Ugh…

The teacher stretched, let out a small yawn, and closed the paperwork.

“What was it again? The Shalle is an organization with authority but no goals, so there’s no real pressure to do anything, right?”

The teacher crossed his arms and closed his eyes, recalling Rin’s words from the first day he arrived in Kivotos while introducing Shalle. He was sure he heard it that way, so why… why were the documents sent by fax starting to pile up on his desk?

“Rin, did you trick me…?”

Could it be that the reason he came to Kivotos was that they needed a machine to handle paperwork?

He had a vague sense of assurance that it wasn’t, but ever since Rin casually mentioned she would teach him how to manage paperwork the moment she arrived on his second day, the teacher felt things were going to go awry.

As expected! On the third day, even more documents came in than yesterday, igniting the teacher’s ominous premonitions.

After handling a meeting schedule regarding convenience store inquiries on the first floor of Shalle, the teacher’s work for today came to an end. Just as if to acknowledge his struggles, Arona’s voice echoed from the box of Shidim.

[Thank you for your hard work, Teacher! Oh, by the way, do you know what day it is today?]

In fact, the only reason the teacher was able to handle the paperwork with some ease was entirely due to Arona assisting him. If the paperwork increased any more, it would be painful, but having heard about Mika’s struggles on the first day, the teacher didn’t dare voice his complaints.

It was a little troubling for someone who had slept nine hours to voice dissatisfaction when a student was struggling to sleep at all, hardly making it through five hours.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know. What day is it, Arona?”

[Well…]

Following Arona’s instructions, the teacher placed his hand on the tablet, and after a moment, he faced Arona.

[Today is, Valentine’s Day!]

“…I see. Now that you mention it, today is February 14th, huh.”

[Yes! It’s a romantic day where girls, like flowers, give chocolate to someone they like. Of course, there are times when they give friendship chocolate even if they don’t particularly like the person.]

As the teacher pondered whether similar customs existed in Kivotos, Arona approached him with her hands behind her back and said,

[Hehe. So today, to look forward to your future performances, I’ve prepared homemade chocolate… Ta-da!]

Accepting the beautifully wrapped chocolate that Arona presented, the teacher naturally smiled.

[What do you think, Teacher? I wish I could have prepared something more special, but I’m sorry that I couldn’t…]

The chocolate felt a bit rough around the edges, but in that imperfection, he felt the sincerity, and he reached out to pat Arona’s head.

“Thank you, Arona. I’ll enjoy it.”

[Hehe. Now for one more thing. Do you think the chocolate I prepared for you is friendship chocolate, or… huh. Of all times… ]

“Huh?”

[Teacher, it seems a guest has arrived.]

Exiting the space created by Shidim, the teacher set the chocolate he received from Arona next to him.

Knock knock knock.

“Teacher, I’m coming in☆”

With a familiar voice, Mika entered the clubroom of Shalle, brightening the mood just by her presence. Next to her was another girl the teacher hadn’t seen before, walking in with her arm linked with Mika’s.

“Nice to meet you, Mika. And…?”

“Oh, this girl is—uh.”

Before Mika could finish, the girl shoved a small round chocolate into Mika’s mouth, making her shut up and stepped forward.

“Really, Mika, come on. Each time you introduce someone, you replace me as if it’s nothing? If this person is as important as you say, then the first impression matters a bit more, you know.”

With a graceful gesture, the girl greeted him, her beauty shone even next to Mika, who was as stunning as a crane among chickens. The girl, who possessed a beauty that seemed to collide yet harmonize with Mika’s, introduced herself.

“I am Kurodate Haruna, a third-year student from Gehenna Academy. It’s an honor to meet you, Teacher.”

“Oh, I see. Nice to meet you, Haruna. So… what brings you here today, Mika?”

Mika, her cheeks slightly flushed, swallowed the chocolate and replied to the teacher’s question.

“Ahaha, it’s nothing significant. I was just worried that since you’re new here, you might feel down if you didn’t receive any chocolate on Valentine’s Day, so I thought I’d drop by! Right, it’s a good day, after all.”

With that, Mika pulled out a beautifully wrapped chocolate with a star-patterned design from her handbag and handed it to the teacher.

It was homemade chocolate made with Nagisa the day before, using the time they had found once the turmoil quieted down.

“I’m sorry, Teacher. Unfortunately, I didn’t prepare anything special, so I just bought this as a gift from the convenience store.”

