Himeko: I'm Dead?

In the classroom, everyone stared at the "To Be Continued" on the big screen, feeling like they hadn't gotten enough.

Honkai Impact 3rd was great to watch—its only flaw was being too short.

Damn it, why couldn't this Ai-chan be a little more diligent and drop seven or eight updates in one go?

Looking at his classmates all around him complaining it wasn't enough, Ye Li had an "MMP" he wasn't sure he should say out loud.

It's easy for you guys—it's not your dirty laundry being aired, so you don't give a damn.

But you know what? Strangely enough, he had to admit it.

Kiana and the others, who were also exposed in the video, had an unexpectedly calm attitude toward it.

As the big shots of Senba Academy anyway, an exposé video was basically no skin off their backs.

And someone like Theresa, who was trying to use the video to boost her authority in the real world, couldn't get enough of her heroic moments being shown off.

To stop himself from digging a three-bedroom apartment out of the classroom floor with his toes, Ye Li bolted from the classroom the second class ended.

Meanwhile, at Senba Academy, Meeting Room 1.

A crowd of Senba Academy's top brass had gathered.

Since the principal, Theresa, wasn't good at handling this kind of occasion, Himeko had gloriously taken over as "Principal for a Day."

"You're saying that in one week, Dr. Mobius from Infinite Lab and a bunch of scientists from Anti-Entropy Lab will all come to our school for an academic exchange?"

Looking at the complicated expressions on the school's higher-ups, Himeko felt like the world had started turning into something she couldn't understand.

If she hadn't already confirmed the news was real, Himeko would've thought they'd been targeted by some organization from northern Myanmar.

After assigning all the preparatory work, Himeko called the meeting to a close.

Staring at the materials the school had compiled in her hands, Himeko's thoughts had already flown far away.

For some reason, Himeko's sixth sense told her that these labs' real purpose wasn't the academic exchange they claimed on the surface...

Sure, Senba Academy was a pretty good school in Changkong City, but across the whole Far East region, it didn't really hold up.

And those labs were all world-famous research teams—what had Senba Academy done to deserve an academic exchange with these big shots?

"So... what's their real goal?" Himeko murmured to herself, looking out the window.

Ding-dong~

Himeko felt her phone vibrate lightly in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked—

The UP you're following, @miHoYo's First Idol Ai-chan, has posted a new video! Come watch now!

Seeing the notification on the screen, a ridiculous thought suddenly popped into Himeko's head.

"They're not... coming because of this video, are they..."

Night fell. After a busy day, Himeko finally made it home.

Pushing open the door, she leaned against the wall of the entryway.

Thinking about the dizzying workload from today, she let out a helpless sigh.

"Theresa really left me a mess to clean up..."

As she spoke, Himeko bent down, hooked her finger around the heel of her high heel, and gave a gentle tug.

The heel slid smoothly off her foot with a soft clack.

Freed from the high heels, the sheer black stockings on her feet gleamed with a delicate luster under the light.

The seam of the stockings ran along the arch of her slender foot, tracing a perfect line.

She lifted her other foot, toes lightly touching the floor, the heel dangling in the air and swaying.

Then, with a gentle push from her fingertips, the shoe dropped to the floor not far away.

"Phew~ I'm dead tired!"

With the seal broken, Himeko couldn't wait to open the fridge and pull out a can of beer.

Her throat rolled gently as she swallowed, the crisp coolness of the beer spreading from her tongue all the way to her stomach, washing away the day's exhaustion.

"Ah~ That hits the spot!"

She fished her phone out of her pocket, quickly scrolled through the work group chat to make sure she hadn't missed any messages, then glanced at the class group.

Same as always—the little ones in the group were chatting about the hottest topics among young people.

Watching the stream of trendy new words popping up in the group, Himeko suddenly felt like she'd fallen behind the times.

"Without even realizing it, I'm already thirty..."

Tossing the empty beer can into the trash, Himeko soaked in the youthful energy coming from the other end of the screen.

She sighed to herself, "Maybe... once this busy stretch is over, I should take some time and find someone to date?"

Then Teacher Himeko shook her head with a self-deprecating smile.

Women her age already had a hard time finding a partner, and her line of work made it even harder.

After all, the widely circulated "three professions to avoid when matchmaking" included her own teaching career.

"Forget it, I'll just throw myself wholeheartedly into education. Love can hurt, but teaching and nurturing students never will."

With that, Himeko shed her clothes and headed toward the bathroom.

But what Himeko didn't know was that in another time and space, teaching and nurturing students could not only hurt—it could kill.

The next morning.

Himeko walked into the office in her high heels as usual, but a closer look showed her steps were a bit slower than normal.

Staring at the densely packed lesson plans on her desk, she couldn't help but yawn, a few tears of exhaustion forming at the corners of her eyes.

She raised a hand to rub her temples, her head feeling heavy and groggy, as if filled with lead.

"Teacher Himeko, didn't get enough rest last night?" The math teacher from the next classroom poked her head in, asking with concern. "You don't look so good. Is it because of the academic exchange?"

Himeko forced a smile, gathered her lesson plans, and held them in her hands.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well last night," she said, getting up to leave.

"Ah~ I haven't slept well these days either," the math teacher sighed.

"Dealing with those little brats in my class is already exhausting enough, and now the school wants to take away our rest time to prepare for that so-called academic exchange. Isn't that just pure nonsense?

Tell me, isn't this job just a killer..."

After leaving the office, her colleague's complaints slowly faded into the air.

The weather outside the window was gray and overcast, and Himeko walked along the school corridor.

Thinking back to last night, she couldn't help but yawn again.

She really hadn't slept well.

Because she'd had a dream, and in that dream...

She died.

She died saving her student, Kiana Kaslana.