A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

Hiratsuka Shizuka got up and went to the kitchen, carefully placing four wine glasses and the beer she had bought in the refrigerator, and then began to prepare snacks to go with the drinks.

At the living room table, Uesugi Genshin said, "I ran into the homeroom teacher of Class B at Advanced Nurturing High School."

These words were meant for Chabashira Sae, and it was clear that she could no longer remain silent.

"Chie?" She didn't look at Uesugi Genshin, but instead remained facing sideways with a wry smile. "What...what did she say?"

Uesugi Genshin noticed that the tea stalk Sae initially wanted to ask about Hoshinomiya Chie's recent situation, but in the end he changed his mind.

"She was drunk, just like when I first met you, and then she questioned me about how I brought you to Chiba."

"Coming to Soubu High School was my own decision," said Chabashira Saeko calmly, seemingly already having made up her mind about the situation there.

Then she couldn't help but laugh mockingly, or perhaps it was just a simple laugh.

"Someone come here," Hiratsuka Shizuka called from the kitchen, probably because the food was ready to be served.

"Okay, okay." Hachiman propped himself up on his knees and went to help in the kitchen.

When I returned with the plate, I saw Hyun Shin and Teacher Chaba staring at each other. Isn't it tiring to just watch?

"Come on, come on." Hiratsuka Shizuka came over with four chilled beer mugs and handed one to each person.

A layer of white mist was clearly visible on the glass, and it was very cold to the touch. The beer poured in looked so cold it felt like it would freeze your teeth.

The appetizers on the table included grilled eel, boiled mackerel, curry beef, eggplant gravy, and oden. Undoubtedly, these were all canned goods, and it's likely that Hiratsuka-sensei simply heated them up.

"Cheers!" Hiratsuka Shizuka raised her glass first, a hearty smile on her face.

Upon hearing her voice, Uesugi Genshin nodded in response, and raised his glass in return, just as she had slightly raised it in celebration.

Then he gulped it down in one go.

Uesugi Genshin watched as Sae, the tea stalk opposite him, also drank it down in one gulp with great gusto, which surprised everyone.

Her delicate chin lifted slightly, and she slowly swallowed the wine, creating a beautiful arc that looked particularly captivating under the light.

The four then began chatting, with Uesugi Genshin asking Chabashira Sae if she had adapted to life there.

"It's alright." She picked up her wine glass, took a small sip, and a half-smile curved her lips.

Chabashira Sae believes that teaching some elementary school students is not a difficult task, after all, she is a high school teacher.

After experiencing a series of tragedies, those children became much more obedient; I suppose that's a sign of them growing up.

"But I'm a teacher of Japanese history."

Uesugi Genshin could tell from her words that she had some reservations about him still teaching geography, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Is that girl named Tsurumi Rumi your sister?" Chabashira Sae leaned against the sofa, slightly tipsy, her red lips slightly parted, her eyes slightly slanted, her face carrying an unintentional charm, her eyes carrying a hint of intoxication, revealing a subtle allure that was hard to detect, making one's heart flutter.

"Yes. How was your study abroad experience?" Uesugi Genshin sat up straight, wondering if this could be considered a different kind of home visit.

The current situation is indeed that students' parents are meeting with teachers to learn about their children's recent situation.

"Ah, that kid is very talented," Chabashira Sae said casually, her slender fingers gently twirling her beer glass. Her dazed eyes seemed to no longer care about the troubles of the world, even though she had only drunk three cans of beer.

She seemed to feel that saying just this much wasn't quite convincing, so she added, "Really, my grades are number one in the class."

“I am well aware of that.” Uesugi Genshin nodded. After all, Yukino personally taught him, which made him very reassuring.

"It seems like I don't have many friends, and I'm often alone."

“One or two friends are enough,” Hachiman interjected.

"Idiot, how can you let Rumi be like you?" Hiratsuka Shizuka said leisurely, slightly drunk. She also liked the child who looked a lot like Yukinoshita.

Hearing this, Hachiman was somewhat speechless and could only offer a perfunctory response.

As if to fill the silence, the speakers that Hiratsuka-sensei had turned on played a soothing melody.

"Would you like to eat some staple food?" Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly asked.

"What is it?" Hachiman asked, turning his head slightly. Snacks and beer certainly weren't filling.

"Tuna rice bowl".

Hachiman could already picture Hiratsuka-sensei humming a song as he skillfully opened the can, placed various side dishes on top of the rice, and then stirred it all together.

"Hmm..." Just as he was thinking, his phone suddenly rang.

I sat up and looked at the message. It was from Komachi. It seemed like they were also going to have a celebration party or something.

Honestly, he didn't participate in the Tokyo operation at all. Was it a celebration party for the upcoming reopening of the shopping mall?

"Komachi?"

Seeing Hiratsuka-sensei lean closer, Hachiman held out his phone.

"There's a cocktail party over there too," she laughed, looking at the other two. "Looks like we can have a second one then."

“Eh—” Hachiman clicked his tongue, then looked at Genshin as well.

Uesugi Genshin shook his head to indicate that he would not go, as did Chabashira Sae.

"Then I'll go take a look over there first." Hachiman got up and walked towards the entrance. He said he was just going to take a look, but he knew in his heart that he wouldn't be back anytime soon.

"I'll go too, there's not enough food for us at all." Hiratsuka Shizuka looked like she was going to freeload a meal.

"Don't drink too much over there," Hachiman immediately reminded him.

"Ha ha ha ha......"

Judging from Hiratsuka-sensei's guilty laugh, that was probably her original plan.

Fortunately, he only brought a few cans of beer and no sake or anything else. He was just there to freeload. He praised Kawasaki and Ebina's cooking skills while eating heartily.

