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On his phone screen sat a single message.
Simple. Lonely. And somehow carrying a cold, faintly resentful tone—
"Are you there?"
Lucian took a slow breath. His finger hovered over the screen for a moment before he finally, very carefully, typed a single word and hit send.
[Yeah.]
After that, the chat fell into a long, suffocating silence.
No "typing…" indicator. No new messages.
…
At the same time—
Inside a high-end studio apartment, Yukino Yukinoshita was curled up deep in her sofa, dressed in a modest cotton set of pajamas. Her small, slender frame sank into the cushions.
The main lights were off. Only a floor lamp cast a soft, warm glow across the living room.
Holding her phone in both hands, her icy blue eyes stayed locked on that single word Lucian had sent back.
"Yeah."
He'd replied almost instantly.
A flicker of satisfaction passed through her eyes—so faint even she didn't notice it herself.
"Hmph… at least you're not completely hopeless. You know how to reply right away."
But that tiny bit of satisfaction wasn't nearly enough to erase the lingering resentment in her chest.
She bit her lower lip lightly, her fingers tapping against the keyboard.
At first, she wanted to demand why he hadn't messaged her first. But after typing a few words, she immediately deleted them, her face heating up in embarrassment.
"No. That would make me sound like some clingy, resentful housewife. Absolutely shameless."
She shut that thought down instantly, her pride kicking in.
She was Yukino Yukinoshita. There was no way she'd show any kind of dependence on that annoying man.
After thinking it over for a long while, she took a breath and forced her tone into something calm—like a perfectly normal student making perfectly normal after-class conversation.
With deliberate restraint, she typed:
[It's pretty late. What are you doing, Teacher Lucian?]
…
Ding.
Hearing the notification, Lucian—sitting at the dining table—let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Good. Judging from the tone, the Ice Queen didn't seem to be planning an interrogation.
He casually picked up his phone, snapped a photo of the bubbling sukiyaki pot in front of him—steam rising as marbled beef and konjac simmered—and sent it over.
[Having sukiyaki at home. Have you had dinner, Yukinoshita?]
Message sent.
Satisfied, he set his phone down, picked up his chopsticks, and reached for a piece of premium beef he'd been eyeing for a while.
What he didn't notice—
was that the photo he'd taken had a fatal framing error.
In the upper-right corner of the picture, very clearly, was half of a girl's body.
Rikka Takanashi.
She was sitting diagonally across from him, wearing the Sobu High first-year girls' uniform, her signature white eyepatch covering her right eye. Chopsticks in hand, she stared at the meat in the pot with undisguised excitement.
Because of the angle, the photo didn't capture Toka Takanashi in the kitchen or Sora sitting elsewhere.
The result?
It looked exactly like Lucian was having a cozy, intimate dinner for two… with a high school girl in uniform.
…
Back in the quiet apartment—
Yukino opened the photo he'd sent.
The warmth from the image eased a bit of the loneliness in her chest.
"Hmph. At least you had the decency to report in…"
The corner of her lips lifted slightly as she zoomed in, curious about the ingredients—
Then her gaze froze.
That uniform—
Sobu High.
That white eyepatch—
That short-haired girl…
Isn't that that delusional classmate who never stops spouting nonsense… Rikka Takanashi?!
Boom.
Her mind exploded.
So that's why he didn't message her?!
After work, he'd gone and brought another female student home?!
Last night it was her—
and tonight it's that eyepatch-wearing chuunibyou?!
Just what kind of disgusting scumbag was this so-called genius teacher behind that respectable facade?!
Her fingers flew across the screen.
[It seems Teacher Lucian has quite the lively after-hours life.]
[What is it tonight? Playing the benevolent savior again, "rescuing" another lost female student at home?]
…
"Pff—cough, cough, cough!"
Lucian had just stuffed a piece of beef dipped in raw egg into his mouth when those two ominous messages popped up.
He choked instantly, coughing violently.
"Saving a female student?"
He stared at the message, stunned.
Then he quickly opened the photo he'd sent and took a closer look.
"…What the hell?!"
What kind of framing was that?!
When did Rikka lean in that close?!
"Yu, you okay? You choked on beef?" Toka handed him a tissue, frowning.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."He coughed once more, waving it off.
He knew Yukino's personality all too well—proud, stubborn… and ridiculously prone to jealousy.
Click.
He snapped another photo.
This time, it clearly showed Sora, Rikka struggling with her food, and Toka sitting beside them.
Then he sent it immediately.
[Misunderstanding! Yukinoshita, this is a huge misunderstanding!]
[The people in the photo are our neighbors—Takanashi Takanashi and her younger sister Rikka. They just dropped by tonight and stayed for dinner! Sora's here too!]
[I swear, nothing weird is going on! I'm a perfectly respectable teacher!]
…
On the sofa—
Yukino, who had been so angry she almost threw her phone, coldly opened the incoming messages one by one as the notifications kept chiming.
When she saw the new photo and his explanation, the icy weight in her chest melted instantly.
This was clearly just a normal neighborly dinner.
So… she'd misunderstood.
The realization made her cheeks flush a bright, vivid red. The frustration and bitterness from before dissolved into something softer—something warm, almost sweet.
But her pride absolutely refused to let her admit she'd been jealous.
She let out a soft, haughty huff and replied with composed restraint:
[I didn't misunderstand. There's no need for Teacher Lucian to explain in such detail.]
[As a student of Class 1-B, I was merely offering a friendly reminder that teachers should maintain proper conduct outside of class as well. Since this is normal neighborly interaction, I wish you an enjoyable meal.]
Reading that painfully stubborn reply, Lucian finally let out a long breath of relief.
Classic tsundere. She was obviously jealous, but still putting on that righteous front.
Just as he was about to set his phone down and go back to eating, another message from Yukino popped up.
This time, there was something… different in the tone.
A subtle hint of reporting in. Of implication.
[Also, reporting in: I've arrived home safely.]
[As for last night… I'm not feeling any discomfort for now.]
[And the Service Club application I submitted this afternoon has been officially approved by Teacher Hiratsuka. Starting tomorrow, the club will begin activities.]
At the end, she added something rare—an ellipsis.
Her words carried a faint trace of shyness… and a quiet warning.
[If there are club activities, I'll be coming to the office to see you, advisor. Please make sure… you're prepared.]
"....."