Survive in Azure Files

My heart sank slightly, and I thought to myself that this was not good, and I felt that my ominous premonition might have come true.

Shengya's farewell-like riddle and the fact that we never contacted each other again, as well as the words that Weihua, who had always been cold to me, suddenly said to me, all made me feel vaguely uneasy.

However, when I asked Mika tactfully, I only got a defensive answer like "Nothing happened." So, I could only hope to find clues from the last member of the tea party, Nagisa, who was most likely to know something.

Even as a teacher, I am not in a position to interfere in students' private affairs. But I think, as a teacher, I should at least try to find out whether this is just a private matter.

...After all, it's just that I'm worried and want to meddle in other people's business.

Of course, although the above is the main purpose of my trip, it is not all.

As a secondary purpose, and the apparent reason for meeting Nagisa, it was to express gratitude to her for the firepower support she indirectly provided through Hifumi during our operation to recapture Hoshino from Caesar PMC.

I sipped the black tea, which had cooled down to a level that was suitable for drinking. It was full-flavored and mellow, with a gentle aftertaste. As someone who was well versed in the tea ceremony and in a high position of power, the tea that Nagisa brought out to entertain guests was naturally the best of the best.

It’s a pity that I don’t know how to appreciate it at all, and even think that it is not as good as the iced black tea drinks sold in supermarkets in terms of quality and price.

Maybe I can bring it to Nagisa to try if I have the chance in the future.

What kind of chemical reaction will occur between cheap mass-produced bottled black tea and the taste buds of Miss Saint Trinity who is used to drinking high-end black tea?

I think it's worth a try.

"Hehe~ Teacher, how do you feel?"

I responded in a clever way: "It's great. Should I say it's worthy of Nagisa's taste?"

"No, you're too kind. If you pair it with the snacks here, it will feel different. You can try it."

Following Nagisa's suggestion, I tried it. The tea and snacks complemented each other in my mouth, creating a new and harmonious taste. It felt like most of these snacks were carefully selected by Nagisa.

After initially accepting the hospitality of the black tea girl, I started the conversation in a casual tone:

"Nagisa, thank you for your help last time."

The girl with long gray-blond hair smiled and shook her head: "It's just a simple favor. Our school already has a course on towed howitzers. I just slightly adjusted the location of the course.

"The company's use of deception, threats and kidnapping of students has exceeded our tolerance. Even for the sake of the personal safety of our students outside the school, we cannot stand idly by.

"What's more, even if our school hadn't participated, the strength you had gathered at that time would have been more than enough. The help I provided was just the icing on the cake."

The more Nagisa said this, the more uncomfortable I felt. I even couldn't help but wonder if this seemingly humble girl in front of me was actually backing down in order to advance, hoping to make me more grateful to her.

Even... maybe Zhu coveted my beauty and planned to repay me with a favor, so that I could not repay him and could only give myself to him...

This Kivotos is so unkind to me!

I was joking about Nagisa in my heart, but I didn't really care about the methods she might use. Nagisa really helped me a lot, there is no doubt about that.

"Anyway, Nagisa, I will remember your help."

I took out a beautiful gift box from my pocket that was slightly smaller than my palm, held it in my hand to show it, and looked sincerely into Nagisa's gray-gold eyes that were the same color as her hair:

"This is my feeling for you."

Nagisa was stunned for a moment, then lowered her eyes and stared at the small red box in my hand. I don't know what she was thinking about, her pupils suddenly shrank, and her face, which had been calm and polite with only a polite smile, began to ripple.

The girl looked at me, her expression becoming increasingly strange. The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, her eyes wandered wildly, and she said hesitantly:

“Isn’t this… isn’t this bad…?”

"What's wrong with that?" I asked curiously, and then it dawned on me, "Ah, of course it's more than that, it's just a token of my appreciation."

"Is this just a token of my appreciation?!" Nagisa suddenly raised her voice, then realized it was impolite and lowered it again, "Sorry, I'd better take it back..."

