When I Asked My Sensei Who Was in Her Thirties to Let Me Take Responsibility for My Actions, She Bro

“Actually, I lied to you,” I said, and then I revealed everything frankly.

I told them that I had pretended to be Sakuramiya-sensei’s fiancé, and as a result, we were now dating. I told him everything without holding anything back. Considering Sakuramiya-sensei’s circumstances, it would have been appropriate to fulfill the role of her fiancé. However, even so, I decided to speak up on my own.

“…I see.”

After I finished speaking, Souji-san responded with only one word.

A heavy silence fell. Even if I strained my ears, I wasn’t able to hear anything else but a sigh.

I sat silently in seiza, trying to read Souji-san’s reaction.

And so, perhaps it was only about ten seconds in actual time. Although it felt much longer, after that silence, Souji-san spoke with a heavy voice.

“You pass, Minato-kun.”

“…Huh?…”

I unintentionally raised my voice. My mouth was left agape in shock.

“I already knew about the fiancé’s pretense from Yumi beforehand.”

“Y-You knew beforehand…?”

As I chewed on Souji-san’s words, I glanced over at Sakuramiya-sensei.

She had a troubled expression on her face, scratching her cheek awkwardly.

“S-Sorry, I couldn’t keep it a secret…”

But wait, didn’t she just say earlier that she hadn’t mentioned anything about the fiancé part?

I traced back my memories a bit and made a puzzled expression.

“Minato-kun. You’re a little too quick-witted, aren’t you? You’re able to come up with lies on the spot and get out of a tight situation.”

“I-I’m not like that, honestly.”

“You don’t have to hide it. In fact, during the cultural festival, I was smoothly manipulated by you.”

“I’m sorry.”

Souji-san rested his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together.

Looking back, I had told quite a lot of lies. Even though there were circumstances involved, having a silver tongue was something to think about.

“That’s why I wanted to test you a little. A man who would still keep secrets at this point can’t be trusted.”

“So, does that mean…?”

“Yeah, it means that I recognize you as Yumi’s boyfriend.”

After saying that, Souji-san stood up and turned on his heel.

“Well, in the future, if you engage in what seems like infidelity… I won’t forgive you if you make Yumi sad.”

“Y-Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Souji-san placed his hand on the sliding door. But before leaving the room, he muttered something under his breath.

“Oh, I didn’t say this before, but… I’m firmly against Yumi’s marriage from the start. It’s just something my mother says.”

After Souji-san left the room, only three of us were left: me, Sakuramiya-sensei and Kiyoka-san. While I was dumbfounded, Sakuramiya-sensei’s expression loosened up.

“Yeah, we did it! We can finally date without any problems now!”

“Eh, ah… yeah, it seems so.”

Personally, I didn’t feel like I was taking an exam, so it felt strange. Even if I was told that I passed, I didn’t feel it.

I took a sip of tea and moistened my dry mouth. Then, Kiyoka-san spoke up.

“I guess I wasn’t seeing things. Yumi brought you to our place for the first time, and I immediately realized that you were a fake fiancé,” she said, smiling gently and speaking in a kind tone.

“R-Really?” I asked.

Sakuramiya-sensei was the first to react to Kiyoka-san’s sudden confession.

“Yes, I could tell that much. After all, I’m your mother and can read you like an open book.”

“I see… then why?” I asked.

“When I looked into your eyes, I didn’t see a bad person. And if Yumi was bringing someone to our place, it wouldn’t be just some random boy,” Kiyoka-san said.

Come to think of it, when I first met Kiyoka-san, she looked me straight in the eye. Although they say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, can one really tell that much just by looking into someone’s eyes? Is it due to her years of experience?

“Um…” I said, deciding to ask about something that had been bothering me.

“What is it, Minato-kun?” Kiyoka-san asked.

“Souji-san is against Sakuramiya— I mean, Yumi-san’s marriage. So, that means her marriage is important to you, right?” I asked.

“That’s right,” Kiyoka-san replied.

“Then, is it okay? I… can’t decide on something that big right now. If you knew from the beginning that I wasn’t the fiancé, then I don’t think there’s any need to acknowledge my relationship with Yumi-san,” I said.

“I see… but there’s one thing you’re misunderstanding, Minato-kun,” Kiyoka-san said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I wanted Yumi to start thinking about love by setting a deadline for her. She’s never had any experience with that sort of thing before. If things continue as they are, she may remain single forever. By setting a deadline, even if it was a bit forceful, Yumi will be compelled to find a good person. That’s why I did it.”

“I see… so that’s how it is.”

So, the idea of getting married by the age of 30 was just a rule made to motivate Sakuramiya-sensei.

“Oh, I see… I thought it was really going to be an arranged marriage for you.”

“Well, it wasn’t entirely a joke. If Yumi didn’t take action, I was planning to arrange a meeting for her.”

“Oh… that’s dangerous.”

“At your age, there are fewer opportunities for marriage. It’s not like wine where you can just let sit and savor the flavor as time passes. Especially for women, the age barrier is quite severe. Once you pass the marriageable age, it’s downhill from there. The hurdle to marriage is higher for women than for men.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to put pressure on you, Minato-kun.”

“Oh, no, it’s not like that.”

“I would be happy if Minato-kun married Yumi, but I will leave that decision up to the two of you.”

Kiyoka-san quickly stood up, but then sat back down.

It seemed like she had something else to say.

“Oh, by the way… you’re welcome to come here anytime. It’s probably not good to be seen outside. You’re a pair of student and teacher after all… Sorry, I didn’t think about it. Oh, but are you going to Yumi’s room now?”

Kiyoka-san made an appealing offer.

Certainly, there was no danger of being seen by anyone here. It was a safe area, far away from the school.

“Oh, yes. Then, let’s go…”

“No, no! My room is off-limits!”

“I told you to clean it up, didn’t I?”

“I couldn’t help it. There was so much to do, and I didn’t have enough time.”

“You always put things off like that.”

Kiyoka-san put her hand on her forehead and looked troubled.

Come to think of it, Sakuramiya-sensei was not good at organizing and tidying up. Her desk in the staff room was always messy.

“Oh, then I’ll clean it up.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“No, I can’t let you do that. Hey, don’t you have any motivation?” Sakuramiya-sensei tried to cling to me and stop me, but my curiosity had already been piqued.

While soothing Sakuramiya-sensei’s complaints, I followed Kiyoka-san and went to Sensei’s room. It was quite a mess, but I think we will manage to clean it up to a presentable level.

Sakuramiya-sensei lamented, “I can’t marry you at this rate…”

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