(Minoru's POV)
"I'll have to decline the offer, ma'am."
What the hell is happening, you ask?
Well, let's keep it simple. Henry's feeling guilty about today's mess and wants to quit as principal, and he's throwing my name into the ring as his replacement. The CEO even offered me the position. It's not impossible since I'm capable, but the catch is that it's all because I rode that horse.
Right now, it's just me, the CEO Sumiragi Rikka, after she 'kicked out' Henry and that woman named Sae.
"Please forgive us if our offer seems inappropriate, Yanagi-sama. But you can relax and let the Sumiragi Family serve you now."
She says this as she bows, making her melons jiggle. Yeah, they're 106, and my photographic memory is etching that for good.
"Please, raise your head, ma'am. My concern does not lie with the treatment I receive, as I find the provisions from the Academy more than adequate. To begin with, I am present to fulfill my role in teaching and to glean knowledge from the students. And I assumed the responsibilities of the School Affairs role after the passing of Swan-sensei, as I moved by a sense of duty to assist the school."
I pause my spiel and lock eyes with her.
"I respect this school and its founder. I'm honored to have ridden the General's horse. But it feels like too much for me, given that I am merely an employee here at the Academy. And... please just call me casually."
Honestly, I don't give a shit about this. It's a tempting 'offer', and Rikka just mentioned arranging a good place for me, with her daughter becoming my maid. Does she not care about her daughter attending this school?
For God's sake, while I'm still Batman. I'm a family man now, got it? Who the hell set me up in this hentai plot? 'Cause my life should be more wholesome.
"Ah, I see," she says with a smile, seemingly not wanting to push her offer.
She continues, "The truth is, I'm interested in you, Yanagi-san. Shijo Makoto asked me to look after you, and it seems futile. You're more than capable of being a professor as I've received emails from foreign universities like your alma mater, Oxford. They congratulated me for snagging the famous Professor Moriarty."
Not a surprise for me. They must know where I am now, and they'll come for me. Annoying.
"I'm sorry for the trouble," I say.
She giggles, "No trouble at all. It's an honor to have you working with us. But now, I feel immense pressure to have a professor of your caliber teaching in our high school, considering you could be elsewhere. That's why the principal position might still be nothing for you."
I nod and say, "I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."
As she drops her cup, she smiles again, "Ah, look at the time. I hope I can hear your suggestions for the next principal if you have someone in mind. Unfortunatelly... Professor Moriarty still has a homeroom class to attend. If you need anything, Professor, call me anytime."
"Thank you," I nod as I remember something. "Actually, I have something in mind..."
---
Exiting the principal's office, I was met with curious stares from students and a few teachers who regarded me with a mix of awe and a hint of fear—perhaps due to my poker face or the rumored feat of singlehandedly roping twenty-one cows.
"It's Yanagi-sensei."
"Why is he coming out of the Principal's office?"
"Are you an idiot? He's the new Head of School Affairs."
"What? When he's a new teacher?"
"Didn't he ride that horse—Yuuya, remember?"
"Ah, if he just left the Principal's office, does that mean he's our next Principal?"
Their hushed whispers followed me as I strolled past. If looks could confirm, I'd be Severus Snape, but that was all part of the plan.
About my mission...
My success rate had exceeded expectations, and now, I held sway over this academy. Sumiragi Rikka listened to my suggestions, well aware of my other name, James Moriarty, and the leverage I had with 'Excalibur'.
No one dared stand in my way now, not even Sae, my other obstacle.
When she witnessed my unexpected triumph with the horse, I could see her descent into the abyss of despair. But, I had plans for her. She could be a useful tool if I manipulated her correctly.
"Woah~ aren't you Yanagi-sensei?"
Upon reaching class 2-A, a girl was casually leaning against the wall, playing with her phone. She then looked at me, winked her eyes many times and asked, "If you're here... you're our homeroom teacher, right?"
"Yes."
She giggled, "OKAY~! And look at the time, Sensei. You're ten minutes late. You should hurry up and start the class since I'm bored…" With a playful push, she ushered me into the room.