Don't you really want your favors to be wasted in a place like this?

I insisted, "Take a look first. It's really just a small token of my appreciation."

As I was about to open the box, Nagisa's expression became increasingly awkward, hesitating to speak, but in the end he just stammered and agreed very weakly:

"Then...then I'll take a look first..."

Amid Nagisa's nervous mood of both resistance and anticipation, I slowly opened the box, revealing an egg carving craft.

The egg-shaped shell is inlaid with beautiful gems and carved with geometric patterns. It looks retro and gorgeous. It was the gift I picked for Nagisa based on Shengya's suggestion when I was dating Hanaya a few days ago.

By the way, the price is completely consistent with the luxurious appearance, and it cost me nearly half a month's salary.

Fortunately, I have mastered the little trick of embezzling public funds, and I don’t have any hobbies that require spending money on a daily basis... unless buying gifts for girls is counted.

I hope that this gift, which I spent a huge amount of money on, can play its due role and make Nagisa satisfied.

However, Nagisa blinked and said hesitantly: "Is this... what you mean?"

"…What's wrong, you don't like it?"

The invoice hasn't been lost, so it should be possible to get a refund. If not, just send flowers as a reward and make use of the waste.

"...No, if I had to choose between liking and disliking based on first impression alone, I would choose the former."

Nagisa took the box, turned it and examined it, breathed a sigh of relief, and muttered to himself:

"So it's an egg carving... I thought..."

"Hmm? Did you think it was something else?"

"You heard me wrong, I didn't say anything."

Nagisa said this in an unquestionable tone as he closed the lid of the box, as if putting an end to the matter.

Then the smile returned to her face, but this time, it was more sincere than before.

The girl placed the gift neatly on the table, took a sip of the black tea, savored the sweet taste, and nodded to me:

"Thank you, teacher. I like your gift very much."

Chapter 56: Weihua is not easy to get along with

I think Nagisa must have misunderstood something at the beginning, but I have no evidence.

I had no idea what was going on. Seeing that Nagisa didn't want to talk about it anymore, I didn't dare to ask any more questions. I just smiled warmly at Nagisa.

"If you like it, that would be great."

After saying this, I paused for a moment, hesitating for a moment, but decided to take a risk and followed the conversation, tentatively asking:

"This will make you feel a little better, right?"

Nagisa's smile froze on her face for a moment, then faded away like the tide. Her face was slightly cold, her brows slightly furrowed, she stared at me deeply for a long time, and sighed helplessly:

"Teacher, you really don't understand what social etiquette is."

Even Nagisa, who was calm, elegant and dignified, showed obvious dissatisfaction in her tone at this moment.

I secretly relaxed. Before I said this, I had already prepared myself for Nagisa to be angry.

Looking at it now, at least Nagisa is still willing to talk to me instead of directly interrupting the meeting, which is already a pretty good result.

There's no way. If I don't take the liberty to point out the fact that I discovered that Nagisa was in a bad mood, it will be difficult to find out relevant information.

"If an ordinary guest dared to be so rude at a tea party, I would have asked him to leave. Besides..." Nagisa stroked his face with a hand, and said worriedly, "I thought I concealed it well, but it's so obvious..."

"No, if you don't look closely, you can't see it at all."

I said to Nagisa sincerely, "I can only notice this because you are so beautiful that I can't help but be fascinated by you."

Nagisa's face darkened: "...If you say something frivolous like that again, I will really kick you out."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, please forgive me."

I quickly admitted my mistake and apologized, and immediately felt relieved. The second hurdle was passed.

Nagisa finally accepted this reason.

"I really don't know what you are thinking. Normally, even if you noticed something, you wouldn't ask casually, right? Unbelievable. I really hope that you can learn to understand the delicacy of a girl's heart, instead of suddenly mentioning someone else like you did just now. Sigh. Never mind. Sorry, I lost my temper."

