"U-Ueda-sensei?!"


    Hasegawa-san grinned mischievously. "Yep. Sorry I didn''t tell you, Miyake-san."


    "Eh? You know the Director, Miyake-san?" Nakamura-san looked shocked- an expression I''ve never seen before. But I didn''t have the brain space to find it funny.


    Ueda-sensei smiled brightly. "I told you that you can just call me Ueda-san, Nakamura-san. But yes, Miyake-san is my student at school. Sorry to tell you that you''re not her only teacher here. Anyways, you must be tired, Miyake-san. Do take a seat." She motioned towards a black leather chair in front of her desk.


    The desk was significantly cleaner than Hasegawa-san''s, although it felt like it was that way due to lack of use. However, large stacks of paper lay on the desk. My head felt dizzy just thinking about how much work it would take to even flip through them all.


    The front of the desk had a rectangular golden plate, with "Ueda Natsumi" engraved upon it. Below Ueda-sensei''s name was a gleaming "Director" title.


    Feeling both relieved and nervous that the Director was my high school teacher, I sat down on the leather chair.


    Nakamura-sensei and Abe-senpai bowed themselves out of the room ("You should tell us more about the Director later, Miyake-san!") and left me with Hasegawa-san and Ueda-sensei.


    Ueda-sensei turned around, and before I could look to see what she was doing, she pulled out a small, colorful piece of mochi.


    "Want a daifuku? I got some as a souvenir the other day."


    I felt like it''d be rude to refuse, so I meekly thanked her and took the sweet.


    Really. I already thought Ueda-sensei felt sophisticated for her age, but to think that she''s the Director of the Tokyo branch... Ah! Weren''t Nakamura-sensei and Abe-senpai talking about her like some sort of super-woman?!


    Ueda-sensei studied my eyes and laughed softly. "I can only imagine how surprised you must be. Sorry I didn''t tell you earlier, Miyake-san. I wanted you to focus on fitting in to school without worrying too much about this part of your life, but it seems like it didn''t help too much..."


    Hasegawa-san piped in and added "she kept texting me during breaks today. ''Miyake-san looked really worried about the mission. Should I talk to her again? Do you think you could-''"


    "Ahem." Ueda-san was glaring at Hasegawa-san.


    "A-ah. Sorry about that. Anyway, as I was saying, usually you would have met Ueda-sensei, but I had to fill in for her. She was pretty busy getting ready to become a teacher."


    Ueda-sensei sighed and moved a stack of papers away from herself. "Being a teacher is surprisingly difficult." She looked back up at me and smiled kindly. "Although I am finding it really enjoyable. Well, Miyake-san, I''m sure you have a lot of questions. I think it''d be best if you just ask me them."


    She wasn''t wrong. The question was just which one I should ask first.


    "A-ah, well... How long have you been the director here?"


    "Mmm... for almost five years now, I''d say." She turned slightly and motioned towards a portrait behind her that I had not noticed before. It was of a smiling old man wearing a suit. "The previous director here was actually my father, Ueda Haruya."


    Now that she mentioned that, they did share some features.


    "Although she''s not the director just because she''s his daughter. She''s one of the strongest exorcists in the country." Hasegawa-san sounded rather proud.


    "Thank you, Fuyuki. Well, I suppose you''re also wondering why I took up the job to be a teacher. Funnily enough, the reason is because of you, Miyake-san."


    I was taken aback. "Eh? You were able to be a teacher at the school at such short notice?"


    Ueda-sensei laughed and turned back towards me. "You''re quite sharp. Yes, because of my connections with the government, we were able to make things work. Although it was a lot of work... Hence why I wasn''t able to be around this week."


    Wow... the government is a bit scary with how efficient it can be. But... "Why become a teacher at my school?"


    "Good question. Well, as I''m sure you know already, someone as young as yourself awakening to a Kami is quite rare. So to make sure you''re safe and adjusting to your life well, I decided that it''d be best for me to be close to you. That way you''d also have someone you can easily rely on at school, if you''re okay with that."


    I couldn''t help but feel really happy, but I tried not to be too giddy. "Oh, of course. I actually really appreciate it. It felt like I couldn''t talk about what was going on to anyone..."


    Ah!


    Just as I was finishing my sentence, Hoshi appeared next to me with her arms in the air, almost like she was saying "Ba-bammm!"


    "Oh! This must be the Hoshi I''ve heard so much about. Nice to meet you!"


    Hoshi looked at Ueda-sensei with a proud look. Am I really that prideful?


    Ah, that reminds me.


    "Hold on, I should probably tell you about her ability, Hasegawa-san... You too, Ueda-sensei."


