Tetsufumi Hirakawa walked out of the living room alone.

After walking out, a luxurious corridor appeared in front of him, and at the end of the corridor, in the corner of the corner, he found Shiori Shinohara who was squatting.

"Hirakawa-sensei?"

The girl who heard the footsteps looked up at him, her eyes still red.

"Well, it's me."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stepped forward and squatted down as well, making eye contact with her.

"What's wrong with the teacher?"

"Because it's over?"

"It's over?"

"The last step needs to be carried out by Shinohara-san himself."

"Me?" Shiori Shinohara asked rhetorically.

"yes." Tetsufumi Hirakawa nodded and smiled, "Now, Shinohara-san just needs to walk into the living room and tell your mother what you want." ”

“……”

The girl didn't speak, but her eyes were clearly suspicious.

Also, after all, I said it before, but my mother didn't listen to it at all.

"Shinohara-san, please believe me."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa said, and then added.

"We agreed."

It should be this sentence that brought the girl confidence, and after hearing this, the doubt in Shiori Shinohara's eyes gradually dissipated, and she nodded.

"Hmm."

"Go ahead and say what you want."

She stood up, took one last look at Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was also standing, and walked towards the meeting room.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa watched the girl leave, and when she entered the living room, she leaned lightly against the wall next to her.

Well, the matter is coming to an end, and as long as Shiori Shinohara says what she wants, Shinohara's mother will agree.

As for why......

Because he was in the meeting room just now, Tetsufumi Hirakawa gave instructions to Shinohara's mother was:

"Please respect your daughter's personality and listen to her wishes, at least this time."

Why is this a directive?

In the end, if it's just about music, Tetsufumi Hirakawa can just say "Please agree with Shiori Shinohara-san to stay in the wind club" or something.

But he didn't.

Because he has no qualifications, no power. As a teacher, he knew very well where the boundaries of his power were.

He didn't have the right to impose his ideas on Shinohara's mother so strongly. If he did, wouldn't it be a sign of control?

You can't force someone to do something or think right just because you think it's right. He is just Shiori Shinohara's teacher, and Tetsufumi Hirakawa knows his identity very well.

So his choice was to rebuild the bridge between Shiori Shinohara and her mother when the bridge of communication between them collapsed.

This is the most appropriate method for him.

——

After waiting for about ten minutes, Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was still leaning against the wall in a daze, heard a sound of the door opening.

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Shiori Shinohara, who came out.

"Shinohara-san, how's it going?"

“……”

The girl who walked up to him didn't say a word, just looked at him quietly with red eyes. Well, like a well-behaved rabbit.

"It should have worked, right?"

Rabbit...... The girl nodded.

"Well, that's good." Tetsufumi Hirakawa couldn't help but smile.

The effort was not in vain, and he succeeded in asserting the free will of his students.

"In the second year of high school, Shinohara-san will be able to continue to stay in the wind club."

“……”

"It's nice to be able to continue to touch the things you love and continue to work hard for your hobbies, right?"

“……”

"The national competition in the second year of high school, please keep up the good work."

“……”

"So, Shinohara-san, please be happy. Well. ”

“……”

said so, but Shiori Shinohara still didn't seem to have the intention of speaking.

"Hmm...... If you don't talk like this, even a teacher will be embarrassed. ”

“……”

Still didn't speak. Even if it's Tetsufumi Hirakawa now, I don't know what to say for the time being.

The two began to look at each other through the air.

“……”

“……”

A tranquil atmosphere spreads through the corridors.

The world of the outdoors is completely dark.

The overhead lights are even brighter.

Shiori Shinohara suddenly bowed solemnly.

The so-called quiet is like a rabbit, and such a sudden bow is really startling.

Coming back to his senses - yes, he was distracted just now, because he remembered a certain nursery rhyme about rabbits - Tetsufumi Hirakawa hurriedly spoke.

"Shinohara-san, it's okay, get up, I just did what I had to do."

"And in the end, it was Shinohara-san who convinced his mother, right? Well, that's it. So there's no need to thank me, Shinohara-san should thank himself even more. ”

"So, don't be ...... Eh...... Don't cry. ”

After the girl got up, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw two tear streaks on her face.

"That...... Shinohara-san? ”

"Hmm...... I'm bothered by that, too...... I didn't bring tissues......"

I fumbled around for a long time, but I didn't find anything.

Finally, Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked at the sleeve of his teacher's uniform, thought about it, and stretched it out.

"This ......"

In the end, his clumsy appearance finally amused Shiori Shinohara.

The girl laughed out loud, as if she had seen something particularly funny, and shed tears while laughing.

"Teacher...... This is, how can I lack tissues in my home......"

“…… Ah, well, sorry, didn't expect that. ”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa withdrew his sleeve slightly in embarrassment.

Because I have no experience with girls crying or anything, I panicked all of a sudden.

The only experience of a girl crying in front of her eyes should be a kindergarten thing. What's going on......

Pretending to be a family wine, the girl has to call her "dear" herself.

Well...... An adult soul could not say such a thing to a child, so she cried.

So in the end, I gave in.

I don't know how to evaluate the memories.

But after such a messy memory went through in his mind, the girl in front of him had stopped crying.

Then he bowed solemnly again.

"Thank you, teacher."

“……”

Okay.

Although a large part of the credit is due to the system, he also contributed a lot to this. Take it with peace of mind.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa nodded, then wandered again.

So the next time you meet a girl crying, as long as you keep recalling some messy memories in your mind, you can make the girl stop crying, right?

Thinking too much, there is no correlation between the two at all.

"Hirakawa-sensei?"

While he was complaining about himself, Shiori Shinohara had already gotten up and blinked in front of him, trying to get his attention.

"Ah, nothing."

"Distracted, huh?"

"Nope."

"When I was thanking the students, I was distracted."

"Absolutely nothing."

“…… All right. ”

“……”

“……”

"It's time for me to go." After being silent for a while, Tetsufumi Hirakawa suddenly said this.

"I'll send you out."

"I'm sorry for you."

Shiori Shinohara walked ahead to lead the way, and Tetsufumi Hirakawa silently followed behind.

I have to say that Shiori Shinohara's house is really big, and she will definitely get lost without her leading the way.

Looking at the girl's obviously excited back, the steps under her feet are a little cheerful.

The child who has been controlled for a long time finally gains ...... Ephemeral freedom.

Well, yes, only briefly.

No matter how much you think about some messy things, you can't ignore it.

There is no escaping.

In the meeting room, Tetsufumi Hirakawa's instructions were accompanied by this sentence: "At least this time today." ”

Why do you have to add this sentence?

Because Shinohara's mother's will is hard to shake. Just such an ordinary threat would not have allowed her to change completely.

It's hard to get her to obey her child's wishes once.

Afterwards......

Except for the wind club, there should be no more interference, and everything else is probably business as usual.

The problem remains, and the cage built by Shinohara's mother is as stable as ever.

Shiori Shinohara still has to live under such control, being objectified into a possession and completely denied to exist as an independent personality.

And Tetsufumi Hirakawa is powerless and not qualified to change such a situation. At the end of the day, he's just a teacher.

All he can do is exercise his duties as a teacher and solve the current problem: Shiori Shinohara wants to stay in the wind club.

That's all.

When he walked out of Shinohara's house, the girl behind him bowed to him again.

"Mr. Hirakawa, thank you."

It's a big thank you.