Chapter 166: One Month Left Until Resignation
In the kitchen.
Nakano Nino had just finished simmering a pot of porridge and was preparing to make a few more dishes.
To take care of Sakurai Saki today, she had entrusted the dinner for the other four sisters to the eldest, Ichika.
Knock knock!
There was a knock at the door.
Nino figured it must be a delivery, but since Sakurai Saki was asleep, he probably wouldn't be able to come sign for it.
She walked over to the door.
Opened it.
The next second—
Two girls with nearly identical hair colors stood frozen in place.
( ˶°ㅁ°) (⊙ _ ⊙ )
"Chika-chan?" Nakano Nino instinctively called out.
At school, almost all the female students called Chika that—it was enough to show just how popular Secretary Fujiwara was at Shuchiin. Even though she was someone who constantly failed to read the atmosphere, there was something strangely charming about her that made people unconsciously find her likable.
"Eh! Nakano-san?" The bag of items in Secretary Fujiwara's hand nearly fell to the ground.
Coming to Sakurai Saki's house, only to run into one of the Nakano quintuplets.
Was there anything scarier than this?
Moreover, before Shirogane Miyuki gave her Sakurai Saki's address, Chika didn't even know exactly where he lived—only that it was somewhere in Setagaya, not far from Shirogane's house.
Why was she here?
Both of them thought the same thing.
"Wah! Smells so good! There's tasty food!" Chika's petite nose twitched as she sniffed, her adorable face lighting up with excitement.
She was a bit hungry already.
"I'm cooking. The porridge needs to simmer for quite a while. If Chika-chan wants to eat, you'll have to wait a bit." Nino spoke gently.
At school, there were quite a few rumors about Chika and Sakurai Saki. Some said the two were dating.
Looking at the situation, it kind of seemed true—after all, if there weren't any feelings, would she have rushed over like this?
One had to know—it was barely past four o'clock now, less than thirty minutes after school had ended.
"Nakano-san, you're here to take care of Saki-kun too?" Chika asked.
"Too? Umu, I just arrived. I got a good score on the midterms this time, and it was mostly thanks to Sakurai-san tutoring me. So when I heard he was sick, I came right away." Nino explained.
She stepped aside to let Chika in: "Chika-chan, come on in."
Even though this was clearly her rival in love, Nino showed no sign of hostility. Her gesture to invite her in was completely natural—
As if… she were the hostess of this apartment.
Nino & Chika: ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭ (｡≖ˇｪˇ≖ ｡)
That made Fujiwara Chika furrow her beautiful brows slightly.
Chika had always thought the relationship between Sakurai Saki and the Nakano sisters was just a normal student-tutor arrangement.
Because really, dating while teaching—and on top of that managing to raise the grades of these hopeless girls by nearly 50 ranks—that just wasn't possible. Even if Sakurai Saki was an Esper, Fujiwara Chika still wouldn't believe it.
Besides, for her to get Sakurai Saki's attention, she had put in a lot of effort. At the very least, it wasn't something that could be done in just two short months since the school year began.
"Where's Saki-kun?" Chika sat down and took off her shoes, glancing toward the shoe cabinet.
"Sakurai-san is sleeping in his room." Nakano Nino opened the cabinet and took out a pair of unused indoor slippers for her.
Chika lowered her voice: "Oh…"
She took the slippers from Nino but didn't put them on immediately.
She noticed Nino's actions—it didn't look like this was her first time here. She even knew which pairs in the shoe cabinet hadn't been used!
...
When Sakurai Saki woke up, the headache was even worse. His condition showed no signs of improvement.
He glanced toward the side of the bed and saw Fujiwara Chika slumped over, asleep.
It seemed she came to watch over him, but the one watching the patient was sleeping more soundly than the patient himself—very much her style. Truly something Secretary Fujiwara would do.
"..." Chika, sensing some movement, opened her eyes slightly: "Saki-kun~ you're awake?"
"Umu." Sakurai looked at her dazed expression and felt both helpless and amused.
"Oh right, let's eat dinner! I'll go get it for you!"
Chika spoke as she quickly stood up and left the room.
A moment later, she returned carrying a bowl of porridge.
"Go slow," Sakurai said, a little concerned—mainly because he was afraid she might trip and spill it all over him.
He took the bowl she offered, sat up, and placed his feet on the edge of the bed. "Where's Nino?"
"Outside," Chika said as she sat down on the bed.
Then, in a tone that sounded a bit indifferent, she probed, "Saki-kun, are you close with Nakano-san?"
Chika: (≖ᴗ≖ ✿)
Last time during lunch, those two had been so tense it looked like they were about to fight! No—Nakano-san had already taken a swing, she just got stopped by Saki-kun.
Sakurai Saki scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it a few times, and put it in his mouth.
The taste was very good—clearly made with care.
"Not close. But she likes me." Sakurai Saki, when it came to matters of the heart, never lied to Chika or Hayasaka Ai.
Hiding the truth would only make things more complicated.
(Note: Heh, I haven't seen him say anything to Ai-chan yet.)
"But it's just her one-sided feelings. I can't develop feelings for her." Sakurai added.
One-sided? That word echoed in Chika's head.
It felt a little pitiful—but Chika had no intention of pitying her. Everyone was an adult; they should be responsible for their own actions.
"Even though I've told her clearly that she should give up, she still won't. I just want to be her tutor. Next year—or maybe even after this semester—if the grades of the five sisters improve, I'll take the initiative to quit. Studying is their own business, it can't keep going on like this." That was Sakurai's thinking.
After all, he was a boy. Constantly coming and going in the house of five girls—it wasn't good for anyone's reputation.
"In the last midterm, the Nakano sisters' results weren't bad, right?" Chika recalled.
"Compared to before, it's a massive improvement—like evolving from Neanderthals into modern humans, a leap of several thousand years of history. When I said I'd quit, I meant after they all reached above rank 130, which is the average." Sakurai Saki took another spoonful of porridge.
It was savory—Nino knew he didn't like sweet food.
Footsteps echoed from the door.
"…Sakurai-san, what you just said—was it true?" Nino stepped into the room.
She had overheard what he said about resigning.
Sakurai Saki looked up at her. "Yeah."
"But… during the last midterm, we only barely passed. If it weren't for Sakurai-san, then…"
Nino was trying to find an excuse.
There was only a little more than a month left in the semester. In other words, that was all the time she had left to be around Sakurai Saki.
"You and Miku both did great, didn't you?" Sakurai asked in surprise. "Honestly, if anyone barely passed, it was Yotsuba and Ichika."
"But the reason I was able to get a good score was all thanks to you. My dad was also very satisfied with your work. If Sakurai-san could continue tutoring us, we'd be really happy."
Sakurai Saki gently shook his head. "No, it was your effort. Honestly, it had nothing to do with me. Besides, the relationship between me and Nakano-san is nothing more than employer and employee."
Nino's expression turned complicated.
She had been studying hard so that Sakurai Saki would look at her differently.
But the better she got at studying, the closer the day he'd leave their house and finish his tutoring job came. So what the hell was this?
This was the first time she'd ever chased after a boy—she completely couldn't understand Sakurai's way of thinking.
Being assertive didn't work, being gentle didn't work either… Was she really that unlikeable? Nino had tried so hard to change herself for him.
"Keep studying hard, Nino. When your grades improve, that's when I'll truly be happy." Sakurai Saki finished his bowl of porridge.
"The porridge was great. Thanks."
"Mm, I'll study properly," she replied.
He had started to praise her.
Wasn't that a huge step forward?
There must be a way. After all, there's still one month left—it's not just a week, not a day, and definitely not just an hour or a second.
That's enough!