Chapter 13: The Two Faces of the Beautiful Teacher

“Excuse me.”

I finished my lunch quickly during the break and made my way to the staff room.

Now that I think about it, this is my first time stepping into the high school staff room.

The teacher seated near the entrance jolts in surprise at the sight of me.

“W-What’s that? Kiyomiya?”

“Oh, sorry. Is Reizen-sensei here?” I ask, keeping my tone concise.

I’m not a troublemaker by any means, but being the son of the Kiyomiya family seems to make me a complicated figure for teachers to handle. Reactions like this are why I usually keep a low profile.

“Uh… yeah, she’s here. Over by the window seat. Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” I reply with a polite bow, then cross the staff room toward the window seat.

“Reizen-sensei,” I call out.

“Yes?”

She looks up, and unlike the startled teacher from before, a bright smile spreads across her face.

“Oh, Kiyomiya-kun! Hello!”

Reizen-sensei, my homeroom teacher, greets me warmly. Her long black hair is neatly tied back in a bun, and her gentle beauty is framed by striking red glasses. Slender yet curvaceous, she cuts a noticeable figure in her usual navy blazer, crisp white blouse, and tight miniskirt. Her ever-present smile radiates kindness, making her a beloved figure among students—so much so that other classes envy us for having her.

“Is something wrong? Trouble with the lesson? Oh, or is it a life consultation? I’m all ears, Kiyomiya-kun, even if it takes hours!”

“N-No, it’s not a life consultation or anything,” I reply, caught off guard by her enthusiasm.

As you can see, she’s incredibly meddlesome.

“Oh, Mama! Listen to my problems next!”

“Me too, me too! Mama, my boyfriend’s been ignoring me lately!”

Two female students passing by call out to Reizen-sensei in playful, familiar tones.

“I’m not your Mama!” she retorts, though her voice carries more exasperation than anger.

Despite being only in her first year as a high school teacher, her overly caring nature has already earned her the nickname “Mama” among the freshmen. At just twenty-four, she’s clearly not thrilled about the moniker.

“…Kiyomiya-kun, you’re not going to call me Mama too, are you?”

“Guys don’t usually call you that,” I reply. “Anyway, I have something I want to ask.”

“What a relief.” She flashes a bright smile and rises from her seat. “Come this way, then.”

I follow close behind as she leads me out of the staff room. We walk down the hallway for a bit until she opens the door to the Guidance Counseling Room and steps inside.

Inside, we sit across from each other at the desk, the quiet of the room settling around us.

“You must be busy, so I’ll keep this short,” I begin.

“No need to rush,” she says warmly. “Listening to my students is more important than any other work.”

“Saying stuff like that so directly is probably why they call you Mama.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, it’s nothing,” I mutter, waving it off. Honestly, I feel a little guilty taking up her time, so I’d better get to the point. “It’s about Hisaka Sayaka from our class.”

“Oh… come to think of it, I’ve heard you’ve been getting along with Hisaka-san lately. Thank you.”

“Huh? Thank you?” I echo, puzzled.

“Oh, um, you know,” she explains, her voice softening. “Hisaka-san’s a bit of an outsider in class, right? As her homeroom teacher, I’m grateful that you’re being friendly with her.”

“I see…”

So that’s how she sees it. For this meddling Mama, a student struggling to fit in must be a constant source of worry.

“Has Hisaka been talking to you, Reizen-sensei?” I ask.

“Wow… Kiyomiya-kun, you’re close enough with Hisaka-san that she’s told you that?” Her tone shifts, intrigued. “This changes things a bit.”

“Hm?”

For a split second, did the eyes behind her red glasses just gleam?

“No, no, just my own thoughts. Don’t mind me,” Reizen-sensei says, brushing it off. “So, what exactly did you want to talk about? Can you share your side?”

“It’s about the special scholarship slot,” I reply.

“Ugh, I figured…” She grimaces slightly. “Look, I only know about this because I’m Hisaka-san’s homeroom teacher. Hardly any other teachers are aware. Could you keep it confidential?”

“Got it.”

“Good. I know you’re not the type to spread rumors, Kiyomiya-kun. A smart girl like Hisaka-san wouldn’t pick the wrong person to share secrets with.”

