Chapter 303: This Time I Really Want to Quit
The third semester is very short; it starts in January and is already on break by March.
Although it's Valentine's now, for the students of Shuchiin, it's still not a time to relax.
Sakurai Saki didn't expect the library to be unexpectedly full on Valentine's Day, which forced him today to go to the Nakano quintuplets' house to tutor.
It had been a while since he last came; the previous time was just after summer vacation ended, when Yotsuba was rushing through her review.
Spring was approaching, and rain was becoming more frequent. By the time school ended, the sky—already overcast—had begun to drizzle.
Luckily, he had brought a raincoat today; otherwise he would have been soaked miserably.
Speaking of which, in Japan it's not allowed to ride a bicycle while holding an umbrella—Sakurai Saki really couldn't understand this.
He could ride one-handed, yet the rules here robbed him of the chance to display such an important skill.
Leaving the library, Sakurai Saki headed toward the bicycle parking area.
'Come to think of it, the five sisters still haven't given me chocolate yet…?'
Sakurai didn't particularly like sweets, but he couldn't go without them.
It's like a skin effect in a game: it might not boost any stats, but it looks good!
To give an imperfect example:
In some mobile game's character pull, suppose there are five SSRs in one banner. If he collected one, he'd definitely want the second, then the third, until he had them all before feeling satisfied.
Getting only one—though rare and joyful enough—still leaves a strange sense of emptiness, right?
Let me in! I still have four waifu in the pool!!
(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
The above was some complaint from Ishigami Yuu while playing a mobile game; Sakurai Saki stood nearby watching him gacha, worrying about the guy's wallet.
At the bike rack, Sakurai Saki led his bike out; riding inside the school grounds wasn't allowed.
He pushed it out to the Shuchiin gate.
"Sensei-chan, this is for you." Nakano Ichika, holding an umbrella and wearing sunglasses, stealthily handed the box of chocolate in her hand to Sakurai Saki.
Ichika: ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
"Why do you look like a big star? Even wearing sunglasses." Sakurai Saki accepted the chocolate she offered and put it into his bag.
It looked like giri chocolate.
"Lately I'm a bit more famous; everyone in school recognizes me. Don't you already have a girlfriend? I don't want to cause you trouble." Nakano Ichika explained.
She naturally leaned closer to Sakurai Saki.
"What's wrong?"
"Sensei-chan, I'm sorry, I probably can't join the tutoring today. If possible, could you come with me on Saturday for a private lesson? I'll pay extra." Ichika still felt rather guilty about her habit of skipping lessons.
From time to time, Sakurai Saki also took the chance to call her on the phone, tutoring her outside of official lessons.
"It's fine. Having the heart to study is enough. Money doesn't matter." Recently Sakurai Saki didn't care much about money anyway, and after a year of tutoring he had already earned quite a bit: nearly 400,000 yen a month.
You have to know, the average part-time wage in Japan is only about 2,000 yen an hour. Compared to that, you can see how generous Nakano Maruo's pay is.
Moreover, the job wasn't hard and required very little.
At first Nakano Maruo had given a few requirements, but after all five sisters passed their courses, he rarely discussed anything with Sakurai Saki anymore.
...It's just that Nakano Maruo didn't know his daughters had already been "harmed" by Sakurai Saki; otherwise he would definitely not let his precious girls near this [pest], and might even consider calling the police.
"I see." Nakano Ichika felt a bit more at ease.
She didn't want to be disliked by Sakurai Saki. Beyond the fact that she liked him, there was also the matter that, thanks to Sakurai Saki's connections, she had been able to change her management company. There's no such thing as a free lunch; her being chosen could not be separated from him.
"You also don't need to feel any psychological pressure. Anyway, once this semester ends, next year I'll quit this tutoring job. In this last period, I'll do my best to help raise your scores a bit more." Sakurai Saki thought for a moment and finally said it.
He had already been planning to resign for quite a long time.
"What?" This was the first time Nakano Ichika had heard of it; her beautiful face was full of surprise.
"Last summer I already talked about this with Nino, and I'll also explain the situation to Nakano-san." Sakurai Saki didn't elaborate.
He didn't need to explain anything to Ichika; the two of them hadn't even reached first base, they were just ordinary friends.
Come to think of it, among the five sisters, the only ones he hadn't kissed yet seemed to be Ichika and Yotsuba.
That sounded a bit perverted when put that way.
"You suddenly saying this… sorry, my head's a bit messy." Nakano Ichika couldn't accept it.
It had already been a year—an entire year—and after such a long time he suddenly said he wanted to quit; what on earth was the reason?
Right now, the only connection between the five sisters and Sakurai Saki was the tutor–student relationship.
Losing that, they might go an entire month without a single conversation with him… Next year they would be split into different classes, but what if they weren't assigned to the same one?
Nino hadn't even confessed yet! She was still secretly in love with Sakurai! Was it really okay to just end things like this? Ichika asked herself, unaware that the rice was already cooked.
"People always like to maintain the status quo, I understand that."
Sakurai Saki knew her thoughts very well.
Change has two outcomes: 1, it gets better; 2, it gets worse. People don't want the second result, so they give up on change—but those who choose that also lose the chance to reach the first.
He felt that leaving the five sisters was good for them.
"You don't understand anything at all!" Nakano Ichika said firmly.
Did he think the five of them only had ordinary student–teacher feelings for him? Nino, Miku, even herself—the affection they felt for him, could he really not see it?
Ichika had no idea her two younger sisters had secretly done quite a few things; some had even crossed the finish line already, while she still believed Nino loved him unrequitedly.
Nino: ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)
"I'm actually curious, why do you think I don't understand?" Sakurai Saki tilted his head and looked at her.
This was the first time he'd seen Ichika angry.
As the eldest of the five sisters, she was always so calm.
"Among the five of us, someone likes you." She didn't dare to say it outright.
After speaking, Ichika added, "Not just one person."
"There are dozens of girls at Shuchiin who like me; it's not only one." Sakurai Saki didn't think this was a reason that could make him give up the idea of quitting.
Come to think of it, a year ago they had already tried to persuade him not to quit. Now a year had passed and they were still persuading him—it was kind of funny when he thought about it.
Ichika pressed her lips together, thought for a few seconds, then asked, "What would it take for you to drop the idea of quitting?"
"Even if I quit, we can still be friends, classmates—wouldn't that be fine too? And even if I continue tutoring, do you expect me to keep teaching you after you're in college?"
Ichika couldn't find any reason to refute.
"Umu."
Tonight after finishing her filming she would have to discuss this with her younger sisters.