"Yup, you're as healthy as when you got back into shape after recovering from BEF-1, Ms. Akanami. No complications whatsoever, but you'll still have to come back in three months for a requisite checkup."

"Thank you as always, Dr. Snetr."

Two days after returning home to Orio, Rin came back to Dr. Kurt Snetr's office for a checkup together with her mother, Sumi.

"Also, before I forget… I've gotten results as for the reason why your hair remains white until now. It has something to do with your very low melanin production in your hair specifically which gives color to it. What we surmise is that BEF-1 caused something to block its production that not even the virus could repair as of yet.

There are still no indications whether it will come back or not, so keep on eating foods that can help in melanin production, and I would recommend you to cover them with a hat especially if you're under the sun otherwise it could affect your hair's vitality."

"I see, will there be any problems if I continue to dye my hair?"

"Things about hair isn't really in the scope of my study, but it could certainly damage them if you dye them a lot. I'm not saying that you should stop, but I would suggest not doing it excessively. In an ideal world, you wouldn't need to dye it at all unless you want otherwise, but Orio isn't really a country where it wouldn't feel out of the ordinary…"

"I will take note of that, thank you. Is there anything else?"

"That is all."

"If that's the case…" from under the chair, Rin then pulled out a paper bag with a Japanese brand printed on it. "It isn't much compared that all the help you've given us, but here are some snacks and other souvenirs from my trip in Japan."

"Ah… so that's why you ask to schedule the appointment this week. I hope you had a fun trip, and thank you very much."

"It was really fun! I feel reborn after that trip and it really took the edge off me after all that has happened since November last year. I can finally finish my studies."

"I wish you well in that endeavor."

"Thank you, Dr. Snetr. Well then, we will be leaving now."

…

"Ahhh…! It feels nice knowing I'm back to a healthy state! I'm just glad nothing went wrong when I first drank. If only you saw how much Gin was hiding his worry, Mom."

"But don't overdo the drinking, okay? Shuu and I wouldn't like it if you get drunk. With how rowdy he is, the least you would expect is that he rarely gets intoxicated. Your father's very responsible deep down, so know that."

"I will, I will."

"Should we get lunch outside for a change of pace?"

"Let's go to Ardor! I haven't been there in so long."

"That sounds good. Message Gin that we won't be home, then."

"Okay."

Taking the short walk on Cerulean Street, Sumi suddenly noticed something different from her daughter, especially with a cord over Rin's neck peeking through her collar.

"I just noticed… did you buy a new necklace?"

"Uhh, not really but…"

With its mention, Rin pulled out the cord from under her shirt, revealing a ring through it, which caused her mother to immediately snatch it from her fingers and examined it, only to find out that it was a blank ring with only a small bevel and nothing cosmetic from it.

"Ringo…?"

"Ahaha, it's not what you think, okay? We got it when walking around Kyoto. Can you believe that they are just 1000 yen each?"

"'Each', so you have the same ring as Gin?"

"Pretty much! But don't think too much about it, Mom. And it's not like I wear rings anyway but it just caught our attention.

I will only wear a ring when the time comes."

Her mother was left with a somewhat dissatisfied look.

"Just when Shuu and I thought you couldn't get closer as you two already are, you returned home closer than ever. The two of you were basically resting for the rest of yesterday and you were almost inseparable."

"W-Well… we were together and under the same roof basically for the entire three weeks, so I guess it just turned out like that."

"Huhh…"

"I should ask Gin his side when we return home."

▪ ▪ ▪

"With this, the transfer process into your account has been completed. We shall inform Mr. Mizuno about this as soon as possible."

"Thank you very much."

‹Gin›

I didn't really question why the processing of the transfer of the compensation Yohan Mizuno insisted on me took a while, but nonetheless I still pinch my cheek now that I am seeing eight figures on my bank account now. It still feels completely unreal.

That being said, after hearing about the recent flooding in our home street from Anna, I decided on the last minute to donate only sixth of the compensation instead of its third to make more leeway in planning for either renovating our family house eventually, or selling it and build a new family house in Cerulean Street. While nothing is final and discussions are still up in the air, it would not hurt to be safe.

The market value of our property has basically depreciated a lot, just like how it was for the house I own now because of the severe flooding issue we have in the neighborhood so there is a likelihood that we would not be able to sell it lower than the original price it was purchased by Mom and Dad. Still, if it is to be sold as a house and lot, it could probably up the price per square meter as the house is still on a very good condition, and now the closeness of it to the train station is being factored in. While the place has a lot of memories for our entire family, our parents are most likely going to be open to the discussion.

