Volume 2 Chapter 31
by Golden DragonVolume 2 + Chapter 31: [Hatsuka Route] Why Effort Feels Unnatural
“Where did you take the road to school, Xiao You?”
Teacher Shimizu put on a thoughtful expression as she asked me that.
I stood up, took a pen and an A4 sheet from the piano stand, and drew a map of the route behind her.
Due to adult habits of unconsciously memorizing street names while walking, I was able to draw the route clearly.
“East Hui Road, West Qing Road… and the intersection of Mountain Down Road and Zhongyao Road?”
Teacher Shimizu studied my walking route, seemingly lost in thought about something.
“If it’s those roads, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
A smile appeared on her face.
“I see. Thank you for your help, Teacher Shimizu.”
What people fear most is the phrase “I thought…”, yet I kept making mistakes rooted in exactly that.
I lowered my head, feeling apologetic for causing trouble for her this time.
“It’s alright.”
Teacher Shimizu gently patted my head and continued speaking.
“I was also being too presumptuous, and I didn’t explain in advance about Spirits and Spirit Users.”
“If it’s anyone at fault, it should be me as the teacher.”
Her words made me shake my head vigorously.
“No, that’s not true. Teacher Shimizu is always very busy, I know that.”
“Being able to take time out like this to help me study already means you’ve done more than enough.”
I refuted her self-blame.
“Alright then, since that’s the case, neither of us should blame ourselves anymore.”
Teacher Shimizu gently covered my mouth with her finger before I could continue speaking, her smile warm enough to melt the heart.
But what caught my attention was something else.
Teacher Shimizu like this… somehow gave off a kind of “adult temptation”.
The type of woman teenage boys would most easily fall for.
I just didn’t know whether Teacher Shimizu only acted like this toward me… or whether she treated the male protagonist the same way too.
If she did treat the protagonist like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if he ended up falling for a beautiful teacher like her.
Still, he is the game’s protagonist, he probably wouldn’t be so easily captured, right?
I shook off those unreliable thoughts in my head.
Then I smiled as well and answered obediently.
“Alright, Teacher Shimizu.”
“Mhm~ that’s a good child.”
Satisfied with my response, she patted my head again as a reward.
Then, remembering something important, I took her hand off my head and held it between both of mine.
“Teacher Shimizu, can I take a one-month leave from school?”
I looked up and asked.
“Why do you need a one-month leave?”
She asked back, as if she had already guessed something.
“Is it because of the friend who came this afternoon?”
I nodded, then shook my head.
“Yes… and no.”
“It was already something I was planning, I just hadn’t told you yet.”
“I want to master the power of being a Spirit User as quickly as possible, even if it’s just one second or one minute earlier.”
With firm resolve, I looked straight into her eyes and spoke seriously.
“I see… then I suppose I should also make up my mind.”
Teacher Shimizu’s smile carried an unclear meaning.
But knowing she accepted my decision was enough.
I felt happy, and smiled.
“Teacher Shimizu, I still have a few more things I need your help with.”
A rather cunning way of speaking, but sometimes, appropriate wording is necessary to achieve one’s goals.
“I want you to help me understand more about Spirits and Spirit Users as soon as possible.”
“Books, your own insights, anything. I want to know all of it.”
To express my sincerity, I tightened my grip on her hand slightly.
“Of course. That’s exactly what I was planning too.”
Teacher Shimizu agreed gently, her golden eyes meeting mine. That rare moment made me feel slightly embarrassed.
Well… that’s enough probing.
Someone as kind as her wouldn’t get angry even if rejected.
She’d only feel regret for not being chosen.
I let go of her hand.
“Teacher Shimizu, I still need your help with one more thing.”
This time, it was no longer a request, but a statement.
She smiled indulgently.
“Go ahead.”
“Do you know someone named Chiba Aoi… a Spirit User?”
I said the name written on the hospital door, the name of Hatsuka’s mother.
Even though she should have taken her husband’s surname, for some reason she hadn’t.
Whatever the reason, it made things easier for me.
“Chiba…?”
Teacher Shimizu stood up and went to a cabinet, taking out something like a photo album.
On the cover, golden lettering read:
“Saint Vine Academy High School Graduation Album”
Watching her nostalgic smile, I saw her open the album.
“Is it her?”
She flipped to the Class 3-B graduation photo and pointed at a very beautiful girl.
Even without meeting her in person, I could feel a gentle, soft temperament.
