I'm a teacher in Tokyo!

As for seeking out Tomie-san... perhaps it was a sense of shame about her impoverished background that was at play. Even though she had already accepted Tomie's request to hire her, she still felt somewhat ashamed when Tomie actually took her to the bank to handle such matters.

—Of course, perhaps it also has something to do with that tiny bit of affection I have for him?

At this moment, Yoshizaki seemed to see her dilemma: "If you're not clear about the bank's procedures, Mako-san, I can take you to familiarize yourself with them tomorrow. After all, all your living allowances and other payments will be deposited into that card, so you should get to know it."

"Um... okay, thank you, teacher."

She thanked him expressionlessly, feeling even more grateful to Yoshizaki Kawa. He was a very good teacher, and she blamed herself for being blinded by momentary desires, which led to the misunderstanding.

Even now, Mako still feels so embarrassed when she thinks about what happened before that she wishes she could disappear into a well.

Of course, Yoshizaki had no idea what the girl was thinking. In his eyes, the girl with a blank expression was much better than her apologizing with a smile.

After all, the latter's forced, unsmiling face was truly terrifying.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Yoshizaki asked Mako to sit on the sofa. Then, Yoshizaki asked Mako if she was adapting well to the situation there and inquired about her progress in life and studies.

When Yoshizaki Kawa realized he didn't know why, the more he asked, the more he noticed that Mako seemed a little restless, sometimes staring blankly at her toes, or interlacing her fingers in front of her knees and fidgeting with them.

Later on, her face even turned pale, and she would sometimes look down and sometimes look to the side.

But I just can't look myself in the eye.

Seeing this, Yoshizaki knew that the child was scared, so he immediately stopped talking;

"Mako-san, you can go back now. You can come to me if you need anything in the future."

Watching the latter's disheveled figure leave, Yoshizaki sighed and muttered to himself, "It seems I should treat this with more composure in the future. Look how scared I've made that kid."

……

Meanwhile, as Mako emerged from Yoshizaki's office, the thought of the caring words she had just exchanged flashed through her mind, and she conjured up the image of herself as a clownish figure who had sown discord.

For a moment, I was so embarrassed that I couldn't sit still, my toes gripping the ground, wishing I could dig a three-bedroom apartment out from under my feet.

If the teacher knew his true colors, would he still treat him with such responsibility?

The kinder and gentler Yoshizaki was to her, the more guilty she felt;

This guilt persisted until she sat in the classroom and saw Ms. Saito Asuka walking towards her with her textbooks, which slightly diverted her attention.

Looking at Saito-sensei's appearance, Mako had to admit that she was indeed worthy of the gentle Yoshizaki-sensei.

In Mako Yamamura's heart, if she were to give them a name;

Tomie Kawakami was undoubtedly first, Saito-sensei was definitely second, Kayako was third... and herself was ranked last among all the girls in the school;

What we know now is that Tomie has feelings for Yoshizaki-sensei, but she is naturally proud and unwilling to express them. Kayako also likes Yoshizaki-sensei, but she is shy and dares not express it.

Saito-sensei?

Mako guessed that perhaps Yoshizaki-sensei liked her? Or perhaps she also had feelings for him?

Otherwise, why would she accept such a precious necklace from Yoshizaki Kawa?

—In Mako's eyes, that necklace was extraordinary and definitely not an ordinary item. Therefore, if Yoshizaki-sensei and Saito-sensei had no connection whatsoever, he would never have given it to her.

After sorting things out according to her own logic, Mako couldn't help but think—this is so confusing.

However, the core of all this lies with Mr. Yoshizaki, and everything depends on his choice. But undoubtedly, if Kayako remains silent and Tomie remains aloof;

The ultimate winner will definitely be Saito-sensei!

—Perhaps I should secretly tell them to be bold and fight for it?

Of course, we shouldn't tell them now.

Mako was already traumatized by the fact that her previous wild guesses had almost led to a tragedy, so she naturally couldn't make such a decision hastily at this moment.

"Let's observe further!"

That's what she thought to herself.

……

It was afternoon after school, perhaps because of the change of seasons;

Light snow began to fall again. Standing at the school gate, I watched Kayako, wearing the clothes that Saito Asuka-sensei had given me, running towards me through the snow.

Yoshizaki felt a pang of emotion; the demon of the future was, at this moment, just a young girl.

Perhaps it was the phone call a few days ago that gave Kayako the courage to approach Yoshizaki River. She snuggled close and grabbed her teacher's hand: "Teacher, I'm a little cold."