Judging by her appearance, she was none other than Hayasaka Ai, this gyaru cleverly concealing her role as Shinomiya's personal maid, my target. It might sound like something a stalker would say, given my line of work, but I knew she was gathering information about me. I didn't appreciate it, but there wasn't much I could do.
"Hey, hey!" She swung the classroom door open with excitement. "I found our homeroom teacher! Guess who it is!? Ta-da! It's Yanagi-sensei!"
As I entered, the class fell into stunned silence.
"EHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"
---
(Third POV)
Minoru strolled confidently to the class podium and surveyed, casting a glance at each student in his homeroom class.
"Sensei!" A hand shot up, and Minoru let out a small sigh. "Yes?"
"I want to volunteer as the class rep!" said cheerfully, the girl with short light-orange hair and a bunny ear-shaped ribbon, clearly expressing her enthusiasm.
"Alright, then it's settled," Minoru said calmly.
"That fast!?" She was clearly surprised. "Aren't we supposed to have an election? Maybe someone else wants to do it?" She twirled her fingers, voicing her concern.
"Well…" Minoru glanced at the students. "Does anyone want to challenge her?"
The students exchanged glances, but it seemed no one was up for the task. Minoru turned back to the girl. "Okay. It's official then. Congratulations, class rep."
"Hehehe~" She rubbed her nose with pride as she headed to the blackboard to write her name. "Ahem! I already said my name, but since Sensei is late… I'm Nakano Yotsuba, your new class rep. Everyone, please take care of me!"
Applause erupted from the students. Minoru found Yotsuba intriguing, not just because she was the daughter of a famous doctor but also because she was one of the quintuplets. Being a father of twins himself, this was particularly interesting to him.
Then, a tomboyish girl raised her hand. "But, sensei! Why were you late?"
Minoru smiled, "Well… I crossed paths with a black cat, so I had to take another route."
"That's a lie! Ah! I wanna go home and practice Karate!"
He earned obvious stares for his black cat excuse.
"Since you all understand your class assignments, let's skip the boring stuff. But, our class rep needs at least one person to assist her..." He looked around. "Then, I'll choose someone since you all seem to prefer being passive. You, the guy in the protagonist's seat." Minoru pointed to the corner.
The guy turned away from the window, meeting a sea of stares. "Eh, me?"
"Sensei, you're not kidding, right?" Yotsuba tilted her head, and he nodded.
"I'm concerned; at least, you need someone with a big brain."
Yotsuba nodded with a smile, "Huhu… I guess you're right that I'm quite stupid. Wait S-Sensei! Don't sigh at me like that!"
Laughter erupted at Minoru's reaction.
"Then…" Yotsuba turned to the guy, "Eto… What's your name again?"
"I thought you all introduced yourselves while I wasn't here."
Yotsuba glanced at Minoru again, "Of course, w-we did! But I just forgot his name."
Minoru looked at the guy in the protagonist's seat. The guy returned his gaze with half-open eyes and said, "Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."
"Ah, yes! That's it! I remember now." Yotsuba wrote his name beside hers.
"Alright, since this is our first day…" Minoru grabbed a sheet, "I'll check your attendance before we all go home."
"Shi—"
"Stop! Stop! Sensei, you forgot to introduce yourself."
At Yotsuba's words, he said, "Well… I'm Yanagi Minoru."
Silence followed his simple introduction.
"Ahaha…" Minoru looked at the girl with light-pink short hair who had the same face as Yotsuba, "Sensei, how about telling us what you like and don't like? Like your hobbies, for example. We did this when you weren't here yet, you know." She said, smiling broadly.
Minoru hummed, "I have so many things I like and don't… and my hobby is cleaning. Is that helpful, Nakano?"
Her smile twitched at Minoru's half-assed answer, "Really helpful. Wait, how did you know my name?"
"I guess that's because it was my job."
"Ahaha! Don't worry, this Onee-san is just joking around."
"Fair enough. Any other questions?"
"Sensei! Do you work out?" The tomboyish girl who had asked before chimed in again.
