Teacher, I Am Actually a Villainous Magical Girl

"..."

Kirishima Ai opened her mouth, feeling a bit embarrassed to speak.

But remembering Teacher Haihara's words from earlier...

"...It's probably just a short walk to the right after you go out."

"Then you rest for a while, I'm going out to buy medicine."

Haihara reached out again and touched Kirishima Ai's forehead; it seemed even hotter than before.

After asking, she found out there wasn't even a thermometer in the house.

She really didn't know how this little girl had managed to live alone for so long.

After that, Haihara took the keys and went out to buy medicine and a thermometer.

After waiting about five minutes, Haihara took out the thermometer and examined it carefully for a moment.

Thirty-eight point five degrees.

It was a bit more serious than she had imagined; at the very least, she wouldn't be able to go to school tomorrow.

Kirishima Ai was now lying on the floor bedding, her naturally fair face flushed with an unnatural red, looking fragile and pitiful.

Pouring a glass of water, Haihara watched as Kirishima Ai obediently took the fever medicine.

However, after that, there didn't seem to be much else for her to do.

Although she really wanted to go home, she couldn't just leave a sick person alone in the house.

She took a look at the small refrigerator in Kirishima Ai's home; there were ingredients inside, but they were a mess and not really suitable for a patient to eat.

After a while, the half-conscious Kirishima Ai heard a bubbling sound, as if something was being boiled, and then she smelled a fragrance.

The room, which had been a bit cold, became a little warmer.

She lifted her head and saw Haihara, wearing only a white shirt, cooking in the kitchen area.

Calling it a kitchen was a stretch; it was actually in the same room, occupying less than four square meters.

Not long after, Haihara turned off the stove, took out a bowl, scooped up what she had made, and slowly walked over to Kirishima Ai.

Kirishima Ai took a look; it was white porridge.

She had added pickled plums, which were originally intended for making rice balls.

Holding the steaming bowl of white porridge, Haihara scooped up a spoonful, blew on it gently, and once it stopped steaming, held it out to Kirishima Ai's lips.

Kirishima Ai was a little confused.

"Ah."

Haihara said coldly.

It was like she was coaxing a small child.

Kirishima Ai obediently opened her mouth and was fed a spoonful of porridge by Haihara.

It was still quite hot.

Her tongue was scalded, but it was still acceptable.

The white porridge naturally didn't have much flavor, just a hint of the sour and salty taste of the pickled plum; it certainly couldn't be called delicious.

But she didn't have much of an appetite anyway, so it was all about the same to her.

"Is it hot?"

"A little."

Haihara remained expressionless and scooped up another spoonful, this time blowing on it a bit longer.

Perhaps because they were so close, even though Kirishima Ai's sense of taste wasn't great right now, she could still smell the adult perfume on Haihara.

After a while, Haihara held out the spoon again.

This time, it wasn't as hot.

After finishing the bowl of porridge, Kirishima Ai felt her stomach warm up a little.

She had actually barely eaten anything at noon today.

"What about you, Teacher?"

"I'll eat in a little while."

Kirishima Ai tilted her head and said in a voice as small as a mosquito's:

"I meant tonight..."

"I will stay with you."

Teacher Haihara's tone remained flat, devoid of any emotion, and it was impossible to tell if she was angry or happy.

"What about Teacher's family?"

"A quick message will be enough."

After all, the only person at her place right now was that little idol.

"Oh..."

In other words...

The two of them would be staying together in this tiny rented apartment tonight.

If it were before, she probably never would have imagined things turning out like this—being looked after by Teacher Haihara, and even living together.

Moreover, living in such a small room.

Haihara looked around.

"Do you usually live here alone?"

"Yes."

She had been living alone like this for about two or three years. This place was close to the middle school she used to attend, though she had to ride a bicycle to get to high school.

"Where are your parents?"

In this kind of weather, it was hard to imagine what kind of parents wouldn't come to pick her up.

"Dad is working away."

