I Am Actually a Villainous Magical Girl, Teacher

Haihara touched the mug with her hand, then took a gentle sip.

"...So sweet."

This was far too sweet.

She was nearly thirty; wouldn't drinking something this cloyingly sweet in the middle of the night be bad for her teeth?

Besides, it seemed like it would easily lead to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol.

However, Kazama Kiriori seemed to absolutely love these kinds of cloyingly sweet things.

When she was a child, the girl even liked to eat honey straight from the jar.

Whatever, the hot cocoa was actually pretty good today.

Even though her adopted daughter could be a bit annoying when she was being clingy, she was usually very considerate.

When it came to cooking, she was far more skilled than Haihara herself.

Kazama leaned in closer, resting her face in her hands:

"Speaking of which, Mom, do you remember what you promised me earlier?"

She looked at Haihara like a puppy wagging its tail, asking with great anticipation.

"What?"

"A date, just the two of us."

"I told you, it's not a date. We can go out and have fun together, that's all."

Haihara felt the trouble of raising a child once again.

Playing with a kid was an exhausting affair.

Kazama Kiriori smiled brightly, humming a happy tune under her breath.

Haihara looked at her helplessly:

"I'm tired. Give me a shoulder massage."

Kazama Kiriori stood up immediately, walked behind Haihara, and began to massage her shoulders with practiced, obedient movements.

In truth, Haihara wasn't old enough to need massages, nor was she truly exhausted.

This was probably just something akin to a habit.

Once, a long time ago, Kazama Kiriori had excitedly offered to give her a massage, so she let her do it once. It felt pretty good, and they had kept up the habit ever since.

The pressure was just right—neither too light nor too heavy. As Haihara sipped her hot cocoa while being massaged by her daughter, she felt a rare sense of leisure.

Kazama Kiriori's slender fingertips gently stroked the exposed skin of Haihara's neck, brushing against her slightly cool skin, and she couldn't help but want to play a little prank.

After a while, Haihara felt her neck itch.

"I told you to massage me, not to bite me. Are you protesting?"

Haihara patted Kazama Kiriori's little head in confusion.

Although the bite was very light, she didn't like it.

Kazama Kiriori looked a bit regretful, leaning forward slightly to rest her head on Haihara's shoulder:

"Sleep with me tonight."

"Can't you sleep on the sofa?" Haihara said coldly.

"It's rare for me to come home," Kazama Kiriori said pitifully.

Haihara looked at her for a moment, but in the end, she couldn't do anything about her, so she sighed and said:

"Don't get too close to me. It's very hot at night."

Kazama Kiriori immediately broke into a triumphant smile, leaning in even closer and gently rubbing her face against Haihara's, making Haihara feel like she was raising a puppy.

It really wasn't like her...

Haihara was the type who wasn't very good at getting close to people.

But Kazama Kiriori was the type of padded jacket that stuck to you.

She made you feel very hot in the summer.

At night, the two of them slept in the same bed for the first time in a long while. In the middle of the night, Haihara felt a bit warm and slowly opened her eyes, only to find that her daughter had hugged her again at some point.

She had to go out and play with this little one tomorrow.

Haihara blinked sleepily, leaned forward slightly, and wrapped her arms around Kazama Kiriori, who was wearing pajamas, planting a light kiss on the young girl's forehead.

Then, even though the brat was clearly still asleep, she snuggled in even tighter.

"Mmm... Lily..."

"?"

This brat, how could she be so disrespectful? Why was she calling her name in her sleep?

Haihara had no idea what this little girl was thinking about all day long.

She rubbed her eyes, gently pushed Kazama Kiriori's arm away, and climbed out of bed, intending to head to the restroom.

Then, she quickly heard footsteps. Turning around, she discovered it was Sakaki Chika.

The little one seemed to have just woken up in the middle of the night as well, looking a bit dazed.

Sakaki Chika was bleary-eyed; upon seeing Haihara, she walked over slowly, suddenly hugged Haihara, and mumbled indistinctly:

"Teacher... you're back..."

Haihara was a bit confused, but she still patted Sakaki Chika's head for the time being.

"Didn't sleep well?"

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Haihara's tone was a bit gentler than usual.

"Had a nightmare..."

Sakaki Chika didn't seem to be in a good mood.

