I Reincarnated as the Counselor NPC in a Dating Sim, and Now Every Heroine I Treat Becomes Obsessed with Me - Chapter 45 & 46

Chapter 45: “Absence—The Wednesday Sensei Wasn’t There”

Wednesday. Morning.

The thermometer read 37.8°C.

Higher than yesterday. I had made a promise with Akane.

—“If the fever goes up, I’ll rest.”

I picked up my phone and called the staff room.

“This is Asagiri. Sorry, but I’d like to take the day off today.”

“Ah, Asagiri-sensei. Please take care of yourself.”

The vice principal answered me by name.

A name he remembered clearly now.

I hung up and stared at the ceiling.

Wednesday.

It was Shizuku’s day.

Shizuku would come. She would knock on the counseling room door. No answer. She would open it. No one inside. No smell of tea. Just a cold room.

The image formed in my mind, and my chest tightened.

I called Tsubaki-sensei.

“Tsubaki-sensei. I’m taking the day off, so I’ll be closing the counseling room. If any students come after school, could you please tell them I’m absent today?”

“Understood. —I’ll let Yukimura-san know as well.”

Tsubaki-sensei understood everything.

“Please do. Also, could you put a notice on the door? ‘The counseling room is closed today. It will reopen as normal tomorrow.’”

“Certainly. Please take care of yourself.”

I ended the call.

I made hot honey water.

The honey Shizuku gave me. 

Sweet. It soothed my throat.

I slipped back under the blanket.

Would I be able to sleep?

I hadn’t slept last night either. Or the night before. 

The faces of the five girls kept circling through my mind, leaving me wide awake.

Today—there was nothing to circle around.

Because I wasn’t in the counseling room.

A day where I could do nothing had begun.

—

What happened on that Wednesday, I never knew. I only learned about it little by little after the next day.

—

Morning.

Tsubaki-sensei placed a notice on the counseling room door.

『Today, Asagiri-sensei is absent due to poor health. The room will reopen as normal tomorrow. ——Infirmary, Tsubaki』

The first person to see it was Midori.

Morning rounds.

It wasn’t part of the student council president’s duties, but checking the school grounds had become a habit for her. She stopped in front of the notice.

Midori then visited the infirmary.

“Tsubaki-sensei. How is Asagiri-sensei feeling?”

“It seems he has a fever. He said he would rest for the day.”

“Have you informed Yukimura-san yet?”

“Not yet. I was planning to tell her if she came after school.”

“Yukimura-san is a first-year student. That means she would spend the whole day not knowing until after school. —Shall I tell her during lunch break?”

Apparently, Tsubaki-sensei looked a little surprised.

“Hojouin-san would do that?”

“Yes. I believe it would be easier for Yukimura-san to accept it calmly if she knows beforehand, rather than finding out alone at the door after school.”

Midori had moved while thinking of Shizuku.

—

Lunch break.

Midori visited Shizuku’s classroom.

The first-year classroom stirred with whispers when the student council president appeared. Shizuku was sitting by the window.

Midori crouched in front of her desk and lowered her voice so the others wouldn’t hear.

“Yukimura-san. Asagiri-sensei is absent today because he isn’t feeling well. I was told things will return to normal tomorrow.”

Shizuku’s hands tightened on top of her knees.

“There is a notice on the counseling room door. If anything happens, please go to Tsubaki-sensei in the infirmary.”

Shizuku took out her memo pad and wrote.

『Thank you, Hojouin-san.』

Midori gave a small nod.

“Please tell Sensei to get well soon yourself tomorrow.”

After Midori left, Shizuku apparently remained still for a long time, her memo pad resting on her lap.

—

That same lunch break.

Not the rooftop—but an empty classroom.

Akane was eating lunch alone.

Convenience store bento. Seaweed lunch box. Cold.

A lunch break without Ren. No homemade bento, just a cold convenience store seaweed box.

Akane ate half of it, then stopped her chopsticks. She closed the lid.

She took out her phone and opened Ren’s contact.

—Then closed it.

“He’s sleeping, probably. No way I’m waking him up.”

She muttered to herself. 

There was no one in the empty classroom.

Akane put the unfinished bento back into her bag and returned to class.

For the afternoon lessons—she attended every single one.

—

After school.

