I Became a Teacher at an All-Girls Boarding School, and Now the Students and Female Teachers Are After Me~

Chapter 17 – I’m Socially Dead

Oh, this is bad… I’m socially dead…

The moment I saw the grinning reporter holding a mic and the cameraman filming her, that’s what I thought.

When she first called out to me, I didn’t realize it, but I recognized her. I’d seen this show before. If my memory is correct, it’s a live program on Saturday afternoons, and she’s the reporter in the segment where they find interesting people on the street.

Nowadays, a live, surprise ambush of a regular person like this is completely against compliance rules, but viewers enjoyed the unpredictable, heart-pounding moments, and I think it was a fairly popular segment.

In other words, if the camera pointed at her happened to turn toward me, at that moment, both Sakurada and I would be exposed to living rooms across the nation. If anyone from my school was watching TV, it would be the end of me.

No, it doesn’t matter what happens to me. What matters is Sakurada—she’s still a high school student. If she were to be on TV, seen on a date with her teacher, it could scar her future. I had to prevent that no matter what.

Thinking this, I instinctively hugged Sakurada tight.

“Kyaa!”

Sakurada let out her voice, dropping the crepe she was holding.

But I didn’t care about that. I pressed her face against my chest, hiding her from the camera.

“S-Sensei, w-wait…”

“I’m sorry, but stay like this for a little while.”

“……”

I had to at least hide her face.

As I desperately hugged her, the reporter misunderstood what was happening. “Wow, you two are getting cozy, aren’t you?” she exclaimed excitedly, pointing the mic at me.

At the same time, the cameraman started to turn the camera toward me, so I buried my face in Sakurada’s hair, hiding my own face as well.

Ah, this will make them misunderstand even more, I know it.

But there’s no other way to hide my face.

Just as I was thinking this, staying perfectly still…

“O-Oi! Let go! What do you think you’re doing?!”

I heard a voice and, forgetting the risk of being on camera, instinctively looked up.

What I saw was the cameraman who was about to film us, and a familiar man in a black suit and sunglasses who was holding the cameraman down.

This person…he’s…

While I was thinking, the man in black took the camera from the cameraman and nonchalantly threw it on the ground.

Huh?

My eyes went wide at the sight, and the cameraman lunged at the man in black. “Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

But the man in black easily pushed the cameraman away, pulled a business card holder from his pocket, and handed a card to the man who seemed to be in charge.

“This is who I am. If you have any complaints about my actions, please contact my office.”

The man in black said this in a voice so calm it was hard to believe he had just thrown a camera and pushed the cameraman.

The staff member took the business card, clearly intimidated. The moment the staff member looked at the card, I could hear a choked gasp.

“I appreciate your understanding.”

The man in black bowed deeply to the staff.

The staff member was frozen for a moment, still clutching the card, but then he snapped back to reality.

“E-everyone! Let’s go! We’re done for today!” The staff who seemed to be in charge said in a loud voice, and everyone began to leave.

That camera… it’s definitely worth more than my monthly salary…

As I stood there in a daze, the man in black walked slowly toward me.

With his large frame and intimidating, sunglass-clad face, I instantly thought he was going to kill me, but when he got close, he bowed deeply.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Miyashita, and I handle the personal affairs of Momo-sama.”

“Huh? Oh, uh…”

So this man is indeed the “Miyashita” Sakurada had mentioned.

My throat was too tight to speak due to his intimidating presence, but then Miyashita’s expression softened slightly.

“Please don’t be afraid. You are the one tutoring Momo-sama. I have no intention of threatening such a person.”

“Huh? Oh, u-uh, nice to meet you. I’m Hosokawa, I am Sakurada-san’s homeroom teacher.”

I finally managed to get the words out and greet him.

Just then, Sakurada, who had been hiding her face in my chest, looked up and turned to Miyashita.

“Miyashita… you’re late…”

“My apologies, Momo-sama. I had no idea a television crew would be here, and my response was delayed.”

The large scary man, who must have been over six feet tall, shrunk his shoulders and bowed apologetically to the young girl.

Seeing Miyashita, I suddenly remembered I was still hugging Sakurada and quickly released her.

This man is probably Sakurada’s bodyguard. If he saw me hugging the girl he was supposed to protect, I couldn’t complain if he snapped my neck right then and there.

“U-um!! Miyashita-san!”

“Yes?”

“I, uh… This was an accident. I didn’t have any ulterior motives when I hugged Sakurada-san, I swear…”

As I desperately tried to explain, Miyashita’s expression softened.

“I know everything. Given Momo-sama’s nature, I imagine she made some kind of selfish request of you that led to this situation.”

“No, it wasn’t exactly selfish, but…”

“I can only thank you, Sensei, for accompanying Momo-sama even on your day off.”

It seemed Miyashita understood that Sakurada could be a bit forceful at times.

I felt a little relieved, but then Miyashita stood in front of Sakurada and looked down at her with a troubled expression.

“Momo-sama, it’s not good to cause so much trouble for your teacher…”

“Are you… Are you going to tell Papa?”

“No, I don’t intend to.”

Sakurada breathed a sigh of relief at his words.

“However, I’d be troubled if you do anything too…problematic.”

“I know…”

Sakurada’s expression darkened slightly.

“I… I just want to have a normal high school life, too…” she said in a small voice.

Miyashita looked at her through his sunglasses for a moment and then let out a sudden sigh.

“I will do what I can. If it’s a small matter, I can handle it. However, if you do anything too conspicuous, it’ll be hard for me to take care of it myself. Please keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, I got it… Miyashita, you’ve done well.”

When she said that, Miyashita bowed to both me and Sakurada and then disappeared.

And so, Sakurada and I were left alone.

I looked at the still-dejected Sakurada and thought to myself.

Having a powerful family isn’t always a good thing.

She must have lived a suffocating life as a member of the Sakurada family. Seiou Private Academy, where she goes to school, is in the middle of a mountain, a place completely isolated from the outside world.

She’s still in the prime of her youth, but she can’t hang out with friends, go for karaoke, or even have after-school snacks.

Maybe I shouldn’t think this way, but I can’t help but feel sorry for her.

I’m sure Miyashita understands that too, which is why he didn’t scold Sakurada too harshly. I’m kind of impressed by his compassion.

Although, I do wish Sakurada would stop blackmailing me with those photos…

“Sensei…”

Sakurada called me, forgetting our “name-calling rule.”

“What is it?” I asked.

Sakurada then reached out her arms and hugged me tightly.

“H-huh…”

“Just for a little bit.”

I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but I decided to let Sakurada lean on me for a while.