The heat rising up from the asphalt, mercilessly s.h.i.+ned down upon by the glittering heat, made it look like the atmosphere was shaking.

—It’s completely summer now, I think to myself. At a bit past 8am in the morning, no other people were seen in front of the school gate, with the school being on vacation right now. I headed through the gate, making my way to the school building.

“So hot…” I wiped away the sweat on my forehead with a handkerchief.

Since I, Saigi Makoto, have good manners, I don’t just wipe it away with my hands, you see. Anyways, I entered the school building, and walked down the long, empty hallway. As expected, no sounds could be heard, besides my own footsteps. Apparently, even the students that had club activities during the summer wouldn’t arrive as early as I.

“…Excuse me.” I knocked on the door, and slowly opened it.

“I have been waiting for you, Saigi-kun! Now, let’s start today’s education immediately!”

“Eh…”

“…Mm? What’s wrong?”

This voice, forcing herself to sound energetic… Standing in the room that I entered, the English material preparation room, was a teacher, wearing a white robe, with a short-cut hairstyle. It was the well known j.a.panese language teacher, Renku Hiyori. Today again, there was a ring glittering on her left ring finger.

“Ah, nothing. Good morning, Renku-sensei.”

“Yes, good morning, Saigi-kun~ Perfectly on time~”

Renku-sensei was alway nonchalant, in both her actions and voice, but it was extremely bad this morning. Not to mention that the very fact of the j.a.panese language teacher being in the English material preparation room was giving me the creeps.

“Everything is prepared already…Look, over there.”

“…Thank you very much.”

I gave a slight bow, and looked over at where Renku-sensei was pointing. On top of a very familiar desk, a workbook and notebook, as well as some various doc.u.ments, all ready to be used. Besides that, a cardigan and blanket on top of a chair nearby, even a case made for cla.s.ses on top of that. Wasn’t she wearing this when she was cosplaying as a teacher…

“This should be everything~ Can you take that home?”

“Yes no problem. I prepared a huge back for this…”

I put down a huge traveling back on a nearby desk. On the way here, it was light and easy to carry, but it’s probably going to get heavy on my way home. Not like I can complain just because of that though…

“Sorry about this, Saigi-kun~ It would have been fine if I got my car to use, but today I really can’t.”

“No, I don’t have to write the written apology anymore, so it’s fine.”

As I gave a bitter smile, I started to carefully stuff everything into the bag. I wonder if there’s information I shouldn’t be seeing written in those workbooks and notebooks. Normally, I wouldn’t even be allowed to touch them, but just this once, it couldn’t be helped.

“It was actually planned that Kisou-chan would come to pick things up. But she’s not feeling too well apparently?”

“Ah, yes. She seems to have gotten a fever. That’s why I’ll be picking it up today.”

With the cardigan and blanket, I was even more hospitable as I put it in the bag.

“…This should be everything. Thank you very much, Renku-sensei.”

“It’s fine~ A teacher’s summer vacation is pretty short, so I was supposed to work today anyway.”

“…Yes, it seems like teachers have it rough.”

That was a phrase that I, Saigi Makoto, never expected to say in my life. To be sympathetic towards ‘Teachers’, unbelievable. I looked down at the desk. The desk that belonged to the person who loved to proclaim this room to be her ‘castle’.

It took three train stations from the school to our flat. While I was shaking back and forth inside the train, I was gazing at the pa.s.sing scenery. I didn’t even feel like checking my smartphone out of boredom. Getting off the train, I started trotting my way back to the flat. The heavy bag on my shoulder slowly started to cut into my skin. That reminds me—

“The first time I’ve seen that red car must have been around here.”

I was walking down the street near my home, as suddenly that red car gave a sudden stop. Even though it hasn’t been too long since, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for some reason. I really hated this red car, that I gave the nickname ‘Nightmare’, but it might have actually been fun riding on it, even if just a bit. The lingering, sweet scent in the car itself, the frantic driving as I was shaking from left to right. Normally I didn’t even know the destination, but I often found myself just gazing at the person to my side, gleefully moving the handles. And now, I can never see that profile again—

Arriving at the flat, I went up the floor with my own apartment. Pa.s.sing past the apartment where my little sister is right now, the Saigi Household’s, I stood in front of the room next to it.

“Fuuu…”

I took a deep breath, took out the duplicate key, and opened up the door. It was the same entrance, the same floor like ours, but still a bit different. Moving through the short hallway, I entered the living room, still equipped with the same sofa and TV, neatly lined up. Knowing the person’s true side, seeing this felt very off. Since she was always concerned as to how she was perceived by her surroundings, she always kept good care of the living room because it was the thing visitors saw the fastest when visiting her. I wonder who is going to take care of the organization here…After all, that person is already—

“Saigi-kuuun, welcome~!”

“Woah?!”

Someone suddenly clung to me from my back.

“W-What are you doing…!” I panicky turned around, and…

“Just a small surprise~ A simple ‘Boo!’ from the back might have been a bit too weak to surprise you~”

“Maksensei…”

It was the owner of this home, as well as my homeroom teacher—Fujiki Maksensei. Not to mention that she greeted me with a very thin, revealing negligé.

“W-What are you wearing, Sensei?!”

“Is it weird for me to wear this in my own four walls? It’s not, right?”

“You knew I was coming, right?!”

“My calculations of your estimated arrival were off by two minutes and eleven seconds. Seems like I’m lacking some practice.”

“You’re not lacking anything!”

Kisou-san told me to just enter the room, having lent me the key, but to think that a trap like this was waiting for me.

“Glad to hear that. Seems like it was worth wearing clothes that might please you, Saigi-kun.”

Maksensei pushed out her hips, purposefully taking a very erotic position…Today as well, she’s overflowing with s.e.x appeal…

The negligé was in a pleasant pink color, with plenty of frills around her chest. Beneath that, from her belly to hips, her thighs, and even down to the color of her skin, everything was clearly visible, and erotic. I can even see her panties, having a similar pink color…

“Look, look. I can move freely in this.”

“…Is that so.”

Ugh…I can’t argue against that…!

Around Maksensei’s right wrist, I clearly see the bandage. In that state, organizing her living room surely isn’t possible. Currently, Maksensei is still undergoing medical treatment. The shock back then, when I heard about the accident from Kisou-san—

Right now, I feel like an idiot for being this scared, seeing that she is gleefully dancing around in front of me, with this thin negligé. Really, that distant day, where Maksensei was unable to come back to this very apartment, feels like a bad dream—