In the frozen time and space before Kiyoharu's eyes, the warm spring sunlight fell across desk after desk. The students were either concentrating intently or secretly zoning out, their expressions fixed like terracotta warriors.
Meanwhile, Kitahara Ayano, who had slipped beneath the teacher's podium, had already unzipped his pants.
"Oh... so it's pretty well concealed in non-combat mode."
If it wasn't concealed, was he supposed to have it out on display?
Kiyoharu was helpless. In his eyes, Kitahara Ayano seemed like a girl raised with excessively proper manners, who had suddenly gained the power to do whatever she pleased in stopped time and was now freely indulging the wildness she had suppressed for years.
He distinctly felt it get flicked by a finger. If he could move his face, he would surely have grimaced and broken out in a cold sweat.
Thankfully, Kitahara Ayano did not continue making any dangerous moves on Little Kiyoharu. She merely touched it lightly, her warm breath brushing against Kiyoharu's thigh.
From this angle, with the podium blocking his view, Kiyoharu could not see at all what Kitahara Ayano was doing. As the saying went, the unknown bred fear. Kiyoharu was panicking now, and beyond that panic, the setting—during class, in broad daylight—only further heightened the stimulation in his nerves.
Soon, Kitahara Ayano let out a delighted cry.
Kiyoharu hurriedly began silently reciting legal statutes, trying to use the coldness of knowledge to suppress human instinct.
"Wait... something's wrong. Why is he reacting?" Kitahara Ayano's tone suddenly turned puzzled. A few seconds later, she crawled out from beneath the podium, stood beside Kiyoharu, and blinked as she studied him closely.
"Every living thing should be absolutely motionless. It shouldn't respond to stimulation. Come to think of it, Kiyoharu-kun's first time was strange too. Could it be... you can hear me right now, Kiyoharu-kun?"
Haha, he was sweating a little.
Kiyoharu spread out his focus as much as possible, staring straight ahead and trying his hardest to look no different from everyone else.
Honestly, he had no idea why he possessed the authority to "observe" within Kitahara Ayano's Time Stop, but Ayano absolutely could not be allowed to find out!
Because it would further pique her curiosity and make Ayano do even more absurdly outrageous things.
"You're actually partly immune to my ability. You're special. I was right about you after all, Kiyoharu-kun~"
Kiyoharu could practically picture her words and tone already.
So, no matter how Kitahara Ayano called his name or waved a hand before his eyes, Kiyoharu remained perfectly still.
But after Kitahara Ayano had stared at Kiyoharu's face for too long, the heat in her breathing suddenly rose.
Unable to resist, she turned his face to the side, stood on tiptoe, and leaned over to kiss his lips.
"Mmm..."
A soft touch, awkward movements, and an overwhelming air of curiosity.
It was merely contact between two pairs of lips, without any more intimate exploration. Perhaps Kitahara Ayano lacked experience?
Yet she seemed utterly fascinated even by such a tentative taste, only slowly pulling away after a long while.
"Phew—Kiyoharu-kun's scent is truly addictive. Sigh, a man as richly endowed as a treasure trove like this could probably fulfill the dreams of so many girls in Tokyo and give them a dreamlike life. What a pity Airi keeps such a close watch over you."
You called that salvation?
That was just immoral... Kiyoharu thought helplessly, keeping his blank stare. Thanks to the effectiveness of reciting legal statutes, even that lingering kiss had not raised his body temperature.
It even made Kitahara Ayano doubt her own judgment. Perhaps doing bad things during Time Stop naturally gave men unusual reactions?
She was not sure. After all, she had never tried this on any other man during stopped time besides Kiyoharu, nor did she want to. Kitahara Ayano had very selective tastes.
"Then we'll stop here for now. Next time, I'll consider other ways to test what you're made of, Kiyoharu-kun~ Goodbye for now, Kiyoharu-kun. Enjoy class."
After muttering a few words, Kitahara Ayano could not resist kissing Kiyoharu's cheek again before leaving reluctantly.
Bzz—
It felt as though he had emerged from deep underwater, and the world abruptly regained its clear, vivid sharpness.
Kiyoharu continued explaining mathematical theorems behind the podium without revealing anything, but his mind was racing as he contemplated a profound philosophical question.
That was, his zipper was still open.
Brother, it was still wide open.
How was he supposed to restore his dignity without the students noticing anything strange?
The podium was concealing him for now, sure, but he could not stay pressed against it forever. Even setting that aside, class would end in just over ten minutes!
Shame and a sense of crisis made Kiyoharu's thoughts whirl, while also casting a faint layer of tension over them.
At that moment, Kitahara Ayano, who had supposedly "gone to the restroom," returned to the back of the classroom. Looking utterly innocent, she sat beside Shimaura Hitomi and looked toward Kiyoharu.
At the right moment, Kiyoharu mixed a trace of startled panic into his expression.
Of course, he had actually already thought of a way to deal with it. But if he looked too calm, it would confirm that he had remained conscious during Time Stop. If an ordinary person suddenly found their zipper inexplicably undone, their first reaction would certainly be shock.
Only by putting on a convincing expression could he dispel Kitahara Ayano's suspicions.
"Sorry, everyone. The teacher suddenly has a stomachache. Please study quietly on your own for now."
Kiyoharu bent over and clutched his stomach. Concealed by the podium, he swiftly put himself away, then maintained his hunched posture to hide the bulge as he quickly ran from the classroom.
Scattered laughter rose behind him, but it soon quieted down.
The students he taught really were great—understanding, diligent, and with no troublesome troublemakers.
Naturally, that was partly due to Kiyoharu's capable management, but luck was indispensable too. Someone as unlucky as Shimaura Hitomi ran into hard-to-manage students every year.
"Damn it..."
Inside a stall, Kiyoharu lowered his head at the stubborn presence and nearly cried.
After being held and kissed by Ayano for so long in front of an entire class, even knowing that time had been stopped could not stop Kiyoharu from getting excited.
Sometimes, having a body that was too robust was not necessarily a good thing.
Lunch break.
Since Kitahara Ayano had already used Time Stop today, the remaining time was relatively safe. Kiyoharu was able to relax and enjoy his free time.
Whenever he needed to unwind, Kiyoharu would generally summon the system and trade a few barbs with it.
After all these years, it seemed to have become a habit.
"System, do you think she already knows I can observe during Time Stop?"
"Host, that's difficult to say..."
"Difficult to say? Don't you have some function that reveals the female characters' inner thoughts? The systems in other stories can read minds or have simulators that describe the plot, things like that."
"Uh, uh, Host, you see clearly. Those are all artistic embellishments, exaggerations. What real system could possibly be that overpowered?"
"Then I think Time Stop counts as overpowered too. Why don't you give me one?"
"If the Host wants Time Stop, you'll need to complete Kitahara Ayano's series of missions. Hehe, while the Host was getting intimate with Ayano, I scanned a new mission too. It's much easier than having a child with her. Would the Host like to hear it?"
"To hell with that. I'm not doing the Canvas Devil's missions. The risk is too high. Farming Shimaura Hitomi is much more comfortable."
"Canvas Devil?"
"That's Kitahara Ayano. That woman carries a drawing board around every day while causing trouble everywhere, so I call her the Canvas Devil. Tsk, just like the Red-Eyed Devil, neither of them is any good."
"..."
While Kiyoharu chatted in his mind, Shimaura Hitomi across from him was holding a piece of bread and taking small bites. Her sharp eyes kept searching for an opportunity.
She needed to find a chance to swap out her senior's carbon pen.
Before you continue