It had already been over a month since the activities at Shalle began.
After returning from a business trip to Abydos, the teacher enjoyed a peaceful month, reminiscing about the time spent in Kivotos.
In response to a request for help from the desert, the teacher threw themselves into the sandstorm of Abydos with the rabbit squad.
They encountered students who secretly licked their hidden wounds and students who cherished their school too much.
However, they faced a crisis that seemed impossible to solve with just those students, so they requested help from the student who had eagerly registered their name at Shalle, hoping for assistance.
Then, unbelievably, just one student presented a solution to the situation.
The relaxed yet proud expression from that time and the wings fluttering behind, adding a mysterious ambiance, were certainly memories that would not be forgotten.
Moreover, the girl possessed the strength to single-handedly break through a battalion equipped with multiple tanks, making her undeniably a game-changer.
Even right up until the moment they took down Vina, the girl’s overwhelming presence was undoubtedly the key to resolving the events in Abydos.
Additionally, even though Arona assured that she would protect them, she directly dove into the battlefield to command.
She also met a suspicious figure in a black suit.
They concluded their journey in the desert with a delightful party.
The time that followed was relatively mundane, filled with trivial daily routines. Occasionally, providing academic support and counseling had led to February fading away and March arriving. It was already a month since the teacher had opened their eyes.
In the meantime, the teacher scratched a card on a game called Club Malangmalang and got an earful from Yuuka, and due to poor document preparation, they also got scolded by Rin.
Not long after meeting, the teacher thought of the girl who deliberately wanted to bring Valentine’s gifts for her lover…so they gifted cookie sets to students they had connections with.
That was just a few days ago.
Now, the teacher was heading to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
As they stepped into a newly opened revolving sushi place, they heard the sound of a quarrel.
A kitchen chef resembling a hyena and a girl with white hair down to her calves were facing each other and arguing.
In contrast to the girl speaking clearly with a medium-sized voice while smiling, the chef was raising his voice, clearly agitated.
“If you think it’s right to execute such a filthy revenge by claiming the customer was rude in any form, then you don’t deserve to be a chef.”
“So, what’s your proof? Do you think you can pin that on me without any evidence?”
“Of course, the physical proof has already disappeared into the customer’s stomach… We should check the CCTV, right? At 6:48:39 PM on March 24th, I distinctly remember you spat on the sushi rice of the salmon sushi you ordered at Table 11.”
Did she really serve food spitted on?
Upon hearing that, the teacher inadvertently gave a dumbfounded look at the chef.
“Unfortunately, the store’s CCTV is malfunctioning at the moment—”
“Stop. That’s enough. I don’t wish to hear any more of your unpleasant words. Mr. Noah, it seems you’re not someone I can reason with.”
Then, from beside the girl, someone the teacher knew slowly stood up. It was a face they had seen once before. A beauty that could easily be mistaken for a celebrity.
The moment the teacher laid eyes on the cold face of Kurodate Haruna, one of Mika’s lovers… they felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
“Phew. Haruna, if Mika finds out…”
“She gave me a card and told me not to cause trouble without her knowing, so of course, she would find out. It’s better for the world if a restaurant that secretly spits in their food just because a customer gets a bit offended disappears like this. I think Ms. Mika would understand that completely.”
Haruna casually pulled a card from her wallet while taking her bag.
“Please cover the expenses for all the customers here.”
“…What’s your game plan?”
“Hurry up, it’s a waste of time. Mr. Noah, please.”
“Understood, Haruna-chan♪”
As Haruna settled the bills for all the customers in the restaurant, Noah went around talking to the customers.
Gradually, the customers began to stand up and leave the restaurant. The teacher, who had been watching near the entrance, wondered what on earth was happening.
Then the teacher spotted something lying beneath the seat where Haruna and Noah had been sitting, and they felt a cold sweat trickle down.
These kids, surely…
By the time the teacher comprehended the situation, all the customers had already exited, leaving the restaurant completely empty.
“…You four are banned from this restaurant. Get the hell out!”
The kitchen chef employed a harsh tone that matched his irritation after finishing the bill with Haruna’s card.
“Oh my, such a ban isn’t necessary. There are plenty of restaurants in the world that we haven’t visited yet. Though soon, there won’t be any places left to visit… fufu.”
With that, Haruna, walking side by side with Noah who had evacuated all the customers, exited the establishment. Upon spotting the teacher, her eyes widened slightly.
“Wow, what a coincidence, running into you here, Teacher! If you were planning to eat here, I’d suggest looking for another place.”
“Haruna, I’m just wondering…”
Before the teacher could finish, Haruna pulled out a detonator from her pocket. Seeing that, the teacher’s feet instinctively turned towards exiting the restaurant.
What filled the teacher with the greatest sense of crisis was none other than the deeply sinking gaze of Haruna.
After exiting the restaurant and taking a few more steps, Haruna tightened her fingers. Seeing Noah subtly covering her ears, the teacher instinctively did the same.
And then,
BOOOOOOMMMMM!!
An explosion occurred that could blow away any restaurant of decent size in an instant.
Once the explosion subsided, Haruna, calmly linking arms with Noah, gestured for the teacher to follow her.
It took the teacher a moment to process what had just happened, but cautiously, they started to speak.
“No matter how you look at it, you can’t just blow up someone else’s restaurant, even in Kivotos!”
“Fufu, that’s true. As you said, if you keep doing things like this, you’re bound to end up on a wanted list. If the Valkyries catch us, that’d be a one-way ticket to the correction bureau.”
“Then why…”
“It’s a serious problem when a restaurant can’t provide service that fits its establishment to its customers, Teacher. If a place can’t meet basic service standards relative to its pricing, then it shouldn’t exist at all. A restaurant that resorts to such filthy means for petty revenge on a customer… obviously has to go.”
“I understand your sentiment to some degree, but you shouldn’t act based on merely contradicting my beliefs.”
“Fufu, I’m not unaware of that. That’s why it was Noah who initiated the conversation first. Anyway, putting boring matters aside, if you’re looking for a place to eat, we can guide you to one. It’s a udon shop that could be considered the best in D.U.”
“Um… alright. Thanks for suggesting it, Haruna.”
Since the teacher had to eat, they nodded in agreement. However, the proximity of the two people felt slightly off-putting to the teacher.
“But Haruna… I distinctly remember you dating Mika, is this okay? What if Mika finds out—”
“Fufu. Now that you mention it, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Ushio Noa, a second-year student from Millennium. Mika’s lover… and also mine.”
“Nice to meet you, Teacher♪ Yuuka-chan has told me so many good things about you.”
“Uh, uh. Huh? Thanks… Wait a minute. Haruna, what do you mean by you’re both Mika’s lover and your lover too…?”
“It’s a rather complicated relationship that’s hard to explain clearly… but you can just see it as all three of us loving one another.”
“…”
The teacher briefly held their throbbing head. After pressing their forehead to calm the pulsing pain, they looked at the two girls who tightly clasped their hands.
Why did it always feel like things got weird whenever Mika was involved?
Already, the teacher was aware of at least four of Mika’s lovers. And two of them should have originally ended in a love triangle, but somehow they managed to weave that into a single relationship, which seemed utterly baffling.
…Unrelated to discovering this complicated relationship, the tsukedashi udon suggested by Haruna was, indeed, really delicious.
While suffering from an unexpected headache, the teacher had no idea that they would once again encounter Mika’s name in an unexpected place.
