Tutoring and a New Skill (6K)

After a brief rest, it was around two in the afternoon.

You En arrived at the library. Their study room was in a corner on the third floor. It was shared, but the school library was so large that it had plenty of study rooms.

So usually, there was no competition for rooms or disputes over who got to use them.

"Someone from Class D came to study, too? Who are you, You En?"

Komiya Yogo from Class C was loudly interrogating Shinohara Teruhiko.

You En walked by, feeling completely innocent. Besides, why was Komiya bothering Shinohara, who was quietly studying?

Didn't Ryuen from your class know me?

He was probably just picking a fight on purpose.

Shinohara seemed annoyed, but he showed no emotion. He pushed up his glasses and said coolly:

"Your Class C average score is lower than ours, isn't it? Why are you here instead of studying?"

"What did you say?!"

Komiya Yogo deliberately raised his voice, clearly trying to provoke a scene.

You En glanced over. A silver-haired girl who had been reading nearby had put a bookmark between the pages and stood up, heading their way.

Looks like he wouldn't need to step in.

"Komiya Yogo,"

Shiina Hiyori had shed her usual gentle, tranquil air. Her voice was still soft, but there was no mistaking her meaning:

"Go back."

When Komiya saw Shiina, he was like a mouse seeing a cat. He didn't dare say a word and turned to leave.

You En guessed it was because of the difference in their standing in the class. Class C had a pretty strict hierarchy. If Komiya picked a fight with Shiina in the library today, Ryuen might make him pay for it when he got back.

"Thank you..."

Shinohara seemed a little shy.

Shiina Hiyori replied politely, "You're welcome. The library is a place for reading and studying, so let's leave everything else outside."

"...Oh."

It took Shinohara Teruhiko a while to respond. By the time he thought to ask the girl's name, she had already returned to her seat.

Watching this, You En chuckled. Ah, youth.

He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Just as the doors were about to close, someone suddenly rushed inside.

When he saw who it was, he asked, "Why are you so late today?"

Horikita Suzune was slightly out of breath. She took a few breaths to steady herself before answering:

"I lost track of time."

You En thought about it. Horikita probably hadn't lost track of time while sleeping. She had likely been studying.

"Didn't you go back and rest at lunch?"

"I slept for fifteen minutes."

Horikita Suzune answered honestly.

The elevator stopped on the second floor. The automatic doors slid open, revealing Ibuki Mio.

Ibuki looked at them without saying hello and walked straight in.

You En broke the silence first. "It's been a few days, Ibuki."

Ibuki played with her fingers. "Yeah. I heard someone's been pretty popular lately."

You En was curious. "Who? I'd like to meet them, too."

"Hmph, stop pretending you don't know."

Ibuki Mio didn't believe him. She still remembered what had happened when they were alone together that day. But she didn't press the matter and changed the subject instead.

"Never mind. I heard next week's elective classes are going to have two sessions back-to-back. Did you see the announcement?"

"I haven't checked. When was it posted?"

"Just check the schedule and you'll see."

They reached the third floor. Ibuki stepped out first, giving Horikita Suzune what seemed like a provocative glance before turning to You En.

"See you then. Looks like only we'll be left in Survival Class."

"Yeah, see you then."

You En waved, then turned to Horikita Suzune, who seemed to be in a bad mood again.

She said, "You seem pretty close to her."

You En shot back,

"Am I not close to everyone?"

Horikita Suzune thought about it and realized that most people at school got along well with the guy in front of her.

Whether it was a subject teacher, a homeroom teacher, a homeroom teacher from another class, or students from other classes, in the end there were only two people who might not get along with him.

"Isn't there? Those two idiots."

"Oh, you mean Yamauchi. I've pretty much erased him from my memory. As for Ayanokoji, he's actually..."

You En didn't think badly of Ayanokoji, though he couldn't say he thought well of him, either. Ayanokoji didn't treat anyone as a person, but he didn't treat himself as one, either.

At a peaceful school, he would probably slack off and play dumb while hiding his true abilities. In general, he'd be harmless.

But at this school, he had sensed danger and started carrying out one scheme after another. That was bound to cause trouble. Horikita Suzune, for example, had become one of his victims.

"We're here."

Horikita Suzune's reminder pulled him out of his thoughts.

At a desk not far away,

Ando Sayo and the others waved at them.

Horikita Suzune reminded him, "I'm going to teach over there. Pay attention, and don't just play around with them."

