What happened on Friday was something Hirakawa Tetsuya would never speak of.
A secret he would take to the grave.
Even recalling it alone made him feel unbearably awkward.
Still, he firmly believed one thing.
This was not his fault.
If it were not for that strange online acquaintance, he would never have done something as absurd as using the system on a cat.
So yes.
The blame lay entirely with that person.
That said, the experience was not completely without results.
At the very least, he had learned something important.
The system worked on animals too.
That realization alone was enough to make him question reality.
If you carefully read the system's instructions, the wording was clear.
Find the target's weakness, then use specific phrasing to threaten them into complying with a request.
Target.
Nowhere did it say the target had to be human.
As a literature teacher, failing to notice something so obvious until Friday was honestly embarrassing.
Then again, who would naturally assume something like that?
Even if the target was an animal that could not understand human language, the system still worked.
The power of language had reached a terrifying level.
Thinking back to Friday, Hirakawa fell into a subtle silence.
The image of the white cat, pressured into submission, letting out soft, pitiful meows under his hand made his conscience feel slightly tainted.
Enough.
He forcefully cut off the memory.
Then he turned to Rainomiya Yoru and smiled.
A perfectly natural smile.
So natural that it almost looked unnatural.
"All in all, the four cats are doing just fine."
"Sensei."
Rainomiya stared at him carefully before speaking in a soft voice.
"Your smile feels a bit strange."
Hirakawa froze for a second.
Then he turned his head away, looking straight ahead.
"That's just your imagination, Rainomiya."
"I see."
Her quiet reply came from behind him.
After a short pause, she asked again.
"How are they now?"
Hirakawa glanced back at her.
The girl had her head lowered.
When she was not acting out her eccentric persona, she was actually quite a quiet student.
Even so, it was easy to tell how much she cared about those cats.
After all, she had been willing to be late or skip class just to find them.
He decided to reassure her properly.
"Don't worry. I've been taking good care of them."
"For example, on Friday, I gave them a bath. After that, I bought cat litter and a litter box."
"On Saturday, I used some cardboard boxes to make them a new nest. They seemed to like it."
"On Sunday morning, they woke me up by scratching at the door. That's when I realized they had finished the cat food you prepared, so I went out to buy more."
"I also got some goat milk. I checked online and found that kittens can drink it."
"And before leaving today, I made sure to check all the doors and windows."
He concluded with a small, satisfied nod.
"So, if I may say so myself, I've been quite attentive. You don't need to worry."
Rainomiya did not respond immediately.
He glanced at her again.
She was looking at him, slightly dazed.
"Sensei."
"Yes?"
"Did you spend money?"
So that was what she was worried about.
Hirakawa smiled lightly and joked.
"If I hadn't, you'd be seeing me at the police station instead of here."
"That—"
"Don't worry. It's fine. The cats are cute, and I like them too. I did all of this willingly, not because you asked me to."
"I…"
She fell silent.
He almost told her to make up her mind quickly if she really cared, but stopped himself.
That would only pressure her.
So he left it at that.
"Anyway, you don't need to feel guilty. They're cute enough that spending money on them feels worth it."
That was mostly true.
The cats were undeniably adorable.
And more importantly—
Money was not something he lacked.
A very realistic reason.
"Thank you."
She said it quietly.
The two of them walked into the school building one after the other.
And then—
They ran into Tsutsui Shiori.
The long-haired girl had just changed her shoes, holding her white indoor pair in one hand. Her straight legs were wrapped in knee-high socks as she turned gracefully.
"Good morning, Hirakawa-sensei."
Her voice was clear and elegant, carrying the unmistakable air of a refined young lady.
Hirakawa paused for a brief moment.
Even he had to admit it.
Facing her at such close distance still made him feel slightly pressured.
Teacher or not, it was hard not to feel it.
Was this what they called presence?
He pushed the thought aside and greeted her normally.
"Good morning, Tsutsui."
After greeting him, Tsutsui shifted her gaze to the girl behind him.
"That would be Rainomiya, correct?"
Impressive memory.
Even Hirakawa felt slightly ashamed as a teacher.
"Good morning, Rainomiya. I'm Tsutsui Shiori."
Rainomiya hesitated for a moment under her gaze, then gave a small bow.
"Good morning, Tsutsui."
It was hard to imagine that such a quiet girl had such a dramatic inner world.
After the greetings, Tsutsui turned back, placing her shoes neatly into the locker.
Then she faced Hirakawa again.
Hands behind her back, head tilted slightly, a faint smile on her lips.
"Hirakawa-sensei, are you heading to the brass band club?"
"The students were already practicing quite hard this morning."
The implication was obvious.
Everyone else was working hard.
Was the advisor planning to slack off?
Hirakawa cleared his throat.
"I was just about to head there."
"In that case, I'll go with you."
He paused for a second.
Then nodded.
"Alright."
For some reason, it felt like being caught skipping class by a teacher.
So in the end, there was no escaping the brass band club after all.
He let out a quiet sigh.
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