I, the spiritual mentor of beautiful girls from all over the world

She tapped the table with her chopsticks, making a "tap-tap" sound that attracted everyone's attention.

..... .... ....

She held the unlit cigarette in her mouth, raised her chin at Lynn, and spoke with a tone full of teasing, as if she were enjoying the drama.

"Hey, Lynn, don't just drink tea. Look at these kids, they're so nervous they don't even dare to eat meat."

"They treated us to this meal, showing all their 'sincerity,' so you should at least give them some response."

Hayato Hayama immediately responded, steer the conversation back on track from Shizuka Hiratsuka's joke, and smiled gently.

"Hiratsuka-sensei, you're joking."

"However, Professor Lynn, we do have an important request to make of you. That's why we're bothering you so abruptly today."

These words were like a signal, finally breaking through the barrier.

Lynn put down his teacup, glanced at the restless students, and finally sighed, speaking in a helpless tone.

"Alright, your little secrets are practically showing on your faces."

"What is it? Tell me."

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her teacup, cleared her throat, and systematically explained the issues surrounding Kasumigaoka Utaha's copywriting.

"...Therefore, we believe that only you, Professor Lynn, can persuade her."

After listening, Lynn remained silent for a moment.

“Kasumigaoka Utaha…” he murmured the name, then looked at Hachiman, “Have you read her novels?”

Hachiman Hikigaya, who was suddenly called out, was stunned for a moment, then blinked his dead fish eyes.

"Ah... I've seen a bit of it. It's the kind of thing that's really common, with a clueless male protagonist and all sorts of beautiful girls throwing themselves at him, um, a pseudo-harem romantic comedy."

"Give me your opinion."

"The routine is very well-practiced, but... there's nothing new." Hachiman gave a very fair, but also offensive, assessment.

Lynn nodded, seemingly understanding something.

He turned to look at the snow.

"What do you think is the problem with her?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's answer was, as always, precise and cold.

"She prioritized her personal creative preferences over the functionality of commercial copywriting. This is a logical fallacy."

"very good."

Lynn then looked at Yui Yuigahama.

"And you? Just say it based on your gut feeling."

"Huh? Me?" Yui Yuigahama was a little flustered, but she still mustered up her courage and spoke her true feelings.

"I... I think... Kasumigaoka-senpai doesn't seem to really like the word 'youth'... The things she writes feel... very sad."

A barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of Lynn's mouth.

One saw the "routine," one saw the "logic," and one saw the "emotion."

This trio is quite an interesting combination.

He picked up the cup and took a sip of barley tea.

"Okay, I get it."

He made the final decision in a tone that suggested, "I really can't do anything with you guys."

"Fine, I'll help you this one last time."

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts finally settled down.

By the time the meal was finished, it was already late at night.

Shizuka Hiratsuka was responsible for taking Yukinoshita, Hikigaya, and Hayama home.

Lynn drove his secondhand Toyota, which he had somehow acquired, with Yuihama and Sora in tow, towards home.

The atmosphere inside the car was quiet, with only soothing music playing from the radio.

When the car stopped downstairs at Yuihama's apartment building, a familiar figure was carrying shopping bags and returning from outside.

It was Mrs. Yuihama who was older.

Chapter 52: The Wolf on the Tram, Shattering the Pride of the "Genius Writer"

Her eyes lit up the moment she saw her daughter getting out of the car and Lynn in the driver's seat.

"Oh! It's Ms. Lynn!"

Mrs. Yuihama walked over warmly, with a friendly smile on her face.

"Thank you so much for bringing Yui back so late!"

"Mom!" Yui Yuigahama's face flushed red instantly.

“It’s just on my way, you don’t need to be so polite,” Lynn replied with a smile.

Mrs. Yubin's gaze swept back and forth between Lynn and her daughter, her satisfaction almost undisguised.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she took a beautifully packaged box of pastries from her shopping bag and shoved it into Lynn's car without saying a word.

"These are some limited-edition wagashi I just bought today, and they taste really good! Teacher Lynn and this student must try them too!"

“And another thing,” she leaned closer to the car window, lowered her voice, and winked playfully at Lynn in an “I know” tone.

"Our Yui may seem a bit clumsy, but she's actually a very caring girl."

"I hope you will take good care of me in the future, teacher."

boom--!

Yui Yuigahama felt as if a bomb had been dropped into her head, instantly blasting her mind into a blank.

She scrambled away, dragging her mother, who seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold, along, babbling incoherently, "Mom! What are you saying! Let's go home!"

