Shuichi Chiba quietly lifted the curtain and saw that Sumire Nagase was still sleeping soundly, looking quite peaceful.

  However, her face was still flushed, making it seem like she was still running a fever.

  Shuichi Chiba pced the back of his hand on her forehead again to check the temperature. "This isn’t good. Although it’s a bit better, she still feels hot. Should I call the school nurse?"

  Sumire Nagase tio sleep deeply, and after Shuichi spoke, he didn't take any a. He just stood there, watg her.

  After a few minutes, Sumire’s eyes suddenly moved, and then she slowly opehem, looking somewhat fused.

  "Chiba? Why are you still here? What time is it? Shouldn't we be in css?"

  Chiba stared at her expression and replied, "It's 10:30. There are five minutes left until PE css ends, so you don’t o worry about sleeping too long."

  "I see... Well, you should probably head back to css. up is math, and you ’t skip it again." Sumire said, her tone slightly more serious as she reminded him.

  "No rush. Let's wait until the nurse es back. I 't just leave you here alone."

  Before she could refuse, Chiba suddenly added, "By the way, you were really sound asleep. I made quite a bit of noise earlier, but you didn’t wake up at all."

  Sumire trembled slightly, her eyes shifting a bit, and then she wiped her face with her hand before reag for her gsses by the pilloutting them on.

  "It might be because I'm sick, making me more sleepy than usual. What kind of noise did you make? The nurse's office should stay quiet. Don't cause a disturbance again, it wouldn't be good if you affected someone else." Sumire said.

  Shuichi Chiba smiled slightly. "Nothing much, I was just watg a video, and actally had the sound on."

  "I see, be more careful ime.” Sumire nodded, seeming to brush it off.

  Just as the versation was about to fall into an awkward silence, footsteps could suddenly be heard from outside.

  A womaered the room, her figure quite stunning, parable to that of Fumika Ogawa. She wore a white b coat, with a purple turtlenederh, paired with bck garter stogs and a short skirt. Her shoulder-length hair added to her charm.

  "What were you guys talking about? You both went silent as soon as I came in." The nurse, Naomi Hajime, asked with a smile.

  "We were just talking about you, Ms. Harada." Shuichi Chiba replied smoothly.

  Sumire Nagase gave him a subtle sideways gnce. Since when was this guy so quick with his words?

  "Oh? What were you saying about me? Talking behind my back?" Naomi Hajime teased.

  "We were saying how attractive you are, Ms. Harada. If you weren’t already engaged, I’d probably try my lud pursue you after I graduate." Shuichi Chiba said with a pyful grin.

  Naomi Hajime was quite popur among the male students because of her beauty, and news of her e had spread quickly st year.

  Chiba’s remark made Harada burst into a melodic ugh. She turo look at Sumire Nagase.

  "Is this one of your students? He's got a way with words. But I doubt you taught him this, right?"

  It was clear from their exge that the two teachers had a good retionship.

  Sumire rolled her eyes at her. "Of course not! You know I’d each him something like that. This guy used to be pretty reserved, but I guess he went through something. Now he's all smooth talk."

  Yeah, he went through getting rich. Damn rich people!

  But getting rich really does give people fidence…

  Shuichi Chiba spread his hands helplessly and said, "Is this personal revenge, Ms. Nagase? Just because I said earlier that you're ly my type, and now I’ve plimented Ms. Harada, you’re saying I'm being slick with my words?"

  "If I were really trying to sweet-talk someone, wouldn’t I start with you, my own teacher? Clearly, everything I’ve said is genuine."

  Naomi Hajime burst out ughing even harder, but Sumire Nagase was fuming. What was this guy’s problem? Did he have a grudge against her? Why was he hitting her with these jabs?

  Of course, there ‘was’ a reason.

  Shuichi Chiba had a very clear goal—recruiting exceptional didates who met his system's standards to open shops in the shopping distribsp;

  Sure, Naomi Hajime was already engaged, and her curreionship seemed stable. Plus, her job as a school nurse wasn’t bad. But there was no harm in pnting some seeds now and building rapport for the future. After all, you never know.

  Life is uable.

  Ahem, o overthink it. Maybe one day, if Naomi Hajime decided to quit her job, she could open up a pharmacy or i the shopping district. That wouldn’t be such a bad idea, would it?

  If the shopping district had a pharmacy or ic with enhanced effects, it would be an added yer of prote for Shuichi himself. After all, living longer meant more time to enjoy life—something he had learhe hard way in his previous life.

  As for the fact that Naomi Hajime had a fiancé, it wasn't a major issue. The system's criteria were about a sense of belonging, not something like a game where favorability points had to be painstakingly raised through strategiteras.

  Plus, with so many vat shops in the district, why not put them to good use for now? Who knows, Harada might even have some retives who fit the criteria for being excellent shop owners.

  And sidering nowadays high divorce rates, an e wasn’t necessarily set in stone...

  Chiba quickly shook his head, clearing his mind. He o stop these thoughts—they were going off the rails. Clearly, this was all Tsuki's bad influence!

  "What are you daydreaming about? Ms. Harada is already back, so why don’t you hurry up and go to css?" Sumire Nagase, notig his dazed expression, reminded him with some annoyance.

  "Oh? What needed my preseo wait for?" Naomi Hajime asked curiously when she heard this.

  "Ms. Nagase is sick. Since Ms. Harada was away earlier, I took her temperature, gave her some fever-redug medie, and urged her to rest until you got back. I hope that’s okay?" Shuichi Chiba finally snapped back to reality.

  Naomi Hajime gave him a thumbs up. "Good job! You did really well. If you hadn’t been keeping an eye on her, she definitely wouldn’t have rested properly."

  "Then I’ll hand her over to you, Ms. Harada. I’m heading baow." Chiba said, noting that the css bell had already rung. He didn’t linger ahe nurse’s office.

  After watg him leave, Naomi Hajime smiled and said, "Your student is quite iing."

  "Iing? More like a ghost." Sumire Nagase replied, feeling a being uimated.

  Naomi Hajime chuckled, "Are you feeling jealous because he praised me and not you?"

  "You..." Sumire began to get up, but suddenly remembered something. Her body tensed, and she quickly shrank bader the covers, g her legs. "Wait until I get better!"

  "I won’t wait; if I’m going to get reve’s happening now." Naomi Hajime grabbed a tongue depressor and a stethoscope. "e here; I’m going to check you again."

  "No need, I’m already feeling much better." Sumire said, shivering slightly at the sight of the stethoscope, resisting the request.

  "e on, you’re an adult now. Stop being so difficult and hurry up." Without waiting for a reply, Naomi pressed the tongue depressainst her face.

  Relutly, Sumire opened her mouth for her to check her tonsils, and then, even more unwillingly, she submitted to having her heart and lungs examined.

  "There's nothing serious going on," Naomi Hajime said as she returo her desk. "Let’s take your temperature again. If the fever has gone down, then we won’t o worry... Wait, besides the fever-redug medie, did you use anything else?"

  "No, I didn’t." Sumire Nagase shook her head in fusion.

  "Are you sure?" Naomi asked agaione firm.

  Sumire tio deny it.

  Naomi Hajime suspiciously sed the medie on the desk. If she hadn’t used anything, then why was there one less cold suppository?

  But if she had used it, why would she hide it? Giveure of their retionship, there was no reason to keep something like that a secret...

  Naomi's mind inexplicably drifted back to that male student, recalling the unusual atmosphere of their versation, especially the imbance Sumire had shown when Chiba plimented her…

  Ugh…