One day in January, Sunday.

Last night’s sleepover with Anju was quite thrilling.

When I woke up in the morning and found Anju somehow crawling into my futon, and she came at me with a bright red face saying, "You were the one who pulled me in!", I felt the same kind of dread as waking up after blacking out from drinking in my past life.

While that kind of ‘after-the-fact’ atmosphere ‘we just slept, that’s all’ lingered in the living room, Anju and I were having a late breakfast when the intercom rang.

"Oh my, who could it be... Oh my, it’s Misaki-sensei! It’s been a while!"

Along with my mom’s cheerful voice, the one who entered through the front door was my kindergarten teacher, Misaki-sensei.

By my past life standards, she was a woman in her mid-twenties, slightly worn out but neat and cute, the very image of a kindergarten teacher.

"E-Excuse me! I’m sorry for the late New Year’s greeting... Shizuku-chan, have you been well!?"

Misaki-sensei stepped into the living room with a desperate expression like a traveler who had found an oasis in the desert.

But the moment her gaze locked onto Anju, who was sitting beside me wearing ‘my spare pajamas,’ her face froze.

"Oh, Misaki-sensei. Happy New Year. By the way, don’t you have some pretty bad dark circles under your eyes compared to before? Are you getting enough sleep?"

I stood up and gently leaned closer to her face, using the same tone I used in my past life when checking on overworked junior coworkers.

"Ah... ah... Shizuku-chan... Th-that girl is? Why is she wearing your pajamas and having breakfast with you in such a... intimate atmosphere?"

Misaki-sensei’s finger trembled like a newborn deer.

"Oh, let me introduce her. This is my classmate, Hojo Anju. She stayed over at my place last night. Anju, this is Misaki-sensei, who took care of me in kindergarten."

"...Nice to meet you. I am Hojo Anju. I look forward to your acquaintance."

Anju gracefully stood up, her sleeves slightly too long in my pajamas, and gave a polite bow.

Her face carried a composed ‘victor’s smile,’ completely unlike her usual tsundere behavior.

"Last night, Shizuku and I... talked together for quite a while. Shizuku even made me a special warm cocoa... It was truly a wonderful night."

Misaki-sensei’s shoulders jerked violently.

Hey now, Anju, the way you’re saying that. All we did was drink cocoa, take a hinoki bath, and sleep. Why are you acting like the main wife in a daytime drama?

"Anyway, sensei, no point standing around, have a seat. Mom’s making tea."

I lightly placed a hand on her shoulder and guided her to the sofa.

"Oh, I’ll make the tea. Sensei, coffee okay? Do you take it black or with milk?"

I asked smoothly, like handling a guest in an office back in my past life.

"Ah... black... no, wait! Shizuku-chan! You’re six, and you had a sleepover... what about the futons?"

"Hm? Oh, I laid out two side by side in my room. But when I woke up, we were somehow in the same one. Anju must have bad sleeping habits."

"W-What!? T-That’s not true! You were the one who pulled me in by force!"

"Yeah yeah, let’s go with that. Here, your coffee."

With a wry smile, I placed the mug in front of her.

Then I looked at her face more closely.

As expected, maybe from New Year matchmaking fatigue, her complexion seemed dull.

"Sensei, you don’t look so good. You didn’t get much rest over New Year’s, did you? ...Working too hard isn’t great. Well, relying on a man isn’t really an option in this world, huh. Then if it’s me, I can at least listen to you vent anytime. Don’t push yourself too much."

Pat.

I lightly placed my hand on her head and gave her the smile of a ‘handsome boss comforting an overworked office lady’ from my past life.

* * *

Misaki’s heart was pounding so fast it felt like it would break through her ribs.

'Ah... ahhhhhhh...'

New Year’s.

The silent pressure from relatives asking, “When are you getting married?”

The matchmaking with Naoya-kun, introduced by her friend Eri, wasn’t bad.

He was quiet and kind.

But her heart just wouldn’t move.

