Shizuka Hiratsuka drove her small car through the streets of Chiba City at night, with Kotomi Izumi in the passenger seat.

Kotomi gazed out the window at the brightly lit, bustling nightscape of Chiba.

Being close to Tokyo, Chiba carried a bit of Tokyo’s vibrance as well.

A kind of quiet nestled within the liveliness—that was Chiba’s night. Immersed in the city’s bustle, it didn’t feel noisy; surrounded by the tranquil view of that same bustle, it never felt desolate.

“Compared to Tokyo, I actually like Chiba quite a bit,” Shizuka said as she drove.

“Kotomi, which city do you like? I don’t mean which city’s university you want to apply to after exams or whether you want to study abroad. I just want to know—if you were to live in Japan in the future, which city would you choose to live in? Chiba, Tokyo, or maybe Shikoku?”

“…Let me think.”

Kotomi tilted her head back and looked at the car ceiling. The first thing that came to mind was the refreshing breeze by the coast, the passing trains that felt like part of the scenery itself, the observation lighthouse in the distance, and the priceless night view she saw that evening while standing on the viewing platform with a little devil.

“Enoshima.”

Following that vivid image in her mind, Kotomi spoke without hesitation.

If possible, she wanted to live in Enoshima. Buy a house there and settle down long-term.

Compared to Tokyo, property prices in Enoshima were still relatively reasonable.

“Oh~ Enoshima in Kamakura? That really is a lovely place. I used to go there when I was in college. Whether you go alone or with someone, it’s a great place either way.”

“I went by myself back then. The scenery was wonderful, but the one place I regretted going to was the Lovers’ Hill. I was so focused on the sightseeing guides praising how beautiful it was that I completely ignored what the name implied.”

“Can you imagine it? The entire place was full of couples, all paired up and ringing the Ryuren Bell of Love (Bell of the Dragon’s Love) together. Ah! I couldn’t take it. I swear, I’m never going to Lovers’ Hill again!”

As Shizuka recounted the story, Kotomi couldn’t help but let out an awkward laugh. She felt a little bad admitting that on her last trip to Enoshima, not only had she gone to Lovers’ Hill with Iroha Isshiki, but they had also rung the Ryuren Bell together.

Shizuka-sensei, I’m sorry… I already rang the Bell of Love with another girl.

The conversation about future cities to live in soon fizzled out, and Kotomi took the initiative to ask:

“Shizuka-sensei, since I passed out after crossing the finish line today, does my result still count?”

“Of course it does. You came in first. When you ran the 800 meters, you basically stunned all the teachers and students on site. Usually you don’t seem very athletic, yet you ran incredibly fast.”

“This sports festival had randomized matchups for each group, and honestly, I don’t know whether to say you were lucky or not. The seven other girls in your heat were all rising stars in the first-year PE program.”

“Everyone thought you had no chance. It was like throwing a total rookie into a boss fight against seven experts—the odds looked grim. But the moment the race started, you completely proved everyone wrong.”

At this point, Shizuka scratched her head, feeling a bit guilty. She had originally assumed the 800-meter heats were assigned based on regular PE performance, but they turned out to be random. Although she had learned Kotomi’s bib number and lane assignment ahead of time, she only received the full participant list after Kotomi was already on the track.

Kotomi was a proud girl. If she hadn’t been fast, and her athletic skills were really average, then being matched with seven very strong runners for a long-distance race… If all seven pulled ahead and she was left trailing far behind, still running alone on the track after everyone else had finished—tired but unable to pick up speed—

Would Kotomi’s pride have allowed her to accept that?

When Shizuka received the final list, that was her first thought. She rushed to the event coordinator, saying, “The gap in ability is too large! Kotomi hasn’t trained for this. Let’s withdraw!”

But the teacher in charge just sighed and replied, “The lineup’s already finalized. The athletes are prepping. We can’t make any last-minute changes.”

“Kotomi, I’m sorry! Even though you won first place, I still shouldn’t have let you register for the sports festival!” Shizuka took a deep breath and apologized loudly to Kotomi.

What if Kotomi hadn’t been good at athletics? What if she saw her opponents way ahead, while she was dead last? Even if she tried her hardest but couldn’t catch up, could her pride have accepted that?

And if she couldn’t, it would no doubt leave some kind of mark on her heart.

If that had truly happened, Shizuka felt that even if she spent her whole life trying to make it up to Kotomi, it might never be enough to undo the damage.

“Kotomi, actually… about those cultural festival tickets…”

“Shh.”

Just as Shizuka was about to explain her little scheme with the tickets, Kotomi suddenly raised a finger to her lips, signaling her to hush.