In front of the counseling room door. The notice was still there.

Shizuku came to see it. Midori had already told her, but she wanted to confirm it with her own eyes.

She read the notice.

—‘The room will reopen as normal tomorrow.’

Shizuku took an envelope from her bag.

A small envelope. Inside was a folded note.

She slid the envelope through the gap beneath the door.

After doing only that, she went back to the dorm. 

—

That same after school.

Rin came to the counseling room and saw the notice.

“Ahh, Sensei’s off today. Judging by how he looked yesterday, can’t be helped…”

She stopped by the infirmary.

“Tsubaki-sensei, is Asagiri-sensei okay?”

“He seems to have a fever, but I’m sure he’ll be better by tomorrow.”

“Yeah, figured. —Sensei’s the type who pushes himself, so I’m worried. Think I should bring him something?”

“I’m sure he would appreciate the thought, but let him rest quietly today.”

“Got it. —If he’s not better tomorrow, I’m giving him a lecture.”

Rin ran off.

—

That same after school.

Small hall.

Mio was practicing. Her performance was this weekend. It was time for the final push.

During a break in rehearsal, an underclassman spoke up.

“Kujou-senpai, I heard the counseling room Sensei is absent today.”

Mio didn’t lift her eyes from the script.

“……I see.”

“Senpai, you’re close with that teacher, right? Maybe you should visit him or—”

“We’re in rehearsal. Focus.”

The junior fell silent.

Rehearsal resumed.

Act Three. The junior’s line: “You are not alone.”

Last time, that line had shaken her.

That was the day Mio spoke in the counseling room, saying the junior’s voice had reached deep inside her.

Today—she shut it out.

She delivered the line perfectly. No hesitation. No wavering.

After rehearsal, once the club members had gone home, Mio remained alone in the small hall.

She sat on the stage and looked up at the ceiling.

She didn’t know Ren’s number.

Her only ways to contact him were slipping a note under the door, or meeting him in person.

Today—she could do neither.

Mio stood up and left the small hall.

She walked through the school hallway and passed in front of the counseling room. She looked at the notice.

One. Two seconds.

Then she walked past without stopping.

—

Night.

My dorm room. Under the blanket.

My fever had gone down to 37.3°C.

I drank honey water and managed to sleep a little. In broken stretches.

I checked my phone.

No missed calls. No messages.

Nothing from school—nothing from the girls.

Akane and Rin knew my number. But they hadn’t called.

Maybe they thought I was sleeping and held back.

Or maybe—

I didn’t know.

What had happened at the school today?

What did Shizuku do?

What happened to Akane’s lunch?

Midori? Rin? Mio?

I knew nothing.

Just because the counselor took one day off, I could no longer see the lives of all five girls.

That—was frightening.

Not being able to see was frightening.

Shizuku had once asked me, “You saw it, so why did you do nothing?”

And now, this time, it had become a day where I couldn’t even see at all.

Tomorrow, I would go.

Even if the fever had not fully gone down.

Only two days remained until winter break.

Just two more days until the long holiday began.

Two days.

The jar of honey sat on the desk.

The honey Shizuku had chosen for me.

(…Tomorrow. I’ll see all of them. I’ll see every one of their faces.)

I closed my eyes.

Even without me there for one day, the school had kept moving.

It had kept moving—

Or at least, it should have.

Chapter 46: “Return—The Day All Five Gathered in the Counseling Room”

Thursday. Morning.

36.7°C.

My temperature had returned to normal.

It dropped overnight. 

Maybe thanks to the honey water. Or maybe because my body had finally forced me to listen and rest.

I made lunch. Akane’s portion too.

Tamagoyaki, salmon, kinpira gobo. The usual menu.

Since I couldn’t make it yesterday, I prepared everything carefully today.

I passed through the school gate.

Two days until winter break. 

The air was cold. My breath turned white.

I stopped by the staff room. Tsubaki-sensei immediately looked my way.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine now. Sorry for causing trouble.”

“Fine… are you?”

Tsubaki-sensei’s eyes narrowed slightly.

The look of someone who didn’t trust my “I’m fine.”

“…Really. The fever’s gone.”

“I see. —Please don’t overdo it.”

The vice principal called out too.

“Asagiri-sensei, feeling better now?”

