I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

She came out of her contemplative state and turned around.

So, in this pure land where no one disturbed her, the girl faced the gaze of this uninvited guest.

"..."

"..."

Under the slightly surprised gaze of Shinohara Shiori, which he had not expected, Tetsufumi Hirakawa put down his hand that was holding the rooftop door and stepped in.

When he stopped, he was standing several meters away from Shinohara Shiori.

"Teacher Hirakawa?" Shinohara Shiori raised her tone slightly, expressing her doubts.

"Yes, Shinohara-san, I..."

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about?"

"Yes."

After two brief exchanges, Shinohara Shiori had put away her surprised look and was listening attentively, waiting for him to speak.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stared at Shinohara Shiori.

The rooftop, the familiar scene, the light of the setting sun, and the girl's flawless face reminded him of many things.

Of course, these things have nothing to do with this incident.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi took a deep breath and brought his thoughts back to reality.

He spoke.

"Shinohara-san, I would like to discuss with you one last time about your withdrawal from the wind orchestra."

"at last?"

"Ah."

Because tomorrow afternoon at the farewell party for the wind orchestra, the members who are leaving the orchestra will officially retire.

If nothing can be changed, the girl will quit the brass band.

"So, what does Mr. Hirakawa want to say this time?" Shinohara Shiori looked at him calmly, "I've already said it, I decided to quit the wind band because I was disappointed with someone."

"..."

Hirakawa Tetsufumi felt a little embarrassed, and his eyes couldn't help but drift away for a moment, then refocused back on the girl's eyes.

“That’s true… but I think…”

"What do you think?"

"This isn't the real reason why Shinohara-san quit the brass band, right? At least, not the whole reason."

"is it?"

The question was asked lightly, neither intending to confirm nor deny, making it difficult to guess what the girl was thinking.

But it doesn’t matter, because the reason why Tetsufumi Hirakawa came this time is because he thought he had guessed what the girl was thinking.

He ignored Shinohara Shiori's question, but took a breath and said in a deep voice.

"Actually, Shinohara-san, you don't want to quit the brass band, do you?"

"..."

"..."

After a moment of silence.

"Why do you say that?"

Shinohara Shiori's expression didn't seem to change when she spoke. At least, she didn't look like she was being hit on the head.

"I think."

"If it's just wishful thinking on one side, it won't work - I understand this very well."

"..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa choked.

"Well... I naturally have my reasons for judging this."

"What is it, then?"

……

Today's school festival has ended, and the students and their parents have begun to evacuate Moriya.

Looking down from the upper floors of the club building, you can see the crowds flowing from the stadium to the campus gate.

After taking a few glances, Hirakawa Tetsufumi withdrew his gaze from the corridor.

He turned to his side.

Shinohara Shiori was about one step behind him.

"The reason I made this judgment is... for the time being, I have a certain understanding of Shinohara-san."

"is it?"

"Yes."

"so?"

As the girl continued to question, the memories of this girl in Hirakawa Tetsufumi's mind began to emerge one by one - from the very beginning, when he joined Moritani and took over the class as her teacher, until today.

Distant memories really make people feel nostalgic.

With a sigh in his heart, Tetsufumi Hirakawa pulled his thoughts away from the experience of memory.

"So, I have some idea of ​​how Shinohara-san treats wind music."

"I still remember the unwilling look on Shinohara's face when he failed in the national competition for the first time last October."

"And later, when Shinohara-san was asked by her mother to quit the wind band, she said firmly that she would never give up."

"Including supervising me to go to the wind band again and again, and caring about how the wind band is doing."

"Of course, the most important thing is——"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at Shinohara Shiori deliberately, wanting to see her reaction.

"I also know the story that Shinohara told me, about her and her mother, about the first time she got rid of her mother's control."

"..."

Shinohara Shiori's expression finally showed a slight change.

Seeing this scene, Tetsufumi Hirakawa smiled slightly.

"right?"

"For the first time, I freely chose my own hobby without asking my mother's opinion. And after that, despite constant obstacles, I never gave up and persisted."

"Even after I quit the club, I continued to practice on my own until high school."

"This matter was told to me by Shinohara-san himself."

"..."

It was the girl's final words before the fireworks went off on that summer festival night.

"Not only that."

Hirakawa Tetsufumi’s words did not last long.

"After rejoining the wind band in high school, when he was faced with the possibility of quitting the band again, Shinohara told his instructor that if he didn't want to lose his job, he should stay out of his business."

"..."

"Although the method was a bit bad, Shinohara-san's determination not to give up is indeed impressive - right?"

"..."

Recalling such past events, Tetsufumi Hirakawa raised the corners of his mouth with a nostalgic look.

Now that I think about it, this matter is really...

It's really touching.

This was the beginning of the relationship between him and Shinohara Shiori.

If he had not chosen to make the home visit, perhaps everything would have been different afterwards... Stop, my thoughts have wandered.

Get back on track.

He continued his statement.

"That's all I know about Shinohara-san and wind music."

"I think it's not an exaggeration to say 'I have some understanding'."

"To be frank, I am probably the person who understands Shinohara-san's determination to continue playing music the best."

"——Of course, Shinohara-san is disappointed in me."

"Even I feel that I am really terrible and extremely disappointed in myself."

"But if Shinohara-san quit the wind band because he was disappointed in me... I spent a lot of time thinking about it seriously."

"The conclusion I came to is—"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa will reveal the final answer.

"Will the young lady who has always been unwilling to give up her only interest despite her mother's obstruction really decide to give up because of this?"

He looked at Shinohara Shiori's expression, and the girl remained silent.

So he continued speaking confidently.

"Of course, there is a possibility."

"But I'm more inclined to believe that there are other reasons."

"What other reasons do you have for Shinohara-san to give up playing wind music?"

"It's not that he can't win the gold medal, but, I guess, it's Shinohara's mother who once again proposed that he should give up the wind band next time, right?"

"If it were any other time, I'm sure Shinohara-san would never accept it like this."

"But it just so happened that Shinohara, who was already disappointed with me as a bad teacher, once again faced pressure from her mother and finally made a decision to give up her only interest, which was not what her mother expected."

"There may even be some further ideas."

"For example, it was because I persuaded Shinohara's mother in the beginning that Shinohara was able to stay in the wind band."

"So, for my disappointed Shinohara-san, maybe he still has some thoughts of 'returning' all of this to me, so I accept it calmly."

"Are my guesses correct?"

"..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa's long paragraph of inference finally came to an end.

There was once again a silence between the two of them, as if there was nothing more to say.

Shinohara Shiori neither confirmed nor denied, and her eyes were no longer on him.

However, it would be more accurate to describe this attitude as tacit agreement.

It was not until a long time later that the two walked along the campus corridor together and arrived at the school gate.

In Hirakawa Tetsufumi's ears, the girl's footsteps stopped, and then her voice finally sounded again.

"So what if I guessed right?"

Hirakawa Tetsufumi also stopped and turned to look at her.

The young lady's eyes were filled with determination.

"Shiori has decided to quit the brass band. And she has already agreed to her mother's request. There is nothing more to say about this matter."

"I don't think there's anything else to say."

"Once it's decided, it can't be changed."

“I also don’t think it’s really unchangeable.”