“What’s with this absolute trust in Sayaka?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Sayaka…?” Her voice hitches.

“Oh, uh, she told me to call her by her first name…”

“Whaaat?” Reizen-sensei whips off her glasses and leans forward, staring into my eyes with startling intensity.

Whoa—without her glasses, she’s even more beautiful…!

“That prideful girl… allowing a boy to call her by her first name? No way, that’s ridiculous…” she mutters, almost to herself.

“Is it really that shocking?”

“…You’re right. I overreacted.” She slips her glasses back on and sighs, regaining her composure. “Anyway, about the special scholarship slot.”

Her reactions have been oddly exaggerated this whole time, but I let it slide as she continues.

“Just between us, it’s definitely nonsense. Changing the conditions of the special scholarship slot out of nowhere? That’s not normal.”

“Right? What about the legal validity of it?” I press.

“I think they’ve covered that base. Sōshūkan has excellent legal counsel.”

“Legal counsel?” I echo. Does a school even have a legal department?

“Even if it’s legally sound, it’s questionable in terms of social norms. That’s my personal opinion,” she adds, her tone firm.

“Exactly. Sayaka’s studying hard to keep her scholarship because her family struggles with tuition. Suddenly abolishing the slot and demanding a million yen? That’s just cruel. And—”

“This year it’s a million yen, right?” she interjects. “Next year, it’ll be the standard tuition, as per regulations.”

“That’s a pretty tough amount for an average household, isn’t it?”

“It’s not exactly cheap,” she agrees, her voice softening.

A heavy silence settles between us. I still don’t know the full details of Sayaka’s family situation, but no matter how optimistically I try to spin it, I can’t imagine her family scraping together a million yen this year—let alone covering the even higher tuition next year.

“This is also just between us, but…” Reizen-sensei lets out an unmistakable sigh, her expression heavy. “Apparently, the abolition of the special scholarship slot was something they’d been waiting to implement for years.”

“Because there haven’t been any special scholars for a while?” I ask. “But keeping the system in place shouldn’t be an issue, right? Our school has enough money to cover one student’s tuition.”

“True, but the topic of ‘abolishing the special scholarship slot’ has come up multiple times over the years.”

“Why…” I start, then pause as the reason dawns on me. “Oh, I get it. They want to eliminate the possibility of an ordinary family’s student getting in purely on academic merit at a school full of noble heirs and heiresses.”

“Sōshūkan’s concept is to nurture the children of the upper class, after all,” she confirms, sighing again.

She clearly doesn’t approve of this elitist mindset. At Sōshūkan, even the teachers are mostly from noble families, but Reizen-sensei seems to think differently.

“Sōshūkan is an educational institution, so it’s supposed to accept talented students regardless of their background or wealth—at least, that’s the stance they’ve taken,” she continues. “But in recent years, it seems they’ve decided even that pretense is unnecessary.”

“They can come up with any excuse,” I mutter. “Like, Sōshūkan’s struggling financially due to the recession, or because family background isn’t valued in today’s world, they’ll focus solely on educating the elite.”

Either way, Sōshūkan is a private school. They don’t have to answer to anyone about their management policies.

“Personally, I have my doubts about this policy,” Reizen-sensei admits. “The Reizen family was once noble, but now we’re closer to commoners. I have a cousin who’s just started high school, and she doesn’t even know her family used to be noble.”

“Huh…”

It’s true that noble families are far more likely to fall than common families are to rise to nobility. Reizen-sensei’s commoner perspective is helpful in this situation, but… she seems awfully understanding of Sayaka’s plight, and for that matter—

“…Hm?” I tilt my head, something nagging at me.

“What’s wrong, Kiyomiya-kun?” Reizen-sensei asks, her tone curious.

“You only became our homeroom teacher this spring, right? You seem to know Sayaka’s personality awfully well.”

“…” For a fleeting moment, her eyes dart away. “W-Well, we get reports from the middle school. I know personal details about my students.”

“Like, about me?”

“T-That’s… I can’t say. A teacher can’t reveal how they evaluate their students,” she replies, deflecting smoothly.

“Fair enough.”