Okay, pardon me for the tangent, but I will try to make sense out of this: You see, I have a tendency when buying a phone to make it look like how I left my old phone appeared to be—from wallpapers, to settings, and down to exactly where my home screen and quick settings icons will be to the point that it might be an obsession to do it at this point. And you know where I got that? From my Dad.

If he were to agree on selling our home and build a new one, he is most likely going to copy-paste our house to a different lot, down to the small details. It would still depend if it can be pushed through after calculating the cost of it, but I can definitely see in him that it is for the purpose of preserving memories, and that it would feel like they did not move out at all.

Nonetheless, I don't think the money I received will leave my account for a little while, and I will have to focus on how I am going to get back from all my expenses in Japan, and at least try to break even in the next month or two. But well… I might be expecting a reasonable paycheck in a few months, but who knows.

For now, I will just become a capybara on the internet and draw nonstop.

…

On second thought…

▪ ▪ ▪

June 2.

"I'm heading out to Blue Ink, Rin. I don't know what time I'll be back home."

"Have some business with Tenth?"

"Something like that."

"Take care, then."

"Aight."

With 5 in the afternoon approaching to the day, it became just one of those times where I begin to reminisce walking the quiet street to school, which I used to do almost everyday a week for at least six years.

"I hope it gets cold sooner…"

But perhaps things will find a way for me to return on that regular stroll.

In absolutely no time realizing once again how fast my walking pace is, I reached the high school, slowing down after greeting the guard and I then nonchalantly walked straight to the administrative office with staff also packing up for the day.

I suppose that I am taking for granted how simple it was for me to just waltz in in Tenth's office without even knowing when the transition of me being a student to becoming the principal's friend and sometimes aide happened. Some of the staff still recognized me from my student days here, and they do not seem to mind.

Nonetheless, after a requisite little knock, I opened the office door to see Akira and his father reviewing paperworks.

"Happy weekend."

"Oh, you're finally back from your trip? It's been a while," greeted Tenth.

"It hurts on my wallet but the two of us definitely needed that to sort our thoughts out before coming back to reality.

Also, thanks for helping out with the stuff with Ui, Akira. I heard you've been visiting quite a lot more."

"He's always excited when it's weekends, you know."

"Can you not out me, Dad?"

"Hahh… I guess you and Anna are practically dating at this point? It's hard waiting for our dad's word, isn't it? Too bad he's not as lenient as Uncle Shuu."

"I'm… not going to comment about that.

How's Ui treating you, though?"

"She called me a gorilla the first time we met."

"Pfft…" Tenth scoffed. "Anyway, what did you come here for, Gin? I'm guessing it has something to do with you coming back to reality?"

"Yeah… Sorry it took me this long to reach a decision, but I'd like to take you up on your offer if it's still up for grabs.

I don't know how well I'll be able to handle them, though."

"I think you'll be fine. Besides, your WT evaluation was based on how you guided the WT students at Giotto's when you were a second year, and you did well enough. If it's CA, I already have a point of reference, but I'll ask you to consult Martin when it comes to how you should teach in VA."

"Still though… it's difficult for me to put myself in an educator's shoe, at least right now. If anything, I feel really pressured as someone not coming from a background without a degree in education."

"I know you still have your fair share of battle with you self-confidence, but I see that this feels specially daunting for you."

"Oh, of course. You have to remember that our Class A had made a teacher resign."

"Ahh…" Akira grimaced.

"Frankly, it didn't seem like something that would concern you."

"Hey. That was back then. While I can't deny that I still selfishly think it's not really my business because I laid low, it's different now especially knowing that it was their first year of teaching.

It makes you realize how mature Akaji was to realize that something was terribly wrong early on."

"Perhaps things would have been so much better if we were quick enough on our feet…" Tenth sighed.

"Anyway," upon the realization he pulled the drawer of his desk and took out a paper from it. "Go sign this contract, but I'll have my son accompany you tomorrow in Northern Cotona to get your certification and green light to teach."

For a moment, I felt that I saw Akira made a silent jolt after hearing his father's instructions.

"I'll try to make things as slow as possible just to mess with your kid because he seems intent to visit us tomorrow."

"Hey…!"

"You're still as easy to read, man."

