"For me…?"
The girl blinked in surprise and confusion. In response, I tapped a few times on my phone screen, then turned it toward her.
"Since you reached out to me last night, I thought I'd take some time to stop by today, to see you and say hello."
I withdrew my hand and glanced at the chat log from the night before, recalling the scene vividly.
It had been right after I'd finished my grand "feast" (Two convenience store bentos) and was lounging on the sofa while Arona went over a batch of filtered requests when my phone chimed.
I'd assumed, as usual, it was a student wanting to chat. But when I opened Momotalk, I was surprised to see a new friend request.
From none other than Hinomiya Chinatsu, Gehenna Prefect Team officer I'd met long ago, but rarely had the chance to speak with since.
A few moments after I accepted, she sent the first message.
Chinatsu: It's been a while. This is Chinatsu. Do you still remember me?
Me: Of course I do. What's up?
Chinatsu: That's good. Nothing in particular, I just wanted to say hello properly. The last few times we met, it was all so rushed.
She was right. We'd crossed paths in both Abydos District and the Abydos Desert, but there'd never been time to talk. Even during my last two visits to the Committee, I hadn't managed to see her.
Chinatsu: If there's a chance to say hello again sometime, I'd be really happy.
Chinatsu: Chinatsu out~
She even added a cute little flourish at the end, so unlike the calm, mature image she usually gave off.
It was such a simple wish, and since I happened to have free time, of course I wanted to grant it.
That was the first reason I'd come to the Prefect Team early this morning. The second was simply to greet Hina, Ako, and Iori while I was here.
As for why I hadn't contacted Chinatsu beforehand or asked anyone where she was, and instead just wandered around hoping to bump into her by chance…
Naturally, it was to surprise her.
Sure, there was an element of luck involved, but seeing Chinatsu's flustered, caught-off-guard expression now proved that my gamble had paid off.
Feigning uncertainty, I asked, "Wait... did I come at a bad time? I didn't mean to trouble you."
"N-no, not at all! It's just… I did say I wanted to see Sensei, but I didn't think it'd be this soon…"
"As long as I'm not interrupting your work." I realized I sounded a bit too self-satisfied, so I quickly added, "If you don't mind, I'll help you carry those."
Still holding a tower of papers taller than herself, Chinatsu shook her head hurriedly. "Ah, that's alright! They're not that heavy. I can handle it."
"Don't be so polite. Watching a student haul heavy boxes while I just stand here chatting would make me feel guilty. Come on, at least let me take half."
I spoke as I reached my hands out.
"But how could I let Sensei do something like that…" Chinatsu hesitated, visibly torn between courtesy and propriety. After a brief pause, she gave a small nod. "Still, it might be rude to keep refusing when you're offering. Then… I'll trouble you for half."
"Exactly! Just accept my good will with a smile."
"In that case, thank you, Sensei… truly."
When I took about half of the stack from her, my arms immediately sank under the weight. It was much heavier than I'd expected—easily several dozen kilograms.
And the way I was holding it made it hard to use my strength properly.
Remembering how easily Chinatsu had carried the whole pile earlier, I couldn't help twitching a smile.
It was easy to forget that beneath these delicate exteriors, the students often possessed strength far beyond anything my adult brain could rationalize.
Maybe I really should start accepting reality as it is, and stop trying to save face as a "grown man."
At that moment, Chinatsu asked politely, "Are you alright?"
"Ahem… more or less. Heavier than I thought, but I'll live."
Chinatsu nodded, smiling softly.
"Hehe~ Paper doesn't look heavy, but when you carry a lot at once, it really is. Thanks to you, Sensei, it's so much easier now. Thank you."
Hearing such heartfelt gratitude and seeing that gentle smile made every bit of strain worth it.
"Ah, and just follow me, please. Down these stairs, it's not far."
Students' sense of "not far" always worried me.
"Wait, stairs?" I frowned, stopping her. "It's dangerous carrying heavy things down steps. You could lose your balance."
"I know, but there's no other way…"
She looked troubled for a moment, then her face softened with a small, almost bashful laugh. "Hehe… You know, no one's ever said something like that to me before. But don't worry, I'm used to it. And this time, I have Sensei's help."
The warmth in her expression silenced me.
How was I supposed to tell her that I was actually worried about myself tripping?
Sure, Arona could probably prevent me from getting hurt, but the embarrassment alone would be fatal.
Still, I thought, maybe it was better to leave the misunderstanding as-is.
Putting on a serious face, I said, "Wait. So you usually do all this heavy lifting alone? What about the other prefect members?"
Chinatsu sighed softly. "You probably know this already, Sensei… Gehenna's students all have very strong personalities. No one really wants to do this kind of boring work. Everyone avoids it when they can, so it just ends up being my job. I've gotten used to it, it's not a big deal."
What a respectable reason.
Her diligence made me like her even more, but it also frustrated me. So I tried asking another way.
"So, you're handling clerical work for the Prefect?"
"Not exactly. My actual role is in medical support."
