Route set! Operation “Get Sensei a Job” begins!

"...And that's all I have for today." Ayumi-sensei lowered the pointer she was using and turned to look at us. Smiling, she said, "Are there any questions?"

Ren shook his head and said, "Thanks, Sensei. But you explained it really well." He grinned and said, "At this rate, I'm going to ace the finals and be prepared for the entrance exams."

Ayumi-sensei giggled and said, "Well, someone's eager. But..." She looked out the window and said, "Have I really helped that much?"

"Of course!" Ren nodded and said, "Without your help, I'd still be stuck trying to learn how to do the Pythatkorean theorem."

I facepalmed and said, "It's the Pythagorean theorem, Ren."

Ren looked at me and tilted his head. "...That's what I said?"

Ayumi's giggle turned into a full laugh. "What a shame. If we had more time together, we could work on Ren-kun's English as well."

"Hey! It's not my fault that math theorems have weird names! And are they even English?"

Celes giggled and said, "Even so, to not recall Pythagorean... Are you certain that you have not been hit one too many times in the head, Ren?"

"...Come to think of it..."

I rolled my eyes and ignored the two-bit comedy in front of me. Instead, I took a look around the room.

As usual, we were back in Sensei's class room and prepping for final exams when we got back to school as well as the entrance exams coming up in January that we'd have to take to qualify for the next year in Zenkai Academy.

I had a pretty good memory, so I was confident in passing them... but the only reason that people were hesitating to approach me in school was because I was ranked number one, so I wasn't about to pass up any extra prep.

[Note: You *do* know that you possess an eidetic memory and don't need to study, right?]

Memory does not equal comprehension, System-chan. Though I suppose an AI like you wouldn't know about it.

Anyway... Everything was pretty much the same as usual. I was sitting at a desk with Celes on my right. Ren was in the row ahead of us, right in front of Sensei's desk.

It probably seemed like he was trying to flatter her, but knowing that guy it was just habit after his sister scared the crap out of him for slacking off in the past.

The chalkboard was covered with geometric figures and equations, textbooks laid on Sensei's desk, one for each of the major subjects... The usual.

Except there was one thing off that I noticed. A single box tucked away in the corner of the room that hadn't been there before. But paired with what I knew about Sensei's situation and my intuition...

"Hey, Sensei."

Ayumi-sensei blinked and looked at me. "Yes, Sen-kun? Did you have a question?"

Ren turned to look at me as well. "Kimura-san not understanding math? Didn't you say you already studied up to Calculus?"

Ayumi-sensei's eyes widened. "You know Calculus already, Sen-kun?"

I coughed and said, "Only a little bit."

That wasn't completely a lie. I *did* know a bit of calculus since I majored in engineering, but that had been over twenty years ago now. Both in real time and subjective time when considering that my memories from my previous life and my current memories had mixed together.

Celes nodded and said, "As expected of my Sen-sama."

I felt my face warm up at Celes's words and Sensei's amazed stare. Averting my gaze, I said, "It's not that amazing..."

Sensei clasped her hands together and said, "Sen-kun is really smart!" She paused. "Though I shouldn't be surprised since you picked up on my lessons really quick... But why are you bad at history?" She tilted her head and said, "You seem to have a good memory, and history is mostly memorization..."

I cleared my throat and said, "All of us have their flaws."

And it wasn't my fault. Even if it was easy to memorize, who the hell even needed to know about when Nobunaga besieged whatever fortress and converted a general to his team?

[Note: Of course it isn't your fault. After all, you were an ignorant American before being reincarnated, so you don't even know the first thing about history in general.]

Well, aren't you snarky now, System-chan? Still salty about getting reprimanded?

[Note: Stupid Admin. Why the hell did he put me with a trap if they didn't want me to make a trap idol? This guy's perfect for it! And he's more girl than guy in the first place! Freaking hell...]

...I decided to ignore the suddenly very articulate and casual system messages. Instead, I turned to Sensei and said, "Anyway, my question."

"Oh!" Ayumi-sensei nodded and said, "What did you have in mind, Sen-kun?"

I glanced back at the box in the corner of the room before looking at Sensei. "What are your plans for the future, Sensei? Do you intend to run the cram school during the school year too?"

Ren's eyes widened and he quickly nodded. "That'd be great, Sensei! Are you going to do that?"

Celes nodded as well and smiled. "That would be wonderful. I truly enjoy spending time together with everyone like this as well as learning new material."

Ayumi-sensei smiled. "I'm flattered you all think so highly of me. But..." She sighed and said, "I think I'll head home now."

I blinked. "Home? Isn't this place your home? I mean, you live here, right?"

Ayumi-sensei nodded. "I do. But..." She sighed. "Since I failed university, I made a promise with my father. If I could be independent and provide for myself, I can do what I want. But like this..." She shook her head and said, "I can barely afford to pay rent, so maybe it'd be better to do what my father said and head back home to study again to be a doctor this time."

Ren frowned. "But Sensei... don't you want to be a teacher?"

"I do." Ayumi-sensei let out a bitter smile. "I really like teaching. And I really enjoy spending time with my students like we do here. But I can't live off of happiness. And I promised to return to Hokkaido and run the family onsen for a while if I couldn't support myself, so-" She paused and then shook her head. "What am I doing?" She laughed and forced a smile. "You kids don't have to worry about me." She stood up straight and patted her chest. "Despite how I look, I'm a grown woman, you know?"

