Please Forget Me - Chapter 57

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

I said that the Major would come up with strange speculations about us even if we leave. Like about a stepmother and stepson who eloped after falling in love.

Johann, who was listening with a serious expression, eventually chuckled.

“He’s grasping at straws.”

“Maybe the Major secretly enjoys reading third-rate romance novels serialized in newspapers.”

“Who knows, maybe he’s the author himself.”

I couldn’t help but imagine the Major secretly submitting low-quality novels under a pseudonym like ‘Lila Crystal’ and burst into laughter. We laughed together at the thought of the Major’s speculations.

“Johann, we’re not really stepmother and stepson, right?”

“How would we explain meeting when we were young?”

“Having our first love stolen… Ah…”

The smile vanished from Johann’s face. Come to think of it, even if it was a joke, making Johann’s father into a strange person who stole his son’s first love would be uncomfortable.

“Johann…”

“Where’s your necklace?”

I tried to apologize, but Johann gestured towards my neck.

“Oh… I forgot and left it at home.”

It was just a matter of mood, but I left the sparkling silver necklace at home when I went to clean the Major’s untidy bedroom, fearing it might get dirty. I forgot about putting it back on in a rush.

“Keep it on in front of me, my love.”

“I will.”

“But what’s this?”

Johann pointed at the jar of dessert with strawberries and cream.

“It’s cream mixed with strawberry jam.”

Johann opened the jar and handed it to me with a teaspoon. I pushed it towards our side of the table and forcefully handed another teaspoon to him.

“Let’s share. Even if I take two bites, I can’t finish it alone.”

Johann doesn’t particularly like sweet and greasy things. If the purpose was just to make Mr. Renner’s lunch look presentable, there was no need to force him to eat. But I made him eat the leftovers just because I was worried.

‘He seems a bit thin lately.’

Already feeling the chill, it’s likely to get even colder towards the end of winter. And will the situation at the dining table improve just because winter is over?

‘Winter is far from over, and the end of the war is even further away.’

A liar.

Unconsciously, I found myself pondering the Major’s words. It was surely a lie, but I shouldn’t let myself be swayed.

I gazed out the classroom window where the children were playing, I found hope instead of despair. Parents still send their children to school to learn, and teachers continue to come out to teach the children. Everyone carries on with their daily routines as if nothing is amiss.

But when the bombers fly…

“Oh…”

I startled awake from my grim thoughts, thanks to a spoon flying into my mouth. It was the last spoonful of dessert that Johann absentmindedly fed me.

“I brought it for you to eat…”

“Then you shouldn’t have let your guard down.”

Johann tidied up the used spoon and the empty jar, putting them back into the basket as he asked, “What were you thinking about so deeply?”

“Uh… I was watching the children playing outside.”

It wasn’t a lie. Wanting to hide the thoughts I’d been having, I changed the subject.

“How was your first class?”

“I managed to avoid failing.”

Johann answered with a smile as if he was a student who had taken an exam rather than a teacher.

“The 1st and 2nd graders are surprisingly well-behaved and attentive.”

In this remote area, there’s only one school for three villages, and there aren’t enough children to divide into classes by grade, so it seemed like the 1st and 2nd graders were combined for lessons.

“Oh, and there’s Mrs. Bauer’s youngest daughter in our class.”

“Really?”

The youngest daughter of Mrs. Bauer was six years old, in the 1st grade.

“She was a bit confused at first when she saw Mr. Johann coming in as the new teacher.”

“How adorable. But…”

Our class?

“Weren’t you supposed to only teach writing classes for grades 5 to 10?”

“I was, but the principal asked me to also take on the 1st and 2nd grade classes for writing.”

“Oh… Looks like there’s a severe shortage of teachers.”

Perhaps it was destined from the moment he was confirmed to be appointed to this school. In a rural school where there aren’t many students, having one teacher per subject is a luxury.

Furthermore, it turns out that the teacher who originally taught the 1st and 2nd grade classes submitted their resignation and returned to their hometown after learning that the military headquarters and government had stationed here.

So before Johann came, the principal and other teachers took turns teaching those classes.

It wasn’t an exaggeration when he had called Johann a savior.

“So now I have to teach other subjects too. From reading to religion, and even geography…”

At first, I thought two subjects were manageable, but adding geography on top of that…

“It must be tough.”

“On the bright side, I’ll be getting extra pay and rations for that. Maybe it’s divine intervention. It’s clear that the principal hasn’t passed off math and science to me.”

I like Johann’s ability to laugh off difficult situations with humor.

“Mr. Renner can also teach art.”

“Unless Mrs. Renner wants to become a widow, please don’t say that to the principal.”

Earlier, I was disappointed by Johann’s lack of ambition for a man, but his diligence in quietly carrying out his duties without complaint was still charming.

After we finished our meal and continued chatting, we left the school with 10 minutes left of lunchtime. Even though it would have been enough for him to see me off outside the building, Johann insisted on escorting me all the way home.