"Nngh..."
Stretching, Sensei let out a small yawn a moment later and closed the document.
"What was it she said again? That SCHALE is an organization with authority but no objective, so there's no compulsion to do anything in particular."
Recalling Rin's words from his first day in Kivotos when she had introduced him to SCHALE, Sensei folded his arms and closed his eyes. He was sure that's what he'd heard, so why? Why had a pile of documents sent by fax started to accumulate on his desk?
"Rin, did you trick me...?"
Could it be that he was brought to Kivotos because they needed a machine to process paperwork?
He had an inexplicable conviction that this wasn't the case. However, the moment Rin had shown up on his second day in Kivotos and offered to teach him how to handle simple paperwork, Sensei had sensed that things had gone awry.
Just as he'd expected, today, on his third day, even more documents had arrived, fanning the flames of his ominous premonition.
Sensei's work for the day finally concluded after he accepted an inquiry about a convenience store opening on the first floor of SCHALE and scheduled a related meeting. And as if in acknowledgment of his hard work, Arona's voice rang out from the Shittim Chest.
[Good work, Sensei! Oh, by the way, do you happen to know what day it is today?]
In truth, the only reason he could handle the documents without too much burden was thanks to Arona's assistance. If the paperwork were to increase any further, it would be agonizing, but having heard about Mika's struggles on the first day, Sensei couldn't bring himself to complain.
When a student was working so hard she was lucky to get five hours of sleep, his conscience pricked him at the thought of complaining after having slept a full nine hours himself, despite being called "Sensei."
"Sorry, I'm not sure. What day is it today, Arona?"
[Ahem. Well, you see...]
Following Arona's instructions, Sensei placed his hand on the tablet and, a moment later, found himself face-to-face with her.
[Today is Valentine's Day!]
"...I see. Come to think of it, today is February 14th."
[Yes! It's a romantic holiday where flower-like girls give chocolate to the person they like. Of course, it's also quite common to give 'friendship chocolate' to people who aren't necessarily a crush.]
As Sensei wondered if the custom of celebrating such holidays was similar in Kivotos, Arona took a couple of steps closer, her hands clasped behind her back.
[Fufu. So today, in anticipation of your future endeavors, Sensei, I also prepared some handmade chocolate... Ta-da!]
Sensei accepted the beautifully wrapped chocolate that Arona held out, a natural smile forming on his face.
[What do you think, Sensei? It's a bit of a shame I couldn't prepare anything more special since I was busy assisting with your work, but...]
The contents were chocolates that felt a little crude, but Sensei thought that made them feel all the more sincere. He reached out and stroked Arona's head.
"Thank you, Arona. I'll enjoy them."
[Fufu. Then, one more thing. Do you think the chocolate Arona prepared for you is friendship chocolate, or is it— Gh. Of all the times...]
"Hm?"
[Sensei, it looks like you have a visitor.]
Emerging from the space created by the Shittim Chest, Sensei placed the chocolate he had received from Arona beside it.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
"Sensei, coming in for a sec☆"
With a familiar voice, a girl whose mere presence seemed to brighten the atmosphere... Mika, stepped into the SCHALE clubroom. Beside her, another girl Sensei had never seen before walked in arm-in-arm with Mika.
"Welcome, Mika. And...?"
"Ah, this is— Mmph."
The other girl stuffed a small, ball-shaped chocolate into Mika's mouth to silence her, then unlinked their arms and stepped forward.
"Really, Mika-ssi. What am I to do if you always introduce others like that? If this person is as important as you say he is, then I must be all the more careful with my first impression."
The beauty of the girl, who greeted him with an elegant gesture, did not diminish in the slightest even next to Mika, who was in a league of her own. Rather, she possessed a kind of beauty that clashed yet harmonized, each enhancing the other. Her name was...
"I am Kurodate Haruna, a third-year student at Gehenna Academy, Sensei. I suppose I should say it is an honor to meet you."
"I see. It's nice to meet you, Haruna. So... what brings you here today, Mika?"
Mika, who had been chewing with her cheeks flushed, swallowed the chocolate at Sensei's call and answered his question.
"Ahaha, it's nothing important. I was just worried that a Sensei who's new here might get depressed if he didn't receive any chocolate on a day like Valentine's, so I popped by! Yeah, it's a nice day, so you should make nice memories, right?"
With that, Mika presented Sensei with a box of chocolates beautifully wrapped in paper with a striking star pattern, which she took from her handbag.
It was handmade chocolate she had made with Nagisa the day before, using the free time that came after the situation had calmed down.
