Chapter 487

Haihara always sat in the corner of the classroom, occasionally returning to her office, where she would sit blankly, sometimes watching what the students were doing.

She would pick up her phone every now and then to check her messaging apps.

"... Still no reply."

In the past, whenever she sent a text message to Kazama Kiriori, she would receive a reply very quickly.

But this time, the other party hasn't replied to her yet.

Haihara's mind raced through various possibilities.

Are you angry? Feeling down? Don't want to talk to yourself?

Is it because I'm feeling down? I haven't even been looking at my phone lately.

She had absolutely no idea what Kazama Kiriori was feeling right now. After all, she knew that it was terrible of her to run away instead of answering directly.

But is it really a good thing that she didn't run away and instead gave a direct answer?

Haihara desperately needs a consultant other than the Magical Puppy and Kuroki Yuka.

Ideally, she should be intelligent and perceptive, understand young girls' feelings, and have a relationship with you that allows you to discuss these kinds of issues.

Who are such people?

Her gaze shifted several times before finally settling on one of the Problem Child in the class.

--This is the little guy.

"Takanashi- kun, why did Teacher Haihara pick on you today? You've been behaving quite well lately, haven't you?"

"I don't know."

Takanashi blinked, looking completely bewildered.

She clearly didn't sleep today, didn't doodle in her notes, and even did her homework properly, hoping to put Teacher Haihara at ease before the end of the semester.

Why was Teacher Haihara suddenly asking me to come to her office later?

"Has Takanashi's grades been really bad lately?" a female student asked with a worried expression.

After all, the scene of Sakaki Chika being called to Teacher Haihara's office and coming out crying is still vivid in my mind to this day.

The Takanashi was completely baffled.

But it's really difficult for her to learn about Earth from scratch... Besides, she can't attend a university on Earth, so it's really hard for her to have the motivation to study.

Teacher Haihara never promised to reward her for doing well on the test.

Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to bite the bullet and go ahead.

Takanashi quickly tidied her messy long hair, and then, with a mix of trepidation and excitement, went alone to Teacher Haihara's office while the other students were chatting and laughing.

I walked and thought.

Is it possible that Haihara called her over to reward her?

After all, they haven't even had weekend mom jobs lately.

She stealthily opened the door to Haihara's office, as if she were doing something wrong.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Haihara looking at her.

Takanashi went inside first, carefully closed the door, and then tentatively greeted Haihara:

"Hi... Mom?"

This only earned Haibara a Haihara expression as she said--

"This is school, you're not allowed to call me 'Mom,' call me 'Teacher.'"

"Whispering sound."

The Takanashi's hopes were dashed.

She changed her tune, lowered her head, stood in front of Haihara as punishment, and, with a practiced, obedient look, respectfully asked:

"Is there something you need, Teacher Haihara?"

Seeing this, Haihara nodded.

Don't worry, I'm not here to talk about your grades.

Takanashi's expression changed again, and he even straightened his back a bit.

"Then you say."

She clasped her hands together obediently, placing them in front of her abdomen like a maid, appearing all ears.

The service was excellent.

Haihara rested her chin on her hand seriously and said solemnly:

"Well, I have a friend who's having some troubles..."

Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 11 Takanashi's Consultation

Takanashi Shiori listened to the story about Haihara's "friends".

The friend in question already had a girlfriend, but before that, he had an adopted daughter whose feelings for him went beyond what was considered normal were causing him great distress.

Who is it? It's so hard to guess.

Anyway, I couldn't guess anything about Takanashi.

After some thought, Takanashi couldn't quite describe her feelings. Putting her own feelings aside for now, she asked:

"So... does your friend like that adopted daughter?"

She has always been straightforward and outspoken.

The girl stared intently at the woman, but the woman's gaze wandered.

"It's not a matter of liking or disliking, but rather..."

Haihara realized that her problem wasn't there, and then, Takanashi quickly interrupted her.

"Isn't this just a matter of whether you like it or not?"

For once, Takanashi and Haihara started arguing.