Her small hands were indeed cold. Yoshizaki took her hand and said, "Then... how about we go for barbecue tonight?"

"Great! I'll treat the teacher to dinner with my secret stash of money!!"

She seemed a little excited, wanting to jump up, but she was afraid that if she let go, she would not find an excuse to hold Yoshizaki Kawa's hand again, so she suppressed her excitement;

He obediently followed behind Yoshizaki Kawa and walked forward;

There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, soft and fluffy; each step left a footprint. Looking ahead...

Many messy footprints almost turned the snow into ice, but then snow fell from the sky and covered those footprints—

The small, low-lying puddles next to it, which had been filled with water from the rain, had frozen over. Stepping on them caused some cracks to appear on the ice.

Seeing this scene, and thinking about what had happened recently—just finishing dealing with that child demon, then Tomie's situation piling up, and now even the Great Demon King Mako had descended upon this place—it all made me realize...

The pain in my body and the battle of last night combined to create an absurd feeling;

Yoshizaki suddenly felt a strange sense of emotion;

"My whole life has been like walking on thin ice. Kayako, tell me, will I be able to reach the other side?"

Kayako bent down slightly, and the next moment, she leaped over like a little rabbit, still tightly holding Yoshizaki Kawa's hand;

"Teacher, I've jumped over! I'll pull you to the other side!"

Seeing this, Yoshizaki smiled and said, "Then thank you in advance, teacher, for your old bones and limbs."

"Teacher, you're so strange. You're not that old, but you always look so old."

Kayako couldn't understand it. Her teacher was handsome and gentle, so why did he always act like an old man?

How do you know I'm really that young?

Yoshizaki said jokingly.

Upon hearing this, Kayako's face tightened, and she said earnestly, "No matter what you are like, teacher, you will always be my teacher."

Regardless of what kind of soul lies beneath that body—

Even if it's a monster oozing pus, I will always love my teacher.

……

Japanese yakiniku (grilled meat) dishes are quite to Yoshizaki River's liking. After eating, we braved the heavy snow and took Kayako home.

On the way,

Perhaps due to the cold, Yoshizaki felt the wound on his foot becoming increasingly painful, but because he was afraid of worrying Kayako, he did not make a sound. He endured the pain until he got home, sent Kayako back to her room, and then pulled up his trouser leg.

Upon inspection, the bright red blood had soaked through the gauze, forming a protective shell around it;

This was a large gash on his foot caused by glass during his previous battle with that Poji Demon. He sighed; wounds in winter are particularly difficult to heal and are more prone to festering and cracking.

Furthermore, this wound did not form all at once. I had been cut once before when I visited Kayako's house, and last night, just as the scab was beginning to form, it was cut open again by glass.

So some of it became infected with pus, and the hospital cleaned the wound and cut away the rotten flesh, but it still couldn't heal quickly and required dressing changes again and again.

So, no matter whether last night's battle was against a thousand-year-old evil spirit or some kind of monster, a person is still a person. If they are injured, it will take a long time to heal, and if the injury is serious, they will die.

In yesterday's battle, there were many exorcists who were more seriously injured than themselves. Even though they possessed power, they were still mortals.

Even an exorcist of Kotoko's caliber hasn't fully recovered her finger after cutting it off herself.

But perhaps it is precisely because of human fragility and insignificance that we can truly appreciate the greatness of those who perform extraordinary feats.

As Yoshizaki was removing the gauze, preparing to change the dressing;

Seemingly drawn by the smell of medicine outside, Kayako cautiously peeked through the crack in the door.

Then--

She watched as the teacher slowly unwrapped the bandages from her foot, revealing a bleeding gash underneath. Enduring the excruciating pain without uttering a sound, the teacher cleaned away the bruises and then took out some medicinal powder—

Kayako stared blankly at the scene outside the crack in the door.

She remembered clearly that the spot was where her teacher had broken into her house when she had a high fever. She also remembered that her teacher had snatched her from her father's arms and, despite his injuries, carried her step by step to the hospital.

She still remembers—

The teacher was injured, so she sat quietly to the side, keeping watch over herself.

Seeing his own tears, he gently wiped them away.

He was afraid of worrying, so even though it hurt a lot, he never uttered a sound.

So, in fact, that wound has never healed to this day...

He rushed to the villa early in the morning, intending to bring them all back safely.

After a long day of running around, the wound may become infected and even bleed at night.

No wonder the teacher was taking small steps on the ice and even jokingly asked himself, "Can I get to the other side?" In reality... he couldn't even take a step!

But he was still trying to be clever and dragged the teacher over there.