Chapter 492: Proposal? No Way!

“By the way, Yukino-chan, why were you wearing a wedding dress?”

Choosing a free moment, Yuigahama finally asked the question she had been curious about.

Yukinoshita was actually wearing a wedding dress!

She was wearing it all alone!

“Huh? Wed… wedding dress?! Th… that! It’s not! Because…”

Trying hard to act calm, but her messy speech—completely different from usual—clearly showed the turmoil inside the girl’s heart.

“And your skirt’s hem was broken off in a big spot!”

Because of that, they could see Yukinoshita’s bare calves, soft and smooth like jade, a rare and precious sight often hidden away.

Although her look with knee-high socks was pretty good too.

“Th… this also has a reason!”

Yukinoshita still wanted to argue back.

But absolutely no one was listening!

“Wow, anyway, seeing Yukino-chan in a wedding dress is super beautiful! What do you say, Akito?”

With her hands clasped together, Yuigahama had a face full of envy, and at the end, she didn’t forget to ask Himekoji for his opinion too.

“Um, y… yes, it definitely suits her…”

He wanted to just say it straight out—to praise Yukinoshita and tell her she looked beautiful in the wedding dress—but it seemed too embarrassing to say, so without thinking, he used a mild word instead.

“It’s all this teacher’s fault! Yesterday, Hiratsuka-sensei forced me to take wedding photos with her or whatever. After the photos, she dragged me away without letting me change clothes! That’s why… why I had no other clothes but this outfit! Stuff like my wallet was in my original outfit, and when I wanted to ask her to buy me some temporary clothes quickly, she was nowhere to be found that morning! So… so I had to just wear this to come here!”

Yukinoshita was arguing alone like a flood of anger when Akio’s compliment stopped her dead—she froze for a second, paused a moment longer, then lifted her eyelids to look at Akio, her small voice hesitant as she whispered back— “R… really suits me?”

“Absolutely,” Akio said.

Akio couldn’t help but laugh at this strange and unusual look on Yukinoshita—it somehow felt cuter than always, especially since she was normally so confident in other ways?

“Alright alright, it’s my fault.”

Hiratsuka Shizuka, the one mentioned as the troublemaker, had no guilt about messing up and just made up an apology in a careless tone.

“But, Himekoji must be grateful to me, right? Thinking inside, ‘Teacher, you really pulled off a winner! Nothing beats seeing the wedding dress limited edition of Yukinoshita!'”

“Huh?”

What? Sensei, you almost made me believe that story!

As Akio was going to say something like that as a comeback, he noticed Yukinoshita staring right at him without blinking.

So, his strong desire to win made him stop himself at the cliff’s edge, changing his words last minute to—

“Sensei, what I’m thinking inside, you really see through everything, don’t you…”

Hiratsuka-sensei got even more smug.

“Of course! That’s why I’m the teacher and you’re the student! I also know that deep down now, you’re actually looking forward to seeing me wear a wedding dress!”

“Huh? Re… really?”

He didn’t even know that himself!

“Want me to wear one for you right now right now?”

The female teacher clapped Himekoji’s shoulder like old friends and winked at him, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Yuigahama.

“Do you want to try it on too, Yuigahama-san? You’re lucky to come to the chapel—it’s a rare chance.”

“Huh? C… can I?”

Yuigahama was clearly tempted—the pure white, romantic wedding dress; the serious, holy ceremonial stage; no girl could resist them, right?

“Definitely! Plus, what’s inside Akio’s mind right now—”

“Yes yes, I’m really looking forward to it, looking forward to seeing Yuigahama-san in a wedding dress.”

Akio rushed to say what the female teacher wanted before her.

“Hahaha, Akito you’re the best ever! But why are you looking forward to seeing everyone in wedding dresses?”

Yuigahama was overjoyed.

Akio just laughed awkwardly along as he played along.

“Well, not everybody…”

Hanjo Ayame, who had come back moping after failing to catch Rikka somewhere, saw all this and got back her spirit again. She raised her hand like wanting to join the fun.

“Count me in too, count me in!”

“Yeah, well, for example, someone like her, I totally don’t expect it at all.”

This guy, Hanjo, could look better wearing underwear on her head than any wedding dress, right?

Since Akio still felt angry about Hanjo rejecting him right after that kiss, he remembered the grudge.

Luckily, Hanjo didn’t seem to hear, or else another argument would’ve flared up right away.

