The meeting room was silent.
A group of teachers sat around the table, discussing something serious.
And in the middle of it
Hirakawa Tetsuya was completely distracted.
Not just distracted.
Something… was wrong.
"Ding."
A mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"System binding in progress"
"0%… 10%… 30%… 100%."
"Binding complete."
"What?"
Hirakawa blinked.
Then, just to be sure, he pinched his own hand.
It hurt.
So this wasn't a dream.
"You've got to be kidding me."
A faint blue screen appeared in front of him floating in midair.
Text slowly formed across it.
A system panel.
Just like in those novels.
Hirakawa glanced around.
Everyone else was still in the meeting, acting completely normal.
No one noticed anything.
So… it was one of those "only the host can see it" situations.
"Alright."
Let's see what kind of nonsense this thing is.
He focused his gaze on the screen.
His expression stayed calm
For about three seconds.
Then it froze.
At the very top of the panel, a single sentence was written:
"Ma'am, you wouldn't want your husband to lose his job… right?"
"?"
Hirakawa's expression turned… complicated.
He kept reading.
[Usage Instructions]
Find the target's weakness.
Use the above sentence structure to threaten them.
Force them to agree to one of your demands.
[Note 1]
The threat must be within your capability.
[Note 2]
The more important the weakness is to the target,
the more unreasonable your demand can be.
Hirakawa read it again.
And then again.
And then a third time.
"Yeah."
"I've definitely awakened something weird."
So basically
This system wanted him to blackmail people?
Using lines like that??
"This is insane."
If he weren't in a meeting right now, he would've—
Wait.
He was in a meeting.
Hirakawa suddenly snapped back to reality.
And only then did he notice
The room had gone completely silent.
Everyone was looking at him.
Under the table, the teacher next to him was lightly kicking his leg, trying to signal him.
"Ah."
So they caught him spacing out.
Hirakawa quickly adjusted his expression and smiled naturally.
Then he looked toward the man at the head of the table.
The principal spoke in a calm tone:
"Mr. Hirakawa, you don't look well. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing serious," Hirakawa replied with a polite smile.
"Thank you for your concern."
"Mm."
A flat response.
Then
"About the student in your class… Tsutsuhara."
"You're aware of the situation, correct?"
"Yes."
"And her background?"
"I understand."
Tsutsuhara's mother
Was the chairman of the school's board.
In simple terms:
Someone you absolutely couldn't afford to offend.
"Then I'll leave her matter to you," the principal said.
His tone was polite.
But the meaning was clear.
This wasn't a request.
It was pressure.
"I understand."
Hirakawa nodded.
The meeting continued.
But for him
It was already over.
Because now, he had two problems.
A troublesome student.
And…
A ridiculously suspicious system.
After the Meeting
"Mr. Hirakawa."
"Mr. Hirakawa?"
"Ah. Yes."
Hirakawa snapped out of it and looked at the person calling him.
It was his colleague
Kuda Mari.
The same teacher who had been kicking him under the table earlier.
She waved her hand in front of his face.
"You were spacing out again during the meeting"
Hirakawa smiled slightly.
"I'll try not to next time."
"You said that last time too."
"Fair point."
The two chatted as they walked from the fourth-floor meeting room down to the staff office.
They were both first-year teachers.
And among the staff
They were the youngest.
After sitting down, Kuda turned toward him.
"About Tsutsuhara"
"Do you really think you can handle it?"
Hirakawa shook his head immediately.
"No."
"Then what are you going to do?"
He smiled lightly.
"What else can I do?"
"Teaching students properly is a teacher's duty."
"That's true."
Kuda nodded, then gave him an approving look.
"Still, that's a nice mindset."
"Of course."
Hirakawa accepted the praise without hesitation.
Because he meant it.
In his previous life
There was a saying:
"If you slaughter pigs in one life, you'll teach in the next."
But for him
Being a teacher wasn't a punishment.
It was something he genuinely chose.
And in this second life
He had made the same choice again.
"If possible," he thought,
"I'd like to keep things this way."
But first
There were two immediate problems.
Tsutsuhara.
And
That system.
"Kuda-sensei."
"Hm?"
Hirakawa spoke calmly:
"Can I borrow your cup?"
"My cup?"
"Why?"
Even so, she handed it over.
There was still half a cup of water inside.
With jasmine petals floating on top.
Hirakawa held it in one hand.
Then picked up his own empty cup with the other.
And handed it to her.
"Kuda-sensei."
"Could you help me get some water?"
"No."
"Do it yourself."
Exactly as expected.
Hirakawa didn't move.
Instead
He slowly tilted her cup.
And said calmly:
"Kuda-sensei… you wouldn't want this cup of yours to be spilled, right?"
In that instant
Something changed.
In Kuda's eyes
Everything became strange.
The young teacher in front of her.
His voice.
His gaze.
Something… irresistible
Her body stiffened.
Her thoughts slowed.
And that sentence
Echoed again and again in her mind.
"You wouldn't want this cup to be spilled… right?"
"Please help me get some water."
"O-Okay"
Before she even realized it
She had already agreed.