Yuka was swinging her legs meaninglessly, and it was obvious that she was embarrassed, with her cheeks as red as apples.

Simon looked at Yuka with a smile and asked a question he was very curious about.

"By the way, Miss Yuuka, what exactly is this 'Western food' you're talking about—"

At this moment, a shout was heard throughout the capital!

“Old man! I found you!”

"Eh~!? My granddaughter looks like a ghost!?"

Seeing his granddaughter running towards him from the other side of the road, Simon jumped up from the bench, his movements not at all like an old man. Then, he said to Yuka, who was confused about the situation:

"Goodbye, Yuuka-chan. May the will of freedom be with you from now on!"

"Eh? Ah, okay, thank you."

"Um!"

For some reason, Simon made a beautiful crouch start, shouted "I'm going to be a gust of wind now!" and ran away at an astonishing speed.

After him, Xiweier also caught up at an astonishing speed.

Whoosh! A gust of wind blew by.

"W-What's going on?"

Then Yuka was left alone, confused.

"Really? You actually did something as brutal as beating an old man, damned Xiweier."

Simon was walking in the palace courtyard, touching his head with his hand. After escaping, he was caught by his granddaughter, beaten, and dragged directly to the palace.

"But having said that... I did hear a really incredible secret."

After arriving at the palace, Simon and Xiweier met with Princess Lulualia, His Highness Randir and the Prime Minister.

After dismissing the others, the three asked Simon to take over the position of Pope, even temporarily, to calm the people. Simon, in turn, demanded that he not take over the highest position in the Holy Church unless he was told the truth about the collapse of the headquarters.

The three believed that Simon was a talent recommended by Liliana and was trustworthy, so they told the truth after agreeing that any leak would be severely punished.

As a result, Xiweier was so shocked that he is still bedridden.

Should I say he's quite knowledgeable? Simon accepted the truth calmly. Even so, he still needed time to collect himself, which is why he was strolling in the courtyard now.

Simon was admiring the beautiful flower beds in the palace courtyard and strolling for a while when he suddenly saw a figure behind the flower beds.

"Hey, is anyone there?"

"Eh? Ah, hello."

A petite girl poked her head out from between the flower beds.

"Well, hello there, little girl. Am I bothering you?"

"No, no, you're not disturbing me! I was just daydreaming."

A wry smile crossed her face. It seemed she was troubled and was thinking in a quiet place.

"Yeah, I see. Actually, I feel like daydreaming too, and I'm looking for a quiet place. If you don't bother me, can I daydream with you?"

"Oh, yes, go ahead."

When I walked around the flower beds, I saw that she had been sitting on a bench between the flower beds.

Simon smiled, thanked him, and sat on the bench; the girl followed suit and sat down as well.

"Well……"

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Simon, and I'm just an old man."

"Is that so? My name is Hatayama Aiko. Aiko is my given name. Also, I'm twenty-six years old."

"What!?"

This huge shock was second only to the truth about God. Simon rolled his eyes and almost received the Lord's favor.

Aiko smiled wryly, thinking that she was being treated like a child. Although she was also used to dealing with such situations.

Simon coughed perfunctorily, sat down on the bench again, took a deep breath, and then closed his eyes as if he was going to meditate.

All I could hear was the gentle breeze caressing the plants. It was a quiet and peaceful time.

After a while, Simon, who was meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke:

"Is there anything you want to say, Miss Aiko?"

“Eh!?”

"You've been sighing or looking over here since a while ago, and you seem restless. If I disturb you, I'll go somewhere else..."

"S-Sorry, you didn't bother me at all... It's just that I saw that Mr. Simon seemed to be troubled by something, so..."

"Do you think it's the same as yourself?"

"No, that's right."

Simon slowly opened his eyes, revealing a gentle expression that surprised even his son. He said:

"I'm not worried, I'm just sorting out my feelings."

"...Sober up?"

"By the way, Miss Aiko, if you need me, I can help you sort things out, okay?"

“Eh…”

Seeing Simon's kind eyes, Aiko thought of her mentor in her memories and couldn't help but blurt out, "...Teacher." Then she suddenly realized that she had said the wrong thing and immediately blushed with shame.

"Very well, teacher, please listen to Miss Aiko's concerns."

"Woo."

Aiko was as shy as a child who mistakenly calls another woman "mother." Despite her shame, Simon's warm impression made her speak without realizing it.

"Um... there's someone I care about."

"Great, I love this kind of topic...but you look rather worried."

Simon was confused, but Aiko said, "Because I have a lot of questions..." and decided to speak out.

"I-I don't think students and teachers should be together! And he already has someone in his heart!"

"I see, the other party is a married teacher..."

"I'm the teacher!"

"Yes, you are twenty-six years old. The world is so wonderful..." After Simon roughly understood the situation, he stroked his chin and pondered.

"Is the problem that serious? There should be a way to solve it, right? Like, wait until he's no longer a student."

"Former students are still students!"

"Well, then Miss Aiko will resign from her teaching position."

"That's the only thing I absolutely can't do."

The beloved son was not at all lost and his will was very firm.

Simon opened his eyes wide in surprise and asked:

"...You're quite obsessed with being a teacher. I see, that's why you're worried... What does a teacher mean to you, Aiko-san? Please let me hear your opinion."