Each time someone called me by name, it strangely made me feel a little saved.

I headed for the counseling room.

I opened the door.

The room after one day away.

Cold.

I turned on the heater. I watered the snowdrops by the window.

At my feet—there was a white envelope on the floor.

The one Shizuku had slipped through the gap under the door yesterday after school.

I picked it up.

Nothing was written on the front or back.

I opened it.

A folded memo sheet.

Shizuku’s handwriting.

—『Ren-sensei.
So you were absent today. Hojouin-san told me during lunch break.
The Wednesday without Sensei was very long.
I came here after school. The door was locked. Of course it was.
There was no smell of tea. No sound of Sensei’s voice. It was only a cold room with chairs lined up inside.
For the first time, I realized something. It is not this room that I like. It is the Sensei inside this room that I like.
Please get better soon.
I will come tomorrow.
Shizuku Yukimura』

I read the note and placed it in the drawer. On top of the stack of Shizuku’s notes.

—It is the Sensei inside this room that I like.

That single sentence now rested quietly in the drawer, carrying its own weight.

—

Lunch break. Empty classroom.

Akane was waiting there.

When I opened the door, she stared at my face for about three seconds.

“…Your fever?”

“It’s down. 36.7.”

“You better not be lying.”

“I’m not.”

Akane took the lunch box. She opened the lid—

For just a moment, the tension left her shoulders.

Tamagoyaki. Salmon. Kinpira gobo.

The usual lunch had returned.

Akane said nothing and started eating. 

She finished everything. Not a single grain left behind.

“…The taste hasn’t changed.”

“I didn’t change it.”

“…Yesterday, I ate a convenience store bento.”

“Yeah?”

“It tasted like crap.”

“It’s not that the convenience store bento became bad. Akane’s tongue just got spoiled.”

“That’s your fault, Sensei.”

Akane drank her tea—well, vending machine hot tea, since empty classrooms didn’t come with kettles.

“…I attended all the afternoon classes yesterday.”

“You didn’t tell me that, but good job.”

“It’s not ‘good job.’ I was bored, so I just went.”

Akane’s excuse.

With me gone, she had nowhere else to be, so she went to class.

“Sensei.”

“Yeah?”

“How many days is winter break again?”

“About two weeks, I think.”

“…Two weeks.”

Akane gripped the empty plastic bottle in her hand.

“So no lunch boxes for two weeks?”

“If you’re staying in the dorms, I can bring them to you.”

“…………You’d come?”

“If I’m allowed to.”

Akane didn’t answer. 

She stood up, shoved the lunch box roughly into her bag, and headed for the door.

“…If you’re coming, call first. —Don’t just show up out of nowhere. I haven’t cleaned.”

That was permission.

—

After school. Four o’clock.

I opened the counseling room.

I brewed tea.

4:02 PM. Two knocks. Shizuku.

I opened the door.

Shizuku was standing there. Uniform. Bag. Memo pad.

Her eyes were red. 

Either she had cried, or she hadn’t slept. Faint dark circles rested beneath them.

“Welcome—no, that’s not right. I’m back, Shizuku-chan.”

Shizuku looked at me. Three seconds.

Then she gave a small nod and sat in her usual seat. 

She accepted the tea, wrapped both hands around the cup, and took one sip.

The tension left her shoulders.

She wrote on her memo pad.

『Ren-sensei. Welcome back.』

“I’m back. —I read your letter.”

Shizuku’s body stiffened slightly.

“Thank you. The honey worked too. Thanks to that, I recovered in a single day.”

Shizuku nodded.

She didn’t mention what she had written in the letter.

4:15 PM.

The door opened without a knock. Akane.

“…Yo.”

Shizuku looked at Akane and gave a small bow. 

Akane answered with a casual, “Yo.”

4:25 PM. Midori arrived.

“Asagiri-sensei. How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine now.”

Midori looked around the room. Shizuku and Akane were already there. Normally, the usual Midori would have stepped back—but today, she entered.

She sat in an empty chair.

4:35 PM.

“Sensei—! Are you alive!?”

Rin’s voice echoed from the hallway.

“Ah, there’s already a crowd in here!”

Rin came in and sat beside Akane.

“Sensei, your face looks normal again! Thank goodness!”

Four people.

4:50 PM.

