Shizuka Hiratsuka had drunk herself unconscious last night and had taken the day off to rest, yet Tachibana-sensei, who had been drinking with her, had actually still come in to teach.
This struck Lin Ye as rather astonishing.
Shouldn't they both have passed out together and be resting at home?
Looking at Tachibana-sensei smiling in the distance, Lin Ye wanted to explain himself, but Hina-sensei merely waved a greeting and walked off.
In the blink of an eye, Tachibana-sensei turned her back and headed toward the office, leaving behind only the sight of her lovely figure receding into the distance.
"Sensei came in to teach today?"
"Mm. My sister had a class this morning, so I woke her up and brought her to school."
Rui Tachibana answered.
"And Shizuka Hiratsuka?"
"I called her too, but Shizuka Hiratsuka didn't have any morning classes, so she didn't get up. She's probably at school by now, though!"
Since she hadn't yet seen any sign of Shizuka Hiratsuka, Rui Tachibana wasn't entirely sure.
But by the afternoon, she ought to be able to see Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"I'd assumed both sensei had passed out drunk and wouldn't be able to drag themselves out of bed this morning."
"Mm."
"Hina-sensei may have gotten the wrong idea. Student Tachibana, you'll need to go explain it to her later, so she doesn't misunderstand."
"Misunderstand what?"
Rui Tachibana blinked, curious about the misunderstanding Lin Ye spoke of.
"Perhaps Sensei thinks the two of us are seeing each other—dating."
He gestured at the bento in his hand.
"She won't. When I was making the bento this morning, I already told my sister it was a lunch bento I'd prepared to thank you."
You actually told Hina-sensei?
He looked at the short blue-haired girl beside him, feeling that she seemed not to grasp the implied meaning certain actions conveyed.
"And you told her the reason too?"
"Mm. That you saved me from those hooligans yesterday—though I didn't mention the matter at the restaurant."
"Student Tachibana, let me give you an analogy. Suppose one day Hina-sensei were to prepare a lunch bento for a man who'd saved her. What would you think? What would you guess about Hina-sensei's behavior?"
The silence lasted a few seconds.
Rui Tachibana understood what Lin Ye was getting at.
She too would assume her sister held a special sort of affection for that man—all the more so since her sister couldn't even cook. For her to cook so out of character, something would definitely be up.
"I'll talk to my sister again tonight."
"Better not. If you explain it after the fact, it'll only make Hina-sensei think you're covering something up. I'll find a chance to explain it to her myself."
Lin Ye picked up the bento box. "I'll gratefully accept today's lunch bento, but you don't need to prepare one for me from now on."
The short blue-haired girl raised her eyes and stared at Lin Ye.
Their gazes met.
"Did my bento become a bother to you?"
"Another girl already prepares a lunch bento for me. One more, and I won't be able to finish it all."
So that was it.
That girl must be the girlfriend Lin Ye had mentioned.
Rui Tachibana wanted to ask, but Lin Ye hadn't given an answer last night, let alone today.
"It's getting late. Hurry and go eat your bento."
Lin Ye reminded the girl.
Rui Tachibana nodded, turned, and left.
It wasn't that she hadn't considered dining together with Lin Ye, but his words just now had clearly expressed his own intentions, so she said no more.
After the girl disappeared around the corner, Lin Ye carried his bento off to the Service Club.
These days, the Service Club was his designated spot for eating lunch during the midday break.
Just as he reached the Service Club's doorway, Lin Ye heard the chirping of girls' voices in conversation.
Yui Yuigahama and Isshiki Iroha.
'Swish…'
Lin Ye slid open the Service Club door.
In an instant, the conversation came to an abrupt halt.
Yui Yuigahama and Isshiki Iroha both turned their gazes toward the door, fixing them on Lin Ye.
"Senpai, the least you could do is knock before coming in!"
The underclassman immediately voiced her complaint. "Neither you nor Yukinoshita-senpai have been showing up. I even thought the two of you had snuck off somewhere to eat on a date."
Her air of plaintive resentment grew thicker.
Oh, how aggrieved Isshiki Iroha was!
