Chapter 57: Kabedon

As time passed and Minoru delved deeper into his lesson, Ai found herself bewildered at how effortlessly she absorbed everything when Minoru was teaching. She couldn't help but marvel at the intelligence and multi-talented nature of this former homeless man.

A sudden realization struck her, prompting her to widen her eyes.

'Oh! I completely forgot that Minoru-kun is a Professor. How foolish of me.'

Ai paused in her note-taking, torn between wanting to assist Mai with her studies and contemplating her own cluelessness about Minoru. She stole a glance at him, pondering over past encounters.

'I recall when he was scribbling down that... formula for Mars? but what exactly was that about? And a...'

Her gaze drifted across the classroom, particularly focusing on the girls. As she did so, she couldn't shake off the feeling of not belonging, especially as she observed Teresa de Luxemburg, the blonde girl with the ponytail, and also the girl beside her who had red eyes.

Coming from a non-affluent background herself, Ai felt like an outsider in this elite environment. The topic of family further exacerbated her feelings, considering her fractured past and her escape from an orphanage.

'Mai's grappling with issues with her mother, just like I did... Lately, I've been contemplating whether I should reunite with my mother.'

Living with Minoru had brought their relationship to a new level, prompting Ai to consider confronting her past now that she felt supported and loved. However, she decided to table this discussion for later with Minoru.

"Alright, we still have some time left. Any questions?" Minoru's inquiry prompted several hands to shoot up, including one from Nakano, much to everyone's surprise.

"I didn't expect Nakano to ask a question..." Ai mused, amused by the unexpected turn of events.

"Sensei! Do-Don't tease me like that! Ahem! I was wondering, is it true that you will be on Love for Real?"

"Yeah! That's right."

Nakano Ichika asked, her cheeks flushing with excitement, followed by Nishino Akane's agreement.

Minoru paused, momentarily forgetting about the reality show. However, the enthusiastic reaction from everyone made it clear that the show was quite popular. Catching his gaze, Ai who inhabits her body, felt a pang of annoyance from him.

'Oh no! I completely forgot about that!' Ai avoided Minoru's gaze, mentally berating the director for roping Minoru into this predicament. Yet, she couldn't deny that Minoru's silent reassurance spoke volumes: I'm doing this for you got that?

"That question isn't related to my class, but let's just say someone I know asked for my help," Minoru replied, eliciting a collective hum of understanding from the students.

"Any more questions that aren't too personal? Yeah, Teresa," Minoru said.

All eyes turned her way, especially since we were discussing the Luxemburg princess and the little sister of Queen Eileen, who was causing a stir with her latest alliance.

For the record, Teresa hadn't been super close to her classmates because their parents warned them not to upset her in any way that might bring her big sister into the picture. However, she was close with the student council, thanks to her history with Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika.

"Sensei, it's not exactly personal, but I heard there's a banquet later. Since it's customary to have a dance partner, does that mean everyone needs one, including the teachers?"

It suddenly dawned on everyone that this was an annual occurrence, a banquet for Shuchi'in Academy's sister school that came from France!

It was like when they couldn't find a partner in PE class, they always ended up with the teacher. This year, though, the boys seemed oddly excited about that prospect, probably because they had a new PE teacher who was, well, let's just say, a very super busy—Yor Forger and not Briar anymore.

After the welcome ceremony, Shuchi'in planned this important event: a banquet for a sister academy from far-off France, with some of their students joining the school for a week. But the highlight? The famous banquet dance! Now... there seemed to be a handsome teacher who seemed to look single.

"Well..." Minoru hesitated, giving Ai a super quick glance and noticing her smiling at him and holding her pencil like she was ready to use it as a weapon rather than to write.

"Students don't have to participate, but that doesn't mean they can't..." Minoru left it somewhat open-ended regarding the teachers' participation since there wasn't any specific rule against it.

"I see. Thank you, sensei," Teresa said with a knowing smile.

Meanwhile, at the rear, Kaguya, who was seated beside Ai, smiled at the scene.

'Huhu... when I discussed this banquet with Teresa and pointed out that loophole about teachers not being able to participate? Hmmph. Now, how do I get him to ask me to dance?'

Kaguya racked her brain and then had an idea.