"Well, I'd like to welcome you in advance. But I'll give you a short briefing anyway. Firstly, you are neither a student anymore nor am I a friend here. You are now my subordinate so you will have to address me formally in front of the students as you will be a model to them just like the other teachers.

I know this would suck for you, but it goes without saying that you are to address Akira appropriately too."

"Just the thought of it is already giving me the creeps."

"Can you at least say that a little less frank?"

"Anyway, classes will start at 26th of June so you'll have to prepare for that. In the following days, I'll need you to study the curriculum for this academic year then we'll tell you your designated subjects as soon as possible once adjustments are done. I know you have other things on your plate but just remember that this is only part-time for the semester. If you really want, you can use the Art Room to work on your other stuff when you're free.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I'm giving you this convenience because I know you and your abilities well enough, and I trust that you'll do a good job.

We'll give you the full details soon but for now… should we have a drink to welcome you later?"

"If you know a place, I'll be the driver then," I presented myself as I know I will be the only one to be on the wheel later anyways. "I guess I'll tell Rin I won't be needing dinner."

"Then that's settled. But we wouldn't be leaving a little over an hour so you might want to be home for a little bit."

"Nah, I might as well start on the job immediately, even though I'm on shorts and flip flops right now. Am I getting a desk on the staff room?"

"Right, you and Akira can figure that out. If there's a vacant space, get dibs on it."

"Sweet, I'll stop by the Art Room afterwards, then."

▪ ▪ ▪

"Agghhh… This all sucks…"

Amid a lengthy groan, Rin kicked away her chair from her desk and let out a huge stretch after a session of catching up to her studies while I was casually reading a manga off my phone.

"Let me take a break…"

"No one's stopping you. Go lie down on your bed if you want. I'll get us a drink and some snacks."

"Thanks…"

With an intermission from her studies secured, I took the chance to finally bring up what would be my plans in the next few weeks.

"Sorry I never really mentioned this, but I'm going to be teaching in Blue Ink soon."

"You will what?!"

As though all her vigor has returned, she jolted up from her bed hearing the news.

"It's just for a semester. But in the next few months I will probably be juggling that with illustrations and Giotto's work once I return."

"You suddenly have a lot of things on your plate, huh. Sounds like you'll be moving back once things get hectic."

"Huh? No way," I responded immediately. "Like I said, I'll be here until winter and I'll be putting the kotatsu here for this year anyway. But besides, I want to make up for the lost time at the end of last year, so I want to spend more time with you as much as possible before I come back to my house."

"I really need to get used to this new forward side of you."

"Anyway, do you have a date on when you'll return?"

"Well, some changes are happening in CCI so I'll probably be on track to returning around July. Instructors are easier to get in touch with around the start of the school year since they are also in vacation."

"Oh, good for you. I'm starting on the last week of this month."

"Ohhh, good luck then," suddenly, I felt her head plop on my shoulder as I lean back on the side of the bed. "I can't say I know what it feels like for you right now, but I wish you well on that so go break a leg."

"…

I know it means something positive, but with me in context I just feel bad."

"O-Oh, sorry…"

"Eh, you're fine…"

Thus, even before the guilt in mentioning something vague come up from her, I expelled it with an embrace.

▪ ▪ ▪

"Man, this honestly feels weird."

Rin and Aunt Sumi saw me off from the front door for an entirely different reason. No, it's strange enough that I am heading from the Akanami household going to school which for some reason is giving me a hard time wrapping my head around it, and it feels incredibly bizarre to think that I am going to Blue Ink to work there. What in the world.

But I guess in fairness, there is a three-year gap from my graduation to employment. I wonder how would that even feel for Akira who only finished his junior high school and went straight to work in the office after two months.

With the myriad of thoughts occupying my commute, I then saw myself having arrived once more to the campus receiving a few stares from students that are early-comers. The only thing as of the moment that I don't like about this work is that I have to wake up at 6 in the morning, which I have not done in months at this point. But who am I to complain when I finally landed a job for a while.

A small nod to the guard later and I found myself in the nearest scanner proprietary to the silver pins that this school has. As much as I would like to troll the school again, I am already working here, but it would not stop me to scan my student pin again and later see the logs show up with my student data and number along with a message "You should probably update this to identify me as a teacher".

Honestly, Marco is up for anything. It literally took him 15 seconds do add it, and remotely at that.

