"Pleeease! Teach me, Professor Chihaya!!"
"Didn't you just call me simple-minded?"
"That was... I was wrong! I'm sorry! I'll even get down on my knees! Please forgive me!"
"Hmph~ Since you're being so sincere..." He lifted his chin and pursed his lips, reluctantly accepting her apology. "So? How much do you actually weigh?"
Okita Sawa looked uncomfortable. She glanced back at her two classmates, then curled four fingers toward herself, signaling for him to come closer.
He leaned sideways toward her. Covering her small mouth with a hand, she whispered something into his ear.
"..."
The other two watched with looks of disdain. Tch~ So she'd rather tell him than them?
The pair soon straightened up again as though nothing had happened.
"I see. Got it." Himemiya Chihaya stroked his chin, looking troubled. "That's a little tricky."
"Professor!" Okita Sawa fixed him with an intense stare, equal parts nervous and threatening.
It was as if she were saying, Now that you know my secret, you'd better come up with something, or you won't hear the end of it!
"But I do have a solution!" he teased, finishing his thought.
"Really!?" She blinked rapidly in disbelief. She hadn't expected him to actually have an answer.
"Of course. With the right combination of exercise, diet, and massage, you can definitely do it! That's how my little sister lost weight!" he declared, spouting nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
Yet she didn't question him at all. Or perhaps, at this point, she no longer had the option or the time to doubt him.
An Irresponsible Jerk Won't Do
Still, she had one question.
"Massage?"
What kind of method was that?
"That's right, massage!" He kept stringing her along. "Since ancient times, people have said that massage promotes physical and mental health, raises your