After school, afternoon.
The four of them gathered once again in the Service Club.
As soon as they met, Jahy leaned in and asked Tanaka Masao a question.
"Nanami, Masao, I have something I want to ask you."
Tanaka Masao frowned. For some reason, he had a very bad feeling about this.
But looking at Jahy's expression, it didn't seem like she was trying to mess with him, so he cautiously asked:
"What do you want to ask?"
Jahy really wasn't trying to cause trouble. She was genuinely curious.
And a curious Jahy didn't care about the atmosphere at all—she just spoke directly.
"Why are all the people in your computer and the books in your room not wearing clothes?"
Jahy's expression was pure and innocent, overflowing with a strong will to survive.
Looking into those clear, captivating eyes, Tanaka Masao was already drenched in sweat.
Because he could clearly feel two knife-like gazes shooting straight at him.
Tanaka Masao's whole body stiffened, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, his brain spinning at the fastest speed of his entire life.
At this moment, Tanaka Masao's IQ had surpassed Einstein's.
He forced a stiff smile and said in a strained voice:
"Ja… Jahy… what are you talking about? I don't really understand."
"People not wearing clothes? Ah—are you talking about my health education book?"
"Yeah, that was given out back when the school did health education. After finishing it, I just casually left it in my room."
"That book is meant to help better understand the human body. You'll study it in the future too, ahaha~"
[I'm a genius. This excuse is flawless.
Everyone has taken health class—having a book like that isn't strange at all.]
Tanaka Masao let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
[Man, thinking that hard made me sweat. But I finally got past that hurdle.]
He didn't need to care whether Yukinoshita Yukino or Hiratsuka Shizuka believed him or not.
Even if they didn't, and clearly knew what was really going on…
As long as he had a plausible excuse, given their personalities, neither of them would be interested in prying further over something like this.
"Oh, so it's a book about the human body. Then I should study it properly."
Hearing that, Jahy grew interested. She reached into her shoulder bag and took out a book.
"Here, teach me."
When she left Tanaka Masao's room, she'd thought it might be useful and casually grabbed a book.
She hadn't expected it to actually come in handy now—she could learn even more about humans.
The moment Jahy took out the book, Tanaka Masao's heart stopped.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
[I'm done for.]
If Jahy had pulled out a photo book, at worst it would just mean Tanaka Masao was a bit lewd.
For a boy his age, that would be perfectly normal.
But the cover she pulled out showed a beautiful girl who had drunk over a dozen bottles of milk.
It was… painfully explicit.
Yukinoshita Yukino's gaze instantly turned full of disgust as she said coldly:
"Disgusting."
All the goodwill Tanaka Masao had built up with Yukinoshita Yukino was completely wiped out—no, it even went deep into the negatives.
Hiratsuka Shizuka had originally wanted to say a few words in Tanaka Masao's defense, thinking it was normal for a boy his age to read that sort of thing.
But seeing this, she decided not to say anything at all.
At this moment, Jahy still hadn't realized that she had, completely unintentionally, killed Tanaka Masao once.
She asked innocently:
"Is something wrong?"
Jahy's words broke the awkward silence.
Hiratsuka Shizuka coughed lightly and took the book from Jahy's hands.
"I'll hold onto this for now. It's not something you should be reading."
As she took the book, Hiratsuka Shizuka saw the cover again, her cheeks heating up slightly.
Hearing this, Jahy frowned.
[I'm not allowed to read it? Why? Could it be forbidden knowledge inside?]
She decided that when she got the chance, she'd study it properly on her own.
…
On the other side, Tanaka Masao had no time to worry about Jahy's thirst for knowledge.
He was facing a crisis—an unresolvable crisis.
His image was completely destroyed. There was no way to salvage it.
[Ah… my bright, upright, brave, kind, pure, innocent image… it's gone.]
Everyone: No, no, no. You never had that image to begin with.
Looking at the silent Tanaka Masao, who looked like he'd practically turned into a pile of ashes,
Yukinoshita Yukino helplessly covered her forehead and sighed.
"Tanaka-kun, may I say something?"
"Yes, please go ahead."
"I know boys are interested in the opposite sex, and I won't judge your… special hobbies too much."
"So you don't need to take this to heart."
"Just be more careful from now on. Keep that kind of thing properly stored and don't let Jahy see it again."
"She's still just a child. She shouldn't be exposed to things like that."
Hearing Yukinoshita Yukino's words, Tanaka Masao lifted his head, covering his mouth with both hands, so moved he was on the verge of tears.
"Yukinoshita-san, are you an angel? You actually understand my hobby."
Yukinoshita Yukino crossed her arms and took a step back in disgust.
"Stop right there. I'll admit I'm an angel."
"But let me be clear—I don't understand your hobby, I don't want to understand it, and I'd prefer your hobby to stay as far away from me as possible."
"Haha."
Seeing the awkward atmosphere finally ease, Hiratsuka Shizuka laughed.
"Indeed, it's normal for someone Tanaka's age to look at those kinds of things, but…"
She paused and reminded him:
"As your teacher, I still have to say this."
"Just stick to normal stuff. Things that are, well… not exactly aligned with mainstream values are better avoided."
Many kids and young people nowadays are influenced by novels, manga, and TV dramas.
They imitate what they see.
So Hiratsuka Shizuka felt it was necessary to remind Tanaka Masao not to chase stimulation and walk down a path of no return.
"Alright, I understand."
Tanaka Masao agreed verbally. He really didn't plan on looking at that stuff anymore.
On one hand, he was already exhausted—he barely had the energy to look at them every day.
On the other, he felt his knowledge reserves were already sufficient. Further "study" was unnecessary.
…
After that, the three of them tacitly avoided bringing the matter up again.
Jahy, meanwhile, was drawn to Tanaka Masao's training.
So that's what "losing weight" was—training.
She finally understood why Tanaka Masao always came home so exhausted.
Although she knew that training like this could make her stronger, Jahy had no interest at all.
As long as she collected magic stones, she could recover her lost power—there was no need to work this hard.
And for her, this method of improvement was far too slow. Completely not worth the effort.
After finishing today's training, Tanaka Masao dragged his tired body home.
This time, besides Yukinoshita Yukino, Jahy was also walking back with him.
Hiratsuka Shizuka drove home alone in her beloved car instead of accompanying them.
They parted ways at their usual intersection. Today, Yukinoshita Yukino lingered there a little longer than usual before finally leaving, somewhat reluctantly.