    As I explained to them (this time more coherently), Ueda-sensei quickly wrote down what I said on a piece of paper.


    After I finished, Ueda-sensei looked rather thoughtful. "Hmm... you''re interested in writing, huh..."


    "Yep! Is something the matter?"


    She snapped out of her thoughts, and smiled at me. "Oh no, sorry about that. I just find it quite interesting. I''m happy to learn more about my students."


    When Hasegawa-san looked up from his papers, I saw that his face was really excited. "Eh? That''s such an interesting ability! You should do some experiments with me lat-"


    "Fuyuki, let the poor girl have a break first."


    "Ah. Sorry about that, Miyake-san. Oh, I almost forgot!" Hasegawa-san took out a noticeably larger paper from Ueda-sensei''s desk.


    "Actually, I think you''re supposed to give this to her, Natsumi." He handed the paper to Ueda-sensei.


    "Thank you. Well, Miyake-san, thank you very much for you hard work. Because of your achievements and contributions, I am pleased to inform you that you are now C rank." Ueda-sensei handed me the large paper and bowed slightly.


    Oh, I completely forgot about that! I took the paper and felt the corners of my mouth moving up on their own. "Thank you very much!"


    The large paper turned out to be a certificate, with fancy lettering and golden ink. Hoshi craned over my shoulder to look.


    [National Japan Anomaly Agency]


    [Miyake Sayuri]


    [Has reached the qualifications and requirements for C rank]


    [Authorized by Ueda Natsumi, director of the Tokyo Headquarters]


    Ueda-sensei and Hasegawa-san spoke in unison. "Congratulations, Miyake-san!"


    "Ehe..." I was glad I decided to join the Agency. It felt like I''d found a path that I was meant to pursue. Hoshi flew in the air with glee.


    Ueda-sensei clasped her hands together. "Sorry to cut things a bit short, Miyake-san, but it''d probably be best if Nakamura-san drives you home now. We don''t want your parents worrying too much, after all. I''ll see you again on Monday!"


    To be honest, even though I was still processing everything, I really just wanted to go to bed. In fact, I was pretty grateful. "Oh, no worries. I''m looking forward to it!"


    Just as I got up from my seat and was about to say goodbye, Ueda-sensei suddenly stopped me. "Ah. Just one more thing. Here''s my contact info on Youbidase."


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    After sharing contact info, my phone got a notification.


    [Testing.] - Ueda Natsumi


    Attached was a sticker of a black cat with the words "How are you?"


    I sent back a sticker of my own. It was a bunny with sunglasses, accompanied with "Shining like the sun."


    Ueda-sensei said out loud "Eh? That bunny is quite cute. I''ll have to use it sometime."


    _________________________________________________________


    Dear reader,


    So uh... turns out a lot happened today. Well, first, I ended up completing the mission without too many issues.


    I got transported to a spirit world with a lot of floors and a lot of garbage everywhere. It was really exhausting, and some parts of the apartment was manipulated by the Youkai, but everything turned out okay.


    It turns out that Hoshi can summon things with writing, after all. Although there''s a lot of annoying prerequisites to be able to summon stuff. As of now, I can only use fire and ice. I''m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the future.


    And, well, it turns out that Ueda-sensei is the director at the Agency! I was super surprised, but at the same time, it seems fitting for her. I heard she''s very strong... I wonder what her Kami is like. It would be quite funny if her Kami wasn''t as reserved as Ueda-sensei.


    Anyways, tomorrow (or I guess today, it''s technically already the next day) is when we''re having our celebratory dinner. My parents (as well as Mika''s) wanted to reward us for finally starting high school at Kiyomizu. I should probably go to bed. It''s been a long week.


    _________________________________________________________


    "Woah! You didn''t sleep until 4 this time!"


    "Shaddup."


    As I walked down the stairs, I saw Mika playing video games with Kenta again. Mika patted next to herself. "Let''s play some Battle Bros. I''ve been practicing since our last session."


    As usual, Mika picked a ranged character, Kenta picked a tryhard top tier, and I picked... a girl I thought looked cute.


    Hey, I wanna win with my favorites.


    "You know, a free for all isn''t really the best way to measure skill..."


    Kenta laughed. "You two are always playing to settle the score, huh?"


    Mika grinned and sat up. "Of course. Gotta put Ms. Sunshine in her place."


    "You''ll be eating your words pretty soon."


    Despite our confidence, Kenta kept winning... as usual.


    Mika and I gradually favored each other over Kenta until we were just blatantly targeting my brother.


    "Oi. You guys can''t just team up on me like that."


