Tanaka Masao thought about it and realized he could only spare bits and pieces of time for Kawasaki Saki.
"Kawasaki-kun, how about this: during breaks and lunch, you can come ask me any questions you have.
Then we'll find a suitable time for concentrated teaching."
Time is like water in a sponge; squeeze it, and there's always some to be found.
Kawasaki Saki nodded at his words; this arrangement wouldn't waste either of their time.
Moreover, the combined time during daily breaks and lunch was quite a bit, enough to solve most of the problems she encountered.
"Okay, then let's decide on that for now. I'll be troubling you for the next while."
"Not at all, I'll be counting on your guidance as well."
"Here, this is for you."
Kawasaki Saki took a thousand-yen bill from her wallet and handed it to Tanaka Masao.
"For today."
Tanaka Masao didn't stand on ceremony, reaching out to take it.
"Isn't one day a bit much? After all, I'm just taking some time to explain problems to you; it's not really tutoring. How about we count it for two days?"
Kawasaki Saki didn't think it was too much; her usual hourly wage from her part-time job was over a thousand japanese yen.
She felt it was a great deal to find a qualified teacher for herself at this price.
"No, this is for one day. It's fair."
"Alright then."
Tanaka Masao wasn't one to fuss, so he put the money into his pocket.
If he didn't take the money, Kawasaki Saki definitely wouldn't feel at ease, fearing he had other motives.
But even if he took the money, any other motives he might have would still exist.
For the rest of the walk, the two talked about boring, study-related topics.
For example, based on the Pythagorean theorem, it's easy to deduce that artificially bred Tojo Hideki chickens can catch wild trigonometric functions.
These were simple math problems.
During lunch break, Tanaka Masao had promised to tutor Kawasaki Saki, so he sent a message to Yukinoshita Yukino in advance.
[Yukino, I'll be eating lunch in the classroom from now on, not going to the Service Club.]
After sending the message, Tanaka Masao waited a few minutes but received no reply, which puzzled him.
[Could it be that Yukino is so upset about not being able to eat lunch with me that she's having a mental breakdown and refusing to speak to me?]
Well, even he didn't want to believe that thought.
He couldn't do anything about her not replying, so he put his phone away and decided to deal with it after school that afternoon.
After lunch, with more than half of the lunch break remaining, Kawasaki Saki turned her body and placed her notebook on Tanaka Masao's desk, saying,
"I don't quite understand this part."
Having asked Tanaka Masao so many questions, Kawasaki Saki had found the most suitable and comfortable position for both of them.
That was to place the book horizontally on the desk, with both of them leaning sideways. This not only facilitated their communication but also allowed them to both see the text in the book.
Actually, if they were sitting at the same desk, it would be even more convenient, but unfortunately, they were sitting in front and behind each other. They just had to make do.
"Oh, this is a relatively crucial problem. To solve this question, you need to find the key to the problem.
And to find the key to the problem, we need to use a crucial line of thinking at the crucial step…"
As expected of the first in grade, he spoke with such skill.
Kawasaki Saki nodded repeatedly as she listened, her previously blocked thoughts instantly cleared by Tanaka Masao.
Others were also accustomed to this scene; the first in grade guiding the class beauty in her studies was a very campus-like picture.
It was just that the image of this first in grade didn't fit their stereotype of a youthful campus academic.
A youthful campus academic should be a tall, slender, clean-cut, handsome, sunny young man.
Tanaka Masao: Are you sure you're talking about an academic and not a campus heartthrob?
Damn it, do you need good looks to be an academic too? What has this world come to?
Compared to when Yukinoshita Yukino guided Tanaka Masao in his studies, they had ample space and could maintain a considerable distance.
When Tanaka Masao guided Kawasaki Saki in her studies, due to the desks, they had to sit very close, especially their heads, which were almost touching.
Kawasaki Saki was completely engrossed in her studies and didn't mind this.
And Tanaka Masao, as a helpful good student, possessed upright and kind character. He strictly disciplined himself, kept a clear mind, concentrated fully, and acted as a role model.
[Kawasaki-kun's hair smells so good. This scent has made me feel much more energetic.]
He also couldn't understand one thing: why do girls' hair always have a fragrance?
Is it because they have more hair and use more shampoo, thus retaining more fragrance?
By that logic, if they don't wash their hair for a long time, would the smell also be stronger?
Tanaka Masao was a practical person, but unfortunately, the girls around him were all quite clean, so he couldn't smell that unknown scent.
[Maybe I should ask Bocchi-chan to try it, tell her that not washing her hair will make her more popular, I wonder if she'd believe it.]
Ultimately, Tanaka Masao abandoned this wicked idea.
After all, he was Goto Hitori's best friend; how could he tease her like that?
Gotō Hitori: But you've teased me quite a few times already.
"By the way, Kawasaki, I have a question for you."
"What question?"
"Just, how long is your hair?"
Yukinoshita Yukino was a typical long, straight black-haired girl, with hair that reached her waist.
Kawasaki Saki's hair also went past her waist, but she wore a high ponytail, so if she let it down, it would definitely be even longer.
"What, is there a problem? Will it affect my studies?"
"No, it won't."
Tanaka Masao quickly said, fearing that she might cut her hair because of it, although with Kawasaki Saki's looks, she would still be beautiful even with short hair.
"I just think it's amazing that you can manage such long hair so beautifully, Kawasaki."
"Is it amazing?"
Kawasaki Saki playfully touched her hair, a little happy.
She also loved her long hair, otherwise, she wouldn't spend so much effort taking care of it.
Now, hearing someone praise it, she was naturally overjoyed.
But Kawasaki Saki still pretended not to care too much, simply responding,
"Thank you for the compliment."