Kitahara Ayano Assists Shimaura Hitomi in the Crime

As Shimaura Hitomi stared at Kiyoharu, searching for an opening, time suddenly froze.

Ah, it's happening again.

Kiyoharu rolled his eyes. Unfortunately, he'd been staring at his phone, handling work, so his field of vision was limited. He could only see the area immediately around his feet and not his surroundings.

The narrow view made Kiyoharu a little anxious. Even though he was used to Ayano's surprise attacks, he still found it quite irritating.

Fortunately, the grating squeak of the door opening as someone entered the secluded rooftop area was clear to his ears.

A pair of slender legs, encased in white stockings and wearing heeled shoes, approached Kiyoharu.

More accurately, they approached Kiyoharu and Shimaura Hitomi.

Ayano had even prepared a high stool, sitting on it deftly with her legs together and laying her drawing board across her lap.

"What a perfect composition… Kiyoharu-kun focused, and Little Tomi with ill intentions, stirring restlessly."

What did Shimaura Hitomi do to you?

If he ever got the chance, Kiyoharu definitely wanted to ask Ayano that question.

It was one thing if she always thought the worst of Airi, considering Airi didn't exactly look up to her either. Based on Kiyoharu's "interviews," both of them held a fundamental disdain for their supposed best friend.

But Kiyoharu firmly believed Shimaura Hitomi was innocent.

Soon, Ayano began to draw, quickly sketching the scene before her, occasionally moving around to observe from different angles.

When she crouched down to observe from below, her face entered Kiyoharu's view. Her flushed cheeks and almost frenzied eyes made Kiyoharu's heart skip a beat.

Damn it, I'm getting PTSD.

He knew that expression all too well.

Among the yandere girlfriends he'd encountered in his past life, there was a music student who looked similar while singing a song she'd composed for him and enjoying herself on top of him.

Fortunately, Ayano at this stage was merely obsessed with her art. If Ayano ever showed that expression because of Kiyoharu himself, it would be a truly dire situation…

Ayano seemed genuinely pleased with the rooftop scene. Several minutes passed, and her pencil continued to dance across the paper.

Kiyoharu felt like a failing student waiting for the teacher to call him out after an exam. He didn't believe Ayano would use Time Stop without pulling some sort of stunt. According to the system scan, activating Time Stop required catalysts. Ayano, being someone who loved to stir up trouble, would definitely expect a return for her investment.

Finally, Ayano let out a satisfied hum and put away her drawing board.

She sat down next to Kiyoharu and reached out to stroke his neck, sending a ticklish, cold sensation through him.

Kiyoharu suddenly realized Ayano's hands and feet were always cold. According to doctors, this was a sign of poor peripheral circulation.

He thought she was going to unbutton his shirt and do something untoward, even mentally preparing his chest muscles for her touch. To his surprise, Ayano instead untied Kiyoharu's tie and tucked it into the pocket of Shimaura Hitomi's tracksuit.

Hiss, what is this move?

"Let's give dear Little Tomi a little gift. I hope Little Tomi will be satisfied."

Clearly, Ayano not only believed Shimaura Hitomi had a crush on Kiyoharu but also saw her as a pervert who liked Kiyoharu's clothes. Now Kiyoharu was unhappy. He planned to find an opportunity to ask Ayano about her opinion of Shimaura Hitomi during the afternoon's literature club activities.

The iron gate creaked again, and Time Stop ended.

Shimaura Hitomi's mind was in a whirl. She didn't notice the extra item in her pocket or Kiyoharu's tie mysteriously disappearing.

Since she showed no signs of confusion, Kiyoharu decided to play along as if nothing had happened.

It wasn't until they returned to the office that Haneda Miho noticed something amiss. "Ew, Teacher Chihaya isn't wearing a tie today?"

"Really? Oh, so he isn't."

Kiyoharu smiled sheepishly. "The students probably won't mind, right?"

"Of course not! Our Teacher Chihaya looks handsome no matter what he wears!" Haneda Miho gave Kiyoharu a subtle flirtatious wink, though such an expression wasn't exactly subtle for an adult.

In fact, about a dozen female teachers at the school gave him similar looks every week. Some even dropped direct hints via LINE or passed him notes.

Chihaya Academy had plenty of married women who were unsatisfied with their marital lives, like lonely housewives.

Due to Airi's intimidating presence, they wouldn't dare act overtly, but the private harassment never stopped.

The male protagonist's constitution was no joke; he was practically no different from a succubus.

Haneda Miho, who seemed carefree and guileless, often brushed her arm against Kiyoharu's when handing him things. She took advantage of such small opportunities frequently and especially loved to disparage her husband's inadequacy in front of Kiyoharu.

