Chapter 69: Return to the Familiar Place
Returning to the familiar place. Normally, one would feel at ease—but at this moment, as Sakurai Saki looked up at the tall apartment building before him, he only felt... a bit of a hassle.
After having just fended off a "rival in love," he relaxed a little and then rode his bike to the Nakano sisters apartment.
Since he had an appointment with four of them, Sakurai Saki came back here once again this week.
He pressed the intercom button at the entrance, and once the phone connected, Sakurai Saki spoke:
"Please open the door for me, thank you."
He didn't have a room card, so he had to rely on someone upstairs to let him in.
"Sensei-chan~" — the person who picked up was Ichika.
Then came an energetic voice: "Eh eh! Is that Sakurai-san!?"
That was Yotsuba's voice.
"We've opened the door, come on up." — this time it was Itsuki.
The moment she finished speaking, the automatic door swung open.
Sakurai Saki stepped into the elevator area and pressed the call button.
Once inside, he selected the 30th floor.
While waiting, Sakurai Saki took out a few sheets of test papers — these were from last week, ones he hadn't given them yet.
The content was all based on middle school knowledge. In terms of difficulty, they were even easier than the mock exam Ishigami Yuu had to take this coming Thursday.
After all, he were just to gauge their current level, so there was no need to make them difficult. Actually... Sakurai Saki felt that with papers this easy, some of them still might not even do well.
He glanced at the number of test papers in his hand — then frowned slightly.
Five?
Recalling the deduction he made last Friday, Sakurai Saki began to understand.
That homeless girl was definitely someone from the Nakano family, who signed as [Number 2].
Even so, Sakurai Saki didn't dwell too much on it. According to the ghost girl — Yakumo Shiro — the existence of that girl would gradually return to normal.
That time would likely be tomorrow? That would make it exactly one week.
By then, everything would come to light — no need to rush.
When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road; when the boat reaches the pier, it will naturally straighten out. Sakurai Saki had never worried about such things.
If the girl whose existence had been completely erased came to question him, Sakurai Saki would answer her frankly.
"It was me. The strange things that happened to you are related to me." — That's what he would say.
Sakurai Saki had never denied the things he'd done — whether good or bad.
Just as he once said — "The choice made at that time was the one I believed to be the most correct at that moment."
Don't keep tormenting yourself over the past — you must look forward.
If you keep drowning in the sea of past suffering, you'll end up being dragged under and drowned.
...
...
The number on the elevator screen ticked up to the 30th floor.
Sakurai Saki stepped out of the elevator.
Then he froze.
This setup... what is this all for?
"Welcome~ sensei-chan~" Nakano Ichika clapped her hands a few times.
⊹₊⟡⋆◝(ᵔᵕᵔ)◜˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚
"Heehee!! Sakurai-san!!" Nakano Yotsuba greeted him while pulling the string of a party popper in her hand.
(੭˃ᴗ˂)੭⋆✴︎˚｡⋆⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
Pop! A burst of golden confetti sprayed all over the hallway.
"Good afternoon. Saki-kun." Nakano Miku said flatly, while a party popper went off in her hand too.
(੭ ˊ^ˋ)੭ ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
More golden glitter.
"General Affairs Sakurai, good afternoon." Nakano Itsuki gave a slight bow.
(✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)⁾⁾
Sakurai Saki's face was full of question marks.
He wondered: "You guys like studying that much?"
And what's with this golden rain all over the place? Isn't it going to be a pain to clean up later?
At that, three of them showed subtle changes in expression.
Only Itsuki nodded, "I like studying!"
٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
Although she and Sakurai Saki had a misunderstanding last week, after he explained clearly, there was no problem anymore. Granted, Sakurai Saki's temperament wasn't great—any normal person would be angry if misunderstood—but the fact that he had said he wanted to quit tutoring still came as a shock to her.
Luckily, after she apologized, he chose to continue tutoring them, which relieved Itsuki a great deal.
Sakurai was living alone in Tokyo, so he had taken up this job. It wasn't something glamorous to talk about, but she couldn't deny his choice.
The four Nakano sisters weren't people with supernatural powers, so they didn't feel anything off about their memories being altered or supplemented.
Nakano Yotsuba put down the party popper and shyly told Sakurai: "Ah, Sakurai-san, I have to go help the girls' basketball club later, so I might need to postpone today's tutoring until tomorrow."
