Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - Fall
What is a promise?
I hear that there are cultures in the world where if you break a promise, you have to swallow a thousand needles.
On the other hand, some people claim that promises are meant to be broken.
I consider promises to be normal things.
If I make a promise, I will keep it and I won’t make a promise that I can’t keep.
It was normal and somehow, I was proud of myself for being normal.
I’m neither one of those scumbags who can’t keep their promises nor am I one of those shitty people who can easily spout promises on something they can’t do.
I told myself so, and lived while turning my eyes away from the reality that didn’t go my way…
[Senseiー, I forgot.]
[Why did you forget to do your homework again, Yumemio Yuuya? You promised your teacher yesterday, didn’t you?]
[I already did itー, just forgot to bring it with me todayー]
[You did…? Alright then. That’s great. But you have to bring your homework tomorrow. Along with today’s homework of course. Will you do it?]
[Yes, I willー]
I was an elementary school teacher. I was in charge of the fifth grade. Twenty-five children, eighteen of whom I think are decent.
But of course, there are some who couldn’t even bother to keep their promises, just like their rotten parents. I count there were seven of them.
And this Yumemio Yuuya, was among those seven.
The same exchange takes place day after day. The other decent children were giggling while the other bastards happily copied their homework or did not even bother to.
And this one guy thinks that it’s better off for him to declare that he forgot.
I might be like this, but I maintain a good reputation in the eyes of the parents and children.
I teach decent children with enthusiasm and I always think up a good answer when they have any questions. And since I leave those lying brats alone, people misunderstood me as a gentle teacher who doesn’t resort to scolding.
Therefore, I was able to lead a relatively easy life as a teacher.
Until that time…
One of the seven brats, Naito Kido, somehow got injured.
He’s neither knightly or chivalric. What did his parents think when they named him?
Our school doesn’t have extracurricular activities.
This is because they are supposed to go home as soon as the class is over.
For some reason, Kido and the others didn’t go home and were playing on the seesaw on the school grounds.
And somehow, he broke his nose on the seesaw.
Everyone just screamed incomprehensibly in the infirmary and couldn’t grasp the situation at all.
I ended up taking the brat to the hospital. I had to because I was his homeroom teacher…f**k!
And, I had a date tonight.
But, the real disaster had yet to come.
Kido’s mother, her huge body shaking everywhere, came with a snort. Oi, you fatass! Why are you wearing that overly revealing camisole with that kind of body? What the hell are you thinking, old carp? I couldn’t even tell apart her chest and her belly. Is she a pig? Well, let’s just call her『Piggy』for now.
[WhathappenedtomyNaito!Whathappened!Yournose!It’sbleeding!OhmypoorNaito!Explain!Whyain’tchawatchinoverhim!Tellme….!!!] (ED note: hysteria… >.>)
She spoke like a machine gun. I could hardly understand her. Would you please speak like a normal human does? Wait a minute, would she even understand if I speak like a normal human?
And didn’t it happen when it’s already after school?
What do you want me to do? Tend to your piglet, piggy? Speak a proper human language first, please?
Unable to explain the situation, I ended up having no choice but to earnestly apologize.
Later, when I visited with the Vice-Principal to apologize, I was told to remove the seesaw.
Are you dumb?
Do you have to remove the seesaw because it hurt you once? Does that mean you’ll go as far as removing the road since you slipped and smack yourself to the asphalt? If you hit your finger on a wardrobe, will you remove the wardrobe?
Good grief… I just don’t understand a pig’s way of thinking.
But well, I’m relieved that I didn’t have to ask for alimony. After that, the Vice-Principal will do well. It seems he promised to negotiate with the prefecture. Do your best, vice principal.
But, my ordeal was not over yet.
According to the prefecture, there is no budget for that. So, the Vice-Principal instructed me to cover the seesaw with a blue sheet!
Are you kidding me!
Don’t increase my work! Do it yourself or ask the janitor! The janitor at this school is as reliable as a hero! Don’t underestimate, Hasebe-san! You motherfucker!
Moreover, you even ask me to buy the blue sheet from my own wallet! Why do I have to go to such lengths!? Will you reimburse me later on!?
I ended up working on this until 7 PM. It was not enough to just put a sheet on the seesaw, since the seesaw had to be fixed with a block and wrapped with a rope so that it could not be used. I’m so diligent in a strange way…
Even so, when I think about the children who usually enjoy playing with the seesaw, I can’t help it… I’m sure they would have enjoyed using it every lunch break.
Come to think of it, I also used a seesaw to explain the theory of the lever. When I get the kids out on the ground in science class, they usually get really excited.
To think that it can no longer be used just because of a single pig… I wonder if this is also a change of the times. Sigh…
For a week, whenever my eyes wandered to the covered seesaw, it’s as if it’s talking to me…
[Why are you being so mean to me?]
I couldn’t say anything back.
I could no longer understand and could not reply. What the hell are you thinking… why is that…
The next day, Kido didn’t come to school. Instead, it was his mother, no, that monster pig, Piggy, who came. Yes, I did say that I’ll call her Piggy, didn’t I?
According to Piggy…the fact that the seesaw hadn’t been removed yet is insulting to her…
Insulting? I really don’t understand…
And apparently the brat will not come to school until the seesaw is removed. The piggy insisted the school send a teacher for homeschooling until then.
The brat not coming to school is fine and all, but homeschooling is troublesome.
After a while, it’s been decided that I will have to do some overtime to do a home visit everyday. Are you kidding me! Every single day!?
Printouts, letters from everyone in the class, explanations of the classes. It’s a hassle if you ask me. Everyone in my class is too lazy to write letters. Who would love to write a letter to get that brat back to school…
Thus, I visited the brat after school, exchanging empty words with the brat Kido and his mom Piggy. On top of that, I had to look after the brat’s study. And this kid is barely able to memorize multiplication tables. Well excuse me…
Division was somehow too much for the brat. Even though he could do multiplication…He didn’t touch any homework that I left for him, didn’t go to school, only played games all day long. And that Piggy didn’t even bother to care, simply telling me that his grade must improve… It’s over…
Sigh… I should have been able to go home early from an elementary school in the countryside…
===========
One night, after such hell had continued for about half a year.
After visiting the pigs’ house as usual, I really wanted to run on the mountain pass so I took a detour.
I went through a route that would take 30 minutes, even though I could just go through a tunnel and only spend a minute.
I was very pessimistic that I ended up making that decision…
I’m not very good at driving, I’m not used to it. The visibility was not good and the road surface was not in good condition. It’s a mountain pass at night…
Driving on such a road, with my state of mind. I’d totally have an accident…
My car slipped on the road that was wet from rain. There was no guard rail ahead when I lost control and a cliff just beyond it… I wonder if this is what they call a really bad stroke of luck.
I remember the moment I slipped, but I don’t remember the moment I fell…
In my hazy consciousness, what filled my mind was my guilt for not being able to keep my promise to marry her.
