Chie's in So Much Pain

"Hehe, I'm a little behind the times. I haven't heard anything like that."

Although Hoshinomiya-sensei tapped her cheek with her index finger, looking very cute, her other hand tightened its grip on Kazami.

Kazami: ...Wait, this is a frail woman? How is her grip so strong?

Just as Hoshinomiya-sensei, her gentle tone carrying a bone-chilling pressure, prepared to properly "educate" the loose-tongued Kazami Saku, a familiar, cool female voice suddenly rang out behind them, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Smack."

With a crisp, light sound, Chabashira-sensei tapped Hoshinomiya-sensei on the head from behind with her lesson plan. It was not a hard blow, but it was just enough to stop her antics.

"Don't go around harassing my students." Chabashira-sensei stepped forward, sounding exasperated. Her gaze swept over the two standing so close together as she continued, "And you're far too close. Can't you distinguish the boundaries between teachers and students? Acting like that, aren't you afraid a student will report you for workplace harassment?"

Chabashira-sensei's arrival saved Kazami, and he was deeply moved. Sensei, I'll definitely treat you like family from now on.

But Chabashira-sensei's intervention shattered Hoshinomiya-sensei's imposing presence. She raised a hand to cradle the back of her head where she had been struck, her eyes brimming with tears. After releasing Kazami, she hugged Chabashira-sensei instead, whining in a soft, wheedling voice, completely devoid of the pressure with which she had threatened Kazami moments earlier.

"That hurt! Chie's in so much pain! Why did you suddenly hit me for no reason?"

Watching Hoshinomiya-sensei switch into wheedling mode, Kazami Saku was dumbfounded. The teacher who had resembled a demon a moment ago had turned into a pitiful little girl acting spoiled in the very next second. The contrast was really... tsk, tsk. Women really were born actresses.

Chabashira Sae was long accustomed to this. She pressed a hand to her forehead helplessly, her tone filled with exasperation. "Why else? Because you were brazenly harassing a student in my class. You're a teacher who's supposed to set an example. Could you at least act the part a little?"

This was the first time since enrolling that Kazami Saku had seen Chabashira-sensei so mild. Ordinarily, Chabashira Sae was always icy, but at this moment, she had less of that biting coldness and more of the exasperation shared between acquaintances. It completely overturned Kazami's previous impression of her.

A normal person would have left voluntarily upon learning that they had something to attend to, but Hoshinomiya-sensei showed no intention of leaving. Instead, she clung to Chabashira-sensei like glue, refusing to leave even after Chabashira-sensei tried to send her away several times.

"Oh, don't be so cold! If you're having a secret little meeting, there must be something fun going on." Hoshinomiya leaned closer with a smile. "I'm totally free right now, Sae. Let me stay and listen too?"

"It's just a minor class matter. Nothing worth listening to." Chabashira refused firmly, with no intention of letting her meddle in Class D's internal affairs.

Despite the outright rejection, the gentle smile on Hoshinomiya's face remained unchanged, but her tone quietly grew a little colder. "Sae, you aren't thinking of challenging those above you, are you?"

The sudden question left Chabashira-sensei silent for a moment. "What nonsense are you imagining? I have no such intention."

"Then let me sit in." Hoshinomiya took the opportunity to push further, looking at Kazami Saku beside them with keen interest in her eyes. "I'm quite interested in this student of yours."

Kazami: No, that's not interest. You just want to beat me up, don't you?

Just then, a girl's clear, soft voice rang out.

"Hoshinomiya-sensei, there you are."

A girl walked slowly over. She had long, fluffy, soft strawberry-blonde hair, fair, delicate skin, and clear, bright eyes. A faint smile rested on her lips, and her presence was fresh and soothing. She was so cute that a single glance could make someone's heart skip a beat. Her neatly worn school uniform made her gentle, lively charm stand out all the more.

Ichinose Honami came up to the group, bowed slightly in a polite gesture, and greeted everyone present.

"Hello, Chabashira-sensei. Hello, everyone."

Seeing this, Chabashira Sae found her excuse to get away and immediately tried to send the clingy Hoshinomiya off. "Stop wasting time here. Your student has come looking for you. Hurry back and deal with your own class's business."

Kazami had long heard that Class B had a super-cute girl, but wasn't this a little too cute? So they hadn't been exaggerating.

"Young lady, the moment you passed by just now, I placed a special curse on you."

"Once my curse takes hold, it can never be lifted. There is no conventional way in this world to break it. The only way is to overwrite it with an even stronger curse."

"So, go out with me!"

Chabashira: ...Wait, what on earth are you doing? Do you think your teachers aren't here? Confessing right in front of me, of all things.

Hoshinomiya: I underestimated this guy. He doesn't take anyone here seriously at all.

"H-huh?"

Ichinose Honami was also startled by the sudden confession. Her clear eyes widened, a faint blush instantly spread across her cheeks, and she froze on the spot, letting out a soft little cry of surprise.

Kazami looked at the girl's adorably flustered, bashful expression. "I admit I really am just taken with her looks. The Ichinose standing before me really is pretty enough to make my heart skip at first sight..."

He was just about to add a few words to ease the atmosphere, but before he could finish-

"Thonk."

It was a crisp knock. Chabashira Sae raised her hand and struck Kazami directly on top of the head, a little harder than she had struck Hoshinomiya earlier, stopping him from continuing his antics.

Hoshinomiya-sensei moved protectively in front of her student. "Since you've admitted you're only interested in her looks, keep your hands off my adorable Honami!"

Then she added, "Besides, your teacher is still single. Don't even think about getting a girlfriend before me."

Kazami: ...

Could this woman be reasonable for once? What did her still being single have to do with anything? How were those things even related?

"I'm leaving! Goodbye!"

Shouting loudly enough to cause a disturbance at school, Hoshinomiya left in a huff with Ichinose.

It was astonishing that a teacher could behave like that.

Watching Hoshinomiya and Ichinose recede into the distance, Kazami Saku was still muttering under his breath, saying things that sounded nothing like what a student should say. "What's her problem? So unreasonable. Even an adult can be that childish."

Ayanokoji, who had silently watched the whole thing from beginning to end, finally spoke. "...You really are strict."

Kazami pursed his lips. "Hmph. I finally worked up the nerve for once, and she just interrupted me like that. And her reason was that she didn't have a boyfriend."

Chabashira looked at the two students chatting away among themselves. "All right, enough chatting. Let's go to the break room first. I still have something to discuss with you."