But that aside, I then made my way to the ground floor of the new building where the staff room is located and put down my bag on my desk that I had already set up to my liking. Then I gave the other teachers a greeting of good morning, but no one seemed to have noticed which did not surprise me knowing my history in this school.

"G-Gin?!"

As I was about to review today's agenda on the squeaky swivel chair, I suddenly heard a very close and loud shriek that most definitely turned the other teacher's heads towards me.

Of course, this person standing in front of me dumbfounded has to be wearing a yellow shirt.

"Looking forward to working with you, Kiiro-sen."

"H-H-Huuuuh?!"

"Right, you weren't there in the staff briefing so you wouldn't know. Hahaha.

I'm going to be teaching in the VA and CA courses here."

"Still… how come I'm only finding out about this now?! Weren't you working in Giotto's?"

"I'm taking a break from there. I got in here as per Principal Juushiro's recommendation, but I'll only be here part-time for the semester."

"I see… then it's nice to work with you…"

And we shook hands.

"How about we go for drinks before the weekend? I'm planning on going with Mato-sen and Nana-sen anyway."

"Gosh, it would feel incredibly weird to drink with your former student… but I guess I'll go."

"Nice."

After a brief perusal on the itinerary for the day, I then went to the gymnasium where I am posted for the morning assembly, having the task of screening the students if they are wearing their uniforms properly. But seeing as this is the first day, it would seem that they are behaving well as they began to gather. That is however not to say that there are no latecomers.

"Hahh… it's just the first day of the school year so we'll let this slide but I'll get your names and student numbers anyway, alright? Now go to the very end of the line."

And I would repeat that for at least another seven times. Yep, it absolutely feels weird being a teacher. I am really not used to giving kids a reprimand, but this is part of the job.

Moreover, you already know the drill. As always, Tenth doesn't miss on delivering a great speech, and students go back to their rooms nearing the time I'm mostly dreading.

"Man… you're mostly such a deadbeat so it feels strange seeing you all nervous like this."

To occupy myself, I began checking the PCs of the Art Room, loading papers on the printer, and checked the stock of papers and boards in the room, until Mato found me in an embarrassing moment.

"This will just go away in a few days."

"I see you mistook copium as your coffee today."

"So you actually know that slang. But hey, it's different from being on the side looking at the whiteboard instead of looking at the students."

"Ahaha. You actually gave a damn about that, huh. I'm telling you, just be the braindead Gin I know a lot. You always maintain a distance with others even when you're still a student, so just keep that in mind when meeting your students."

"I get the feeling you've just been insulting me ever since entering the room."

"Well, I'm your senior at work so I'll do a little bit of power harassment on you."

"You call yourself a teacher?"

"Anyway, don't worry too much. You're not one to care whether people like you or not but just give them a positive impression of you. If they look down on you, go slap on their faces that you are a professional in your fields."

"Uh, sure, I'll try that."

"The bell's about to ring so get ready."

"Yeah…"

Thus, the time to formally meet the students arrived.

"Alriiight, take your seats."

After placing the folder from my hand to the teacher's desk, I found myself idly standing in the center of the podium not hearing a sound from the students at all.

"Sorry, give me a sec," biting my lip, I begin to roam my eyes around the classroom to get a full view of the students before doing anything else, and before I knew it, my heartbeat has calmed down.

"Alright, let's start…

Anyone here knows Mato-sen?"

And none of them raised their hands, not realizing my mistake for a few moments.

"Oh, sorry. Sir Martin Arlo, then?"

Apart from very few, it would seem that these first years in S1VA already knows him.

"That makes it easy. So good morning everyone, and, uhh, I'm Gin Sakato, a new face in the faculty which is probably why no one recognizes me, but I'm going to be your teacher for the subjects Perception, and Fundamentals in Different Media. I guess you can call me, hmm… Gin-sen? No, that sounds like ginseng… Eh, just sir is fine.

Anyway, as for the rest of the specialized subjects, Sir Martin would be handling them.

Just for a bit of a background… I'm just a high school graduate."

Finally, a little bit of noise surfaced and a few eyebrows rose.

"Ok, hear me out for a second though. I am a graduate of this school in batch 2020. Where I finished my senior high school simultaneously in Visual Arts and Culinary Arts.

Now then, anyone a part of Art Club when you were in junior high?"

A few hands raised in which I directed my gaze at them.

"Oh, wow. They still actually have members.

Do you guys see the centerpiece in the Art Room done in graphite? I did that as a completion project in my third year, so that makes me a former member of this Art Club.

