I put my hand on the doorknob to exit Miss Alma’s door. “You did well to keep your voice down. I imagine if such actions left this room, you may end up getting in trouble.”

A startled Alma sat up so fast, she nearly knocked her chair down. She was still breathing hard, and her face was flushed. However, her expression seemed to have exchanged drastically. First off, the exhaustion that sat in the eyes of all of the teachers at this school seemed to have left her. She appeared refreshed and perhaps more relaxed than ever before. Furthermore, the way she carried herself seemed to have changed too. She seemed more comfortable in her body, and it gave her a mature feminine feel to her that previously didn’t exist, causing her to look more beautiful.

“A-are you threatening me?” She demanded, but her voice didn’t have much strength to it.

“Not at all,” I responded. “I would much rather than none of this got out. I apologize for having to use such a heavy hand to resolve your problem.”

Miss Alma’s face turned red, and she crossed her arms under her chest. The top button of her blouse had come undone, and this gesture caused her cleavage to appear. On top of the pouty expression on her face, it was something that would have swayed countless men and boys if they had seen her at that moment.

“Resolving my problem… is that what you’re going to call that?” She demanded.

“Is there another name for it? You allowed me to do it.”

“That’s because I thought you would… I mean we would… ah! How can I look into my future husband’s eyes!”

“I never touched you in any inappropriate way.”

“Even if you say that… I felt…” Her face turned red again.

“Feelings are meaningless. There is only reality and truth.” I snorted. “I’ve already given my recommendations. If you want to tell others…”

“I would never!”

“Then, may I go?” I raised an eyebrow.

She bit her lip, seeming reluctant, but she finally gave a silent nod. I unlocked the door and headed out from Miss Alma’s room. When I closed the door behind me and stood outside her office alone, I took a deep breath. At the end of the day, I was still a virgin after all. I wasn’t completely immune to the charms of a woman, and Miss Alma certainly had her charms.

I had to touch her to redirect her blood flow and ultimately resolve her swelling sexual desire. As I had said, I didn’t touch anywhere inappropriate, but the woman was still soft and she was breathing heavily while emitting sweet-smelling pheromones. I was naturally strong enough to control my impulses, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t tempted. It wasn’t like with my sisters. First off, there was the familial bond, and while I didn’t see myself as biologically related to Kio and Hina, I at least knew that my body was related to them. Then, there was their status as children from this world.

In my world, all of these high school girls would have already been married off and most of them would have been pregnant with their second child. Families were started much younger, and it wasn’t even uncommon for a thirty-year-old adventurer to start a family with a sixteen-year-old farmer’s daughter. However, I was a bit older than thirty, and thus I had more of a taste for more mature women. Miss Alma, or even that Butcher’s wife, was more to my tastes than a young and inexperienced girl.

That said, nothing had happened between me and Miss Alma. I had merely corrected her arousal. This may have caused her to experience floods of chemical hormones. Her feelings might have shifted around a bit, and she might have even experienced feelings akin to euphoria. That was merely part of the cure. I had done the same method with Kio, and it turned out fine. In the future, I decided I wouldn’t waste time producing any more aphrodisiacs. They might be an effective weapon against a bully, but the potential for situations like with Miss Alma was too great.

A period had passed while I was taking care of Miss Alma. I walked into my classroom right while they were in the middle for watching a video. The lights were low and the teacher was at their desk without paying close attention. The class was based on politics and the teacher did a lot of current events, so it seemed to be some news program he recorded the previous night. This left me free to sneak to my desk without being seen. I was surprised to see my empty desk had two girls sitting on either side. They were both staring at me as I went to my seat. The girl on my left was Skylar, while the girl on my right was Ivy. I sat between the pair of them.

As soon as I sat down, the classroom seemed to start muttering as if something interesting had happened. The two girls looked at each other, looked at me, and then looked away deliberately at the same time. This caused the whispering to grow even louder. I felt slightly annoyed. I had depended on Ivy to help me fit in and draw less attention, but I was only on my second day back and I felt like I was garnering more attention, not less.

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“Where were you first period?” Ivy suddenly whispered to me.

I turned to her and felt Skylar shifting behind me. “I was in the vice-principals office. I was sent there by a hall monitor.”

“Miss Alma?” Ivy bit her lip. “She’s pretty.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

“Nothing.” She responded with a sniff.

“Please, keep the chatter down until the end of the video.” The teacher spoke up, causing the whispering to diminish slightly, and keeping me from inquiring more.

The video was rather dull though, and I wasn’t able to focus much on it. After a moment, I remembered one of the potions I had concocted. I pulled it out of my pocket and put it on the desk next to Ivy.

“Wh-what’s this?” She asked, trying to lower her voice even more.

“I made a mistake,” I responded. “I betrayed your trust. That is why I made this for you. I’m not particularly good at these kinds of things, but it is an apology gift.”

