Chapter 6

Episode 6: Homeroom Teacher <2>

“Excuse me.”

Shion knocked on the door of the teacher’s document storage room and entered. Inside, his homeroom teacher, Restia, was standing on a stepladder, pulling a few books from the shelf.

“Ah, Kurosaki-kun!”

Noticing Shion’s arrival, Restia turned around and called out to him.

“Thank you as always… If you’re busy, feel free to say no, okay…?”

“No, no, please rely on me anytime. If it’s for someone who works hard for their students, anyone would be eager to help.”

“…Huh?!”

As Shion said this, Restia’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then her gaze suddenly lost focus.

“…A white dress, a church overlooking the sea, surrounded by flowers… A modest but joyful family full of smiles…”

“…What are you talking about?”

“Ah! Sorry, it’s nothing… I just…”

“(Just…?)”

He always says things that make Restia genuinely happy.

Though his tone is flat and his expression rarely changes, she somehow understands that his words come from an honest place.

Restia’s face turned red without her realizing it, but she quickly turned back to the bookshelf to hide it.

“By the way, sensei, that’s dangerous. Let me take over.”

Restia was reaching for a book at a height where it was unclear if she could reach it, her footing unsteady and the stepladder wobbling.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just this one… A little more… Hnn…”

As Shion, unable to watch any longer, moved closer to steady the wobbling ladder, Restia managed to grab the book she wanted. But in that instant, she lost her balance.

“Kyaah?!”

“Tch?!”

Shion instinctively caught Restia’s falling body with both hands, but he also lost his balance and fell to the ground, scattering the books Restia had been holding.

Restia ended up on top of Shion, their bodies almost entirely pressed together.

Shion, desperately holding back a pained expression, made a face as if to say, “I’m totally fine,” while Restia’s face was right in front of his, close enough for their noses to touch.

“…Ah…”

“……”

Their breaths lightly brushed against each other’s faces.

…In the face of this sudden situation, Restia’s mind went completely blank.

For a few seconds, they silently stared at each other. Once the shock of the fall wore off and Shion finally found the breath to speak, he opened his mouth.

“…Sorry, sensei, I couldn’t catch you properly… Are you okay?”

His breath touched Restia’s lips as he spoke.

Restia, snapping back to reality, widened her eyes and blushed all the way to her ears. Then, she hurriedly sat up.

“I-I-I’m fine, I’m fine!! S-sorry! I completely fell on top of you…!”

“No, it’s fine. I’m pretty sturdy, so I’m okay. More importantly, I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

He said it as if it were nothing, but his words were a lie. He had hit his back and the back of his head pretty hard and was actually in a lot of pain.

But he hid that pitiful truth with all his might, putting on a completely unfazed face.

Then, he reached out a hand to Restia, who was still sitting on the floor.

“Ah, thank you…”

Restia, looking down, took his hand and stood up.

“…Are these all the books you need to carry?”

“……”

Shion, still seemingly unfazed, picked up the scattered books with both hands and asked Restia.

“…Sensei?”

“…Huh? Ah, what is it?!”

“Just wondering if these are all the books you need to carry.”

“Ah, yes…! That’s all of them. As usual, could you take them to my prep room? I’ll take these and go ahead…!”

“Then, I’ll be off!” With that, Restia grabbed a few books stacked nearby and left the storage room ahead of Shion.

“…?”

Shion watched Restia’s retreating figure, puzzled as she hurried away as if fleeing.

◆

Restia, half-running, returned to her prep room, slammed the books she had brought from the storage room onto her desk with a bang, and covered her face with both hands.

“Nnngh! Ugh, this is too much for my heart…!!”

Remembering what had just happened, Restia made a pained face and blushed.

“(…Shion’s breath touched my lips, and I could smell his nice hair up close… What am I even thinking about?!)”

She tried to scold herself, but she couldn’t stop her heart from pounding wildly.

“(And why am I, the older one, getting all flustered for no reason, while he, the younger one, stays so cool?! This is so embarrassing…!)”

“…Haaah, haaah. Calm down…”

After venting her frustration, Restia began preparing her special blend of tea to calm herself down.

…Rina Restia, Shion’s homeroom teacher, was still young at 24 years old.

Her youthful appearance was such that if she wore a school uniform, no one would doubt she was a new student. With her long, beautiful flaxen hair, emerald-green eyes, and an outstanding figure, she was a beauty in every sense.

Yet, when she had fallen on top of him, their breaths mingling at such close proximity, and her soft body pressed completely against his, Shion hadn’t shown even a hint of a reaction.

Restia, the older one, had been the only one to react as if aware of the opposite sex, while Shion showed no such reaction at all.

This fact made Restia feel pathetic, and she even started to resent Shion a little for acting as if she had no charm as a woman.

But it wasn’t that Restia lacked charm as a woman. It was simply that she had the wrong opponent.

Shion Kurosaki was a man whose emotions toward the opposite sex, which should have developed during adolescence, had never taken root. Instead, his sensibilities had twisted in a strange direction during that time.

…Shion Kurosaki was, in every sense, a tragic monster warped by adolescence.

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