You En wasn't worried. He walked toward the cute girls.

"Don't worry. This is fun learning."

Study time began.

After their evening study sessions on Tuesday and Thursday, and their outing together that morning, You En and Ando Sayo's group had grown quite familiar with each other. From the start, he had looked for ways to earn their trust.

He had worked as a tutor for a while in his previous life, though he hadn't pursued it for long.

"You En, why aren't chromosomes the only thing that determines sex?"

Tsube Hitomi looked at the true-or-false question she had gotten wrong, puzzled.

"Because sex is determined by both genes and environmental conditions."

You En looked at her.

"Think about it. Does having male genes necessarily make someone male? Does having female genes necessarily make someone female?"

Tsube Hitomi felt as if You En were asking why one was one and two was two.

She was confused.

"Why not? I'm a girl, and you're a boy. Doesn't that mean genes determine it?"

You En looked at Ando Sayo, who offered her friend a hint.

"There's also gender-affirming surgery."

Tsube Hitomi was shocked. "Huh?!"

"There are many factors in the environment that can affect sex, not just that.

"This question is about the relationship between traits and genes. Sex is a trait determined by many complex factors. The result is what you and I are like, but the process is complicated."

After hearing You En's explanation,

"Oh, I see."

Tsube Hitomi finally understood. Ando Sayo and the others had learned something, too. They had known the answer was false, but not what the question was meant to test. You En had explained it from another angle.

Ando Sayo and the others felt that time passed quickly. They weren't the kind of students who disliked studying. They simply hadn't found much enjoyment in it before.

"All right, let's take a break."

You En checked the time and spoke to the girls.

"How have two hours already passed?"

Tsube Hitomi checked the time, too, but didn't think much of it. She went off to the restroom with Kobashi Yume and the others.

You En looked at his personal status screen and noticed a new skill. It was already at the Proficient level.

Teaching (Lv. 1, Proficient)

Note: Teaching isn't about mechanically reciting what's in a textbook. It's about guiding someone to discover their own interests, nature, talents, and so on. With careful guidance at the start of their journey, students can eventually find their own paths.

"You En, there's something I'd like to ask you, though I'm not sure if it's appropriate."

A hint of hesitation showed in Ando Sayo's light-colored eyes.

You En nodded. "We're just chatting, after all. We're friends. There's nothing you can't say, right?"

Ando was straightforward and independent. It was rare to see her act like this. What did she want to talk to him about?

"Tsube and the others aren't here, so I'll tell you."

Perhaps the word "friends" had given Ando Sayo the resolve to speak.

"Does your class know that this month's weekly test scores will be totaled at the end of the month?"

"What are they going to do with the test scores? Rank everyone?"

As You En spoke, he suddenly had a thought. Was someone going to be expelled?

Ando Sayo took a breath and continued:

"Any student who comes last in their class and fails a subject will be expelled. Hoshinomiya-sensei told us. The homeroom teachers for Class A and Class C told their classes, too, but it seems your homeroom teacher is the only one who hasn't said anything.

"...Kanzaki told all of us to keep it secret, so we weren't allowed to tell you."

You En said gratefully,

"Thanks, Sayo."

Ando Sayo shook her head slightly, then smiled and mimicked his earlier tone.

"We're friends, aren't we?"

"What are you two whispering about?"

Tsube Hitomi suddenly popped up and patted Ando Sayo on the shoulder, making her jump.

"You!"

The two of them playfully bickered for a while, putting the earlier conversation aside. Then they began another round of studying.

At the end, You En brought out a test he and Horikita had made and had them work through it on their own.

No wonder things were going differently from the original story...

Why had Ichinose come to them and asked them to tutor her classmates? Because their poor grades posed an obvious threat now, not because the risk of expulsion would begin at the start of next month. The expulsion crisis would happen at the end of the month.

No wonder he had seen Ibuki Mio in the library today. Class C was probably holding a study session there, too.

Komiya Yogo was probably one of the students Shiina Hiyori was tutoring. Otherwise, he wouldn't have backed down so readily.

"What exactly is Chabashira Sae doing? How can she still be so laid-back? To put it bluntly, compared with the other three homeroom teachers, does she even deserve to be one?"

You En's thoughts were in turmoil. He wasn't worried about failing the tests at the end of the month.

Rather, it was Chabashira Sae's attitude and behavior that bothered him. She had failed to share information she should have passed on, and she might put him in a difficult position later, too.

