I Was Hired As A Tutor By A Cute Little Devilish Junior - Chapter 23 Order

The library was quiet.
No, it had always been quiet, but now I couldn’t even hear the sound of the boys reading on the bookshelf at the back of the room, flipping through the pages.
Rather than quiet, it felt as if time had stopped.

…In the quiet library, we stared at each other.
For that one moment, time seemed to have stopped, and the moment felt like an eternity—
Wow, how romantic.

As for Shiina, she was frozen in place, looking me in the eye, just as she did in her painful pose earlier.
When she looked at me like that, I felt like I would be on the losing side if I turned my gaze away from her, so I looked back at her too.
An ~eye to eye~ moment…something like that.

It was fun to stare at Shiina, who remained frozen in place, but I couldn’t tell Serious-kun by the bookshelf to read again…
And then the time started to move…

“Err…Shiina?”
“Ah. S-Sorry.”

Shiina sensed my intentions and removed her gaze from me.
Thank you, Shiina. And my apologies, bookshelf boy. Now go back to reading.

After seeing the bookshelf-kun out of the corner of my eye resume reading, I returned my gaze to Shiina.
Oh, wow. Her ears are red. What’s this, she looked like a monkey.
No, the monkeys have their face and butt red. But really, her ears were as red as a monkey’s face in a hot spring.

I couldn’t see her face because she had her hands covered, but I could tell.
Then, for some reason, I couldn’t help the mischievous feeling that came over me, and I called out to Shiina.

“Shiina, are your ears red?”
“Heh!?”

Next, Shiina plugged both ears.
The first transformation.

“Shiina, is your face red too?”
“Fueh!”

Shiina plopped her face down on the desk in that position.
The second transformation. I mean, doesn’t your face hurt now?

“Shiina, is your butt also red?”
“Ehh!?”

She was about to stand up and cover her butt when Shiina noticed.
The third transformation did not take place, so close.

“Hmph, I don’t know Senpai anymore.”
“Hey, you don’t have to be so upset.”
“Hmph, no good.”
“What is that, the Wasabi Fairy?”
“The bad boy will be stuffed in the nose with wasabi.”
“That’s a cruel sentence.”

Just as she said, Shiina turned her head away.
Stop it. You may not be able to tell because you are busy getting upset, but the male students on the bookshelf in the direction of your face were confused, so please stop.

“My bad. I just wanted to tease you a little. Please forgive me.”
“Show me with some action, action.”
“On my knees?”
“That’s a bit much…”
“Stop that sober, hurtful reaction.”

I stopped Shiina, who was trying to inch away from me with a scornful look in her eyes.
But I’ve been told to show it with action…

Oh, did I mention that when we went to the library, I held her hand and tried to put her in a good mood?
After all, that strategy was successful, but would it work this time?
In this case, we had just been holding hands a moment ago. As expected, there was nothing new about it.

Ummm, I guess I’ll just have to…

“Shiina.”
“What is it? Wasabi-senpai.”
“That’s a terrible name… No, it’s difficult to apologize with action. Can you give me a break with the alternative?”
“An alternative? Of course, I’d like to hear what you have to say before I decide.”
“Yes, of course.”

It was not a move I’d like to take, but now that I’ve been told I couldn’t get down on my knees, there was only one other way—

“I’ll do one thing Shiina orders.”

“Eh?”

At my words, a question mark appeared on Shiina’s head.
However, she immediately understood the true meaning of my words and began to think about it.

She’s only going to say one thing.
It was just this one thing, but from my experience, it should be the most favorable condition for Shiina.
As expected, I couldn’t imagine what she would demand or order me to do.
However, from the way Shiina began to ponder, it seemed to have had some effect.

After a full minute of pondering, Shiina replied.

“I understand, and I’m fine with those conditions. I will give you a suspended sentence.”
“I see. Thank you.”
“But if you don’t listen to my order, you will be executed without any extenuating circumstances.”
“O-Oh. I understand.”

