CH 9

A Sincere and Kind Underclassman

TL: PuffyPyjamas.

ED: Daemon.

My baby-faced underclassmen is standing behind Miyu-sensei with a smile on her face. The smile, which normally makes her look lovable, is quite scary today. When Aki is in a slightly bad mood or just pouting, Aki’s cheeks cutely swell when she’s in a bad mood or just fatigued, making her seem very childish and adorable.

However——when she’s really angry, she smiles.

Since Aki is usually very gentle, she prefers not to yell or complain in any situation. And as such, when she’s angry, she tries to hold herself back by attempting to smile. However, the anger itself remains, making her attitude and voice change somewhat. As a result, a new Aki is presented with an adorable smile and a strange atmosphere.

For Aki to get this angry… What the hell did Miyu-sensei do? Well, half of it is probably my fault. I was late for the tutoring session I had with her, and I didn’t contact her as well. Moreover, I ignored all her messages.

Yeah, it isn’t strange at all for her to be angry, rather, it’s completely normal. However, she didn’t seem angry when I contacted her after leaving school. I was delayed and because of the stuff with Emma, I informed her that I wanted a day off from tutoring, to which she calmly replied, [I understand. Senpai is always taking care of me, so please rest properly for today.]

Despite that, why is the situation like this…? While I was wondering about the reason, I decided to call out to Aki for the time being. After all, if I were to continue to stay silent, the situation would probably turn even scarier.

“A-Aki. Sorry for the delay. Here, I… I bought some of your favorite chocolate cake!”

I ignored Miyu-sensei as I directly addressed Aki. However, Aki’s body abruptly trembled, her face showing a bewildered expression.

“S-Senpai!? W-what!? Why are you here!? I thought you wouldn’t be coming today!”

Apparently, Aki hadn’t realized I was standing here. When she noticed my presence, she panicked and retrieved a hand mirror, checking her hairstyle in a frenzy. Aki has always been very neat and tidy, and even right now, her hair isn’t in that much of a mess. However, Aki is still a normal girl, I guess.

“——Hey.”

While I was busy staring at Aki who was busy grooming her hair, Miyu-sensei whispered to me so that only I could hear. I wondered what happened, Miyu-sensei moved her lips in attempts to convey her thoughts to me.

“Com… pli… ment.”

I tried to read her lips, and it seems like she wants me to compliment Aki. I’d like her to not ask me to be the one fixing her sister’s mood, but it’s still a good opportunity since Aki’s mood is beginning to brighten.

Looking at Aki’s mood getting better, I thought it was good that I brought along Aki’s favorite food. As expected of Miyu-sensei. She understands that when her little sister is in a foul mood, the best solution is to present her with her favorite food. The fact that Miyu-sensei advised me to compliment her, may imply that my compliment will completely heal Aki’s mood.

“Aki, you look really cute in those pyjamas.” [T/N: Nyahaha~ Pyjamas~]

I complimented the pink and white, polka-dot pyjamas that Aki was donning. Honestly, it has quite the cute design which suits the short and baby-faced Aki.

However, when I complimented her, Miyu-sensei suddenly collapsed. She then placed her palm on her forehead and began to shake her head. “You’re right, but you’re not right?”, is what she seems to be saying to me.

Stange… I did compliment her.

When I glanced at Aki, her face started to turn red, and a moment later, it was completely painted crimson. I wonder if she has a fever? It’s already September, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a summer cold going around.

“Senpai saw me in my pyjamas… Ugh… I am so embarrassed… But he told me that I look cute…!”

Aki looks down and mutters something, but her voice is too soft to be audible. However, I can see that her facial expressions are changing rapidly. It looks like she is feeling better. As expected, following Miyu-sensei’s instructions was the correct move.

Speaking of Miyu-sensei, for some reason, she is glaring at me with reproachful eyes. What on earth did I do wrong? I followed her instructions and complimented her.

When I looked over at Miyu-sensei, who seemed to be unconvinced, she closed the distance between us and whispered into my ear.

“Hey, you know? Wasn’t Aki worried about her hairstyle? In that situation, you should’ve complimented her hairstyle… Well, complimenting her clothes isn’t a bad move either… However, you’re not supposed to compliment her when she’s in her pyjamas, okay?”

I was amazed at her criticism. It seems that I was mistaken about what I was supposed to compliment. I see, I guess Aki is flustered because I praised her pyjamas. It certainly may have been wrong to praise her pyjamas.

However, in my defence… I am someone who hasn’t had a girlfriend all his life, so how was I supposed to know the correct way to compliment the opposite sex?

“…Sorry.” 

