Sensei POV:
With Seia's endorsement, and the confirmed support of the Trinity Tea Party, I felt secure enough to continue with my plan.
However, I met with a setback on the very first step.
"Huh? You want to see Ako? Do you think the Gehenna Prefect Team's Administrator is someone you can just waltz in and see?"
Blocking my path was the leader of the Prefect Team's Assault Corps, Shiromi Iori, a girl with a scowl, carrying a sniper rifle without a scope.
Since I couldn't get a hold of Hina, I decided to come straight to the Prefect Team headquarters to try my luck.
The person I originally intended to meet, after all, was Ako.
The good news was that my journey to the Prefect Team headquarters had been uneventful.
The bad news was being stopped at the entrance by Iori.
Iori had silver-gray hair that reached her lower legs, and her thick, slanted bangs completely covered her left eye, leaving only her scarlet right eye visible.
The most eye-catching part of her was her lower body.
She wore black high-heeled boots nearly ten centimeters high, which made her slightly petite frame seem taller. Next were her calves wrapped in black stockings, with perfectly rounded, beautiful contours. Moving up, there was her exquisite knee and her slender, lustrous thighs.
"Where are you looking, you creep!"
Iori's exasperated cry made me return my gaze to her adorable face.
Her expression was now colder than before, the word 'displeased' practically written across her features.
But the next moment, as if a sudden thought occurred to her, Iori flashed a mocking and cruel smile:
"Oh right, since you like looking so much, if you'd kneel down and lick my feet, I suppose I might not be entirely unwilling to…"
At the halfway point of her sentence, I was infuriated.
Such an unreasonable demand was an affront to my dignity. How dare she humiliate the Sensei of Schale!
But when I heard the latter half, my eyes dropped again, fixating on Iori's stockings. I swallowed, and a sudden realization dawned in my mind.
What is dignity? Is it that important? How could I be so shallow?
If it was to save Hoshino, I would gladly endure any humiliation at Iori's feet!
With this thought, I lunged toward Iori's legs.
"Yikes! Hey, I wasn't finished… Wait! Hold on! Whuh!"
There was no time to wait! Hoshino was waiting for me to rescue her!
My eyes narrowed. My right hand grasped Iori's calf and lifted, while my left hand tugged at her boot. In an instant, a warm, fair foot encased in black stockings was cradled in my hands.
Iori had no time to react, or perhaps she hadn't anticipated such a move at all. Though she managed to keep her balance with surprising flexibility, she hadn't recovered enough to fight back.
My nostrils flared, catching only a faint, sweet, slightly sour fragrance.
With a mix of regret and excitement, I resolutely stuck out my tongue and licked.
"Eek!"
Iori let out a startled shriek, quickly yanked free, and jammed her foot back into the boot, but the wet sensation lingered, refusing to dissipate.
"Do you have no dignity? No human hesitation?!" Iori questioned me in disbelief.
I got back up and said solemnly, "That doesn't matter! I will sacrifice anything to protect my student!"
Though, the main reason was that Iori's feet were genuinely quite fragrant, and her reaction was exactly as adorably flustered as I had predicted.
Besides, Iori knew I was acquainted with Hina. Coupled with her being a Prefect Team member, she surely wouldn't dare lay a hand on Sensei, right?
Iori's face was flushed with shame as she began to angrily call me names. "That's insane! Pervert! Maniac!"
I countered with displeasure, "What's that supposed to mean! You're the one who made the demand, so why are you turning around and insulting me now?"
Iori suddenly looked a bit guilty. "I… You… but you rushed at me before I even finished my sentence…"
"Exactly! I did as you asked, so can you let me in to see Ako now? Or do you wish to continue humiliating me?" I asked, sorrowfully accusing Iori of her tyrannical behavior, my gaze drifting downwards again…
Iori was so startled she took a half-step back, her foot recalling the strange sensation she had just experienced. "Fine, fine, fine! I'll take you! Just stop it!"
With that, she kept a wary distance and led me towards the Prefect Team Chairwoman's office.
Truthfully, I knew the way, but watching Iori's tail swish from side to side as she walked ahead of me was truly entertaining.
Before long, I saw Ako, biting the end of her pen and writing a self-reflection report with a miserable, utterly drained expression.
Iori greeted Ako. "Yo, Ako, how much have you written?"
Ako didn't lift her head, muttering only, "Don't ask… just don't ask…"
"Got it. This guy needs to see you for something. I brought him, so I'm heading out."
Iori walked around me and left without looking back.
Ako finally lifted her head in confusion, her lifeless, dead-fish eyes meeting my smiling ones.
"Hi there, Ako-chan. Long time no see," I greeted her warmly. "How are you doing lately? Is work going smoothly? Did you miss me?"
Snap
It was the sound of her pen breaking.
Ako gritted her teeth, glaring at me with venom. "You… This is all your fault! You made me look bad in front of President Hina!"
"How can you say that?" I walked up to her, my expression gradually hardening. "If you hadn't acted on your own authority, using force near the self-governing district of another Academy, and showing off your ridiculous political skills, why would you have been punished?"
Ako leaped to her feet. "What did you say?!"
"Don't be hasty, Amau Ako. I'm simply saying that you did something foolish, nothing more."
Hearing this, Ako actually calmed down. "You better explain yourself clearly. Otherwise, I will absolutely make you regret it."
"That's precisely where your foolishness lies."
I sighed, walked behind Ako, and placed my hands on her shoulders. "I admit, Gehenna is one of Kivotos's largest Academies, and the Prefect Team is one of Gehenna's strongest clubs. But…
"Does that give you the right to make an enemy of me, the Sensei of Schale?"
I gave a sharp squeeze with both hands, forcing Ako back down into her chair.
I leaned down slightly. With just a gentle inhale, I could smell the scent of her hair.
"I know you want to push for the signing of the Eden Treaty because it is Hina's wish. You also want to clear away any obstacles that might affect the treaty's signing, and that includes me.
"But did you ever stop to consider my position?
"Perhaps you haven't thoroughly researched what kind of organization Schale is? Given the punishment you received, you probably haven't had the leisure to delve into it afterward. In that case, let me tell you…"
I leaned in close to Ako's ear.