A passing thought

The days grew colder and colder, and every breath came out in a visible white cloud.

Winter had fully arrived.

At this time of year, Takahashi Ren always thought of the same question.

Why wouldn't the school let girls wear sweatpants under their skirts?

Of course, he knew the answer-to maintain a uniform appearance.

But he had never understood that reasoning.

Did students have to freeze for the sake of the school's image?

Of course, getting to see girls' bare legs in winter was quite a treat for the boys.

But every time he saw them, he felt cold on their behalf.

Takahashi Ren's gaze slowly traveled up the smooth, shapely legs before him, then met a pair of eyes filled with disgust.

"Pervert. Lecher."

Uh, she caught me.

But once he saw who it was, Takahashi Ren's little bit of guilt quickly disappeared.

After all, the girl before him was the class witch-Ai Morishita.

What's wrong with looking? Aren't beautiful things meant to be admired? I was just drawn to nature's artistry. That's only human.

...Wait.

Takahashi Ren suddenly caught himself. What had he just been thinking?

Why was he having thoughts like that today?

Was I feeling repressed?

He quickly shook off the stray thoughts and withdrew his gaze.

Based on past experience, Ai Morishita would definitely find some excuse to get him back.

But he wasn't worried. None of her tricks had ever really gotten the better of him.

Instead, Takahashi Ren's counterattacks always left her stamping her feet in anger.

Sure enough, Ai Morishita merely glared at him and did nothing.

"Are your legs cold?" Takahashi Ren asked.

"Cold, my ass," Ai Morishita said. "Get lost."

It seemed communication was off the table for now.

During the break, Takahashi Ren was chatting with Ishida and Toba Shigeru.

Ai Morishita walked over with an ordinary expression. "Mr. Mashima wants to see you."

"Oh." Takahashi Ren didn't think much of it. He said a quick word to the two boys, got up, and left the classroom.

As Ai Morishita watched him walk into the office, the corners of her mouth slowly curled upward.

Takahashi Ren pushed open the office door and walked up to Mashima's desk. "Sir, you wanted to see me?"

Mashima looked up, utterly puzzled. "I didn't ask for you."

Takahashi Ren froze for a moment.

"Did I mishear?"

With that, he turned to leave.

Well played, Ai Morishita. How dare you pass off a fake imperial decree? You've gotten awfully bold.

He was already thinking about how to deal with her when he got back.

"Wait." Mashima stopped him. "You're here at just the right time. I have something to ask you."

Takahashi Ren stopped.

He waited for his teacher to speak.

Sitting in his chair with his fingers interlaced on the desk, Mashima hesitated for a while before speaking. "Lately... things between Miss Akiyama and me feel a little stalled."

"She isn't as warm toward me as she was before," Mashima continued. "I don't know how to take our relationship a step further."

Only then did Takahashi Ren notice that Mashima was a little different from usual today.

There had been no sign of it during class. His face had been as stern as ever.

Now, sitting at his desk, he had a little more worry between his brows.

But-

Takahashi Ren muttered inwardly. Why ask him? He had no experience with this either.

A teacher asking a student for advice on this sort of thing was wrong no matter how he looked at it.

When he remained silent for a long while, Mashima waved a hand. "All right, forget I asked. Off you go."

"Sir, you changed your tune pretty fast," Takahashi Ren said. "Before, you said I was your most trusted, most reliable student. Now that I'm no use, you're sending me away."

Mashima raised his eyebrows, not having expected that response.

"Did you need something else?"

"Yes. As it happens, I have a question for you too."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Were you a student at this school too, sir?"

Mashima glanced at him and nodded. "Yes."

"Then is there any overlap between the exams you took back then and the ones we take now?"

"You mean, if an exam comes up that's the same as one I took, you want me to tell you in advance so you can pay points to buy the exam content?" Mashima cut straight to it.

"More or less," Takahashi Ren said.

"No." Mashima refused without hesitation. "To ensure fairness, the school forbids teachers from selling exam content to students."

"But when I first enrolled, didn't you quote me a price for the exam content?" Takahashi Ren asked.

Mashima fell silent for a moment.

"I made that up," he said. "It was the first time a student had tried to buy exam content from me, so I just threw out a number you couldn't afford."

The corner of Takahashi Ren's mouth twitched. He wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.

Thinking it over carefully, that did make sense. The school was always emphasizing fairness in exams. How could it allow teachers to sell assessment content to students?

Besides, the teachers of each class hadn't necessarily graduated in the same year, so they might not have taken the same exams.

His initial assumption had kept him from considering that possibility.

But that raised another question.

"Sir, you could have just told me no at the time," Takahashi Ren said. "Why make up a price and leave me misunderstanding all this time?"

"Well, you should be able to understand that."

"Sometimes people do something different because of a thought that suddenly strikes them," Mashima said. "Besides, haven't I explained it clearly to you now?"

Takahashi Ren had no reply.

No, even if he had one, he couldn't talk back.

At school, when a student soured his relationship with a teacher, only the student would suffer.

He could only swallow his anger. But he would remember this-Mr. Mashima had better not give him a chance to return the favor.

He returned to the classroom. Ai Morishita was sitting in her seat, and when she saw him approach, she looked up and asked,

"You were gone that long?"

"Yeah."

Takahashi Ren gave a brief reply, then returned to his seat and sat down.

During the next break, Ishida asked, "What did Mr. Mashima want with you?"

"Something personal," Takahashi Ren said. "He asked how my English was coming along. He specifically brought up my English grade on the final exam and told me to put more effort into it."

He spoke seriously, his voice just loud enough for Ai Morishita in the row ahead to hear clearly.

Ai Morishita listened with her ears pricked, doubts stirring in her mind. Had her offhand lie actually turned out to be true? Had Mr. Mashima really wanted to see him?

Before she could figure it out, Takahashi Ren turned around and said to her, "Oh, right. Mr. Mashima wants you to come to the office after school."

Ai Morishita blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah." Takahashi Ren offered no further explanation.

After school, Ai Morishita went to the office.

The door was ajar, and no one was inside.

She waited at the door for a while, wondering whether Mr. Mashima had forgotten about her.

Then she turned and went back to the classroom.

She intended to return to the dorms, but hesitated again, wondering whether she should wait a little longer.

Just then, she noticed an extra sheet of paper on her desk.

She picked it up and saw a line written on it: "I win again today. Hee-hee."

Ai Morishita crumpled the paper into a ball.

"Damn you, Takahashi Ren-"

Meanwhile.

"Achoo! Achoo~"

Takahashi Ren sneezed twice in a row.

"Caught a cold?" Ishida asked.

"No." Takahashi Ren rubbed his nose and smiled. "Someone's probably talking about me."