Chapter 123
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Shrine Maiden Shizune
“I cannot sully the Way of the Teacher!”
“Huh? What's the problem? You did fine with the married woman yesterday.”
“Th-that is an entirely different matter!”
Shizune shot to her feet and clasped her hands together politely. She looked ready to submit a formal petition.
“Adultery may stray from propriety, but it can be said to arise from overwhelming affection between man and woman. However, lewd acts between teacher and student...!”
“Uh, um...?”
“As the Analects' chapter on governance states: 'To learn without thinking is to be bewildered; to think without learning is perilous.' The position of teacher carries such grave weight!”
“Ah...”
I rubbed my forehead.
Right. Shizune was obsessed with Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism.
“A teacher imparts knowledge to their students, and students must serve their teacher like a parent. To shatter that bond and succumb to carnal lust? That tramples the Three Bonds and Five Relationships!”
“Eh, ehh...? But yesterday you played the role of seducing someone else's husband...?”
Harumi asked in disbelief, but Shizune was resolute.
“That is different from this! There is righteousness between ruler and subject, affection between parent and child, distinction between husband and wife, order between elder and younger, trust between friends! None of the Five Relationships teaches us to defile the teacher-student bond!”
“...Is that really the point right now?”
Saki shot me a baffled look.
I sighed.
“Shizune.”
“Yes, Lord Sanghyeon!”
“Isn't it weird to say adultery is okay but teacher-student isn't?”
“Absolutely not! The distinction between husband and wife teaches us to uphold our duties, but it does not deem excess affection an unforgivable sin. However, the teacher-student bond...!”
She gripped my hand tightly.
“Did Confucius ever engage in such acts with even one of his three thousand disciples? Did Mencius, with his lofty virtue, ever succumb to lust while guiding his students?!”
Weren't all of Confucius's disciples men...? That was horrifying in its own way.
“Upholding the Way of the Teacher is the path of the sages!”
Ren spoke quietly.
“Hudahara. Calm down.”
“I-I am calm!”
“Your voice doesn't sound calm at all.”
“Guh... S-sorry.”
Shizune shut her mouth and sat back down politely.
To modern ears, it all sounded ridiculously stuffy, so Saki thumped her chest.
“Jeez, fine, just try putting on the outfit first. It's just clothes, so no issue, right?”
A black suit and horn-rimmed glasses procured from somewhere.
Just like yesterday with the dress, while I waited in the hallway, they had her fully dressed. She definitely gave off strict teacher vibes.
“Ugh... I've never worn clothes like this before...”
“It suits you well, Shizune.”
“Thank you...”
She fiddled awkwardly with her glasses.
Saki whispered from the side.
“Okay, now just follow the script. Yuu is the slacker student, Hudahara plays the scolding teacher. Simple, right?”
“Simple might be a stretch...”
“And gradually ramp up the skinship while scolding. Got it?”
“Yes...”
Shizune nodded tensely.
I sat in one corner of the calligraphy club room, set up like a classroom.
Shizune stood at the podium.
“......”
She took a deep breath, then spoke coldly.
“Yuu-kun. Focus in class. No fooling around.”
Oh.
Her tone had completely changed.
Not her usual calm, gentle speech, but sharp and stern like a true teacher. Wow... She nailed it on the first real try? Why'd she resist so much earlier if she could do this well?
I replied cockily on purpose.
“Aw, class is boring.”
“If it's boring, do you just ignore it? Do you know a student's duty?”
“Duty? What's that?”
“Duty means...”
Maybe push it further.
“Ah~ spare me the boring stuff and tell me about your first love. Heh heh heh.”
Shizune froze for a second, then flew into genuine fury.
“How dare you interrupt your teacher so insolently! The Great Learning states: 'The way of great learning lies in manifesting bright virtue!' Thus, a student must pursue bright virtue—!”
...Oops. If I let this go, she'll start whipping me or something.
“Um, Shizune. Hold on.”
I raised my hand.
“Eh?”