"My apologies, Sensei. Unfortunately, I did not prepare anything separately, so I simply bought some gift chocolate from a convenience store."
"I wasn't expecting this... Thank you both so much. I'll savor these chocolates."
Watching Sensei unexpectedly receive chocolates from two girls, Arona's eyes darkened.
[*What a nuisance...*]
"Hm?"
Startled that Mika had reacted for a moment, as if she might have heard her, Arona clapped her hands over her mouth.
Fortunately for Arona, Mika had only heard the voice faintly and, thinking it wasn't something Arona would say, dismissed it as having misheard.
*'...Don't tell me you're aiming for Sensei, too?!'*
Separately from that, Arona began to tremble in fear, wary of a potential NTR. She had to keep Sensei from getting close to Misono Mika...! (TN: NTR, or Netorare, is a genre of fiction where a protagonist's love interest is stolen by another person.)
"Well then... we've delivered our gifts, so we'll be on our way, Sensei☆"
"Oh, are you leaving already?"
"Yep. I was actually being a little forceful coming here in the first place."
"That's because, Mika-ssi, one does not normally suggest going to give another person chocolate in the middle of a date, correct?"
"Sorry, Haruna-chan. But Sensei has only been here for two... no, three days..."
Listening to their conversation, Sensei heard the word "date" and nodded to himself.
I see, so the saying "birds of a feather flock together" isn't for nothing. Hearing that the two girls, both beautiful enough to be idols of idols, were in a relationship, he naturally understood.
Romance between students of the same gender was perhaps a matter of course here in Kivotos, a world full of girls. Accepting it as such, Sensei silently cheered for their beautiful love and wished them a safe trip.
As he saw the two off, Sensei had no idea that the next time he saw Mika, the person with their arm in hers would be different.
Sensei was a fan of sun-ae. (TN: Sun-ae is a Korean term for "pure love," a genre focusing on innocent, devoted, and loyal romance.)
***
As soon as we left Sensei's and stepped onto the streets of Shiratori Ward, Haruna pulled me into a corner seat at a nearby cafe. After seating me beside her, she ordered a coffee and a cheesecake.
With partitions between each table, it was a place that offered a strange sense of privacy.
"Mika-ssi, about that Sensei person..."
Haruna said, her face quite serious as she held my hand tightly.
"...Hm? What's wrong all of a sudden, Haruna-chan?"
"Please do not get too close to him. In the first place, this is our date, is it not? And our first one in weeks, at that. I understand that he is an important person, but at the very least, when you are with me, I would like you to look only at me."
"Ahaha, that was very thoughtless of me. I'm sorry, Haruna-chan."
...In truth, I had brought her along to make an appearance and show that we were in a relationship, as a sort of determined protest against any potential Affinity Story. I knew Haruna would see the situation a little differently, but I did it anyway, so I had no excuse if she scolded me.
Well, it was also partly true that I was worried Sensei wouldn't receive any chocolate. It was a familiar feeling, and I couldn't help but wish that someone I knew wouldn't have to experience it.
As for expecting Yuuka, Rin, or Chinatsu to give him chocolate... their relationships with him were still too shallow, weren't they? So in the end, Sensei only had me.
Arona doesn't count, since she isn't a physical being.
"No, it is alright. I like you more for being such a kind person. It is simply a matter of me taking back the attention he stole, with interest."
With those words, Haruna buried her head in the nape of my neck, took a deep breath, and pressed a light kiss there. At least my hair would cover it, so the lipstick mark wouldn't be too obvious.
Not stopping there, she pulled my hand to her lips as if for show and began leaving a trail of marks on the back of it. All the while, Haruna's sly, seductive gaze held mine captive.
*Bzzzzzz.*
"Um, Haruna-chan? Our order is ready..."
Only when the vibrating pager went off did Haruna reluctantly release my hand and gesture for me to go.
"If you would, please."
"After you did this to my hand?"
I gestured to the work of art she had created on the back of my hand with her lipstick, and Haruna smiled brightly.
"Then, shall I go retrieve it, and in exchange, you do not wipe that off until you go home today?"
"...Isn't it a bit much to ask me to walk around outside like this? And if it's until I go home, Nagi-chan will see it."
"The choice is yours, Mika-ssi. Either you go get it and wipe it off, or I get it and you leave it as is."
I didn't cluelessly say, "Can't I just wipe it off anyway?" Instead of choosing one or the other, I slyly suggested a compromise.
"How about you go get it, and instead of wiping it off now, I'll let you do it somewhere else..."
"Ah, that sounds lovely. I will take that as a bonus."
...Damn it. It was my mistake to forget that Haruna is a very greedy girl.
***