I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Youth is neither a lie nor a sin—because humans always need lies to survive and occasionally feel guilty about their actions.

Therefore, for teenagers, such a bleak reality cannot be considered youth.

The afternoon sun was warm and the sky was cloudless.

The bell rang as scheduled, and the mature female teacher on the stage announced the end of get out of class.

The classroom immediately descended into chaos, filled with shouts of people calling out where to go play.

Yuu Tenkuji packed his schoolbag and looked in a certain direction.

"Yui, are we going to karaoke today?"

"...Okay, sure."

"What's wrong? You seem so listless."

"Hehehe, it's nothing~"

"Never mind... Hayato, the soccer club doesn't have practice today, right? Let's come together!"

"Sure. Then the Ministry of Revenue..."

The sounds behind him blended into the noisy background, and Tenkuji Yu looked away, no longer paying attention.

After that sentence, Yui Yuigahama didn't speak to him or send him any messages until school ended.

It was exactly the same as the day I graduated from junior high school.

However, the degree should be relatively mild, because she would still steal glances at herself in the crowd, and there was still a conflict in her eyes.

Looking back, Yui Yuigahama, a first-year high school student, would usually find an excuse to turn away and pretend not to see him when she saw him in the hallway. Only when she really couldn't avoid him would she casually greet him.

From beginning to end, it seemed that she was the only one who didn't intend to keep that "good friend agreement".

Yuu Tenkuji was also helpless.

Human relationships are not like ropes; even if they become a tangled mess, they cannot be cut off cleanly for the sake of convenience.

To maintain a good distance, you must always be mindful of how far you can go; if you don't handle it well, you'll either completely cut off contact or become a jerk who keeps the other person hanging on.

So being popular usually doesn't bring any benefits—unfortunately, not many people in this world understand this kind of trouble.

"Yu, do you want to go home together?"

The world's second cutest girl, Totsuka Saika, walked over, her short hair flowing, and smiled as she extended an invitation to him.

By the way, the world's cutest person is undoubtedly his shut-in sister.

If we're talking about the third cutest... that junior who likes Mapo Tofu could definitely be on the list.

"Sorry, I have to go to work today..." Before he could finish speaking, the female teacher who had just come down from the podium waved the attendance book in his direction.

"Sky Temple, come to my office."

Tenkuji Yu and Totsuka Saika exchanged a glance, their faces full of confusion.

After the female teacher left, Totsuka Ayaka looked at him worriedly: "Are you alright? Hiratsuka-sensei suddenly called you over..."

Tenkuji Yu said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, do I look like the kind of bad student who would be caught and disciplined by the teacher?"

“Indeed, Yu is a good student.” Relaxing, Totsuka Ayaka blinked. “In that case, I’ll head home now?”

"Be careful on the road." Yuu patted his slender shoulder, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and turned to leave the classroom.

As for what Hiratsuka-sensei wanted to see him about, Tenkuji Yu couldn't really guess, but he was certain it wasn't anything bad.

Otherwise, when he was shouting just now, Hiratsuka-sensei wouldn't have been acting so casually. Instead, he raised his fist and gave me a cold smile with a fierce look in his eyes.

The students in Class F all know this—the intensity of your murderous intent determines the severity of your crime.

In front of the teachers' office.

Yuu Tenkuji politely said "Excuse me" before opening the door and going inside.

Chapter Nineteen: Using Memes in Moderation

"Yo, here we come."

Her long, jet-black hair reached her waist, and her women's suit accentuated her full and beautiful figure, but she was wearing an incongruous white coat.

The subject of the class is Chinese literature. The famous martial arts teacher at Soubu High School, who is also the homeroom teacher of Class 2-F, glanced at him sideways, bit the white stick in her mouth, and stood up.

"Let's go to the student guidance office."

After finishing her concise statement, she picked up a document from the table and walked out of the office first, her movements resembling those of a warrior going into battle with a sword drawn.

Tenkuji Yu, who had just entered the room less than ten seconds ago, paused for a moment, but didn't say anything, and followed her back into the corridor.

He stared at her retreating figure with a puzzled look.

"Just come with me, it's not a bad thing."

As if awakening a sixth sense, Hiratsuka-sensei spoke without turning her head.

She held the white stick between two fingers in the manner of smoking a cigarette, looked up at the sky and sighed: "By the way, this is a lollipop. I was recently given a serious warning not to smoke within the school building area... Tsk, that wretched old principal!"

"..." As if it were a common occurrence, Yuu Tenkuji quietly rolled her eyes and replied, "Although I had no intention of asking, I think the principal did the right thing."

Hiratsuka Shizuka replied in a matter-of-fact tone, "Yes, that's why I didn't say he did anything wrong. I just wanted to scold him. Do you have a problem with that?"

