Episode 8: The Optimal Solution ―June 2033―

A week had passed since then.

Though I, in my immaturity, felt awkward all by myself, Uehara-san seemed to be going about her school life as usual and treated me just as she always had.

　I had been focusing all my mental energy solely on her studies, as if atoning for my own guilt at harbouring impure thoughts – how to improve her grades, what to say to make her want to study more, how to heighten her awareness of the entrance exams…

“The batch I made the other day is gone, right? I was thinking of making some more. Would it be alright if I came round to your place today?”

　Uehara-san, who had stayed behind in the classroom until the very end after the study session, said this in a tone that sounded almost like a lover’s.

I truly appreciated both Uehara-san’s concern for me and her offer. But I couldn’t accept her kindness here. As she continued chatting about the supermarket we’d be stopping at and the menu she’d prepare, I cut her off with a firm “No.”

　Then, to Uehara-san who looked at me in surprise, I held out my right hand.

“Uehara-san, please show me your mock exam results.”

“…Er…”

Well, that was unusual. She and I made no attempt to look away from each other.

“I want to look at your mock exam results and reflect on the questions you got wrong. We agreed to do the part we couldn’t manage last week today, so you brought the results, right? Could I see them?”

　Speaking firmly seemed to make her resign herself to it. She took the results sheet from the mock exam held the other day out of her bag and handed it to me.

“It wasn’t very good this time, but I’ll try harder next time!”

She offered an excuse before I’d even properly looked at the content, so I’d imagined it wasn’t good.

But the results were worse than I’d expected. It wasn’t a score I could possibly praise.

　While various reasons could explain why it had clearly dropped below her last mock exam, I believe the primary factor was the rising level of her fellow examinees.

If things continued like this, she might even be criticised for aiming for her current first-choice school. Precisely because I felt she currently lacked both the time and the effort required, I had to say it as her teacher.

“Uehara-san, you are an examinee. While I’m touched you’d offer to cook for me, that time is wasted. Study.”

“But, isn’t it fine to spend time making you a meal? My exams aren’t for another six months or more yet. But you, if you don’t eat now, it’s dangerous, right? In terms of priority, you come first.”

I sensed a difference in awareness in that word “yet”.

I believe “there’s no time left”, yet Uehara-san thinks “there’s still time”.

…How on earth can I make her understand?

“Uehara-san, your own future should be your top priority.”

On this matter, I wasn’t about to budge an inch. Perhaps because I’d so firmly rejected her kindness, her eyes seemed to flicker, shadowed.

“…Alright. Never mind. I’ll be off then.”

“Uehara-san—”

“No, it’s not that I’m sulking or anything. I’m just going to study. … Oh, shall we postpone the mock exam review? You should go home early and rest? Is that alright?”

She was acting entirely as she always did. I couldn’t know what she thought of me inwardly for pushing her kindness away, but I felt relieved she’d said she’d go home and study.

“Yes. I’ll go home and rest today too.”

“It’s a promise, alright? I’ll study properly too.”

　Saying that, she gave me a bright smile before turning to leave the classroom with her bag. Watching her retreating figure, I wondered… could I really say she was back to her usual self?

“…Listen, Sensei.”

Uehara-san stopped at the door.

“…To you, Sensei… what do I mean to you?”

I caught sight of her pensive profile, half-turned towards me.

“Never mind. See you later.”

Uehara-san’s footsteps faded as she left the classroom, eventually disappearing altogether.

I hadn’t said anything wrong. As the answer I should give her today, it should have been the optimal solution.

But, not as a teacher, but within Kakei Rio’s personal heart, a different feeling had arisen.

—I hadn’t wanted to make her look like that.