I just hope to live a leisurely life in the world of anime.

"Oh, great! It's Chabashira-sensei! And Ayanokouji-kun too! Where's Anshu-sensei?"

An Shu had just gotten up from her seat and hadn't even left when the sound of conversation coming from the half-open door drifted in.

"Inside."

"Oh, where are Chabashira-sensei and Ayanokouji-kun going?"

"I made some mistakes, so I need to go to the administration office with Mr. Chabashira."

"Oh, I see. But even Ayanokouji-san makes mistakes?"

"Nobody's perfect..."

“That makes sense… Well, I won’t take up any more of your time. I’m going to find Teacher Anshu.”

"Ah."

……

Well, trouble has indeed come knocking...

An Shu sighed, carefully considering whether to slip away now, but felt it was better to leave, since she would still have some contact with her in the future.

Let's see what she has to say first... If I shouldn't have gone out of my way to tease them yesterday...

Moreover, I tricked that guy again last night, and he looked at me with a bit of resentment when he came to the office this morning.

Lost in thought, Kikyo Kushida, the most popular girl in Class D, quietly walked into the office.

"Teacher Anshu." She walked around to Anshu's desk and called out to him, bringing him back to his senses.

"Um"

“Um… Ms. Anshu, I feel like I have some psychological issues, so, could I have a heart-to-heart talk with you?” Kikyo Kushida said.

Her tone was the same gentle and lovely one she usually used.

"But...shouldn't this kind of thing be handled by the class advisor? I'm just a teaching assistant!"

"..."

……

Well, although I wasn't really keen on coming, I couldn't resist their request and agreed in the end.

In the counseling room, An Shu watched her lock the door from the inside without saying anything. She simply took the lid of the teapot and gently scraped the edge of the teapot, pressing the tea leaves that hadn't fully steeped in.

"So, Kushida-san, where do you feel there's a problem that requires my psychological counseling?"

An Shu raised her eyes and looked at Kikyo Kushida, who was sitting across from her at the table.

"..." She didn't speak. Because her head was down, An Shu couldn't see her expression or know what she was thinking.

"If there's nothing else, then it's time for class!" An Shu urged slightly, her gaze becoming playful. Hmm... it seems that the premise of being a villain toying with high school girls is quite interesting!

He knew what the girl wanted to say, but he just didn't know how she would say it.

After a moment of silence, the girl, who had been keeping her head down, slowly raised her head and spoke.

"Hey, Teacher Anshu..."

"Ah."

"Tell me, if I were to tear my clothes off now and run out saying you were going to rape me, do you think An Shu's public image would immediately collapse?"

"Oh," An Shu chuckled softly, meeting her cold gaze. "Does anyone really believe someone as confident as Kushida-san?"

“Yeah, after all, even if Teacher Anshu is as beautiful as you are, you are still a boy. A girl who is quite cute was alone with you in a room, and then ran out in a disheveled state. That’s already a big problem. Teacher Anshu might even go to jail!” Kikyo Kushida nodded seriously.

"Well... Kushida-san is too modest. Actually, Kushida-san is very cute!" Although not as cute as me.

An Shu, who had just praised her, couldn't help but silently add a comment in her heart.

"Yes, thank you, Teacher Anshu." She gave a smile that appeared to be genuine. At least, it appeared to be genuine.

"I'm telling the truth, but let's put that aside for now. On another note, Kushida-kun is really bold, locking the door from the inside. You know, the outermost wall of the counseling room is usually quite thick. If I wanted to force myself on Kushida-kun here, she wouldn't have any hope at all. Like you said, I'm a boy too. It's not surprising that I might have malicious thoughts when faced with such a cute girl, is it?"

An Shu wore a malicious smile, though he didn't know how to smile maliciously... but as long as he curled the corners of his mouth, it should be about the same, right?

Hmm, he had a feeling that today's conversation was going in a strange direction.

###Chapter 401 Heart-to-Heart Talk (Part Two)###

"Teacher Anshu wouldn't do that."

"Why are you so sure, Kushida-san?"

"Because I've spent some time with Teacher Anshu, and you're not that kind of person."

"Hmm, I guess I'm still too gentle usually... Well, so, Kushida-san, you should tell me why you came to see me, right?"

"The reason is very simple! It's just... what happened yesterday... Teacher Anshu, please don't tell anyone, okay?"

"About yesterday... um..." An Shu rested her chin on her hand, seemingly pondering for a moment before shaking her head. "No good."

"...Why is it that I don't have any grudge against Teacher An Shu?"

"No."

"That……"

"But doesn't Kushida-san find this interesting? After all, exposing a devil in angel's clothing all at once is a plot that everyone enjoys!"

The tea had been brewed. Anshu picked up two teacups, rinsed them with tea, filled them, and handed one of them to Kushida Kikyo.

"Thank you. But, is she a devil in angel's clothing?" Kikyo Kushida murmured, then shook her head. "How can you be so sure, Anshu-sensei? After all, everyone has a little temper, even someone as gentle as me is no exception. It's not like I should be making such a big deal out of it by letting it out a little in a private place."

"Yes, that's true, but, my dear Kushida, is it really just a little bit of a temper? And if it really is just a little bit of a temper, like Ayanokouji just said to you outside, nobody's perfect, so what are you afraid of?"

"...I'm just worried that it would be a shame if my image wasn't perfect, that's all! Isn't that right, Teacher Anshu? Why do you say that?"