Shizuka instinctively closed her mouth.

“Shizuka-sensei, you’re about to say that there weren’t only two tickets left at the time, right?”

“You already knew?”

“You’re so silly. When I asked you for the tickets, I already noticed. The reason I agreed wasn’t just because you were clearly having trouble with the signups for the sports festival and the cultural festival, but also because…”

Kotomi trailed off, turned to look at Shizuka, and smiled meaningfully. “I won’t say the second reason. Maybe I’ll tell you someday—but not now. Hehe~”

“Eh… Come on, tell me! Don’t tease me like that!”

“Not telling~ not telling~ If you want to know, you’ll either have to wait patiently until I feel like telling you, or guess it yourself. If you guess right, maybe I’ll even reward you.” Kotomi flashed a cheeky peace sign in front of her eyes, grinning smugly.

Then she changed the subject:

“But Shizuka-sensei, you really did make me join both the sports festival and the cultural festival. Running 800 meters was exhausting~ And now I’m still racking my brain over who should be the lead singer in our three-person band. You better make it up to me properly.”

“What kind of compensation do you want?” Shizuka asked instinctively.

Kotomi waved her peace sign and said seriously, “You have to agree to two requests unconditionally. As for what they are? I haven’t decided yet. I’ll tell you when I do.”

She didn’t even know what the requests would be, and yet they had to be unconditionally granted. Even if there were only two, it was enough to make someone overthink.

But more than confusion, what Shizuka really wanted to know was: if she agreed, what kind of requests would Kotomi make of her?

Her curiosity grew stronger and stronger. Driven by it, she simply nodded and said yes.

“Alright. It’s a promise. Two unconditional requests—I accept.”

Before long, Shizuka’s little car pulled up in front of the Izumi residence.

Both she and Kotomi got out. Shizuka intended to personally explain to Kotomi’s parents why she was getting home so late.

This was her first visit to the Izumi household, her first time meeting Kotomi’s parents, and for some reason, Shizuka was getting nervous.

Normally, when a teacher visits a home, it’s the student who gets nervous.

But here, the roles were reversed. Kotomi was completely relaxed, while Shizuka, the teacher, felt jittery.

Kotomi had already unlocked the door with her key and waved Shizuka over. “Shizuka-sensei, come on.”

“O-oh, coming!”

Shizuka quickly walked over and entered the Izumi home together with Kotomi.

…

Izumi residence, living room.

Just as Kotomi brought Shizuka Hiratsuka through the front door, they were met by her father sitting at the entrance putting on his shoes, clearly about to head out, and her mother beside him, holding his coat with a very worried expression.

They were clearly about to leave to look for Kotomi, having grown anxious that she hadn’t returned home yet.

The moment Kotomi stepped inside, she felt a wave of relief that she had brought Shizuka-sensei back with her. If she’d come home alone this late, her butt would probably be facing a week-long sentence of sleeping on her stomach after a spanking from her mother.

“Izumi-san collapsed after reaching the finish line due to a twisted ankle and exhaustion. She ended up sleeping in the infirmary for a long time. As her homeroom teacher, I take full responsibility for not notifying you both sooner. I sincerely apologize!”

After speaking, Shizuka stood up and bowed deeply to Kaneyoshi Izumi and Akina Izumi. She didn’t lift her head—unless they told her to, she would stay bowed.

Earlier, Kotomi had taken Aimi, who had run to her in tears, upstairs, completely pushing the responsibility of explaining onto Shizuka.

Left with no choice, Shizuka nervously sat on the sofa and explained the situation to the Izumi couple seated across from her.

They were technically equals, but the aura coming from the Izumi couple made it feel like they were looking down at her from on high.

As Kotomi’s homeroom teacher, and without Kotomi by her side right now, even though Shizuka was twenty-nine years and twelve months old, she couldn’t help but feel instinctively nervous facing the Izumi parents. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest.

Why does this feel like meeting the parents… Shizuka thought to herself.

No, actually—it felt more like getting caught in the act of dating too young by the other girl’s parents.

Just thinking that made Shizuka want to cover her face. She had never even dated anyone in her entire life, yet today she was experiencing the feeling of being caught red-handed in a secret relationship.

And on top of that, she was a teacher—and Kotomi was her student!

“Hiratsuka-sensei, so you’re saying that Kotomi passed out from exhaustion after long-distance running and remained asleep in the infirmary until now. And you—you stayed by her side the entire time?” Kaneyoshi Izumi said in a deep voice. Usually gentle, his tone now was stern and heavy.

“Yes, I’m terribly sorry.” Shizuka nodded cautiously, thinking to herself, When is Kotomi coming downstairs to save me? The pressure from her parents is unbearable!

