Reporting

After filling out the form, Dongfang Yi waited outside the office and ran into Sakura Airi, who had just arrived.

The girl kept peeking around as she walked, looking left and right. She seemed extremely cautious, but that was also why she took a little longer to get there.

"I don't think you need to be this wary inside the school building." Dongfang Yi helplessly patted the silly girl on the head. "There are cameras everywhere. He wouldn't dare come after you."

If it had been a month later, he certainly wouldn't have been so relaxed.

But the first month of school was itself a test of the students' self-discipline. The school had stationed plenty of people in front of the monitors to observe them, deducting Class Points based on their everyday behavior, especially in class.

In an environment like this, if that store clerk dared to do anything, Dongfang Yi wouldn't even need to step in.

The school would deal with him first.

"Mm, I-I understand." Sakura Airi's tongue was tying itself in knots again.

It was obvious that she was extremely nervous.

After reassuring her for a while, Dongfang Yi went back into the office.

After briefly explaining the situation to Mashima Tomoya, who was seated at his desk, Dongfang Yi and Sakura Airi were led by Chabashira Sae to the counseling room.

Since the matter involved a student's privacy, it wasn't like the sort of application that just anyone could see, like the one Dongfang Yi had submitted. They needed to discuss it somewhere private.

"Go on, tell me what happened."

Chabashira sat across from them, her face dark and her tone far from friendly.

Her sternness was clearly nothing like Mashima Tomoya's poker face.

Mashima's sternness was meant to emphasize his authority and establish his standing with the students. In private, though, he was very gentle and even willing to joke around with Dongfang Yi.

He certainly wouldn't pressure a student over something like this.

Chabashira Sae, on the other hand, was different. Her cold expression came from her awful personality: she was arrogant and conceited, yet unwilling to take responsibility.

She only hoped to be rescued by the strong, without making even the slightest effort herself.

Like a traveler in the desert who only knew how to whip his emaciated camel. He wanted to make it out of the desert, but wouldn't even give it a mouthful of water or food.

And here she was doing just that.

"I-I ran into a stalker yesterday, s-so..."

Sakura Airi stammered. When she got nervous, she tended to lose track of what she was saying.

"Have you figured out what happened? Think it through first, then tell me."

The teacher sitting before them interrupted her without mercy.

"Huh? Ah. S-sorry, Sensei."

Chabashira's attitude frightened Sakura Airi, making her even more nervous.

"Never mind, I'll explain." Dongfang Yi gently patted the girl's back, telling her to take a moment to calm down.

"Chabashira-sensei, here's what happened. At around three yesterday afternoon, I ran into Sakura at an electronics megastore. While we were shopping, I noticed that the male clerk in the store was looking at her strangely. We also happened to see that his work computer was displaying a gravure photo of Sakura."

"You're calling him a stalker based on that alone? You're being far too cautious. Don't you think you're a little paranoid?"

Chabashira Sae scoffed, unconcerned.

"N-no, that's not it," Sakura Airi hurriedly protested.

"Calm down, Sakura." Dongfang Yi patted her back, signaling her to stay as calm as she could.

He tamped down his displeasure and patiently continued explaining to Chabashira. "After we finished shopping and left, the clerk followed us. Even when we went into the section under renovation, he kept right after us. At 3:47 p.m., we lost him in the renovation area of Keyaki Mall. He may have been injured by the debris in there."

"We have every reason to suspect that the clerk was once one of Sakura's fanatical fans, and that he has discovered she used to be active as an idol under the name Shizuku-chan. He's unusually fixated on Sakura. If we leave this unchecked, her safety could be at risk. We hope you'll inform the school so it can take action promptly."

"That's just your side of the story, isn't it?"

Chabashira Sae snorted, showing no desire to do anything about the matter.

"I can provide evidence. We'd also like the school to obtain yesterday's surveillance footage from the mall, investigate what happened, and then put the man under surveillance or have him relocated as soon as possible, to ensure Sakura's safety."

Dongfang Yi's voice was calm, but in his mind he kept reminding himself that he still had reasons to deal with the woman in front of him. He couldn't afford to fall out with her yet, and doing so would be bad for Sakura. He repeated the thought to keep his voice steady.

"Where's the evidence?" Chabashira Sae still wore that haughty expression.

Dongfang Yi's heart sank, but his face remained impassive. "This is a first-person video I recorded yesterday. Please take a look."

Chabashira Sae merely took Dongfang Yi's phone, glanced at it carelessly, and handed it back.

"I understand. You can go back without worrying."

"..."

Dongfang Yi fell silent.

He'd been prepared for the school to be useless, but he hadn't expected to get stuck at the guidance teacher.

She wouldn't even keep a copy of the video, and she was telling them to go back without worrying?

Did she think they were idiots?!

He gave her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Since you've taken up our request, Chabashira-sensei, we can rest easy. We have nothing else to discuss, so we'll leave you to it."

Dongfang Yi led Sakura Airi to the door, but before leaving, he turned around. "There's one more thing I'd like to let you know, Chabashira-sensei. Yesterday, I bought a voice recorder at the electronics store, as well as a portable work recorder. If you're interested, you can guess—"

"Do I have these two devices on me right now? And did I happen to turn on the recording function while we were talking just now?"

As he spoke, he pointed to the camera on his shoulder, then to the pocket holding a pen.

"What are you implying?" Chabashira's expression stiffened.

"Please don't misunderstand. I'm not implying anything. I'm just wondering about something. If Sakura really is hurt by that stalker one day, whose fault would that be? The school's, or mine? And what accredited school in the world would allow a teacher with a massive stain on her record to keep teaching?"

"I'm genuinely curious."

With that, Dongfang Yi took Sakura Airi by the hand and left without hesitation.

"Wait!"

Chabashira Sae hurried after them and stopped Dongfang Yi in the hallway.

"Was there something else, Chabashira-sensei?" Dongfang Yi wore a polite smile, his eyes as cold as frost.

"I just remembered that I still need a copy of the video as evidence."

"Oh? Is that so? You're terribly absentminded, aren't you? It's hard to trust someone like you." Dongfang Yi chuckled. "How about this: before school lets out this afternoon, bring someone from the school administration into contact with me, and I'll hand the evidence over to them."

"Of course, if you can't bring someone, just tell me. Then I can get in touch with another teacher or contact the school through other channels."

"And while I'm at it, I'll report everything that happened today. I'm sure the school will be considerate of how busy you are and lighten your workload a little. After all, you're so busy you can't even report this little matter to your superiors."

"My, you've really been working so hard."

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