Upon seeing the ripples in An Shu's beautiful eyes, Kikyo Kushida suddenly felt flustered. Although she wasn't particularly aggressive, she just didn't have the courage to continue looking him in the eye.

She didn't know if she felt guilty; she simply turned her head slightly away, waiting for an answer.

"Hmm, do I need to remind you, Junior High..."

"!"

"Hey, don't react so suddenly! You'll scare people."

It seemed that the words "junior high school" had touched a nerve with her. The girl in front of her stood up abruptly. Fortunately, An Shu could guess how much of an impact her words would have on her, so she wasn't surprised.

However, the reaction was bigger than expected, considering that only two words were spoken.

"Teacher An Shu... how... did you know!" An Shu's confident demeanor didn't make her doubt his words. She was momentarily flustered and subconsciously asked this question.

"Hmm... Even if Kushida-san puts her hands on the table and leans over to stare at me, it doesn't intimidate me at all... So, if Kushida-san sits back down obediently, I might tell you."

So, is the current plot about guiding the lost girl back to the right path? I was originally planning to be the villain...

Hmm... but it's good to find something interesting to do. I spent about four out of the last five years of the last world lounging at home, I'm practically turning into mold...

An Shu picked up her teacup, took a sip of tea, and ignored her expression, which looked like she was about to kill someone to silence her.

The girl who had gone astray… no, it was Kikyo Kushida. Her expression changed several times before she finally returned to her original position and sneered, “Heh, since Teacher Anshu already knows, then I won’t pretend anymore. Teacher Anshu, can you tell me now?”

An Shu didn't mind and still smiled with narrowed eyes, as cunning as a fox: "Hmm... if Kushida-san takes out the voice recorder from her skirt pocket, turns it off, and puts it on the table, I might tell you."

"What recording pen? Is Teacher Anshu trying to change the subject?" Kikyo Kushida seemed to be taken aback for a moment, and slightly tugged at her skirt, trying to deny it.

An Shu naturally wasn't going to fall for that, since she held the upper hand: "Looks like there's no point in talking. Time to go, time to go to class!"

He made a move to stand up, which made the girl grit her teeth and reach into her skirt pocket.

"...Damn it, here you go."

Snapped.

The plastic casing of the voice recorder fell onto the wooden table with a crisp sound.

"That's something only you can know."

"If Kushida-kun hadn't been clutching his pockets as he walked, I probably wouldn't have known."

Well... that's the explanation, but that's not actually the case.

After all, a voice recorder is too big for a school uniform skirt pocket; even covering it with your hand won't cover it. And the way a girl's... well, it's always a bit noticeable, isn't it?

"...Alright, Ms. Anshu, here's the recorder. Now you can speak."

Perhaps it was An Shu's nonchalant, suspenseful attitude, coupled with the fact that the recording pen had been discovered, that made Kushida Kikyo's expression turn unfriendly.

“Well, there’s one more thing.” An Shu nodded, but still didn’t agree. “As long as you hand over your student ID terminal again, let me delete the recording and then turn it off, then we can begin. By the way, Kushida-kun, don’t do anything unnecessary in the future.”

You thought you were being clever, carrying a voice recorder to try and distract me, then using your device to record the conversation and try to find fault with me. But this foolish move was your biggest mistake. After all, a device can record, so carrying a voice recorder is just suspicious. It's normal to put a device in your pocket, but putting a voice recorder in your pocket is just not acceptable. Did I disappoint you? I didn't feel smug after seeing your feigned disappointment when you put the voice recorder away!

As expected, the ordinary tea on the market is far inferior in taste to the high-grade black tea in my maid's hands. Hmm, I'll find a chance to trick some more over tonight!

He took another sip of tea and put the cup back on the tray. Looking at the face of the girl in front of him who finally fell down, he wanted to say "tsk, tsk" twice, but he felt that he didn't deserve a beating, so he was a little tangled.

However, this time the girl's serious expression was finally genuine.

###Chapter 403 Heart-to-Heart Talk (Part 3)###

“Hmm, I didn’t expect Kushida-san to have a girlish heart too.” After confirming that the recording had been deleted, An Shu put her terminal back on the table.

The desktop theme for magical girls doesn't really resemble her...

Of course, I'm only referring to inner qualities. At least their looks are about the same.

After being criticized by An Shu for being too clever for her own good, Kikyo Kushida's face darkened. She looked at An Shu with a displeased expression.

"Sure, as for why I know about your past, it's because the school has records!" An Shu casually made up a lie. It's true that the school has records, but those records fall under the scope of student privacy, and even the homeroom teacher has no right to know them.

"The school's records..." Kikyo Kushida's face paled slightly. "So, all the teachers know about what happened to me back then?"

"That's reassuring. As of now, as long as two people know, it's just me and Chairman Sakayanagi. Chairman Sakayanagi was responsible for reviewing these oversights when selecting new students, and I was the one who read those documents."

Feeling that she hadn't explained herself clearly enough, An Shu added, "Well, records are also considered your privacy, and others have no right to know them. For example, what you did might become 'a serious mistake made in junior high school' in the form of the records when they reach the homeroom teacher."

Anshu was quite certain that Chashu Sae didn't know about this, because it was similar in the original work; she knew nothing about the bullying that Megumi had experienced.

"As for Chairman Sakayanagi... that guy is very busy, with all sorts of things to deal with. I think he probably didn't keep your matter in mind, and if he didn't bring it up, he might have already forgotten about it. So, I'm the only one who knows about Kushida's past!"