Of course, it was all an act.
"She took the day off to rest today."
"Eh!"
Yui Yuigahama let out a cry of surprise.
"What's wrong with Yukinon?"
"She's not feeling well. She's resting at home."
"Ah, did she catch a cold?"
In May's weather, catching a cold would be rather unlikely, wouldn't it?
Isshiki Iroha thought.
"It's probably that time of the month you girls get every month."
At once, both girls' cheeks flushed red.
It was a natural bodily phenomenon, but having Lin Ye say it to their faces, they couldn't help feeling embarrassed—even a forward, outgoing girl like Isshiki Iroha.
"Senpai, don't say something this embarrassing so plainly and matter-of-factly."
"Is it that embarrassing?"
Lin Ye asked in return.
"Of course it is! How can a boy say something so blatantly?"
"It's because you, Isshiki, mind it."
"Yuigahama-senpai minds it too. Any girl would mind."
"I—I'm fine, really!"
Yui Yuigahama waved her hand and spoke up, blushing.
Even so, she did feel a bit embarrassed.
It was the first time she'd encountered a boy speaking so bluntly about menstruation.
"See?"
"Waah, Senpai and Senpai are ganging up to bully me. I'm hurt, so very hurt—I've lost my appetite for today."
As Isshiki spoke, she noticed the bento in Lin Ye's hand. "Senpai, that bento of yours isn't Yukinoshita-senpai's, is it?"
But Senpai had taken the day off and hadn't come to school, so how could she have given Lin Ye a bento?
"No."
"Ah, then… then whose is it?"
"A secret."
Lin Ye kept it under wraps. Given Isshiki Iroha's personality, if he really let her find out, it would surely lead to a whole lot more trouble.
"Wah! You won't even tell me about something this good—could it be a girl who likes you, Senpai?"
As her words fell, both Isshiki Iroha and Yui Yuigahama's eyes lit up with golden sparks, their expressions expectant, hoping to learn the truth.
No girl could resist gossip, let alone gossip involving romance.
"Couldn't it be a girl that I like?"
"Uh! That works too! Quick, quick, tell us who it is!"
Isshiki Iroha grew even more excited.
She'd get to find out who the girl Senpai liked was.
If Yukino Yukinoshita-senpai were to find out, who knew how Senpai would react.
A pity, truly a pity—Senpai wasn't at school today, and telling her by text or phone wouldn't let her witness Senpai's reaction.
"If I talk just because you tell me to, wouldn't that make me lose face?"
The single remark left Isshiki Iroha gritting her teeth, stuck for a reply.
"Senpai, what'll it take for you to talk? How about… I tell you my three sizes?"
Having thought of something, Isshiki Iroha immediately said it.
Yui Yuigahama's eyes went wide. Isshiki Iroha was so bold she'd actually reveal her own three-size measurements?
It seemed Isshiki Iroha was quite fond of Lin Ye!
Just as Yui Yuigahama was taken aback, Isshiki Iroha went on, "It's 85, 55, 82."
Lin Ye's gaze instinctively went to a certain sensitive area of Isshiki Iroha's.
This girl had those measurements?
No way!
It'd be Yui Yuigahama who had them.
Lin Ye's gaze slowly shifted onto Yui Yuigahama, who had gone from initial shock to a face now flushed crimson with shame.
She clenched her fists, angry yet holding it in, not letting it burst out.
And noticing Lin Ye's scrutinizing gaze, her blush became even more pronounced.
Aaaah—
"Iroha-chan…"
"How could you do this?"
Because she knew the three sizes Isshiki Iroha had stated were her own measurements, not Isshiki Iroha's.
"I figured Senpai pays more attention to your figure, Yuigahama-senpai—so this just satisfies Senpai's inner desires, doesn't it!"
Isshiki Iroha kept up her smile.
She knew Yui Yuigahama wouldn't do anything to her—at most she'd get scolded a couple of times or take a couple of punches, which she could entirely accept.
"You should at least get my consent first!"
"If I'd asked, you definitely wouldn't have agreed, Senpai."