Her parents were already divorced. Her father paid for her tuition and living expenses, and she usually worked part-time to earn money herself. As for what her mother was doing, she had no idea.

Ever since the monster incident in her childhood that led to her younger sister's accident, her parents' relationship had gone from bad to worse.

Eventually, the two divorced. She lived with her father now, while Hina lived with her mother.

"I heard you have a younger sister."

"Yes."

"Are you close?"

"...We're pretty close."

Although something had happened recently that left her feeling a bit down.

Kirishima Ai's mood turned gloomy once again.

Seeing that Kirishima Ai looked a bit tired, Haihara didn't intend to keep chatting. She touched Kirishima Ai's face and said calmly:

"It's alright, get some rest."

"Teacher, um... there's hot water at my place."

Kirishima Ai explained to Haihara how to heat the water for a shower and where the unused towels were.

Afterward, she felt a bit drowsy and slowly drifted off to sleep on the bed.

When she woke up again, Kirishima Ai faintly heard the sound of a shower. She woke up groggily, her mind still hazy and unclear.

After waking up, her head still ached; she was probably still running a fever. She needed to use the bathroom, so she slowly crawled out of bed.

A moment later, the sound of water stopped, and she didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a hallucination from her fever.

Thinking this, she arrived at the bathroom door and quickly pulled it open.

She suddenly realized the light was still on.

Becoming a little more alert, Kirishima Ai felt as if she had overlooked something.

"Excuse me, I'm still using the bathroom."

A cold voice suddenly appeared beside Kirishima Ai's ear.

Shifting her gaze, she saw a beautiful yet somewhat icy woman standing there, wearing nothing but black lace lingerie, drying her wet hair with a towel.

All of her fair skin and graceful contours were laid bare.

Kirishima Ai turned her face away in embarrassment, her pale face instantly flushing red.

"Teacher... I'm sorry, I..."

"What's wrong?"

Haihara looked at her in confusion, putting on her clothes piece by piece.

"...It's nothing."

Kirishima Ai's face was beet red, steam seemingly rising from her head. Whether it was because of the fever or something else, she immediately closed the door, leaving Haihara alone in the bathroom.

Haihara didn't react much, only thinking that the young girl's fever hadn't broken yet.

Although she wasn't the type to be a clean freak, she still had to shower once a day in the summer.

Besides, staying at the Kirishima residence today, she didn't seem to have any way to change into fresh clothes.

After putting her clothes back on, she walked out of the bathroom.

Once she stepped out, she saw Kirishima Ai sitting there as if she were standing in a corner for punishment.

Haihara walked over and touched the girl's forehead again:

"Hmm... the fever seems to have gone down a bit."

Then why was her face so red just a moment ago?

Chapter 45: Teacher's Ethics UP

That evening, a new bed was added to the Kirishima household. Since the rental apartment wasn't very large to begin with, the two of them sleeping side-by-side didn't pose much of a problem.

Because there wasn't a second pillow in the house, they folded up a winter quilt to use as a cushion instead.

It was actually quite comfortable.

Generally speaking, Haihara wouldn't go to sleep until around eleven or twelve o'clock, but because Kirishima Ai was sick, they turned off the lights shortly after nine tonight.

The cramped room suddenly turned dim, lit only by the faint streetlights outside the window.

Before going to sleep, she took Kirishima Ai's temperature one last time.

Unexpectedly, the temperature had already dropped below thirty-eight degrees.

Perhaps this had to do with the fact that she was a magical girl, and her constitution was better than an ordinary person's.

In Haihara's memory, it was extremely rare for a magical girl to run a fever while in her ordinary state.

Usually, it was only when their spirits were extremely low that they would lose the protection of their magic and become as fragile as an ordinary person.

So, had this child encountered something that put her in a bad mood lately?

Haihara looked toward Kirishima Ai and discovered that she wasn't asleep, but was blinking and watching her.

Ever since she had accidentally barged into the bathroom earlier, this child had barely said a word.

She was probably feeling embarrassed.

"...Teacher."

Kirishima Ai suddenly called out to Haihara.