Chapter 241: Sensei, You’re Drunk!

Right out of the hotel, a night wind slapped him in the face.

Himekoji instinctively hunched his shoulders.

Come to think of it, he was only wearing a thin shirt because he’d just showered and been indoors…

“Kyoto nights are a bit chilly, huh?”

Noticing Himekoji’s reaction, Hiratsuka-sensei, who was wearing her jacket, teased him with a slightly mocking grin.

“Uh… I’ll go grab something warmer.”

Himekoji turned to head back, but surprisingly, the female teacher suddenly draped her own jacket over his shoulders. It was still warm from her body heat.

“Still cold?”

The tall female teacher asked gently, ruffling Himekoji’s hair.

Hiratsuka-sensei’s profile, flickering under the dim streetlight, looked gentle and incredibly cool in that moment.

“Huh… Huh? Huh?”

Their roles were totally reversed!

Being wrapped in her jacket and fussed over like this for no reason made Himekoji’s face burn hot instantly. Just how intense is this person? Doing something this cool right now! He nearly got swept away… Compared to “Shizu-chan,” this person should probably be called “Shizu-cool”!

“But… Sensei, you…”

“I’m properly dressed in work clothes. This temperature is just right for me.”

But I’m practically melting here!

Himekoji subtly turned his face away, secretly pressing a hand to his blazing cheek.

“Eek, I’m done for! It’s like I have a fever…”

Enveloped in the jacket, the unique warmth and scent of the female teacher flooded him from all sides.

Bad news! He couldn’t breathe!

“I really should go get my own jacket! I’ll be quick!”

Himekoji said, starting to take the jacket off to return it to Hiratsuka Shizuka.

However, the moment his hands moved, the female teacher immediately stopped him.

“If you go back now, you won’t be able to leave again. Plus, you’ll get a punishment strike.”

“A punishment strike?”

“Because when they did the bed check earlier and called your name, you weren’t there.”

“They checked beds just now?”

Himekoji was shocked.

He thought they were only strict like that with the girls.

By the way, because of all the trouble he’d caused before, another strike now might actually mean he’d get expelled…

“If you go back, it counts as checked. Stick with me for ramen first, then go back… and it ‘wasn’t’ checked.”

Hiratsuka-sensei patted Himekoji’s shoulder, smiling brightly.

“Ah… okay, got it.”

He felt completely under her thumb. Himekoji surrendered.

“Well then, off we go.”

Her heels tapped out a crisp click-clack sound as Hiratsuka-sensei strode confidently to the curb and hailed a taxi.

“Get in.”

The female teacher opened the door for Himekoji with serious boyfriend energy.

Seriously, this was all wrong!

I’m the guy here!

Himekoji felt incredibly awkward.

So, he decided to insist politely just this once—

“No, Sensei, you go first.”

“Oh?”

Hiratsuka-sensei made a sound that was half surprise, half approval.

“Ladies first? Himekoji, you’ve really grown. But you don’t need to go that far for your teacher.”

“Uh… I wouldn’t say that. Even if Sensei is getting older, at your current age, you still definitely belong in the ‘lady’ category! You should be more confident!”

In response to Himekoji’s smart remark, Hiratsuka-sensei replied with force.

Smiling sweetly, the female teacher grabbed Himekoji by the back of the neck and pushed him straight into the taxi.

“Alright, enough joking, get in quick! If someone sees us heading out together at this hour, it’ll be a huge pain.”

“But then, doesn’t the best way to avoid that ‘pain’ mean not going out together?”

“Idiot, you can’t avoid pain forever! Because your very existence is a pain! Have you forgotten how many times I’ve cleaned up your messes?”

Hiratsuka-sensei squeezed into the back seat next to Himekoji and slammed the door shut with a THUD.

……

“Ah, right. Sorry.”

He shouldn’t have forgotten about that.

She was absolutely right. His very existence was a pain…

The previously lighthearted mood suddenly turned delicate thanks to the teacher’s words.

