So Similar

"I need an assistant to help with today's lesson. Which student would be willing to come up and be my assistant?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the unusually enthusiastic Kiana sprang up from her chair. She raised her hand and kept shouting, "Teacher, me, me, me, me! I want to be the assistant!"

Though the other students were not as lively as Kiana, they all raised their hands as well, livening up the classroom atmosphere.

"Oh my, it looks like everyone is very enthusiastic..." Warith stepped down from the podium and looked over the dozen or so Valkyries in the classroom with a faint smile, seemingly intending to pick someone from among those raising their hands.

Xina, seated in the corner of the classroom, could clearly tell that while this woman appeared to be looking at everyone else, her gaze had never once moved away from her.

It was just that she had been in a rush to get back for her afternoon nap at noon and had been a little rough! Did Warith really have to hold such a grudge?!

Sure enough, just as Xina sensed that she was most likely going to be the unlucky one dragged up there, Warith walked over to her side, lightly patted her shoulder with her left hand, and said with a smile:

"So many students in the class raised their hands. It wouldn't be fair for me to favor some over others. Since you didn't raise your hand, Xina, I'll have to trouble you to come up and be my assistant!"

"Damn! I knew it! This petty, spiteful, awful woman!" Xina stood up and muttered under her breath as she walked toward the podium.

The low pressure radiating from Xina and the gloomy expression on her face made it obvious that she... really did not want to have been called up.

"Oh, come on. Since you're already up here, give us a smile. Your teacher doesn't owe you money!" Warith pulled Xina over to the teacher's desk and pressed her into a chair.

"Honestly, I'd rather you owed me money..." Xina shot Warith a glare, her thin, pale face still cold and expressionless.

"You don't look too well. I'll give you a beautiful makeover today."

Although Xina's attitude was far from friendly, Warith did not get angry.

She lightly clapped her hands, picked up a brand-new lipstick from the teacher's desk, and said, "Come on, everyone, look over here. Today, our classmate Xina will be the model for this lesson!"

"Woohoo, awesome!" Kiana gleefully egged her on, enjoying the spectacle without a care. Xina's heart nearly shattered. What kind of human suffering was this?!

"Smile!" Warith said as she manually adjusted Xina's expression.

As she felt her face being covered with a pile of cosmetics that all looked about the same to her but seemed worlds apart in Warith's eyes, Xina cast a lifeless sidelong glance out the window, as though waiting for someone to appear.

Teacher Himeko, Principal Theresa, or any other teacher, please, come take over this class! I can't stand this!

It was said that when people were suffering intensely, time seemed to pass very slowly.

With Warith's skill, even after breaking down every detail and explaining them all, it had only taken a few minutes. Yet to Xina, it felt as though she had been nailed to a cross, half-dead for years on end.

At last, after completing her work, Warith casually set her tools down on the podium. She clapped her hands and inspected it all with an extremely critical gaze.

Finally, Warith handed a small mirror to Xina and said, "Take a look for yourself. Isn't it beautiful?"

"..." How beautiful could it be after only a few minutes...?

Xina pursed her lips. After grumbling to herself for a moment, she picked up the mirror and looked at her face.

"Mom... no, that's not it!? Th-this... is this me?!" Xina turned to Warith and asked in a trembling voice, pointing at the face in the mirror, which now bore an eighty-percent resemblance to her mother.

"Yes, that's you! What's wrong?" Warith looked strangely at the student before her, who was clearly acting out of sorts, then nodded with complete certainty.

"Thank you..." Xina stood while clutching the mirror and gave Warith a deep bow.

"Huh... W-why are you being so polite..." Xina's abrupt gesture left Warith rather bewildered. She helped the little girl back up and was just about to say something when she happened to see crystalline tears glimmering in Xina's misty eyes.

Why was she crying? That made no sense. Even if my makeup skills are good, they're not that good! Himeko, what exactly is going on with your student?

In the end, at a complete loss, Warith could only have Xina return to her seat and continue the lesson.

For the remaining half of the class, Warith taught while keeping an eye on Xina's every move.

She discovered that although the girl was no longer crying, she spent the rest of the lesson staring at herself in the mirror with her head lowered. Warith had no idea what had her so absorbed.

After class, Warith went to Himeko's office and sat against Himeko's desk. "Hey, Himeko, what's the deal with that student of yours?"

"Hmm?"

Hearing that it involved one of her students, Himeko put down the red pen she had been using to grade homework. She looked up at Warith and asked, "Which student? Kiana? Did she make you angry in class?"

"No, the one named Xina." Warith shook her head, then lowered herself along with the motion and sprawled sideways across Himeko's desk.

"Xina? She's a very well-behaved girl. Sensible, obedient, and a good cook too."

"Tch, you foodie! I'm not asking whether her cooking is good." Warith waved her hand irritably. Under Himeko's puzzled gaze, she rolled over and continued, "I'm asking whether she has some kind of psychological trauma!"

"Psychological trauma?"

"Yeah. I put makeup on her in class today, and she nearly cried when she looked in the mirror! Then for the rest of the class, she kept her head down and stared at the mirror, as if there was something special inside it drawing her in!" Recalling Xina's strange behavior in class, Warith recounted everything exactly as it had happened.

"Is that so?" Himeko frowned slightly. "What did you make her look like? Can I see?"

"Of course."

As soon as she finished speaking, Warith sat upright and took only a few seconds to recreate the makeup she had put on Xina earlier—on her own face.

Looking at Warith's face, Himeko gave a bitter smile, shook her head, and murmured, "If it looked like this, then it's no wonder..."

"No wonder what?" Warith wiped the makeup off her face and glared unhappily at Himeko, who seemed reluctant to speak. "Could you explain it clearly? Stop talking in riddles?"