Lynn watched the mother and daughter's retreating figures, then shook his head with a wry smile.

He started the car and slowly drove away.

Qiong remained silent in the passenger seat.

She looked at the street scene rushing past the window, then at the box of pastries that Mrs. Yuihama had stuffed into her eyes, her gray eyes unfathomable.

……

The next day, after school.

At the entrance of Soubu High School, Lynn called out to Yui Yuigahama, who was about to go home with Sora.

He took out a few Fukuzawa Yukichi bills from his wallet and stuffed them into Yuihama's hand.

"847" "You guys go get something good to eat today, I have some things to take care of."

"Huh? What about you, teacher?" Yui Yuigahama asked instinctively.

“Go and solve a problem.” Lynn’s tone was as languid as ever. “A problem with someone who writes very well.”

He didn't explain further, rubbed Qiong's head, and then turned and walked alone towards the station.

He needs to meet Kasumigaoka Utaha alone.

Bringing along that group from the Service Department will only escalate a simple "problem-solving" into an unpredictable social disaster.

That's too troublesome.

……

The tram at dusk is like a moving, compressed tin can.

The smells of sweat, perfume, and leather briefcases mingled with a suffocating, urban weariness that fermented in the swaying carriage.

Lynn leaned against the door, shielding himself from most of the crowd, and casually scanned the carriage with his eyes.

Then, his gaze stopped.

In the midst of the crowded streets, there is a scene that seems to have its own protective barrier, isolating it from the surrounding turbidity.

That's a girl.

She was wearing the school uniform of Zongwu High School, standing there with her posture upright, one hand holding the hanging ring and the other protecting her schoolbag in front of her.

Her long, black, silky hair, reaching her waist, swayed gently in the tram.

What's most eye-catching are those straight, long legs encased in high-quality black pantyhose.

The taut fabric outlined a near-perfect curve, rising from slender ankles and disappearing beneath the plaid skirt, exuding a restrained yet deadly allure in the dimly lit carriage.

Kasumigaoka Utaha.

She frowned slightly, a hint of impatience on her face, clearly showing extreme disgust at the crowded environment.

Just then, a middle-aged man standing behind her began to move unnaturally, step by step, closer to her back as the tram swayed.

A lewd smile played on his lips as his hand, holding a briefcase, slowly and discreetly reached under the girl's skirt.

The people around were either looking down at their phones or resting with their eyes closed, unaware of the sordid events about to unfold in this dark corner.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's body stiffened for a moment as she felt the sticky gaze and the increasingly approaching, nauseating scent.

Her knuckles turned white from the force she exerted, and humiliation and anger surged within her, yet she was unable to move due to the crowded environment.

Just a second before that groping hand was about to succeed.

A hand appeared out of thin air.

That hand, with its distinct knuckles, clean and slender, gripped that lewd wrist with unwavering precision.

The force wasn't great, but it felt like a red-hot iron clamp, instantly changing the middle-aged man's expression.

"gentlemen."

A calm, slightly magnetic male voice rang out clearly in the noisy carriage.

"Your briefcase is about to fall."

Lynn had somehow found herself standing beside the middle-aged man.

His face was expressionless, and his eyes, which always carried a hint of laziness, were now as calm as a bottomless, icy pool, as he quietly gazed at the other person.

There were no threats, no shouts.

There is only one kind of pure, cold scrutiny that sees through the other person completely.

The middle-aged man broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

He felt as if he wasn't being held by the wrist by a person, but rather being targeted by an invisible, predatory beast.

He jerked his hand back as if electrocuted, forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, bowed and scraped repeatedly, then pushed through the crowd without a second thought and fled in a disheveled state as the doors of the next train opened.

A crisis was averted without a trace.

Kasumigaoka Utaha then realized what was happening. She turned her head stiffly, wanting to thank the person who had helped her.

When she saw the other person's face clearly, the words she had prepared instantly got stuck in her throat.

It was a face so handsome it was beyond reproach.

His features were deep-set and his lines were sharp. Especially under the light of the carriage ceiling, his calm eyes seemed to hold a vortex that could suck one's soul in.

It was Lynn, the teacher at Zongwu High School.

He gave Kasumigaoka Utaha an almost imperceptible nod as a greeting, then turned his gaze back to the window, as if he had just done something as trivial as closing the door.

Kasumigaoka Utaha opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

My heart started pounding uncontrollably.

……

Kadokawa Shoten, Conference Room 13.

The air was filled with the scent of high-quality printing paper and a somber atmosphere reminiscent of "trial."