Stealing Spree

Even though I got stalled by Kanno-sensei with her question, the inspection headed by the principal continued as planned.

Actually, it went rather uneventfully since we only went to check on the teachers who don't have their own advisory classes still lingering in the faculty room.

Without mentioning that she was here to investigate the recent issue or inspect if they were also involved with a student, the principal introduced Eguchi-sensei as the representative sent by the owner and director of the affiliated high schools to oversee the school's operation.

Even though she's introduced like that, it would be easy for the teachers to pick up that her appearance here was the result of the recent incident.

In any case, there's no reason for them to be afraid if they're guiltless. Furthermore, even if they're guilty, who in their right mind would out himself or herself like that? They would be dumber than Nobuo if they did.

Whether they were acquaintances or just doing it as a form of formality, the teachers welcomed her. Some also struck up a conversation that Eguchi-sensei skillfully handled.

And as expected, I spotted some who were wary of her. But upon further observation, their wariness was also in line with why the Principal broke in sweat with her surprise visit.

In fact, apart from Kanno-sensei who somehow put her in my crosshair as someone suspicious by questioning me earlier, no one acted out of the norm. And that included the three teachers linked to the two students that I spotted inside the faculty.

They didn't have any reason to do anything, after all. And like I said earlier, if they're smart enough, they wouldn't necessarily put themselves out in the open.

Due to that, Kanno-sensei's behavior came out odd the more time we spent here inspecting and observing.

It's as if she was genuinely curious about the reason why Eguchi-sensei got a male Student Assistant. Either it was born from pure curiosity, considering she's an acquaintance and a schoolmate, or there was something more to it.

I have to find that out or she might become the first on the list that I would write on my observation report.

On another note, while that few minutes passed by uneventfully for Eguchi-sensei, it's not the same for me.

Somehow, I also got the teachers' attention even if I acted like a statue behind her.

As for the reason… It's kinda simple.

They mistook me for a student in this school.

Given that the uniform of this school was similar to ours, that's an acceptable mistake. I mean, the differences could be listed on one hand.

First, there's the logo stitched on the coat's breast pocket. Ours was in dark blue while the Third High was dark green. The other two schools were probably similar as well.

Furthermore, our respective school pants were also closer in color. But in this case, they're fairly distinguishable if one looked at them carefully.

Nonetheless, before they realized that, the teachers focused more on the fact that a student wasn't inside the classroom during the first period.

One particular male teacher was about to drag me out of the faculty when Eguchi-sensei stepped up and blocked him.

Stumped and confused at the lightning-fast reflex of Eguchi-sensei, that male teacher was dumbfounded.

Even if he's taller and bulkier, perhaps another PE teacher, he got intimidated by Eguchi-sensei's gait and posture.

And as someone standing behind her, I could also feel her stalwart form that somehow screamed 'Touch him and you'll be kissing the ground the next second.'

I've never considered her as anything great at brawls. But recalling my first impression of her during our first PE Class, her military-like attitude must've been born from the training she had undergone.

Yeah. I forgot that part of her because of our recent interactions. She became very womanly with every passing day. And whenever I remember being buried in that voluptuous chest of hers as well as the addictive fragrance accompanying it, the picture of her being a tough and terrifying teacher for the other students became nonexistent.

Anyway, the situation didn't devolve into it. Understanding his error, the male teacher took a step back, his arm shaking in nervousness.

As for Eguchi-sensei, she also stopped projecting pressure on them as she introduced me as her trusty Student Assistant.

I followed up with it by bowing respectfully.

I got positive reactions from the female teachers, perhaps because of my appearance while the male teachers either lost interest in me or also raised their eyebrows for some other reason.

Well, I couldn't care less about their reaction aside from what we're to do. And also, I restrained the urge to hug Eguchi-sensei that suddenly popped up in my head after she glanced back at me with her beautiful smile.

Whether Kanno-sensei picked that up or not, I had no idea but she sure appeared rather absent-minded during the whole ordeal. Her mind was probably still lost within that enlightenment she reached earlier.

With nothing else to do there, the principal who also became rather tense from what Eguchi-sensei displayed started guiding us into the School Building.

"I must say, Miss Eguchi. You're the perfect representative that the Director could've sent."

Is that praise? I don't know but the Principal started small talk as we moved.

Eguchi-sensei's reaction to that was rather mild and humbled, "Perfect? I don't think so, Mr. Principal. I haven't done anything yet. And I doubt I will have to do something."

Although nothing was intimidating about those words, the principal started sweating again. But well, I paid no attention to it and simply tried to observe our surroundings before we reached our destination.

The architecture and layout of this school were almost identical to ours. There were only subtle differences such as the land size and how close the buildings are to each other.

If I have to point out something, I guess it's the huge cherry blossom tree in between the Administration and School Building.

Although its leaves were already sparse, it still looked appealing. Furthermore, they built a small park or resting place around it. In our school, there are only a few benches with little to no shade.

Maybe that's a famous spot for confessing here. And yep, it's not really relevant to our visit here.

Or so I thought.

Because as we passed by it, I noticed someone hiding behind the tree.

It's not a teacher but a student.

A female student. And she's peeking at us from there. Her long hair, adorned by a ribbon swayed in the morning breeze.

Where did I see her again?

Well, apart from Nao, I could probably only recognize two other students in this school.

But she's not any of those two suspected students…

Someone from my past?

Yeah. I don't know.

Considering I'm still not allowed to freely explore, I can't run to the girl to check and confirm.

A few seconds later, we passed by that spot and arrived at the school building.

Before we stepped inside though, the listless teacher from earlier already recovered and approached me with another question.

"Student Onoda, what were you looking at there?"

She's behind me, after all. It's only natural for her to catch me looking in that direction. Did she not see that girl?

"A female student is hiding behind the tree. I thought you also noticed, sensei."

"Eh? Wait a minute. I'll go check! She should be in her classroom!"

And with that, Kanno-sensei turned around and went in that direction.

When Eguchi-sensei and the principal inquired about what happened, I told them the same thing.

Yep. This is intentional. In this way, I can save some time to figure out who that is, right?