Then, a student raised their hand.

"Yes? Uh, Mr… can you just give me your surname since I'm not good with names?"

"It's Tomiki.

Then… are you a part of TAC, Sir?"

"Sure am. I just came back from a hiatus on the account but I'm a bit active there again. I'm co-advising the club so you'll find me there after school and you can ask about stuff."

"O-Okay…!"

"I guess that would be a good impression."

"Moving on, your subject Perception would be around this time of the day every week while Fundamentals would be at Wednesdays at 10am. For now, I'll be telling you about the syllabus of both subjects plus the grading system that we are following for them.

But me personally, I won't really be that harsh on how I will mark your works. As long as you pass your outputs, I will evaluate them, and I will only accept late submissions if it's only a day after. Failure to submit after that would lead to a failing mark for that output, so please remember that as I will be strict on it. Non-submissions would bring down your grades significantly so keep that in mind.

Not much of the curriculum has changed from when I was still a student here so I know that sometimes tasks can be either irritating or very time consuming, but I always appreciate seeing anything submitted on this table.

Most importantly, I want this class to be collaborative. Not all of us have the same skill level or forte so I'd like you to help each other out, but not in the way that you'll just rely on others and hinder their work. I don't want anyone to be left behind, and I'm still here if you need advice on your works.

That being said, there are times where you'll have to figure things out on your own. I used to have classmates ask me on how this and that are done, and if the answer is easy enough to find and not complicated, I'd ask them to look into it independently, especially since my background is that of a self-taught artist where I used to get the answers I need on my own.

The last thing that I would want in these classes is for you to not have fun. You are here in the Visual Arts department because I would assume that you have some inclination towards art in any kind or form, so use these two years for your skills to flourish.

For now… that's it for today's orientation. On Wednesday, we're going to have a free exercise for 45 minutes. I'll be doing a short critique upon submission but don't worry too much as I'm only doing an initial evaluation.

As for my schedule, you can stop by the staff room as I'm only working here part-time, so there will be days where I am not in school.

With this… the room is now open for questions."

"Sir Gin!"

Immediately after, a female student raised her hand.

"Surname, please?"

"Shiyama, sir. Do you have a girlfriend?" and the class let out a small laugh.

"Not gonna lie, it feels weird for me to answer that, but yes I have, and that's all I'm saying about it."

"Excuse meee, letting myself in," all of a sudden, the sliding door opened.

"Good morning, Sir Martin!"

"Yeah, good morning. Give me a sec I forgot something on the desk."

"They didn't even greet me like that. Oh, the difference," I whispered to him as he pulled the drawer.

"Sir Gin, how old are you?"

"23. I stopped studying for two years, to anyone wondering. At least ask some questions about the subject."

"Is that a ring on your necklace, sir?"

"Ah, when did it show?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's a ring. No big deal, right? Now I'd love to hear if you have anything you need to ask about the subject."

I asked, only to be met with reactions of fawn especially from the female students.

But as Mato stood back up, he shot the ring on my neck a stare before I was able to tuck it behind my shirt, and shifted a suspicious look at me.

"I feel like you're equally misunderstanding things like those girls are."

~ ~ ~

Rinse and repeat, and I was able to finish all of my orientation period with different classes and years in both the VA and CA department.

"I told you you'll just do fine."

"…"

With dismissal approaching, the students are left on their own until the bell rings, thus I found myself once again inside the Art Room on the seat where I was always situated back when I was still studying as Mato on the other hand is reviewing the class rosters.

"What's up with that, though? You were never active on Witter in the past."

"I'm on a break from Giotto's to take care of Rin when she was still sick, so I haven't had income for a bit."

"Yet you went to Japan."

"That's why I opened a new Witter account for art and business mostly in Japan. I totally expected it to be under the radar but I suddenly got a bit of numbers.

Don't go snooping though. Find it on your own if you want to know."

"Fine. Then… what's the deal with the ring?"

"Is it really that uncommon to buy a pair of rings just because? We just liked it so we got it for cheap."

"I don't know about that, my guy. I've only heard bits of it, but Ringo was fighting death with her illness and you were all in on taking care of her.

You've always been a really disinterested kid in the past until you fell in love and all. Ultimately, you've change for that girl's sake even if you don't know about it. You always joke about marriage, or being a husband, yet you two are here having survived countless hells and still together.