"If you knew I wouldn't agree, then you shouldn't have said it!"
"It's all a necessary sacrifice to find out which girl Senpai likes. Senpai, aren't you curious?"
"That may be true, but—but…"
"Senpai, hurry and tell us. Senpai's three sizes have already been told to you; if you don't talk, Yuigahama-senpai might just crush you to death."
Lin Ye: "…"
Crush to death.
This underclassman of yours is wicked indeed.
Lin Ye thought helplessly.
Yui Yuigahama also caught the implication, and this time even the tips of her ears turned red.
That's going too far!
How could she say crush.
She wasn't even heavy!
But Yui Yuigahama knew what Isshiki Iroha meant, and out of the corner of her eye she couldn't help glancing down at that ample pair below.
Their size wasn't what she'd wanted either!
She wished they were smaller. They were too big—during everyday exercise they were nothing but inconvenient, seriously affecting her daily life.
It was just that—
Yui Yuigahama also knew that men seemed to prefer them bigger.
Walking down the street, she'd noticed plenty of men eyeing that part of her with lecherous looks, and at Sobu High it was even worse—some boys had even talked about it once, only to be given a harsh dressing-down by Yumiko, so that afterward no boy ever dared speak ill of her again.
"Senpai, I'm about to let Senpai loose—I really am going to let go."
"Fine! I'll tell you both!"
Lin Ye shrugged, abandoning the idea of keeping it hidden any longer.
"Great, hurry and say it."
Under the two girls' expectant gazes,
Lin Ye's lips moved slightly as he spoke. "I like Mai Sakurajima. I will always like Mai Sakurajima."
Once he finished,
the small Service Club classroom fell utterly silent.
As if it had sunk into some abnormal state.
After a moment, Isshiki Iroha came to her senses. "Senpai, that's no fun at all."
She let out a heavy snort. "Such a waste of all my anticipation. Senpai's just toying with us—how detestable."
"I really do like her."
"I like her too. The least you could do is name someone more realistic—saying you like Yuigahama-senpai would do, wouldn't it?"
Isshiki Iroha shook Yui Yuigahama's arm, which made the pink-bun-haired girl first nod reflexively, then—after coming to her senses—shake her head vigorously.
"No, no, don't like me, don't like me."
She was rejecting Lin Ye.
This made Isshiki Iroha laugh.
"Haha, Senpai, you've been disliked by Senpai—she doesn't want your affection at all."
At this, Lin Ye merely shrugged, not minding in the slightest. He knew Yui Yuigahama was only denying it reflexively—she just didn't know how to properly resolve the situation.
"No, that's not it either, it's this and that…"
Yui Yuigahama found that the more she explained, the harder it became to make herself clear, which left her so anxious she clenched her fists.
Isshiki Iroha could appreciate Yui Yuigahama's feelings too.
As expected, a naive senpai really was the most fun to tease—truly quite a lot of fun.
"Senpai, so—can you give a real answer now?"
"I really do like Mai Sakurajima."
"Don't tell me this bento was made by Mai Sakurajima!"
"Of course not."
Isshiki Iroha: "…"
"I never said this bento was made for me by a girl who likes me."
"Sneaky, devious—Senpai only knows how to bully us kind, innocent girls."
"Bullying you, Isshiki, brings me great delight."
This made Isshiki even angrier.
The three of them took their seats,
and each opened the bento they'd brought.
The two girls' eyes went first to Lin Ye's bento.
The instant the bento box was opened,
both girls were astonished.
"A photo, a photo—Senpai, I want to take a photo!"
As she spoke, Isshiki Iroha took out her phone to take a picture.
"Click, click…"
After taking the photos, Isshiki Iroha began heaping on praise. "This bento of yours is really something, Senpai. The girl who made it must have put her heart into it, pouring in heaps of love. She must like you a great deal, Senpai."
She went on without pause, and her parting words were downright startling. "Senpai, why don't you just marry her? A girl like this is surely perfect for marriage—she'd take perfect care of your meals and daily life."
"Don't go looking for trouble."
"I'm serious, you know!"