"Yes…"
The girl's eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, "Woah, it's my first time seeing a teacher this ripped. Even the PE teacher isn't as good as you." She smirked, "Sensei! Let's do an arm wrestle..." Looking at this, the girl seems not to be thinking too much about skin touch between the opposite sex, unlike most girls in this country.
"Well, that's... interesting. Let's do that later."
"Yeah! Now, that's what I'm talking about." She nodded, crossing her arms. After that, he felt a guy's dagger-like stare, but he ignored it.
"If there are no further questions..." he glanced at the sheet, "Shinomiya Kaguya?"
"Present."
"Hayasaka Ai?"
"I'm here~!"
"Teresa de Lexumburg?"
"Present~"
"Alexandra de Magritte?"
"Present."
"Kageno Cid?" He directed his gaze at the person.
"Yes...?"
Noted. He made a mental note to talk to this individual later.
"Nishino Akane?"
"I'm present."
"Sakurajima Mai?" As he asked, silence enveloped the room. He scanned for her and found an empty seat.
"Does anyone know why she's absent?" Instead of answering, they gave him a weird look.
"Sensei, I'm... present."
He looked at Akane, "I'm not talking about you. I mean Sakurajima Mai." She tilted her head, giving him a perplexed look.
"Well, I'll see her tomorrow. Next. Yukinoshita Yukino?"
"Yes, present."
"Ayanokoji Kiyotaka is here. Then... Nakano Ichika?"
"Yes~ I'm here!"
"Nakano Nino?"
"P-Present..."
"Nakano Yotsuba is here, then... Nakano Miku?"
"Ah, yes... gene-"
"Kirisaki—did you say something, Nakano?"
"Which one, Sensei!?" said Yotsuba.
"It's Nakano Miku." He looked at the girl with blue headphones.
"Ah, no..." She averted her gaze from him.
"Then... Kirisaki Chitoge?"
"I'm present..."
"Ichijo Raku?" He stared at him.
"Ah! Present, sir!"
"Chill. Next... Onodera Kosaki?"
"Yes! Pr-Present."
"Tsugumi Seishiro?"
"Present... sir."
"Sayuki Tokihara?"
"I'm present~."
"Aizawa Tomo?"
"PRESENNNNT!"
"Don't scream. Next. Kubota Junichirou?"
"Present!" He said while maintaining his dagger-like stare.
"Gundou Misuzu?"
"Present, Sensei."
"Olston Carol?"
"Carol is here~."
Minoru cleared his throat, "Ryuju Momo?"
"Present..."
"Don't forget to keep your promise, Ryuju."
"Uhuh... don't worry."
After that, the students wondered about what they both meant.
"Komi Shouko?"
"..."
"Komi—ah..." When he looked away from the sheet, he saw a girl raise her hand.
"Tadano Hitohito?"
"I'm present, Sensei."
"Lastly, Osana... Jimi?"
"Always present!"
"Very good statement and that's it for today."
---
After all of that, Minoru wasted no time packing his things. He apologized to Yor for breaking his promise about drinking at Izakaya. Thankfully, he had only shared this idea with her alone and hadn't mentioned it to the Student Council yet. But, he didn't expect her to want to cancel their plans too.
"Yanagi-san, actually... I have a sudden plan; my family is visiting me. So, I'm sorry. But we could arrange it another time this week!"
Yor excitedly said that as she clenched her fist, but she couldn't reveal that she just got a fake boyfriend that she met after taking down the cow. She was about to deceive her little brother into thinking she had a boyfriend now.
"Then, I worried for nothing. I'll see you tomorrow, Briar-san."
"Yes!"
She smiled as Minoru walked to the parking lot. When he arrived, he met again with the chief of the farm.
"Thank you for doing this for me."
"No, sir! I'm glad for doing this since you've been helping us too much." He bowed, "Thank you..."
After a brief conversation, he left, leaving Minoru with a lot of boxes. He opened them, smiling as he discovered his family dinner.
---
A/N:
That concludes this volume! Thank you for reading this story, and please don't forget to give me your feedback!
Spoiler; Chapter 43: Father and Daughter