Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [44]

A long-extinguished cigarette slipped from luscious lips onto the desk.

The beautiful Shizuka-sensei had a surreal feeling.

That’s right, it really was Hikigaya Ryōhei—the basic information matched perfectly. He was indeed the very same downtrodden parent she'd met recently.

"Isn't he the father of Hikigaya Hachiman-kun? What's going on here? He looked so unfortunate—how could he suddenly end up at Sōbu High…?"

It wasn't that Hiratsuka Shizuka discriminated against people from humble backgrounds, but wasn’t this development a bit too dramatic?

Imagining herself becoming colleagues with a student's parent... well, on second thought, it probably wasn't that big a deal.

The beautiful teacher shook her head slightly, thinking perhaps she was just startled for a moment.

Her eyes returned to the final notice sheet again, carefully re-reading it.

Very carefully—as if she wanted to thoroughly grasp just who this mysterious Hikigaya really was.

While reading intently—

In her mind appeared an image of that day: Hikigaya Ryōhei-san sitting serenely in that shabby apartment, wearing such a calm and indifferent expression, immediately giving her the impression of a hidden master.

Of course, it could also be she'd watched too many hot-blooded anime!

"Name: Hikigaya Ryōhei."

"Gender: Male. Isn't that obvious!"

"Age: 35. Hmm, he actually looks rather young. Judging by his appearance alone, he could easily pass for barely thirty—if he took better care of himself, maybe even more handsome. Mm-hm!"

"Marital Status: Divorced?! Reason: Wife’s infidelity?! Ugh, that's really unfortunate. Seems marriage isn't all that great after all… No wonder Hikigaya Hachiman’s eyes looked so strange. Was it due to his family's troubles?"

As Hiratsuka-sensei skimmed through Hikigaya Ryōhei’s profile, she subconsciously read aloud, nodding along.

This resume provided by Hikigaya Ryōhei for the job application was clearly more detailed than the parent information form that Hikigaya Hachiman had previously filled out (Wait, why did that thought feel strange…?).

For example, Hachiman hadn't mentioned his father’s divorce at all.

Driven by some unconscious habit—or perhaps the anxiety she'd built up over time—she couldn’t help herself from reviewing and commenting.

"Graduated from: Tokyo Gakugei University, Faculty of Education. Whoa, so he's really from Tōgaku. Wait, that means he’s actually my senpai from the same university! Hikigaya…Hikigaya… Hmm, the name sounds quite familiar. Let me think..."

She couldn’t immediately recall where she'd heard it before, yet the sense that she'd come across the name kept intensifying.

But it had already been seven or eight years since graduation.

Seven or eight years already…

Already seven or eight years…

Eight years…

...

In the empty staffroom, suddenly feeling very alone, Shizuka-sensei was overcome with an urge to go home.

She felt somewhat hollow.

Lonely.

Cold!

"Ah, whatever. I'll just make this last call first."

...

"Hikigaya-san, do you have something going on today? It’s almost closing time anyway—if you’re busy, I can watch the store for you."

Inside the nearly empty convenience store—since it was Friday, Aoyama Nanami had come in early.

The thoughtful girl sensed Hikigaya Ryōhei seemed a little distracted today. Usually, it was rare to see him like this; after all, this uncle was usually quite diligent about work.

"No… No, it’s nothing. You’re as hardworking as always, Aoyama. Not joining any school clubs, huh?"

"Oh, it’s alright—I’m just doing two part-time jobs, nothing special," Aoyama Nanami replied, feeling a little guilty.

In reality, her recent situation wasn't very good either; two clothing stores where she worked part-time had directly shut down.

The path toward her dream wasn't fueled by passion alone…

Both the older and younger person, each burdened by their own worries, quickly fell silent, absorbed in their own thoughts.

Hikigaya Ryōhei knew clearly that if he didn’t hear back today, the matter of Sōbu High was likely doomed.

Deep in his heart, he already felt it was probably hopeless.

"Aoyama! Hikigaya-kun! Could you both come here for a minute? Recently, profits at our chain stores haven’t been very good, so there’s something I need to tell you…"

The store manager suddenly stuck his head out from the office, calling for the two of them.

Ryōhei’s heart skipped a beat.

Sigh…

...

What he didn’t know was that a public school like Sōbu High inevitably had bureaucratic tendencies. Especially as a suburban school on the outskirts of the Tokyo metropolitan area, Sōbu High’s efficiency wasn't nearly on par with Teitan Junior High.

In fact, it wasn't until this afternoon that Sōbu High’s principal, vice principal, and other administrators finally gathered for a closed-door meeting, carefully reviewing the candidates who had been steadily interviewing over the past few weeks.

Their selection criteria were essentially just these few points:

Background (academic qualifications and university).

Interview performance (teaching skills).

Personal situation (including, but not limited to, moral character, family status, work history, etc.).

The weight given to each factor wasn't strictly fixed. Each had their own opinions on what mattered most.

Ryōhei’s educational background posed no issue—in fact, it ranked among the top among applicants for the History position.

Though lacking teaching experience on his resume, his interview score was surprisingly high.

The vice principal, who graduated from Tokyo University’s Education Department, had expressed doubts during the meeting. However, after viewing the interview footage, he had no further objections.

He was forced instead to endure the other members turning this recruitment meeting into yet another self-indulgent Tokyo Gakugei University reunion party.

"As expected from a Tōgaku graduate! Such solid foundational knowledge—even after years away from teaching, he still demonstrates this impressive level of competence."

"That's right! Even if we can’t compare to Gakushūin, any Tōgaku graduate can casually handle teaching middle or high school students without issues."

"Those Todai (Tokyo University) folks are only interested in fame and glory; we at Tōgaku dedicate ourselves to educating the younger generation—there’s no point competing with them! Ah! Akizuki-fukukōchō, sorry, sorry! I wasn't referring to you or your Todai colleagues."

The Director of Academic Affairs quickly offered an earnest apology.

"Alright, alright, back to business! Our selection criteria are neither solely based on school prestige nor academic record, but on both virtue and talent!" The elderly, fifty-plus-year-old principal, who had patiently listened to his subordinates’ spirited conversation, finally interjected firmly, "We will not admit a useless person, nor will we let a talented individual slip away for unjust reasons! This Hikigaya-kun—I think he's suitable. Gentlemen, your thoughts?"

Saying this, the esteemed principal swept his gaze across the room, briefly pausing on the vice principal’s face.

Vice Principal Akizuki snorted inwardly. During a previous hiring discussion, he'd inadvertently used his veto to block a candidate who happened to be from Tōgaku.

That alone wasn't a big issue; not every Tōgaku graduate automatically got into Sōbu High.

But ever since, he'd faced subtle ostracism from the senior staff, losing credibility even among veteran teachers.

Only later did he realize—the candidate he'd rejected was a prized pupil of the principal’s senpai, who'd stayed to teach at Tōgaku after graduating…

And then... well, nothing more needed saying.

Poor Akizuki, a talent who'd risen to Vice Principal in his early thirties, was now just biding his time here.

Fortunately, he still had some connections at the Ministry of Education and planned to transfer away from Sōbu High at the earliest chance!

---

A/N: This reminds me of when I once substituted at a certain ordinary middle school. The head of my subject, about five or six years older, enthusiastically greeted me the first time we met: "Junior! I'm also a student of Teacher XX from class XX! You know, so-and-so and such-and-such are our alumni too. Your arrival is timely—soon, at this XX Middle School, we'll have full control over our subject!"

This is a fan translation of 比企谷大叔永远年轻 by Stargazer All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!