A Late Bloomer's Powerful Restart ~My Second Life Starts at a Prestigious School Where the Gender Ratio Is Totally Off, and for Some Reason, All These Talented Girls Get Attached to Me...!?~ - Chapter 37: The New Teacher's Melancholy

Chapter 37: The New Teacher’s Melancholy

◇◆◇＜Third-Person Perspective＞◇◆◇

The clacking of keyboards filled the staff room. Otoha Oto, the new teacher, sat quietly at her desk and let out a soft sigh.

“Is something wrong?”

“Ah!? Nishito-sensei!”

The person who spoke to her was So Nishito, the teacher in charge of the information subject.

He was also the one Otoha secretly had feelings for.

“You look tired. How about taking a short break?”

“I’ll go!”

Otoha answered without a second thought.

Nishito was the kind of man who paid close attention to others. He noticed small details in behavior and showed genuine care.

Because of that, he was popular among the female students too.

As soon as they reached the break area, Nishito bought two cans of coffee from the vending machine and handed one to her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Being a teacher is tough, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. There are so many children from distinguished families that I feel overwhelmed…”

Her words came straight from the heart.

Among the first-year students she was in charge of this year were young ladies from the Nanamiya Group and the Kokonoe Group—families that ranked among the most prestigious.

“But you’ll be fine, Otoha-sensei. You’re close in age to the female students… so they should find it easy to talk to you about their worries.”

“R-right… I need to become someone they can rely on more.”

Encouraged by Nishito’s words, she gulped down her coffee.

Thanks to that, her head felt clearer… and she became aware of the warmth spreading deep in her chest.

At that moment, a new person entered the break room.

“Oh, you two are doing well, I see.”

“Assistant Principal! Good work!”

“Come now, no need for formalities here. Relax.”

The famously chatty assistant principal had appeared.

Although his manner was gentle, the new teacher Otoha felt tense. She lightly tapped her own cheek to switch her mindset back to work mode.

“Don’t you think this year’s new students are an exceptional group, unlike any before? I am convinced they will lead the country in the future.”

“I agree completely. It somehow reminds me of the time when Taiyo Kano was student council president.”

“Hoho… that era was impressive too. But doesn’t it remind you more of Nishito-sensei’s time here?”

“Huh!? Nishito-sensei was a graduate of this school?”

Otoha, who hadn’t known that Nishito was an alumnus of Teimon Academy, raised her voice in surprise.

Of course, remembering she was speaking to the assistant principal, she quickly calmed down… but embarrassment turned her face bright red.

“I-I’m so sorry… I suddenly spoke so loudly…”

“It’s fine. I said no formalities, didn’t I? Rather, didn’t Nishito-sensei tell you?”

“Of course not. I don’t want any strange misunderstandings just because I’m a former male student here.”

“…Misunderstanding? Is there something about being a male student?”

Otoha, who couldn’t follow the conversation, tilted her head and looked at Nishito.

She had noticed that the number of male students enrolling in this academy was unusually small, but she had never thought deeply about it.

“It seems I didn’t explain enough. No helping it… though it might be hard for Nishito-sensei to say.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Still, you need to know. I will take responsibility and explain it myself.”

Seeing the two of them turn serious, Otoha naturally tensed up as well.

If it was something hard to say to a woman… could it be something that might count as sexual harassment?

As she vaguely let that imagination grow, the assistant principal began speaking with a resolved expression, as if confirming her suspicion.

“The truth is… male students often get assaulted by female students.”

“…………Huh!?”

Was that a mishearing…? Otoha felt confused.

She never expected a topic like that to actually come up… she had hoped it was just needless worry.

“Assaulted” probably meant in that sense.

“It’s not a mishearing, Otoha-sensei. The female students who enroll here… because of strict upbringing at home up until then, tend to be starved for affection.”

“Hoho, that’s why the admission of male students has gradually become stricter…”

Considering the gender ratio of this year’s incoming students, Otoha could grasp just how serious the problem was.

So far, she hadn’t seen any obvious issues between boys and girls.

If anything, the only thing that came up in reports was that the young lady from the Kokonoe Group frequently entered the boys’ dormitory.

But sooner or later, entanglements of romantic feelings would likely cause some kind of incident.

At that moment, a jolt like lightning shot through Otoha’s mind.

“Wait a second!? Then does that mean Nishito-sensei also…?”

“No! I am genuinely… completely pure! …Didn’t I say I don’t want strange misunderstandings?”

“Ah… right. I’m sorry.”

Otoha wanted to clutch her head for messing up. She forced her expression to stay composed and looked away.

“Back in my time, the gender ratio wasn’t this skewed yet. It’s only been in the last few years.”

“I-I see…”

The assistant principal had just said that the admission of male students had gradually become stricter.

In other words, the imbalance hadn’t existed from the very beginning.

Along with understanding came a strange sense of relief for Otoha.

Maybe because seeing the usually calm Nishito-sensei flustered was rare and amusing.

“Ahem… anyway, that’s how it is. So Otoha-sensei, please listen carefully to the girls’ worries. If they seem stressed, make sure to report them as subjects for observation.”

“Y-yes…”

Hearing “observation” made tension race through her body again, but she reminded herself that this was her job, her role… and a sense of duty was born inside Otoha.

“No matter what! Absolutely! …We cannot allow any incident of female students confining male students!!”

“Yes! …Yes?”

Of course, in normal thinking, young ladies from distinguished families wouldn’t do something like that.

To Otoha, it was hard to believe, but Nishito’s words were worth trusting.

So she forcefully convinced herself to accept it.

“Come now, no need to be so tense.”

He was the one who made her tense, Otoha thought, and could only give a wry smile.

“This year we have a boy from the Yashima family, after all… I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Yashima… you mean Kashiwado-kun.”

Otoha hadn’t known at first that Taiki Kashiwado was of Yashima blood.

His background only came to light right before the entrance ceremony and caused an issue.

Until then, he had simply been seen as a smart commoner.

In the end, though, it meant all the few male students were from distinguished families.

His family details were properly submitted, and since he had the top entrance exam score, his admission couldn’t be revoked.

The compromise they came up with was to publicly reveal the existence of general admission and recommendation slots, and announce him as the representative of the general slot.

In other words, the academy pretended they hadn’t noticed.

Because of that, when his face was widely spread through the big commercial, the teachers once again found themselves holding their heads in frustration.

—Crunch!

Somewhere, a small sound rang out.

Otoha wondered what it was and felt puzzled… then she finally noticed that Nishito had been completely silent.

And not just that.

For a moment, he had shown an expression she had never seen before—extremely dark.

“Well then, shall we end the break here, Otoha-sensei?”

“Y-yes!”

“Hoho, yes indeed. Both Otoha-sensei and Nishito-sensei, stay sharp.”

“Understood.”

Nishito returned to his usual gentle expression and led Otoha back to their desks.

Yes… Otoha was, after all, a teacher.

No matter how much she cared about Nishito-sensei, her first priority had to be the students.

She reminded herself of that once more.

But for some reason, Otoha felt uneasy.

Perhaps because… the coffee can Nishito threw into the trash looked dented—as if it had been crushed by his grip.