“Hiraoka, do you have a minute?”

Before I was able to take a single step away, I was suddenly stopped by sensei’s words.

“Did you need something, sensei?”

“About earlier today.” She paused, swiveling her chair around as she casually crossed her legs. “I intentionally left the door locked.”

“Ohh..” I silently murmured, a puzzled expression on my face. “I don’t know why, but are you sure you should be telling me something like this?” Segawa's gonna snap if she finds out about this. Although, I’m sure another coupon or two could pacify her rage.

“W-well..!!” Sensei exclaimed, averting her gaze. “I guess I wanted to see if Segawa could make you come along, and to my surprise, she did.”

“...so it was that surprising huh?”

"Of course, it's you we're talking about here after all." She instantly replied without batting an eye.

"O-ohh.." I gave a long, resigned sigh from the depths of my heart. "So, why're you telling me all this again?"

“You saw Segawa just now right?”

“Yeah..what about it?”

“That dignified air of her's basically just a means of passive self-defense in a way, she’s actually a socially awkward person somewhere inside. So I find it amazing how she was able to drag someone like you along.”

"What's she suppoused to be, an armadillo..?" Also, what do you mean 'someone like me', ya lookin' for a fight?

Setting my words aside, sensei casted her gaze on the floor, a warm smile started glowing on her face. “I actually handled her class when she was still a freshman, and I immediately saw right through her right after our fourth meeting. I feel like I’d be somehow held responsible if I failed to address her problem and left her as is until she left this school."

“How was that immediate..? It took you four whole weeks.”

"I-it's still just four weeks, it could have taken someone else a considerably long time to notice..I think." Sensei let out a timid cough. "A-anyway, from that day on I decided I'd look after her."

I stayed silent in response to sensei's noble words.

Commendable as it may sound, sensei's reckless display of chivalry was seriously something else. Saying careless things like 'I'll protect you!' or 'You'll be forever in my care' was nothing but a result of your guilt eating you away. The guilt of not being able to do anything. So as a result, you cling onto those ideals. There was completely no way that a real-life person, who has their own life to sustain and their own work to maintain, could possible achieve such an ideal feat.

"Sensei, I don't think that'd be physically possible-"

"But of course, you'll be looking after her in my stead." She nonchalantly cut me off with a completely casual face, as if the order she was pushing was completerly reasonable. "I'm a normal working citizen here, I can't afford to keep watch on someone on a day-to-day basis. That's where you come in, is what I'm trying to say."

"No no no, that's completely unreasonable! In the first place, why do I have to do something so troublesome?"

“This is your punishment for submitting that crappy report to tomura-sensei."

"So joining that club still isn't enough..?"

"It's something like a package, so you'll have to deal with it regardless. Or else." A shadow began to form around sensei’s eyes as she broke into a seriously mischievous smile.

I could more or less get what ‘or else’ meant by this time, so I seriously had no choice but to go along with sensei’s whim here. Or else. Gulp.

I gave out a resigned sigh in response to sensei's whim.

“I won’t promise that I’d look after her, but I’ll go to club regardless just because of that punishment. Don’t expect anything big from me.”

“Mhmm, that’s more than enough.” Sensei nodded with a smile. “Also, I wasn’t really expecting anything big in the first place, so all is well.”

“You know..that second part wasn’t really necessary.”

“Well you shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place then.”

Ofghhg- what the heck is with that seriously flawless logic just now. Did you really have to shed light into that part..?

“Well, for what it’s worth, I didn’t really come along because she forced me to..” I said, furtively averting my eyes. “It’s because of that threat you told her to tell me if I refused. I didn’t want to live several months without an arm, so I wasn’t really left with any other choice but to tag along.”

“Uhh..” Sensei murmured, a puzzled expression on her face. “I didn’t give out any threats like that. And even if I did, I wouldn’t ask anyone to relay such a threat to you. I’d go directly wherever you are and give the finishing blow instantly.

“..and you call yourself a teacher..?”

“Well, disciplining children is part of my job after all.”

“A-ahahaha..”

I couldn’t help but let out a weary laugh with the thought of that scenario actually playing out.

“Well, that’s all I have to say.” Sensei said as she swiveled her chair around. “Have a safe trip home. I’m counting on you with Segawa.”

“R-right..”

Somewhere within that conversation, I feel like I've seriously missed something important in all that.

But there’s really no point in thinking about it now.