Tachibana-sensei, the newly hired English teacher at Sobu High, had received extremely high marks the moment she started teaching her classes.
The quality of her lessons went without saying, but it was her looks that really got the students—especially the boys—so enthusiastic.
She'd even become the dream girl in more than a few boys' hearts.
A beautiful teacher—who wouldn't like that?
Of course,
nobody dared do more than think about it or whisper about it privately. Nobody said much out loud.
The only student who'd gotten close to Tachibana-sensei was, unsurprisingly, Lin Ye—and among the boys, he was probably the only one, period.
Before,
Yukino Yukinoshita had noticed and wondered about it—why did Tachibana-sensei seem to treat Lin Ye a little differently?
She'd even entertained a few thoughts about it, but decided it was impossible.
Tachibana-sensei didn't seem like the type to step into forbidden territory, and honest-looking Lin Ye surely wouldn't either.
Especially since Lin Ye had always stopped short of the last step with her, which only reinforced her belief that her suspicions were unfounded.
Later, though, after asking Lin Ye directly, she'd finally learned why Tachibana-sensei treated him differently.
A hero saving a damsel in distress—
yet again, a hero saving a damsel in distress.
Lin Ye had rescued Tachibana-sensei during a Strange event.
Naturally, once rescued, Tachibana-sensei treated Lin Ye specially.
She could understand that, but still—how to put it—Lin Ye really did have a knack for attracting trouble with women!
One after another, there really were a lot of women he'd saved!
In the future, there'd probably be even more—that was Yukino Yukinoshita's thought in that moment.
Lin Ye had no idea what Yukino Yukinoshita was thinking. He turned to Yui Yuigahama, who'd just opened her mouth to offer her support.
"Student Yuigahama, why don't you help me with something else instead?"
He brought up another matter.
This was, in fact, the first time Lin Ye had ever asked Yui Yuigahama for help.
That immediately sparked her intense interest. At the same time, Iroha Isshiki and Yukino Yukinoshita, both present, turned their attention to him as well.
"What is it?"
"It might be difficult," Lin Ye said, applying a bit of pressure up front.
But faced with that pressure, Yui Yuigahama decided to rise to the challenge and give it everything she had.
"Leave it to me! I'll do my best, I'll give it everything, I'll make it happen!"
Yui Yuigahama clenched her fists to show her resolve.
For her, this was a rare chance to prove her own worth. Usually it was Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita who handled most things, while she could do very little.
But now, being able to do something for Lin Ye—this felt like the best moment she'd had in a while.
"Really?"
"Of course. I'll definitely make it happen. Please trust me."
"Good,"
Lin Ye seemed satisfied with her resolve and nodded in approval.
Having drawn the gazes of all three girls, Lin Ye pointed a finger at Iroha Isshiki. "As Student Yuigahama's boyfriend—well, girlfriend—please keep your boyfriend in line. Best to wring her dry, so she stops having any ideas about me."
The moment those words fell,
silence descended.
Not just Yui Yuigahama—even Yukino Yukinoshita and Iroha Isshiki were stunned.
How could anyone say something like that!
"Senpai, Senpai, how could you say that!" Iroha Isshiki said, trembling.
"How could you think of having Yuigahama-senpai... wring me dry!"
She pouted, fists clenched, fuming, wanting to vent the frustration bottled up inside her.
Having Yuigahama-senpai keep her in check—how could that possibly work?
"Why not? It's only natural for a girlfriend to keep her boyfriend in line. As your girlfriend, Student Yuigahama has every right to manage you. So, Student Yuigahama, I'm counting on you—keep your boyfriend in line, and don't let her come near me anymore."
Lin Ye said it with complete seriousness.
Yui Yuigahama could tell he wasn't joking at all.
Still, the little pink bun herself doubted she could actually pull it off. Just the thought of facing Iroha Isshiki made her heart quail.
"You did promise, though," Lin Ye pressed on.
For a soft-hearted girl like Yui Yuigahama, all he needed to do was keep persuading until she made up her mind and accepted.
"Who was it that just made me a promise? Surely Student Yuigahama isn't the type to break her word?"
"Senpai, Senpai," Iroha Isshiki said, sensing something was off and moving to intervene at once.
But Lin Ye cut her off with a single sharp word. "Student Isshiki, please stay quiet. I'm speaking with Student Yuigahama right now."
Lin Ye's firmness left Iroha Isshiki speechless for a moment.
So hard!
Too hard!
Senpai was dead set on keeping her away from him!
