"What are you talking about? I-I'm not a kid! I'm already an adult! And besides... y-you're...", The girl's legs left the chair as her whole body froze. Feeling an unusual touch, her cheeks visibly turned bright red, "It's touching..."
"Touching? If I'm trying to keep someone from falling, of course I'm going to touch them. Why make such a big deal out of it?"
With a strangely hollow sigh, Ash finally let go of the girl in his hands.
"Even if it's normal to touch someone! B-but still! What's with your attitude? Normally! Shouldn't you apologize first or something?", Roxy covered her chest with both hands. Her face was bright red as she tried to put on a stern expression and glared at him with pursed lips.
"Wait... did I touch your chest?"
"Wah... w-why did you have to say it out loud? Don't tell me you didn't—"
"Sorry, I didn't notice anything different."
"Huh?"
His calm, matter-of-fact reply didn't sound like a lie at all. Roxy looked as though she'd been struck by lightning. Her body unconsciously leaned back, and her little mouth hung wide open.
Ash couldn't help being a little surprised by how shocked she was.
"You're that surprised? Or maybe... you just seriously lack self-awareness?"
"Th-that's not it! You're way too rude! Didn't your parents ever teach you the basic manners a gentleman should have toward a lady?"
The girl instinctively covered her chest again, clenched her fists, and tightened her little face as she struggled to keep looking stern.
Though to Ash, there really wasn't any teacherly dignity to be found in her.
Her flushed, fair face was honestly pretty cute. It even made him want to tease her, so before he realized it, he nodded and said, "You're right. Someone like me who was an orphan from birth really is poorly brought up... Since there was never anyone to raise me."
"Eh... ah... s-sorry... I didn't mean it like that. I was trying to say..."
His sincere agreement sounded as though he was affirming her accusation.
Roxy instantly felt like a terrible person. She even wanted to slap herself for saying something like that. Tears welled up in her eyes as she hurriedly apologized over and over. In the end, unable to think of anything else to say, she lowered her head deeply.
"A-anyway... I'm truly sorry!"
"You don't have to worry so much. I only stated the facts, and I don't mind."
"B-but..."
"It's fine, really. You don't need to worry about it."
Roxy looked as though she was about to cry.
Ash wasn't exactly overflowing with sympathy. If anything, he found it rather amusing and almost laughed.
Still, he'd received professional training, so he managed not to laugh. Instead, he put on the gentle demeanor of an older senior and softly stroked her blue hair.
"Compared to those things in the past, things that don't really matter, we should focus on the present and look toward the future."
"Focus on the present and look toward the future?"
'Why do I feel like this kid's words are so profound... and he feels more like a teacher than I do?'
The girl unconsciously repeated his words, unable to stop herself from feeling defeated.
She even forgot to slap his hand away. Instead, she squatted on the ground dejectedly, absentmindedly drawing circles on the floor while hanging her head.
"A teacher like me really isn't good enough. N-no... it's probably that being a teacher just doesn't suit me..."
'She gets discouraged way too easily. Is she really this lacking in confidence? Well, she's always been like this, hasn't she? Is that why she keeps trying to act dignified?'
Feeling a little troubled, Ash crouched down beside her and gently comforted her.
"Don't think about it so much. Honestly, you're definitely a great teacher in my eyes. Better than all the teachers I had before."
"You had lots of teachers before? But they must have been much more mature and steady than me, and much older too, if they taught a student like you... Am I really just too young?"
"You're only a little older than them. Just a little. Don't worry about it."
"Really? Just a little?", Roxy asked uncertainly.
"About two digits."
"Two digits? You mean around two years, right? Seriously... Your math is so good, so why would you mix something like this up?"
Hearing such a simple mistake from him, Roxy finally smiled. She shook her head, patted her cheeks firmly, stood back up, and gently said,
"Looks like there are still things you need to learn~"
"You're right. I'll have to rely on you to correct me from now on."
Probably shouldn't mention that most of them were four-digit ages, and one might even have been five digits, 'Yeah... this is what kindness looks like.'
Ash silently approved of himself. On the surface, he merely nodded slightly and admitted it had been a slip of the tongue.
The smile in Roxy's eyes grew even brighter, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help curling upward.
"Well~ I'm your teacher after all. Leave little things like this to me!"
"Of course. I'll leave it all to you."
Like he was humoring a child, Ash patted her head.
Their positions had once again completely reversed.
Only Roxy didn't notice it at all. Instead, she happily narrowed her eyes, making Ash feel less like he'd found a master to study under and more like he'd adopted a cute little pet.
Though, there didn't really seem to be much difference between the two.
After quite a while, Roxy finally snapped out of all the praise.
She tried to hide how she felt, but couldn't manage it. Looking both happy and embarrassed, she brushed his hand away and instinctively put on a stern face to lecture him.
"Don't pat your elders on the head. That's rude! And don't call me by my name. You should call me Master."
"Yes, yes. Master Roxy."
"Mhm! That's better! But you only need to say 'yes' once. Saying it like that makes you sound insincere!"
It was the first time someone had addressed her like that.
Even though Ash didn't seem particularly willing, she was still delighted. She even stood on tiptoe and patted his head in return.
Watching her struggle so hard was oddly amusing. Ash couldn't help glancing at the girl, who was probably only around 145 centimeters tall, and sighed, "You're really tiny, Roxy."
"I'm not tiny! And where are you looking?", Roxy reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She immediately covered her chest and quickly turned sideways.
"I meant your height. Besides... how am I supposed to look at something that isn't there?"
The moment those words left his mouth, the girl puffed up angrily and glared at him.
"You said something that absolutely shouldn't be said again! Even if I'm your teacher, I'm really going to get mad!"
"More importantly, what were you doing just now?", Ignoring the girl in front of him, Ash casually glanced around the unusually quiet courtyard.
"You're changing the subject? And what do you mean, 'more importantly'? Is this really something that doesn't matter?"
"That's right. But that's not the point."
He quietly reached out and pressed her head down.
"Where are all the maids in my house? Why don't I see any of them?"
"After you went out this morning, I dismissed every last one of them!"
"Huh? Wait... why?", Even though he'd successfully changed the subject, Ash couldn't help staring blankly at the unexpected development.
Roxy, however, wagged a finger and began lecturing him seriously.
"Of course it's to cut costs. Look at you. You're borrowing money everywhere and still keeping so many servants. What are you going to do in the future?"
"But... I already told you money isn't really a problem. And this morning I already got... borrowed some more."