Hatsuka’s mother in her high school days was also very beautiful, different from now, carrying a kind of scholarly innocence and purity.
“Her daughter really does look like her.”
Teacher Shimizu said this.
But I noticed her nostalgia wasn’t the kind reserved for close friends.
It was more like a memory of someone she had interacted with, but not deeply.
Rather than reminiscing about Hatsuka’s mother, it felt like she was remembering that era itself.
Which made sense.
Given Teacher Shimizu’s personality, it was hard to imagine her being close friends with Hatsuka’s mother.
Their personalities and values were completely different.
Teacher Shimizu, though beautiful, preferred efficiency and clarity.
She had little patience for things she found boring or inefficient.
A pure realist, in a sense.
Hatsuka’s mother, on the other hand, seemed gentle, indecisive, and emotionally soft.
People like that and people like Shimizu would probably feel uncomfortable even being around each other.
My mind drifted into an unnecessary little scene.
High school Shimizu looking at Hatsuka’s mother with disdain, saying coldly:
“I really don’t understand where you get all that hesitation from.”
And the soft, tearful Hatsuka’s mother replying:
“People like you who don’t care about others’ feelings… I don’t understand you at all!”
I let out a quiet laugh at my own imagination.
“Yes, Teacher Shimizu.”
“So it is the same person. What do you want me to do?”
She closed the album and returned to the main topic.
“Could you contact any of her friends or classmates?”
“Even just meeting one person would be enough. It might help her recover.”
Teacher Shimizu turned to look at me.
Her golden eyes were calm, bright, yet strangely cold.
“Xiao Yuu… Why do you work so hard for other people?”
She asked.
“It’s not other people. It’s a friend.”
I answered.
“Just for a friend, you’d go that far?”
Her smile carried a faint trace of mockery.
“No.”
I continued.
“Then what is it?”
She pressed.
“It’s for my own feelings.”
I stared into her eyes seriously.
“I’m only doing this so I can feel happy.”
“If something terrible happens to the people around me, it makes me unhappy, and it would even affect my future.”
“I hate that.”
“But if I try my best and it still happens anyway…”
“Then it’s none of my business anymore.”
“Because that’s beyond my ability.”
Listening to me, Teacher Shimizu’s expression turned slightly colder.
“So you’re saying you’re only doing it for yourself?”
“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.
“This kind of meddling is just to make myself feel better.”
“So it’s entirely for me, that’s how I see it.”
“I just act according to my preferences.”
“Whether it’s good or bad doesn’t matter to me. It’s not what I care about.”
Just as the conversation should have been serious, Teacher Shimizu suddenly laughed.
Not the earlier mocking smile.
But a genuinely amused, harmless laugh.
“Xiao Yuu… you’re actually quite a twisted child.”
“Eh?”
“I was just suddenly… charmed by such a twisted Xiao Yuu.”
Saying something confusing, she stood up and patted my head again.
Somewhere along the way, I had clearly exposed my selfishness and indifference.
Yet Teacher Shimizu, I didn’t know where she misunderstood from, said something like that.
I frowned in confusion.
“Alright, it’s getting late.”
“Kids who are still growing should go to sleep. Leave adult matters to adults.”
“For example, I’ll handle your school leave.”
She returned to her gentle demeanor and patted my head again.
Her golden eyes were warm and bright.
My hair must definitely have been smoothed down perfectly by now.
I could only nod helplessly.
“Also, I’ll take care of what you asked me to do as quickly as possible.”
She pulled me up and held my hand.
Then she crouched down to meet my eye level.
I would rather raise my head to look at her… than be treated like a child like this.
But thinking back on everything that had happened tonight, it didn’t feel worth resisting anymore.
I sighed and said:
“Then I’ll trust you and wait for your good news.”
“Mhm. If a kid is already this responsible, then if adults don’t do something…”
“It feels like we’d be the ones losing, somehow.”
She said that while standing up again, her golden eyes turned toward the piano as if in thought.
“I think I’ve become a rather arrogant adult.”
“Fortunately, Xiao Yuu helped me realize that.”
Her lips curved into a graceful smile.
But unlike before, it wasn’t distant or mask-like.
It was warm, elegant, and genuinely inviting.
A beauty that made people want to approach her.
And yet, completely unfazed by that beauty…
I suddenly remembered something else that felt unnatural.
[Translator’s Note: Please join the Gravity Tales’ Discord Server, if you want to hang out.]
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