"Unbelievable..."
The blonde girl stared at the mangled wreckage before her, twisted beyond recognition by sheer grip strength, and murmured pityingly,
"What kind of abuse did this poor thing go through to end up like this...? Even a gorilla's grip shouldn't be able to crush it this badly."
Not a gorilla.
But not far off.
Recalling the tea party two days ago that had nearly ended in disaster, I suppressed my expression and apologized guiltily to Kotama, who seemed to be questioning reality itself.
"I'm sorry. I'll reimburse you at full price."
Kotama shook her head.
"It's okay. It was a gift for you, Sensei. Besides, thanks to you, I realized where it still needed improvement. Hmm... although if I reinforce it any further, the cost is going to..."
I figured that, under normal circumstances, a voice recorder was never meant to endure such extreme conditions.
"So, Kotama, do you still have another recorder of the same model?"
I asked.
After experiencing its usefulness firsthand, I had finally come to truly appreciate just how meaningful it was to record every beautiful moment that happened around me.
Hearing my request, Kotama immediately perked up and pulled open a drawer. I caught a brief glimpse inside, and it seemed to be neatly organized with all kinds of electronic devices.
Although I already had a rough idea, I did my best not to think too deeply about what those devices might also be used for.
In any case, after obtaining a replacement recorder, I glanced at the time before looking around the Veritas clubroom.
Besides replacing the recorder, I had also come to fulfill my promise to Hare. As long as she tried to quit Monster MAX, I would help her with some of her more troublesome work.
But now, we were already past the time we'd agreed on, and Hare still hadn't shown up. Aside from Kotama and me, only one other person was here.
"Sen∼Sei∼! Help me!"
Noticing I'd finished what I was doing, Maki, who had been secretly glancing my way this whole time, called out in a drawn-out, almost coquettish voice.
As for Chihiro, I'd heard she was away on a business trip negotiating with some company today, so she wouldn't be back until evening.
"Still haven't figured it out?"
Somewhat surprised, I walked over to her side and quickly looked over the problem she was struggling with.
"...This question shouldn't be that difficult, should it?"
"What do you mean? I've been studying properly, but I still don't get it... It's Millennium's exams that are way too hard, okay? These questions are way beyond what a normal high school student should be expected to solve!"
Maki complained after earning herself another failing grade.
The problem was, as far as I knew, even Momoi had passed the exam without any trouble and was now happily immersed in video games without a single worry.
"Let me see..."
Kotama leaned over, squeezed herself between Maki and me, and adjusted her glasses.
"They're all pretty simple. These were the same level as the exams I took in my first year, and I never failed any of them."
Maki pouted.
"That's because you seniors are all geniuses! My brain isn't as sharp as yours, so it's perfectly normal that I can't solve them, isn't it?"
Hold on.
By that logic, with how unbelievably lazy Momoi was...
Could she actually be a genius too?!
Compared to that absurd possibility, I'd much rather believe that Maki had deliberately failed the test, even at the risk of remedial lessons, just so she'd have an excuse to ask me for help.
Just like now.
Kotama picked up a pen and quickly marked several key points on Maki's paper.
"First you do this, then this... and then you get the answer."
"How exactly is it supposed to be 'like this'? I'm telling you, Kotama-senpai, I just can't understand the way smart people explain things."
"Thank you for the compliment, but I think this is much easier than hacking."
Kotama replied quietly.
"Not at all! Hacking only uses knowledge that's common sense and easy to understand. Besides, Kotama-senpai isn't an idiot like me, so you'll never understand what I'm struggling with, and there's no way you could teach me properly!"
As she said that, Maki turned pleading eyes toward me once again.
"So, Sen∼Sei∼, help me∼"
Even if Kotama's explanations really were a little difficult to follow, it was hard not to suspect that Maki was pretending, at least a little.
Even if I hadn't visited Veritas today, she probably would've contacted me soon enough, used a similar excuse to ask for help, and looked for an opportunity to spend some time alone with me.
...Come to think of it, wasn't there some rather rude subtext hidden in what Maki just said?
Since one of my precious students was having trouble, there was no way I could ignore it. I immediately pulled over a chair, sat down beside Maki, and began explaining each of the questions she'd gotten wrong.
For some reason, Kotama didn't go back to her own work. Instead, she quietly sat beside me and listened in.
Maki, who seemed completely focused on studying, surprisingly had no objections. She listened attentively the whole time, occasionally nodding with sudden realization.
Suspicious, I decided to test something while explaining one of the problems.
"First you do this, then this... and then you get the answer."
"Mmm... I see! I get it now!"
After thinking it over for a moment, Maki's eyes lit up.
"As expected of Sensei! Even such a difficult problem becomes so easy to understand when you explain it!"
At that, Kotama finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"...Isn't that exactly how I explained it just now?"
It was the very same problem she had explained to Maki moments earlier.
The smile instantly disappeared from the red-haired girl's face, replaced by blank confusion.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes."
Kotama nodded.
"Sensei does have a pleasant voice that's almost like music, so maybe it's easier to listen to... but Maki, you really weren't paying attention when I was explaining it, were you?"
Maki hurriedly shook her head.
"N-No, that's not it! Maybe the wording was a little different? Um... but now that I think about it, Sensei's explanations really do leave a stronger impression somehow... Huh... that's so strange..."
By the end, even she sounded unsure of herself.
Kotama still looked dissatisfied, yet there was also a trace of approval on her face, as though she found Maki rude but oddly perceptive.
"See? That's exactly what I was saying."
I figured the most likely explanation was that Maki had fallen for me without even realizing it herself.
Though I couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Shun's authority was playing a tiny, almost imperceptible role.
After casually brushing the incident aside by saying Maki had simply "gotten into study mode," I continued tutoring her, and time passed little by little.
Finally, just as I began worrying whether something had happened to Hare and was about to contact her, the door to the Veritas clubroom opened.
"Mm... Sorry... I'm late..."
The white-haired girl spoke listlessly as she staggered inside.
I was just about to greet her when the awful look on her face immediately stole my attention.