If you really think it could be the time, what's the harm on actually proposing to her since it seems you both have it in mind already?"

"…"

All I could do was put up a blank face in the midst of this all.

"I'm not saying you should. Look, I've been engaged with Nana for quite a while now—just to put some things into perspective. Engagement doesn't mean you have to get married right away or a year from then. It's just that you have a formal agreement to be married in the future.

Either you seem to be forgetting about that, or you're entirely clueless about it."

I could totally understand what he was pointing at.

While Mato does not know the entirety of my situation, and outside being my former teacher and now co-worker, he is still a very close friend that I have known since I was a child so I can't deny anything he just said.

If anything, it made me revisit how my relationship with Rin has been faring ever since we graduated from this school, which means that we will naturally be apart as we walk different paths, yet it did not feel like it at all, especially with my current living condition.

Looking back to everything that has happened, I once again start to see visions of a possible future that I had tucked back on my mind.

"…

Hahh… I'd rather focus on my work in front of me first before thinking about all that. It's not to say I'm dismissing what you just told me, though. I hear you loud and clear and I'll think about it."

Folding back the laptop in front of me, I looked at the clock telling me that there are only a few minutes until the bell rings.

"How many members does the club have currently?"

"Eight for now. You probably noticed some transferees, so who knows if we'll get new ones.

Anyway, today is an unofficial meeting so reintroduce yourself to them."

"I'm feeling less nervous with you leading stuff. I'll try not to get in your way."

"Well, you better don't."

~ ~ ~

Around 6pm

"I'm home… You arrive earlier than me for once, Uncle."

"How was your first day as a teacher, musuko?"

"So-so, I guess. It was kinda stressful dealing with teenagers, but it's not that tiring… for now, at least."

"Come on, you'll do just fine!"

"I'm home, Auntie," I greeted on the kitchen as I washed my hands. "I'll help out on dinner after showering."

"You don't have to! You just came home from work so rest a bit."

"I feel much more tired coming home after work in the resto. This much is nothing.

Is Rin still studying?"

"Yup. She'll go down once it's time for dinner."

"Better not bother her, I guess."

It made me realize once again that I haven't really had an in-person work for quite a few months until it felt like dinner tasted so much better after a day of work. I've been living here for almost a year now and I had completely forgotten that it felt like this because the past few months just felt like they never existed. The feeling is completely different from me making my own meals entirely or even clearing out my leftovers, especially when the food is made by someone or you helped with.

That feeling of comfort was enough to make me realize a growing headache and fatigue finally creeping up to me, so I decided to retire for the night early although I have a later call time on the school tomorrow. On quite a rare occasion, I found out that I fell asleep in the middle of watching a YouCube video and suddenly woke up at midnight with a slightly parched throat.

Even in my house, I have always at least had a pitcher of water in my room to spare myself the effort of getting up too long as my sleep can get interrupted quickly.

But then, a rustle and movements that aren't my own made me realize that I am not alone. Thus, I grabbed the remote for a lamp to see Rin wide awake beside me with the dim illumination.

"Sorry," she immediately said as I tried to get up.

"Give me a sec…" and in less than a minute, I hydrated and went back to bed.

"Hmgghh… It's not like you to fall asleep…"

"I just got a hit of anxiety… My completion exam is getting close and I just can't stop thinking about it…"

While Rin isn't exactly the most studious person, she got the smarts to back her up and can study well when she puts her mind into it, and she did not like the thought of having held back a year or so on her academics.

"Really sorry that I can't particularly relate since I don't really know a lot about college… and I'm just starting out as a half-baked teacher so I can't give you an advice…

But I'm by your side… So I'll always tell you that you will just be fine, you got that?"

"…"

I then fixed my blanket to properly cover her up, and pulled her head closer to my chest as I find myself beginning to feel sleepier.

"You better thank you parents for not being like Uncle Junpei unless I'm dead on the spot…

Try to get some sleep here… and rest from studying tomorrow… if you have to…"

She snuggled closer until I could feel her head up to my jaw and had a waft of citrus scent from the shampoo that she uses for her hair, which made my mind drift further to slumber until I heard a chuckle.

"Love you and goodnight, Gin…"

"…ght… in…"

▪ ▪ ▪

After waking up and remembering how comfortably I slept and seeing how soundly sleeping the woman beside me, I began to feel how much more I understand Mato's advice now.

"I need to have a talk with Uncle Shuu at some point…"