Chapter 194

"But later, because of something, I discovered that person was actually a very good person. Although he often seemed scary, he was actually gentle and mature, and a very... very charming person."

She stammered as she spoke.

This wasn't the first time the gray-haired woman had seen Kirishima Ai's face turn so red.

But every time I see it, I still find it very cute.

But after hearing Kirishima Ai's description, the gray-haired woman remained silent for a while, offering no response, simply listening quietly.

"I don't really understand why I care about her so much."

"Me and Gray... that person, thinking about it carefully, we don't have any contact other than that time I helped him. Every time I think about this, I feel a little disappointed."

"Although I can't say for sure if it's love... I've definitely been incredibly concerned about her ever since that incident, and I can't help it even if I try not to think about her."

Am I being a little frivolous...?

She mumbled a lot of things.

Perhaps she didn't really want to explain herself clearly, but just wanted to express her emotions.

If the person asking the Problem Child hadn't sounded so much like herself, Haihara really wouldn't have understood.

Haihara then fell silent.

Although she had vaguely sensed something before, hearing it from Kirishima Ai's mouth now still left Haihara with mixed feelings.

For children this age, liking someone is indeed a very simple thing.

Perhaps Kirishima Ai for him weren't love, but rather a vague affection that even she herself couldn't quite define.

High school students are very likely to develop feelings for each other over such simple things.

How should she respond to this immature relationship...?

Just as she was deep in thought, she heard Kirishima Ai continue:

"Moreover, I recently discovered that my deskmate, my classmate and colleague, even my seniors, and even my enemies, all of whom, unknowingly, know that person better than I do."

"..."

After a brief moment of thought, Haihara decided to give up answering the question.

Meanwhile, Kirishima Ai was still squatting and feeling distressed.

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but many times I suddenly feel like I've been left out."

This girl from Maple Plain City, who died from overwork, was a Magic girl who occasionally had intuitions that she couldn't explain, but every time she had such a feeling, she thought that she was probably just overthinking it.

It must be my imagination.

How could something happen that everyone else participated in, but she missed out on?

As she was deep in thought with her head down, she looked up and suddenly realized that the flame of the alcohol lamp had gone out.

This is strange.

After all, an alcohol lamp isn't a match; it won't just go out on its own.

But when the equipment room became completely dark, Kirishima Ai had no choice but to accept this reality.

"Miss Lily, have you left again?"

When she looked down at her, the drunken older sister, reeking of alcohol and cold yet gentle, had vanished.

Every time Miss Lily disappears, it makes Kirishima Ai feel like everything before was a dream.

So she was always afraid that it would be the last time they met.

Perhaps one day in the future, we will no longer see Miss Lily.

Should she ask for Miss Lily's contact information next time?

However, she soon noticed traces of Miss Lily's presence.

On the barbed wire...

The wine, heated by an alcohol lamp, is still there.

I touched it; the wine was still warm.

The aroma of warm liquor still lingered in the equipment room.

Subconsciously, Kirishima Ai picked up the glass of hot sake, held it to her chest, and carefully looked at the bottle of sake that belonged to Miss Lily in the dimly lit equipment room, smelling the same aroma as Miss Lily.

She had been curious about what the cocktail party would taste like.

However, Miss Lily had stopped her several times before when she wanted to try it, due to her limited moral character.

If it's just a bite, it should be fine, right...?

After sunset, the temperature inside the school dropped even lower.

Even wearing long sleeves while walking down the hallway can feel cold, making you want to go home and lie in bed.

Not long after Haihara left the equipment room, she waited outside for a while.

Uncharacteristically, out of consideration for her professional ethics, she decided to confirm Kirishima's return home.

However, after spending some time in the corridor near the equipment room, she noticed that Kirishima Ai hadn't come out of the equipment room, which puzzled Haihara.

What is this child doing?

She's freezing cold right now and doesn't have time to wait to figure out Problem Child she's doing alone in the equipment room.

Thinking about all this, she reluctantly walked to the door of the equipment room, opened it abruptly, looked inside, and was about to say something when:

"I'm going to lock the door, what are you doing...?"

She froze halfway through her sentence.

Kirishima Ai undoubtedly still inside.

