Isn't the Pajama Teacher Title Really Too Much?
Was the sun already up and at work?
Unwanted sunlight had begun its unauthorized invasion, piercing through the blackout curtains into my room.
Eventually the light reached my face and refused to let me sleep any longer.
“Mmmrrgh...”
I groggily pried my eyelids open.
Ugh… I’m so sleepy. Why am I always this tired in the morning…?
Still, I’m a demon with the proper occupation of private tutor. I should wash up and get ready to—
“…Huh?”
The moment I opened my eyes, the sight that filled my entire vision nearly made me scream.
Its identity was none other than—
“…Princess?”
It was Princess Regrita, sleeping so beautifully that she could have slapped Sleeping Beauty’s cheeks forty times over and still looked more enchanting.
Even more shocking was the fact that the princess was fast asleep while hugging me tightly.
Which meant the soft mounds on her chest were gently pressing against mine.
“Uh, eh?”
I was so flustered that I couldn’t even form a proper sentence.
First things first—I needed to escape her embrace. I wriggled desperately, trying to slip free.
But.
Squeeze.
“Eep…!”
The arms locked around my back and the princess’s chest firmly pinning my front refused to give me any room to escape.
And the most shocking realization I had while squirming was—
“…Why is it open?”
The zipper on my shark pajamas was more than halfway down.
The zipper was in the front, and I wasn’t wearing a bra.
Which meant… I had spent the night sleeping with my chest completely exposed?
…Why??
I still didn’t know the reason, but I decided the first priority was to zip it back up. My wriggling grew more frantic.
“Hngh—eek!”
Ziiiip.
After flailing around inside the princess’s arms, I finally managed to pull the zipper all the way up.
The only problem was—
“Mmm… Are you awake, Teacher?”
The princess had woken up from all my violent movements.
Okay, that wording sounds weird even to me.
Anyway.
The moment she woke, Princess Regrita gently swept my bangs to the side.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
Why is she asking like we’re lovers…?
It felt so natural that for a second I wondered if I had somehow become a married couple in our third year without realizing it.
“Hmm…? You look very surprised.”
“Y-yes…”
Of course I was surprised.
I was certain I had fallen asleep while keeping a proper distance from her.
I had no idea why I’d woken up in her arms.
Or why my pajama zipper had been halfway down.
There were only two possible explanations for the current situation.
Either I had sleepwalking issues I wasn’t aware of,
Gulp.
Or the princess had taken my clothes off.
“When I came to my senses, I was lying in bed. But when I looked over and saw you there, Teacher… I unconsciously pulled you into my arms.”
At least I now knew why I had woken up in her embrace.
She must have regained consciousness during the night after fainting.
Then what about my zipper?
“Teacher, do you have any idea how warm it is to sleep while hugging you? You’re so soft and squishy… it’s honestly addictive.”
“Ah, no—that’s not what I’m asking!”
I had zero interest in hearing her review of how soft my skin was.
I just wanted to know if the princess had pulled down my zipper and done something to me!
“Princess… did you pull my pajama zipper down?”
“Hmm?”
The princess glanced down at my chest.
I had definitely zipped it properly a moment ago, but the moment her eyes landed there I flinched anyway.
“It’s zipped up just fine, though?”
“N-no, I just zipped it. When I first woke up, it was definitely down…”
“Hmmm~?”
The princess’s lips curved upward as if she had just heard something fascinating.
“What’s this? After everything I did to you yesterday, you’re taking your clothes off again in bed… Does that mean you want me to do it again?”
“W-what are you even saying?! I didn’t take anything off!”
“Ahaha, sorry. I was just teasing.”
I didn’t take anything off! The zipper was just down, that’s all.
…Then who on earth pulled my zipper down?
“When I pulled you into my arms, the zipper was properly closed. Maybe my embrace was so warm that you unconsciously opened it in your sleep?”
If that was the case, then I guess it was fine…
“More importantly, Princess… there’s no way I’d want to experience what happened yesterday again…”
“……Ahem. I’m sorry, Teacher.”
The princess wiped every trace of playfulness from her face.
With a gentle hand, she slowly stroked my cheek.
“I must have lost my mind for a moment yesterday. I can usually keep it under control…”
“Ah, that ‘keeping it under control’ thing!”
I had forgotten, but her mention of it brought the memory rushing back.
“That’s when you carve magic into your own heart, right!”
“It’s less carving magic and more suppressing it with mana… How did you know?”
“Mana? Did you just say mana?”
Good grief… Not even magic, but pure mana pressing down on the heart. That would be at least five times more difficult than doing it with magic.
How was the princess even capable of that? Just how high was her level…?
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them wide.
“Princess, do you understand how dangerous that is?”
“Dangerous…?”
See? She had no idea what she was doing and just went ahead with it because it seemed possible.
“Do you remember what happened last night?”
“…That’s a strangely suggestive way to phrase it.”
“What are you imagining?!”
“Hehe… Of course I remember. I did something terribly wrong, after all.”
We were having a serious conversation and she was still joking around.
Without realizing it, my cheeks puffed up with air.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. Please continue.”
The princess poked my puffed cheek with a slender finger, letting the air out.
No matter how I looked at it, she didn’t seem the least bit sorry…
“Anyway, you remember suddenly collapsing, right?”
“Yes, that did surprise me. My consciousness suddenly grew distant…”
“That could have killed you.”
“…Pardon?”
Maybe it was the word “killed,” but the princess’s ears perked up and she began listening intently.