Kiyoharu ignored all the bait she threw his way.

It wasn't due to his morals.

Considering the messes he'd gotten into in his previous life, Kiyoharu didn't consider himself a particularly good person morally.

He simply valued his life and insisted on abstinence.

This life, I'll rely on my golden left hand. I can provide for myself!

The discussion about the tie quickly passed. Chihaya Academy wasn't strict about teacher attire. As a star teacher, Kiyoharu could wear whatever he wanted without criticism; his value was demonstrated by his students' good academic performance.

Shimaura Hitomi, however, found it very strange. She clearly remembered Kiyoharu wearing a tie to work. Every morning when Kiyoharu entered the office, Shimaura Hitomi would scrutinize him from head to toe, imprinting every detail into her mind. She used to do this so she could go home and fantasize about Kiyoharu to do something enjoyable. Recently, it was to find an opportunity to steal a catalyst – commonly known as casing the joint.

While she was wondering, Shimaura Hitomi returned to her seat and felt something bulging in her pocket. She instinctively reached for it, then quickly stuffed it back in halfway.

Her arm hit the desk with too much force, emitting a loud "bang."

"Are you alright, Teacher Shimaura?" Kiyoharu quickly came over to check.

"N-no, I'm fine..."

"Let me see. Are you bruised anywhere?"

Kiyoharu calmly checked Shimaura Hitomi's arm. She, however, became incredibly nervous, terrified that the tie in her pocket would fall out and Kiyoharu would see it.

Shimaura Hitomi couldn't remember how the tie ended up in her pocket, but she truly wanted it. Especially when she thought about how the young lady likely tied it on Kiyoharu herself, her desire to steal it intensified.

Could it be that she'd been too stressed lately, to the point of being dazed and forgetting how she'd stolen it?

No matter what, she absolutely couldn't let her secret slip!

Kiyoharu, however, knew the truth.

At that moment, he had already mentally cursed Ms. Kitahara a thousand times.

That damn Canvas Devil, bullying even a pure and adorable child like Shimaura Hitomi. Did she have any shred of decency left?

Look at how nervous the kid was. She was probably terrified of being mistaken for a slutty girl who steals her male colleague's tie.

Kiyoharu pretended not to notice Shimaura Hitomi's nervousness. He squeezed her arm; it was soft and felt incredibly good.

"You should be fine. If it still hurts later, you must go to the school infirmary. If you have classes, you can have me cover for you." After saying this, Kiyoharu quickly moved away from Shimaura Hitomi, lest any awkward situation arise.

It was like this: if you, as a parent, unfortunately walked in on your child doing something they shouldn't, the best course of action was to quietly close the door, leave, and forget about it.

It wasn't the child's fault. It wasn't Shimaura Hitomi's fault either.

Kitahara Ayano, you have no heart!

Generally, Chihaya Academy's high school division only had one class in the afternoon. The rest of the time might be for club activities, sports, or extra tutoring – essentially, students had to arrange it themselves.

Students who enrolled in Chihaya Academy, in addition to having excellent exam results, had to possess some kind of talent. For example, when Kiyoharu was studying, he joined the soccer club. His footwork was mediocre, purely that of a rough player who relied on his protagonist-like strong physique to dominate.

But it seemed no one cared whether you were a technical player or a brute force player. As long as you had team spirit and were an outgoing, athletic handsome guy, you'd be at the top of the social food chain for Japanese youth.

From Kiyoharu's observation, students at Chihaya Academy considered many objective factors when joining clubs. Personal hobbies only accounted for a small portion. Take the Literary Club, for instance. Truly art-loving members were few and far between. The collective artistic passion of the entire club probably couldn't match Ayano's alone.

Ayano truly loved art. Anyone slightly more ordinary, upon obtaining a monstrous ability like Time Stop, would have immediately aimed for world domination. Yet, she was still preoccupied with her damn Ultimate Masterpiece, which was almost laughable.

Although her methods for creating her Ultimate Masterpiece were somewhat unsavory, her spirit was commendable.

With admiration for Ayano's noble spirit, Kiyoharu strolled to the club building. At the directory on the first floor, he found the location of the Literary Club. He climbed the stairs, stopping halfway on the second floor to admire the sculptures displayed in the wall cabinets.

Kiyoharu felt very relaxed because Ayano had already used Time Stop today, meaning Kiyoharu was completely s-a-f-e during the entire Literary Club's active period!

