Chapter 9: "... Turns out men really are perverts."

"Is that so?"

Norika Harada was quick to react, but she had no intention of doing what Quillan wanted. Just because Quillan told her to wait at the hotel meant she actually had to wait there?

Clearly, in Norika’s eyes, there was no need whatsoever to listen to this guy—someone several years younger than her, who was her student, and on top of that, impolite. She didn’t need to play by his rules, even if she was the one who had asked Quillan to pose as her boyfriend.

Quickening her pace, she caught up with Quillan and Miyuki Sakurai. Norika flashed Quillan a strange smile, then turned to Miyuki and said, "Miyuki, it’s dangerous for a girl to go home alone, so... the teacher happens to be going the same way, let me give you a ride!"

What danger? There was literally Quillan accompanying Miyuki home...

Obviously, Norika said this on purpose, hinting that Quillan might have improper intentions toward Miyuki.

However, Miyuki clearly didn’t see it that way. On the contrary, hearing Norika’s words brought a trace of fluster to her face. Embarrassed to reject her homeroom teacher, she could only stammer, "Actually... Quillan, he... he can protect me!"

With that, the adorable girl blushed red again.

That morning, when a drunk old man was harassing her, Quillan had stepped in to help her out and knocked him unconscious with a single kick. In Miyuki’s eyes, Quillan was very reliable, so with him around, she didn’t worry about running into molesters or anything like that.

Most importantly, Miyuki had originally wanted to walk a stretch of the way alone with Quillan, share more of her hopes for the future, and spend a bit more time getting to know him. But Norika insisted on stepping in, completely upending the sweet little plan in her heart.

Norika simply ignored such a subtle refusal, heading over to drive her car out from the garage.

For a second- or third-tier high school teacher to be able to afford a car in a place like Tokyo—even if it wasn’t a luxury brand—it showed that Norika was quite well-off...

Invited into Norika’s car, both Quillan and Miyuki unanimously chose to sit in the back seat. Quillan sat in the back wanting to get some rest, while Miyuki pouted her lips and, without a second thought, chose to sit right beside Quillan.

Driving was much faster than walking. As she drove, Norika made casual conversation with Miyuki. In truth, Norika did most of the talking, while Miyuki looked somewhat unhappy, keeping quiet for the most part.

Even when she did reply, she only let out a brief hum as a response to Norika.

"It seems Miyuki doesn’t really want to talk about classroom stuff after school!" Norika smiled, not finding Miyuki’s behavior impolite at all.

"That’s not it..."

Miyuki muttered in a low voice. She kept her voice so quiet that Norika in the front seat couldn’t hear her clearly, but Quillan could. He shot Miyuki a smile, as if saying: This Miss Harada sure is annoying!

All students shared a common trait—teachers were their natural nemeses, and it seemed no different in Japan. Seeing Quillan’s smile, Miyuki smiled happily too, nodding her head firmly.

Then, as if realizing something, Miyuki blushed, lowered her head, and went quiet. Her hands tightly clutched the hem of her sailor uniform skirt, struggling with some internal dilemma.

Quillan naturally didn’t pry. He could obviously tell that Miyuki had a good impression of him, but Quillan genuinely had very little interest in girls right now. Having just escaped the clutches of that crazy girl Victoria Quinn, he temporarily had zero interest in girls!

So Quillan preferred to stay silent with Miyuki whenever possible. Nevertheless, this cute little girl gave him a slightly broader understanding of women, letting him know that not all girls in this world were crazy like Victoria Quinn.

Which was why Quillan didn’t feel the slightest bit repulsed by Miyuki sitting close to him.

Turning the corner ahead, the hotel came into view. Seeing the signboard ahead, Miyuki hesitated for a moment before speaking up to Norika: "Harada-san, the hotel is right ahead, I... I’ll get off here!"

She was, after all, a high school girl; it wasn’t appropriate for her to be seen going in and out of a place like that.

"Are you getting off here, Miyuki?" Norika asked symbolically without insisting on her staying, pulling the car over to the side.

She also shared a secret with Quillan, a secret she certainly didn’t want her student to find out. If the students of Saint Sakura High found out that Norika Harada actually got her own student to pose as her boyfriend, it would cause huge trouble!

The car door unlocked, and Miyuki stepped out. Before leaving, she held onto the car door, took a deep breath, and finally mustered up the courage after struggling for a long time to look at Quillan and say, "Actually... Quillan, I don’t know if I could ask you, after you handle your luggage, to walk me home? Because... I suddenly remembered that the restaurant I applied to for a part-time job requires an interview today..."

Back at the school gates, Miyuki had said she was going to work tomorrow, but now she changed her story. It was hard to tell if she had genuinely forgotten or not.

Quillan didn’t know how to answer for a moment, as he had, after all, promised Norika...

Seeing Quillan’s silence, Miyuki lowered her head and explained, "Um... Quillan, is it inconvenient for you? I... I just thought about having to go back through the commercial street, which means passing through that alley where I ran into that perverted uncle, so I felt a bit scared!"

"Perverted uncle?" Hearing this, Norika’s eyes widened, and she hurriedly asked what had happened.

Quillan had no choice but to recount to Norika how he had rescued Miyuki that morning. Listening to Quillan’s story, Norika asked with righteous indignation, "To think there was such a pervert, how despicable! Then, Student Quillan, did you help Miyuki call the police at that time?"

"No..." Quillan explained. "That guy was drunk, and if we had delayed any longer, we would have been late for class..."

"Even so, you can’t just let a pervert like that off!" Norika looked furious, cursing, "Turns out men really are perverts! In that case, Student Quillan, agree to give Miyuki a ride!"