"...No, whatever makes you happy."

Tenkuji Yu quickly gave up on reasoning with her and obediently followed behind her quietly.

Long black hair swayed as the female teacher in the white coat glanced at him sideways, a bored smirk playing on her lips: "You kid, still so unmotivated."

"I'm just used to energy conservation at school."

"Pshaw, do you think you're an air conditioner from the 80s?"

"Teacher, even modern air conditioners are claiming to be energy-efficient. Your era hasn't changed."

Regardless of who started it, bringing up the generational gap is like pulling the pin on a woman's grenade. Hiratsuka Shizuka immediately raised her fist and threatened him fiercely.

"Stop talking nonsense, or I'll beat you up!"

However, perhaps because she picked up on her joke, her gaze was relatively kind, and she only raised her fist before quickly lowering it.

On the surface, he remained calm and composed, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief—this martial arts teacher was no joke; this guy had actually disciplined his students with his fists.

However, because they handled things very well, they never attracted the attention of the Parent-Teacher Association, and it even became a popular feature.

I've heard that some students deliberately make mistakes just to experience the iron fist of this beautiful teacher, and they have no regrets even if they end up in the infirmary afterwards.

Yuu Tenkuji couldn't understand what kind of XP system was installed in these guys' brains.

Just as his thoughts drifted to other areas, the two finally arrived at the student guidance room, and Hiratsuka Shizuka was the first to open the door and step inside.

"Remember to close the door."

Kara.

Tenkuji Yu closed the door and sat down opposite her with proper posture.

In the quiet space where only the man and woman were together, the single female teacher in her thirties seemed even more relaxed than him, casually crossing her legs, placing a form in front of him, and tapping the table with her slender fingers.

"Sign your name on it."

"This is so sudden..."

While muttering a complaint, Yuu Tenkuji picked up the form and took a look.

Thankfully, it wasn't some scenario of an older single woman trying to force a high school sweetheart into marriage—after all, he hadn't done anything like confessing his love to someone while still suffering a fatal injury after being hit by a truck; no one would suddenly put marriage in front of him.

"Application form for joining the company?"

His gaze swept over the words above, and he looked at Hiratsuka Shizuka with a puzzled expression.

"That's right, I want you to join a club."

Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded, crossed her hands in front of her chin, and narrowed her slender eyes slightly, looking as if she was about to order Unit-01 to be deployed.

"The 'Service Club,' a name that's easy to misunderstand, is essentially a club similar to the Volunteer Department—don't overthink it, bravely sign your name, and then go and create miracles, young man!"

As if she hadn't heard her impassioned speech, Tenkuji Yu frowned and continued to ask, "Is this club going to be disbanded? But I can't play light music, and I can't become an idol, teacher."

"Don't worry, I didn't ask you to do those things... By the way, how could you not understand the jokes I was talking about? It's from such a famous work..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka sighed with some disappointment as she brushed aside the soft strands of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

Putting down the membership application form in his hand, Tenkuji Yu looked at her and let out a helpless sigh.

"Putting aside the question of why you suddenly start using memes when we're talking about serious matters... when did you start having the misconception that I don't understand EVA memes?"

"What did you say?!"

The unexpected counterattack caught Hiratsuka Shizuka off guard, her eyes widening in surprise.

"As expected." He pressed his temples speechlessly. "On the contrary, you, teacher, didn't even notice that I was making jokes too, did you?"

"Impossible!" As if she had been surpassed in her proudest area, Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly became anxious.

She lowered her head and bit her thumbnail, her eyes darting nervously as she tried to recall: "Club disbandment? Light music? Or idols? Could it be related to the glass ○ side?"

"That's way too long ago!" Yuu Tenkuji couldn't help but complain. "Give up. There's a generational gap between us. You won't find any sense of belonging in me."

"Gulp... I'll kill you!"

"You've got the lines backwards!"

"Hahaha, now you understand, right? What a lecherous brat~"

Feeling that she had achieved a partial victory, Hiratsuka Shizuka hugged her ample front armor and laughed triumphantly.

However, under the disdainful and contemptuous gaze of Tenkuji Yu, she gradually stopped smiling, two blushes appeared on her fair cheeks, and she coughed awkwardly with her fist clenched in front of her mouth.

"Let's get back to business."

"I should have said this a long time ago. There should be limits to using memes, Hiratsuka-sensei."

Looking away, Hiratsuka Shizuka said seriously, "What do children know? I did this to promote communication between teachers and students."

"Who would believe that..."

Just as Yuu Tenkuji was about to continue her tirade, the moment the other person turned their unfriendly gaze to her face and clenched their pale fists, she very readily changed her mind: