[🎉 Shoutout to Ryan & TheHealerOfPleasure for joining patreon. Thank you very much.🤗]
"So Hiratsuka-sensei, if you've got something to say, just say it," Seeing her hesitating and fumbling, Miura Yumiko felt a bit of a headache.
As a normie, she had lots of friends, and naturally among them were the type who wouldn't say things straight, but had to first ask, "Can I ask you something?"
Answering "You can," might lead to a troublesome request, which would then be hard to refuse cleanly.
But ignoring it wouldn't help either. Leaving a message on read without replying only makes things more awkward, who even invented the "read" function? They should be sacrificed to the gods!
"…Was it that obvious?", Hiratsuka Shizuka scratched her head and decided not to beat around the bush anymore, putting on a serious face, "There's indeed something I need your help with."
Then she turned to look toward the door, and raised her voice, "Yukino, come in."
As her voice fell, a long-haired girl in uniform walked in, her expression seemed somewhat helpless, "Hiratsuka-sensei, I appreciate your good intentions, but I really don't—"
Her sapphire-blue eyes happened to lock with a certain figure sitting on the sofa, and it was like ten thousand stars of Pegasus fell down, her breath caught.
"Haha, what did I say? I didn't lie to you, right!", Hiratsuka Shizuka let out two loud laughs and gave the long-haired girl's soft shoulder a firm slap, looking smug, "Didn't I tell you, just follow me and you won't be disappointed. Hmph! So how do you feel now? How do you feel, huh!?"
All her awe and amazement were scattered to the wind by that merciless slap.
Yukinoshita Yukino rubbed her shoulder, and her usually cold and calm face briefly showed a flash of pain. Her voice was as cold as ice, "Hiratsuka-sensei, using violence on students at will; I think I need to reassess whether you're still qualified to be a teacher."
"Sorry, sorry, forgot to hold back," Hiratsuka Shizuka was covered in cold sweat, trying to please her by massaging her shoulder, like a lackey serving a noble lady.
At a key moment, Miura Yumiko stepped up and changed the topic.
"Yukinoshita Yukino?", The blonde girl had a strange expression on her pretty face, "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Miura-san?", Yukinoshita also slightly frowned, though her demeanor seemed a bit calmer, "It's been a while."
Speaking of which, this was a bit of a twisted fate.
They had been classmates in elementary, middle, and even high school.
There had been some conflict when they were younger, though it ended quickly with Yumiko's defeat.
Since then, their relationship had always been lukewarm, never developing into the deep friendship typical of childhood companions who grew up together.
Later in college, Yumiko heard Yukinoshita had gone abroad to study and thought she wouldn't see her again for the next four years.
Who would've thought, after all the twists and turns, they'd end up reuniting at Shuka.
So many years had passed. The minor friction from back then had long since become history. Yumiko wasn't that petty.
She just didn't expect, that Yukinoshita, always cold and proud like a flower on a high peak, would actually have a day when she got lovestruck over a boy?
"No need to look so surprised," Yukino's pale cheeks faintly showed a blush, but it vanished in an instant.
"Humans are shallow creatures obsessed with appearances. The instinct to reproduce with stronger and more beautiful mates is deeply embedded in our DNA. It's just like how we eat when hungry, or drink when thirsty. It's only natural."
"The biggest difference between humans and animals lies in our ability to suppress instincts through rationality. I do the same."
Sounds reasonable on the surface.
But it still felt like she was going on a rant just to save face?
Beside her, Hiratsuka Shizuka instinctively tried to pat the girl's shoulder again, but shrank back under Yukino's terrifying death glare and quickly changed course, patting Kaito beside her instead, "Anyway, Yukinoshita just transferred here recently. As you can see, because of her personality, she still hasn't made any friends and is always alone. It's honestly pretty pitiful."
"Hiratsuka-sensei, please don't describe me like I'm some kind of problematic child."
Yukinoshita sighed, "I'm simply used to being alone, that's all."
'That might fool the older ladies, but don't deceive yourself too.'
'We'll believe you, sure. It's not like it costs us anything. But just hope you don't cry yourself to sleep hiding under the covers tonight.'
Hiratsuka Shizuka pouted, then turned to Kaito and said, "So, I hope you can help her fit in better with her surroundings. Ideally, even make a few friends."
"Of course," she paused, then added, "If you find it troubling, it's totally fine to say no. I'll figure out another way."
Hiratsuka-sensei's attitude was very good, with no sense of forcing him.
Plus, considering her huge help in creating the club, it was a favor that couldn't be ignored.
Kaito rubbed his forehead, "Since it's Hiratsuka-sensei's request, of course I can't just sit by and do nothing… but for this kind of commission, I don't think I can help much, honestly?"
If it were a request to exorcise evil spirits or monsters, that'd be no problem, right up his alley.
Sadako, Kayako, whatever. Just hit them with a Five Thunder Curse and poof, all evil gone.
But helping a transfer student fit into class…
'I don't understand, I cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness.'
"After all, you're the most popular person in our class," Hiratsuka Shizuka said this like it was obvious, "So this kind of thing shouldn't be hard for you… wait a second."
She suddenly realized something, and looked a bit regretful.
Back then, she didn't think too much about it, she just naturally assumed that since Kaito was so popular at school, he'd definitely have lots of experience with this kind of thing.
Helping Yukinoshita integrate and make friends should be a piece of cake, right?
But thinking about it more carefully now, the reason he was popular seemed to be purely because he looked really good.
Even if he did nothing and just sat there quietly, people still liked him.
That kind of experience wasn't something others could use for reference. Even though Yukinoshita was also beautiful, her beauty was still within the realm of human standards.
At most, people would look and say, "Wow, what a pretty girl," and that's it. It didn't make people dazed and awestruck.
Plus, the male-to-female ratio at Shuka was one to four, the school had no shortage of pretty girls.
"Looks like Hiratsuka-sensei also realized the root of the problem."
Kaito gave a helpless smile, "I really don't know where to start, but I'll try my best."
"No worries, the fact that you're willing to help already means a lot."
Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand, a bit embarrassed, "Then I won't disturb you two anymore. Yukino, I'll leave her in your hands."
''Leave in your hands', what kind of weird phrasing is that?', Yukino was already tired inside. After confirming that Hiratsuka Shizuka had left, she turned to face Kaito.
The girl, beautiful like falling snow, lowered her gaze to avoid looking at that face that made her heart race, and spoke with deliberately distant politeness, "About Hiratsuka-sensei's earlier request, just pretend you didn't hear it. As the subject involved, I have no intention of engaging in pointless socializing."
"Of course, I'll also inform Hiratsuka-sensei of the cancellation. Sorry for the sudden disturbance."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y