Even so, he was still a little drunk, and Komachi was worried about him, so she asked her older brother to take him away.

Komachi, Hiratsuka-sensei lives on the same floor...

"So full, so full." Hiratsuka Shizuka walked down the corridor, rubbing her stomach and stretching.

"You have class tomorrow, don't oversleep," Hachiman joked.

"It's only 9 o'clock." Hiratsuka Shizuka rolled her eyes, took out her keys, and opened the door. "By the way...would you like to come in and sit for a while longer?"

She lowered her head shyly, playing with her hair with her fingers.

Hachiman's Adam's apple bobbed slightly; he seemed to suddenly understand what Komachi meant by remembering to send a message before she left. "Okay."

So he followed Hiratsuka-sensei into the apartment, but... Hachiman looked down at the shoes in the entryway and frowned.

"What? It's so clean." She said softly, looking at the living room from the front, Hiratsuka Shizuka felt more and more that her roommate, Chabashira Sae, was a very good roommate.

"..." Hachiman silently followed Hiratsuka-sensei into the living room.

"But why did you forget to turn off the music?" Hiratsuka Shizuka muttered to herself as she walked over and turned off the speakers that were still playing music.

Unexpectedly, after closing it, I seemed to hear a faint yet very peculiar sound.

"!"

"?!"

Startled, Hiratsuka Shizuka mechanically turned her head to look at Hachiman, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

Then, she took two steps toward the bedroom that wasn't hers, checked it, and then came back.

She sighed deeply, scratched her long hair, and then put her hand on Hachiman's shoulder.

"So this is how my voice sounds from the outside?"

Hello.

Hachiman looked at her with a subtle expression, wondering why she suddenly became sentimental.

"He actually managed to win over a beautiful teacher without even realizing it. That guy is really something."

"No..." Hachiman wanted to say that it had been settled a long time ago.

"It's alright." Completely unperturbed, Hiratsuka Shizuka exhaled a faint scent of alcohol. "Let's take a shower first. It's not like Chabashira-sensei and I are sharing a room."

After all, it's not the same as before. There are only two of them living in this apartment, so naturally each of them has their own room.

"Ha—" Hachiman thought to himself, "When the two of you meet again tomorrow morning, all that will be left is awkwardness."

Chapter 371: It Really Was a First Date

It was really awkward when we met in the morning. Although we both pretended nothing had happened, it was this silence that made the atmosphere a little strange.

Sitting in the sun-drenched dojo, Hachiman slowly yawned as he listened to Genshin speaking from above.

"Now that things are basically on track, I've decided to reduce the number of field assignments and increase the amount of training."

"Hey~"

"How could this happen?!"

"That's not fair."

"Minister, could we perhaps discuss this...?"

Hearing the complaints from his men, Uesugi Genshin's temples throbbed. Most of the complaints came from Hachiman and Hayama's team; they were completely numb to fighting zombies, but they were very bothered by the arduous training.

"Quiet!"

Sure enough, everything quieted down. He exhaled and said, "It's just training all morning, only an hour longer than usual. What's with the complaints?"

The crowd below all showed expressions of relief and breathed a sigh of relief.

"But that doesn't mean there won't be any training in the afternoon."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people below became even more interesting.

"However, sometimes we get a day off in the afternoon."

"Oh—" Instantly, the number of long sighs in the dojo increased again.

"Furthermore, considering that Ayanokouji's squad has just joined and lacks practical experience, you'll have a much higher chance of going on field missions with me this afternoon," Uesugi Genshin said, looking towards Ayanokouji.

"Hmph~" Ryuen Sho of the Ayanokouji squad showed an expression that said, "That's exactly what I wanted."

Ryuji Kanzaki nodded in understanding, probably because he also felt that his current strength was not up to par.

As for the nonchalant Hashimoto Masayoshi, he remained nonchalant and didn't care at all.

The people under them have all sorts of expressions, but they will definitely listen to their respective team leaders.

"Ha, let's begin today's training," Uesugi Genshin announced.

He asked Ayanokouji to help with the training, offering a raise in exchange for it, otherwise the guy would be very reluctant, highlighting that troublesome things shouldn't be done for free.

In the afternoon, Uesugi Genshin took some time to thoroughly inspect the shopping center with his men, not even missing a single toilet stall.

The entire mall has been tidied up a bit, and some of the bloodstains that were once very noticeable are now completely gone.

-----------------

"How is it?" Eriri sat upright in her seat in the student council room.

“…Hmm.” Uesugi Genshin examined the “final draft” of her manga, then looked up at her. “Very good.”

"Great!" Eriri clenched her fist and waved it in front of her chest, then immediately realized it was a bit childish, so she crossed her arms and groaned to the side.

"I was saying I wouldn't make the deadline," Shiyu mocked from the sofa.

Therefore, the artists in the underworld, forced by the deadline, made a significant choice.

She made the choice to stay at home and draw all the time.

Even meals were brought to him by the people in the apartment, though Kato was the one who ate them most of the time.

"Stop nagging." Eriri turned her head and glared at Shiho angrily. "How could I possibly fall behind? I've never done it before, and I never will."

"Did you always work overtime until the very last minute before?" Uesugi Genshin asked curiously.

"Of course!" Eriri replied with a proud air.

"What about the school?"

“It’s alright, we already paid enough donations to the school just in case,” Eriri said proudly, pointing to her finger.

"Isn't this solution a bit too realistic?" Uesugi Genshin didn't know what to say and handed the manuscript back to the other party.

"So, what's the name of the manga?" Eriri asked.

"Hmm? Well, since it's a serious diving manga, let's call it Azure Sea." Uesugi Genshin casually waved his hand.