I suppose it’s not strange for Reizen-sensei to know Sayaka so well. She’s the only special scholar, strikingly beautiful, and an outsider in class—hardly someone who blends into the background.

“More importantly,” she says, steering the conversation, “what do you want to do, Kiyomiya-kun?”

“This change is too sudden, no question. At the very least, it should be postponed to next year.”

“As a student of Sōshūkan? Or as the son of the Kiyomiya family head?”

“Obviously, as a student,” I clarify. I’m in no position to represent the Kiyomiya family. Acting on my own, even for something small, would earn me endless grief from the clan.

“If I spoke up as ‘the eldest son of the Kiyomiya main house,’ would it even make a difference?”

“It’d definitely stir things up…” She pauses, then corrects herself. “No, it’d absolutely stir things up. The school would be in a tough spot.”

Young as she is, Reizen-sensei seems surprisingly well-versed in the Kiyomiya family’s internal dynamics for a Sōshūkan teacher.

“Maybe I should stir things up, then…” I muse.

“Don’t do it, Kiyomiya-kun. You’d likely end up in the most trouble afterward.”

“I’m already in a messy situation, so a little more trouble doesn’t bother me.”

“That half-giving-up-on-life attitude of yours is your biggest problem,” she scolds.

“Is it, now?”

She’s got it wrong—I haven’t given up on life at all. If anything, I want to live as comfortably as possible, more than anyone. I just have no intention of being the heir to the Kiyomiya family head.

“Then I’ll protest to the chairman myself, let’s fight this to the end.” Reizen-sensei declared.

“Huh?”

“The media’s too weak against Sōshūkan’s pressure, so appealing to the public likely won’t work. An SNS attack might be the way to go now. There are some noble families with a conscience, so it’s worth asking for their cooperation. You’d be surprised how many softhearted ones are out there.”

“R-Reizen-sensei?” I blink, startled by her sudden fervor. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden…?”

“I’m Hisaka-san’s homeroom teacher, aren’t I? There’s no reason for me not to protect her.”

That’s true, but… is it really okay for her to go against the school like this?

“I heard everything!”

“Whoa!?” we exclaim in unison as the guidance counseling room’s door bursts open.

In strides none other than Hisaka Sayaka herself.

“Y-You can’t eavesdrop, Hisaka-san!” Reizen-sensei exclaims, her voice tinged with panic. “This is the one place in school where eavesdropping is absolutely forbidden!”

“You and Kiyomiya-kun are having a private discussion without the person involved?” Sayaka retorts, her tone sharp.

“…” Reizen-sensei falls silent, unable to counter.

Regrettably, Sayaka’s right.

“Especially you, Kiyomiya-kun,” Sayaka continues, turning her gaze to me. “You’re just my classmate, aren’t you? There’s no reason for you to raise objections.”

“…”

She’s not wrong. I’m just some nobody, so going against the school is completely out of character for me. But even so—

“Sayaka, look. Even I—”

“But, Kiyomiya-kun,” she interrupts, her voice softening, “I’ve got to hand it to you. Thank you—for standing up for me.”

“…!”

Before I can process her words, Sayaka switches to polite speech and, out of nowhere, hugs me. Her arms wrap around my back, pulling me close as she rubs against me, clinging tightly. The soft pressure of her chest presses firmly against me, and a sweet fragrance drifts from her brown hair. Her black-rimmed glasses remain in place as she nuzzles her face into my chest.

“Y-Your glasses… they’ll break,” I stammer, caught off guard.

“That’s all you can say? Maybe I take back my respect.”

“…”

Sayaka’s arms slowly slide up from my back, looping around my neck. My mind races. What’s going on? Is this, like, a reward for protesting to the school…?

“Hey! What are you doing in front of me, Saya!?” Reizen-sensei’s voice cuts through, sharp and indignant.

“…Oh, right, you’re here too, Miyabi-san,” Sayaka replies, her tone casual.

“Hugging a guy like that is shameless! If you want to hug someone, hug me anytime! Your big sis Miyabi will give you a big squeeze!”

“…Hm?”

Saya? Miyabi-san? And wasn’t Reizen-sensei’s tone just now… kind of rough? Come to think of it, her full name is Reizen Miyabi, isn’t it?

What’s going on here…?