“A gift…” She picked up the bottle, curiosity filling her eyes for a moment before she glanced back at me. “It’s not really needed. It’s not like we… I mean… you don’t owe me anything.”

“I take my relationships with other people seriously,” I responded. “Even though our status is an illusion, our connection is not. I won’t risk ruining what we have. I still need you.”

It was dark in the room and hard to see, but was her face turning red? Perhaps, I wasn’t conveying my opinion properly. I wouldn’t have lived as long as I had in my world without being skilled at maintaining alliances. There was more than one time I was chased away by mobs of angry villagers, and because I fostered a few choice relationships, I was usually able to escape with the skin of my teeth. I saw Ivy as exactly one of these kinds of people.

This was mostly because she seemed to already have a bad reputation at the school and seemed to have no other friends. Her kid had ruined any chances of her having a social life, so she’d be more amenable to supporting me should the social climate turn against her. Such a relationship was one I had to continue to foster, which was why I went as far as creating this.

“N-need…” She looked away from me, staring at the bottle in her hand with a complicated look. “Wh-what is it?”

“It’s a balm that will take care of your stretch marks,” I replied.

Her head snapped up. “What?”

Her words were loud enough that they drew the eyes of several of the students, who all started whispering excitedly. The teacher looked up, and after a few stern glances, the order in the class was restored. Ivy looked down again, her eyes wide and embarrassment clear on her face.

“This is effective. I made it myself. You should only need to put it on a few times and the stretch marks will be gone. If you’re not interested in this, then just throw it away.” I hissed in her direction before looking back at the television screen.

She didn’t glance back at me, but after a few moments, I noticed in my peripheral vision that she slid the potion into her purse. It seemed she accepted my present. At least, the relationship would be stabilized for the time being. I was just starting to listen to the story on the television when I felt a pinch on my arm. I turned to Skylar.

“I thought you said you’re not in a relationship with her.” She spoke icily.

“Of course, I’m in a relationship with her.” I frowned and continued when Skylar suddenly looked depressed. “However, aren’t I also in a relationship with you?”

“Ah!” She looked away embarrassed. “H-how can you say that?”

I cocked my head. “Because it’s true? However, just because we have a unique relationship, doesn’t mean my feelings for you aren’t special.”

She shook slightly. “Th-then where is my present?”

I blinked. Skylar wanted a present too? What was with these women? A relationship was merely how two people behaved toward each other. I had a relationship with every person that I knew. Skylar was my only co-worker. That was a unique and special relationship in my life. Meanwhile, my relationship with Ivy was a fake girlfriend that would help me navigate the school. When it came to Ivy, I knew I had made a mistake when I accidentally revealed she had a baby to Skylar. Skylar hadn’t mentioned it, and perhaps she hadn’t even noticed at the time as she seemed rather distracted, but it didn’t sit well with me so I had prepared her an apology present. However, when it came to Skylar, I didn’t know why I would need such a present. Once again, women seemed impossible to figure out.

She was still looking at me expectantly though, so after a moment of thought, I pulled out a powder from one of my pockets and handed it to her. She took the bag and then her eyes went wide. She quickly put it into her pocket, looking around desperately.

“Wh-what is this?” She demanded. “You didn’t give me drugs, did you?”

“It’s just a little something that will expand your mind a bit.”

“That is a drug!”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. Immediately before an exam, you can take a pinch of it. Just a pinch though! It’ll increase your ability to recall things for the next hour or two.”

“S-so, it’s like Adderall?” Her hand tightened on her pocket.

“Something like that.” I decided it wasn’t worth trying to explain it further.

The lights flipped on. “Aiko, since you’ve been choosing to talk throughout the entire video, can you explain to the class what the video was about?”

The teacher was glaring at me, and several of the other classmates were giggling or staring at me. Their expressions were varied. Some seemed to want to see me get in trouble, while others had a bit of worry. The two girls who had been bothering me the entire class both looked away with embarrassed expressions. Maybe these relationships were more trouble than they were worth.

Thankfully, that powder I had given Skylar was only one of two bags. I pulled a pinch out of my pocket and through the ruse of biting my finger nervously, I ingested it. The powder instantly caused my mind to work clearer. I started to remember the conversation I had just had as if I had just had it. More than that, I was able to pick up all the words from the presentation. I had only been listening passively, but it was clear enough.

“There was come convict name Darian Wright. He’s on death row. He was a prolific serial killer who murdered 73 people, and the state decided to revoke their capital punishment prohibition specifically because of how dangerous this man is.”

The teacher straightened, looking a bit flustered. “G-good guess… anyway, if any of you ever watched the news outside of the classroom, this guy’s death count isn’t just massive, but he managed it in only a few short years. He’s twenty…”

The teacher had continued with his lecture, but he didn’t get far before the bell rang, and the class ended. I hoped my next class wouldn’t be as troublesome.