I was quite reluctant to accept the execution when it was pronounced so bluntly.
After all this time, I may have done something terrible. Shiina said something like orders without hesitation.
I think I was in the position of a baby rabbit thrown into a lion’s cage.

“Umm, Shiina? Just to add, I can only do something within my ability, okay?”
“Ehh? What should I do?”
“I don’t care how charming you are, I can’t do what I can’t do.”
“It’s okay. I will never do anything to hurt Senpai. Don’t worry.”
“Really? That’s good…”

From the dark smile on her face, it was obvious that she was going to order me to do something dangerous, but I was relieved that she said so.
I think I understand Shiina a little better now that I’ve spent more than a month with her.
I know that she was not a bad person. I was not proud of it, but I could say this with confidence.

“Hmmm, well then…”

Gulp…

“I’ll put it on hold for now.”
“On hold?”

I couldn’t help but remark.

“It would be a shame to use this opportunity on a moment’s notice. I need to use it when I have an opportune time.”
“Well, I guess that’s true…”

I don’t know how I should feel, but I was getting even more anxious. What kind of request would she order me to do…
However, a man does not go back on his words. I’ll try to meet Shiina’s order wherever I can.

“Fufufu, I’m looking forward to it♪”
“Please be gentle with me.”
“Yes♪”

Shiina replied happily.
I don’t know what she was thinking with a big smile on her face. The phrase “little devil” really suited her.

“Then I’m going home.”
“What? You haven’t finished your assignment yet.”
“I-I’ll do the rest at home. I’ll see you tomorrow, Senpai.”
“H-Hey.”

Shiina abruptly left as if running away. I wonder if she remembered something urgent.
I was thinking of leaving as well, but then I thought better of it. I’ve come all this way to the library, so why don’t I read for the first time in a while?

I wandered around the bookshelves and found a surprisingly wide variety of books. There were some difficult ones, and some manga with titles I’d heard of.
I skimmed through a few of the books. The story seemed to be interesting. I’ll have to read them again next time.

Maybe I should go home early and keep Kanade company for a while. That’s what I thought as I put away my study materials and went…

“Hmm? This is…”

Next to my pencil case is a cute, somewhat familiar wallet.
No, this is Shiina’s, isn’t it? Did she leave without her wallet? What am I to do…
It had been a while since I’ve read a book, maybe she’d notice and come back. I guess I’ll wait here a little longer.

As expected, within a few minutes, I heard a rumbling noise coming from the hallway.
Needless to say, a red-faced kouhai ran in through the library door.

　◆　Shiina Azusa　◆

I could smell the couch.
The place where Senpai was sitting a few days ago. Well, that doesn’t mean that I was smelling it or that I could smell it.

Naturally, if I dived into the sofa and lie face down, the smell of the sofa invaded my nose with every breath.
It was not a particularly nice smell, and to be honest, it was a little stifling.
However, my body can’t seem to separate my face from the sofa.
The reason for this is…

“What did I say in front of Senpai!?”

It was because of my indignation over my truly brilliant self-destructive remark just a few minutes ago.

“It’s just like Senpai! What are you saying!? It’s just a confession, you idiot!”

I took advantage of the fact that I lived alone in an apartment without a roommate to shout at myself.
It was a good idea to go on the offensive, but that was too much for me…

Well, Senpai didn’t seem to notice, which was good.
…But that doesn’t make any sense. He should have been a little shaken or something…

Nevertheless, it has given me a pretty big opportunity. I could ask Senpai to do one thing for me.
In the future, I have to watch carefully for the right time and use it meticulously…Mmmfufu.

I rolled around on the sofa, spreading my imagination in my head, and successfully fell on the floor.
As I rolled around without a care, a calendar came into view.

On the calendar, about two weeks from today, “Mid-term exam!” It was written in Senpai’s handwriting.
It would soon be my first test in high school. I had to study hard as well as worry about Senpai.

It was fun to study with Senpai in a different place than usual, like at the library.
Were there any other places where Senpai and I could study in a nice atmosphere…?

“Aha!”

This was the moment a good idea came to my mind.