Shizuka Hiratsuka sat in her chair, looking at Kotomi Izumi, who wore an awkward, ingratiating smile.

The moment she left the classroom, she had already noticed Kotomi following her out. Since it was between classes, Shizuka hadn't paid it much attention, assuming Kotomi was just heading to the restroom.

But after passing by two restrooms without Kotomi entering either one, and with her trailing all the way to the office, Shizuka started to suspect something.

She felt like she had uncovered a strange, hard-to-explain talent of Kotomi's—namely, when tail—cough, when following someone, her footsteps were incredibly quiet, like a little ghost floating behind her.

Floating silently into the office with her.

With this kind of presence... could she really be a witch?

"Shizuka-sensei, do you want an orange? I'll peel one for you."

"Shizuka-sensei, are you thirsty? I'll pour you a glass of water."

"Shizuka-sensei, the weather's getting cooler lately. Don't you feel cold sleeping alone? How about I come over to your place tonight—mmph!"

Just as Kotomi reached her third line of flattery, Shizuka immediately realized something was off and swiftly covered her mouth to stop her from finishing that sentence.

Shizuka had finally figured it out—Kotomi Izumi, this little rascal of a witch, seemed pretty well-behaved most of the time. She was good at studying, aced her exams, and looked beautiful—just sitting in the classroom, she was a scenic view. But that didn't mean she was easy to handle. On the surface, she looked obedient and mild-mannered, but in reality, she was quietly building up energy, ready to drop a bomb when you least expected it.

"You little witch, shut up right now. Are you trying to get me hauled off to the police station for pork cutlet over rice?"

"Shizuka-sensei, you want pork cutlet over rice?! Got it, I'll go buy it right now." Kotomi perked up cheerfully and dashed toward the door, only for Shizuka to quickly grab her by the nape and lock her in place. If she didn't use some force, Kotomi might seriously go and come back with a full pork cutlet meal.

Maybe even three servings—because Kotomi not only wanted to eat, but could probably finish two portions by herself. Though Shizuka had never witnessed Kotomi eating during lunch, she often overheard other girls in class gossiping: how in the world does Kotomi eat so much and still maintain that perfect figure?

Not having seen Kotomi's true appetite firsthand, Shizuka assumed even if she could eat a lot, it couldn't be more than three bowls of rice.

If she hadn't misunderstood that, Shizuka wouldn't have dared agree to take Kotomi to dinner in Ginza...

Still, Shizuka had already made up her mind. When the time came, she'd take Kotomi to Ginza for a meal and make her mom foot the bill. So no matter how much Kotomi ate, Shizuka would only be surprised—her wallet wouldn't feel a thing.

Holding Kotomi back was like grabbing a hyperactive kitten full of curiosity—exhausting. When Kotomi finally settled down, Shizuka asked:

"Alright, spill it. No one offers favors for nothing. What are you scheming this time?"

Kotomi instantly pouted. "Sensei, what's that supposed to mean? Do I really seem like the kind of person who's always up to something in your eyes?"

If it were any other time, Kotomi might've argued and bickered with Shizuka over that. But fortunately, she hadn't forgotten her real purpose for being here. With a sheepish grin, she said:

"Shizuka-sensei~ The sports festival is coming up in a few days, right? And at most it'll last two days. After that, it's the long-awaited cultural festival!"

"Yeah, and homeroom teachers are all pulling their hair out right now—especially me. The boys' events for the sports festival are all signed up, no problem. But for the girls' team, we're still one person short. No matter how we try, we can't get that last spot filled. Just one more! Just one more person!"

"Then there's the cultural festival... don't even get me started. We have over twenty students in the class, and yet we can't pull together even one act for the performance segment."

Just thinking about the sports and cultural festivals made Shizuka feel like her head was about to balloon and float away. These two back-to-back events were coming fast, and neither was anywhere near ready.

For the sports festival, the girls' team was still one person short.

And for the cultural festival—there wasn't a single student signed up to prepare a performance.

Shizuka even began considering whether she should just recruit a few students who could cook and convert Class 1-F's classroom into a booth selling yakisoba and hot dogs for the cultural festival.

