Early in the morning, just as I was preparing to head out, I said to the white-haired girl seeing me off at the elevator:
"Then I'll leave the house to you, Noa?"
"Okay."
Noa smiled and gave me a small wave.
"Have a safe trip."
My spirits immediately lifted.
This kind of exchange really did feel a little like a conversation between newlyweds, didn't it?
Then when I came back later, would I get to hear something like "Would you like dinner first, a bath first, or perhaps..." ?
Though it might be a little greedy of me, she was going to marry me eventually anyway. Even if things became more intimate, it would merely be a rehearsal ahead of time.
And just then, Noa suddenly stepped forward.
I instinctively moved to step back, only to freeze in place after she softly said, "Don't move." I could only stare blankly as the girl reached out with both hands and began adjusting my clothes.
At the same time, Noa spoke again.
"Your tie is crooked. Your clothes are wrinkled too... Sensei is Sensei after all. Even if you're already very handsome to begin with, you still need to pay more attention to your appearance when you're outside, okay? Hehe~ Though from my perspective, being a little messy has its own charm too."
"Ah, i, is that so..."
"Hehe, that's exactly how it is~"
Although Noa's tone remained as light and smiling as always, her expression was incomparably focused and serious, almost as though she were participating in some sacred pilgrimage.
Looking at that beautiful face so close before me only made my already wandering thoughts grow even more restless and thirsty.
Yuuka! Just what exactly are you trusting here!?
Oh well, Noa and I had already done similar things right in front of Yuuka before, so she probably would not mind if it happened a few more times.
"All done."
Who knew how much time had passed? Perhaps only a short dozen seconds, though to me it had felt especially long. Noa stepped back half a pace and smiled in satisfaction.
"That should do it."
"Thank you."
I cautiously asked,
"Then... I'll get going?"
Noa nodded.
"Mhm. Be careful on the way."
It was not until I briskly walked out of the Schale building and bathed in the warm morning sunlight that I finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then the more I thought about it, the stranger it felt.
Wait a second, something's off here, isn't it? Why did it feel like our positions had completely reversed, and I had become the one getting flirted with?
Not that it was necessarily bad. And yes, I had been the one to aggressively approach her despite her originally wanting to keep her distance from me. I had even imagined and looked forward to things developing like this.
But setting my own thoughts aside, didn't Noa feel at least a little sorry toward Yuuka for acting this way!?
Feeling strangely conflicted, I quietly sighed and headed toward today's destination.
Even though Millennium's trip to the Golden Fleece was already imminent, and Trinity's investigation based on one of my theories was progressing intensely as well, that did not mean I would stop accepting other students' requests during this period.
Rather, the opposite.
To conceal the plans unfolding in the shadows, I needed to act as usual, perhaps even pretend that I had completely immersed myself in women, so that any enemies watching me would lower their guard.
A short while later, I arrived at Gehenna's student cafeteria.
But my purpose today had nothing to do with the School Lunch Club... though perhaps it did, in a way.
In any case, since it was still far from lunchtime, the cafeteria was naturally empty.
Thus, after entering, I immediately spotted the student who had invited me here.
Wanibuchi Akari from the Gourmet Research Society.
I glanced toward the kitchen area and, fortunately, did not see the horrifying sight I had imagined of Fuuka and Juri tied up in ropes. That eased my nerves somewhat.
Then I quickly walked over to the kind-faced blonde girl with blue eyes, who was scrolling through her phone.
"Good morning, Akari."
"Ah, Sensei, you're here."
Akari put away her phone and smiled gently.
"Hehe~ You arrived earlier than I expected. I'm happy."
Her smile somehow resembled Noa's a little, which made me uneasy.
First of all, there was no doubt that Akari inviting me out contained at least some amount of lust for my good looks.
The only question was what percentage.
I sat down across from her, glanced at the large bags on the table whose contents I could not identify, and decided to get straight to the point.
"So, Akari, what did you call me here for today?"
"Hehe, so impatient? Actually, Sensei, it's almost time for the Central Shopping District's eating contest!"
I looked surprised.
"An eating contest?"
I was somewhat aware of Akari's appetite.
Back when we chatted on MomoTalk, she had once complained to me about why there was no size larger than extra-large. For her, eating only one extra-large beef bowl was nowhere near enough.
If Hasumi heard that, she would probably cry with envy and resentment, and perhaps yet another rumor about hating Gehenna would start circulating.
Still, considering Akari's figure, it did not seem like she would be at the level of participating in actual competitions.
Akari nodded with a smile.
"This year's eating contest event is hamburgers. Since I've never challenged this category before, I'm a little nervous. But in order to defend my title as eating champion for the fourth consecutive year, I can't just give up!"
Four consecutive years!?
Staring in shock at the girl's curvy figure, I once again recalled my earlier suspicion.
Did Kivotos students really have some sort of special energy storage organs? Like Yuuka's thighs, perhaps?
While my imagination wandered somewhere rather impolite, Akari continued speaking.
"So today I wanted to do some special training at Gehenna's cafeteria before the competition. Since eating too much without any challengers around might make me feel sick, I wanted to ask Sensei to be my pacer."
A pacer referred to someone in events like marathons who ran alongside a specific athlete to help them maintain their rhythm.
Which meant that to become a pacer, there was one absolutely necessary prerequisite.
You had to possess strength close to the competitor's own level.
"While I don't mind helping," I said awkwardly, "my appetite is only around the level of a normal person, though..."
But hearing that, Akari confidently smiled and patted one of the bags.
"It's okay, I already considered that possibility. So I prepared mini hamburgers for Sensei, okay? I'll match your pace. Every time Sensei eats one mini hamburger, I'll eat one full-sized hamburger."
In that case, it sounded manageable enough.
"Oh right, Sensei."
Suddenly noticing something, Akari leaned closer.
"Your tie is a little too tight. Excuse me~"
After loosening my tie for me, she sat back down again and smiled in satisfaction.
"All right then, let's get started already~"