Because every cell in her body had already been completely poisoned by the ‘overwhelming pheromones of a dominant young girl’ emanating from the six-year-old in front of her—Nanase Shizuku.

'Why!? Why, while I’m exhausted from fake smiles during New Year’s, is this girl spending such a sweet night alone with this little brat!?'

In her mind, Anju’s earlier words replayed.

Last night, Shizuku and I talked together… Shizuku even made me special cocoa...

And the slightly oversized pajamas worn by a girl far younger than her.

Same gender. Six years old. She knew.

She understood logically that it was a wholesome sleepover.

But Shizuku’s ‘after-the-fact adult composure’ and the ‘fulfilled womanly air’ surrounding Anju strongly stimulated Misaki’s long-developed and now distorted instincts from years of matchmaking.

'This red-haired girl... she completely has the face of a woman who’s been embraced... She’s six! At an age where she shouldn’t even know the harshness of the world or the flaws of men, she’s already experienced Shizuku-chan’s top-tier escort!? I haven’t even held hands with anyone yet!'

Grit.

Misaki ground her teeth.

And what pushed her over the edge further was Shizuku’s completely unconscious kindness.

Sensei, you don’t look well. If it’s me, I can at least listen anytime.

The small hand on her head, warm and reassuring.

That deep, husky voice affirming her as both a woman and a hardworking person.

In this insane world, no matter how high-spec a man she searched for, she would never find this ‘ideal super darling.’

And yet, here it was.

'...Ah, I’m done... I can’t go back anymore...'

Naoya-kun, I’m sorry.

You were a good person, but your escorting doesn’t even come close to Shizuku-chan’s.

A single tear slid down Misaki’s cheek.

* * *

"Huh!? W-Wait, sensei!? Why are you crying!? Did I say something wrong!?"

Panicking, I pulled out a clean handkerchief and gently wiped her tears.

That smooth gesture, the closeness of our faces, the fresh scent of the handkerchief—

Misaki’s restraint snapped completely.

"Uu... Shizuku-chaaan!! Shizuku-chaaaaan!!"

"Whoa!?"

Ignoring everyone around her, she lunged into Shizuku’s chest and clung tightly to her waist.

"I’m done... I’m quitting matchmaking! I don’t care about men anymore! As long as I have you, Shizuku-chan, that’s enough!!"

"S-Sensei!? Calm down! You’re getting snot on my clothes!"

"It’s not fair, it’s not fair! That girl! I want to wear your pajamas too! Drink your cocoa, be surrounded by hinoki scent, and sleep in one futon together too!!"

The soul-deep scream of an over-the-limit kindergarten teacher echoed through the Nanase household living room.

"W-What!? Misaki-san!? You’re an adult and yet clinging to Shizuku like that, how indecent! Let go!"

Anju, face bright red, tried to pull her away, but Misaki’s grip, boosted by madness, was overwhelming.

"No! Shizuku-chan is my student! I’ve got seniority, you brat! Head pats from Shizuku-chan belong to me!!"

"Shizuku escorted me! Step back, you thief cat!"

"Hey, you two! Don’t have such childish fights over my daughter!"

* * *

At the center of this chaotic scene filled with Misaki’s crying, Anju’s shouting, and my mom’s exasperation, I stood completely frozen.

'...Uh, what is this? Why am I in the middle of a battlefield between a kindergarten teacher and an elementary school noble lady?'

My past self.

I used to complain with coworkers at bars saying, ‘Women’s hearts are complicated,’ but the hearts of women in this world feel less complicated and more like a biohazard-level pandemic.

For now, I gently patted Misaki-sensei’s back in a steady rhythm I learned from taking care of my niece in my past life, saying, "There there, you worked hard," while staring blankly out the winter sky.

That day, Misaki-sensei deleted her matchmaking account and instead created a secret account titled ‘Nanase Shizuku Growth Watch Squad ~ Unofficial, Extremist Faction,’ something I, completely unaware, would never know.