All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

While they waited for Shizuka Hiratsuka to enter the classroom,

Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama both began to feel conflicted, unable to describe exactly what they were feeling at that moment.

They wanted to thank Shizuka Hiratsuka for inviting them to Kyoto to soak in the hot springs, but the moment they remembered that Shizuka had asked Kotomi to pretend to be her girlfriend, Yukino and Yui felt deeply uncomfortable.

After all, Yui was Kotomi’s official girlfriend, while Yukino had only just conveyed her feelings to Kotomi.

Even though Kotomi had explained that she would merely be pretending to be Shizuka Hiratsuka’s girlfriend so she could temporarily escape her parents’ pressure to marry, and had promised them that she absolutely would not let the act become real,

Kotomi’s explanation and promise had made Yukino and Yui feel a little better, but only a little.

After all, the thought that the girl they loved, Kotomi Izumi, was about to pretend to be Shizuka Hiratsuka’s girlfriend and accompany her to meet her parents would make anyone feel miserable.

In fact, were Megumi Kato to learn about this, she might already have started sharpening a knife.

At the same time, Seiko Kirigiri’s feelings had also become rather complicated. Only a few days ago, she had secretly witnessed Kotomi and Shizuka Hiratsuka kissing in the classroom. Now, whether she looked at Kotomi or Shizuka Hiratsuka, her emotions were extremely conflicted.

Tap, tap, tap.

As footsteps approached, everyone turned toward the classroom door, each harboring different thoughts.

However, to the surprise of Kotomi and the others, the person who entered was neither Shizuka Hiratsuka nor the new homeroom teacher Kotomi had been curious about. It was the dean of students.

The dean was even carrying several confiscated cell phones. He had probably stopped by Class 1-B before coming here.

”Students of Class 1-F, it is with great regret that I stand before you today to make an announcement. Your homeroom teacher, Shizuka Hiratsuka, completed the procedures for her resignation several days ago. In other words, she is no longer the homeroom teacher of Class 1-F, nor is she a Japanese-language teacher at Sobu High School.

”Shizuka Hiratsuka was an outstanding teacher. Although she did not manage Class 1-F for long, having served as your homeroom teacher for only two short months since the beginning of the school year, she was tireless in her educational duties, devoted herself wholeheartedly to her students, and taught them with exceptional skill. It was precisely because of this that she was able to educate an outstanding student such as Izumi, who ranked first in the entire grade twice in succession.

”Every teacher and student at Sobu High School feels profound grief and regret over her departure. Her resignation means that, beginning today, Sobu High School has lost an excellent educator.

”The silkworm spins until death, and the candle sheds its final tears as it burns to ash.”

Pfft—

Listening to the dean’s speech, Kotomi Izumi desperately suppressed her laughter. There was no special reason for it. The speech he had prepared simply sounded extremely strange, almost like a eulogy.

Anyone who had not listened carefully might have thought that Shizuka Hiratsuka had died.

This was also the dean’s usual style when preparing speeches. He always liked to exaggerate, and once he began, he would speak for more than ten minutes.

The students below began whispering among themselves. Ordinarily, they would have mocked the dean for making yet another absurdly exaggerated speech. However, what he had announced was simply too shocking. None of the students paid attention to the exaggerated wording of his script. Instead, they began discussing Shizuka Hiratsuka’s resignation in hushed voices.

”Ms. Hiratsuka actually resigned? How is that possible? She never mentioned anything before.”

”Exactly. The last time we saw her should’ve been when the cultural festival ended. She didn’t look like she was planning to resign.”

”Ms. Hiratsuka might have a bit of a violent temper, but she really is a good teacher. Why would she resign? Was the pressure from work too much?”