Sakurai Saki followed the Five Sisters into the apartment.
He gave the space a quick survey—it was the same layout he remembered from last week: a spacious first floor housing the kitchen and living room, with stairs leading to the sisters' private rooms on the second floor.
"Teacher-chan, I'm super sleepy. I'm heading to bed~" Nakano Ichika said with a bright smile and a wave before disappearing upstairs.
Nakano Nino crossed her arms and glared. "Scum like you don't belong among us Five Sisters. Know your place and get out."
Nakano Itsuki quietly took out a book and sat down. "I can study on my own. Just call me when we officially start."
Miku gently poked Sakurai's arm. "Saki-kun, wanna play a game?"
Yotsuba raised her hand enthusiastically. "Sakurai-kun, when do we start studying?"
Five sisters. Five drastically different personalities.And not a single one had decent grades.
If I divided my test scores into five equal parts… each one would still beat theirs.Five equal shares… Five horses split between nobles… Why did that sound familiar?
Ah. Shang Yang's five-equal system. No wonder it rings a bell.
Sakurai shook the absurd thoughts from his mind and sat down on the sofa, removing his glasses. He looked calmly at the four who remained.
"Originally, I planned to start with a diagnostic test today," he said, "but with one of you missing, it seems pointless."
He turned his gaze toward Nino. "So, why are you still here?"
A beat of silence passed—Then Nino shot him a glare so cold it could freeze boiling water.If looks could kill, he was pretty sure he'd just racked up his hundredth death in five seconds.
They stared each other down in tense silence.
Miku and Yotsuba watched curiously from the sidelines, amused by the stand-off. Neither made a move to intervene.
"Nino-kun," Sakurai said at last, "can you move a bit farther away?"
Her glare intensified.
"It's really uncomfortable having you stare at me like that. And, to be blunt, I dislike girls with your kind of personality."He flashed a radiant, professional smile—the kind he reserved for clients when working as a rental boyfriend. It was all show.
At Shuchiin Academy, he rarely smiled. He maintained a calm, unreadable expression as a way to suppress his superpower. Emotional fluctuations triggered it, so control was everything.
Another few seconds ticked by in silence.
Still, Nino said nothing.
Wow, he thought, to hold onto that much contempt without a word… that's got to be a talent. Just, please, don't put all your stat points into that.
Sighing, Sakurai continued, "If you're not here to study, then go. Why waste your time and mine? Go do something productive instead of standing around glaring."
"Hmph!" Nino spun on her heel and stomped up the stairs.
"You'll never be my teacher! Not even for a minute—no, not even a second!"
Sakurai ignored her and pulled out a textbook from his bag.
"Has she always been this irritating?" he muttered. "That delusion of self-importance is a real sickness. No one even cares about someone they just met."
He leaned back, half to himself now. "Not like I'd be upset if I lost this job. It's not like my family's poor."
Yotsuba chimed in. "Sakurai-kun, that expression you just made was kind of… intense."
He rubbed his forehead. "If a guy could stay calm after being insulted like that, he shouldn't be a tutor—he should go to a temple and become a monk."
Honestly, he wanted to quit. Right now.
Sure, the pay wasn't bad—twenty-five thousand yen a day for five students—but even at an elite school like Shuchiin, he might be the only honor student willing to accept this job.
Why?Because everyone else had good reasons to say no.
Shirogane Miyuki, who ranked first in their year, wasn't good with girls and refused outright.His reason? "The students are all girls." Plain and simple.
As for the second-ranked Kaguya Shinomiya—Sakurai wasn't even sure if the principal dared to ask her.Even if they did, her odds of agreeing? Close to zero.
Fourth-ranked Shijo Maki didn't strike him as the kind who'd lower herself to tutor others, either.
And let's face it—most Shuchiin students came from wealthy or powerful families.Ten thousand yen an hour might sound great, but to them, it wasn't enough to bother.If the number of students had been one instead of five, maybe they'd have considered it.
But with packed schedules, club commitments, and their own grades to maintain, who had time to tutor strangers?
"Your grades are your business," Sakurai said, raising his voice just a little.
"If you're fine entering society with the academic level of a junior high graduate, that's up to you."
His eyes shifted up the stairs to where Nino had paused, halfway up.
"Even if you want a handsome boyfriend and to stay in that sweet honeymoon phase after you start dating," Sakurai Saki said calmly, "learning how to say charming things is important. And for that, you need to study Japanese well."
He glanced at her pointedly. "By the way, Nino-kun, I've been wondering—why do you call me with those odd nicknames? I thought I was fairly well-known at Shuchiin Academy."
Nakano Nino paused midway up the stairs, turned, and glared at him.
"What are you being so full of yourself for? Why should I know who you are?" she snapped. "You think being the Student Council's general affairs officer—while toying with girls' hearts—is something to be proud of?"
So she does know me, Sakurai thought, lips twitching faintly. Too easy to read.
"Oh, my mistake," he said lightly. "I assumed you were the type who falls for any good-looking guy. You've been staring at my face this whole time, after all. But it seems I overestimated myself. Sorry."
"What's that got to do with you!?" Nino shouted, her hand slapping the wooden railing with a sharp crack. "So what if I like good-looking people?!"
She was furious now.Understandably so—being judged on her taste in love by someone she barely knew, and on their first meeting no less, was galling.
What the hell do you know about me? Acting like you can read me with one glance? Just because you're handsome, you think you get to condescend to me? Scumbag.
Her brows furrowed sharply, her breath catching in her throat.
Sakurai remained composed, though his voice dipped with a trace of coldness.
"Placing too much value on looks will only lower your standards in the long run. I sincerely hope you don't end up falling for the wrong people, Nino-kun."
"Get out!!" Nino shouted, finger pointed straight at him, shaking with emotion.
Sakurai's reply was quiet but scathing. "You react like a cornered animal whenever someone touches a nerve. Screaming like that—honestly, it's like watching a juvenile primate throw a tantrum."
He stood up slowly. "You're failing nearly every subject. You refuse to study. You lash out at someone just for offering help. That kind of arrogance will be your downfall."
He narrowed his eyes.
"If someone really wanted to trick you… they could do it in less than a week. And you wouldn't even see it coming."
That was the truth. Cruel, perhaps—but no less real for it.
For a split second, the room was silent.
Then Nino exploded.
She stormed down the stairs, grabbed Sakurai's school bag in both hands.
"Study, study, study! Is that all you ever talk about!?" she shouted. "Do you have any other lines, or is your brain stuck in 'exam mode' like an idiot!?"
Without another word, she stomped to the window, slid it open, stepped onto the balcony——and hurled the bag out.
All in one, fluid motion.
Miku and Yotsuba were frozen in place, mouths slightly open.
This was bad.
Really bad.
... Hello readers, I will be dropping 5 chapters a day till chapter 40, from their onwards, I'll reduce it to 1 chapter a day. Enjoy and leave behind power stones. If you'll be interested in reading further ahead , go to my p@treon Rene_chan where I'll be dropping 20 chapters a week @ as low as 3 dollars monthly subscription tier.I am new at here as well as p@treon, I would appreciate the support on the two books I am working on.Thank you