The Ice Queen and the Tyrant (2)
“...You did well.”
Ms. Ishihara Eri, a teacher who was evaluated as being beyond calm—cold, even—to the point of earning the nickname Ice Queen.
That very same Ishihara Eri briefly wore a look of sheer fluster on her face.
However, the rest of the class was too shocked by the fact that the notorious Amuro Taiyo had dyed his hair black on Ms. Ishihara Eri's orders to notice the change in her expression.
Only Amuro Taiyo, who was facing Ishihara Eri head-on, caught it.
Am I dreaming?
To think Ms. Ishihara Eri could make such a cute face.
I've never seen anything like it.
And for good reason—she keeps a completely expressionless face almost all day.
In the original manga, her screen time was so minuscule that she never showed any expression other than a blank stare.
So this really was a first.
Seeing the always-composed Ms. Eri look so adorably flustered.
With a swift motion, she regained her usual blank face and returned to the podium.
To the other students, it looked like she was simply heading back after achieving her goal of waking Amuro Taiyo up, but her true thoughts were entirely different.
Was the student who arrived early this morning really Amuro Taiyo?
And he dyed his hair black just because of a passing remark I made yesterday?
It made no sense.
When she was first assigned as the homeroom teacher for Class 2-A—which included Amuro Taiyo—almost every teacher in the academy had come to offer their condolences.
She had told them she was fine and that they didn't need to worry.
It wasn't that she had zero concerns, but rather that she was confident in her ability to keep Amuro Taiyo under control.
Her life had always been a smooth road.
She believed that as long as she calmly followed the textbook approach, there was nothing she couldn't handle.
But it didn't take long for that confidence to waver.
Curious about just how bad he was, she had pulled other students aside to ask about Amuro Taiyo, and the results had been shocking.
If those rumors were true—no, if even a single one of them was true—he deserved to be expelled from the academy immediately.
She had braced herself for what might be the greatest trial of her life, yet only two days after thinking that, he had completely backed down.
In fact, stripping away all prejudice, she wondered if he had actually caused any major trouble in the first place.
Granted, that was partly because he rarely showed up to class, but at the very least, he followed her instructions.
Though it lacked sincerity, he wrote the apology letter when told to.
And while his appearance still felt incredibly intimidating, he had nonetheless made the effort to dye his hair black.
It was a completely unexpected, positive turn of events.
Which only made it all the more baffling.
...
The other students seemed to share her sentiment, still casting furtive glances at Amuro Taiyo.
Meanwhile, the subject of their attention was staring straight at her, looking determined to focus on the lesson.
Come to think of it, his piercings are also...
“!”
Realizing she had been staring intently at Amuro Taiyo's face, she quickly snapped out of it.
“Um... Teacher?”
“Ah... Yes, what is it?”
“You look a bit pale... Are you alright?”
“Why wouldn't I be? Thank you for your concern.”
Get a grip.
She was standing in front of her students, in the middle of teaching a class.
Even if she weren't in front of them, she always had to maintain a flawless demeanor.
“...Now, let's begin the lesson.”
Amuro Taiyo truly seemed intent on paying attention; the sleepiness in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a bright, alert gaze.
For the first time in her life, Ishihara Eri delivered a lesson she was not satisfied with.
She kept worrying about whether Amuro Taiyo was actually paying attention.
That distraction prevented her from delivering the fair, high-quality instruction she owed to the students of Four Seasons Academy.
Blaming herself, she let the rest of the morning slip away, which only served to engrave Amuro Taiyo's presence even deeper into her mind.
A student whose intentions were completely unreadable.
A ticking time bomb of a student, where she couldn't tell if he would explode, or when.
The rumors about what happened during Ms. Ishihara Eri's chemistry class in the first period spread like wildfire across the academy.
"I heard Amuro dyed his hair black because of Ms. Ishihara...!"
"Did she catch him doing something? Like blackmail?"
"Or maybe it's the other way around..."
"Forget the hair, Amuro Taiyo actually paid attention in class! He even answered the teacher's question...!"
"I guess even the mighty Tyrant is no match for the Ice Queen. *snicker*"
"Hey...!"
"What? It's true!"
As the person at the center of it all, there was no way I could remain ignorant of these rumors.
“B-Behind you...”
“...Eek!!”
Who is this guy...?
I didn't memorize everyone's face, but he didn't seem to be in my class.
“Sigh...”
If you're going to freak out the moment you get caught, at least talk behind my back somewhere private.
Why do this in the middle of a busy hallway?
Did they think it didn't matter because everyone in the hallway was talking about the same thing anyway?