Himekoji hung his head, staring blankly at his own shoes.

Noticing the change, the female teacher shook her head with a bitter smile:

“…Dummy, don’t overthink it. Isn’t everyone a ‘pain’ in this world? You trouble others, and others trouble you. It’s just the process of saving each other.”

“Oh? Is that it?”

Himekoji lifted his head and smiled.

He smiled at the female teacher.

It was his response to her comfort.

As for that statement… of course he wasn’t foolish enough to take it seriously.

A process of saving each other?

No, no, no.

He couldn’t save anyone. And nobody could save him.

……

“We’re here.”

“So soon?”

The wide-open streets late at night certainly helped the taxi race ahead without trouble.

Both got out and walked into the ramen shop single-file.

Kyoto Ichijōji’s flagship store of Tenka Ippin.

Its reputation thundered, with chain stores spreading almost nationwide.

“Almost” hinted at exceptions.

Regrettably, Chiba stood as one of them.

Himekoji Tadashi’s longing, however, was destined to be fulfilled that night in Kyoto thanks to Hiratsuka-sensei.

“Well, Tenka Ippin! You’ve just gotta try the flagship store at least once! Even chains can’t keep the taste perfectly consistent everywhere. Seriously, I’ve been dying to eat here.”

Miss Hiratsuka gazed up at the shop sign with deep emotion.

“Alright, let’s head in.”

Luckily, two empty seats waited inside.

Business boomed even this late—proof of Tenka Ippin’s golden reputation.

They ordered. After a short wait, steaming bowls arrived.

“Let’s eat!”

Chopsticks in hand, she brought her palms together at her chest.

Then, down they dove!

In that instant, he grasped the gap between this and their usual fare.

The broth’s thickness and richness was no joke—sticking a chopstick straight in made it stand upright.

A terrifyingly delicious assault.

“Slurp slurp slurp~~”

…

“Sensei, did you make a wish at Kiyomizu-dera today too?”

After eating and drinking his fill, Himekoji remembered his mission.

“Huh? Sorta, I guess.”

Miss Hiratsuka finished off a bottle of beer, stared blankly at the empty vessel for a good while, then answered Himekoji sluggishly.

“What… did you wish for?”

“C-can you j-just blab a w-wish? S-say it and it won’t c-come true.”

Miss Hiratsuka showed signs of tipping over.

Her tongue stumbled over the words.

Seriously, what was happening?!

Weren’t they here for ramen? Why was she drinking solo?

“No, saying it makes it happen.”

Himekoji promised her.

Because whatever the wish, he’d stake his life to make it come true for Miss Hiratsuka.

“… Idiot.”

Blushing fiercely, Miss Hiratsuka hiccuped and shoved a full beer glass at Himekoji.

“Drink!”

“Uh, I’m underage…”

Himekoji waved his hands in frantic refusal.

Information still needed prying from Miss Hiratsuka’s lips. Drunkenness ruined plans—a simple truth he understood.

“No respect! If you won’t drink, I will…”

Miss Hiratsuka was definitely smashed now.

Himekoji felt dizzy, holding his forehead.

“Sensei—”

He tried persuading her to stop, but—

Thud.

Too late!

The drunkard had collapsed unconscious right then…

“Sigh.”

Himekoji hastily paid the bill and helped Miss Hiratsuka out.

He hailed another taxi, got in, opened his mouth to speak, then froze—

Had he…

forgotten their hotel’s name?!

Honestly, he hadn’t bothered remembering.

He considered calling his Imouto to ask, but fishing around his pockets found no phone.

Right—he’d left it on the bed before his shower…

“Where to, pal?”

The driver finally asked after waiting in vain for Himekoji’s destination.

“Um… a hotel close by…”

Himekoji forced out the words.

“Gotcha!”

The driver chirped cheerfully, then shot Himekoji a look all men recognized.

…