| Itaru | So then, shall we go, Director. |
| Izumi | Yes! |
| Itaru | ......That said, there's nobody I want to greet. Let's just wander around casually inside, huh. |
| Izumi | What's the place with the most memories for you, Itaru-san? |
| Itaru | ......If I had to say, it'd be the library, I guess. |
| Izumi | Then let's go there too, after. I'll be counting on you to lead the way! |
| Itaru | Okay. |
| |
| Itaru | ...... |
| Izumi | (Itaru-san has been silent ever since we entered, like he's thinking about something.) |
| (......No. Maybe he's remembering something.) |
| ......Itaru-san, what's wrong? |
| Itaru | ......No. I just remembered something small from back then. |
| Izumi | I see. |
| Itaru | After the thing with Tonooka happened......I'd kind of sealed off my memories from halfway through third year. |
| Izumi | ......Mhm. |
| Itaru | Maybe he was concerned about me being isolated; I remembered that there was a teacher who did call out to me just once. |
| Izumi | (......I wonder if it could be the person he thought of faintly when I asked the modern Japanese teacher) |
| Is that teacher still around? |
| Itaru | I wonder. In the first place, he wouldn't remember me. |
| ??? | ......Chigasaki-kun? |
| Itaru | ―― Teacher? |
| Izumi | (Teacher? Itaru-san's......?) |
| Itaru | ......It's been a while. |
| ??? | It has been a while. And this is...... |
| Izumi | My name is Izumi Tachibana. It's nice to meet you. |
| Akutsu | I'm Akutsu. I'm the modern literature teacher here. |
| Still, that was a surprise......Why are you here? ―― Could it be that you two are...... |
| Izumi | Ah, actually...... |
| Akutsu | Apparently it's been a trend to take wedding photos at people's old schools lately. Just the other day a pair of kids I taught...... |
| Izumi | !? |
| Itaru | Eh? |
| Izumi | (W-We're being kind of wildly misunderstood......!) |
| T-That's not it! |
| Itaru-san is acting as a teacher for our next play, so to prepare for the role he's conducting a school visit...... |
| Akutsu | ......Eh. Chigasaki-kun, you're an actor? |
| Itaru | As a side job......I normally work as a salaryman. |
| Akutsu | What sort of company do you work at? |
| Itaru | It's a trading company...... |
| Akutsu | I see. You've done well for yourself...... |
| Itaru | ......Yes. |
| Akutsu | ――. |
| ......I don't have the right to be happy, though. I wasn't able to do anything for you, after all. |
| Itaru | In the first place, I hadn't thought you'd remember me. |
| Akutsu | You were a memorable student, so of course I do; I'd known about you before I spotted you in the library. |
| Itaru | Is that so. |
| Akutsu | I'd never talked much to you, so it was pretty one-sided, though. |
| I'd been worried about you because midway through third year you stopped smiling the way you had until then. |
| Izumi | (......That must have been the time he fell out with Tonooka-san. So there was someone watching Itaru-san at that time.) |
| Akutsu | I wanted to say something to you, but I couldn't think what......I tried calling out to you once because I couldn't bear not to, but I wasn't able to speak well. |
| Itaru | ......I remember that time too. |
| What book were you trying to recommend to me, Teacher? |
| Akutsu | That's......I don't remember. I might just have wanted a reason to talk to you. |
| Looking at you now, I can see that you've long since gotten over what happened then. Your expression is different, see. |
| Itaru | ...... |
| Akutsu | But I've always regretted not being able to have a good talk with you back then. |
| Itaru | You worried that much over me......? |
| Akutsu | That's right. I couldn't forget the feeling of things not going as I'd hoped that time, so in order not to have any regrets from my interactions with students ――. |
| I've become able to be more proactive about interacting with students than I was as a new teacher. |
| I have been told that they're just one of many, or that I'll forget about them after graduation, though. |
| Itaru | ...... |
| Akutsu | For a teacher, each and every one of your students has a place in your heart. When you remember your students, you remember how you were back then too. |
| There are all sorts of positives and negatives there, but......I'll never forget the regret I had over you, Chigasaki-kun. |
| Itaru | ......I, see. |
| Akutsu | In the end, teachers are the same as students. We're not particularly strong; we're just human beings. |
| Itaru | ――. |
| Akutsu | Sorry for talking about this sort of thing...... |
| Itaru | No, it was good to hear. Thank you very much, Teacher. |
| Hey, Director ――. |
| Izumi | ......! I get it. |
| Akutsu-san, this is the flyer for our next play. If you'd like......Please come watch! |