“I never expected this… Thank you so much, you both. I’ll definitely enjoy the chocolates!”

As the teacher was caught off guard by receiving chocolates from two girls, Arona’s gaze deepened with concern.

[This is troublesome…]

“Huh?”

Then, seeing Mika’s unexpected reaction, Arona’s eyes widened in alarm, thinking that perhaps she had heard something.

Fortunately for Arona, Mika vaguely heard that voice but assumed it wasn’t something she would say and brushed it off.

‘…No way, she isn’t aiming for the Teacher too, right?!’

Separately from that, Arona began to tremble with fear, wary of any potential romance drama. The teacher mustn’t be close to Misono Mika…!

“Well then… since I’ve delivered the gifts, we should get going, Teacher☆”

“Oh? Are you leaving so soon?”

“Yup yup. Actually, I was a bit insistent about coming here.”

“That makes sense, Mika. It’s not typical to suggest giving chocolate to someone else while on a date.”

“Sorry, Haruna. But you see, the Teacher has only just started here two days ago… or rather, three.”

Hearing the mention of a date as he watched their conversation, the teacher nodded slightly.

Indeed, the saying that “birds of a feather flock together” isn’t untrue. Hearing that such incredibly beautiful girls who could easily be idols were in a romantic relationship made it naturally understandable to him.

In Kivotos, where same-sex relationships among female students might seem like a given, the teacher accepted it and supported the two’s lovely romance internally, telling them to be careful as they left.

As he sent off the two girls, the teacher had no idea that the next time he encountered Mika, the person linked to her arm would be different.

The teacher was a pure love enthusiast.

*

After handing over the chocolate to the teacher, Haruna pulled me to a corner seat at a nearby cafe as soon as we came out onto the streets of Shiratori Ward. After seating me next to her, she ordered coffee and cheesecake.

Since there were partitions between each table, it was a strangely private atmosphere.

“Mika, that teacher…”

With a rather serious expression, Haruna held my hand tightly.

“…Huh? Why the sudden seriousness, Haruna-chan?”

“Please don’t get too close. After all, this is a date for just the two of us, right? This is the first date we’ve had in weeks! I know he’s important, but at least when I’m here, I’d like you to see only me.”

“Ahaha, I must have been lacking in consideration. I’m sorry, Haruna-chan.”

…Actually, I realized that perhaps this was Haruna’s way of trying to assert that we’re together to oppose any possible fate story unfolding. Knowing that Haruna likely felt the situation to be quite different, I had no words to retort.

Well, it’s true that I did worry that the Teacher would feel down if he didn’t receive chocolates. As familiar as the feeling is, it’s hard to shake off that someone I know shouldn’t have to go through that.

Hoping that Yuuka, Rin, or Chinatsu would prepare chocolates for him felt… too far-fetched. They all hadn’t built enough of a friendship yet. So, in the end, it would probably have been just me. Arona doesn’t count, since she’s not a real existence.

“It’s alright. The fact that Mika is such a kind person is what makes it better. It’s just that if I could take some of the attention he’s taken from me, then that would be just fine.”

With those words, Haruna buried her head in my neck, took a deep breath, and lightly kissed my lips. It was in such a way that her hair concealed it, ensuring the lipstick marks wouldn’t be easily noticeable.

Not stopping there, she proudly pulled my hand to her mouth, leaving traces on the back of my hand repeatedly. Throughout, her enticing gaze held firm to my own.

Wooong…

“H-Haruna-chan? The order’s here…”

Only when the vibrating bell rang did Haruna reluctantly let go of my hand, signaling me to hurry back as if she were waving me off.

“Please do!”

“You’re making me go like this?”

As I pointed at the artistic masterpiece of lipstick she’d left on my hand, Haruna smiled sweetly.

“Then shall we say that as a trade-off, you’ll leave that as is until we go inside?”

“…Isn’t asking me to go around like this a bit too much? Also, Nagisa will see me when we go in.”

“The choice is yours, Mika. You can clean it after I go retrieve it, or leave it on if I bring it back.”

I didn’t say that it was as easy as just wiping it away. Instead, I subtly hinted at a compromise.

“If you fetch it and clean it right now, I will do something elsewhere…”

“Ah, that sounds good. I’ll take that as an extra.”

…Uh-oh. I forgot that Haruna was a girl who wanted a lot!