"Hello, classmate, why didn't you go get the equipment with Xiao?" Tokiomi walked up to Asagi Aiba and asked softly.
They were the only two left on the entire playground.
"Teacher Tokiomi." Asagi Aiba nodded lightly in acknowledgment, with no intention of answering.
"Can you tell me your name?"
"My name is Asagi Aiba."
"Hello, Aiba-san... Is something bothering you?"
"Why do you ask?" Only then did Asagi Aiba properly look at Tokiomi.
"Well... how should I put it? I see sadness in your eyes."
"Is that so?" Asagi Aiba was stunned for a moment, then looked away.
"Did I hit the nail on the head?"
"..." Asagi Aiba didn't respond, but it was clear that she was tacitly acknowledging it.
Even without the mission's reminder, Tokiomi knew why she looked so withdrawn at this time.
Her mother was about to leave around this time.
He didn't have any healing abilities or magic, but he had Divine Relic Fragments. Since he could save Chisato Nishikigi, he could definitely save Asagi Aiba's mother as well.
Asagi Aiba was very strong, and she could get through it on her own, but if possible, he wanted her family to remain happy.
Not for the mission, but simply because she was a good girl. Of course, mainly because she was very cute, and Tokiomi used to like her very much.
But Tokiomi didn't believe he could gain her trust in a short time. He had to get to know her and become friends first.
"Can you tell me why?" Tokiomi continued to ask.
"...What are you trying to do, teacher?" Asagi Aiba turned her head and looked at him warily.
"Don't get me wrong, I just want to care for my student as a teacher." Tokiomi quickly waved his hand to explain.
"Teacher, I'm not stupid." Asagi Aiba looked at him calmly: "We've only just met, right? And you're just a physical education teacher. How could you possibly care about me for no reason?"
"...That makes a little sense."
"Does the teacher want to get to know my father through me?"
Asagi Aiba's father was a councilor of Itogami Island, with a high position, and many people wanted to curry favor with him.
"Not at all, I have no interest in your father." Tokiomi directly denied it.
"Is that so?"
"Don't you believe me? You should know Natsuki Minamiya, right? My older sister is her, do you think I still need to know your father?"
"What? Natsuki Minamiya is the teacher's older sister?" Asagi Aiba was surprised.
"Yes, she introduced me to be a teacher here." Tokiomi confessed truthfully.
This information could be found with a quick search, so there was no need to hide it.
"If what the teacher said is true, then you really don't need to get to know my father through me." Asagi Aiba frowned and stared at Tokiomi, still a little disbelieving.
But Tokiomi's special aura and extraordinary appearance made it very credible.
"Believe me, you can easily find all of this out."
"Yes, I will check." Asagi Aiba nodded.
"Then can you tell me about your situation now? My older sister is Natsuki Minamiya, maybe I can help you solve the problem?"
Tokiomi felt ashamed for using Natsuki Minamiya to gain Asagi Aiba's trust, but there was no other way. He couldn't find any other reason right now, and he wasn't sure when Asagi Aiba's mother would have an accident.
Time was a little tight.
"Why is the teacher so enthusiastic?" Asagi Aiba asked, puzzled: "Normal teachers wouldn't delve so deeply into a student they just met, right? And this isn't even part of your job."
"Well... just think of me as a good person."
"Really not trying anything with me?"
"What could I possibly be trying to do with you?" Tokiomi laughed, speaking bluntly: "You're just a little kid with no figure and no looks."
"...Did you say I have no looks?" Asagi Aiba was unconvinced.
"Isn't that so? With a cold face, no matter how cute you are, it's useless."
"...Teacher, you're not a lolicon, are you?" Asagi Aiba frowned and took two steps away from Tokiomi.
"..." Tokiomi's mouth twitched. Were those two steps back serious?
"How could that be!"
"I don't quite believe it, otherwise I really can't think of why the teacher would be willing to help me."
"...Can't you just think of me as a good teacher?"
"I can't, that kind of teacher doesn't exist." Asagi Aiba shook her head.