Ren's frown deepened. "That's not what a real grown up would say, Sensei."

"Ah." Ayumi-sensei looked down. "Sorry. Maybe your Sensei isn't quite as mature as she thought she was then."

I frowned as well. Seeing our bright and cheerful Sensei acting like this...

Something poked me.

I blinked and looked over to see Celes poking my arm.

She looked over to Ayumi-sensei and then frowned. After that, she looked back at me and whispered, "Sen-sama. Are you not going to help her as well?"

"I-"

[Note: Your sensei's going to disappear like this, you know? There won't be another chance to recruit her. Ah, and her dreams of being a teacher won't come true.]

I know she's going to go back- Wait, what do you mean disappear?

[Note: Didn't you figure it out yet? You watched all of those VTubers before you died, didn't you? All of them were people pulled out of bad circumstances. This system is meant to find those people and give them second chances.]

...Wait. You mean each of the idols that the system- No, that you point out-

[Note: Yep~! They're all girls who are going to suffer tragic fates. Not that I mind. I'm just an automated system who has to follow the rules and your wishes~ But see? If you help me out and be a bit more-]

I stood up.

[Note: ???]

I ignored the floating windows. Instead, I turned towards Ayumi-sensei.

"E-Eh?" She tilted her head. "Sen-kun? Is something wrong?"

Ren gave me a confused look. But it seemed like he knew I was planning something, so he didn't interrupt.

...I wished he was right though. I had reacted on instinct after reading the system messages.

Fortunately, I had already been thinking about a way to help Sensei out, so...

"Sensei."

"Yes?"

"By any chance, would you happen to have a resume prepared along with a cover letter?"

Ayumi-sensei blinked again and slowly nodded. "I... do. But why are you asking? Oh! Did you need help applying for a job? If it's that... Sensei isn't the best, but-"

I shook my head. "No. The job isn't for me, but for you."

"Me?"

Ren looked confused.

Celes looked happy.

I ignored both and kept staring at Sensei.

Her light brown eyes widened. And for a split moment, I saw relief pass through her face. But it quickly vanished, replaced with a guilty smile. "Thank you, Sen-kun, but-"

I didn't let her finish. Sensei was the type of person to make excuses and reject help. So before she could properly refused, I kept talking. "I have an older friend who's starting a business. Right now it's just a work in progress, but he's planning to create a unique set of video lectures for online teaching. He asked me if I knew anybody who could help with that, but I didn't. Yet if Sensei is going to be free... Would you be interested?"

Ayumi-sensei's eyes lit up. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really."

Ayumi-sensei smiled and said, "I'd love to help! Ah." Her smile faded. "But even if it's to help Sen-kun's friend-"

"It's not volunteer work, but a proper job with a salary."

"Eh?"

I tore out a piece of paper from my notebook and wrote down an email address. The company one that I set up in the past few weeks laying down the groundwork for everything going forward. After that, I walked over and held it out to Sensei. "Here's his email. He's pretty picky about who to work with... which is part of the reason why he still hasn't found anyone. But if you tell him that I recommended you and send him your materials, I'm sure he'll at least call you back for an interview."

[Note: Ooh. Pretty smart. You're making full use of that acting skill and your new ideal form upgrade, huh?]

Ayumi stared at the paper, hesitant. "That's... I really appreciate it, Sen-kun. But relying on my students for help..."

Ren quickly stood up and said, "It's fine to rely on us, Sensei! Besides." He turned to look at me and said, "Kimura-san isn't the sort of person to offer help to women so easily, you know? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"Oi!" I glared at him and said, "This ain't the time, you bastard."

Celes giggled and said, "But Ren is telling the truth, is he not? I have been living with you for over a month now, and you have only accepted my feelings this morning, Sen-sama."

Ayumi-sensei gasped and then gave me a stern look. "Sen-kun! You shouldn't lead girls on like that!"

"It isn't-" I sighed and shook my head. "Whatever. Anyway." I stepped forward and placed the paper in Sensei's hands. "Email him. Sensei has done a lot for us, and I really don't want to lose the only older female I've met who isn't completely crazy."

Ayumi-sensei giggled and took the paper from me. Giving me a warm smile, she reached out to pat my head and said, "You're sweet, Sen-kun." After that, she turned to Celes and said, "You should keep an eye on him, Celes-kun. In a few years, Sen-kun is going to be quite the ladykiller, you know?"

Celes nodded. "I am aware. But that is why I am here." She gave Ayumi-sensei a determined look and said, "I will not yield Sen-sama to anyone."

Ren stared at Celes and then turned back to look at me. "Again, Kimura-san. Should I ask my dad to get wedding gifts ready or-"

"Oh screw off." I felt my face warm and quickly went back to my desk to grab my things.

Ayumi-sensei laughed and then walked back to her desk as well. "We'll leave it like this today then. And as usual..." She pulled out a stack of three bento boxes. "Here are the snacks for my lovely students."

I paused and looked at the bento boxes. And then I looked at Sensei.

"...What?"

I sighed. "And this is why we worry about you, Sensei."