Chapter 480: Why Is There Blood on This Underwear? (6)

She never expected her kohai to have quietly charmed one of her students without her noticing.

"Tsk tsk, what bad luck," she muttered, clicking her tongue twice, her mood suddenly taking a downturn.

'Wait, why am I feeling unhappy?' she wondered.

"Ahem, senpai, can you focus on the class?" Sui, sitting beside her, gave a polite cough.

"Huh?"

Utaha blinked in confusion, only to realize that everyone was staring at her with odd expressions.

"Are you teaching, or flirting?" Itsuki questioned sharply, adjusting her pink glasses, her look full of disdain.

"Shameless," Nino added, crossing her legs, her tone dripping with contempt.

It was only then that Utaha became aware of her rather inappropriate posture—leaning against Sui with one arm holding the lecture notes, while her other hand rested on his leg. One of her long, stocking-clad legs was draped casually over his thigh.

Her face flushed crimson, and she quickly pulled away from Sui, feeling mortified.

Sui rolled his eyes. 'What's gotten into this girl today? She's supposed to be teaching, not clinging to me.'

'If you want to get close, could you at least wait until there aren't so many people around?'

Feeling Sui's judgmental gaze, Utaha grew more embarrassed and, in retaliation, discreetly stomped on his foot with her stocking-covered foot.

Sui shot her a puzzled look, unable to figure out why she was acting so strangely. Then a bold thought crossed his mind. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "Senpai, could it be... is it that time of the month?"

"...Get lost!"

Trying to regain her composure, Utaha decided to focus on the lesson and regain her dignity as a sensei. She poured all her energy into the next part of the class.

Being Toyogasaki Academy's brightest student and a rising star in the light novel world, Utaha had an impressive grasp of literature. Her japanese lessons were usually quite lively, though today, the conversation eventually shifted into a critique of light novels—particularly her disdain for those that only sold because of fanservice.

Still, despite her tangent, the class remained energetic. Even Miku, who had been sulking, Nino, who was idly trimming her nails, Itsuki, who was thinking about dinner, Ichika, who was fighting to stay awake, and Yotsuba, who was eagerly taking notes (despite not writing anything coherent), were drawn in by her enthusiasm.

"That was amazing! I've written down everything you said!" Yotsuba cheered, despite her notebook being empty.

"You really are talented, Senpai," Ichika added with a smile.

Utaha beamed with satisfaction, feeling that she had restored her image as the cool and knowledgeable woman she prided herself on being.

Meanwhile, Sui, wary that Utaha might start acting oddly again, stood up and began tidying the room.

"We were talking about poetry, right? Memorize these lines…" Utaha began, only to be interrupted by Sui's running commentary.

"Senpai, how long have you been wearing these stockings? They kind of smell," he commented as he sorted through her belongings.

"…You should also jot down these…," Utaha continued, trying to maintain her composure.

"And why is there soy sauce on your underwear? Do you eat in just your underwear?" Sui asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Anyway, where was I…" she stammered, blushing furiously.

"And why is there blood on this pair of panties? Oh… sorry," Sui quickly apologized, realizing his mistake.

After a while, Sui had organized an entire box full of stockings, panties, and other underwear, all in various colors. He promptly carried them to the bathroom, where he threw them into the washing machine.

"Couldn't you have waited until later?" Utaha asked, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Nope," Sui replied firmly, his mild obsession with cleanliness taking over.

And just like that, the cool and composed image Utaha had worked so hard to rebuild crumbled completely.

The illusion was shattered.

"Sui, can you make us some snacks?" Yotsuba asked excitedly, bounding over with her signature energy, her bow bouncing like a rabbit's ears.

"Sure," Sui smiled and asked, "What would you like to eat?"

"I want pudding!" Yotsuba exclaimed, raising both hands in delight.

"I'll have cake," Ichika chimed in with a smile. "I'll leave it to you, Sui."

"And you, Senpai? What would you like?" Sui asked, glancing at Utaha, who was sitting on the sofa, still blushing and looking uncharacteristically flustered.

"Anything sweet is fine," she muttered, thinking to herself that eating something sugary might help her forget her earlier embarrassment.

Sui chuckled and headed to his apartment next door to gather ingredients—since there was no way this lazy senpai would have any food in her kitchen.

Nino and Miku followed him.

"Hey, didn't you say you'd teach me how to make those delicious rice balls?" Nino asked, folding her arms and speaking in her usual haughty tone, though she avoided eye contact, clearly embarrassed by the request.

Sui smiled. "Of course."

"I want to learn too," Miku added softly, rolling up her sleeves, her expression as serious as always.

"Miku, you too?" Ichika and the others were surprised by her enthusiasm.

"Mm-hmm." Miku nodded, keeping her calm demeanor.

"Then work hard," Sui said, gently patting her head.

Miku froze for a moment, and then her face turned a bright shade of red. Steam almost seemed to rise from her head as she blushed furiously, a flicker of shy embarrassment in her eyes.

With that, Sui began preparing the afternoon snacks in the kitchen, while Nino and Miku learned how to make rice balls. He gave them pointers occasionally as they worked.

An hour later, the three had finished their dishes.

Nino proudly brought out a plate of beautifully arranged rice balls.

Miku, on the other hand, presented a plate of misshapen and oddly crooked rice balls, her face flushed with embarrassment.