(づ ᴗ _ᴗ)づ
Ichika said: "I'll stay with sensei-chan~"
(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧
She winked at Sakurai Saki as she spoke.
Sakurai turned to look at Miku.
Miku put the popper down, "If it's a topic I'm interested in…"
Got it — basically, if it's not history, she's not motivated to study at all.
Shuchiin Academy had no shortage of subjects: Classical Japanese (literature), Math, History, Social Studies, Natural Sciences, PE, Home Economics, Foreign Languages.
The first and second years didn't separate into Humanities and Sciences tracks — that division happened in third year: one was the external admission track, and the other was the internal promotion track. The external track was generally seen as science-focused, while the internal track leaned towards humanities. The universities they aimed for were divided into two categories: Shuchiin University and others like the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, and Tohoku University, which were all among the top choices.
As for midterm exams, they covered five subjects: Classical Japanese, Math, Science, Social Studies, and English.
Sakurai Saki had previously investigated the girls' academic performance, and discovered that each of the four girls excelled in a different subject — none overlapped.
Yotsuba was good at Classical Japanese.
Miku excelled in Social Studies, especially the History portion she loved.
Ichika was strong in Math.
And Itsuki did better in Natural Sciences.
That mysterious "Number Two" — could she be good at English?
If following this logic, that would be the conclusion.
To be honest, Sakurai Saki didn't find this job easy at all.
He had even thought about why these girls performed so poorly — there had to be a reason.
Based on current deductions: Ichika probably couldn't balance studies with her acting work, Miku was way too lopsided in her interests, Yotsuba... maybe because she helped too many clubs and didn't have time to study, and as for Itsuki…
Wait a second! Itsuki always studied seriously — why were her grades still so bad?
Was it because she hadn't found the right study method?
Itsuku: (,,¬﹏¬,,)
...
Sakurai Saki and the four Nakano sisters entered the room. Yotsuba helped Miku grab a bottle of matcha tea and poured everyone some fruit juice. Then she got a phone call and had to leave.
It was already past four o'clock — by the time she got to school it would be nearly five. The girls' basketball club must be short on people, otherwise she wouldn't have to rush like that.
"Everyone, even though Yotsuba isn't here, I think we should still proceed with a placement test." Sakurai Saki spoke as he took out a stack of test papers from his bag. He explained, "This is a comprehensive test. Each subject has a few questions."
"If there's something you don't know, you can skip it. If you think you can do it, just go ahead."
Itsuki quietly accepted the paper.
Miku said nothing, scanning through the test and finding some questions she liked.
Sakurai Saki noticed. To spark Miku's interest, he had intentionally placed the history questions first.
Ichika leaned back on the sofa and sighed dramatically, "No reward? If sensei-chan doesn't give us a reward, we won't be motivated."
╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
Sakurai Saki was about to refuse, but saw the other two also looking at him.
He sighed and pulled out a sticky note.
After writing a line on it, Sakurai Saki placed it on the table.
"This is a Wish Voucher. As long as it's something I can do and it doesn't go against my personal principles, I'll fulfill it. I'll give it to the person I'm most satisfied with after this test."
Upon hearing that, all three of their expressions changed.
Each had their own thoughts.
Nakano Itsuki wanted Sakurai Saki to share his study secrets. She had heard that when he first entered school last year, his grades were bottom-tier — even worse than hers or her sisters'.
Yet within a year, he'd climbed to rank third in the entire grade, only behind President Shirogane and Vice President Shinomiya.
President Shirogane's grades were also poor when he first enrolled. One person making such progress in a year could be chalked up to personal effort — but two? That suggested there was some unknown method.
There had to be a way to boost results quickly!
Miku, on the other hand, wanted to use the voucher to ask Sakurai Saki to teach her how to make matcha cake. Back when they were in the same class last year, during home economics, she had tasted a cake he made — and still remembered the flavor. His family ran a wagashi shop, so his skills were excellent.
Miku loved matcha — so much so that she always ordered drinks with names like "Matcha Soda."
Ichika chuckled softly, teasing: "Anything at all, really?"
(≖ᴗ≖ ✿)
"Of course." Sakurai Saki had no regrets!
"Even if it's..." Ichika paused a moment, then continued, "asking you to go out with me?"
(≖⩊≖)
.....Sakurai Saki started to feel a little regret now.
"(ノ _ <,, )
"If I am satisfied with your test, then if you use the voucher to make that request, I won't refuse."