Chapter 240

Suzuki glanced around and realized that neither Kirishima's mother nor the other two had returned yet, so she patiently continued to wait there, chatting idly with Kirishima Ai beside her.

"Actually, Haihara talked to me before, saying that there are a few kids in the class that she cares about a lot, but since she is the homeroom teacher, sometimes it is not easy to communicate with you."

"If you've been having any worries lately, would you like to talk to your teacher about it?"

After becoming a homeroom teacher, Haihara most often talked about those rebellious girls.

It's not just because of skipping classes.

Furthermore, it seems that these children all come from families with some problems.

Kirishima Ai was wearing rather thick clothes today, so she subconsciously tugged at her sleeves, trying to let some air out and avoid sweating.

Normally, she might have brushed it off.

But today, with no one else around except Teacher Suzuki, Kirishima Ai didn't know whether she should say these things to Teacher Suzuki.

"Um."

She responded softly.

Suzuki listened quietly to him.

After organizing her thoughts for a while, Kirishima Ai's gaze kept shifting, landing on various places.

No familiar figure was found.

"Lately... I've probably been acting a little strange."

She put her hands behind her back, clasped them together, leaned her waist slightly forward, and hunched her back somewhat insecurely.

The recent problem started when she couldn't transform into Silver Feather.

However, this means that apart from Miss Lily, she has no one she can confide in.

Takanashi and the others were exhausted because of the Magic girl R'lyeh incident, Kazama- senpai was preparing for her college entrance exams, and the idol was busy with her work. In fact, she was probably the one who had the most nothing to do.

"I've been dealing with some things lately that I can't talk to anyone about, and I don't know how to resolve them in the short term. I've been feeling very uneasy."

In fact, even now, Kirishima Ai feels that what she is saying is completely incomprehensible to others.

How can one describe the frustration of not being able to transform into Silver Feather?

After listening for a while, Suzuki asked:

"So, you mean that after having these kinds of troubles, you have someone you want to confide in, but you don't know how to say it, right?"

Although she's just a music teacher.

But Suzuki has always been good at listening to others confide their troubles.

Moreover, children's language is especially easy to understand.

Kirishima Ai remained silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

She truly didn't know how to say it.

Even now, Kirishima Ai still can't bring herself to say anything about her troubles regarding Silver Feather.

"Um."

She couldn't talk to Teacher Haihara about Magic girls, and she didn't want to bring her feelings about Magic girls to Teacher Haihara.

She went to see Miss Lily.

And when he didn't see Miss Lily, he inevitably felt a sense of loss.

When she met Teacher Haihara in the Materials Room, she couldn't say a word.

Suzuki didn't ask any further questions. He simply crossed his arms, thought for a while, and then asked Kirishima Ai, who was standing next to him, "Should we say something we'd like to tell the teacher?"

For example, topics like dating.

After she made up for it with those words, Kirishima Ai felt a little embarrassed. However, perhaps because Suzuki was at the age where she could act as a caring older sister, Kirishima Ai's defenses were lower than usual.

Furthermore, Teacher Suzuki is also Teacher Haihara's friend.

"... I do have someone I like."

She still mustered up the courage to speak up.

However, after saying that, she added, "I'm not in a relationship."

Otherwise, she was afraid that Suzuki would tell Teacher Haihara.

Suzuki's eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised.

She didn't say anything immediately afterward, but instead let Kirishima Ai continue speaking without interrupting her.

Then, Kirishima Ai said in a low but calm tone:

"But I probably won't have the chance to be with her."

Suzuki was somewhat Kirishima Ai say that.

For teenagers in their adolescence, love is probably a simple thing that requires no burden or thought.

However, it seems that Kirishima Ai doesn't think that way.

"Although she spoils me and is very tolerant and gentle with me, she is more mature than me and has more things to consider. In comparison, I often do things that annoy her, and I don't know if she might like me even a little bit."

Kirishima Ai couldn't figure out how to make Teacher Haihara like her more.

From childhood to adulthood, she never knew how to make others like her.

Rather, she's a selfish and annoying person.

"All I do is cling to her and do my own things; I can't help her at all."

If you think about it clearly, Kirishima Ai can't help the people she cares about in any way.

She had been unilaterally accepting that person's care.

Apart from that, it has always been a one-sided demand for love.

