By all accounts, it was already 7 PM, and Mayu had finished fixing the bathroom. Makoto could have said his goodbyes.
But before he could go back to change his clothes, Mayu asked him to wait a little longer.
So, after Makoto took a shower and returned home, he found that Mayu hadn't locked the door.
"Is she really this trusting of me?"
Makoto thought to himself as he changed his shoes and entered the living room.
The bathroom door just happened to open, and Mayu, wrapped only in a towel and drying her hair, stepped out.
"You came back so quickly."
Mayu remarked, and then realized her outfit was a little too revealing, causing her face to turn red.
Makoto's automatic focus kicked in again.
Of course, Mayu noticed his gaze. To cover her embarrassment, she tried to stay calm and said,
"Stop looking, okay? I'm not young anymore. You must be staring at me like this because you're hoping to see me make a fool of myself, right?"
Makoto shook his head. "That's definitely not it."
Mayu's cheeks grew even redder as she pretended to casually dry her hair.
"Really? But I'm much older than you. I feel like you must just want to see me embarrassed, so you can make fun of me."
She added with a playful tone, "You did that earlier."
Makoto replied, "But right now, I'm actually kind of excited."
Mayu's face turned crimson as she quickly ran off.
With a simple basic attack, Makoto had torn through her defenses, which were delicate and fragile.
"How could he say something like that..."
In the bedroom, Mayu, with her face burning, removed the towel and stared at her smooth, pale skin in the mirror, her mind momentarily wandering.
"Wait, he must have been joking. I'm much older than him. He must like girls like Yukinoshita, who are so beautiful."
Mayu's face was flushed as she tried to stay calm in her mind, but as soon as she recalled Makoto's words—
"But right now, I'm actually kind of excited"
—her thoughts instantly became disarrayed.
After changing into her pajamas, she patted her face in the mirror to make sure her expression was back to normal before finally daring to open the door.
Makoto was already watching a TV show.
Seeing that he wasn't teasing her anymore, Mayu sighed in relief and sat down beside him.
"Thank you so much tonight. If you hadn't helped, I wouldn't have known if anyone would come to fix it so late."
"It was no trouble," Makoto said, clearly feeling surrounded by her pleasant fragrance.
"Still, I want to thank you. If you're free tomorrow, why don't you come over to my place for dinner? I'll cook this time."
Mayu said happily, her eyes entirely focused on Makoto, her gaze full of anticipation.
"If I have time, I'll definitely come," Makoto replied.
"Then it's a deal!" Mayu was even more pleased.
Usually, she went home alone. To say she wasn't lonely would be a lie.
Although she occasionally ate with or went shopping with Shizuka, the other person had their own things to do and couldn't always stay with her.
Now that there was a man who treated her so well, willing to come over and have dinner with her, she was genuinely happy.
At that moment, the TV show featured a scene where the male and female leads were on a date in the park.
After some sweet interactions, the female lead invited the male lead to lie on her lap, and he shyly complied.
"It's a heart-shaped lap pillow," Mayu said, captivated by the scene.
Makoto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, a lap pillow must be very comfortable."
Mayu was taken aback, then turned to him with a slightly flushed face.
"Fushimi-kun, you're so amazing. Haven't you ever experienced a lap pillow before?"
Makoto answered, "No."
And then he added in his mind: Except for those in the time loop.
Mayu's eyes shimmered.
A few seconds later, she suddenly adjusted her posture, then beckoned to Makoto with a soft voice.
"If it's you, Fushimi-kun, I can give you a lap pillow as a reward."
Her cheeks were flushed with two charming red spots, and her eyes were full of emotions.
"Consider it my way of thanking you."
Are you really using this to test the cadre?
Makoto wasn't one to be overly cautious. He leaned back and lay down on Mayu's ample lap.
For a brief moment, her body tensed up, but she quickly relaxed.
As soon as Makoto lay down, the alluring fragrance around him completely enveloped him.
The weather wasn't cold, and Mayu's pajama pants weren't thick. Through the thin fabric, Makoto could even feel the elasticity of her thigh.
"So good, so good," Makoto murmured.
At first a little tense, Mayu was momentarily stunned, but then her gaze softened. "You did so much today; you must be a little tired, right?"
"High school students are full of energy. Don't underestimate me, Matsukaze-sensei."
