The school day ended without anything particularly noteworthy happening.Both Aookuji and Soutou attended classes like the other students and seemed to be enjoying their school life.

    I hadn’t noticed before, but it seems Aookuji, Soutou, and the martial arts club president, Shinra, are good friends. Perhaps there’s a connection between these two girls, each carrying their own dark secrets. S~?a??h the Nov?lF?re .??t website on G??gl? to access chapters of n?vels early and in the highest quality.

    But if that’s the case, does Shinra have a secret as well?

    Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. Judging from her demeanor during sparring, it''s clear that Shinra has real combat experience.

    No, no, no—what kind of world is this? The idea that there are girls battling dark entities in a place unknown to ordinary people is quite terrifying for someone like me.

    But it was already after school before I could voice my thoughts. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to check on Shinra later.

    With that in mind, I headed to the dojo, where I found Shinra waiting for me.

    “…Sensei, could I ask you to spar with me again today?”

    “Yeah, sure.”

    I received my protective gear and put it on. It’s always well-maintained and doesn’t have any unpleasant smells.

    It’s hard to tell what she’s thinking at times, but despite appearances, Shinra might be someone who pays attention to the small details.

    We stood in the middle of the dojo, facing each other.

    Several other girls had already gathered around the entrance to watch.

    Shouldn’t they be practicing instead? Is that what an advisor should say?

    “Here we go.”

    As soon as the words left my mouth, Shinra quickly closed the distance.

    What followed was a barrage of blows, like a storm.

    Her agile arms and legs struck my body one after another.

    I moved in a circle, deflecting them all.

    But today, she was even more relentless than usual. Each blow carried a clear intent to harm. Her strikes were about 50% stronger than before.

    Could it be that she talked to those two and is now testing who I really am?

    Anyway, just blocking isn’t going to make it a proper sparring session, so I counterattacked as well.

    I thought, “Since I’m here, I’ll try to hit a little more seriously…” but when I did, Shinra’s expression changed. Oh no, I must have provoked her.

    After about 10 minutes of fending off Shinra’s relentless attacks, she finally started to show signs of exhaustion.

    I gently pushed her back and said, “Let’s stop here,” and Shinra relaxed her stance.

    “Haa haa… Thank you… very much.”

    “You’re welcome. But you’re strong, Shinra. Even against a man, you could easily knock him out.”

    Shinra, who was crouching and catching her breath, looked up at me with her usual vacant eyes.

    Her gaze was so intense it was a bit unsettling…

    “Yet I don’t feel like I have any chance of beating you. What’s going on?”

    What does she mean by that?

    “…No, nothing. Here’s your gear.”

    Shinra abruptly ended the conversation as I handed back her protective gear. What is she trying to say?

    It’s as if she’s thinking, “I know I can win, so why can’t I?”

    Well, it’s true that her techniques are powerful enough to take down an ordinary man with a single blow, but they shouldn’t be at a level that’s beyond a skilled fighter’s capability.

    …Oh, and if you think about it, the only “fighters” I know are from “that world.”

    Maybe my perception is wrong after all.

    “I might need to talk to you later, Sensei.”

    With that, Shinra disappeared into the locker room.

    After returning to the staff room from the dojo, I prepared for my next lesson and then headed home.

    As I left the school gates and walked a little further, I noticed a young man in a suit walking ahead of me.

    I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I should call out to him, but then I saw that he seemed unsteady on his feet, and I became concerned.

    “Are you tired, Matsunami-sensei?”

    The handsome young man who turned around was my colleague, Mr. Matsuba Matsunami.

    Like Miss Shirane, he’s in a different department, so we rarely see each other outside of new employee training.

    “Ah, Aiba-sensei, is that you? Thanks for your hard work. How’s the high school division? I’m sure the girls are more settled there.”

    His face lacked the usual energy as he spoke and laughed. Matsunami-kun, you look a bit haggard. That’s strange, considering Shirane-san said you’re leading the life of a popular teacher.

    “Yes, it’s almost effortless. To be honest, it reminds me of my high school days and makes me feel a bit embarrassed.”

    “Hahaha, there are a lot of bright students at our school. Many of the elementary students are already preparing for middle school, so it’s hard to decide on the right level for lessons.”

    “That’s a tough challenge. I’m doing my best in class, but suddenly having to take over as homeroom teacher has been really tough.”

    “Is your homeroom teacher in some kind of trouble?”

    “He was suddenly hospitalized. I don’t know when he’ll be back. But anyway, are you sure you’re okay, Matsunami-sensei? You look very tired.”

    When I asked, Matsunami-kun looked away, gazing into the distance.

    “…Yes, well, some of the kids’ pranks—or rather, teasing—have gone a bit too far. They don’t listen to me, even when I warn them…”

    Hmm, it seems he’s so popular with the girls that he’s exhausted from dealing with them?

    It’s a situation I have no experience with, but I can imagine it would be challenging in its own way.

    “If there’s no malicious intent, you can’t even give a strong warning. It’s best to forget about it over the weekend and get some rest.”

    “Thank you, I will. I’m sure… they really don’t mean any harm… ahh…”

    Oh wow, this seems a bit serious.

    Well, this isn’t the kind of thing a hero who was in an all-male party can handle.

    At best, I’ll pray he doesn’t overwork himself.