"This—"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa glanced down at the trail of water on his right shoulder.

This is naturally Ogasa-sensei's saliva...... The one left when I got off the train a few minutes ago was quite conspicuous on the light-colored clothes.

As for why he left this mark, of course, it was because Ogasa-sensei fell asleep on his shoulder halfway through and couldn't wake up.

In addition, he was originally disturbed in the middle of the night last night, so he left Mr. Ogasa at will.

It's such a simple reason, there's nothing to hide, right?

There's no reason to hide it.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa is ready to speak—

"Huh?"

Probably because he couldn't answer in time in his thoughts, Kuda Moshu made another voice to remind him.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa looked squarely at the female teacher's gaze.

Really, there's really no reason to hide it.

"Was it wet from the rain?"

"Well, yes, it's raining in Kyoto, and when I went out in the afternoon, I accidentally got a lot wet here, and now it's not dry in Tokyo."

Tetsuwen Hirakawa's face does not change, and it is done in one go.

"That's right." Kuda Moshu didn't care, turned to look ahead, and in a few seconds, the car started.

“……”

"Mr. Hirakawa, fasten your seatbelts."

"Well, okay, safety comes first, after all."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa obediently did so.

——

The destination of the vehicle was not Tetsufumi Hirakawa's home, but a pet store near his house, where Michael's cats were kept.

"Those cats, are they still being kept by Mr. Hirakawa?"

After learning the destination, Hinata Moshu asked.

I remember the last time I came back from the teaching and research meeting, it was Mr. Kuda who inadvertently reminded him about the cat.

He also found Amamiya Night because of this, but ...... There was nothing to do with the girl......

Recalling, Tetsufumi Hirakawa answered Kuda's question.

"It's not temporary."

"Isn't it?"

"Well, because the students couldn't adopt them, I finally adopted them."

"Eh......" Kuda Moshu seemed to be a little troubled.

"What's wrong?"

"Mr. Hirakawa can't take care of himself, can he take care of the cat?"

“……”

Speechless.

But the corners of Kuda Moshu's mouth turned into a light smile.

Remember, this kind of happiness based on the pain of others is false happiness.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa decides to use Kuda Maki as a negative teaching material to warn himself.

——

Located in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, Tetsufumi Hirakawa's home is quite close to Tokyo Station.

It didn't take long for Kuda Moshu's car to arrive at the door of the pet store near her home.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa got out of the car, walked in familiarly, and brought Michael and his three kittens out.

Kuda Moshu also got out of the car and helped him hold the flight case with the cat in his hand.

The kitten grows bigger and heavier.

"I haven't seen you for a long time, it's already this big."

Kuda Moshu apparently felt the same way.

"That's how fast the kitten grows."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa responded and put the cats that meowed incessantly because they saw him into the trunk.

Kuda Moki stood behind the trunk, bent over, looking at the cats through the gap in the trunk.

For a long time, my heart was full of joy and sighed.

"It's so cute."

Then he turned around and asked Tetsufumi Hirakawa.

"Mr. Hirakawa, since you have adopted them, have you named them?"

"This ......" Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who was watching the cute female teacher teasing the cute cat on the side, his face became a little delicate.

"Absolutely." He looked at the sky in Tokyo.

The sky in Tokyo, still in the rainy season, was no different from when he had left two days ago, gray.

"What's the name?" Hinata asked curiously.

“…… Let's get in the car first. ”

"Oh-"

It turns out that, at least for now, Kuda Mosaki's curiosity about cute animals is very high, and even after getting in the car, Tetsufumi Hirakawa keeps trying to change the subject, but he still can't resist the young female teacher's inquiry into the name of the cat.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa eventually gave up resistance.

He looked out the window, and in the dim light, the window could faintly imprint his silhouette.

"The mother of the eldest cat is called Michael, and there are three kittens left, the white one is called Jia Baili, the black one is called Chimera, and the black and white one is called impermanence."

“……”

No sound.

After a long silence, the female teacher's response came.

"Well, this, Mr. Hirakawa's name, is very unique."

“…… Thank you, Mr. Kuda, for the compliment. ”

If it's a genuine compliment, at least put away the tone of trouble that can't be hidden, right?

didn't wait a few seconds, Tetsufumi Hirakawa couldn't help but ask.

"Actually, I think impermanence is a pretty good name, right?"

“……”

"Right, right?"

“……”

All you get is silence.

"Mr. Kuda?" Tetsufumi Hirakawa asked unwillingly for the last time.

And what I got was-

"Hmm...... Probably? ”

Kuda Moki drove the car and replied uncertainly.

“……”

Tetsufumi Hirakawa stopped talking.

It was he who brought shame upon himself.

——

A few minutes later, Kuda's car arrived at Tetsufumi Hirakawa's doorstep.

"Mr. Hirakawa, it's here."

Kuda Moshu got off the steering wheel, unbuckled his seat belt, and looked over.

"Yes—"

Tetsufumi Hirakawa replied lazily, unbuckling his seatbelt as well.

After getting out of the car, first move a few cats to the door and put them down, then take out the backpack and close the trunk with a soft "bang".

Then it was to face Maki Kuda.

"Mr. Kuda, would you like to go in and sit down for a while?"

Kuda Moshu shook his head and politely refused: "No need, it's not early." And Mr. Hirakawa should be tired today, so I won't bother you to rest. ”

"Okay, then thank you for Mr. Kuda's special car transfer today." Tetsufumi Hirakawa carried his backpack and bowed politely.

"It's okay, after all, Mr. Hirakawa is a patient."

"Goodbye to Mr. Kuda."

"Well, see you next Monday."

After saying goodbye, Hinata Maki got back into the car, and the white body disappeared around the corner as Tetsufumi Hirakawa watched.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa also took the key with the cat keychain hanging on it, opened the door of the house, carried the flight box inside, and released them at the entrance.

After two days away from home, they immediately ran around happily.

In contrast, Tetsufumi Hirakawa, who is sick and has been in the car for a long time, does not have as much energy as a cat.

After simply cooking some noodles for dinner, taking a few minutes to take a shower, he went back to his bedroom and went to sleep.

——

When I woke up, it was the middle of the night, and in a groggy state, Tetsufumi Hirakawa woke up.

My body was a little hot, so I turned on the light and measured the temperature of my forehead with the back of my hand, which was slightly hot.

He stood up with his somewhat weak body, walked to the table next to him, took out the thermometer in the drawer, and measured it.

37.8 degrees Celsius.

“……”

Looking at the readings on the thermometer, Tetsufumi Hirakawa was a little speechless.

It seems that his fever is not completely good, but fortunately it is not very high.

So what's going on now? Keep calling the great Kuta-sensei?