This made Haihara recall when Kiriori was little, as she would also often wake up in the middle of the night due to nightmares.

That was back when she had just adopted Kiriori, and Kiriori would frequently have nightmares about her parents.

Sakaki Chika was probably in a similar situation.

Although she had been very quiet while staying at her house these past few days, she likely lacked a sense of security.

"If you're feeling down, you can talk to me."

Haihara patted her back.

"Mmm..."

Sakaki Chika seemed to be saying something, but Haihara couldn't hear it clearly, so she leaned in closer, only to feel her face get pecked.

Haihara froze for a moment, then looked at Sakaki Chika, seeing the little girl's face slightly flushed.

This little girl... is she the clingy type too?

Sakaki Chika didn't continue speaking, just kept her head down, continuing to hug Haihara.

She seemed to hear Sakaki Chika whisper softly:

"Teacher... in the future, I will repay you just like your own daughter..."

"Uh... okay?"

Haihara felt that this little girl was quite grateful.

Chapter 38 Kirishima Hina

Sunday was generally the day Kirishima Ai went to work her part-time job alone, but today was special; she didn't go to work, but instead headed alone to a hospital quite far from home.

This was a private hospital in Maple Plain City, established with investments from the Kougami Foundation, possessing world-class medical equipment and technology.

After locking her bicycle, she entered the hospital alone with practiced ease and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

It was nine o'clock in the morning, and the sunlight from outside the window shone into the hospital corridor, which was somewhat quiet, with nurses passing by occasionally.

Kirishima Ai held a bag of snacks in one hand and a small bag in the other, walking toward the end of the corridor.

Reaching the door at the very end, she gently pushed it open.

Inside the ward, the curtains had been drawn at some point, making the room dim. Only a sliver of light leaked through, faintly revealing a glass bottle containing a dead daffodil.

In the corner of the ward, on a pure white hospital bed, a thin, small girl sat quietly without a word, her black hair slightly obscuring her eyes as she stared calmly at the dead flower on the windowsill.

The ward felt a bit chilly; Kirishima Ai was wearing short sleeves and had felt hot outside, but here, she felt cold.

She looked up, noting that the air conditioning didn't seem to be on.

The girl on the hospital bed didn't seem to notice Kirishima Ai's arrival.

"Hina."

Kirishima Ai said softly.

The girl reacted, slowly turning her head. Her expression didn't change; she just looked at Kirishima Ai quietly.

The girl was wearing a hospital gown and was extremely slender, her skin excessively pale, giving off a fragile and broken impression. She had long black hair, and the face beneath her bangs looked very much like Kirishima Ai's.

She was Kirishima Ai's younger sister, Kirishima Hina.

Kirishima Ai had come here today to visit her.

Her sister had to come here for treatment every so often; otherwise, not only would she be unable to walk, she wouldn't be able to move at all.

However, to this day, no one knew exactly what her illness was.

Because it was caused by an incident involving a monster.

Whether they asked Doctor Kougami or Director Roland, their answers were always that it could not be completely cured.

The silence in the ward lasted for a while before Kirishima Ai spoke again:

"Big sister is here to see you."

Hina nodded.

Kirishima Ai walked over, sat down beside her hospital bed, placed the bag containing snacks on a nearby chair, and set the small bag on the table.

"The curtains aren't drawn yet; did you just wake up?"

She reached out and gently stroked Hina's hair.

Hina shook her head:

"I'm not in a good mood... I don't want to open the curtains."

Lately, Hina seemed to have become somewhat reticent.

It was said that her condition had worsened; previously, she only needed to be hospitalized once every two and a half months, but now, only half a month had passed since her last stay.

Her family didn't know what to do.

"Did you eat well yesterday?"

"I ate dinner."

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"I threw up last night."

Kirishima Ai fell silent for a moment and opened the bag on the table, which contained a small cake.

Everything in the bag had been bought with money she earned from her part-time job.

"Big sister bought the strawberry cake you said you wanted last time; do you want to try it now?"

Kirishima Ai patted Hina's head.

Hina nodded, then Kirishima Ai opened the plastic container and handed Hina a small fork, and Hina took a curious look at the cake before slowly digging into it.

She didn't eat it right away, but instead divided the cake into piece after piece, arranging them in the small plastic box.