"Eh? What? You're also a stalker?"
Gohan: "Eh?"
What's with this girl…? First time meeting and she calls me that…
Gohan: "N-no, I'm not."
"Then why are you here?"
Gohan: "I came here as a live-in tutor…"
"Hah? You?"
Gohan: "Eh? Um…"
"Hmph… To be honest, we don't need a tutor. Okay, okay, just go home!"
No way, wait!? That's troubling for me!?
Come to think of it… she looks just like Itsuki-san…
Looking closely, she's the one who was with Itsuki-san during lunch. Could she be one of the quintuplets…?
Gohan: "That won't do. Your father asked me… Anyway, could you tell me your name…?"
"I said we don't need you meddling! Annoying! You're not welcome either!!"
"…Nino. This guy was dragged away by a group of girls during lunch."
"Eh!? Really!? S-sorry."
Gohan: "I-it's fine…"
"And he seems to get along with Itsuki."
"With Itsuki?"
Gohan: "You're… like Itsuki-san's sisters or something?"
"No obligation to tell you…"
"Yes. We're quintuplets."
"Oi, Miku!?"
Eh? What did she just say…??
"So, we're quintuplets. We are."
Gohan: "Q-qui-quin…quintuplets—!?!"
Even triplets are rare worldwide, quintuplets—!?
"What, getting all worked up over something like that."
Gohan: "N-no, that's not just something…"
"Well, since you're Itsuki's friend, we can't be rude."
"Tch, fine then. Just for today we'll allow it."
…Seems I'm not really welcomed here, huh?
On the way to Itsuki-san's room, I asked two of them their names.
The one with ribbon-like accessories on both sides of her hair is Nino, the Nakano family's second daughter.
The quiet girl with headphones around her neck is Miku, the third daughter.
In the elevator, the other two joined as well.
The short-haired girl I'd spoken with during lunch is Ichika.
The girl with the headband is Yotsuba.
…So they're numbered by birth order? Seems like it.
Then, once we arrived on the 30th floor where Itsuki-san's room was…
Eh? Fuutarou-kun…? What is Itsuki-san doing sitting on the floor with him…?
Ichika: "Ara? Isn't this Honor Student-kun? What are you two doing with Itsuki-chan?"
Nino: "Found you—!! This guy's a stalker—!!"
Miku: "Nino, you're jumping to conclusions."
Yotsuba: "Eh!? Uesugi-san is a stalker!?"
Fuutarou: "Hah? Why are you all here…? Wait, Gohan! You too!?"
Itsuki: "Son-kun is a different case. Isn't it obvious the five of us live here?"
Fuutarou: "H-huh…? You five live together… as roommates? Your bond must be strong…"
Itsuki: "Not roommates. We're quintuplet sisters."
Fuutarou: "…Hah??"
His reaction is understandable… I was shocked too…
At that time, I had no idea how tough it would become.
But this meeting was also the turning point that would change both my and Fuutarou-kun's lives.
...
Chi-Chi: "Right now, Gohan-chan should be working hard at tutoring~…"
She muttered as she cracked open an egg.
Chi-Chi: "Oh my? That's rare…"
The yolk had split into five.
...
Gohan: "Quintuplets…?"
『That's right, they are genuine identical quintuplets.』
Gohan: "That's extremely rare…"
『Indeed. Even triplets are scarce worldwide. I'll pay you for five students. I hope you can guide my daughters to graduation.』
Honestly, if it were only me, I might have quit already.
But with Fuutarou-kun here too, if it's just helping them graduate, there should be a way…
Gohan: "I understand. Leave it to me!"
『I look forward to it. By the way, are my daughters there?』
(Quiet)…
N-no, they're not…
At least Itsuki-san seems willing to study…
Gohan: "Ah, ah! Something just came up, I should get going now, is that okay?"
『I see. Then I'll leave it to you.』
Gohan: "Y-yes…" (thinking: Damn, I panicked and lied…)
Fuutarou: "By the way, where did they all go…?"
Gohan: "W-who knows…"
"They went back to their rooms."
It was Yotsuba, with her trademark headband, who spoke.
Fuutarou: "You're… Yotsuba, right? The one who scored 0 on the test."
Yotsuba: "Ehehe…"
(thinking: Whoa, 0 points!? That's almost impressive… Does that mean she got every single choice wrong? If she answered seriously, that's kind of miraculous in its own way…)
Yotsuba: "Did you finish talking with my dad?"
Fuutarou: "Yeah. You guys really are… Hey, give me your best frown."
Yotsuba: "Eh? L-like this?" (forces a frown)
Gohan: (thinking: Ohh… when she does that, she really resembles Itsuki-san… For me, I can distinguish them by their Ki (energy), as long as I match the Ki with their names.)
Fuutarou: "By the way, why didn't you run away?"
Yotsuba: "So mean! Of course it's because I wanted to attend the lesson! I was worried it might be a scary teacher, so I was nervous. But since it's classmates Uesugi-kun and Son-kun, I'm glad!"
Gohan: (thinking: Yotsuba seems like a sincere, good girl. At least she looks happy to have us here.)
Fuutarou: "Yotsuba, can I hug you?"
(End of Chapter)
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