Let's do it again, Yukino.

Carrying her completed shortcut plan and the report on the cultural festival, Kasuga pushed open the door to Hiratsuka Shizuka's office.

As always, Hiratsuka Shizumasa sat at his usual desk, blowing smoke rings while staring at the screen of his laptop, occasionally letting out a laugh.

Knowing the inside story, Chunri quietly went over to take a look.

"Jojo, I don't want to be human anymore!!!"

This is a very familiar line.

really,

As always, Hiratsuka Shizuka was watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

I've always been curious about why Hiratsuka Shizuka sometimes makes various fist-clenching and fist-waving gestures in front of the computer screen, and even occasionally says some of his rather nonsensical lines.

Chunri found yet another reason why her master, who is in his thirties, still hasn't found a boyfriend.

Is this an anime for women? This should be an anime for real men.

"If possible, Master, you should smoke less. Smoking is harmful to your health."

Haruhi snatched the Seven Stars cigarette from Hiratsuka Shizuka's lips and threw it into the trash can.

The smoke rings that Hiratsuka Shizuka had just exhaled still lingered in the sky.

"Mind your own business..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka closed the laptop without making a sound.

"If the authorities see you watching JoJo's Bizarre Adventure at school, you'll be made to write a self-criticism."

Springtime continues to kindly persuade the older single woman in front of her to get on the right track.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is one thing, but Gintama and Azazel are just too much...

Even if you're watching anime, you should watch something geared towards girls, like Fruits Basket or Kimi ni Todoke. Why do you have to watch anime that's all about straight men and those who have no morals?

"If you don't want to talk about it, fine. Let's get down to business. Have you finished writing what I asked you to write a couple of days ago?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka quickly changed the subject.

"It's finished."

"Let's leave it here for now. I'll talk to you about it when I get back. It's lunchtime, let's go to the school cafeteria for a meal."

Hiratsuka Shizuka unplugged her laptop, coughed twice, glanced at the time, and then invited Haruhi.

"Master, is this your way?"

"Of course, I didn't treat you to that meal."

Hiratsuka Shizuka flicked her white coat.

It looks exactly like a pose by a certain Jotaro.

Then she pulled Kasuga Muja out of the office.

On the way,

"...Um, don't tell the Service Club about me watching anime, especially Yukinoshita."

Sure enough, older single women are quite embarrassed about being caught watching anime by their students.

"Um, the school cafeteria recently launched a deluxe set meal series for high school students, but the price is a bit... well, it's really expensive..."

"No problem, it's on you."

The older single woman patted her chest, making this assurance.

Chapter Sixty-Six: That Girl

In Hiratsuka Shizuka's office.

"You don't look well?"

When Hiratsuka Shizuka returned after lunch, she noticed Haruhi's somewhat haggard appearance, which had been evident since the beginning.

"It's alright, nothing's wrong."

"That's good. I didn't think you were such a fragile person."

After saying that, Hiratsuka Shizuka placed two survey forms in front of Haruhi.

"The report on the cultural festival was fairly decent, but this statement about your future career aspirations... does that mean you're planning to continue your studies at university after graduation?"

"Of course, you still have to take the college entrance exam if you can get in."

Haruhi also truthfully wrote down her thoughts on the wish list, although

Not only Koyuki, Junko, and even Hiratsuka-sensei, but even Haruhi herself, all planned to try experiencing university life again.

It should at least be more comfortable than high school life.

Hiratsuka Shizuka then asked, "Is there a university you want to go to? Or is it still what you told me back then, that you still want to apply to the University of Tokyo?"

"...Let me think about it. If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any changes."

After all, the University of Tokyo is in Tokyo.

The Shinomiya family's ancestral home is also in Tokyo.

Haruhi also felt that it would be more appropriate to stay further away from the country's capital.

Let's take it one step at a time. Maybe by the time we graduate, that silly girl Shinomiya will have forgotten about me.

"I understand. Since you're so determined, I'll be even stricter with you from now on. After all, it's already the second semester of second year, and there's not much time left for you to relax."

Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded and took out some documents from a drawer under her desk.

Snapped!

With a thud,

The exam papers stirred up a thick layer of dust on the table.

"...Another three-year college entrance exam and five-year mock exam? Didn't I already finish them last semester?"

Most of them were math, physics, and chemistry exam papers, and as Chunri glanced at the names of those exam papers, sweat dripped down her forehead.

"You're overthinking it. The one I gave you last time was just the most basic one. I heard from my friends abroad that if you want to finish that series of exam papers, you might never be able to do it in your lifetime."

"..."

"Don't worry, once you finish writing those, with your own talent, you'll be pretty close to getting into Tokyo University."

Hiratsuka Shizuka carefully circled some of the more important test papers with a red marker.

"If you understand, remember to finish writing it carefully, and don't sneak into my office to look for the test answers anymore. I've already destroyed them."

After handing all the exam papers to Kasuga, Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed to have put down a burden, spun around in her chair, and reopened her previously closed notebook. In the quiet office, the older single woman began catching up on the JoJo series anime again.

"JoJo is definitely more suitable for me..."

The previous lunch served as hush money, so even though Kasuga saw her mentor watching anime in the office again, she stood silently to the side, not saying a word.

This is the basic sincerity of a person.

And a future filled with endless test papers awaits him.

Autumn, too, passed by swiftly in this fleeting time.

The cultural festival has ended, but the sports festival and the usual school trips are coming up next. Especially for the second-year high school students, their schedules are almost completely filled with these activities.

This is probably the last season they can be this happy and completely relaxed during their high school years.

……

…………

Having already graduated from his boyish phase, Haruhi was completely uninterested in the so-called sports festival.

Furthermore, this year's sports festival was rather uneventful, and after the incident at the last cultural festival, it seems that Xiaoxue has realized that some jokes shouldn't be made.

In the end, she and her service department didn't cause much trouble.

Haruhi was busy with the monthly tests, constantly practicing with the pile of test papers that Hiratsuka Shizuka had given her, and had no energy to participate in the series of activities that sounded pretty good with her classmates.

The temperature gradually dropped during this process, and once night fell, the breeze that blew was no longer a cool breeze, but a colder wind.

Service Department

Open the closed window,

As springtime arrived, I watched the cool air rushing in through the window and sighed with delight.

"It's that time of year again for white albums, everyone."

"It gets boring after a while if you use too many memes."

Hikigaya was sitting next to Yuigahama, a Max coffee he'd just bought from the vending machine outside, warming himself with the hot liquid while gazing at the spring sunshine.

"So it's that time of year again when love is in the air?"

Wearing the school uniform coat of Soubu High School, Kasuga smiled slightly after hearing Hachiman's sarcastic remark, and turned around.

Having not seen him for a long time, he had matured considerably. After a moment of silence, he addressed the three members of the Service Department.

"I've already said it, once you overuse a meme, it loses its meaning, and I don't appreciate works about love triangles."

Hachiman continued sipping his coffee.

He had heard about the works that Haruhi mentioned, but unfortunately, having never been in love, he didn't understand whether love triangles really existed in the real world.

It should only appear in light novels and visual novels, right?

"But the weather is really cold, Yui. Aren't you cold wearing such a thin skirt? Or should I lend you money to buy some thermal underwear?"

Haruhi rubbed her hands together, turned around and looked at Yuihama, who was still wearing a short skirt even in this season, and asked with some concern.

"It is a bit cold, but I've gotten used to it. It's not as cold as you imagine, Qingjun."

Yui glanced down at her smooth, white skin exposed beneath her skirt. Although the skin felt a little cold, it wasn't unbearable.

"..."