“Sorry about this, Aoyagi, but I was asked to do this on short notice and I needed a hand.”

　As I was sorting out the materials in the reference room, Miyu-sensei, who was also sorting out the materials, apologized to me.

　I’m currently in the middle of cleaning up the reference room with Miyu-sensei.

“No, it’s fine, but… please don’t scare me if you just needed some help.”

　I let out a little frustration as I moved my hands.

　When I was told that I was being punished, I feared that I would get the same sermon as Akira got.

　So please don’t call me out like this, mistaking it for a sermon.

“It was more convenient to call it a punishment as an excuse to get you to help. If I had only punished Saionji, you might have been called out again in class.”

　Miyu-sensei may not be very talkative, but I could tell from her words that she was worried about me.

　Even though she’s a manly woman and has a short temper, she’s also a good teacher who cares about her students.

　That’s why she’s so popular with the students and they call her by her first name.

“And now you’re playing the bad guy again, aren’t you? Why do you always have to play such a damaging role?”

　Perhaps because I didn’t reply, Miyu-sensei continued to ask me questions.

　I stopped organizing the materials and looked at Miyu-sensei, who was also organizing the materials behind me.

“How long have you been there?”

“Just before Aoyagi stopped Saionji.”

“Isn’t that pretty much from the beginning…?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I was going to intervene in the conversation, but I stopped when I saw you make a move. It’s not a good idea for a teacher to intervene in a problem between students, and I trusted that you would be able to handle it. But to be honest, I think I should have intervened now.”

　The way Miyu-sensei spoke, I could see that she was regretting it.

　Maybe it’s because I was the only one who was on the wrong side.

　I thought it was the best thing to do in that situation, and I acted because I trusted Akira.

　But Miyu-sensei might have felt bad about it.

“It’s fine, really. I don’t really care about it.”

“You’re one of those people huh…”

　Miyu-sensei muttered in disgust.

　I guess she has some thoughts about my actions.

“In this world, it’s best if someone sacrifices themselves.”

“What’s with this second-year high school student’s naivete? Let’s see, if you’re going to have the same attitude from now on, I’m going to have to lower your internal evaluation as an uncooperative student.”

“Miyu-sensei, isn’t that a bit unfair…?”

“You have to be cunning to survive in this society.”

　Miyu-sensei gives us advice that may or may not be useful, without seeming to take offense at all.

　I wondered if it was okay for such a nasty adult to be my teacher.

“Hey, Aoyagi, what are you thinking about right now?”

　As soon as I thought of something rude, Miyu-sensei reacted sensitively.

　The scary thing about this person is that she has such wild intuition.

　For now, I’ll just shake my head and insist that it’s a misunderstanding.

　If I were to be honest here, I might be given a similar sermon as Akira.

“I see, I guess it’s just my imagination then. …Well, that’s okay. You should take better care of yourself, though.”

“I am taking good care of myself.”

“Where do you get off saying that…?”

“Haa~…” Miyu-sensei sighs and presses her forehead.

　Why is she so dumbfounded at me?

“Miyu-sensei, since this is the last one, can I go home now?”

　After confirming that there was no more work to be done, I told Miyu-sensei that I wanted to leave.

　If I stay here for too long, I’m going to be lectured by her for a long time, so I want to get out of here as soon as possible.

“Oh right, thank you, Aoyagi, you’ve always been a great help.”

“No, it’s normal for students to help their teachers.”

“You’re a good student…”

　Miyu-sensei said to me with a slightly darkened expression.

　I knew immediately what she was trying to say, but this was the path I had chosen for myself.

　So I had no reason to feel sorry for her.

　After that, I said goodbye to Sensei and left the school― but I had no idea at the time that helping Miyu-sensei would change the course of my life.