Kissing My Student, It's Over if We're Caught-Chapter 3Volume 2 .5 - Kirihara Touka - Happy Moment: "Welcome back," "Im home," "Lets eat"

Kasahara, who had been fiercely rebutting, toned down. Higashi, the male representative, not only had a good face but also his straightforward attitude and eloquence were part of his popularity.

There’s a certain finesse in how he doesn’t hide his ulterior motives and yet manages to respect those he’s in conflict with.

Well, with his demeanor, he’d likely be popular wherever he goes.

“But still… even then, doesn’t the whole idea of dressing up in maid outfits just feel like an inside joke? We had clear goals when we all decided to do this at the beginning. First, let’s make the cultural festival enjoyable and memorable for everyone. Second, let’s aim for the top sales again!”

The first goal, running the shop, had largely been resolved.

Those who wanted a lively festival atmosphere would dress up as maids and butlers and serve customers upfront.

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Those less inclined towards direct customer service could take on roles behind the scenes in decoration, crafts, cooking, or advertising.

The current issue revolves around the second goal.

“Can we really secure the top sales just by making the maid outfits a bit more luxurious?”

“We can! On the contrary, if we welcome customers in shabby maid outfits, despite the hype about our shop beforehand, wouldn’t we be dissed as ‘nothing special’ by noon and utterly fail?”

“...Hmm.”

While Higashi and Kasahara are engaged in this heated debate during homeroom, the real battleground is set for after the dismissal.

It seems discussions are held within separate group chats for boys and girls afterward.

Higashi gathers opinions from the boys, Kasahara from the girls, and they clash again in homeroom the next day, then take it back to chat—this cycle has formed.

Feels like a corporate meeting… It is a corporate meeting.

According to Kirihara, it’s rare for a class to develop such a system. She speculated it might be because we have students with a higher mental age.

“But Higashi, don’t you think their point about not wanting to serve bad food makes sense? A restaurant serving subpar dishes would suck.”

“...Yeah, but.”

Even during homeroom, other boys occasionally voiced their opinions, contributing to a balanced class dynamic.

However, now both Higashi and Kasahara were left groaning.

Seems like a good time to wrap up for today.

“Since we’ve hit a standstill, let’s call it a day. We still have until the end of the week, after all.”

As I chimed in, all eyes turned to me.

“It might not be much consolation, but I think this is a fruitful discussion. Even if you can’t all agree on a conclusion or if we don’t hit the top sales, it’ll still be a valuable experience. That said, if in the end, you can’t come to an agreement yourselves, I plan to make the decision and take the blame. So, don’t rush and continue the discussion as you are… Class rep please.”

“Attention, bow.”

As soon as we finished the closing ceremony, the tension in the classroom relaxed at once.

Still, Higashi looked troubled, and Kasahara was sighing heavily on her desk.

Their close friends approached to comfort them. It was a genuine slice of life scene, making me a bit envious.

With the midterm exams over, it seems unlikely I’ll have work to bring home for a while.

However, with the class in such a state, conversations with Kirihara at home also tend to revolve around that topic.

“Couldn’t decide again today, huh?”

Kirihara, sipping her post-dinner tea, was busy tapping away on her phone.

“Class chat?”

“Yeah, from the girls’ side.”

“…How’s it looking?”

“The girls are divided too. Some agree with Kasahara’s view, questioning the effectiveness of the fancy dresses, while others see it as a chance to shine and want to wear nice outfits. From what I can tell, it probably won’t be settled tomorrow either.”

“Hmm…”

“Kasahara sent me a private message venting her frustrations, so I might need to step in tomorrow.”

“Kirihara to the rescue, standby?”

“Sort of… But I’m curious about what you think.”

“My thoughts?”

Kirihara put her phone down, leaned forward, resting her chin on her clasped hands, and looked at me intently.

“You rarely make such statements in front of the class, saying you’ll make the final decision. It’s the first time you’ve done that, right? When you say things like that, it’s usually because you have a winning strategy, right?”

“…Why do you think that?”

“You say similar things when we play games. I usually come up with strategies, and you follow along, but you do speak up when you’re confident. And when you do, we always win; it’s always the right call.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.”

“But you do have a plan, right?”

“…Well, yes.”

“Why not share it with everyone?”

“The cultural festival is meant to be student-led.”

“Isn’t that overthinking it? Some classes let the teachers make most decisions after letting us pick what to do.”

That was news to me. Kurei-sensei had said she tried to let students decide for themselves, so I assumed that was the norm…

“It’s nice to be given free rein, and that’s good. But if you have something to say, I want to hear it. You’re part of the class too, right?”

“…I hadn’t thought of that.”

Before I could decide to play the villain, sharing my opinion as one of many might be a viable approach.

But—there’s a personal issue. I’m afraid of voicing my opinion in front of everyone.

A bitter memory from when I was a new hire at my first job, presenting in front of everyone, still haunts me.

The yelling of my boss, the scene in that room… I can’t forget it even now.

“…Sorry. Was that meddling too much?”

“No, it’s not that. Your perspective was very helpful. I’ll think about it overnight.”

“Sure. …You know, even if things get complicated, I’ll make sure to sort it out in the end!”

“…No, that’s not good. While I appreciate your presence and am grateful for it, it’s not right to always rely on you.”

I’ve always been someone who watched others make decisions. But now, I’m a teacher.

I can’t keep running away forever. Standing beside Kirihara, who has already earned the trust of adults, without feeling ashamed means I need to make an effort to move forward.

Plus, Kirihara should enjoy the cultural festival too. I don’t want to burden her too much.

“No need to think it over for a night. I’ll share my thoughts with everyone tomorrow.”

＊＊＊

The next day, we devoted time again to the cultural festival discussions during homeroom before the closing ceremony.

As Kirihara predicted, the debate went nowhere.

Whether to allocate the budget to ingredients or to the maid costumes remained a point of contention.

Neither option had a clear advantage, leaving the answer elusive.

Reliable Higashi and Kasahara were also stuck in a rut, and even trying a vote resulted in a split decision.

“…Isn’t it time for Kirihara’s turn?”

Someone mentioned it, and all eyes turned to Kirihara, anticipation building in the air. That’s when I decided to speak up.

“Before we ask Kirihara to wrap things up, can I share my thoughts?”

The room’s atmosphere shifted with curious murmurs.

Feeling a surge of black anxiety, I swallowed hard to steady my voice and began to speak slowly.

“We’re supposed to decide through student discussions, but… I’m also a part of this, right?”

I echoed Kirihara’s words, more to calm myself than anything else.

“Actually, when I was a student, I worked part-time in an izakaya. The owner taught me not just about cooking but also a bit about management.” (tln : izakaya mean restaurant)

Moving to the blackboard, I wrote “Revenue” with chalk.

“We’re debating whether to spend the budget on costumes or ingredients—what’s more fun, what seems more likely to increase revenue. Let’s pause on that and confirm something with everyone. What exactly makes up the revenue for a maid café?”