…

Himekoji, Rikka, Tobe, and Brave all waited obediently in the chapel, but the brides-to-be—led by Hiratsuka-sensei—went off happily and came back all gloomily.

“Today is a rest day!”

“No business!”

“No trying outfits!”

“Huh? Like that…”

Well, they had just fought so loudly and fiercely in the chapel, and no staff even showed up.

Akio laughed as if to relax himself at least—

At least he wouldn’t have to praise each one later!

Who knew if another death question about “whose wedding dress was the prettiest” would pop up then.

But it was a shame not getting to see Yuigahama’s wedding dress.

Rikka, who’d stayed with Himekoji the whole time without going over, just hummed out loud a couple of times, saying “Then just forget it, let’s go go,” and everyone else agreed helplessly.

Akio suddenly sensed something unusual there—he stared at Rikka a few times in a row, until the girl squirmed with guilt himself, then looked away thoughtfully.

“Get in the car, get in! Let’s take Rikka home first.”

The female teacher spun the car keys around and led the way out of the chapel, while everyone else trailed along behind.

At ride time, a problem appeared.

Since the car’s insides had piled up with lots of the female teacher’s private junk and things, the seven-seat SUV could only hold six people at most—full.

Akio’s crew plus Brave totaled eight.

Even though Brave wisely stopped stepping forward to wave goodbye first, they still had one too many.

Tobe saw everyone staring at him, but he had no clue at all. He started saying silly stuff like “If we all squeeze tight, it should be fine,” or “I can share a seat with Akio,” or “I don’t mind sitting on Akio’s lap.”

That gave Akio a headful of black lines as he kicked off Tobe, who’d squeezed his way into the car’s insides. Then, Akio forced a smirk smile back at him—

“Tobe-san, we’ll split ways here now. It’s walk or take a taxi for you.”

“Huh? But…”

“Sensei, drive!”

Tobe was here because his home was here. By chance, he and Rikka were both from the same hometown. On his weekend trip home, he met the Female Teacher driving to pick up students, so he got a ride too.

Himekoji had stayed in this small town for many days. But the outside world was still on the day he arrived, with only a few hours passed.

So, for the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, during the short month after Rikka vanished, she faced an endless and boring time.

Only now did time in the small town go back to normal.

“Alright, let’s go!”

The Female Teacher pressed the gas and sped off.

Left behind were Tobe and Brave, who got dust blown in their faces. They felt down and stared at each other in shock.

In the car.

The Female Teacher said: “Himekoji, you must feel very upset not seeing Sensei in a wedding dress? Maybe crushed, but stay brave!”

Himekoji said: “Upset? Not really.”

Himekoji was thinking about the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye. So he answered without thinking in a rush.

But when the smooth-driving car suddenly shook, and screams came one after another from the back seat, Himekoji snapped back to attention.

Glancing at the Female Teacher’s angry face, he felt scared and said quickly to fix things—

“Because… because I wanted to save that awesome look for the wedding!”

The car steadied right away.

Himekoji, sitting in the front seat, got all sweaty from fear.

Damn, that almost became a crash!

Luckily, he was smart and reacted fast!

The Female Teacher said: “Save it… save it for the wedding? Sensei… took that seriously, you know.”

Himekoji said: “Ah, haha…”

On his face, he wore an awkward but polite smile. But in his mind, he grumbled in his own way—

No, just take it as a joke!

Wedding?

No way, no way! For you, it’s impossible!

Himekoji couldn’t picture any fool dumb enough to marry the Female Teacher. Apart from a pretty face, she was just an old leftover woman with nothing good.

Plus, as you get older, looks fade fast. The Female Teacher didn’t show that yet, though.

But at her age, where family is pushing hard, if she could get hitched, she would have already.

What’s she waiting for?

The Female Teacher said: “Silly, Sensei has been looking forward to those words from you.”

It was like she heard his thoughts. She said it out of the blue, looking calm.

Himekoji said: “Huh?”

It shocked Himekoji!

Expecting his words all along?

No!

When it came to what “those words” meant, did they understand it wrong?!

Because he said to save that awesome look for the wedding?

To be clear, Himekoji had no plan to propose!

What he meant by saving it for the wedding couldn’t be his and the Female Teacher’s wedding, not even in dreams!

Anyway—

Himekoji freaked out!

…