Chapter 4 Return to School

Return to School

A certain day in June.

I sat in the passenger seat of a car driven by Kaori. She looked like she was enjoying herself behind the wheel, but to me—someone who used to own a car and drove to work every day—her driving was, frankly, terrifying.

“Iori. What’s wrong? Are you nervous?”

“Well…”

Mostly about Kaori’s driving.

“…At the very least, could you try not to take your eyes off the road so much?”

“Wait, you were tense because of my driving?”

I shut my mouth and turned away.

Seeing my reaction, Kaori slumped her shoulders a little, looking slightly dejected. After that, she fell silent, focusing on driving—probably because it had been a while since she last got behind the wheel.

Since she lived in the city, it was understandable that she wasn’t as used to driving as I was, having grown up in the countryside where cars were a necessity. That said, she could have just taken a taxi, like she did on the day I was discharged from the hospital. I even suggested it, but she absolutely insisted on driving today.

The reason was simple: I was wearing a school uniform for the first time in nearly twenty years. And no, this wasn’t cosplay. Today, I was heading to the school where the boy named Iori was supposed to attend, beginning my second high school life.

“At least let me drive on your first day of high school, Iori.”

Unlike her serious tone this morning, she now puffed out her cheeks slightly, looking a little pouty as she spoke.

First day of high school.

That phrase made me realize something—this boy named Iori hadn’t set foot in school for over two months. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.

I teased Kaori about her driving, but aside from that, we made our way through the city without any issues.

Kaori had given me information about the school beforehand. Since I had lied about my memory not being back yet, she looked a little sad but still explained everything clearly and thoroughly—just like she used to.

The school Iori was about to attend was a top-ranked public prep school in the city. The commute took about thirty minutes: twenty minutes by train, followed by a ten-minute walk from the nearest station.

The reason she hadn’t let me take the train right away wasn’t just her overprotectiveness—though that was part of it. There were also some administrative procedures required for my return to school, and as my legal guardian, she had been called in as well.

“We’re almost there.”

Despite this being my first time taking this route, the cherry tree-lined road was nothing but a stretch of green. Even through the car window, I could hear the relentless chirping of cicadas.

Here and there, I spotted students wearing the same uniform as me.

We weaved through them as Kaori’s car entered the school grounds.

After parking, we headed inside the school building. We entered through the back entrance and switched to indoor slippers, but that only made it harder for me to grasp the reality that I was about to become a student here.

“Good morning.”

Kaori said as she opened the door to the staff room.

“Ah, Saito-san. Hello!”

A young male teacher approached us.

“Hello to you too, Iori-kun.”

“Good morning.”

I bowed my head carefully, making sure not to be rude—a habit I had probably picked up during my years in the workforce.

“I’m Sugo Takashi. I’ll be your homeroom teacher.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise… I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.”

He said it with deep emotion.

This person seems to know something about Iori’s circumstances.

“Sensei…”

“Ah… Sorry about that.”

Judging from Kaori’s reaction, it seemed like there was a gag order on the matter. Maybe, considering my supposed amnesia, they had been told not to say anything that might trigger me.

“Alright then, let’s sit down and talk for a bit before the homeroom class. After that, I’ll take you to your classroom.”

I nodded at the teacher’s suggestion, and the three of us sat around his desk, chatting about various things.

Since I still hadn’t fully grasped the situation I was in, I decided to mostly listen rather than risk saying something off-base. However, as the main focus of the conversation, I ended up being questioned quite a bit by the teacher instead.

That said, perhaps deliberately, he never asked anything too personal. His questions were light—what I liked, what I disliked, what I wanted to do at this school. Just trivial conversation.

Most likely, this was another precaution due to my supposed memory loss—his words carefully chosen to avoid touching on anything too sensitive.

Honestly, I was grateful for that consideration.

After some more conversation, it was finally time for me to head to the classroom with the teacher. Despite my age, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

“Your mother will be meeting with the vice principal for a while to handle some paperwork. Would that be alright?”

“Yes, I understand.”

With a smile, Sugo-sensei gestured for Kaori to take a seat. That was where we parted ways for now. Maybe because this was a fairly prestigious school, there were hardly any students loitering in the halls, even though it was almost time for classes to start. If this had been my old school, a few latecomers would probably be dashing past me right about now.

“…Good morning, everyone.”

Told to wait outside, I found myself standing idly in front of the classroom.

After exchanging a few words with the students inside, the teacher announced that a new classmate would be joining them today.

“Come in.”

“Alright.”

I opened the door and stepped into the classroom.

…Wearing a school uniform at the age of thirty-five was weird enough, but standing in front of a group of fresh-faced fifteen- and sixteen-year-olds like this took more mental energy than I expected.

“Alright, introduce yourself.”

“…I’m Saito Iori.”

Scanning the classroom, I spoke clearly and confidently.

A few students glanced at me while whispering to the people behind them. It felt like I was being judged in some kind of audition, and it made me a little uncomfortable.

“Alright, everyone, be nice to Iori. Iori, your seat is over there.”

“Got it.”

I headed to the seat the teacher had pointed out. It still felt like I was walking on needles, but I thought I had no choice but to endure it since I wasn't doing anything strange.

“Nice to meet you.”

The moment I sat down, the girl next to me spoke to me.

“Ah, nice to meet you too.”

“I’m Yamada Miki.”

“Yamada-san, huh? Looking forward to studying with you.”

I was relieved that the person next to me seemed easy to talk to.

“Hey, Iori-kun, what exactly have you been doing all this time?”

That relief was short-lived. While she was friendly, she also seemed… a bit nosy. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, even though my situation could have easily been something unfortunate. That confirmed my suspicion.

“…Haha. Sorry, but I don’t remember.”

After considering various responses, I figured dodging the question would only make things worse. So I decided to just be honest.

“…Huh?”

“I have amnesia.”

I said in a slightly louder voice.

I forced a light chuckle, hoping it would keep the mood casual. More importantly, I wanted to subtly signal: Now that you know, don’t bring it up again.

I had no doubt that being bombarded with questions about my memory loss would only increase the chances of me slipping up.