"Hehe… What a strong-willed remark from a young man."
Mayu smiled sweetly, and her soft, fair hand lifted up. "Would you like me to give you a massage?"
"Can you do a massage?" Makoto opened his eyes, which he had just closed.
What a ridiculous angle!
Mayu already had a voluptuous figure, and now that he was lying down and looking up, the first thing he saw was her incredibly well-endowed upper body.
From this angle, it was impossible for him to turn off the auto-aim, even if he wanted to.
"I don't know how, but I've seen something like this on TV before."
Mayu was being honest.
Makoto: "Then I'll leave it to you."
And with that, Mayu's small hand landed on his temples.
She had spoken the truth earlier—she really didn't know how to give massages.
Her technique was clumsy and completely unskilled, purely based on intuition.
Makoto didn't mind such a small thing and closed his eyes for a little nap.
Once his eyes were closed, Mayu stopped restraining her gaze and let her eyes sweep across his face.
The more she looked, the more entranced she became, until she accidentally applied too much pressure.
Makoto snapped his eyes open.
"Sorry, I zoned out just now," Mayu blushed, thinking how embarrassing she was.
Makoto saw how quickly she apologized and was suddenly reminded of that meme that went viral years ago: When you apologize, you have to show your breast.
He couldn't help but chuckle. "It's nothing."
"What are you laughing at?" Mayu noticed.
"Oh, just something I saw online."
"What was it? Can you tell me?"
"I could, but I'm worried you'll get the wrong idea."
Hearing that only made Mayu more curious.
She unconsciously leaned forward, tightening her waist muscles. The fabric of her pajamas, now stretched, nearly brushed Makoto's face.
"I really want to know," she said, staring into his eyes.
Makoto thought to himself, Why are you stealing Chitanda Eru's lines?
But since she was so curious, he went ahead and said it.
As expected, Mayu blushed instantly and grumbled, "How could you say something like that to me?"
"You asked me to," Makoto said, holding back a laugh.
Mayu fell silent, her gaze drifting off as if lost in thought.
Then she continued massaging Makoto's head, and the two chatted about trivial school matters.
At 7:40 PM, Makoto stood up to leave.
But just as he reached the entrance and hadn't yet changed his shoes, a soft voice called out from behind: "Wait a moment."
Makoto turned around and saw the beautiful teacher standing before him, face flushed red, her eyes shy, gently lifting her pajamas with her fingers until her arm held the fabric in place.
Blushing, she spoke in her soft voice, "I'm apologizing."
In that instant, Makoto felt like he was right back to his earlier dilemma: You're using this to test a cadre?
But this time, his thoughts were: Who could possibly pass this kind of test?!
…
That night, Makoto couldn't sleep at all.
He already knew Mayu's personality well from the time loops, but tonight's actions had completely caught him off guard.
Indulgent, accommodating, tolerant, accepting… These were all traits of Matsukaze Mayu.
As the first male she had fully warmed up to, all it took was a single joke—and she was willing to turn that joke into reality.
What do you even call that?
A gift.
A blessing.
If this were a cultivation world, having a beautiful teacher who was so indulgent…
Makoto figured he might've ascended straight to the Golden Core stage by now.
Deep into the night, the system notification suddenly popped up.
[Congratulations, Host. You have completed the task. You are now the person Matsukaze Mayu cares about the most among the opposite sex.]
[Reward: (Mayu's "Saint Aura") — With this aura, everyone will have a good impression of you. Even complete strangers will have a significantly higher starting favorability.]
"So that's what the aura does."
Makoto wasn't too surprised.
As for why the task was suddenly completed, he guessed that Mayu couldn't sleep either, probably thinking back over everything that happened.
She might even be rolling around in bed, holding her phone under the covers, giggling like a fool.
This aura would be incredibly useful to him. Whether it was for future time loops or for daily life in regular time, it would help a lot.
With it, he could complete tasks more efficiently.
[Host, please continue to work hard. My internship evaluation depends entirely on you!]
"Full effort guaranteed."
[Although you've been doing great, the system still wants to ask—are you really sure you can complete the other two beginner missions to win over the beautiful older girls? I can't unlock more rewards for you until all the newbie tasks are done.]
"No problem. I'll take care of Mrs. Yukinoshita."
System: ???
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Mayu-sensei falls too fast lmao.
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