Well, there was no way I could give such a pitiful excuse, more like, I was repulsed by the idea of saying it, so I chose to apologize.

“From now, you should start researching more about a woman’s heart. It will benefit you in the long run.”

“?”

You can say that… However, what can I do to study a woman’s heart? Should I start reading manga?  Or should I have Miyu-sensei teach me—No, that won’t work.

I have a feeling that I’d be poorly educated if I were to learn from her. In addition to not having any romantic experience whatsoever, she probably doesn’t even possess a woman’s heart.

“Hey, Aoyagi. Did you insult me just now?”

“No, nothing of the sort.”

As usual, Miyu-sensei was extremely sensitive to my rude thoughts about her.

Is this woman really a human being? I cannot help being suspicious.

“Senpai…? You’ll be eating dinner together, right? Come inside.” 

As I was busy laughing to pass off Miyu-sensei’s statement, Aki looks up and calls out to me with trembling hands. 

Maybe she believes that I came here to eat dinner together.

“No, it’s fine. I’m not tutoring you today, so I can’t have you treating me, can I?”

I usually have dinner at Aki’s house, it is her way to show gratitude for tutoring. The bigger reason though, is that Aki worries about my health since I live alone.

Needless to say, the  cost of materials is subtracted from my salary, and I have also received permission from Aki’s parents.

As for Miyu-sensei, she agreed while saying that the dinner table would be livelier with three people instead of just two.

Since I eat dinner with them almost every day, I often speak to Miyu-sensei rather frankly.

“Neither I or my sister mind! Please have dinner with us, Senpai!”

I refused since I didn’t want to bother her, but Aki persisted. I am appreciative of Aki’s sentiments, but I’d like to keep it within the bounds of a professional relationship. This is a restriction I set on myself when I took on the job of Aki’s tutor.

“However, I was not supposed to come today, wouldn’t we have enough food for the three of us?”

“It’s no problem! I can just cut down on my sister’s share!”

“Hey, wait a minute!”

The instant she heard that her portion would be cut, Miyu-sensei immediately interfered. As for Aki, I know that this is not just a mere threat, because she can easily make it happen if she’s serious.

“What, Onee-chan? Didn’t use up all of my precious time with Senpai by pushing him to do various errands for you?” 

While making a cute smile, Aki looked at Miyu-sensei. It seems that she believes that Miyu-sensei is the reason that I was late today. Well, I guess this all originally started when Miyu-sensei asked me for help, so it might not be wrong. 

When I left school, Miyu-sensei did contact Aki, so of course she would know that I was asked to help out. Knowing that, she probably believed that it was all Miyu-sensei’s fault. Moreover, a major part of me not being able to contact Aki, was due to all of the teasing that Miyu-sensei had done to me inside the staff room.

Still, I really felt sorry. Thanks to Miyu-sensei, I was able to meet Emma and converse with Charlotte, and I can’t just overlook that.

“Aki, you really don’t have to worry about dinner. Also, it’s not Miyu-sensei’s fault that I am late, so stop blaming her. I’m really sorry for being late today.”

“Senpai…”

When I apologized, Aki stared at my face with a complicated look. Then after thinking for a bit, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Very well. I understand that Senpai is someone who values drawing the line at some point… I thought it was my sister’s fault that Senpai was late, but if you say so, then I won’t blame my sister anymore… That’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

I thanked Aki for reluctantly accepting everything. Aki’s gaze seems to be implying that it can’t be helped.

Aki is a kind and gentle girl, she was quick to understand my sentiment after all. I really don’t think she’s Miyu-sensei’s actual sister.

“Yeah, I’m happy to have such a good student.”

Miyu-sensei, who was ridded of all the crimes, nodded with satisfaction. Aki’s anger has subsided, and it seems that she won’t be scary anymore.

However, it shouldn’t be this simple… 

Aki looks at Miyu-sensei with a smiling face as if to prove my conjecture.

“Fufu~ Onee-chan? You can eat dinner, but I can’t change the menu since the dinner has already been prepared. So——today’s dinner is extremely spicy, aren’t you happy?”

“…You must be kidding.” 

“Nope, not at all~”

Listening to Aki’s cheerful reply, Miyu-sensei’s face paled. Even if it’s a bit spicy, her cooking is delicious nonetheless.

However, from Miyu-sensei’s perspective, spicy food is a fatal weapon since she’s very bad with it. It seems like Aki changed the menu when her anger for Miyu-sensei reached its peak. I was originally about to ask Aki to prepare spicy food, but I guess I’ll forget about it now.

Miyu-sensei, you have my condolences.

While looking at the depressed Miyu-sensei out of the corner of my eye, I handed the box containing the chocolate cake to Aki and walked away.