"I'm finally done!"

Tsube Hitomi was the last to finish.

You En collected her test, glanced over it, then handed it to Ando Sayo. He took out several photocopies of the answer key and had them mark one another's papers.

Once they'd finished marking and gone over each person's mistakes, they had just about wrapped up this week's review.

"Looks like the tests over there aren't finished yet. Should we chat for a while longer?"

Tsube Hitomi took out her terminal and contacted a student with Horikita Suzune's group.

"Sure. Then I'll teach you some... wilderness survival basics."

You En had planned to tell them some interesting stories or jokes to get closer to the girls, but in the end, he chose something relatively boring.

Still, the way he told it made it pretty entertaining.

When Tsube Hitomi heard him talk about eating those insects, she said, "You En, you're going into way too much detail. Ugh, I won't be able to eat dinner tonight."

Not only did You En go into detail, he even looked up pictures online to show them what the insects looked like.

"No way. I'm out of here!"

Tsube Hitomi stood up and shouted.

Ando Sayo looked at him strangely, too. Her eyes seemed to say,

"Your interests are pretty weird."

Kobashi Yume reminded them, "Suzune-sensei's class is over, too."

Tsube Hitomi was so excited that she immediately forgot all the "awful" things You En had just taught them.

"Oh-ho-ho! Time to go back to sleep!"

Ando Sayo looked a little helpless. "Don't forget to eat, you idiot, Hitomi."

She looked up at You En and suddenly noticed a lingering worry hidden in his eyes.

"You En, what's wrong?"

You En shook his head and made an excuse. "Nothing. I just have to go eat another free dinner."

"Then let's eat together,"

Ando Sayo knew he would turn down the offer if she put it that way, so she added, "Let's go buy ingredients together instead. We can make dinner ourselves tonight, and it won't cost much."

Tsube Hitomi raised her hand. "Yes!"

You En thought that sounded acceptable.

"Then I'm looking forward to trying your cooking, Ando."

"Leave it to Sayo. She's a great cook."

Tsube Hitomi pinched her cheek, thinking about something. "Oh, that skill... panel on the Student Terminal, right? Sayo's cooking is at the Proficient level."

"Cooking? What are you talking about?"

Horikita Suzune came over, followed by four girls from Class B. The two groups gathered together, chattering away.

"They're planning to go buy ingredients and cook together later. Want to come?"

You En asked.

Horikita Suzune nodded. She'd had the same idea earlier, but inviting You En by herself had felt a little awkward. Going with the others would be perfect.

You En nodded and looked at the girls from Class B.

"How are you getting along with them?"

Horikita Suzune's expression softened a little.

"They're all really nice. Nothing like the people I knew before."

"That's good."

You En knew there might be something troubling behind the second half of Horikita Suzune's answer.

Making more friends was how you learned who was a bad person, and it also gave you the chance to meet people who shared your interests. Maybe Horikita had missed out on a lot of lovely people because she hadn't been willing to connect with anyone before.

But the past was the past. It was good that things were gradually getting better now.

The group excitedly went to the school store to buy ingredients, then headed to Ando Sayo's room.

Fortunately, the dorm room provided by the school was spacious enough to fit so many people.

Looking at the room full of youthful, lovely girls, You En felt quite content.

Well, this was a pretty nice experience too.

Ando Sayo came over and asked, "A little excited?"

You En admitted he was enjoying the scene. "Of course. Any guy would be happy to be here."

Ando Sayo blinked. "But we wouldn't be so happy."

"Oh. In that case, never mind. I'll just enjoy it by myself."

You En put on an unwilling expression, making Ando Sayo smile faintly.

"Ah, I forgot to tell you something earlier."

Ando Sayo leaned close to You En's ear, a faint, fresh floral scent drifting from her.

"Teacher Hoshinomiya also told us something. She said..."

You En grew serious. "What?"

She imitated Hoshinomiya Rie's voice, adding a hint of sultriness:

"Being expelled at the end of the month isn't a punishment—

—it's a reward."

A reward?

Teacher Hoshinomiya had actually told them that being expelled was a reward?

Under what circumstances could expulsion be a reward?

You En felt he was one step closer to figuring it out.

Ando Sayo saw him thinking and got up to leave.

"That's sugar, not salt."

In the kitchen, Horikita Suzune sighed and stopped Tsube Hitomi, who was trying to help but only making things worse.

