"Just because of origami?"
"What's wrong with origami? You don't understand how wonderful it is at all!"
Isshiki Iroha suddenly paused and stared at Sato. Then she let out a little sound of disgust.
"...Wait. I have a feeling we're not even talking about the same thing!"
On the other side, Yoshinaga Midori had finished the demonstration and was letting the children try it themselves. Today's lesson was folding paper frogs.
"Everyone, go interact with the children."
"Okay!"
Sato and the others nodded.
Looking around the classroom, Sato naturally headed toward Shinnosuke's table. The moment the children saw him, their eyes lit up.
"Uncle Sato, come over here!"
Sakurada Nene waved enthusiastically, her big eyes sparkling.
Sato hesitated for a moment, looking warily at the overly enthusiastic Nene. In an instant, he saw right through the gossip brewing in her little head.
He immediately changed direction slightly and walked toward Kazama Toru instead.
Sitting beside Kazama Toru was Shinnosuke.
The moment Shinnosuke saw him coming, he let out a helpless sigh, spread his hands, and shook his head.
"Sato, what are you doing here? Taking care of you is such a pain."
With a smile, Sato pinched his cheek.
"I'll give you one more chance to rethink your wording."
Who was taking care of whom? He ought to know perfectly well.
"Hss... My dearest uncle, I've missed you so much!"
"How much?"
"J... Just as much as finding Koala's March cookies."
Sato considered where Koala's March ranked in Nohara Shinnosuke's heart, then nodded in satisfaction and let go of his cheek.
The moment he was released, Shinnosuke collapsed onto the floor as if all the bones had melted out of his body. His legs were tucked together, his eyes glistened as though covered with a watery sheen, and he looked at Sato with pitiful charm.
"Sato-chan, you were so rough just now. You really hurt me."
"I swear..."
Expressionless, Sato crouched down, grabbed both of Shinnosuke's cheeks again, and pulled hard in opposite directions.
"Can't you act like a normal five-year-old for once?"
"Mmph... Uncle, I was wrong!"
"Too late for that now!"
"I... If you keep doing this, I'm going to cry!"
"Go ahead. Last time I visited your house, I learned something interesting."
"What was it?"
It was as though Sato had been waiting for exactly those words.
A devilish smile spread across his face as he looked at Shinnosuke's unconcerned expression.
"It's about someone named Nanako."
Instantly, Shinnosuke's eyes went wide.
Uncle, you're so underhanded!
That was exactly what Sato read from the little guy's face.
"What do you think would happen if I recorded you crying and showed it to her?"
Shinnosuke's eyes grew even wider.
Suddenly, Sato felt an enormous force pushing against his hands. Somehow, Shinnosuke broke free from his grip and immediately dropped into a perfect dogeza.
"Uncle, please give your nephew one more chance."
"Tsk."
Sato clicked his tongue and watched the scene with amusement.
So everyone really did have their natural enemy.
Still...
He can't actually be serious about Nanako, can he?
A headache suddenly came over him, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Behave yourself today. Otherwise, I don't mind telling that Nanako girl a few embarrassing stories about you."
"Yes, sir!"
Shinnosuke's expression turned completely serious, making his thick eyebrows look especially... ridiculous.
"Uncle, please sit here!"
He pulled out his little stool and respectfully offered it to him.
Sato glanced at him and nodded with satisfaction.
Kazama Toru and the others stared in stunned silence.
Although they hadn't heard the uncle and nephew's whispered conversation very clearly, they had watched Shinnosuke go from completely unruly to perfectly obedient.
Kazama Toru said admiringly,
"Uncle Sato really is a student from a prestigious school. He handled it so easily. That's amazing!"
Prestigious school, plus able to keep Shinnosuke under control.
To Kazama Toru, that combination was unbeatable.
The others nodded in agreement. There weren't many people who could make Nohara Shinnosuke submit so easily.
After taming Shinnosuke, Sato sat down on the little stool. It was a bit short, but better than nothing.
Once he was seated, he looked at the children gathered around the table.
"Did everyone understand what the teacher just taught you?"
Besides Kazama Toru and the others, there were several other children at the table as well.
Some nodded.
Others shook their heads.
Sato didn't mind and said gently,
"Then let me teach you all one more time."
There were reference booklets on every table.
But compared to reading instructions by themselves, a hands-on demonstration was obviously much more effective.
Sato skillfully folded the paper while explaining each step.
Sakurada Nene asked excitedly,
"Uncle, are you really good at origami?"
"I guess so."
There were many different things Sato knew how to fold.
Back when he lived in the countryside, there wasn't much to do. One day, Koshigaya Komari happened to become interested in origami, so he spent quite a while learning it alongside her.
Although he hadn't folded anything in a long time, his skills hadn't faded.
Before long, a beautifully crafted paper frog appeared in his hands, immediately drawing a chorus of astonished cries.
"Wow! Big Brother's frog is so pretty!"
"It looks even better than the teacher's!"
"Can we try it?"
Faced with all those bright, admiring eyes, Sato found himself feeling a rare sense of pride.
Am I trying to become the king of kids or something?
Once the thought crossed his mind, he couldn't help but laugh at himself.
The children all urged him to make the paper frog jump.
So he gently pressed down on the back of the frog. Once the spring tension reached its limit, he released it.
"Whoosh!"
Sato watched as the paper frog leaped across more than half the table.
The impressive jump immediately drew waves of astonished cries, with long, excited "Wows!" echoing throughout the room.
"It jumped so far!"
"That's amazing!"
"Big Brother, help me make one!"
Sato stood up and began helping the children at the table fold their own paper frogs. Fortunately, paper frogs weren't very difficult to make, and before long the children had all gotten the hang of it.
Just then, Nohara Shinnosuke tugged on his pant leg while looking in a certain direction.
"Sato, your girl is coming."
"...Your girl?"
Sato lowered his head to look at the little guy by his feet, his face covered in black lines.