[MashUp] Ch 24: The Icy Teacher Forced to Work

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Mafuyu Kirisu knew she had to leave early; this silver-haired girl mustn't go back with her... but her attempt to slip out of school was doomed from the start.

She had barely stepped out of the school building, her heart still hammering, when her phone buzzed in her pocket.

Caller ID: The Dean.

Her body froze. A bad premonition seized her.

"Kirisu-sensei, please come to my office."

The voice on the other end was brimming with barely restrained excitement.

...

Five minutes later, in the dean's office.

The dean, as flamboyant in hairstyle as ever, poured her a cup of black tea himself, his face openly admiring.

"Kirisu-sensei, your recent performance has been nothing short of breathtaking!"

He sighed with genuine emotion.

"I take back what I said before. You're no decorative vase. You're an undiscovered treasure!"

"…You flatter me."

Mafuyu forced herself to respond humbly, suppressing the urge to throw the tea in his face. Inside, every alarm bell in her head was going off.

And sure enough—

The next moment, the dean pulled out two folders from his drawer and slid them across the desk.

"I have a glorious and difficult mission for you."

Mafuyu's pupils shrank when she read the names on the covers.

Fumino Furuhashi 

Rizu Ogata 

Prodigies famous across the school, even appearing on TV. Brilliant in their specialties—yet absolute disasters in their weak subjects.

"As you can see," the dean tapped the folders with expectation thick in his voice, "these two are geniuses, the pride of our academy."

"But in the areas they're bad at, well… their scores are a tragedy. A headache for us all."

"And you, Kirisu-sensei—you've proven through your history class that you can perform miracles."

"So I've decided!" The dean stood, tone solemn as if bestowing a holy mission.

"From today, you will officially serve as their academic supervisor! You'll handle their tutoring and guide their path to university!"

"???!"

Mafuyu's mind went blank.

A second later, fierce rejection surged up and she bolted upright. "No way!"

Her voice cracked, sharper than she'd ever allowed in public.

Was this a joke?!

She was already exhausted from fending off her nosy silver-haired neighbor. And now he wanted her to babysit two more problem girls on top of that?!

"To show the school's commitment to its geniuses," the dean added cheerfully, dropping the bomb, "the tutoring will be after school—and on weekends as well."

"After all, lessons at a teacher's home are safest, don't you agree?"

Weekends. At her house.

The words made Mafuyu's vision go black.

Let those two girls walk right into her home?

And see that silver-haired freeloader lounging on her sofa, watching TV like he owned the place?

That image alone was enough to socially execute her on the spot.

Her toes curled in despair inside her black stockings.

"I-I can't!"

"Dean, I'm barely keeping up with history class. I don't have the qualifications to guide geniuses!"

And it was true.

The "miracle" in her lessons didn't come from her. It came from Takuma.

Without those "modified" lesson plans… she'd go right back to being the prison warden of dead classrooms.

And yet… she had started to enjoy the way students looked at her with admiration.

The dean, seeing her panic, only smiled knowingly. "Kirisu-sensei, you're still judging yourself with old eyes. You're not unqualified—you just lack confidence."

"This task will give you that confidence back."

"But—"

"Of course," he cut her off smoothly, tossing out the bait, "as the top high school in Kanagawa, Ichinose Academy won't let your efforts go unpaid."

"In addition to your normal salary, you'll receive a special tutoring allowance every month."

He raised three fingers.

The number made Mafuyu's heart jolt.

It was nearly three months' worth of her regular salary.

Even so, she shook her head furiously.

Money was important, sure. But not at the cost of her secret life being exposed!

Letting students step into her home, her life—where that shameless man occupied everything? Absolutely not!

She was about to refuse again when—

Buzz.

Her phone, resting on her black-stockinged thighs, vibrated softly.

Probably spam.

She glanced at it absently, ready to ignore it.

Until her eyes caught the sender: Yokohama Bank.

And then—those numbers.

[Your card ending in XXXX was used today at 09:54 in 'Tsukimiyama Fresh Market'. Amount: ¥298,000.]

[Available balance: …]

Two hundred ninety-eight thousand yen?! At a supermarket?!

Mafuyu felt the blood rush to her head, then drain out in the same instant.

Her world went silent. Only those black numbers danced before her eyes.

That bastard.

That freeloader who ate her food, lived in her house, slept under her roof—

He'd just blown two months' salary at a supermarket on her credit card?!

What the hell had he bought?!

An entire bluefin tuna?!

Or was he burning A5 Kobe beef like firewood?!

Hot tears pricked her eyes, only to be frozen over by cold reality.

Rent, utilities, salary...

And now Takuma's bottomless "upkeep costs."

If this kept up, he'd drain her dry. Not a drop left.

That special tutoring allowance—

In an instant, it changed in her mind from "bait" to "lifeline."

The dean, mistaking her pale, stricken face for hesitation, pressed on with a kindly smile.

"Kirisu-sensei, I believe in you. You're the only one capable of this."

"The future of the school rests on your shoulders."

"If those two girls can climb from zero to sixty in their weak subjects, the school will even grant you a bonus reward."

"And you'll have a guaranteed spot as Teacher of the Year. That should help your future promotions, shouldn't it?"

Mafuyu slowly lifted her head.

The panic and resistance in her eyes were gone.

All that was left was grim, cornered resignation.

Her fists clenched so tight her nails bit into her palms.

Through clenched teeth, she forced the words out.

"…Understood. I'll take the assignment."

She didn't know how she walked out of the dean's office.

When her senses returned, she was already holding two slim folders in her arms.

They were light.

But they shackled her like iron, chains forged out of her stolen peace of mind.

And all of this—

Was just so she could pay the outrageous "upkeep costs" of that damn man in her house!!

To be a sugar mommy was hard these days.

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