It had been over a week since Shijo Maki became an assistant tutor for the Five Sisters.
No one knew what she had gone through to transform from her initial ambition to her current calm state. But a trace of weariness now marked Maki's face.
Especially when she saw that only four of the Five Sisters had arrived.
"Where's Little Dummy Number One?" Shijo Maki had given each of the Five Sisters nicknames, from Little Dummy Number One to Number Five.
Dummy Number One came the least often. Dummy Number Four was the dumbest. Number Five was a small fry. Number Three had communication issues. Number Two was somewhat presentable, but she always shifted her gaze to Big Dummy—Maki's personal nickname for Sakurai.
"Working part-time," Sakurai replied.
The Nakano sisters were currently doing their homework. The two tutors were free and sat down nearby; they usually began instruction after the homework was finished.
"Big Dummy, why are you still doing practice problems and reviewing while working?" Shijo Maki did not want to be fourth anymore. She wanted to drag Sakurai down with her.
"Kaguya Shinomiya and I made a bet." Sakurai didn't look up from his workbook. "This is a necessary effort." He paused. "Besides, Maki, are you planning to give up on love? You're reviewing just like me."
Shijo Maki tilted her head slightly, a proud declaration on her lips: "How can love be more important than studying?"
...You certainly didn't say that a week ago.
Moreover, a few days ago, she had even changed the name of her LINE group chat from [Shijo Maki Love Support Group] to [Shijo Maki Study Support Group].
"What's wrong with you?" Sakurai asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"I..." Shijo Maki's expression shifted to the sad, defeated look unique to a small fry character. "I want to give up."
Her twin pigtails drooped. Her entire being exuded an aura of surrender.
"Indeed." Sakurai nodded. "You shouldn't lead Tanuma Tsubasa astray. His family has a rule of shotgun marriage at seventeen."
"What do you mean by that!?" Maki's annoyance flared.
"Given your personality, I feel like after a few months of dating, you wouldn't even hold hands. A year might pass, and you'd just be holding hands, but he'd be a third-year high schooler needing to marry and have kids." Sakurai saw her unconvinced expression and continued, "Don't glare at me. Come on, try it."
He extended his hand and placed it on the table.
Shijo Maki naturally placed her hand on his. She even intertwined their fingers.
"See?" Maki said smugly. "It's simple. I can do things like this!"
"Because we are ordinary friends, you can do it."
"...?"
"Now, imagine me as a more intimate presence." Sakurai Saki's tone softened deliberately. "For example, a boyfriend. Maki-chan..."
Shijo Maki's entire body erupted in goosebumps. She feigned a gag.
"Stop talking. That's disgusting."
"Your words are unexpectedly hurtful." Sakurai released her hand. "However, why can you talk well with friends—even opposite-sex friends—but not with him?"
Maki's self-analysis came quickly, precisely: "Because when you care about someone, you unconsciously overthink everything. And when you're shy, you can't say what you want to say. You only use harsh words to cover up your embarrassment. Isn't that easy to understand?"
Then the sad, small-fry expression returned. Her entire background seemed to shift to black and white.
"I know all of this." Her voice was small. "So why can't I do it well?"
Sakurai lowered his head, writing on his paper. "So why did you suddenly want to give up?"
"I think I can start as friends first." Shijo Maki propped her chin on her left hand and wrote with her right. "Not treating him as someone I like. As long as I treat him as an ordinary friend—or even just a regular classmate—I can talk to him normally."
Sakurai's pen stopped.
"Then you might as well find another man and start as friends with him."
"...What are you implying?" Maki stared at him. "Big Dummy, you don't like me, do you? That would be quite disgusting."
"If you liked me, you wouldn't talk to me normally, so let's just forget it." Sakurai had no feelings for tsundere behavior. Besides, being tsundere only to the person you like—giving your sweet side to outsiders and your arrogant side to your boyfriend—was strange no matter how he thought about it.
"I will win this midterm exam!" Maki abruptly changed the subject. Her expression turned provocative. "I'll beat you badly and make you cry!"
Sakurai wrote on his paper, not looking up.
"Oh, whether I cry or not doesn't matter. Just make sure you don't cry if you lose."
"My goal this time is first place." Sakurai Saki's tone was matter-of-fact. "I'm aiming for first, securing at least second."
"Big Dummy, you really are a confident guy." Shijo Maki's response was flat. She didn't think Sakurai Saki could defeat Kaguya Shinomiya.
"Excuse me. I need to step out for a moment."
Sakurai Saki glanced at his phone—someone was calling. Nakano Maruo, the father of the Five Sisters. He walked out of the study room.
"Good afternoon, Nakano-san."
"Sakurai-kun, are you teaching right now?" Nakano Maruo's voice was cold, as always. But Sakurai knew the man genuinely cared about his daughters' lives and studies. The coldness was just his nature.
"Everyone is still doing homework. We'll start shortly. Was there something important you needed to discuss?"
Sakurai glanced around the hallway. With exams approaching, many students were in the library reviewing. Last-minute cramming might not be the most effective method, but it was certainly better than doing nothing. Exams were simple—do practice problems, master a wide variety of question types, and your grades wouldn't be bad.
"The midterm exams are approaching, aren't they?" Nakano Maruo went straight to the point.
He knew the exact date, of course. But he didn't want to reveal how much he cared about his daughters. A very tsundere father.
"Yes. Next week." Sakurai leaned against the wall. "Do you have any requests?"
"Requests? Not exactly, but this time..." A pause. Several seconds of silence. "I hope, Sakurai-kun, that you can ensure they all pass."
He didn't need his daughters to be exceptionally outstanding. But repeating a year had to be avoided. He could look after them for a long time, but eventually, they would need to stand on their own. He wouldn't be around forever.
"I will do my best."
"I heard you invited the young lady of the Shijo family to be their assistant tutor?" Nakano Maruo's tone shifted slightly.
...How did he know?
"Yotsuba told me," Maruo added.
Sakurai exhaled. Of course. "Shijo-san's grades are excellent. She's much better than me in certain subjects." The truth was, his invitation had been a simple desire to be lazy. The other party had wanted someone to confide in. A match made in heaven.
I'm lazy. You help me work. We both have a bright future.
Nakano Maruo fell silent.
The young lady of the Shijo family—her influence was no less than Kaguya Shinomiya's. Their family's power might not be strong within Japan itself, but they were thriving overseas.
Surely his five daughters wouldn't clash with her?
"Nakano-san, do you have any other questions? If not, I'll go back to teaching."
Maruo didn't answer. He simply hummed in acknowledgment and hung up.
Sakurai Saki pocketed his phone and walked back into the study room.
The scene that greeted him was chaos.
Shijo Maki stood over Nakano Yotsuba, pointing accusingly. "You even got simple multiplication wrong! You dummy!"
Nakano Yotsuba's high school grades were, to put it gently, not ideal.
"And you!" Maki's finger swiveled toward the door. "Big Dummy! That phone call took forever!"
Sakurai Saki, who had just re-entered, found himself caught in the verbal barrage.
He considered retorting. Then he considered that she was working for free. Then he considered that when facing Yotsuba, it was hard for him not to preach a few words.
They were in the same boat.
Better not to hurt each other.
He walked past Maki without a word, sat down at his spot, and picked up his pen.
"Yotsuba," he said quietly. "Let's go over multiplication tables again. From the beginning."
"Okay~" Yotsuba's voice was far too cheerful for someone who had just been publicly humiliated.
Maki watched them for a moment, then sighed and returned to her seat.
The study session continued.
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