Chapter 15: The School Nurse’s Supplemental Explanation

Bathed in the warm April sunlight, the infirmary was exceptionally cozy during lunch break.

“Ah…!”

“……”

“Whoa…!”

“……”

“That’s…!”

Ruah sat at her desk, munching on butterscotch candy. There were no students visiting, no work to do, and only one thing disturbing her perfect spring day.

The rhythmic gasps coming from behind the drawn curtains around the bed.

“Ahh…!”

“Hey, Himari.”

As soon as Ruah spoke, the curtains were pulled back with a swish.

Himari, sitting formally on the bed with a book in her hands, looked at Ruah, her face still flushed with excitement.

“Yes, teacher. Did you call for me?”

“Reading is fine, but…”

“Yes.”

“Could you… be a little quieter?”

“Oh, I apologize. The content is so new and exciting that I…”

“O-okay…”

The book Himari was reading was none other than the children’s educational comic <Whae? Puberty and s*x>. Ruah had lent it to Himari, who was so lacking in common sense that she had made an embarrassing misunderstanding in the Gate.

Considering her position as a school nurse, Ruah should have explained things herself, but she chose the book for one reason.

She couldn’t bring herself to say those things to Himari directly.

Still, it was a recommended book with good content, so she hoped it would impart proper s*x education to Himari.

“It’s all good, but…”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Why are you reading it here?”

Himari tilted her head, as if she didn’t understand the question.

“I am your moon, so this is natural, is it not?”

“……”

Right, she had forgotten.

Like the moon orbiting Earth, Himari was supposed to always stay by Ruah’s side, observing and learning.

‘If I hadn’t accepted, her affinity would have plummeted, so I had no choice.’

Himari was the damage dealer Ruah had chosen for the final battle. She had to accept the offer for the sake of future party recruitment.

However, Ruah preferred being alone. While she had become close enough with Himari to converse normally, like with Suah, her shut-in tendencies persisted.

“What about class?”

“There are still 34 minutes left… until lunch break ends.”

It seemed Himari had no intention of leaving the infirmary before class started.

“…Alright. But read quietly.”

“Understood.”

—Swish!

As if taking Ruah’s words to heart, silence fell behind the curtains.

‘I finally feel like I’m alone.’

Ruah leaned back in her chair, turned on her computer, and started browsing the internet. She didn’t have anything particular to do.

However, the peace didn’t last long.

“Teacher.”

—Swish!

The curtains were pulled back again, revealing Himari’s face.

“I have a question.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

Himari pointed at a passage in the book.

“Mastur… bation? It says it is natural… but doing it too often is bad for your health.”

“?!?!”

“I do not quite understand… what it specifically entails. Could you please… provide a supplementary explanation?”

“Uh… well…”

Ruah was speechless. Of course, she knew what it was, but how could she explain it to Himari, who was completely clueless? Or rather, while she could explain it, she couldn’t bring herself to verbalize the details.

“It’s… touching… yourself… down there…”

“Teacher, your face is red.”

Himari got off the bed and approached Ruah, peering at her face with an innocent expression.

“N-no, it’s fine.”

“That is good to hear.”

Ruah took a deep breath and carefully chose her words. She had to explain it in the least explicit way possible.

“Um… Himari, do you… have someone you like?”

“Someone I like?”

After a moment of thought, Himari answered without hesitation.

“You, teacher.”

“…Uh.”

Ruah fidgeted, averting her gaze. Hearing that directly was embarrassing.

“What is wrong? I became your moon… because I like you.”

“Y-yeah, I know…! I-I mean a different kind of liking! Love, yes, someone you love! Since you’re a girl, maybe a boy in your class…”

“Hmm…”

Himari tilted her head, looking at the ceiling.

“I am not… particularly interested… in boys.”

“I-is that so?”

“Yes. I have never… felt love.”

Himari said matter-of-factly.

While their circumstances were different, Ruah felt the same way. Despite having become a woman due to an unexpected incident(?), Ruah was originally a man. She wasn’t interested in men. That was also why she felt more nervous when treating female students than male students.

“Then… let’s assume that someday, whether it’s a boy or a girl, you find someone like that.”

“Understood.”

“You can’t think of anyone else, and even when you’re surrounded by people, you only see them.”

“Hmm…”

“You instinctively want to hug them, be with them. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

She said yes, but Himari still seemed confused.

“A-anyway, when you think about that person, you unconsciously t-t-touch yourself… d-down there… and th-that’s what masturbation is…”

Ruah finished her explanation, her face beet red.

How did she end up explaining such things to a girl, no less her favorite game character, Himari?

—But Ruah’s trials weren’t over yet.

“When you say… down there, where exactly do you mean?”

“Ugh…”

Ruah fidgeted, unsure what to say.

“L-l-like… h-here…”

She tried to point at “down there” with her finger—

—Knock, knock, knock!

Salvation arrived.

The infirmary door opened, and a familiar face entered.

“Sister, are you busy?”

“……!”

Suah tilted her head for a few seconds, taking in the sight of Ruah, face crimson, with her hand reaching towards her lower body, and Himari sitting demurely in front of her.

“S-Suah!”

Ruah practically jumped into Suah’s arms, almost in tears.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Suah shot a sharp look at Himari, who had stood up, but when Ruah shook her head, Suah softened her gaze.

“I-it’s just… life is hard…”

“……?”

Suah sat down on a chair and lifted Ruah, who was clinging to her, onto her lap. Ruah settled comfortably, like a teddy bear. That alone calmed her down.

Himari stared at the sisters, then spoke in a slightly stiff tone.

“You are… her senior?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m her younger sister. No one believes it though.”

Himari smiled slightly at Suah’s joke. Knowing Suah was Ruah’s sister seemed to put her at ease.

“Miss Hoshikawa, are you here for treatment?”

“No.”

Himari shook her head.

“I am here… because I am the teacher’s moon.”

“……?”

Suah looked at Ruah, a questioning look in her eyes.

“It… means she’ll follow me around and learn from me.”

Suah raised an eyebrow at Ruah’s vague explanation.

“From you? Learn what?”

Himari answered without hesitation.

“Today, we were learning about masturbation”

“……”

“……”

The temperature in the infirmary dropped by a few degrees.

“…Did I hear that right, sister?”

Suah looked at her older sister with unfocused eyes.

“S-Suah, it’s not like that…!”

Ruah frantically waved her hands.

The remainder of the lunch break was spent trying to explain the truth to Suah, hampered by Ruah’s flustered and inadequate explanation skills and Himari’s shameless choice of words.

“Honestly, you should have explained it properly from the start. I almost misunderstood.”

“I apologize.”

“So you two weren’t doing anything weird?”

“O-of course not! What were you thinking?”

Ruah calmed her flushed face, which had become a regular occurrence today, and changed the subject.

“So, Suah, why are you here? Are you injured?”

“No, I actually stopped by the faculty office, and the head of student affairs asked me to deliver this document to you. Here.”

The document Suah handed her had the academy chairman’s seal on it.

“Physical… examination…?”