Uncle Hikigaya is Forever Young [53]

One afternoon, half a month later.

Sōbu High, first-year class F, during the ten-minute break between lessons.

"Hey, you guys think our history teacher, Hikigaya-sensei, really is Hikigaya Hachiman’s father?" said a random background character.

"No way! Hikigaya-sensei’s so knowledgeable and friendly! How could someone like him possibly be the father of that loner guy?"

Another extra whispered this softly.

Due to joining class a month late, the small friend groups had already formed. Coupled with Hikigaya Hachiman’s complete lack of expectation for any kind of youthful campus life, he was now surviving doggedly like a total outsider at the edge of the class.

Though he himself was perfectly calm about this. Right now, all he wanted was to study diligently, hoping to share family responsibilities with his father in the future.

These youths celebrating their so-called "youthful springtime" were just ignorant kids recklessly wasting their parents’ sweat under the pretense of youth.

"I think they might be related. They look kind of similar, after all. Though their eyes aren't quite the same... But haven't you heard about identifying family by the ahoge?” A boy named Tobe joined in the discussion.

"Idiot! Don’t say such urban legends with a straight face!"

A powerful female voice scolded him loudly.

It was none other than Miura Yumiko, the blonde queen currently reigning at the top of class F’s social hierarchy. Actually, she already knew exactly who this Hikigaya-sensei was.

Yesterday, her dad—who’d just returned from a long business trip—had proudly told her that an old friend had become a teacher at Sōbu High. He’d warned her that if she ever misbehaved, he’d do this and that…

Incidentally, he’d also mentioned a student called Hikigaya Hachiman, his friend's son, and asked her to get along well with him, continuing their parents’ generation’s friendship.

But Miura Yumiko—who did they think she was?! She definitely had no intention of being friends with a loner like him. Even exchanging an extra sentence would cause misunderstandings…

So this beautiful blonde acted as if she had never heard the name "Hikigaya Hachiman" before.

"Um... Yumiko, I think discussing someone like this... isn't very nice..."

The pink-haired girl carefully tugged on Yumiko's sleeve, quickly glancing towards Hikigaya Hachiman. Only after confirming that he hadn't noticed at all did she feel slightly relieved.

Actually, she'd always wanted to thank Hikigaya-kun properly for saving her.

At first, she'd felt too awkward and guilty, deciding to wait until Hikigaya-kun recovered and returned to school before thanking him properly.

But then, once Hikigaya-kun arrived at school, he immediately seemed so out of place, making it really difficult for her.

Thus, she hesitated again and again. Half a month flew by like that, and she still hadn’t said thank you, let alone even spoken a single word to him.

"Eh? Yui, why do you seem to care so much about that Hikigaya?" Miura Yumiko casually asked while twirling her blonde hair around her finger.

"W-what? N-no, I don’t!" Yuigahama Yui blushed, hurriedly trying to deny it. Just then, the bell rang.

Students scrambled back to their seats.

The pink-haired girl secretly glanced at Yumiko’s face, confirming that the queen bee’s question was entirely casual before she managed to calm her furiously pounding heart.

Oh, right, mom said Hikigaya-sensei really is Hikigaya-kun’s father, Yuigahama Yui thought while taking out her history textbook, recalling what her mother had told her.

This Hikigaya-sensei was indeed an elegant, approachable, kindly uncle-type. But as for Hikigaya-kun… He really seemed difficult to approach, always radiating an aura of "keep away."

Hikigaya Ryōhei had already thoroughly adapted to teaching life at this Japanese high school. After all, he’d been teaching for over ten years and was a veteran educator with abundant social experience.

Strictly speaking, he’d only been off teaching for a mere two months, and picking it back up was as easy as breathing.

Even if worlds differed, education was ultimately a matter of “applying knowledge flexibly, guided by heart!”

Recently, his distinctive yet effective teaching style—which differed significantly from most teachers but still arrived at the same goal—had brought a refreshing sensation to the students.

Putting aside arguments about which method was superior, for a subject like history, simply arousing the interest of these teenagers was already half a victory.

Hikigaya Ryōhei briskly walked into Class F, stepped up to the podium, and placed his textbook down.

"Yui!"

Yuigahama Yui was suddenly nudged by a kick. It was Miura Yumiko, seated beside her.

Only then did she snap out of her daze, realizing everyone else had already stood up to greet Hikigaya-sensei.

The pink-haired girl's fair face flushed scarlet as she quickly rose to bow.

But Ryōhei didn’t blame her. When their eyes briefly met, he responded only with a warm smile.

"Whew! Hikigaya-sensei probably didn’t notice, right?"

Only after everyone had sat back down did Yuigahama Yui cautiously pat her chest in relief.

At that moment, Hikigaya-sensei had already begun his customary lesson review.

Though he had a somewhat obsessive insistence on memorizing basic facts, his humor, engaging explanations, and insightful comments left students without much resistance.

"...Last lesson, we learned about the establishment of Britannia and the Sun Alliance, which continues today. Yuigahama-san, please summarize it for us."

"Ugh!" Yuigahama Yui, still hiding her embarrassment, suddenly stiffened and stood up awkwardly.

Hikigaya-sensei’s calm voice carried an encouraging note, causing her to feel unexpectedly guilty.

...

That afternoon, near the end of the school day—

Taking advantage of her errand to distribute departmental notices across teachers' offices, a certain intern who'd spent weeks doing miscellaneous tasks suddenly asked Hikigaya Ryōhei:

"Hikigaya-senpai, when will I finally get a chance to give an actual class? I've already practiced dozens of times in front of the mirror."

Kirisu Mafuyu was already quite familiar with Hikigaya Ryōhei, whom she respectfully addressed as "senpai."

One reason was that Hikigaya Ryōhei was genuinely impressive and had earned her respect.

More importantly, Ryōhei-san didn’t act like a typical Japanese workplace superior. He didn’t put on airs around a lowly intern like her, nor did he keep his methods secret. This not only preserved her pride but also allowed her to learn quite a lot.

When Kirisu Mafuyu had received that call, she’d hesitated for a long time. It was an offer asking her to consider becoming an intern at Sōbu High.

The salary was temporary-worker level…

But as a young woman who’d recently discovered how tough job-hunting really was, after half a day’s hesitation, she decided to seize this opportunity anyway.

After all, the female teacher who called her had clearly stated: normally, Sōbu High only recruited from among the top three teaching universities!

Thus, this chance was extremely precious!

Oh, the enthusiasm of youth!

"Oh? You've already practiced that much? Then let’s find a chance for you to teach a lesson privately. I’ll be your sole student," Ryōhei answered casually.

"Ehh? Teaching only for you, Hikigaya-senpai?"

Kirisu Mafuyu, fresh out of university, immediately reacted with embarrassment at this idea. Without thinking, she nervously began twisting the corner of her shirt.

---

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!