Irina sat in the resort lobby with the entire class and Koro-sensei surrounding her in a tight circle.
She clicked her tongue in frustration.
"Ugh! That does it! How obtuse can a person be?!"
Maehara tilted his head.
"This isn't like you, Bitch-sensei. You usually wrap men around your little finger!"
Kayano nodded.
"But when it comes to her own love life… she's inexperienced."
Irina let out a sharp laugh.
"Love? Ha! Don't make me laugh."
Maehara blinked.
"What? It's not love?"
Irina's voice started strong, but gradually grew quieter.
"He's a rare bird, that's all… a world-class square! And while I was all worked up trying to get him to fall for me… before I knew it, I…"
By the end, her cheeks had turned a clear shade of pink.
Sugino smiled a little.
"That's kinda cute."
Muramatsu added,
"And a little humiliating."
Irina's head snapped up.
"What?! Why?!"
She bit her nail in frustration.
Maehara clapped his hands together.
"Alright then, just leave it to us! We'll set the perfect stage for you two!"
Nakamura grinned.
"Good idea!"
Irina looked around at their eager faces.
"…Everyone…"
Koro-sensei suddenly produced a pair of glasses and slid them on with a serious expression.
"Then, everyone! Let the Class 3-E Love Consultant Meeting come to order!"
Irina shot him a flat look.
"Eager much, octopus?"
"It's only natural to encourage love between colleagues," Koro-sensei replied. His face slowly turned pink. "A woman teacher's days of desire… infatuated with a man… it's got the makings of a bittersweet pure romance novel!"
Nagisa stared at him.
"You're clearly planning something racier."
Maehara moved on quickly.
"First off, Bitch-sensei, you dress all wrong."
Nakamura nodded firmly.
"Totally. 'If it's revealing, it's appealing'? That's not what a square Japanese guy like Karasuma-sensei likes. You've got to be more… neatly dressed."
Irina looked slightly lost.
"Neatly dressed, eh…?"
"Yeah," Nakamura continued. "Like… Kanzaki-chan."
Kanzaki blinked.
"Eh?"
Nakamura turned to her.
"If yesterday's outfit is dry, could you lend it to her?"
Kanzaki smiled.
"Yeah, sure."
A few minutes later, Irina stepped out wearing Kanzaki's clothes.
The result was the exact opposite of what they had hoped for. The size difference and Irina's more curvaceous figure made the outfit look even sexier than before.
The entire class screamed in unison.
"H-How'd that make her sexier?!"
Akira tilted his head.
"Her size is different. Maybe try some of Erika's clothes. They might work."
Kanzaki's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Akira-kun… what exactly do you mean by that?"
Akira looked genuinely confused.
"What?"
Erika immediately grabbed his shoulder and gave Kanzaki an apologetic smile.
"Please forgive him. He has absolutely no survival instincts when he talks."
Akira still looked lost.
"No, seriously… what did I do now?"
Okano waved a hand.
"Well, whatever. We can't fix sexy. Compatibility is more important than boobs!"
Kayano nodded furiously in agreement.
Koro-sensei raised a tentacle.
"Does anyone know Karasuma-sensei's type?"
Yada's eyes lit up.
"Oh! He couldn't stop talking about that one person in a TV commercial. Said she was his ideal type."
She held up her phone and played the commercial.
On the screen, three extremely muscular, macho women were fighting each other with intense expressions.
The entire class screamed again.
"Ideal military potential, he meant!"
Okuda offered another idea.
"Then how about cooking for him? The hotel's dinners are plenty grand, but why not eat his favorite fish together, just the two of you?"
Maehara shook his head.
"I've only ever seen him eat burgers and cup ramen."
Nakamura sighed.
"That's just too pitiful for a one-on-one date."
A heavy atmosphere settled over the group. The mission was becoming more difficult by the second.
Then Nakamura clapped her hands.
"Well, it can't be helped since most of us are single. So why not ask for advice from the actual couple here?"
Every head in the room slowly turned toward Akira and Erika.
Akira looked around at all the eyes fixed on him and tilted his head.