The sculpture was a male bust, with long hair, like a hero from Western fantasy legends. He was tall and majestic, yet possessed a hint of melancholy. He was gentle without being effeminate, and not at all pretentious – a universally appealing image that attracted both men and women.

"Kiyoharu-kun, you're quite early."

Kitahara Ayano's voice sounded from behind him.

"I'm not busy anyway."

"Indeed. Kiyoharu-kun can calmly enjoy a slow pace of life, something I wish I could do but can't." Ayano came to Kiyoharu's side and they admired the sculpture together. "Back then, I often watched popular manga, but I always felt the male characters on them were unsatisfactory, so I tried creating my own... It seems my works always inadvertently catch Kiyoharu-kun's attention, pu pu."

"...This is your work?"

If the system had granted him the ability to rewind time, Kiyoharu would absolutely have made his past self head straight to the Literary Club a few minutes ago.

Why was he looking at some stupid sculpture when he had nothing else to do?

Heaven knows, Kiyoharu wasn't connecting with Ayano on some spiritual level. He just felt this sculpture strongly resembled a famous game character from his previous life, and the incredibly catchy phrase "Sephiroth! Man among men! Male among males!" involuntarily played in his mind...

But.

To be fair, Ayano's taste was indeed excellent.

Back then, Ayano didn't know Kiyoharu, yet she could create a beauty comparable to Kiyoharu. She was truly gifted.

"Why did Chihaya Academy include your work? Didn't you go abroad for studies after high school..."

"It was just a practice piece from junior high. I originally planned to attend high school here too, but some family matters occurred, and my parents sent me abroad to lie low."

"So you went abroad to lie low? Oh, Airi said you went because the learning environment abroad was better."

"Airi? What does she know? She knows nothing."

Ayano frowned, a strong displeasure and disgust flashing across her face. However, she didn't seem to want to discuss it, so Kiyoharu let it drop.

The location for this year's Literary Club's sketching event was a very trendy oval classroom. In Kiyoharu's memory, various school organizations always liked to use this place when filming cool promotional videos.

Kiyoharu let Ayano go ahead first, while he dashed to the restroom for a satisfying bowel movement. Something seemed wrong with his lunch bento. Damn convenience store! The owner of that convenience store seemed to be a distant relative of the Chihaya family... He wasn't sure how distant, but they were somehow related. As a long-established family conglomerate, the Chihaya family was also far ahead in nepotism.

After resolving his stomach issues, Kiyoharu arrived at the cool oval classroom.

As he pushed open the door, the chattering noise hit him like the afternoon heat. Most of the club members present were girls. They had completely ignored Kitahara Ayano's presence until Kiyoharu appeared, at which point they quieted down a little.

"Teacher Chihaya, you're really too sly! You never came when we invited you before, but you so easily accepted Miss Kitahara's invitation!"

"Did I?"

"Absolutely true."

The girl Kiyoharu was talking to... what was her name again?

Kiyoharu didn't remember her name, but he had some impression of her face. During the sports festival, Kiyoharu was playing soccer in the entertainment team formed by teachers. After washing his face and returning to the locker room, he saw that girl lingering near the locker room entrance, seemingly wanting to do something to his soccer shoes.

After confirming the accuracy of his memories, Kiyoharu offered the girl a polite smile, deciding to avoid speaking with her any further.

In this world, every woman is a potential "Yandere."

This girl, in particular, had a prior record of "attempted assault," so he needed to be extra vigilant.

If Kiyoharu's identity wasn't Airi's fiancé, but a handsome man without any backing, it was likely that more serious incidents would occur, let alone just his sneakers being damaged.

Today, he only needed to be a model, so all he had to do was keep quiet and zone out.

However, Kiyoharu soon found this strategy difficult to implement.

Ayano had extremely poor control over her students. As she read the event procedures by the book, the girls below chatted amongst themselves, completely disregarding her.

This was strange. Chihaya Academy was supposed to be a place that highly valued lineage and seniority. Anyone from a decent family would show some respect, yet they openly disdained Ayano.

Even more peculiar was Ayano's lack of reaction to this situation. She seemed accustomed to it, fiddling with her drawing board in a corner near the podium. If one ignored her more mature demeanor, she could easily be mistaken for one of the students...

Kiyoharu gradually grew displeased. While he was happy to see Ayano flustered, it was likely due to his teacher's professional habit; he couldn't stand seeing students in such disarray.

He couldn't change everyone's perception of Ayano for now, as the intricate social dynamics of high society were clearly at play.

The only thing he could do was to bring order back to the club activities.

After some thought, Kiyoharu cleared his throat a couple of times to attract everyone's attention.

"Simple sketching is a bit boring, how about we make it a challenge."