Therefore, while enjoying the benefits of her strange relationship with Teacher Haihara each time, Kirishima Ai also felt fear and unease.

Meanwhile, Suzuki was pondering another problem.

Although thinking this way is not quite appropriate.

But...

If she heard correctly, Kirishima had been using "she" the whole time, right?

Although she had heard that romantic relationships are very free nowadays.

But unexpectedly, Kirishima Ai, the quiet and aloof top student in their class, turned out to be attracted to the same sex.

This is truly rare.

This was the first time Suzuki had ever learned that there was a girl in Haihara's class who liked the same sex.

However, she was only slightly surprised for a moment.

She silently mourned for a moment the boys who had sent love letters and confessed their feelings to Kirishima Ai.

Suzuki reached out and gently adjusted the slightly drooping beret on Kirishima Ai's head.

So you're planning to give up?

Kirishima Ai did not speak.

She raised her hand and gently pressed down on her hat, making her fluffy black hair on top a little messy.

For some reason, when she thought about Teacher Haihara, she also thought about Silver Feather.

If we just pretend nothing happened, forget about it, or simply don't care, what kind of behavior is that...?

She said--

"I don't want to... lose contact with her."

Chapter 44 R'lyeh Wrestling Queen

While the exhibition was underway at the museum, Tachibana received a phone call and went to the office of the exhibition organizer. Just as she arrived, a woman walked out of the door.

Tachibana remembers correctly, this lady's name is Shiratori Aoi. Many years ago, they worked together on the same archaeological project, but back then, Shiratori Aoi was still a very young and inexperienced girl.

As for now, Tachibana heard that she is married and her child is in high school.

When Shiratori Aoi saw her, she nodded slightly, then closed the door, leaving Tachibana alone with the people in the office.

Then, Tachibana greeted the woman sitting behind the desk:

"I heard you wanted to see me, President Cangyue."

Inside the room, sitting in an office chair, was a woman who gave off a stern and aloof impression.

She could be considered pretty, but her expression, especially her long, narrow, and cold eyes, would make you instinctively avoid looking directly at her.

A slight smile played on her lips as she coldly gazed at the tablet on the table, which displayed scenes from inside the museum.

"It's nothing serious, but I'm a little surprised that you have so much free time to chat with such an unremarkable woman for so long."

"I remember, you usually don't allow people to enter your room without permission, right?"

The woman, known as President Cangyue, clasped her hands together and rested them on her chin, looking as if she were strategizing.

She is the president of the Dream Society.

Although she is over forty years old and can no longer be called young, she still maintains the beauty of a young person.

Her company, Dream Society, is a top-tier enterprise on par with the Kougami Conglomerate on the international stage.

At this moment, she is watching a scene on the screen.

The scene on screen shows a girl, probably a high school student, chatting with a woman.

If Shiratori Aoi were still here, she would probably recognize her.

This high school girl is her daughter— Kirishima Ai.

Tachibana was not confused; instead, she calmly responded to the president's question:

"Perhaps that person is not what you think."

She answered with a casual laugh.

President Cangyue didn't seem to understand the deeper meaning behind Tachibana's words, nor did she dwell on the matter.

After watching Kirishima Ai on the screen for a while, she looked away and turned to Tachibana.

This President Cangyue does indeed have a pair of very frightening eyes.

If it were any other member of the club, being stared at like that by her would probably be sweating profusely and trembling uncontrollably.

However, Tachibana didn't react in any particular way.

President Cangyue was already used to this; she lightly tapped the back of her other hand with one finger.

"Regardless, what I'm currently preparing for is very important to me. If you're planning anything underhanded, don't try to interfere with my good deeds."

Based on the conversation just now, the two do not appear to have a typical superior-subordinate relationship.

Compared to the others, Tachibana seemed much more relaxed and compliant when facing President Cangyue, and President Cangyue did not show any signs of being offended or angry.

"Well then, I wish you success."

Tachibana smiled and nodded.

After that, she shifted her gaze slightly and glanced behind President Cangyue.

Behind the president was a dark red curtain.

Normally, she wouldn't be able to see what was hidden behind it.

But Tachibana quickly sensed a certain aura.

"Hmm..."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked with a hint of curiosity:

"You haven't already gotten that back, have you?"

For Tachibana, although it was the first time she had felt such an aura, it wasn't hard to guess.