Kotomi instantly picked up on Shizuka's frustration. As the saying goes, when asking for help, offer just the right sympathy. Even if she couldn't actually help solve the problems, she could at least chime in with a few empathetic comments to build rapport.

Kotomi had already decided she wasn't going to participate in either the sports festival or the cultural festival—not a single event or performance. She just planned to leisurely stroll around and enjoy the festivities.

So, she promptly chose to say a few supportive words, making herself seem like she was on the same page as Shizuka-sensei, definitely not one of those students who refused to volunteer!

"Sigh, what's with students these days?! Such a great opportunity to build experience, and they're not signing up? The deadlines are practically here! Are the homeroom teachers to blame for this? No!"

Kotomi spoke with a mature tone and a pained expression—as if her words came from the heart. Of course, it was all just to please Shizuka-sensei. She said whatever sounded good and fit the moment.

Shizuka looked at Kotomi in surprise. Who would've thought this little rascal of a witch actually had such strong class spirit?!

Never would've guessed!

After a bit more small talk, Kotomi finally got to the point:

"Shizuka-sensei~ So here's the thing~ I have two friends who want to visit the school during the cultural festival. But as you know, our school doesn't allow outsiders to just stroll in, even during the festival."

"They need tickets. But the thing is, those tickets aren't for sale. Students can only get them from teachers—and there's a limited supply. So I thought I'd come and ask you for a couple. Just two will do!"

As she spoke, Kotomi held up two fingers.

One for Ayaha, one for Aimi.

Now Shizuka understood why Kotomi had sneakily followed her to the office and been buttering her up so much right from the start.

She was here for tickets.

Normally, Shizuka would've handed them over without a second thought. But right now, with the stress of the sports and cultural festivals—and 1-F not having enough participants—she looked at Kotomi and thought: speak of the devil, and she appears with a pillow.

A new idea formed and solidified in her mind. Her eyes gleamed like a wolf spotting a plump little lamb.

Hehehe... Little lamb Kotomi, you walked right into the wolf's mouth yourself!

Shizuka mentally gulped, then put on a troubled face and said seriously:

"You want tickets for the cultural festival, huh? To be honest, school regulations only give each homeroom teacher ten tickets. And wouldn't you know it, a bunch of students came asking before you, so now I've only got two left~"

"Eh?! Seriously?! There's a limit on tickets?"

"Of course. It's to prevent homeroom teachers from scalping them. That's why they cap it at ten." Shizuka explained solemnly.

Kotomi couldn't help but mutter under her breath: "Who in their right mind would pay money for high school cultural festival tickets…?"

"What was that?" Shizuka asked sweetly, grinning from ear to ear. She was loving this moment—usually, it was Kotomi who had the upper hand. Now, the tables had turned!

"Nothing, nothing," Kotomi quickly replied, stepping forward to massage Shizuka's shoulders. "So, beautiful, kind, and generous Shizuka-sensei, could you please give me those last two tickets? I really need them! Pretty please!"

Shizuka nearly closed her eyes in bliss. She hadn't expected Kotomi to be this good at massages?!

Had this little rascal actually trained for this?

"Alright, alright, that's enough. If someone sees, it might cause trouble. You want tickets? Fine." Shizuka quickly stopped her. Even though the office was currently empty, better safe than sorry.

"Yay!"

Kotomi had no idea what she was about to face. Thinking she'd easily snagged the last two tickets, she cheered happily.

"But," Shizuka suddenly added, "I only give out one ticket per student. So if you're asking me, I can give you one—but just one. After all, other students want tickets too. If I gave both of the last ones to you, it wouldn't be fair to them."

Her expression was flawless as she spoke. Never mind the fact that she hadn't given out a single ticket yet—she'd just received them yesterday. But she made it sound like she was down to her very last two, and if Kotomi missed this chance, there'd be no more.

Truly, it would be a waste if she didn't become an auctioneer.

Kotomi, who had just been beaming at the thought of grabbing two tickets and making her getaway, instantly deflated—like a little penguin whose fish had been snatched away.

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