Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [48]

Chiba Shuuichi wiped his hand on the hem of her skirt and said with open disdain, “Even if you like me, it’s useless. I’ll always be someone you can’t have.”

“Mmh…” Akiyama Tsuki, hearing that, only got more excited.

“Hurry up, you two, or we’ll miss the train!” Akiyama An turned around, cheeks puffed out, urging them impatiently.

Shuuichi had no choice but to drag Tsuki along and catch up.

Maybe because she’d been satisfied a bit too much just now, Tsuki didn’t continue provoking him on the train.

But her legs were weak, she could barely stand, and had to lean against Shuuichi entirely to keep her balance. Add the crowd, and the two were pressed together just as tightly as yesterday.

Breathing in the sweet, clean scent of the girl, feeling her thin, soft body… Shuuichi thought to himself that Mrs. Akiyama was in for it tonight.

...

After that ambiguous ride, they reached the school gates.
The moment the disciplinary committee member saw their president, a look of concern crossed her face.

“Kaichou, your face is even redder than yesterday—has your condition gotten worse? Maybe you should take the day off?”

Tsuki kept her schoolbag pressed against her skirt to hide the characters on her thigh, and refused with a calm expression.

“It’s fine. If I really can’t take it, I’ll go to the nurse’s office. The student council has too much work lately—taking a day off would just delay things.”

She glanced sidelong toward Shuuichi behind her, hoping he’d pick up the cue, but found that he wasn’t even looking at her, much less meeting her eyes with that teasing gaze.

Instead...

“Nase-sensei, you look even worse than yesterday. Did the cold get worse?” Shuuichi stood a short distance from the gate and stopped his homeroom teacher.

Facing this student, Nase Sumire felt uncomfortably on edge. She shifted her gaze away, raising a fist to her lips to give a light cough.

“Don’t stand so close to sensei. You might catch it.”

“I don’t really mind. If I get sick, I can just take time off and rest—nothing to worry about. But sensei, you…” Shuuichi smiled politely, leaving the sentence unfinished.

Sumire’s face darkened, suddenly recalling what he’d said yesterday.
“Even if you don’t have respect for me as a teacher, can’t you at least have some sympathy for a sick person? Do you have to chase me down just to knock me down?”

“Sensei’s thinking far too badly of me. I just find it strange. You took medicine yesterday, and even got a good night’s sleep—so why is it worse today?” Shuuichi rubbed his chin as if pondering.

Sumire felt a twinge of guilt. What was she supposed to say? That yesterday in the nurse’s office, she hadn’t been sleeping at all—that because of him and his female classmate’s little “game” she’d ended up…

Mm… casting silent water magic.

And ended up even more tired?

Judging by the way he’d stared at her all through class yesterday, and those probing remarks in the nurse’s office, he clearly suspected she hadn’t been asleep.

That was something she could never admit—otherwise she’d be utterly unfit as a teacher.

While she was steeling herself to deny it completely and insist she’d slept the whole time, knowing nothing, Shuuichi’s voice floated out, slow and mild:

“I heard that last night someone spotted a person who looked a lot like Nase-sensei in a COSPLAY costume shop in Akihabara. Must’ve been mistaken, right?”

Sumire froze stiff.

How could someone have seen me?! I wore a mask—how could they have recognized me?!

“Sensei was sick yesterday, so it’s pretty unlikely you’d go wandering around Akihabara, right? Let alone a COSPLAY shop?”

Sumire forced out a stiff smile. “Exactly—how could I? Must’ve been mistaken.”

“But if you had gone, it would explain why your cold got worse.” Shuuichi smiled, eyes narrowing.

“…”

Sumire’s teeth ground together, her expression rigid. This student was clearly hinting at something—deliberately holding it over her.

Just then, Tsuki strolled over and greeted politely, “Nase-sensei, good morning.”

“Mm, good morning.” Sumire replied absentmindedly, not realizing this was the very student from the nurse’s office yesterday.

After all, yesterday Tsuki had been flushed and excited, her voice and tone completely different from her usual coolness. And apart from the first few sentences, Sumire had heard clearly, the rest had been whispers—making it even harder to confirm.

She could look into who’d been excused to the nurse’s office yesterday, but… tch.

Right now, Sumire only wanted to forget the absurdity of yesterday—pretend nothing had happened, much less investigate.

“Is there something you needed, Akiyama-san? About the sports festival?” she asked vaguely.

She was familiar with this excellent student council president—also the elder sister of her class’s class rep.

Now this is what a good student should be like. Why can’t Chiba be more like her?
Instead of constantly picking at me—ever heard of respecting your teachers?

“Yesterday after school, I think I saw Nase-sensei in Akihabara. I didn’t say hello at the time—very rude of me—so I came to apologize.” Tsuki bowed slightly.

“…” Sumire’s face went crimson. So it was you who saw me yesterday?!

And there was no need to come and apologize for it!

“Aki… Akiyama-san, you must be mistaken. And what would you be doing in Akihabara? Are you sure you’re not confusing something?”

“No mistake. Sensei’s figure is easy to recognize—tall, long-legged, very eye-catching.” Tsuki said it with complete seriousness.

Her gaze brushed, just for a second, over a place she didn’t mention aloud—also quite eye-catching.

“As for why I went to Akihabara…”

A flicker of abnormal excitement lit Tsuki’s eyes, though her face stayed composed, expression cool and serious.

“It was for the sports festival. I went to check prices on the necessary props and costumes, so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the previous student council president.”

Sumire forced a stiff smile and had to praise her. “That’s… very diligent of you, Akiyama-san.”

“This is my duty. I’ll take my leave now.”

Tsuki nodded and turned away. Her gaze passed briefly over Shuuichi’s face—only for an instant, like a casual glance.

But Shuuichi had seen clearly from the start—how she’d been holding her schoolbag just so to block Sumire’s line of sight, her hand at her thigh all the while, endlessly marking another 正.

Tsss…
This teasing little demon.

Doing that right in front of a teacher, wearing that serious face without even the shadow of a smile—made him want to pin her to the ground right there.

As Tsuki walked back to join her sister, Sumire covered her face, wanting to escape. But Shuuichi’s voice came, low and deliberate:

“Running away isn’t a good habit, sensei. Is that what you plan to teach your students—to run from things?”

Sumire’s heavy steps halted. If she kept going, she’d be betraying her duty as a teacher. If she stayed, she risked losing face as one.

Either way was bad…

Then again… losing face wasn’t exactly a first for her…

“What exactly are you after? Planning to use this to blackmail me?”

She tried to summon a teacher’s authority, to pretend she still held the upper hand—but the bluff only made her sound more guilty.

Shuuichi shrugged. “Sensei’s reading too much into it. I’m just a little interested in COSPLAY… thought I’d have a chat with you about it.”

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This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!