Teacher, I Am Actually a Villainous Magical Girl

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry."

Kirishima Ai lay there, her gaze slightly averted, her tone sounding somewhat dejected.

"What's wrong?"

"All those times before... asking for leave, it must have been a bother for you."

Haihara was slightly surprised, though she didn't show any particular emotion or expression.

Come to think of it, the only reason she paid special attention to Kirishima Ai as a student was precisely for that reason.

Because the girl was a Magical Girl, yet also a student in her class.

An occasional absence or two was fine; it didn't matter to her, but there were weeks when monsters appeared with unusual frequency, and dealing with the tougher ones could take twenty minutes or more.

That was what gave her a headache.

One student could be handled as an uncontrollable delinquent.

But her class was full of heavyweights.

And the principal was a troublesome woman who loved to use these things to make things difficult for her.

Mainly, that principal was just a pain.

"If you apologize, will you change your ways?"

"..."

The light in Kirishima Ai's eyes dimmed, as if she didn't know how to answer.

"Then there's no need to apologize. Just go to sleep."

Saving the world wasn't a bad thing, after all.

It wasn't something that deserved blame.

This world was, for the time being, relatively kind to Magical Girls; at the very least, the homeroom teacher they had was Haihara. If it had been any other teacher, they probably wouldn't have granted the leave.

Of course, considering that she herself was the one creating the monsters, this might actually be a form of misfortune.

They were even.

Kirishima Ai didn't say anything, simply closing her eyes.

Because Haihara was still wearing her own uniform, she felt somewhat uncomfortable trying to sleep.

Outside the window, the rain continued to fall. It was lighter than before, but the city remained a gray blur. Occasionally, vehicles passed by, driving through the rain-soaked streets and gradually disappearing into the grayness.

Under the streetlights, the falling raindrops were exceptionally clear, leaving no trace of dust or insects.

Such weather was perfect for falling asleep, at least that was what Haihara thought.

Time slowly sank into the depths of sleep.

Just as Haihara was about to drift off, Kirishima Ai, sleeping beside her, seemed to let out a soft hum, sounding almost like a moan.

Haihara opened her eyes and saw that in the dim light, the girl's face looked a bit pale, her brows slightly furrowed.

She looked uncomfortable.

She gently reached out and touched Kirishima Ai's forehead again; her body temperature seemed a little higher than before.

After a while, the young girl shifted from her own covers closer to this side. Haihara was confused for a moment, but by the time she realized what was happening, she had already been embraced by Kirishima Ai.

Is she hugging people in her dreams?

Why was everyone who slept with her so terrible at sleeping?

Haihara stroked Kirishima Ai's hair.

Although she was often hugged and had grown used to it, the feeling was still a bit different.

For instance, when her daughter hugged her, she was like a puppy clinging to her body.

That little idol probably had a cautious, rabbit-like quality to her.

But when Kirishima Ai hugged her, it was a bit tight.

Insecure, fragile, cold.

The girl leaned in softly, their faces almost touching, close enough to feel each other's breath.

Haihara rarely hugged others, and no one was ever willing to let her hug them.

However...

Haihara felt a bit troubled.

This young girl shouldn't be able to pass a cold on to her, right?

After a while, she felt sleepy too, so she reached out her arm and hugged the other girl back.

The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, Kirishima Ai woke up with a dazed expression, then fell into deep thought.

Was she still dreaming?

Why was she hugging Teacher Haihara? What happened between the two of them last night?

"..."

Because she had been delirious from a fever last night, Kirishima Ai now had quite a few questions.

However, after waking up, Kirishima Ai realized she didn't feel as miserable as she had the night before.

Had the fever broken?

A moment later, Teacher Haihara was also stirred awake by her tossing and turning.

"Are you awake?"

Teacher Haihara rubbed her eyes and opened them lazily.

"...I'm awake."

"If you're awake, then let go of me already."

This morning, Teacher Haihara didn't seem as gentle as she had been last night.

Embarrassed and ashamed, Kirishima Ai released her grip on the teacher.