"I'm serious too."
"Tch, Senpai doesn't understand a woman's heart at all. I really worry you won't be able to find a girlfriend, Senpai."
"No need to trouble yourself worrying on my behalf, junior. I'm confident I'll still end up with a girlfriend."
Lin Ye didn't want trouble. If he actually said he had a girlfriend, Isshiki Iroha would probably dig to the bottom of it, and Yui Yuigahama would surely be curious too—though unlike Isshiki Iroha, Yui Yuigahama wouldn't press the matter excessively.
This noon,
the three from the Service Club ate together,
and it was also the first time they'd dined without their President, Yukino Yukinoshita, present.
A dozen or so minutes later,
the three finished their meal,
and a brief period of rest arrived once more.
Usually the liveliest one would be Isshiki Iroha, but today Isshiki Iroha was much quieter, scrolling on her phone to pass the time, while Yui Yuigahama, with Yukinoshita absent, could only occupy herself with her own affairs.
She occasionally chatted with Isshiki Iroha.
But this state lasted only seven or eight minutes before Isshiki Iroha cried out with an "Aah, aah," shattering the prevailing quiet.
"So boring, so stuffy. Senpai, the least you could do is take the initiative to chat with us!"
She looked at Lin Ye.
"Chat with you?"
"Yes, yes!"
"I'd rather play on my phone. You're nowhere near as fun as a phone."
"Uh!"
Isshiki Iroha's cheeks flushed faintly. "Senpai, you perv. Senpai's never 'played' with me, so how would you know whether I'm fun or not?"
Yui Yuigahama was dumbfounded to hear it.
Isshiki Iroha's boundaries were even looser than she'd imagined.
She'd even dare to say something like that.
Could she be the sort of girl with a wild private life?
The more Yui Yuigahama looked, the more it seemed so. But as for herself—though she liked makeup and was outgoing, somewhat resembling a gyaru—at heart she was a pure, innocent little girl.
This sort of thing, that sort of thing—she knew nothing about it at all. Forget kissing; she'd never so much as held hands with a boy her own age.
"One look and you can tell you're the not-fun type."
Isshiki Iroha's eyelid twitched; she nearly leapt up and shouted.
What did he mean 'not fun'? She was a beautiful girl too, a fair-skinned, gorgeous beauty—how was she not fun? Plenty of men wanted to do this and that to her.
"Senpai, don't think you can goad me into it with reverse psychology, into accompanying you in those, these thrilling, lewd 'H' things. Not a chance."
"Even if you threw yourself at me, I'd refuse."
That single remark made Isshiki Iroha's hackles rise again.
Sure enough,
she and Senpai were born enemies. Senpai never gave her any face, never let her off easy.
"Senpai, just you wait. I'll definitely make you pay a huge price for your unfriendly attitude toward me."
She threatened him outright.
"Fine. I'll await the day you take your revenge, Isshiki."
Lin Ye accepted it wholeheartedly.
Isshiki Iroha found that when facing Lin Ye, she had no initiative whatsoever. It was utterly different from being with other classmates—only with Lin Ye did she repeatedly come off worse, endlessly put upon.
She made up her mind: she'd deal with Senpai properly and make him pay a huge price for today's arrogance.
First, she'd do that.
Isshiki Iroha had already thought of a little plan for revenge.
The lunch break ended,
and the three left the Service Club, returning to their respective classrooms.
Afternoon classes began.
Lin Ye was much the same as usual: aside from setting aside some time to review the knowledge he'd long since handed back to his teachers, he spent the rest pondering the Strange Game.
To grow stronger, the Strange Game was indispensable.
For Lin Ye, who had chosen to accept becoming a Strange Player, taking part in more Strange Games, accepting more Strange Missions, and gaining more knowledge, items, and points was the top priority.
But triggering Strange Missions and entering Strange Game instances were all random.
With good luck, he might run into a Strange instance right now and accept an invitation to head to a new mission instance; with bad luck, even if he searched all over, he probably wouldn't find a single Strange.
Lin Ye felt that the number of times he'd challenged instances and encountered the Strange was actually already quite high.