"Well, I'm going to cling to you for the rest of my life anyway, unless... unless..."
Iroha Isshiki's gaze suddenly landed on Yukino Yukinoshita. "Unless Senpai actually manages to make Yukinoshita-senpai your girlfriend."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "..."
She felt Iroha Isshiki's luck really wasn't very good.
"No wait, it should be Mai Sakurajima becoming your girlfriend. Yes, that's it—Mai Sakurajima-senpai."
That line put Yukino Yukinoshita's mood in a much worse state.
Wasn't that basically saying Yukino Yukinoshita was inferior to Mai Sakurajima?
Mai Sakurajima was a huge star, sure, but how could Yukino Yukinoshita possibly lose to that woman?
Aside from fame, where she admittedly couldn't compete, in every other respect she was absolutely stronger than Mai Sakurajima. Yes, that was Yukino Yukinoshita's firm conviction.
"No, that's not right either," Iroha Isshiki said, changing her mind again and proposing something new.
"It should be satisfying Senpai's fantasy—having Mai Sakurajima and Yukinoshita-senpai both become your girlfriends together. Only then could this junior finally feel at ease and let go."
"Senpai, until you accomplish this ambition of yours, there's no way I'm letting go. There's no way I'm leaving your side. You'd better be prepared for that!"
Her words were firm, with absolutely no sign of giving up.
Lin Ye, the person concerned, naturally felt the weight of that.
And how would he respond to it?
How should he respond?
"I'll make it happen," Lin Ye said.
"President Yukinoshita, you'd better prepare yourself. From here on, I'm going to make you my girlfriend."
What greeted him was a withering glare from Yukino Yukinoshita.
Her annoyed expression only added a certain charm to the moment.
"Senpai, how bold! Go for it, go for it! Even if you actually manage to win over Yukinoshita-senpai, there's still Miss Sakurajima! And you'll have to get both of them to agree, too! Ha ha ha ha!"
That was, without question, an impossible task.
"Oh, right, Senpai—you can't use any sneaky methods. You have to rely purely on your own real ability."
Thinking that Lin Ye might, in the end, resort to the Hypnosis superpower to secure victory, Iroha Isshiki made a point of the warning.
If Lin Ye actually used Hypnosis, forget about Yukinoshita-senpai and Mai Sakurajima—even a princess of Japan would probably say yes.
Having personally experienced what that power could do, Iroha Isshiki remembered it vividly. She couldn't afford to provoke him with that. It scared her.
She was genuinely worried that after Lin Ye used his superpower to win over Yukinoshita-senpai and Mai Sakurajima, he'd use that as leverage to make her honor her own promise—and if she refused, he might just use Hypnosis to alter her memory and will instead.
At that point, any protest or objection from her would mean nothing.
Because she'd be the one who broke the promise first, so of course Senpai would be free to use his superpower to enforce it without breaking any rules of his own.
Iroha Isshiki knew that dealing with Lin Ye meant she had to keep her word—because the moment she broke it, he'd be free to break his side of things too, and then she'd have no way to hold him back at all.
"Fine, I agree to that," Lin Ye said.
A guaranteed win, as far as he was concerned.
Lin Ye glanced at Yukino Yukinoshita again.
Her reaction was utterly flat, as if she couldn't care less what he'd said.
"Yukinoshita-senpai, I'm rooting for you—refuse Senpai firmly! My girlfriend Yuigahama-senpai will back you up too, right, Yuigahama-senpai..."
Iroha Isshiki was trying to pull Yui Yuigahama into her camp.
One more person meant one more bit of strength—at the very least, she couldn't let Yui Yuigahama end up as Senpai's ally instead.
Yui Yuigahama glanced at Lin Ye with a touch of hesitation.
Yes, she looked at Lin Ye, watching for his reaction.
The little pink bun was torn over what to do.
She'd just promised Lin Ye she'd help him win over Yukinon. If she agreed with Iroha Isshiki now, wouldn't that go against her promise to Lin Ye—even if he hadn't actually accepted it himself?
"Yuigahama-senpai, are you going to stand against your own boyfriend?" Iroha Isshiki said, a note of threat in her voice.
"That..."
Yui Yuigahama was caught in an awkward spot.
"You can agree to it," Lin Ye said, to keep her from continuing to waver and agonize over it. "Just go ahead and say yes to what Isshiki wants."
"See, Senpai's already said so himself."
"O-okay, fine!"
Since Lin Ye himself had said as much, Yui Yuigahama no longer had any reason to keep resisting.