"Why not let Tsube try it herself? If it tastes bad, she can eat it."

Ando Sayo walked in from the living room, smiling.

"Heh..."

Tsube Hitomi gave a couple of sheepish chuckles, well aware of her own cooking skills.

"Never mind."

Ando Sayo turned toward the kitchen door and glanced at You En, still sitting on the living-room sofa. Then she quietly asked the others:

"Don't you think You En seems to be under a lot of pressure?"

Tsube Hitomi blinked. "Does he?"

Thinking of how casual You En usually seemed, Horikita Suzune shook her head.

"I can't sense any pressure."

Ando Sayo couldn't help wondering if she'd imagined it.

Kobashi Yume suddenly said, "I... I think he's a little worried about us."

"Worried? What's there to worry about?" Tsube Hitomi said. "This school is so safe."

"Safe?"

Horikita Suzune remembered the poisoning incident from a few days ago. The school still hadn't dealt with it, and the Student Council hadn't made any announcement either.

Tsube Hitomi said, "It's probably just your imagination. Sure, it's a little strange for a school to keep students isolated for three years while giving them such good treatment, but it should still be within the normal range."

Ando Sayo let out a breath. "It's probably just my imagination. All right, let's finish the rest of the food and get ready to eat."

Seven or eight minutes later, everything was finally ready. They brought the food to the table and sat down.

Only then did Ando Sayo realize that ten people around the dining table was a little cramped. It was a standard eight-person table, with three seats on each side and one at each end.

"What should we do?"

You En and Tsube Hitomi came in from the doorway, each carrying a chair.

Tsube Hitomi set hers down and said, "You En just came to get me and asked to go to my room. He scared me, but it turned out he just wanted to get a chair. What a letdown."

You En adjusted the chair. "Your room really is a mess. You should tidy it up."

"Don't say another word! Seriously, don't!"

Thinking of the surprised look on You En's face when he'd entered her room, Tsube Hitomi wanted to crawl into a bowl and hide. Her clothes had been strewn all over the bed, including her underwear.

Ando Sayo thought of the state of Tsube Hitomi's room and couldn't help smiling.

"Let's eat!"

You En began enjoying dinner.

"Come to think of it, this is the first time I've had dinner with so many people," Ninomiya Yui said.

She was one of the girls Horikita Suzune was responsible for. She usually said very little, but the scene before her prompted her to speak from the heart.

"When I was little, my parents were never home. By the time I was a little older, they'd divorced. Neither of them wanted me, so I ended up being sent to live with my aunt.

"When I got to high school, I thought I shouldn't keep causing them trouble, so I applied to this school."

"Yui!"

Tsube Hitomi shouted, then threw herself at Ninomiya Yui and hugged her. After saying a few words, she began to sob.

Ninomiya Yui was the one who held her, rubbing her back and comforting her.

Amikura Mako also said,

"...I wanted to leave that home, so I decided I should become independent. But I didn't know what to do. I heard that graduating from here would give me good prospects, so I came."

She didn't seem willing to talk about her past, and no one pressed her. They simply shared their stories and reasons for coming.

Horikita Suzune had gradually come to accept these friends, and when it was her turn, she spoke too.

"I came here to catch up to someone. I don't care about my family."

Once everyone had finished, their eyes turned to You En.

He drew a quiet breath, then smiled.

"I've always been alone."

The chopsticks in Horikita Suzune's hand hung suspended in midair. Only after a long while did she lower them and listen closely to his story.

"When I was in the orphanage, lots of people came wanting to adopt me. I didn't want to go with them...

"It wasn't because I thought they were bad people or had ulterior motives or anything. They were all good people. I just wanted to follow my own path, so I tried to work things out for myself."

Kobashi Yume asked, "That must have been hard, right?"

"Hard? Maybe," You En said. "But walking my own path gave me a sense of fulfillment. Happiness welled up inside me."

Dinner went on for a long time. Once everyone got talking, they discussed the school and the outside world, teased one another, and chatted about which café they'd visited that morning had good prices and delicious drinks, which dessert shop had the most interesting designs, and which places they'd meant to visit but hadn't gotten around to.

Afterward, the warm afterglow lingered. Everyone washed the dishes, put everything back where it belonged, and did a quick clean of the dorm before it was time to call it a night.

You En said goodbye to the girls, and their bright, sweet replies rang out one after another.

He hoped his suspicions were nothing more than a fantasy.

This school—

He hoped it wasn't so cruel.