    "You''re too strong, Onii-chan. I wanna win at least onc- HEY! Mika, you''re hitting me with your projectiles too! Stop being a coward!"


    "Why would I get close if I don''t have to? No point in risking it."


    After a long and heated session of Battle Bros, Kenta had somehow protected his seat as the best player.


    Man... it''s going to be awhile until we get as strong as him.


    Kenta started to pack up the controllers, and asked "We''re having dinner together tonight, aren''t we?"


    "Mhm."


    "Why don''t you two go and hang out then? You shouldn''t stay indoors all day, after all."


    "Ah. Good idea." I was thinking of going somewhere to hang out anyway.


    Mika and I put on our shoes, and decided to go to a nearby park.


    "See you later, Onii-chan!"


    "Thank you for having me, Kenta."


    The park we were headed towards was where Mika and I would often play as children. It held a lot of memories... When Kenta was young, he would also go there to catch bugs with his friends. I always wanted to join in, but I was much too small for that. Mika was always grossed out by bugs ("Get those things away from me."), so she wasn''t as disappointed.


    When we arrived at the park, I felt a surge of happiness flood my mind. In the past, whenever I was sad, I would come here to cheer up.


    The park itself was quite nice, having been renovated recently. There was a swing set, as well as plenty of benches. But what was really exciting was the large and intricate slide system. It even had an upper floor with a bridge, and Mika and I often played tag or hide and seek with our friends here. It was spacious and had lots of trees in a small, grassy field surrounding it.


    There were a couple of kids playing here already, and some families having picnics under the trees.


    "Aw, look at those kids. They''re like us when we were young." Mika was smiling. She was probably reminiscing too.


    I looked up at the bridge, and saw a girl chasing two boys.


    "AH! RUN! ICHIKAWA-CHAN''S IT!"


    Hehe. They look really cute. I wonder what they''ll be like when they grow up. I was once one of those kids, after all. Now I''m fighting monsters at night... ahaha... I shouldn''t think about that too much.


    Hoshi materialized next to me and flew out towards the bridge. She grabbed the bottom of it and just hung there.


    What the heck? Why are you doing that? Oi, stop it! You''re going to rock the bridge and the kids on it!


    Hoshi let go and tumbled on the ground. I have no clue why she didn''t just float, but she looked like she was having fun. I''ll just leave her to it then.


    Mika and I decided to use the swings, and talked quite a bit. We talked about school, about Amagiri-senpai, and about Ueda-sensei. After some time, I finally asked the usual question.


    "So, read any good books, lately?"


    "Of course you''d ask that, Sayuri. Unfortunately, I''ve been too busy to read anything. I''d like to find the time eventually though. How about you? Get any inspiration for your book?"


    ...ah. I sighed.


    "Well... Unfortunately not..." As amazing as Youkai and Kami were, I didn''t actually want to write about anything supernatural... What I had in mind was, uh... actually, nevermind.


    "A-anyway, what do you wanna do after this?"


    Mika was swinging so high that I was scared she was going to fall. She didn''t seem to be scared, though.


    "Hmm... We kinda did go shopping recently, already, so probably not the mall."


    "Ah! How about we go to a cat cafe? I''ve been getting the urge to pet an animal recently." After dealing with a ton of scary creatures, what I really needed was some fluff.


    "Sounds good."


    As I swung higher in the air, I looked at my right, to where there were quite a few trees. Eh?


    There was a boy sitting underneath one of the bigger trees. It was at the top of a small hill, and he was reading a book. He somehow looked familiar...


    Was he in our class? I thought hard about why I suddenly felt deja vu just looking at the boy.


    "Ah!"


    "What is it, Sayuri?"


    I knew who it was now.


    "Isn''t that the boy who was at the convenience store the other day? The one with a crazy amount of ice cream."


    Mika snorted. "Pffft. I didn''t even realize he had ice cream. You were causing too much of a commotion. I think you''re right, though. Planning to ask for his number?"


    "N-no! What kind of person do you take me for?"


    But for some reason, I couldn''t seem to stop looking at him. H-hey, it''s not like that. I swear there was something off about him, but I couldn''t tell what.


    "Sayuri, if you''re really that interested just go talk to him..."


    "..."


    Aghhhhh. I really did want to talk to the boy, but then Mika''s just going to take that the wrong way... Well, here goes nothing.


    I stopped by lightly pressing my feet against the ground, and got off the swing. Ignoring Mika''s snickering, I started walking up to the boy.


    He definitely was the one from the convenience store. Now that I was getting a good look at him, he was quite short.


    Sayuri, that''s rude!


    I pushed away that thought, and noticed something else about him.


    He''s got quite the big eyes, doesn''t he?


