"What's wrong?"
"Sorry."
Kirishima Ai lay there, her gaze shifting slightly as she spoke in a somewhat dejected tone.
"What's wrong?"
"For all those times I... asked for leave before... I caused you a lot of trouble."
Haihara was a little surprised, but she showed no particular emotion or expression.
Come to think of it, the only reason she'd paid special attention to Kirishima Ai as a student was because of this.
The girl was a magical girl, but also one of her students.
Missing school once or twice was fine; Haihara didn't mind. But there had been a few weeks when Monsters appeared unusually often, and the tougher ones could take more than twenty minutes to deal with.
That was a bit of a headache.
One student could be written off as a delinquent she couldn't do anything about.
But every single student in her class was a handful.
And the principal was a troublesome woman who liked giving her a hard time over things like this.
The main problem was that the principal was a pain.
"If you apologize, will you stop doing it?"
"..."
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."
It wasn't as if saving the world was a bad thing.
It wasn't something she should be blamed for.
This world was, at least, fairly kind to magical girls. At least their homeroom teacher was Haihara. If they had some other teacher, they probably wouldn't be allowed to take time off.
Of course, considering that Haihara was the one creating Monsters, that might make it unfortunate for them after all.
They were even.
Kirishima Ai didn't say anything. She just closed her eyes.
Since Haihara was still wearing her work clothes, sleeping felt a little uncomfortable.
Outside the window, the rain continued to fall. It was lighter than before, but the city was still shrouded in gray. Now and then, a car passed along the rain-soaked streets, gradually disappearing into the gloom.
Under the streetlights, the raindrops falling through the air were especially clear. Not even dust or mosquitoes could be seen.
This kind of weather was perfect for falling asleep. At least, that was what Haihara thought.
Time slowly sank into sleep.
Just as Haihara was about to drift off, Kirishima Ai, sleeping beside her, let out a soft hum. It sounded a little like a moan.
Haihara opened her eyes. In the dim light, the girl's face looked a little pale, and her brows were faintly furrowed.
She looked uncomfortable.
Haihara gently reached out and touched Kirishima Ai's forehead again. Her temperature seemed a little higher than before.
After a while, the girl edged a little closer from inside her own blankets. Haihara was confused for a moment, but by the time she realized what was happening, Kirishima Ai had wrapped her arms around her.
Was she hugging people in her sleep?
Why did everyone she slept beside have such terrible sleeping habits?
Haihara stroked Kirishima Ai's hair.
She'd gotten used to being hugged, since it happened often, but this felt a little different.
For instance, when her daughter hugged her, she clung to her like a little puppy.
That little idol was probably more like a cautious little rabbit.
Kirishima Ai hugged her a little tighter.
Uneasy, fragile, cold.
The girl moved closer until their faces were almost touching, close enough for Haihara to feel her breath.
Haihara almost never hugged other people, and no one was ever willing to let her hug them.
Still...
Haihara was a little troubled.
This girl wouldn't give her a cold, would she?
After a while, she started getting sleepy too, so she put an arm around the girl.
The two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next morning, Kirishima Ai woke up looking confused, then sank into thought.
Had she not woken up properly yet?
Why was she hugging Teacher Haihara? What had happened between them last night?
"..."
Because she'd been delirious with a fever last night, Kirishima Ai had plenty of questions now.
But after waking up, she realized she didn't feel as bad as she had the night before.
Had her fever gone down?
A while later, Haihara woke up too, roused by her fidgeting.
"Are you awake?"
Haihara rubbed her eyes and opened them drowsily.
"...I'm awake."
"Then hurry up and let go of me."
Teacher Haihara seemed much less gentle this morning than she'd been last night.
Kirishima Ai awkwardly and shamefacedly let go of the teacher.
Once she was free, Haihara slowly climbed out of bed, then yawned in a daze. It seemed she hadn't gotten enough sleep.
Still savoring how cozy the blankets had been, Haihara said casually,
"You slept terribly last night. You wouldn't stop hugging me, and it kept me awake for ages."
She looked up at the window again.
It had rained all night, and the sky was still overcast.
At this rate, who knew whether the camping trip in a few days would still go ahead as planned.
Kirishima Ai shrank back into the blankets in embarrassment and covered her face, leaving only her eyes peeking out.
Maybe because she'd been too warm last night, Haihara had undone a few buttons by the time she woke up. She looked languid and beautiful, full of the charm of a mature woman.
Haihara glanced at Kirishima Ai.
"Let's take your temperature again."
As she spoke, she went to get the thermometer and took Kirishima Ai's temperature.
The result was unexpected.
"Mm..."
Five minutes later, Haihara picked up the thermometer and took a look.
Thirty-six point eight degrees. A perfectly healthy temperature.
It was hard to believe she'd had a high fever last night.
And Kirishima Ai didn't seem to be in any trouble now. She'd basically recovered.
Was it because she was a magical girl?
If so, that would explain it.
"In that case, you can go to school today..."
If she still had a fever, Teacher Haihara might have found herself in a bit of a bind.
After all, Teacher Haihara was her homeroom teacher. If Kirishima Ai still had a fever, Haihara wouldn't be able to keep taking care of her.
But Haihara only glanced at her.
"I'm giving you the day off. You're staying home to rest."
"I'll prepare lunch for you. Just heat it up later. If you feel unwell at home, call me. Don't try to tough it out."
"But... I've already missed school a lot," Kirishima Ai said.
"That's a separate matter."
Haihara stopped paying attention to her and got up to change back into the clothes she usually wore to work.
As she dressed, she said coolly,
"By the way, don't tell anyone about last night. It'd be a big problem for me as your teacher."
What she'd done had been a good thing, but spending the night with one of her students and sleeping beside her would only make Haihara's already poor reputation even worse.
Though... hadn't she already been living with that little idol, who was also her student, for several days?
"...Would it really be bad for you?"
Kirishima Ai seemed a little worried.
Seeing her expression, Haihara suddenly found it amusing.
Before, their relationship could only be described as strained.
But it seemed that after being cared for last night, the girl had changed her opinion of Haihara a little.
"It would."
Once she was dressed, Haihara returned to her usual languid, cool demeanor.
Then she walked over to Kirishima Ai, bent down slightly, and reached out a slender finger to gently scratch under her chin. For once, she smiled.
"Something like this happened a few years ago, after all, and I got punished for it."
"...Huh?"
Kirishima Ai stared at her blankly.
"Really?"
But Teacher Haihara quickly went expressionless and looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"Of course not. If it were true, do you think I'd still be teaching you?"
"..."
Respecting One's Teacher and Upholding the Way
The next morning, homeroom teacher Haihara announced that the following Monday, the school's first-year students would be going on an overnight camping trip in the mountains and forests outside the city. Everyone would be required to attend.
The camping trip was a tradition at Kaedehara High School. The first-year students went almost every year.
"Remember to bring bug spray and something to charge your phones. There are lots of bugs around places like this at night. Every time we come back, we're covered in bites..."
At the front of the classroom, Haihara looked languid and unwilling, as if she'd been forced to show up. Clearly, she wasn't very fond of the camping trip.
She'd only gone during her first two years as a teacher, when she was also teaching her daughter. As she recalled, she'd been exhausted every time and covered in bug bites.
She hated bugs and summer.
"By the way, some upperclassmen from the student council will be going with us, along with some younger students from the middle school. They'll probably be middle schoolers from Kaedehara Middle School."
Before you continue