Strategy for Dealing with Problematic Girls

No matter what, the nighttime outing consent form was a fairly important item—he had to find a way to get his hands on it no matter what.

Jhin blinked, doing his best to make his gaze as clear and pure as a university student's. Why not a high schooler, you ask? Because a university student's eyes carry a kind of transparency that comes from having handed every last bit of knowledge back to their high school teachers—perfect for playing dumb.

"I'm here to pick up a nighttime outing consent form."

The moment those words left his mouth, the once peaceful office instantly turned menacing. At least for Jhin, the office had transformed into a perilous room where one careless move could cost him his life.

The teachers who had all been busy with their own tasks suddenly lifted their heads and stared straight at him, as if something behind them were pulling their strings. The female teacher who had first spoken to him now had lifeless eyes, the corners of her mouth curling into a spine-chilling smile. Like a vengeful ghost come to claim a soul, she asked in a hollow voice, "Have you gotten your homeroom teacher's approval?"

"Didn't they say Ms. Kazama stepped out? I just transferred in, so there's a lot I don't understand yet. Could I trouble you to tell me how to get the consent form?"

The prickling, thorns-in-his-back sensation vanished, and the light returned to the female teacher's eyes. She brewed Jhin a cup of tea and had him sit down.

"So you're the new student. Welcome to our school. The nighttime outing consent form first requires your homeroom teacher's approval before it can be given to a student in their class. Taking the form on your own without the homeroom teacher's permission would be against the rules, you know."

The moment the word "rules" came up, Jhin couldn't help but take it seriously. He definitely didn't want to put his life in danger by breaking a rule.

"So I can only get the form once Ms. Kazama comes back?"

"Mm, that's the procedure."

From "rules" it had become "procedure"—which meant this procedure could be changed, unlike a rule that absolutely must not be broken.

After thinking it over, Jhin tentatively asked the female teacher, "Then... could I take the consent form and go find Ms. Kazama myself?"

"Of course you can." The female teacher nodded, pulling a sheet of paper from a drawer and handing it to him. "But if Ms. Kazama comes back and says she's never seen you, then you'll be punished, you know."

That menacing feeling surrounded Jhin once again, like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, ready to launch a fatal strike the instant he showed an opening.

"Understood. Thank you for the warning, teacher. Would it be alright if I asked how to get to the infirmary?"

"What a polite child. The infirmary is at the far left end of the first floor of the classroom building."

"Got it. Thank you, teacher."

Walking out of the office after a hair-raising but ultimately safe encounter, Jhin gazed at the consent form in his hand. He was hesitating over whether to go to the infirmary to find his homeroom teacher. If he didn't, he'd one hundred percent face punishment for breaking the rules. But if he went to find the homeroom teacher, there was a very good chance he'd expose his own name and walk right into the trap himself.

After mulling it over for a while, he still decided to go to the infirmary and look for this Ms. Kazama. As long as he didn't reveal his name, he still had a chance. Actually, back in the office, he had wanted to say something like "I'll come get the consent form later," but the words caught in his throat as his intuition kept warning him: "Danger!"

So all he could do was go along with the conversation and get the consent form in hand.

On the way to the infirmary, Jhin wasn't abducted by aliens, nor did he run into a sexy upperclassman in a bunny girl outfit, and certainly no girl wearing an "SOS" armband and calling herself "Chief" tried to recruit him into her club.

The whole thing was so calm and uneventful, it was as if the consent form weren't a key item at all.

Muttering to himself, "This isn't scientifically possible," Jhin slid open the infirmary door. The two people who had been chatting inside stopped their conversation and turned their gazes toward him. One of them—a petite girl in mismatched striped over-the-knee socks, draped in a doctor's white coat—asked him, "This student, is there something you need?"

The shiny name tag on the white coat told Jhin she was called "Dr. Irusu." Only then did he understand why he'd been able to walk all this way in perfect safety while carrying a key item—because the infirmary was the place teeming with murderous intent!

Sitting inside were two beings who both felt familiar to him, and who would become extremely dangerous the moment he said their names. With these two here, why would anyone even need to arrange some roadblock mini-boss? Just letting him walk right into the trap on his own was more than enough.

Jhin's mind raced, thinking about how to survive this dangerous situation. Fortunately, he'd eaten a lot of food earlier, so at least he wouldn't be unable to think clearly due to hunger at such a crucial moment.

Before he could even answer Dr. Irusu, the silver-haired girl sitting beside her spotted the consent form in his hand and realized he'd come looking for her. "Irusu, he's probably here for me to sign a consent form."

"Is that so? Kazama, do you have your seal on you? You're not going to have to bring him all the way back to the office, are you?"

"Of course I've got it with me. Why... from the sound of it, you seem to want him to stay here in the infirmary?" Ms. Kazama looked at Dr. Irusu with amusement. "Don't tell me your spring has sprung?"

"Don't say weird things!" Dr. Irusu laughed and lightly punched her shoulder, then walked over to Jhin and circled around him a few times, sniffing with the tip of her nose. "I get the feeling there's an aura about him that needs treatment."

"But he doesn't look like he's sick or anything."

Jhin realized this was a golden opportunity to steer the conversation away and keep them from asking his name, so he raised his hand and said, "Um... actually, I have amnesia. There's a lot of stuff I can't remember."

"That's no small matter. Come, lie down on the bed first." Dr. Irusu concernedly tugged him over to the hospital bed and pressed him down to sit on it. The sweet fragrance of all sorts of candy wafted from her hair and into Jhin's nostrils.

Strange... why does this kind of contact feel like no danger at all—in fact... it's even a little nostalgic and thrilling?

Jhin started to suspect that maybe his brain was broken, or that maybe he really did have some connection to this girl with the youthful face standing before him. But if so, why did they both act as though they didn't recognize him at all?

A slightly cool little hand pressed against his forehead and was quickly withdrawn. Dr. Irusu took out a clipboard with a medical chart, writing as she spoke: "Normal temperature, no obvious wounds on the body, mind is clear... hmm... looks like a more thorough examination is in order."

Tucking the ballpoint pen into her pocket, she said to Jhin as naturally as could be, "Very good. Now take off all your clothes!"

Sitting off to the side, Ms. Kazama calmly lifted her teacup and sipped, as if she'd long since anticipated she would do this.

Jhin grabbed the bedsheet and held it in front of himself. He felt that, before losing his little life, he apparently also had to protect his innocence. Seeing Dr. Irusu approach with a wicked grin, wiggling her fingers, he demanded, "Don't tell me you're this casual with every other student?"

"As if. I can't even be bothered to see those people." Dr. Irusu curled her lip, wearing an attitude that said "I couldn't care less whether they live or die." Then her eyes lit up as she kept staring at Jhin. "More importantly, lemme take a look at how well you've developed!"

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