No other Strange Player encountered the Strange anywhere near as often as he did.
'Ring-a-ling…'
The bell rang to end class,
and the time for dismissal had come.
As Lin Ye stepped out of the classroom, he saw that figure in the white lab coat.
He kept walking without thinking much of it, until a few seconds later Shizuka Hiratsuka spotted him and came striding toward him, clack-clack-clack.
"Wait, Lin Ye."
She called him to a stop. "I told you to wait—why are you running off so fast?"
"Sensei, please mind your words. I wasn't running—I was merely leaving Sobu High at a normal pace, getting ready to go home."
"Hmph."
Shizuka Hiratsuka snorted, with no intention of continuing to quibble with Lin Ye over this point.
"Out with it~! What did you do last night?"
"…"
Lin Ye raised his eyes to look at the female teacher before him.
"Sensei, are you sure you want me to say?"
"Say it."
"Last night, a certain female teacher got drunk and threw a drunken fit, grabbing me and crying out, demanding I marry—"
Before the next word could leave his mouth, Shizuka Hiratsuka instantly lunged forward and clamped her right hand firmly over Lin Ye's mouth.
"Shut up, no talking nonsense—I never said any such thing."
But in truth, she couldn't really be sure. She'd been drunk—anything was possible. Once, the day after she'd gotten drunk, a colleague had told her she'd been spouting drunken nonsense, going on about wanting a man, wanting to find a man to marry, asking why no man had taken a liking to her.
It was entirely possible she'd grabbed Lin Ye last night and said exactly that—in fact, highly likely.
How utterly disgraceful.
Shizuka Hiratsuka inwardly regretted it.
She shouldn't have come to question Lin Ye at all. Wouldn't it have been better to simply ignore it and act as if nothing had happened?
Yet here she was, going and asking about it—wasn't that just asking for trouble?
"Sensei, I never said it was you."
"Uh!"
"It was Hina-sensei."
"You bastard…"
Seeing the faint trace of a smile at the corner of Lin Ye's mouth, she knew this bastard Lin Ye had been toying with her.
Lin Ye had absolutely done it on purpose—and yet whatever explanation he gave would hold up just fine.
"Sensei, cursing at a student is rather beneath a teacher's dignity."
"Cursing at you is fine."
Lin Ye was at a loss.
"I'm a student too."
"Not anymore, you're not."
You really can just expel me—flexible expulsion, is that it?
"So, Sensei, if you want to ask about the other embarrassing things you did last night, I can talk about those too—so long as you're not afraid of other teachers and students hearing."
At this hour there really weren't many students or teachers about, but there were always a few.
If someone happened to hear and it got spread around, it would be a tremendous blow to Shizuka Hiratsuka.
"What I'm asking about isn't my business, but yours."
"Me?"
"Yes. Come with me to the Guidance Office."
In the end, Lin Ye was taken to the Life Guidance Office, and on the way he ran into Yui Yuigahama coming out of her classroom.
The bun-haired girl found it odd that Lin Ye was being led off by Shizuka Hiratsuka, but seeing the reassuring look Lin Ye gave her, she didn't think much more of it.
But once she got to the Service Club, she still brought the matter up with Isshiki.
"Hahaha, Senpai must have done something wrong and gotten a good talking-to from Shizuka Hiratsuka."
"Don't let Senpai's honest-looking appearance fool you—he actually gets up to plenty."
"A man like Senpai—honest on the outside, but who knows how much of a secret deviant on the inside."
...
...
Yui Yuigahama listened to a fair bit, and in the end she couldn't help asking, "Um, Iroha-chan, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"Do you… have a lot of dating experience?"
"Ah!"
Isshiki Iroha was startled.
"Because you seem to know so much, and you talk about those things without any embarrassment at all, just saying whatever, and you're all flirty with Student Lin—so I figured… you must be very experienced!"
Me—
My reputation—it's ruined!
What's more, Isshiki Iroha realized there was no way to reclaim that reputation—it had all been brought about by her own behavior.
She wanted to explain, yet found herself somewhat unable to.
