Can I Still Be Your Heroine Even Though I'm Your Teacher? - Volume 3 Chapter 5.5

Because You’re the Best 5

“Ah? Me? No way, no way!”

Tenjō-sensei, suddenly the target, refuses.

“Reiyu-chan-Sensei, don’t you have time?”

Mayuzumi-san pleads with teary eyes.

“It’s not that I don’t have time, but I’m a teacher…”

“There’s no rule that says a teacher can’t participate in the cultural festival, right? Sensei, you’ve even played in a band on stage before. So there shouldn’t be a problem, right? Right?”

Akira logically and directly corners her.

“No, a maid outfit is definitely a bit much…”

“Rei-chan is beautiful, so it’ll be fine. Let’s help Yuu-kun together.”

Sensei is overwhelmed by the expectant gazes of the three girls.

“Why not? I want to experience youth with Sensei. So, let’s keep it going a little longer.”

My words are more a confession than a persuasion.

Now that it’s come to this, I’ll make Sensei an accomplice to the end.

Youth can’t be measured by rationality or efficiency alone.

It might be a waste, but it’s not meaningless.

We’ll push through the absurdity on the momentum of the festival.

——Because we want to do it.

Isn’t that recklessness the privilege of being a teenager?

The true value of these experiences will be realized not now, but in the future when they become memories.

It’s okay, it’ll surely become a funny story later.

“Fine, just for the last hour. We’ll serve only the customers who are in line now. Anyone who lines up after that will be turned away from the start. We close as soon as we run out of stock. Got it!”

Half in desperation, Sensei agrees.

I turn around and shout so that it echoes through the classroom like Tarzan.

“Last hour until closing! Tenjō-sensei will become a maid and help us——!”

Immediately, a roar of cheers responds.

The classroom comes back to life.

“Hey, Nishiki-kun! Was there really a need to shout just now? Absolutely not, right?”

“It helps boost everyone’s spirits if they know?”

Tenjō-sensei reluctantly agreed with my well-reasoned argument.

“You always think ahead, don’t you?”

“It’s just me getting carried away. After all, today is the cultural festival.”

“You seem to be having fun.”

“Of course. Sensei, please enjoy yourself too.”

***

Now, our cultural festival is almost at its end.

The moment Kaguya, dressed in a maid outfit, appeared, she instantly captured the attention of the customers who had been focused on the other maids until then.

Objectively speaking, the girl named Nishiki Kaguya was undeniably cute.

The maid outfit with dog-ear headband suited her perfectly, and true to her word, she worked hard.

Especially when she was competing with Akira in serving customers.

In terms of customer service, her character as a cheerful, little-sister-type maid – or rather, just being herself – was very well received.

Everyone’s eyes softened as they watched her move around the floor like a puppy.

“Yuu-kun, two coffees for table two, okay? How is it? I’m doing well, right?”

“It seems so. I’ll take back my earlier slip of the tongue and apologize. Sorry!”

“If you understand, then it’s fine.”

Despite her initial reluctance, Kaguya became the flower of the floor in high spirits.

“Nishiki-kun, you have an amazing little sister. She’s the type who’d gather all the boys’ attention, so I definitely wouldn’t want to invite her to a mixer.”

The girls in my class reported a mix of mysterious admiration and caution.

“Hey, isn’t this skirt too short for an adult over twenty?”

“It’s fine. Reiyu-chan-Sensei, you look amazing! You could pass as a classmate of Ririka and the others!”

Mayuzumi-san was ecstatically praising her.

I felt exactly the same way.

What appeared was none other than Tenjō Reiyu-sensei herself, in a mini-skirt maid outfit.

With long rabbit ears on her head, she looked incredibly cute.

The destructive power was so strong that it almost made my reason waver.

“At least let me wear a parka. That should be fine, right?”

Struggling with her embarrassment, Sensei desperately pleaded.

“If you’re serving customers, you must wear the proper animal maid outfit! This is our uniform for the day.”

“For just one day, right?!”

Every time Sensei felt embarrassed, her long ears would tremble, making her emotions visibly apparent.

Mayuzumi-san, good job. Nice choice.

“Or would you prefer the bunny girl outfit that comes with a set of rabbit ears?”

“Why do we even have a bunny girl costume for the cultural festival?!”

“Ririka prepared it on a whim! Thinking someone might wear it. How about it, Sensei?”

“Of course not!”

Mayuzumi-san, now fully revived, was exercising her authority as the leader.

Before my eyes was a paradise.

An all-star lineup of maids, a splendid sight to behold.

Tenjō Reiyu, Kuhouin Akira, Mayuzumi Ririka, Nishiki Kaguya – these four stood out notably.

Rabbit ears with a classic style, tiger ears with a cool style, cat ears with a friendly style, dog ears with a little sister style – the diverse visual and customer service attitudes were vibrant and wonderful.

Just their presence made the floor seem brighter as if it were a different place.

We had to impose entry restrictions, keeping the classroom door closed except when customers were entering or leaving.

This spectacle was something only those fortunate enough to be present could witness.

The effect wasn’t limited to the customers; it also spread to us, the staff.

Interestingly, the addition of special guests Sensei and Kaguya brought back the energy to everyone else.

The boys working behind the scenes increased their supply speed just to catch a glimpse of the floor action.

They should have been this serious from the start.

And so, Class 2-C made its final sprint.

***

“The line has cleared up to the stairs. Only the hallway is left!”

Someone who had been managing the line came back to report.

Finally, the end was in sight.

Maid-outfitted Tenjō-sensei maintained her smile just like during class, providing classic-style service with mature, elegant manners and polite language.

That composure and ease were not something easily exhibited by teenagers.

Despite her initial resistance, once she was on the floor, she was dedicated to her work, which was admirable.

“Nishiki-kun, table one. Please prepare coffee and cookies.”

Tenjō-sensei came to the counter to place an order.

“Understood.”

“Don’t stare too much.”

“Actually, I’m regretting banning photos now.”

“Of course we can’t have personal information leaking out.”

“I’ll just etch it into my memory instead.”

These casual conversations became a small respite amidst the busyness.

“…Why did you change your mind to agree?”

“I wanted to see Sensei in a maid outfit.”

“Is that all?”

“Just like I said earlier. I wanted to experience youth with you, Sensei, so I boldly got you involved.”

“I also had a valuable experience. It’s very different being a spectator than doing it.”

“You can continue doing it next year and beyond.”

“This year is enough.”

“Do you dislike cosplay that much?”

“I’d rather not in front of a crowd.”

“What about in front of a lover?”

“That’s worth considering.”

“Sensei’s lover must be the happiest person in the world.”

“I wonder. I make him put up with a lot. I just hope he doesn’t hate me.”

I place the ordered items on the tray and offer it.

“Sensei, you’re the best.”

“I know.”

“Because you’re the best. Please don’t get it wrong.”

(TN: (一番) the best/number one. A wordplay about the coffee order for table 1 and saying that she’s the best.)

It’s just repeating a table number.

But the woman in front of me understood the meaning I put into that word.

“———Thank you.”

I watch Sensei’s back as she returns to the floor.

“The line has been completely cleared!”

“We’re out of sweets too. Only drinks are left.”

Voices call out from both the floor and the back.

Customers inside the classroom leave one after another, and soon there are only a handful left.

Our cultural festival is finally coming to an end.

***