Shortly after she opened the door, the little girl also walked towards the door.

But as soon as the little girl approached, Haihara smelled... alcohol on Kirishima Ai.

Yes.

In the dimly lit equipment room, the thin, pale girl's face was flushed with a drunken pink.

"Separated by..."

He even let out a rather cute burp.

Haihara stood in the doorway, holding the doorknob, looking somewhat confused and embarrassed.

Ai Kirishima Ai walked over step by step, swaying unsteadily, still reeking of alcohol. She raised her head, looked at Haihara with difficulty for a moment, and then tilted her head:

"Eh... Hai... Teacher Haihara ..."

Her voice was also slurred with drunkenness.

And he has a lisp.

If this were any other drunk high school girl, Haihara would find it quite cute.

But seeing Kirishima Ai, the Problem Child was always cold and aloof to her, acting like this made her feel a little scared.

"You smell so good today... hiccup... You look so sexy and beautiful today, am I dreaming...? Why is your face a little red...?"

This reckless drunkard approached Haihara while subtly sniffing the woman's scent, behaving unlike a cute high school girl.

Haihara was so stunned that she didn't know how to respond.

As a teacher and as Witch of R'lyeh, what hasn't she seen over the years?

She had never seen this before.

Then, seemingly really drunk, Kirishima Ai swayed and suddenly collapsed onto Haihara.

I wonder if this kid did it on purpose.

Her face landed squarely on Haihara's chest.

Haihara could only hug Kirishima Ai to prevent her from falling.

"So soft..."

Before this, Haihara had never imagined that the Problem Child was a perverted brat who could say such things without any shame.

After drunkenly lying on top of the woman, Kirishima Ai gently inhaled her scent.

A faint smell of smoke.

The scent of perfume, and the smell of alcohol that's so similar to my own...

She had always been curious whether women had a unique scent.

In summer, when the weather is very hot, women sometimes wear uniforms and black stockings.

Won't that make you sweat?

She seemed to have never seen a woman sweat; this woman was as cold as an air conditioner.

It might sound a bit perverted to say it, but she was very curious about Haihara's sweat smell.

But you definitely can't smell it now.

Because winter is almost here.

Soaking in hot springs is more suitable than sweating, as it can soothe the coldness in the body.

"Kirishima... if you keep doing this, I'm going to call your parents."

Haihara was incredibly annoyed.

Is she going to have to take this Problem Child home herself again?

But how could she explain to the parents that her child was drunk?

If she and her students haven't gone home more than half an hour after school ends, and they're both reeking of alcohol, then her teaching career will surely be over.

Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly heard the voice of the drunk JK lying on her chest:

"Teacher Haihara, how about we go on a hot spring trip together for the next three days of vacation...?"

Teachers' ethics are calling.

But upon hearing this, Haihara fell into deep thought...

Chapter Two: I am the Magic Girl Swift Fox

The next day, Kirishima Ai hesitated for a long time in front of her house before finally mustering the courage to ride her bicycle to school.

Last night, after drinking, she got completely drunk and was in a daze. When she woke up, her head was still spinning, and it was already midnight when she finally woke up in her room.

She didn't know how she got home.

I don't know how I changed into my pajamas, or how I laid out a makeshift bed on the floor while drunk, and the order in which I laid it out was different from my usual habits.

But Kirishima Ai probably still remembers.

When you're drunk, you might do something you absolutely shouldn't do.

This was the first time she had ever been drunk.

So she herself didn't know that she would really become so bold when she was drunk.

She still vaguely remembered some memories, whether they were dreams or real events, and just recalling them made her so ashamed that she wanted to strangle her drunken self.

However, it's too late to undo it now.

Now that she's at school, she's glanced at Teacher Haihara several times, but Teacher Haihara has never looked in her direction even once, which makes Kirishima Ai feel even more uneasy.

Kirishima Ai still has a headache.

Is this called a hangover?

But she didn't drink that much... and generally speaking, does a hangover last this long after waking up?

Just as she was agonizing over these trivial matters, perhaps because her seat was in the back row by the window, and the classroom was open for ventilation in the morning, she suddenly felt a cool breeze on the back of her neck.

The icy feeling instantly seeped through her clothes and down her spine, making her shiver.