"What is it?"
Nakamura leaned forward.
"Akira-kun, Erika said you were the one who confessed first, right? Can you tell us how you did it?"
A wave of interest passed through the students who hadn't heard the story yet.
"Ohhhhhhh…"
Erika's face turned red.
"Wait, that's—"
Akira scratched his cheek.
"Well… it's kinda… how should I put it…"
Fuwa waved a hand impatiently.
"Come on, out with it. We're all curious."
Akira took a deep breath and then spoke in one long, uninterrupted stream.
"Well, I accidentally entered the girls' side of the bath. Erika was inside. But it wasn't actually an accident — her brother tried to play cupid and switched the signs without asking us. So Erika beat me up. Then more girls came in after me, so Erika had to hide me. After we escaped the bath I hid inside a chapel, and Erika found me there. She wasn't very angry anymore, so I just… confessed all my feelings right there. Feelings I didn't even fully understand at the time. Things like wanting to lock her up in my room and other stuff. And in the end we became boyfriend and girlfriend. That's it."
He finished and looked around, clearly satisfied with his explanation.
Absolute silence fell over the lobby.
No one knew what to say.
Erika looked completely mortified, both hands covering her face.
Akira, still completely serious, added,
"So if you want to copy me, we can sneak Bitch-sensei in while Karasuma-sensei is bathing, if you want."
The entire class screamed at once.
"No! Are you nuts?!"
Karma shook his head.
"If she did that, he might just think she's there to assassinate him."
Nakamura stared at Akira with a complicated expression.
"In the first place… I don't even know what to say to that kind of confession."
Akira blinked.
"What's wrong with that?"
Erika finally snapped. She grabbed him by the shoulder with a bright, terrifying smile.
"Let's have a nice talk, shall we?"
Akira's face went pale.
"I think I made a mistake of some kind…"
He was promptly dragged away into a side room. No one saw what happened to him after that.
Koro-sensei cleared his throat and clapped his tentacles together.
"Alright, everyone! Let's go with a normal dinner plan instead. The girls will assist with the styling, and the boys will get the mood just right at their table."
The class answered in unison, still recovering from the previous conversation.
"Roger!"
---
Dinner time arrived.
When Karasuma entered the hotel dining room, he found every single seat occupied. Even the empty ones had been claimed — students stretched their arms or legs across the chairs to block them completely.
Karasuma frowned.
"…I thought we'd be eating as a group. What's all this?"
Nakamura smiled brightly.
"No seats left for you, Karasuma-sensei."
Okano added cheerfully,
"It's our famous E-class teacher bullying!"
Nakamura waved him off.
"You teachers just get in the way. You can go eat outside."
Karasuma left the dining area without another word, muttering under his breath as he stepped into the open-air section.
"Where'd that come from? I just don't know what junior high students are thinking these days…"
Then he stopped.
Irina was sitting at a table set for two. She wore an elegant dress and a simple shawl, her hair tied in a neat ponytail. The sunset framed her from behind.
Karasuma walked over and sat down across from her.
"Why were we the only ones kicked out?"
Irina kept her eyes on the table.
"I don't know either."
She sat quietly, fingers fiddling with the edge of the shawl the students had made for her.
This shawl… it'd never fly in high society.
Her gaze moved to the food that had been brought out.
And this table setting? Clearly the work of an amateur. This is worlds apart from the top-class places I used for work.
She glanced sideways and immediately spotted the entire class — including Akira, whose cheeks were still noticeably swollen — along with Koro-sensei, all hiding and watching them.
And the gawkers! So much for privacy.
They began eating in relative silence. After a few bites, a small, genuine smile tugged at Irina's lips.
And yet… what do you know? This is fun.
She looked toward the hiding students again, her expression softening.
I kind of love you guys. …I'm going to do this. I'll take down this square… you'll see.
By the time they finished eating and were drinking tea, the sky had grown darker.
Karasuma set his cup down.
"A lot happened on this trip."
Irina looked up.
"Eh?"