Nagisa, who was throwing away her upbringing as a young lady and complaining to me as if to vent her emotions, suddenly stopped when she was about to mention the topic that I cared about the most, took a deep breath, and forced herself to regain composure.

What challenges?

I was extremely anxious, but I had to act nervous and said half-truthfully:

"I should be the one to say sorry. I know it's not right, but I can't pretend nothing happened and leave Nagisa like this."

"...Anyway, thank you for your concern, but this matter really has nothing to do with you." Nagisa hesitated, "You are someone Shengya trusts, so I am willing to believe you, but I can't discuss this matter with anyone, including you."

Although Nagisa didn't seem to say anything, her secretive attitude alone said a lot.

So, it is a secret of the tea party that cannot be disclosed to others, even to me, who is trusted by the host of the tea party.

It is enough to understand to this extent.

Judging from Nagisa's attitude, it doesn't seem like a conflict has broken out between Mika and Shengya; and with Shengya's predictive ability, she would never put herself in danger so easily.

Well, in that case, there is no need for me to meddle in other people’s business for the time being.

I relaxed and added, "Well, I understand. I believe in you, too. So, when you think the time is right, if there is still anything I can help you with, feel free to contact me."

"...Yes. Thank you, teacher." Nagisa was silent for a while, smiled at me, and then picked up the teacup, "Then, for the rest of the meeting time, please join me and quietly enjoy the black tea and snacks."

So, at the tea party, Nagisa and I spent a rare relaxing time together until she had to return to her official duties.

It shouldn't be my illusion. Although there were some unpleasant things in the middle, Nagisa's mood should have become more relaxed in the end.

After bidding farewell to Nagisa, I don’t plan to stay in Trinity any longer—

Ayane is still on duty at Xialai alone. What would it look like if I left all the work to her and went out to play with girls in other academies leisurely?

As the most affectionate person in Kivotos, I would certainly not do such a scumbag thing.

So, after finishing this important meeting with the members of the Trinity Tea Party, I planned to go straight back to Xialai to work.

But when I just left the tea party headquarters building, I noticed a familiar pink and white figure.

The good news is that this time it wasn't an accidental encounter with Serena.

The bad news is, it might as well have been a chance encounter with Serena.

When I noticed that the Holy Garden had no flowers, she also noticed me, raised her eyebrows, and came over to greet me enthusiastically:

"Hey, isn't this the teacher? Long time no see. What are you doing in Trinity today? Really, why didn't you tell me?"

As if you would reply if I told you.

I have to say that Mika's enthusiasm is very deceptive, which makes people subconsciously think that she is an easy-going person, but this is not the case. I feel deeply about this.

"Weihua, you are here." I greeted her pleasantly, "I came here specially to see you."

"Eh?" Weihua's attitude suddenly turned cold. "Looking for me? What for?"

“Weren’t you on momotalk the other day…”

"Huh? Oh, just for that matter. You really have so much free time."

Mika interrupted me rudely and looked at me with interest: "Hmm~hmm. Do you still care about me? Haha~ Well, thank you for the time being. But I'm fine."

I asked worriedly, “Is that so?”

“That’s it.”

Weihua took a half step back and smiled sweetly at me:

"But if there's any need for me someday, I'll contact you again."

Translated, it means, before Weihua contacts me, don't bother her unless necessary.

"That's all. I have something else to do. See you later~"

After saying that, Weihua walked around me, humming a song, and went away on her own.

I stood still, looking at Weihua's receding figure, and couldn't help but sigh in my heart.

From what I can see now, this seemingly innocent girl is actually a self-centered, arrogant and willful person who is not easy to get along with. I don't know what kind of troublesome things she will ask me to do by taking advantage of the favor I owe her.

Shaking my head, I stopped thinking about it. I just felt that things would work out when I got to the bridge, so I took one step at a time and went back to Xialai.

Chapter 57 Ayane and the Bestseller

"Welcome back, teacher. I've been waiting for you."