As she spoke, her little hands groped around on Haihara's desk for snacks, picking out beef jerky, chocolate bars, nougat, and popcorn one by one.

Haihara crossed her arms, watching the little girl speak to the teacher with a relaxed air—

"If two people like each other, that's a good thing, so what's there to be troubled about?"

There are many reasons.

For example, the realities of society, such as wealth, future development, family issues... But they are a family, so it seems that these things don't bother them at all.

Haihara herself isn't someone who cares too much about these things.

When she was sixteen or seventeen, she lived a more comfortable life than most people.

"For example... age difference? Look, isn't my friend's relationship with her adopted daughter a mother-daughter dynamic?"

Haihara tried to explain her awkwardness.

Upon hearing Takanashi pondered for a moment.

Then, she pointed to her lips, and then looked at Haihara with her light-colored eyes, expressionless:

"Your place has already crossed paths with mine many times; there's a social relationship between us called teacher and student."

Takanashi clearly doesn't know how much the relationship differs between a teacher-student relationship and an adoptive mother-daughter relationship.

But they all sound pretty bad.

Furthermore, Takanashi felt that even if it was a relationship that couldn't be broken, this woman wasn't someone he couldn't overcome.

Because this woman's morality and self-awareness in this regard are utterly despicable.

Haihara was speechless.

After a while, Haihara asked again, somewhat annoyed:

"Well, my friend is currently in a relationship and has a great girlfriend. Would it be too bad if he accepted his adopted daughter's confession under these circumstances?"

Takanashi immediately showed an expression of utter surprise.

Did this woman originally possess the moral virtue of loyalty in love?

Has this woman lost her mind, or has she recently reverted to being a child, thus temporarily awakening the other person's conscience?

Suddenly, Takanashi found himself in a dilemma.

While Teacher Haihara 'Teacher Haihara loyalty in relationships might be a good thing, it's unlikely that it is.

She never considered the possibility of developing a legitimate relationship with him.

After deciding to play with these things, she raised her head.

"Are these ethical issues that bother you so much?"

"It wasn't me, it was..."

Haihara's voice trailed off halfway through her sentence.

Afterwards, she shook her head, realizing how absurd it all seemed, then sighed and said:

"Okay, I admit it, it's me. My mind has been a complete mess lately... but I don't know who to talk to."

The atmosphere in the office quieted down, and both of them fell into a somber mood.

Takanashi's eyes opened slightly, then quickly closed again.

"Uh-huh."

After hearing this, the hair at the top of the girl's head drooped and she seemed somewhat dejected.

Takanashi's gaze also shifted slightly.

Although I already knew, hearing Haihara say it to my own ears still made me feel a little bitter and resentful.

She didn't seem very keen to hear Haihara admit it herself.

It's as if they don't care at all.

Fortunately, Takanashi quickly concealed and suppressed these emotions.

Those emotions from just now have vanished without a trace.

She looked at Haihara for a moment and asked in a low voice:

"So, what's the difference between secretly kissing me and accepting your adopted daughter's confession? Aren't they both terrible things?"

It's hard to believe that a sixteen-year-old girl, with a youthful and innocent air, would ask such a question.

This is the first time someone has asked Haihara such a question.

Haihara clearly knew this logic all along, but she just didn't usually think in that direction.

But the thought of accepting Kazama Kiriori 'Haihara confession naturally brings to mind many terrible things, causing her to feel fear and want to escape.

Even Haihara herself couldn't explain why.

That's clearly not the point.

She didn't want to run away from it. It was almost graduation time for Kazama Kiriori, and if she was responsible enough, she should resolve this matter as soon as possible instead of getting caught up in it here.

But is this really something that can be decided simply by being direct and decisive?

Unless she truly doesn't care about Kazama Kiriori at all.

Or is she overthinking it?

At that moment, the Takanashi over to the seated Haihara, and with some effort pulled on Haihara's swivel chair, pulling Haihara a little away from the desk, revealing the woman's long, straight legs.

"Let me sit down."

"This is a school."

"Nobody watches it."