"...How did you become so realistic at such a young age?" Tokiomi looked at her helplessly.
"Okay, I'm a lolicon, I think you're very cute, and I can't help but want to help you, okay?"
"..."
Asagi Aiba suddenly fell silent, staring at him fixedly, without blinking.
"...Say something." The sudden silence made Tokiomi feel inexplicably ashamed.
"Teacher is really a weirdo." Asagi Aiba pursed her lips and smiled softly.
"Now you don't believe I'm a lolicon?"
"No lolicon would admit to being a lolicon." Asagi Aiba replied with a smile.
"Then can you talk to me about it?"
No lolicon would admit to being a lolicon?
Tokiomi felt that he could admit to being a lolicon to approach lolis in the future.
Anyway, they wouldn't believe it.
"Okay, I'll just think of the teacher as a good person." Asagi Aiba leaned closer to Tokiomi again.
"Let's sit over there and talk."
"Okay."
Tokiomi led Asagi Aiba to a bench on the edge of the playground and sat down.
The two sat a considerable distance apart. Tokiomi looked into the distance, not rushing her.
Asagi Aiba sat upright, silent for a long time, and finally spoke: "Teacher, it seems my mother is dying."
"She's sick?"
"Yes, the hospital can't cure her..." Asagi Aiba lowered her head, her voice tinged with tears.
"I see." Tokiomi looked at her, feeling pity in his heart. He couldn't help but reach out and rub her head.
"You've had a hard time."
"Wuu wuu..." Asagi Aiba suddenly cried.
She had been enduring it all along, feeling despair and fear, and being helpless. The pain in her heart had been expressed, and that sadness was finally released.
"Cry, it'll make you feel better if you cry it out." Tokiomi said gently, gently rubbing her head.
At this time, verbal comfort was unnecessary. Just being there as someone to confide in was the best thing to do.
She was so young, just coming of age, and had to endure this kind of pain, forced to mature. This was not something a girl should experience.
He was able to get her to say it because she really needed someone to listen, and he happened to ask relentlessly.
The psychological defenses of a little girl are limited.
Asagi Aiba didn't cry for long, only for a dozen seconds. She had long been numb from crying, but this time she had confided in someone, and someone had listened.
"I'm sorry for making the teacher laugh." Asagi Aiba turned her body away from Tokiomi, wiping her tears embarrassedly.
Tokiomi withdrew his hand and shook his head: "Not at all, I would rather say I admire you."
"Admire me?" Asagi Aiba turned her head and looked at him in confusion, her eyes red.
"You must have been enduring it for a long time, right?" Tokiomi asked softly.
"..." At this sentence, Asagi Aiba almost couldn't help but cry again.
The image of her mother's emaciated appearance was always imprinted in her mind. She had been enduring it alone every day. The people around her were all the same age, and she couldn't confide in them. She had really endured for a long time.
"Don't worry, I can save your mother." Tokiomi reached out and rubbed her head again.
"What the teacher said is true?" Asagi Aiba looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes, believe me." Tokiomi said with a smile.
"Can I really believe the teacher?"
"I know it's hard for you to believe before I do it, but wouldn't you want to try it with one more possibility?"
"I want to try!" Asagi Aiba replied seriously.
"Okay, I can go save your mother at any time, it's up to you to decide. You can also ask your father first."
"I understand."
"Believe me, I won't let you down." Tokiomi comforted her, rubbing her head.
"Teacher, why do you want to help me?" Asagi Aiba pushed against his hand and asked seriously.
"Didn't I say? I'm a lolicon." Tokiomi took his hand off her head and gently scratched her nose.
"You're so cute, I don't want to see you sad every day. Being happy is what you should be like at your age."
"Teacher..." Asagi Aiba stared blankly at Tokiomi and said slowly: "I suddenly think that being a lolicon seems pretty good."
"You actually believed it..."
"Isn't the teacher's older sister Teacher Minamiya? Maybe you have some kind of sister-complex hobby." Asagi Aiba said jokingly.
"..."