“That's not something a female teacher would say.”
“......!”
Shizune's face turned beet red.
“I-is that so...?”
“Female teachers don't quote the Four Books and Three Classics. They just say stuff like 'You need to study harder.'”
“Ugh.”
Shizune fiddled with her glasses in panic.
Saki sighed.
“Hudahara, aren't you too tense?”
“S-sorry...”
“It's fine. Let's try again.”
We started over from the top.
Same thing happened.
“Yuu-kun, why are your test scores like this? If you don't study, you can't become a fine adult.”
“It's boring, I said. And I can cram last-minute for this level.”
Her face darkened.
“A stern rebuke!!”
Hah... Here we go again.
“The Analects' chapter on governance states: 'To know what you know and not know what you don't—that is true knowledge.' How can you call it learning if you don't even study properly?!”
“......”
I raised my hand again.
“Shizune...”
Shizune's shoulders slumped.
“Did I mess up again...?”
“Yeah.”
She hung her head and sighed.
“I don't know what to do... Thinking of the teacher's way brings the sages' words to mind first...”
Ren said quietly.
“Hudahara. You don't have to force it.”
“......”
“It seems like too much strain.”
Shizune fell silent.
Her eyes looked a bit red.
.
.
.
We tried several more times like that.
In the end, we gave up on the female teacher roleplay.
No matter what, Shizune couldn't separate the concept of 'teacher' from the sages' teachings.
To her, a teacher wasn't just a job—it was a sacred being who transmitted the Way.
Turning such a figure into a sexual object clashed with her entire worldview.
If even a simple seated skit led to this, teacher-student sex play was impossible. Pushing it would just waste time.
With only two days left, better to cut losses and focus on viable options.
“......My apologies.”
Shizune bowed her head.
I hugged her.
“It's okay. No need to force it.”
Role Evaluation: 『Female Teacher』 Synchronization Rate: 15%
FAILED!
Saki tapped her chin.
“Hmm... Anyway, Harumi, you came up with this dumb 'interview.' What's the passing criteria? Let's start there.”
It was a fair question from her perspective.
Harumi, who'd been enjoying our farce, tilted her head like it was obvious.
“Huh? Obviously, it ends when Sanghyeon is satisfied. Fufu.”
“Me?”
“Yup! I just enjoy watching... It passes the moment Sanghyeon is satisfied!”
“Sigh. Figures. I never expected a scatterbrain like you to set proper metrics.”
Harumi bristled.
“Hey! Don't pick on me!!”
As she started flailing, I quietly hugged her.
Ren, who'd been listening silently, spoke up.
“So ultimately, it comes down to Sanghyeon-kun's feelings. How are you feeling now, Sanghyeon-kun? Not satisfied?”
“Less 'not satisfied' and more... After Ren and Saki's maid cosplay was such an intense experience, everything so far feels a bit lacking?”
It boosted my girlfriends' morale while keeping the silly roleplay test going.
Ren and Saki took it well.
“Hahaha! You liked that so much? Huh? I'll do it more later!”
Saki slapped my back while grinning Ren smiled sweetly.
“Then we need to think of other roles.”
“Other roles?”
Shizune tilted her head.
“What role could Hudahara do without resistance...?”
“Well, married woman worked, teacher failed...”
Saki drummed her fingers on the desk.
“......Ah.”
Her eyes lit up.
“Got it.”
“Huh?”
“Hudahara. Like shrines?”
“Shrines...?”
“Japanese traditional ones. Where they worship gods.”
Shizune's eyes widened.
“A shrine... Then perhaps a shrine maiden...?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“A shrine maiden! Serving the gods as a shrine maiden holds no objection for me! Though it contrasts with Confucian teachings, serving the divine follows its own Way. And while shrine maidens are pure, they do not follow the teacher's Way!”
Saki grinned.
“Okay. Next role: 'Shrine Maiden.'”
I nodded.
Shrine maiden, huh.
Not bad.
Alright, let's pass this one.