"Sensei," she raised her hand, and Minoru nodded at her, "Since Teresa just reminded me about our school's customs, everyone knows that during the first midterm of the semester, teachers usually give their students a little something like a gift when they get the highest scores. There's no official rule though, but... will you be doing something similar?"

Kaguya's question sparked excitement among the students. If they aced the Math midterm, they could practically ask for anything!

"That sounds like... a hassle," Minoru replied, as Kaguya clicked her tongue in disappointment.

"But, sensei, as part of the student council, I'm concerned. Math is the most dreaded subject for students. I don't mean to offend, but maybe this could give them some extra motivation, you know, boost their spirits."

Sure, Kaguya was using the student council angle as an excuse to make it seem like she cared about the student's grades, but she aimed for whatever gift Minoru might offer, especially since she could easily get a perfect score if she wanted.

Once again, it was all part of Kaguya's plan.

The girls in the class shot Minoru a look, and he had a feeling Ai would be less than pleased when he got home.

But, in terms of his mission, this was the perfect opportunity to get closer to Kaguya. If she got the top score, he could use it as a chance to bond with her, not just in his role as the student council advisor but more personally.

"Alright, if this will make you all go crazy studying, whoever gets the highest score in Math on the midterm; I'll let you all ask anything I could possibly do."

And with that, rumors about Yanagi-sensei's special offer for the best math midterm score spread like wildfire throughout Shuchi'in.

Of course, his wife wasn't too thrilled about it. Still, Ai managed to break the invisible curse that Mai had, solely through her charisma. But, oddly enough, that didn't change when it came to their switched bodies.

---

The school day had already wrapped up.

After a while, Minoru returned home late because he had to fix something at school. Anyhow, he made it back safely.

"What was that all about, Minoru? 'I'll let you all ask anything I could possibly do?' You're not naive, right? Did you not see how excited all the girls in your class were back then?" Ai smirked at him, but Minoru looked at her unfazed.

"It's part of the job."

"Job? Okay, that's too cliché. What if one of your students asks you something weird?"

"They won't, because I won't agree if it's something weird. And what you did now is weird, isn't it?"

What Minoru meant was that Ai was doing a kabedon to him while giving him a serious-looking face.

"Mama did a kabedon," Ruby remarked as she watched them from the sofa.

"Ah… to think a boy like him has such tiresome work, I'm too young for this," Mitsuha complained about Aqua having too much work for a four-year-old.

"Nee-san… I think you should stop since the kids are watching," Mai actually felt weird watching 'herself' kabedon her teacher. Thank goodness Ai didn't do it at school, though.

"I might sound possessive, but I'm your wife, remember? Did you think I'd allow you to dance with someone else?"

"I probably wouldn't do it," Minoru said calmly. "Remember, it could also be a male student who achieves the highest score, and you can use your fan for that too."

Minoru points at Mai.

"Hey!"

"Sigh..." Ai let go of the kabedon. "Th-That makes sense. Sigh… alright, alright. I get it, Mr. Popular! I just feel sorry for your students since it's pointless," Ai said with a smile.

"Yeah, let's go have dinner then."

---

Four days have passed, and Ai is still trapped inside Mai's body.

'Sigh... but Aqua and Mitsuha didn't. Each day, they'd turn back to normal and switch again. But I'm glad Aqua could handle it. He's a genius,' Ai thought to herself as she made her way to the student council room, bento in hand.

Yes! She was on her way to have lunch together with Minoru.

"They said the room is this way. Gosh, this school is way too big... Oh, there it is," Ai smiled when she spotted the room. "Should I just barge in like a fool?" She pondered as she peeked inside.

The door was slightly ajar, and she could see Minoru inside with the other student council members. But then, she flinched when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder from behind. Ai looked at the arm, realizing it belonged to a woman. But who?

"Hey," the woman said.

Ai glanced at the person's voice and looked at her face cluelessly.

"Why are you picking on Professor Moriarty? Don't tell me... you... you have a crush on him?" She said with a playful smirk.

"Uh... who?" Ai tilted her head.

"What? You don't recognize me? Well, that's obvious," she giggled. "Just call me Lina. And I've come here to meet him."

Ai mentally sighed as she looked at the woman with blonde hair in twin tails. Why were there so many beauties around him? But wait, she just called him Professor Moriarty, right?

---

A/N:

Stones?