"…Then why are you doing paperwork and logistics?"
Chinatsu couldn't help but complain. "Exactly! I wish someone else could handle it. It's not like I enjoy doing this stuff…"
She paused, then her tone softened again. "But like I said, even if no one else wants to do it, someone still has to. So I do it."
I really admired her sense of responsibility.
But still... how could she not pick up on what I was hinting at?
Couldn't she just grab another committee member to help us already?
Her earnestness gave me a small headache. Maybe I'd made myself seem too dependable in her eyes, so she didn't even think to delegate.
In the end, I supposed it was my own fault for being born this charming.
Then she added, with a faint, self-deprecating smile, "It's fine though. It suits someone like me. I'm not exactly… noticeable, after all."
That got my attention. Yet another girl in Kivotos who underestimated herself.
And for students like that, I only had one response.
"Not noticeable? What are you talking about?"
I stepped closer until our shoulders brushed. Chinatsu froze, amber eyes wide, her expression soft and unguarded.
If my hands weren't full and our relationship weren't still so formal, I'd have been tempted to pinch that snow-pale cheek.
"I think you're beautiful, Chinatsu. And more importantly, you're kind and hardworking. You call that 'unnoticeable'? You're the exact opposite. You stand out because you shine."
For a moment, there was no reaction.
The chestnut-haired, elf girl just stared blankly at me, eyes round and dazed. Then—
"…Huh?"
Her face suddenly flushed scarlet, the blush spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. She stammered helplessly, completely flustered.
"S-Sensei, what did you just... ? I'm sorry, I… I didn't catch that…"
Seeing such pure, unguarded innocence stirred something deep inside me. A smile crept onto my lips before I realized it.
That, of course, only made Chinatsu falter more. She glanced away quickly, her voice small and hurried.
"Anyway! W-we should get moving! We can't just stand here all day. Let's finish up quickly. Sorry, Sensei, for making you go through all this—come on, let's go…"
With that, she practically skipped down the stairs, light on her feet.
Meanwhile, I stood there, momentarily frozen.
…Great. I'd been so busy teasing her that I'd completely lost my chance to ask for more help, and wasted precious time too.
My arms were starting to ache from holding the stack so long.
Still, I'd helped a student ease her self-doubt today. That alone made it worth it. Even if I lost my grip and took a tumble, I'd still come out ahead.
"Careful with the steps, Chinatsu. Take it slow."
With that thought, I followed behind, cautious and deliberate.
"See? Just like me. Safety first," I added helpfully.
But as it turned out, my concern was unnecessary.
When Chinatsu said "not far," she really meant it. After only two flights of stairs and a short walk past a few classrooms, we reached our destination.
So what exactly had I been worrying about again…?
As I set the documents down, still catching my breath, Chinatsu turned to me.
"Thank you for your help, Sensei. I can take care of the rest myself."
I checked my watch. "No problem. I'm free right now anyway. Since I've already helped this much, might as well see it through to the end."
Chinatsu blinked, her expression softening again, so easily moved. "Wh-why go that far for me…?"
She lowered her gaze, fingers fidgeting nervously. "It's just… no one's ever been this nice to me before, so I don't really know what to do…"
That caught me off guard. If that was true, her earlier reactions made perfect sense.
What a waste, I thought.
But that was fine, because I was here now.
I'd make sure Chinatsu learned, through experience, that it was okay to accept kindness without guilt.
With that resolve, I told her gently, "It's fine. Helping students in need is part of my duty. You don't have to overthink it, just accept it. And if something like this comes up again, feel free to contact me anytime."
Of course, knowing her kind and dutiful nature, she'd never trouble anyone unless she absolutely couldn't manage alone.
And I hadn't said I'd always be available, just that I'd do my best when I could.
As expected, she looked at me for a long moment, then smiled—a bright, radiant smile that made my heart skip a beat.
"Hehe~ Thank you, Sensei. But I couldn't do that. I don't want to bother you."
After politely turning me down, she added softly, "Still… you're right. Thanks to you, I didn't feel lonely today. That's all because of you."
…Maybe that just meant she spent most days feeling lonely.
I truly hoped I could bring a bit of color to the quiet gray of her school life.
Then Chinatsu closed her eyes and murmured, "So even if it's not every day… once you're less busy, once you have time, please help me again, alright?"
That phrasing made me pause.
Wait, does that mean she always has this kind of trouble every day?
Well, I supposed that was Gehenna for you. And the Prefect Team, too.
"When that time comes, we can do it like today… together…"
Her cheeks turned red again. She bit her lip shyly, her sentence trailing off halfway, but she didn't need to finish it. The meaning was clear.
I smiled. "Yeah. Of course."
Chinatsu exhaled, a relieved, bashful smile spreading across her face. "Th-then… please take care of me, Sensei."
We spent the rest of the morning finishing up the paperwork together, finally wrapping up around noon.
After leaving the classroom side by side, we said our goodbyes at the staircase.
And then, without missing a beat, I headed straight for my next destination...
Gehenna's cafeteria.