After a chaotic morning, the atmosphere at Shujin Academy showed no sign of settling down.
Three of the four morning classes had become self-study sessions, as every teacher was preoccupied dealing with the police who had stormed the school after receiving the report.
Moreover, no one knew exactly which journalist had spread the news at lightning speed, causing reporters from various media outlets to swarm every corner of the school, relentlessly taking pictures.
Naturally, Kamoshida had been taken away long ago, and by this point even a random fly passing by would probably have its gender and mating status analyzed by the intrusive reporters.
Any teacher who did manage to make it to class quickly realized that trying to restrain the students in their current hyper-excited state was impossible.
The entire campus had become a carnival of academic collapse. Everyone was talking about the Phantom Thieves, recklessly taking selfies during class, and sharing everything on social media.
Only their homeroom teacher, Kawakami Sadayo, still attempted to hold class and restore order—but sadly, it wasn't going well at all.
"Everyone, settle down and put away your phones! You'll have plenty of time during lunch to chat about this! Just stay quiet for a little longer!"
Honestly, Rinto began to feel sympathetic as he watched the slender, overwhelmed female teacher standing at the podium.
Trying to maintain control as a teacher in this atmosphere could only lead to one result.
With their restraints removed, the students began firing off bold, provocative questions:
An excited boy shouted, "Sensei, you must've known about Kamoshida, right? Were you all his accomplices? Maybe you'll all get your hearts stolen by the Phantom Thieves next!"
A delusional boy wondered aloud, "But Kawakami-sensei is a woman, right? Do women harass students too? Or maybe she targets boys?!"
A curious girl interjected, "No way, wasn't Kamoshida the culprit? Maybe he harassed the younger female teachers too!"
A gossip-loving girl called out teasingly, "Ne ne, Kawakami-sensei, was Kamoshida-sensei good in bed? Did you become a homeroom teacher so young because of him?"
"—You…you all…?!"
Poor Kawakami-sensei, who was less than a decade older than these students, suddenly felt a huge generation gap. She flushed bright red, unable to keep up with the explicit comments made by teenagers of the information age.
Even worse, she became flustered, unintentionally falling into the trap of trying to defend herself:
"I-I didn't know anything at all! Kamoshida-sensei never showed any strange behavior around colleagues! To us, he just seemed like an overly boastful guy, similar to those mildly successful middle-aged men you'd see bragging at hometown reunions! I never imagined he could do such awful things…"
"How lame…" Several students groaned loudly in disappointment:
A stern boy spoke up bitterly, "Just because you 'didn't know' doesn't mean you're innocent, right? The school is always telling us it'll protect students, banning this and that to avoid PTA trouble, yet you tolerated violence and abuse in the end?"
Another girl dramatically added, "Ugh, I don't even want to imagine if a gorilla like Kamoshida had forced himself on me. If the school covered it up, I'd definitely just kill myself!"
A gossiping girl added darkly, "And maybe he wasn't the only one! That principal seems super shady, and then there's Ushimaru-sensei who always scolds girls for short skirts. Those male teachers definitely have something hidden too…"
…Alright, that was enough.
Rinto saw Ann becoming increasingly agitated at the front, her legs bouncing irritably as she folded her arms tightly. She was about to explode.
It wouldn't be wise to let her openly clash with the wild speculation of these hormonal teenagers right now.
So Rinto suddenly stood up, taking Ann's hand firmly in his:
"Kawakami-sensei, Takamaki-san isn't feeling well. As a guy, it's awkward for me to help her alone. Could you come with us to the infirmary?"
"Eh?" Kawakami froze for a moment, then nodded vigorously, clearly relieved.
"Yes! Let's go right away! Thank you, Asakura-kun, you're so thoughtful!"
As they left the classroom, Rinto felt the intense gossiping gazes of the entire class burning into their backs.
He and Ann had always spent a lot of time together, so everyone already assumed they were dating.
Now this new development shifted the class's curiosity from Kamoshida's scandal directly onto them.
A gossiping girl murmured loudly, "…That transfer student seems pretty close with those first-year gymnastics twins, right? But he's also this friendly with Takamaki-san, and now they're even holding hands openly… Uwaa, what a playboy♡"
Yeah yeah, I'm a total playboy, so what?
Those gossiping girls had no idea how hard Rinto had to struggle daily just being around these attractive classmates.
As soon as they entered the infirmary, Rinto quickly shut the door behind them.
He spoke gently:
"Kawakami-sensei, you should stay here until lunchtime. We'll stay with you, so we won't be counted as skipping class. Everyone's just overly excited right now, it'll calm down by tomorrow."
"…Yes. Thank you, Asakura-kun. You're much more mature than I expected. It seems I misunderstood you this whole time."
Misunderstood how exactly? Rinto wondered briefly, intrigued.
Ann had initially looked confused, but now realized Rinto had done all this to help Kawakami-sensei.
She flashed him a bright, charming smile, imaginary notes of affection practically floating around her head:
"Rinto, you're so clever! I almost lost my temper back there and argued with those jerks. But it'd be pointless since I can't argue convincingly about rumors without proof."
"It's nothing, you get used to it after a while," Rinto said with an amused smile, pouring water for both of them.
Ann, outgoing as always, quickly bonded with Kawakami-sensei by chatting comfortingly, clearly making the young teacher feel grateful and relieved.
Soon, Kawakami-sensei bowed her head guiltily towards Ann:
"I'm so sorry, Takamaki-san. Even though I wasn't your teacher last year, I'd already heard rumors that Kamoshida-sensei was pursuing you."
"A relationship between a student and teacher is obviously inappropriate. As adults, we should've intervened... But there was always a strange atmosphere among the faculty, like nobody dared oppose Kamoshida, so we ended up accepting something so absurd."
"You must have suffered terribly. I sincerely apologize. As a teacher, I completely failed you…"
"It's okay, Sensei!" Ann assured her cheerfully. "I'm just happy you feel this way. Besides, everything turned out fine in the end, all thanks to Rinto, so I'm totally okay now!"
Ann's bright, carefree smile effortlessly dispelled Kawakami-sensei's gloom, quickly charming her.
Then, glancing back and forth between Ann and Rinto, Kawakami nodded knowingly:
"I understand. Although as a teacher I shouldn't openly support students dating, I trust you two can behave responsibly. Even if you occasionally flirt a little during my classes, I'll pretend not to notice—but just keep it to a minimum, okay?"
Uh-huh, sounds reasonable… Wait, what?
The more Rinto listened, the more something felt off, his nodding head slowly tilting in confusion.