It had to be said that when Shizuka Hiratsuka got serious, she truly was a qualified educator. After listening to Sogo Doma roughly describe the situation, she had already vaguely analyzed what the most pressing issue was.
"A mental demon? That really is a headache. Doma, can I ask you another question?"
"What question?"
"What's your attitude toward this?"
"My attitude?" Sogo Doma blanked out. "This has nothing to do with me..."
"Quit playing dumb!" Before he could finish, Shizuka Hiratsuka ruffled her hair and said, "Did you set me up?"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'huh'? I even suspect you deliberately asked whether anyone had come looking for me just now..."
"Shizuka Hiratsuka..." Sogo Doma said, "Are you having a persecution complex? Why would I deliberately ask you that..."
"Of course it's because Mashiro's situation is more troublesome than I imagined..." Shizuka Hiratsuka lied as she frantically scratched her head. "I thought all I had to do was talk things out with Mashiro, but behind Mashiro, there are also her friends..."
"Mashiro is Mashiro, and her friends are her friends..." Hearing that, Sogo Doma could not help interrupting. "Shizuka Hiratsuka, you're not thinking of sticking your hand into this, are you?"
"Do I look like I have that much free time?"
"Exactly..." Sogo Doma rolled his eyes.
"Still..." However, just as he started to speak, Shizuka Hiratsuka said, "I can't just stand by and watch a high school student fall into a mental demon..."
"Hold it!" The passionate female teacher's declaration immediately put Sogo Doma on guard. "Shizuka Hiratsuka, at your age, surely you're not having some kind of saint complex, right? She isn't even your student..."
"Doma..." Yet again, before he could finish, Shizuka Hiratsuka said, "Do you know why I chose to become a teacher?"
"So you