Episode Five: Rumours ―December 2033―

I’m no stranger to attracting attention.

But the stares gathering around this incident were nothing but thoroughly unpleasant. Each time those looks, composed of curiosity and malice, were rudely hurled my way, my irritation only grew.

Because utterly baseless rumours were spreading like wildfire, twisted into something grotesquely entertaining.

　—I always thought Meisa fancied older guys, but I never imagined she was into girls…

—Uehara wasn’t serious about it, was she? She had a boyfriend, after all. Logically, it must have been Kakei who made the move, right?

—Or rather, I thought Kakei-sensei was just a plain teacher, but getting involved with a student? That’s pretty dodgy, isn’t it?

　――The quieter they seem, the more twisted their kinks are, I bet.

I heard all sorts of rumours. I could brush off anything said about me, but I couldn’t let rumours that insulted the teacher or damaged her dignity go unchallenged.

But whenever I got angry or strongly denied them, everyone around me just got more excited and stirred things up.

　Of course, many believed my words, and I wasn’t directly insulted… but it was like being strangled with cotton wool. Slowly, I found myself suffocating.

That night, my phone buzzed. A message from my friend, Manami.

‘Meisa, are you into that sort of thing?’

　That short sentence, revealing prejudice and undisguised curiosity, stirred up a storm inside me.

What does ‘that sort’ even mean? I didn’t fall for my teacher because I’m a woman.

I just wanted to be as close as possible to the person who cherished everything about Kakei Rio – her face, her personality, her way of life. I’d simply distilled that feeling into the word ‘like’ and conveyed it.

‘No, I’m not.’

—It was infuriating. My feelings weren’t understood in the slightest, consumed merely as someone’s entertainment.

My one-line reply mirrored hers, and a noncommittal response came back. After a few exchanges, I forced the conversation to an end.

　　　　　　　　　　☆

From the next day, several friends, including Manami, started clearly distancing themselves from me. Neither my teacher nor Suzuka said anything about me liking women; they treated me as usual. Perhaps I was fortunate.

I’ve heard there were times and religions where even saying “I like the same sex” isn’t permitted. Well, there are all sorts of people in the world, aren’t there? I don’t really mind.

　…Or so I wanted to believe. I wanted to convince myself of that. But I became constantly plagued by a gloomy feeling. It felt like everyone was talking badly about me, like I was being blamed. I couldn’t eat properly and I couldn’t sleep well. Was I really such a weak woman?

Just as I began to feel anxious about how long these days would last, it was four days later, to be precise. After school, I was summoned to the headmaster’s office.

　Though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I was made to stand before the desk where the headmaster sat. Inside the room were my homeroom teacher, Hashimoto, and even the head of year. It felt like a trial and made me sick, but I predicted that speaking out here would only put me and the teacher at a disadvantage, so I endured it silently.

We made light conversation while he asked about my recent circumstances. The headmaster, in his late fifties, had that old-fashioned uncle vibe about him. I didn’t care for his appearance, his manner of speaking, or his antiquated way of thinking.

“I’ve seen the photograph of you and Kakei-san circulating among the students. Do you two have a personal connection?”

The moment he got to the point felt truly abrupt. Yet the question was predictable. He wanted confirmation of that rumour, I suppose.

“I’ve already quit by now, but I used to work part-time at a restaurant. That day, my shift finished at ten. Before heading home, I stopped at a convenience store and happened to bump into Kakei-san. I was on foot, and she said walking alone at night was dangerous, so she gave me a lift home in her car.”

I certainly didn’t say I went to her house afterwards and stayed the night… but I answered honestly about the parts he asked.

“I see. …So, is the rumour true that you frequently meet alone with Kakei-sensei?”

“The rumour about people often seeing us together, right? I’ve heard it too. But I think that’s because I attended every single one of Kakei-sensei’s study sessions until summer. I’d often stay a little after the session ended to ask questions about things I didn’t understand.”

“Come to think of it, Uehara-san was the one who went around announcing Kakei-sensei’s study sessions, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. I find Kakei-sensei’s lectures easy to understand and I like them. My Japanese grades improved massively too. I wanted more people to discover how brilliant she is, so I took it upon myself to spread the word.”

I felt reasonably confident I’d handled the questioning well enough.

　I hadn’t lied. It wasn’t so much a ‘personal connection’ as me just having a one-sided crush. And meeting just the two of us wasn’t ‘frequent’.

“Thank you for sharing your account. I believe I have a general grasp of the situation now.”

The headmaster leaned back in his expensive-looking chair, his voice as gravelly as ever.

“Uehara-san, you needn’t concern yourself with this matter any further. Your entrance exams are imminent. Focus entirely on the Common Test over the next month.”

A verdict without punishment. One could say the interrogation concluded peacefully.

But a certain phrase caught in my throat.

“‘this matter’, what does that mean?”

An unpleasant foreboding gripped me. My heartbeat quickened and grew louder, and I even broke out in a cold sweat.

“Well, you see… given her position, Kakei-san cannot be exempt from disciplinary action. A pay cut or suspension is likely, and in some cases, dismissal for misconduct is a possibility.”

　It felt like being struck on the head with a heavy, large hammer or something.

We haven’t done anything wrong, have we? The teacher was just being kind to me as a teacher, she didn’t do anything bad. I denied everything completely, so why does she have to face punishment?

“But… Kakei-san was only concerned for my safety, wasn’t she? Isn’t such a severe punishment a bit harsh⁉”

“Because Kakei-san herself admits to having taken Uehara-san out. She seems to fully understand and regret that, even between people of the same sex, it’s viewed harshly in this day and age.”

――Having watched her for so long, I could see right through what she was thinking.

My limbs felt like they might shake. I needed to calm down first. Blinking slowly, I asked the headmaster.

“…When will the decision on Kakei-san’s punishment be made?”

“Given how widespread the rumours have become, the school must hold a parents’ briefing. After that.”

Beyond that point, I don’t recall clearly what else was said or how I left the headmaster’s office.

I couldn’t sit still. Instead of going home, I headed straight for the teacher’s house after school.