Once freed, Teacher Haihara climbed out of bed bit by bit and let out a sleepy yawn; it seemed she hadn't fully woken up yet.

Savoring the lingering comfort of the blankets, Teacher Haihara said quite casually:

"Your sleeping posture was terrible last night. You kept hugging me and wouldn't let go, which kept me from falling asleep for a long time."

She then lifted her head and looked out the window.

It had rained all night yesterday, and it was still overcast even now.

If this kept up, she wasn't sure if the camping trip scheduled for a few days later would be able to proceed as planned.

Kirishima Ai shrank back into the covers in shame, pulling the quilt up to hide her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

Perhaps because it had been warm last night, Teacher Haihara had undone a few buttons upon waking, making her look languid and beautiful, full of the charm of a mature woman.

Teacher Haihara glanced at Kirishima Ai.

"Let's take your temperature again."

Saying this, she went to fetch the thermometer and took Kirishima Ai's temperature once more.

The result was unexpected.

"Hmm..."

Five minutes later, Teacher Haihara picked up the thermometer and checked it.

Thirty-six point eight degrees Celsius—a perfectly healthy temperature.

It was as if she hadn't had a high fever at all the night before.

Moreover, looking at Kirishima Ai, she seemed to be fine; she had basically recovered.

Was it because she was a Magical Girl?

If that were the case, it would certainly explain things.

"In that case, going to school today should be fine..."

If she were still running a fever, it might have been difficult for Teacher Haihara.

After all, Teacher Haihara was her homeroom teacher; if she were still sick, Teacher Haihara wouldn't be able to continue looking after her.

But Teacher Haihara just glanced at her:

"I'm giving you the day off. You are to stay home and rest today."

"I'll prepare lunch for you; you can just heat it up when the time comes. If you feel unwell while at home, call me. Don't try to push yourself."

"But... I've already taken leave many times before," Kirishima Ai said.

"That is a separate matter."

Teacher Haihara didn't continue to engage with her, instead standing up to put on her usual work clothes.

As she dressed, she said coldly:

"By the way, don't tell anyone about what happened last night. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome for me as a teacher."

Although she had done a good deed, spending the night with her student and sleeping together would only make her already poor reputation even worse.

However... hadn't she already been living with the student idol for many days now?

"...Is it very bad for you, Teacher?"

Kirishima Ai seemed a bit worried.

Teacher Haihara saw her expression and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

Previously, the relationship between the two of them could have been described as rigid.

It seemed, however, that because of the care she received last night, this little girl's opinion of him had changed slightly.

"I will."

After getting dressed, Teacher Haihara returned to her usual lazy and indifferent self.

Then, she walked up to Kirishima Ai, leaned over slightly, and extended a slender finger to gently scratch Kirishima Ai under the chin, offering a rare smile—

"After all, something like this happened a few years ago, and I even got punished for it."

"...Eh?"

Kirishima Ai stood there, stunned:

"Is that true?"

Teacher Haihara quickly turned expressionless, looking at her as if she were an idiot:

"Of course it's fake. If it were true, would I still be able to teach you?"

"..."

Chapter 46: Respecting Teachers and Valuing Morality

Early the next morning, the homeroom teacher, Teacher Haihara, announced some news: next Monday, the first-year students of the school would be organized for a camping trip in the mountains and forests outside the city, and all students were required to attend.

This camping activity was a tradition at Kaedehara High School, held for the first-year students almost every year.

"Remember to bring your own mosquito repellent and charging equipment. There are a lot of bugs at night in places like that, and you'll basically get bitten a few times every time you come back..."

On the podium, Teacher Haihara wore a lazy and reluctant expression, looking as if she were being forced to work. Clearly, she didn't care much for this camping trip.

She had only participated in this activity during her first two years as a teacher and when she was teaching her daughter; in her memory, it was basically exhausting, and she would end up covered in bug bites.

She hated bugs and summer.

"By the way, besides the homeroom teachers and some seniors from the student council, some juniors from the middle school will be joining you this time—likely students from Kaedehara Middle School."