“Alright, that’s all for today. Class dismissed.”
At last, the end-of-class bell rang out. With a dry throat, Shiya couldn’t wait to announce the end of class. She slumped into the chair behind the lectern, watching as the once-quiet classroom gradually became lively, with the students flocking in droves to the cafeteria for lunch.
“Goodbye, Teacher.” One of the real eels said to Shiya.
“Mm, goodbye.”
Shiya smiled and waved, taking a sip of the warm water from her thermos.
She hadn’t expected teaching a whole morning of classes to be even more exhausting than half a day on field duty. Being a teacher really wasn’t easy…
At this rate, before long, she’d be brewing goji berries in her thermos.
Very soon, the students had almost all left the classroom. Lagging behind was Huang Xiaoyi, hobbling along while supporting Kesu Su, who was limping badly.
“Teacher, see you later~”
Kesu Su lay limply on Huang Xiaoyi’s shoulder, her voice soft and sweet.
“Mm, g-goodbye…”
Shiya felt a chill as the little girl gazed at her with those tender, affectionate eyes, but she still managed a smile in reply.
Beside her, Huang Xiaoyi only gave a small nod, then dragged the red-bottomed Kesu Su out of the room.
Watching their backs as they disappeared around the corner, the smile on Shiya’s face slowly faded. She turned to the only student left in the classroom:
Tendo Yukino.
A student who clearly belonged to Hyakki Yagyo Academy, yet for some reason had sat through a whole morning of classes at Arkham Academy.
Also, her ex-girlfriend.
Shiya kept her eyes on Yukino, not daring to move. Her long legs, clad in black stockings, nervously shifted back and forth under the lectern. In the end, unable to bear the silence any longer, she finally broke it:
“It’s lunchtime, you know. Yukino, aren’t you going to eat?”
Yukino glanced at her, but said nothing, silently packing her things into her handbag.
“Eh…”
Getting no response left Shiya at a complete loss. She’d thought she understood Yukino well, but now she realized she didn’t understand her at all, couldn’t grasp what she was thinking.
If it were a Great Old One like Kesu Su, Shiya would never care so much… No, care about what…
I don’t care about her at all.
She’s a Great Old One, after all…
Shiya forced herself not to dwell on it, pointing toward the door.
“If you want to stay in the classroom for a while, Yukino, I’ll go ahead? I have work this afternoon…”
While she was speaking, Yukino had already finished packing. She lifted her bag with both hands and approached, staring at her in silence.
Eh?
Caught in those beautiful pale blue eyes, Shiya instinctively took half a step back.
She realized at once—Yukino was angry.
Could she still be mad about this morning? But that was all a misunderstanding…
Besides, it’s not like I owe her an explanation anymore, right?
So, unlike before, Shiya didn’t try to comfort her gently, only tilted her head slightly and said:
“Yukino?”
“…”
Shiya noticed Yukino’s pupils widened for a second, but quickly returned to normal.
“Shiya… Sensei.”
Yukino lowered her head, her bangs casting shadows over her eyes. She gripped her handbag tightly, bit her lip, and said softly:
“…Have lunch with me.”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this, Shiya secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t something like “I’m going to kill you,” it was fine.
The problem was, she really shouldn’t be alone with Yukino. The longer they were together, the more likely it was she’d let something slip.
If she got exposed, Shiya didn’t even want to imagine what might happen.
Better find an excuse to refuse…
With that thought, Shiya crossed her arms in front of her chest, making a troubled face.
“I’m happy you invited me for lunch, Yukino, but I don’t eat in the cafeteria, you know? I still have to handle some work this afternoon, so I was planning to just grab a quick bite in the office…”
Just as she was saying this, Shiya saw Yukino suddenly produce a cloth bag from somewhere, inside which were two stainless steel lunch boxes.
“It’s fine. I made lunch for both of us.”
Yukino took a step forward, and Shiya retreated a step. But her back was already against the blackboard—she had nowhere left to go.
Ugh, this is bad, I’ve walked right into her trap!
“Ahaha…”
Shiya forced a smile, still trying to struggle:
“Didn’t think you’d actually make lunch, Yukino? But, um, it’s just…”
“Let’s go.”
Not giving her a chance to make excuses, Yukino naturally wrapped her arm around Shiya’s, leading her out of the classroom.
She’d been abducted!
“W-wait a minute… Yukino, this doesn’t look good at school…”
Shiya tried to use morality as a reason to make Yukino let go.
As for why she didn’t just break free—well, she’d tried, and discovered she had absolutely no strength to resist.
It was as if her arm was locked tight in Yukino’s embrace, impossible to pull out.
Feeling that softness, which was in no way inferior to her own, a flush quietly crept up Shiya’s cheeks.
Uwah…
Her instincts let out a faint cry of despair in her heart.
Damn, even if my mind refuses, my body can’t say no…
“Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since last time, hasn’t it? Already two weeks.” Her emotions popped up from nowhere, making excuses for her instincts.
“Yeah, yeah, why not just admit it? I really want to do it…” Instinct rolled around on the ground.
“No way!!!” Reason forcibly pressed down the other two.
“Instinct, are you sane? Don’t forget the woman before you is a yuki-onna, a Great Old One!”
“Well…” Instinct blinked its big, clear eyes.
“Wouldn’t that make it feel even better?”
“No means no! Doesn’t matter how good it feels!”
In the not-so-fierce internal battle, Instinct perished. As Reason reclaimed the high ground, Shiya felt like she was herself again.
She had to make her attitude clear to Yukino!
She came to a firm stop, planning to use this to get Yukino’s attention.
But Shiya underestimated the difference in strength between herself and Yukino.
She had just stopped, not even steady on her feet yet, when she felt an overwhelming force pulling her forward.
If she’d just gone along with it, it might’ve been fine, but the pride of a former legendary investigator got the better of her. She dug her little shoes into the floor, determined to resist to the end.
How could she yield to a Great Old One!
The next second, she lost her balance.
Eh?
Her front foot, set for a fighting stance, tripped her back foot, and she toppled forward.
“Waaah—!?”
With a stumble, Shiya was about to pull off a perfect pratfall, her shattered confidence echoing in the corridor as a cute shriek.
She reflexively squeezed her eyes shut, but instead of the cold, hard floor she expected, she landed with a “duang” on something else.
Soft, springy, and warm.
Ugh, it feels so good…!
The girl instinctively nuzzled her cheek twice, then heard a faint moan by her ear:
“Nn…”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.