Simon asked with a serious look, and Aiko couldn't help but be surprised. She felt a very strong intention from Simon's tone, and it was not just out of curiosity.

After a slight hesitation, Aizi sat up straight and began to explain, choosing his words carefully.

"When I was a student, there was a teacher who took great care of me. He was strict and rarely smiled. How should I put it... he felt like an old-fashioned grandfather teacher."

Perhaps because most of the students disliked him and he was approaching retirement age, some even told him to retire early, and Aiko was also afraid of that teacher.

"My hometown is a very rural area, where traditional prominent families and local celebrities hold considerable influence... One time, a member of a prominent family did something illegal."

He was a notorious problem child, someone who mistook his parents' influence for his own strength. He'd committed the theft that day, likely motivated by a momentary impulse. He'd stolen a high-end mountain bike and was riding it around when he happened to see his son, prompting a spur-of-the-moment decision.

"He left the bike in my garage and left. I thought he was just playing a prank."

"Why is it Miss Aiko's house?"

Aiko gave a wry smile.

“At that time, I was a person who absolutely could not forgive mistakes.”

She's probably the class monitor type. When boys play around, that type of girl will rebuke them one by one, pointing out all their mistakes and asking, "Did I say anything wrong?" For teenage boys, she's the most annoying thing.

"Even if the boy was just trying to play a prank, thieves are thieves. The victim called the police, and they responded."

"And then stolen goods were found in Ms. Aiko's house, so Ms. Aiko is under suspicion?"

"Yes, even though there was no motive and I was too tall to ride it, the police concluded that I stole it."

"I see. It was the child's parents who came forward, right? Because they have influence, right?"

Aiko smiled wryly again and nodded.

"Even though I kept saying I was innocent, most people still didn't believe me. Of course, family and close friends were a different story...but because we were in the countryside, rumors spread quickly. The day after I started counseling, the way locals looked at me changed."

Perhaps they didn't actually believe Aiko was responsible. The teachers, in particular, seemed to feel guilty, perhaps succumbing to pressure. They feared they would lose their livelihood if they resisted, so they turned a blind eye. Even the teachers, usually beloved and considerate of their students, were afraid to confront Aiko.

"Among the group, only my mentor stood out. After hearing what I said, he displayed a level of anger I had never seen before. He wasn't angry at me, but at the police and the people around him."

When her classmates, teachers and other people refused to believe Aizi, only the teacher who was hated by everyone was willing to believe her.

"Thanks to the teacher's desperate efforts to clear my name... I was cleared of suspicion, but he..."

My mentor angered the gentry and could no longer stay in the area.

"...He's a truly remarkable person who risks his life as a teacher to protect his students."

"Yes, he is someone I admire."

Aiko smiled proudly. She had made a promise to her mentor that she would be like him, a teacher who would always support her students no matter what. That was why she was here.

"So I can't quit my teaching job, and I don't plan to quit."

After hearing the reasons why Aiko decided to become a teacher, Simon nodded in understanding, knowing that Aiko just wanted to be honest about the beliefs he held.

However, life is not always smooth sailing and it always tests your ability to be honest with yourself. You may harbor feelings you shouldn't have, or believe in something you never thought was true.

It would be ideal if one could carry out one's beliefs, but reality is not always as one wishes, and people usually compromise or give up.

But Aiko cannot compromise or give up. She has the dignity of a teacher and hopes to be a role model for her students.

As a result, precisely because she is a teacher, she encounters obstacles and faces contradictions, but she is unable to give up the forbidden feelings.

"Thank you for sharing such a wonderful story, but Miss Aiko's personality is quite troublesome."

"Calling it troublesome is too much! No, I'm aware of that, of course."

Simon's expression was very gentle, contrary to his words. Aiko's way of dealing with things and her troubled expression made him make up his mind.

Simon's words touched Aizi's heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. Simon looked at her with eyes full of gratitude and said:

"Since you absolutely refuse to resign, there's nothing I can do. I want you to give up... but if you could give up, you wouldn't have been troubled in the first place."

“…That’s right.”

Although she hated herself for being a teacher and falling in love with a student, Aiko hid among the flower beds and worried. Simon then said to her:

"At any given time, there are only two paths to take: forward or backward."

Simon's tone changed, and so did his impression. Aiko looked at Simon in surprise, his emerald eyes fixed on her. He was no longer the frivolous old man, but a wise man from a story.

"If you pull away, Miss Aiko will regret it, but you'll be able to keep everything you've built so far. If you move forward, while your wish might come true, the dignity of a teacher that you've longed for, determined to achieve, and worked so hard for might be tarnished by your own hands. Or, it might even cause trouble for the other person, leading to a breakup."

Aiko listened silently, and Simon regained his composure and said:

"It's difficult to balance modesty and desire. Even though I can't tell you how to do it, I think... Miss Aiko shouldn't give up on a wish that's so hard to come by. Just cherish that wish that's just been born."

"Cherish your newly born wish..."

After Aiko finished ruminating on those words, he lowered his head and thought, and the quiet time came again.

After an unknown amount of time, the expression on Aiko's face seemed to no longer be so sad.

"Haha, that's a very nice thing to say. That being said, if we continue on, it will be a road full of thorns..."

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