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Position And Feelings

Nakabayashi Aoba's POV

With a soft click, Aoba hurriedly closed the door to her room. 

Minato had just called her the woman he admired. 

Aoba was overjoyed, absolutely delighted. 

Despite her emotions, her inner rational voice reminded her that he was her teacher.

"Even though I'm his teacher, I'm so happy to be called the woman he likes by a student...!"

I mumbled to myself and sat down, reflecting on my recent behavior.

"I acted a little strange, didn't I...? But, he did say he likes me..."

Though she didn't say it out loud, it was a line not too far from the mark.

"He's 7 years younger... If I were in middle school, Minato-kun would be in elementary. If I were a high school senior, Minato-kun would be in fourth grade! The generation gap is enormous!"

Aoba couldn't fathom it.

"No, wait Minato-kun. Maybe it's because we've been spending so much time together, sharing the excitement of battles, that he comes to like me...!"

Aoba threw the idea like a boomerang, murmuring to herself.

"Minato-kun, not right now... It's not definite... for now, at least..."

I muttered to myself, my thoughts all jumbled.

Aoba imagined what would happen if she rejected Minato-kun's confession (which hadn't happened yet) without telling him that she liked him.

"Ugh..."

Her heart fluttered endlessly, and she felt like she might immediately take back her previous statement.

"Ah, no, I can't, I'm a teacher!"

I jumped onto my bed and kicked my feet restlessly.

Pressing my face into my pillow, I groaned aloud, my voice muffled.

"I'm so happy that Minato-kun likes me! I'm really, really, really happy!!!"

Shiozaki Minato's POV

The mealtime was approaching, so I told Ao-chan through the door that I would head to the dining hall first.

"I'll go ahead, but take your time, sensei."

"Got it!"

Her response was reassuringly typical. I left the inn and headed straight for the dining hall.

I wondered if Ao-chan thought I was trying to seduce her and if that was the reason for her distant behavior earlier.

"Maybe I should just confess...?"

Being with her was soothing, she was cute, always cheerful, and optimistic.

I thought about it in my room, and apart from liking her, there was nothing else. 

But because Ao-chan is an adult, I felt she might dodge a confession, and things could get awkward, leading to the party disbanding. 

It could happen...

But for now, if I judged that Ao-chan had become accustomed to this world enough for disbanding to be a natural choice, I would express my feelings then...!

After defeating Arc Bison, we could pretend it never happened and discuss future quests and party arrangements.

As I perused the menu in the dining hall, Ao-chan joined me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"I'm pretty hungry. What should we eat?"

"What do you feel like eating?"

The conversation was so natural it felt unnatural.

We placed our orders, and while waiting for the food, Aochan inquired about our stats and skills.

In the midst of answering, our orders arrived, and we silently began our meal.

Since the atmosphere was getting heavier, I decided to broach the topic of our future.

"Uh, sensei."

"Yes!?"

Ao-chan stiffened her back, and her face tensed.

"About our future..."

"Wha-our, future!?"

Ao-chan gulped audibly.

"Wait, no, no! I mean, it's because... it's... too intimate!"

"Huh?"

"I mean, it's not... it's not legal, you know, because of the age difference!"

"Tomorrow's Sky Castle, I mean."

"Oh, it's about that..."

I understood the misunderstanding, but I decided to remain silent.

"We've completed the quest to defeat Arc Bison, and there's one more quest inside the castle to defeat 5 enemies called Angels and another to defeat the boss, the High Angel. We'll collect items along the way..."

Nonchalantly, I explained the plan for tomorrow.

Ao-chan occasionally nodded along.

"Sensei, aren't you drinking today?"

"Huh? Oh, well. I got too drunk before and had to be carried back to the inn. I felt like I caused trouble, so I thought I'd abstain."

"It didn't trouble me, so please drink without any worries. I have enough money... Besides, that's also one of your cute traits."

I whispered the last part so softly, and Ao-chan's eyes darted around. Finally, she muttered in a very low voice.

"So, um... I guess... I'll have a drink..."

Ao-chan called the server to order some alcohol.

Once it arrived, she seemed to relax and took a sip.

I said it was okay, but will it be alright for tomorrow? I wondered as she continued to drink.

Eventually, after a few more sips, Ao-chan seemed tipsy.

"Mi... Minato-kun, do you ever think... inappropriately about women... I mean, when you look at them?"

"Oh, maybe it's a bad idea for tomorrow?"

After a while, Ao-chan passed out from drinking.

As I had feared, Ao-chan was hungover the next day and couldn't leave her room, so we postponed our plans to the day after.