The Service Club activity room was pitch black; it looked as if no one was left inside.

Asakura blinked. "Have Chihaya and the others already headed back?"

They hadn’t exactly agreed that she should wait for him, and since it was indeed getting quite late, it was understandable.

"...Hmm?" However, the moment he stepped into the room, Asakura sensed something was off.

"Surprise~" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The lights in the room suddenly flared to life. Hiratsuka Shizuka sat in the activity room, looking at Asakura with a half-smile.

"Oh, it’s just Hiratsuka-sensei..." Asakura said calmly.

"You don’t seem very surprised?" Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed somewhat dissatisfied with his flat reaction.

"That’s not true. I’m super surprised..." Asakura said with a straight face.

After all, even without actively triggering the magic spell [Snake], his permanent infrared vision allowed him to see biological silhouettes in total darkness (it would even highlight the parts of the body with the highest temperature). Trying to scare him this way was practically impossible.

"Moving on..." Asakura said, proactively changing the subject to prevent her from dwelling on the matter, "Why are you here, Sensei?"

"To pick you up, of course..." Hiratsuka Shizuka said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "After all, that warning issued from above hasn’t been lifted yet..."

"Huh?"

Asakura was stunned. "That thing from yesterday... isn’t over yet?"

He almost let the words "playing house" slip out of his mouth.

"What, do you find me annoying?" Hiratsuka Shizuka narrowed her eyes, staring at Asakura with a slightly dangerous gaze.

"Not at all." Asakura waved his hand. "I’m just curious how you knew I hadn’t left yet."

"When I was ushering the brats left in this activity room back home, Yanami accidentally let it slip."

Asakura: "..."

It’s decided. During summer break, that girl is sentenced to the ’only three meals a day’ punishment.

"Alright, stop dilly-dallying. You’re a boy, right? Then be quick and decisive!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka stepped forward and patted Asakura on the shoulder.

"I’d rather be ’quick and decisive’ about saying ’No’ to authority than be ’quick and decisive’ about being escorted away..." Asakura muttered to himself. Then he glanced at Hiratsuka Shizuka and asked curiously, "Aren’t you going to ask where I just went, Sensei?"

"For a boy your age, even if I asked, I’d probably just get some unreliable answer like ’I went to save the world,’ wouldn’t I?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka replied nonchalantly. "As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. Everything else is just the kind of thing you’ll look back on when you’re older and say, ’Those were just the mistakes of youth’ with a reminiscent tone."

"Hiratsuka-sensei..." Asakura looked at her in shock. "You’re actually making sense like a real teacher!"

"I am a teacher, hey!"

"Well, as thanks for your hospitality, let’s go to a family restaurant for dinner. My treat."

"No need. I haven’t fallen so low that I need to let a student treat me." Hiratsuka Shizuka shook her head, then cast a subtle, worried glance at Asakura.

From what she knew, this brilliant student of hers actually had a very difficult life. Leaving aside the early passing of both parents, his current guardian seemed to pay him no mind at all, and his monthly living allowance was effectively zero.

In fact, until last semester, she often saw him looking drowsy in class because he was juggling too many part-time jobs at once; he was clearly just one step away from physical collapse.

She had thought of various ways to help him, but the boy had never shown even a hint of weakness. He turned a blind eye to every olive branch offered. He seemed to have a massive barrier between himself and the rest of the world, shutting himself inside a tiny "self" like a hedgehog. He refused deep interactions and rejected help; his stubbornness rivaled her own.

However, since this semester began, he clearly looked much better. At the very least, his face no longer had that sickly, malnourished hue, and his overall vibe was more relaxed (or perhaps "frivolous"?).

Thinking about it, her agreeing to let him establish a club was a good move. The Chiba Magic Association... well, it was renamed the Magic Club now. Regardless of the nonsensical name, the club was full of good kids. It was probably thanks to their care that this boy stopped being so isolated.

The only thing remaining was that sense of detachment from his surroundings. Although it was much better hidden than last semester, she could still faintly sense it.

It wasn’t intentional on the boy’s part, but rather a choice made by his subconscious or some instinct without him even realizing it.

"Seriously, Asakura, what do you think of those girls in the Magic Club? Don’t you want to—" As Hiratsuka Shizuka walked toward the door, she extended her pinky finger in a suggestive hint, "—you know, take things further?"

"Every time I try to respect you, Sensei, you always say things a teacher shouldn’t say..." Asakura picked up his bag and followed her, sighing helplessly.

"What’s the big deal? High school life without a romance is far too gray."

"Since you say that, Sensei, your high school life must have been a brilliant rose-color, right?"

"...Forget it, let’s talk about a more relaxing topic."

"Relaxing topic? Yanami’s final exam grades?"

"Why do you always have so much malice toward that child?"

"That’s not it. I hold equal affection for all my club members. So for Yanami, I have about four times the usual amount of ’affection’."

"That ’affection’ is way too distorted, isn’t it?" Hiratsuka Shizuka rubbed her temples. "I wanted to ask what you plan to do for summer break..." She suddenly frowned. "You aren’t going to spend the whole break working, are you?"

"Not really. I plan to go on a trip..." Asakura said truthfully.

"Oh? Do you have the money for that?" she asked, surprised.

"I don’t. So I plan to rob every social-anxiety-ridden student in school and use the ’friendship fees’ they pay to fund my travels."

"Stop right there! People with social anxiety are already pitiful enough, don’t add to their burden!"

"I’m just joking..." Asakura flashed an innocent, harmless smile.

"I figured you wouldn’t—" Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded.

"I’ll rob the ones without social anxiety, too."

"Hey!"