Either way, hearing them gossip about the teacher and me wasn't pleasant, so I held their gaze for a moment before heading back into the classroom.
If I used force, or even if I just acknowledged the rumors, it was obvious people would only add more fuel to the fire.
They'd probably say something like I was going around denying the rumors to protect the teacher.
Or something along those lines.
...Actually, is that so bad?
For the first time, a positive... well, I wasn't sure if it was positive, but at least a non-negative rumor was circulating.
Maybe my image in the academy, not to mention with the teacher, would start shifting in a better direction.
That was what I thought right after the first period ended.
“I heard Ms. Ishihara isn't feeling well, so a first-year teacher is subbing for her!”
“Huh? Then what about the rumor? Was it a lie after all?”
“No! She started feeling sick right after what happened in the first period!!”
It seemed to be true that she was resting for the remainder of the morning classes.
Honestly, teachers at the academy had so much work that a sub taking over wasn't unusual enough to warrant rumors.
With teachers for the first, second, and third years, plus student teachers for each subject, they could easily swap classes depending on their schedules.
Still, the fact that she rested the entire morning right after that incident was plenty of fodder for the gossip mill.
I was already used to rumors, but I couldn't stand the teacher being consumed as mere gossip.
“Hey.”
“Who... W-Why...?”
“Cut it out.”
“C-Cut what...?”
A girl I didn't know mumbled, acting as if she had done nothing wrong.
Why do students at a prestigious academy have so much interest in useless gossip?
“Stop while I'm asking nicely.”
Frightened by my direct warning, she nodded frantically and ran off.
She probably thought something like, 'Amuro Taiyo would even hit a girl.'
“Sigh...”
Rattle—
As I entered the classroom with a sigh, the eyes of my classmates gathered on me.
At this point, it was beyond familiar; it was downright exhausting.
“Hey.”
“U-Uh...?”
“You didn't go around spreading weird rumors, did you?”
If even my first friend, Oku Nobuhiko, was doing it, I would feel deeply betrayed.
Maybe the original Amuro Taiyo who disappeared would make a comeback.
“I-I don't have any friends to talk to...”
“Ah.”
I was the one who had dealt the blow.
“Even if I did, I wouldn't do that...”
He mumbled with his head hung low.
But his words were exemplary.
Without realizing it, I rubbed the bottom of my nose, feeling a warm sense of pride.
“Hey. I'm your friend.”
“Ah, right... Y-Yeah...”
It seemed he still thought I was just playing with him rather than seeing him as a real friend.
There was no need for me to correct him, and even if I tried, he wouldn't easily understand.
I just had to wait for time to resolve it.
“Ah! Um... I finished drawing that thing from earlier...”
He handed over his sketchbook with both hands, looking less like he was sharing it and more like he was offering a tribute.
“What a waste.”
“D-Don't you like it...?”
“It would've been better if you drew it on proper paper instead of a notebook. Can I tear this page out?”
“O-Oh, yeah!! Of course!”
“Do you have scissors?”
Oku Nobuhiko rummaged through his bag and quickly handed me a pair of scissors.
Focusing all my attention, I cut the page out cleanly...
“Hey, do you have anything I can put this in?”
“H-Here...”
He handed me a clear file folder featuring an anime girl striking a cute pose.
“I'll make good use of this and return it to you tomorrow.”
“Oh...”
My bag was empty, so the paper would definitely get crumpled if I just threw it in. I had no choice.
“Thanks.”
“!! Y-Yeah...”
He looked startled for a moment, then blushed in a slightly unsettling way.
But I didn't hate the reaction.
I got a great drawing, and I grew a bit closer to my first friend.
If only things had ended there, everything would have been smooth sailing...
What should I do about the rumors regarding the teacher and me?
Sigh... If only I hadn't said that while half-asleep.
Regretting it wouldn't undo the past, but it wasn't like I had any other options.
Stepping forward to explain myself or warning people not to spread rumors would only fuel the fire.
So, I just sat quietly in my seat, wallowing in regret.
It seemed the unique advantages of being a golden-haired delinquent held little value in this academy.
Based on the rumors, you'd think I lived entirely as I pleased, but in reality, the slightest action got blown out of proportion, leaving me unable to do anything.
I was essentially isolated within the academy.
“Even if your intentions were different, it's a fact that you caused harm.”
Maybe that was why the original Amuro Taiyo had taken an interest in her.
She was the epitome of a model student, possessing a righteous personality.
Asanagi Haruna, the class president of Class 2-A and a heroine positioned as the protagonist's childhood friend, was scolding me for my own good.
For the sake of that notorious Amuro Taiyo.