"But we did get results," he continued. "In an unexpected way, I confirmed that the students know their fundamentals. At this rate, we're sure to kill him during the second term. I'm relying on your strength too, Irina."
Irina remained silent for a long moment.
Karasuma noticed.
"…What is it?"
She seemed to debate something internally before speaking.
"Hey, Karasuma… do you really know what it means to kill?"
Karasuma didn't answer. He simply stared at her.
Irina suddenly stood up, forcing a lighter tone.
"Well, that got somber fast. And look — you've jammed your napkin."
She leaned in, took the napkin from his collar, lightly kissed the corner, and pressed it against his lips.
Then she stepped back.
"I like you, Karasuma. Good night."
She walked away without waiting for a reply, leaving Karasuma sitting there in mild confusion.
…What was that all about?
A few steps away, Irina's composed expression cracked. She clenched her fists and internally screamed.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! You dummy! You were supposed to tell him you love him, not talk about killing!
The students immediately swarmed her, booing without mercy.
"What kind of half-assed kiss was that?!"
"Use your tongue, your tongue! Like you always do!"
Irina spun around, face red.
"You irritating brats! Grown-ups have grown-up circumstances!"
Koro-sensei appeared near her with a dreamy expression.
"It's okay… now she'll take her time to work on some decently indecent developments. Right?"
Irina snapped.
"No, not 'right,' you octoperv!"
Nearby, Akira was rapidly taking notes on his phone.
"I think that scene was really good. It had that cool tragic melodrama vibe. We could use this—"
Erika pinched his already swollen cheeks hard.
"Use for what, you idiot?"
From his seat, Karasuma watched the noisy group for a moment, then looked away and quietly gathered his thoughts.
I won't give this too much thought. After all, that's my duty.
He clenched his fist thinking of the days to come.
Prepare yourself. The second term… this is when we train even harder.
---
Akira walked into his room and dropped face-first onto the bed with a long, exhausted sigh.
"…Today was too tiring. And I still don't get why I was punished."
Selena's voice came through the telepathic link, dry as usual.
"That's because you're an idiot."
Akira turned his head slightly, cheek pressed against the pillow.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm not good at these emotional things anyway."
He shifted onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
"…The summer vacation is about to end."
Selena's tone softened a little.
"Even so… did you have fun?"
Akira was quiet for a moment. Then a small smile appeared on his face.
"For my first ever summer vacation… yeah. It was fun. I did things I wanted to do, and things I didn't want to do. I'm not sure how abnormal this vacation was compared to normal ones, but… it was fun."
"Which was the best part for you?" Selena asked. "For me, it's definitely the Morana Raven part."
Akira muttered,
"Of course it is for you. You had fun. Erika probably had fun too… But for me, I think my favorite one still hasn't happened yet. The summer vacation isn't completely over, right?"
Selena sighed.
"Ah… the summer fireworks festival. Did you prepare everything for that?"
"It's in the final stage," Akira admitted. "But I'm still a bit worried."
Selena tried to reassure him.
"I don't think you need to worry too much. Erika-Chan is—"
"I know she won't mind," he interrupted quietly. "But I still want to make her happy. Really happy. So it has to go well."
Selena's voice grew even gentler.
"Don't worry, brother. You have all the help you need—me, Ritsu, even Koro-sensei. And knowing Erika-chan, I'm sure she'll love it. Besides… it's just a date, in a way. Don't overthink it."
Akira stared at the ceiling for a few more seconds.
"…I know. But I also know I'm not… you know. Normal. So I just hope she'll be happy with me. That's all."
There was a short silence before Selena answered.
"I don't know much about relationships either. But I think the feeling of wanting to make your girlfriend always happy is a good thing. So just keep working on it. I'm sure both of you will be happy."
Akira slowly sat up.
"…Yeah. I'll do my best."
He stood and walked over to the window.
Outside, the dark sea stretched quietly beneath the night sky. The lights of the resort shimmered in the distance.
"…But for now…"
He rested his forehead lightly against the glass.
"Vacation is over."
A small smile returned to his face.
"Time to go home."