"Just do what you promised me," Lin Ye followed up immediately. "Keep Isshiki away from me."
That line made Iroha Isshiki's face change color on the spot.
But Yui Yuigahama nodded firmly. "Okay, I agree."
She agreed quickly, terrified that if she hesitated even a moment, Iroha Isshiki would find a way to butt in.
After all, this wasn't the first time or the second time something like this had happened. She couldn't give Isshiki any opening.
"Ugh," Iroha Isshiki let out a sound of displeasure, gave an annoyed huff, and pinched Yui Yuigahama hard on the waist. "Just you wait, my girlfriend."
Her eyes glinted with menace. She was determined to make this girl who wouldn't listen to her boyfriend pay a heavy price.
Yes—she'd make her pay.
Iroha Isshiki resolved.
Yui Yuigahama caught a whiff of trouble and realized she was in for it later. But it was fine, no big deal—she'd just grit her teeth and endure it.
Whatever Isshiki tried, it probably wouldn't be that bad... right?
That's what Yui Yuigahama told herself.
Lunch break was finally winding down.
The four of them left the Service Club room one after another and headed for the school building.
Yui Yuigahama was dragged along by Iroha Isshiki, the two of them squabbling playfully along the way, while Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita walked side by side. Lin Ye lowered his voice and said to her, "Yukino, why not just tell Isshiki directly? Then she'll stop clinging to me."
"What if she goes back on her word out of spite?"
Yukino Yukinoshita didn't fully trust Iroha Isshiki's promise. The cheerful, lively Isshiki gave off a sense of flightiness to Yukinoshita—the feeling that she might bolt at any moment.
For that reason,
Yukino Yukinoshita felt that even if she spoke up herself, Iroha Isshiki probably still wouldn't accept it in the end.
Of course, part of it was that deep down she still wasn't ready to let others know—especially not the other two club members, Iroha Isshiki and Yui Yuigahama.
"If she goes back on her word? If she does, wouldn't that make things much simpler and easier?"
Lin Ye's easygoing answer only confused Yukino Yukinoshita further.
What was going on?
What did he mean?
How would that make things simpler and easier?
"I'll just use Hypnosis to make her honor her promise. If she wants to skip the awkwardness, I'll handle the awkwardness for her."
That...
But faced with Lin Ye's attitude on this, Yukino Yukinoshita actually felt reassured, and she felt not the slightest resistance to Lin Ye using Hypnosis on another girl.
Normally, if Lin Ye used Hypnosis on another girl, Yukino Yukinoshita should have felt resistant to it. But this time, she didn't.
If anything, it felt like the right thing to do.
If Iroha Isshiki wasn't going to keep her promise, then Lin Ye could simply make sure she did.
"So Yukino's on my side," Lin Ye thought, seeing her reaction and reading the girl correctly.
That was exactly what he wanted—he waited for her to nod in confirmation.
But in the end, no response ever came from her.
It seemed Yukino Yukinoshita didn't want to say anything on the matter.
Lin Ye had no choice but to accept that.
He could hardly force her to state her position on the spot.
Pressuring her wouldn't do any good anyway—she had her own way of thinking.
"I'll just take it that Yukino supports me," Lin Ye thought.
Still, the girl gave no response. Lin Ye walked beside her, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. He understood her meaning well enough.
That matched exactly what he wanted anyway.
The two of them reached the classroom.
The afternoon classes began.
When school let out,
Yukino Yukinoshita and Lin Ye were once again the last two to leave.
After all the other students had gone, Lin Ye and Yukino Yukinoshita rose from their seats one after another.
Since he had plans with Rui Tachibana, Lin Ye naturally didn't need to go to the Service Club after school today.
"Text me later where you two are meeting up for your date," Yukino Yukinoshita said.
Yes,
Yukino Yukinoshita had, from the very start, defined Lin Ye and Rui Tachibana's outing as a date.
"Yukino, is this... really a date?"
"Yes," she said.
A man and a woman going out together—what else could it be but a date?
That was Yukino Yukinoshita's answer to him.
"Fair enough," Lin Ye said, accepting it as well.
Yukino Yukinoshita left without saying anything more, and Lin Ye headed out of the classroom toward the school gate.
A girl in Sobu High's black-and-white uniform stood waiting at the gate.
The setting sun spilled over her, tinting her delicate profile with a faint, becoming blush.
Lin Ye had to admit—Rui Tachibana really was a rare and lovely girl.
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