“You were extremely lucky that it only ended in fainting. Magic power reflux isn’t a symptom that normally stops at that level.”
“Magic power reflux?”
“Exactly. When someone like you over-seals their heart to suppress emotions, the magic power flows backward through the blood vessels and refluxes.”
I reached out and poked the princess’s nose with my finger.
Even while scolding her, this level of poking probably didn’t even count as a proper reprimand.
“When magic power refluxes, most people’s blood vessels burn up and they die. So…”
Grab.
I clutched the front of the princess’s clothes.
“Please don’t die doing something like that. To me, you’re my one and only precious student.”
The thought that my one and only student—the princess—might die terrified me.
We hadn’t known each other very long, and our teacher-student relationship was far from normal, but none of that changed the fact that she was someone precious I had to protect and raise.
My sincere plea must have reached her.
With a solemn expression, the princess declared,
“I understand, Teacher. Your one and only student, I, Regrita, will never die. I’ll stay right by your side, sticking to you like glue.”
“Huh?”
Wait, how did it turn into that? Sticking to me? I was just telling her not to do dangerous things…?
“But then I might fail at suppressing my emotions sometimes…”
Whoosh.
“Eep?!”
The princess suddenly yanked me into a tight hug.
Our bodies pressed together, and I felt her warm body heat seep into me.
I could hear her heartbeat.
And the ridiculously soft cushioning from her chest was no joke.
If I stayed like this I was going to fall asleep, so I quickly spoke up.
“U-um, Princess? We should probably get up soon…”
“Mmm… But you like sleeping in, don’t you, Teacher?”
“That’s not the same as—”
“Just a little longer. Let’s take a nap together before we get up.”
Who takes a nap right after waking up in the morning?!
That was what I thought, but—
The princess seemed completely serious. Soon I heard the sound of her even breathing.
“…Are you actually sleeping, Princess?”
“Suuu… suuu…”
Wow, she really fell asleep. What do I do? I don’t have the strength to break free from her arms.
I whined and wriggled with all my might, but I still couldn’t escape.
While I was wondering how to get out, I finally gave up.
“I don’t know anymore.”
I simply surrendered my body to the princess’s embrace and closed my eyes.
Since I couldn’t fight it anyway, I might as well accept my fate.
The moment I closed my eyes, sleepiness washed over me like a wave.
It was because her arms were so warm… zzz…
That day, the princess and I napped together, sharing each other’s warmth until well past lunchtime.
Three days after the princess’s home-tutor-ear-munching incident.
In other words, my fifth day of employment at the Demon King’s castle.
I had developed a very, extremely, berry big complaint toward the princess.
Normally I didn’t want to complain to her because of our difference in status, but—
“Princess! This is seriously too much!”
This time I couldn’t hold back my anger.
“What’s wrong now, Teacher? Is the food not to your taste?”
“No, the food is delicious.”
The Demon King’s castle menu on its fifth day was extremely satisfying.
So good that I wouldn’t even glance at anything not made by the castle chef.
I had also been diligently observing demon dining etiquette—feeding the princess and accepting food from her in turn.
So what could possibly be bothering someone as happy as me?
“When are my regular clothes finally arriving?!”
What I was currently wearing was a dinosaur onesie.
After the bear, shark, puppy, and panda, it was the pajama the princess had personally chosen.
Since I had no other clothes, I’d been forced to wear it with tears in my eyes.
I had to endure countless servants’ misunderstandings.
No, no, no.
I used to be a perfectly healthy adult man. There was no way I’d want to strut around the Demon King’s castle in animal onesies!
Who gave you permission?! Who decided to start calling me the pajama teacher?!
“Princess, doesn’t it bother you that your one and only home tutor is being called the pajama teacher inside the castle?”
“Hmm? No, I think it’s cute. I like it.”
“Ughhh…!”
The princess smiled brightly, looking genuinely pleased, then cut the dessert cake into a perfect bite-size piece and fed it to me.
Even though I felt like I was going to explode with frustration, I swallowed the cake first before speaking.
“Mmm… nom nom… Princess. No matter how you look at it, isn’t the whole ‘pajama teacher’ thing really not okay?”
“Hmm… I don’t mind it, but if you dislike it, Teacher, we should change what they call you.”
“Then instead of pajamas, please give me regular clothes—!”
Slide.
The princess held a notebook out to me.
I thought she wanted me to write down what kind of clothes I wanted, but—
“If you write down the names of everyone who dared to call you the pajama teacher, I’ll replace them with different servants as soon as possible.”
“Eh… ehh?”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of a joke in the princess’s smiling face.
If I actually wrote down the servants’ names, they would probably disappear without a trace, replaced by others.
It was terrifying because I knew the princess would actually do it…
In the end, instead of writing any names, I started begging her again.
“Princess… I really don’t want to wear pajamas anymore. Please let me wear normal clothes…”
“Sigh… If you’re asking this earnestly, then as your one and only student, I suppose I have no choice but to listen.”
The princess stood up from her seat.
Finally! Was she finally going to order proper clothes for me?!
“Then let’s go visit the tailor together right now.”
“…Pardon?”
“To make clothes, we need to go to the tailor and take your measurements in person.”
“Uh…?”
“Here, give me your hand.”
After holding the princess’s hand for the past five days, I reflexively took it.
“Let’s go take a look, Teacher.”
“Uh… Yes…”
All I had wanted was some comfortable everyday clothes.
Somehow I had ended up being led by the princess’s hand straight to the tailor.
…Was this really okay?