“Kotomi has never been the type to participate in sports festivals. A few days ago, she suddenly asked for her white running shoes, saying she was going to compete in the festival. I found it strange. Why would she, of all people, volunteer for something like that—and for the 800-meter long-distance run no less?”

Kaneyoshi spoke slowly, his voice devoid of warmth and filled with an unrelenting pressure.

Upstairs, having just changed clothes, Kotomi peeked from behind the living room wall and listened for a moment. She could tell her father was genuinely upset.

“I’m sorry!” Shizuka, still bowing, lowered her head even more.

“Dad, Mom, Shizuka-sensei, I’m here,” Kotomi said, emerging from behind the wall and sitting down beside Shizuka. Leaving Shizuka-sensei to face everything alone felt too cruel.

Seeing his daughter return finally relaxed the tightly furrowed brows on Kaneyoshi Izumi’s face.

He had always treated both daughters like treasures. But today, when he returned from work and realized Kotomi wasn’t home, his first thought was worry. Even if she were late, Kotomi always called ahead. But tonight, no texts, no calls—and the sky had long since turned dark.

Kidnapped by an enemy?

That was the first possibility Kaneyoshi considered. Though he appeared gentle, his business strategies were reminiscent of Kotomi’s grandfather in his younger days. Countless rivals had fallen to him.

And in the business world, which was essentially a battlefield, for every winner there had to be a loser. Even if Kaneyoshi had no intention of targeting others, many people harbored silent resentment against him.

In truth, the moment one steps into the world of business, enemies are inevitable. Every victory comes at the cost of someone else’s loss.

Though most business rivalries don’t extend to family, there are always a few sore losers who might resort to underhanded methods.

Just thinking of that possibility had made Kaneyoshi’s face go cold. He had instructed Akina to stay home while he prepared to drive to Sobu High, Kotomi’s school. If the surveillance showed Kotomi had left school at dismissal, then the chances of her being kidnapped would rise significantly.

He was already preparing for both outcomes. If the school cameras showed Kotomi leaving the premises, he would immediately call his father and report the incident.

To mobilize every possible resource and search for Kotomi across Japan—he would need his father’s help.

Even if that call caused chaos across the entire country, Kaneyoshi didn’t care. He just wanted Kotomi safe. Every second that passed could put her at greater risk.

But just as Kaneyoshi was about to leave, Kotomi came home.

Seeing her safe and sound finally eased his tense heart. Akina nearly burst into tears.

And Aimi, the moment she heard the front door open and saw her sister return, threw herself into Kotomi’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

Everyone knows: once the panic is over, once the family is safe—that’s when the real scolding begins.

Kotomi had just managed to calm Aimi down upstairs.

“Kotomi, come help me cook dinner. I was so worried earlier, I didn’t even start making it.”

Akina, who had remained silent all this time, stood up and pulled Kotomi into the kitchen. Kotomi had barely warmed the seat before being dragged away—leaving Shizuka alone again.

Kaneyoshi reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Not a custom Izumi brand, but a regular Seven Stars Soft Black. He tapped one out and offered it to Shizuka.

“Hiratsuka-sensei, want one?”

“I don’t smoke…”

“I can tell that you do,” Kaneyoshi said calmly.

“…Sorry, I had one earlier at school. I limit myself to no more than three a day,” Shizuka confessed, bowing her head even lower. She had hoped to leave a good impression as a reliable teacher, but now not only had she kept their daughter out late, the father had seen right through her smoking habit.

Kaneyoshi nodded, not pressing further, and placed the cigarette pack on the table. “Smoking less is a good thing. Especially since you’re Kotomi’s… teacher.”

Then he asked, “How old are you, Hiratsuka-sensei? You don’t look like a freshly graduated teacher.”

“Tw… cough, thirty.”

Shizuka had considered saying twenty-nine, but realizing Kotomi’s parents had already seen through so much, she figured lying about her age would only make things worse. So she told the truth.

“You’re fourteen years older than Kotomi.”

“Yes…”

“How does Kotomi usually behave at school?”

“Exceptionally well. She excels academically and is very low-maintenance for the teachers. She listens attentively in class, never causes trouble, and gets along well with her classmates. In this past midterm exam, she once again ranked first in her grade—first in all of Tokyo. Sometimes I honestly feel like having a student like her is a real stroke of luck.”

The more Shizuka spoke, the more sincere she became. Every word came from the heart. She truly felt that meeting Kotomi had been one of her greatest fortunes as a homeroom teacher.

The last time Shizuka had felt this lucky was back at that summer fireworks festival, when she happened to meet a snow-white little angel who had gotten separated from her family.

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