The door opened. No knock.

It was Mio.

She looked around the room—and didn’t stop. She walked in.

There were no chairs left, so she leaned against the wall beside the bookshelf and crossed her arms.

“…So everyone’s here.”

Five people.

All five of them had gathered in the counseling room.

—

Six people in a six-tatami room.

I made tea.

There were only five cups. I searched the back of the supply shelf, found a dust-covered mug, washed it, and poured six cups.

I handed them out one by one.

Shizuku held hers with both hands.

Akane accepted hers in silence.

Midori said, “Thank you.”

Rin raised her voice with, “So warm!”

Mio took hers with one hand and drank while still leaning against the wall.

Silence.

Six people drinking tea.

Rin was the first to break it.

“Yesterday—did everyone come here?”

“Looks like you all saw the notice.”

“I heard from Tsubaki-sensei in the infirmary. —When I found out Sensei wasn’t here, the first thing I thought was, ‘He’ll come tomorrow, right?’ I thought about myself before worrying about Sensei.”

Akane opened her mouth next.

“Same here. First thing I thought was what happens to my lunch. …The lunch box came before Sensei’s health.”

Midori placed her cup on her lap.

“As for me—I wondered, ‘When will I be able to see Sensei again?’ Whether that was normal concern or something more… even I do not fully understand.”

Mio spoke in a low voice while leaning against the wall.

“I had no way to contact him. My only options were slipping in a note or coming here in person. —Yesterday was the first time I found that inconvenient.”

Four of them spoke.

Shizuku did not write a note.

She simply held her cup on her lap and listened to the other four.

I looked at Shizuku.

Shizuku looked at me.

The eyes behind her bangs—were telling me everything from yesterday’s letter all over again. Without voice. Without words.

—

Five o’clock.

Rin stood up first.

“I’ve got morning practice tomorrow!”

Midori followed.

“I have student council handover duties.”

Akane rose next.

“I’m leaving.”

The three of them headed out.

Mio pushed herself off the wall.

“…Counselor.”

“Yeah?”

“The performance is Saturday. Don’t forget.”

“I won’t. Front row seat.”

“Hinomiya’s and this girl’s tickets?”

“I already gave them out.”

“…………I see.”

Mio walked toward the door.

“…Don’t wreck your body.”

She said it without turning back, then left.

—

Shizuku remained.

Just the two of us now.

Shizuku wrote a note. Her first one today.

『Ren-sensei. Everyone was thinking the same thing, weren’t they?』

“The same thing?”

『That they feel uneasy when Sensei is not here. That they want to see Sensei. —It was not only me.』

Shizuku looked at me.

『That makes me feel a little relieved. But also a little lonely.』

“Lonely?”

Shizuku wrote again. Slowly, taking her time.

『I realized I am not the only one who treasures Sensei. Sensei belongs to everyone. You are not only my Sensei. I understand that. What I wrote in the letter—was not a lie.』

Shizuku closed the memo pad.

“I read it. And I know it wasn’t a lie.”

Shizuku nodded.

She got ready to leave, then stopped in front of the door.

She turned back.

Her lips moved.

“…Sen…se.”

It came out.

A hoarse voice, faint like a breath. But clearly—without question—I heard it.

—“Sensei.”

Shizuku covered her mouth in shock at hearing her own voice. But she quickly lowered her hand.

Her eyes were wet, but she did not cry.

She gave a small bow, then left the room.

—

I was alone again.

I washed the six cups.

All five of them had gathered here.

Just because I was absent for one day, they ignored the schedule and came anyway.

With only a single day of absence, all five of them were shaken.

Was it proof of trust?

Proof of dependence?

Probably—both.

I took Shizuku’s letter from the drawer.

—『I realized it is the Sensei inside this room that I like.』

What exactly was this ‘like’?

Was it something that still fit within the frame of counseling?

A question I had been avoiding was beginning to take shape.

One day remained until winter break.

Tomorrow was Friday. The final day before the holiday.

On Saturday, Mio’s performance would take place.

After that—two weeks of winter break.

Two weeks away from the five girls.

During those two weeks, I would have to think.

About my relationship with these girls.

About what their ‘like’ truly meant.

And then—about my own feelings as well.

The snowdrops by the window had opened their petals just a little in the warmth of the heater.