    Before I could study him a bit more, he suddenly looked up at me.


    "Ah."


    We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. His gray eyes felt like they were peering into my soul.


    Okay. Seems like he''s not the most talkative. I''ll have to start the conversation. I was the one who approached him, anyway.


    "Hello! Is it okay if I talk to you for a bit?"


    He kept staring at me, expressionless.


    Hey, if you keep looking at me like that I''m going to start second-guessing myself. I''m not that extroverted.


    "...feel free to." His voice was quiet.


    I walked over and sat next to him, making sure not to sit too close, as to not make him uncomfortable.


    "My name''s Miyake Sayuri. What''s yours?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "Suzuki Akiko."


    I couldn''t help but make a sound.


    "Eh?!"


    The boy stared at me for a bit before asking "are you surprised at my name?"


    "N-no..." He wasn''t wrong. I mean, usually Akiko was a girl''s name, but more importantly...


    "It''s just, you''re actually in my class at Kiyomizu Academy."


    "Ah. Is that so? It is nice to meet you then."


    This guy talks really formally too. It''s kinda funny. I couldn''t help but laugh out loud.


    "Hehe. Likewise, Suzuki-san. Sorry if I''m being rude, but why were you gone this week?"


    Suzuki-san looked at one of the kids running on the playground before answering. "I had a family emergency."


    Aghhhhhhh, why did I have to ask that? "O-oh. I''m so sorry to hear that."


    "Oh, no worries. Things are fine now. I''ll start coming to school on Monday."


    Oh, thank god. I was worried I stepped on a landmine. "I think you''ll enjoy it. Our teacher, Ueda-sensei, is really nice."


    Suzuki-san looked back at me. It was hard to read his expression. "...is that so?"


    With the way this guy was speaking, it was hard to believe we were the same age.


    Oh yeah. I wanted to ask that.


    "What are you reading?"


    Suzuki-san stared at me, then stared at the book in his hands. Hold on, isn''t that-


    "Ah. It''s..." He blankly stared at the book for a bit longer.


    "Your Starlight?"


    Oops. I got a bit too excited. It was my favorite manga, after all. It even inspired Hoshi''s name. But it''s a shoujo romcom... Was he into that kind of stuff?


    "...someone recommended it to me."


    Ah, that makes sense. I wonder who...


    "It''s my favorite manga. Are you liking it?"


    He blinked a bit, and looked back at the manga book in his hands. He was still on volume one.


    "I just started today, but it is quite interesting."


    "Isn''t it? I really like how it doesn''t just focus on the two main characters. A lot of the side characters get the spotlight, too!"


    I really wanted to gush more about how well written Your Starlight was, as Mika had already grown tired of my fangirling. But I didn''t want to spoil Suzuki-san, so I''ll just have to hope he continues reading the series...


    You know, now that I''m really thinking about it, I could be making him super uncomfortable right now. Maybe I should give him some space.


    I pulled out my phone and pretended that I''d gotten a notification.


    "Ah! I think my mom wants me to return home. I wasn''t bothering you, was I?"


    Suzuki-san tilted his head slightly to his right. "No, you weren''t."


    I smiled at him and stood up. His eyes were quite pretty, now that I''m looking at them.


    "Thanks for talking to me. I''ll be seeing you at school!"


    "...see you."


    I waved at him and started walking towards Mika. Suzuki-san had turned his eyes back to his manga, but I still felt an unsettling sensation on my back, even if I knew he wasn''t watching me.


    Mika was standing back at the playground, wearing her smug look again. "Look who''s back. How''d it go?"


    I tried to ignore her teasing tone. "Well... He was surprisingly willing to talk to me. I can tell he''s on the shy side."


    "Really? That''s not the word I would use. To me he looked rather indifferent."


    Did he really look like that? I tried to imagine his face. It didn''t look annoyed or apathetic. Although I couldn''t quite describe the vibe I got...


    "I think he''ll be interesting to talk to. If he wants to, that is." I really do hope I didn''t overstep his boundaries.


    "You''re going to talk to him more here?" Mika seemed confused about something.


    "Ah, that''s right! He''s Suzuki Akiko, the one that was absent in our class!"


    Mika stared at me blankly. "Akiko''s a boy?"


    "Yeah, I was a bit surprised too."


    She looked back at Suzuki-san, who was absorbed in his book. "Wow. That''s quite the coincidence. You have quite the sense for these things."


    "Hehe."


    I pulled out my phone and opened the Youbidase app, wanting to check one last thing.


    Eh?


    He didn''t seem to have a signal on the map. Strange.


    Well, I''m looking forward to learning more about this Suzuki-san.