"Yuigahama-senpai, I… actually it's just theoretical knowledge. I don't have any hands-on experience!"
"Ah, so that's how it is!"
Yui Yuigahama accepted it straightaway.
"Then… Iroha-chan, would you teach me the theory too?"
Isshiki Iroha's eyes went wide. "Senpai, does this mean you've got a boy you like?"
The pink-bun girl shook her head hard. "No, no, I'm just preparing in advance—in case I meet a boy I like in the future, so I'll know what to do, how to overcome my inner embarrassment and take the initiative."
"Alright, leave it to me."
She, Isshiki Iroha, would take this job on.
"It's a shame you don't like Senpai—otherwise, dating Senpai would be fine too."
Yui Yuigahama was taken aback,
because hadn't Isshiki Iroha just been badmouthing Lin Ye? How was she now telling her to date him?
"Um, the thing is, I'd told Senpai before that I'd introduce a girl to him—that finding a girlfriend was something I'd take care of—so…"
Only then did Yui Yuigahama understand Isshiki Iroha's aim—she wanted her help in fulfilling that promise!
No, this wouldn't do.
"I'm not suitable! And besides, the one Student Lin likes is Yukinon."
"Ugh, Yukino Yukinoshita is too hard. He'd be better off pursuing Yuigahama-senpai."
The way you put it makes it sound like I'm so easy to pursue,
Yui Yuigahama felt conflicted, not knowing whether she should be happy or cry.
"I think Iroha-chan would be a fine choice too!"
"Senpai doesn't have the slightest interest in me—otherwise why would he go after me every single time, bully me, and never cherish or dote on me at all?"
"There's a kind of liking where you pick on the very girl you like. I remember in elementary school, when a boy would tug on a girl's hair, it actually meant he liked her."
"Senpai isn't an elementary schooler, though."
"Haha, true enough. There's no way Student Lin would use such a primitive method."
"I'm so furious. I absolutely have to get proper revenge on Senpai."
As she spoke,
she took out her phone and sent the bento photos she'd taken at noon to Yukino Yukinoshita.
With a message: Senpai's lunch bento at noon was sooo nice! But it's definitely no match for Yukinoshita-senpai's bento.
In that moment, she made up her mind.
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Lin Ye, too, came to understand Shizuka Hiratsuka's purpose: she'd seen him alone with Rui Tachibana and wondered whether the two of them were dating.
"We're not."
he denied.
"Sensei, you know I already have a girl I like."
"Ugh, a girl like Yukinoshita is far too out of your reach, truly."
She was a life guidance counselor, not a love counselor, but even so she couldn't help offering a word or two of advice. "It'd be better to find a girl who's a little closer within reach, so you can have a cherry-blossom-colored youth of your own."
"Thank you for your concern, Sensei. If I come across a suitable man in the future, I'll be sure to introduce him to you."
In an instant,
Shizuka Hiratsuka's temper flared.
This bastard—he'd done it on purpose.
But she also felt there was something not quite right about her getting angry.
"Fine. But if he's too poor a choice, you'd better be mentally prepared, because I'll definitely make you have a good taste of this…"
'Crack, crack, crack…' That was the sound of Shizuka Hiratsuka's iron fist cracking.
Lin Ye gave Shizuka Hiratsuka a smiling farewell and left.
"This kid—he's got less and less regard for me."
But thinking about how her disgraceful behavior last night had all been witnessed by Lin Ye, her image thoroughly ruined, she could accept it.
Sigh.
Disciplining Lin Ye from now on was likely to be even harder.
After leaving Sobu High, Lin Ye headed straight over to Yukinoshita's place.
"Wonder if I'll still be able to take photos tonight,"
If the girl wasn't feeling well, he'd have no choice but to put it off a few more days.
Lin Ye arrived at the apartment entrance and pressed the intercom doorbell.
...
Translator's note: Guys, what did you think of the cover animation? Would you like more covers like this, or do you prefer that I just leave it as an image?
I would also like to know if you find the cover appealing or not. I'm counting on your feedback.
...
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