I Was Hired As A Tutor By A Cute Little Devilish Junior - Chapter 34 Imai House
It was a normal afternoon. The bell rang after school and the rest of the class went home, but I unusually stayed behind in the classroom for a bit longer than usual.
Normally, I would head straight for Shiina, who would be waiting for me at the door like a loyal dog, but today my schedule was a little different.
As I was putting away my materials more relaxed than usual, she arrived not long after.
“I’m here, Riku!”
“You’re early, Satsuki.”
“Yes! Shall we go then?”
“Yeah.”
When I answered, she pulled my hand in a hurry and walked.
Yes, I’m not tutoring Shiina today. Well, someone forced me to take the day off…
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to Satsuki’s house.”
“That’s right. You can come to visit me once in a while like you used to, you know?”
“We’re already in high school. I can’t just go over there like that.”
“We’ve known each other since childhood. My mom would love to see you.”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll be happy…”
Satsuki’s mom was a grown-up version of Satsuki; she’s a beautiful person just like her daughter.
Her personality was similar to Satsuki’s: amusing and kind. The only thing that was not similar is the fact that she doesn’t talk down to me.
She was basically an upgraded version of Satsuki.
“What’s with your eyes?”
“Ah, no.”
When I was thinking about it, I couldn’t help but stare at Satsuki’s face.
“You looked like you wanted to say something. Why don’t you tell me honestly?”
“…Satsuki’s mom is a beautiful woman.”
“R-Riku can’t get enough of Shiina-chan and me, and now you’re trying to get your hands on Mom too!”
“Hey, wait. When did I ever touch Shiina or Satsuki?”
“You’re going to devour us on your own animal instincts…!”
“Please don’t say this to your mother. I’ll die, you know.”
After firmly putting Satsuki down, we headed to her house.
Satsuki’s house was only a few minutes by walk from mine, and I used to visit her often when I was little.
Of course, there were times when Satsuki came to my house to play, but the former was by far the most common.
At that time, I was still a quiet person, and Satsuki was more like an older sister to me.
That was why I never objected to the games that Satsuki proposed, and I lost count of the number of times we played house.
However, Satsuki had a gentle side like an older sister, and I remember that she often helped me in the past.
Since I became a high school student, I haven’t been to her house much, so it has been about a year since I’ve gone there.
Just as Satsuki was close to my mom, I was also close to Satsuki’s mom.
It was not unusual for me to meet Satsuki’s mom since we’re neighbors, but it has been a year since I’ve been to her house to talk with her.
From the nearest station, we walked down a slightly different street than usual.
After a short walk, I saw a house that looked familiar.
Outside the front door, there was a nameplate that read “Imai,” and a figure of a dog with one ear missing that had been broken when Satsuki and I used to play together.
“I haven’t seen him lately, but he’s still around, that dog.”
“Riku made him into a damaged good, but it’s a precious memory…♡”
“Pardon my intrusion~”
“Hey, w-wait for me!”
I left Satsuki, who was making heart signs that made no sense, alone and went through the nostalgic entrance ahead of us.
The hurried Satsuki soon followed, and when Satsuki said, “I’m home,” Satsuki’s mom peeked out from the door leading to the living room after a short pause.
“Ah~. You’re back early, Satsuki.”
“Yeah, I came back with Riku as fast as I could.”
“Pardon my intrusion”
“Fufu. Welcome, Riku-kun. Here, I have some tea, so come on up.”
Satsuki’s mom was so excited as she brought out some slippers.
If this were a normal friend’s house, I would say, “Don’t mind me,” but that’s not what I would say here.
There’s a saying that you can’t be too carefree with someone, but basically, there was no need to be shy with Satsuki’s mom.
Of course, there was the fact that she has been taking care of me since I was really young.
But to begin with, Satsuki’s mom doesn’t like me to hold back in any way.
That’s why I’ve come to accept Satsuki’s mom’s treat without any reservation at all, and thanks to that, we’ve been able to talk about many things now.
“After Riku-kun became a high school student, we didn’t have much time to talk like this, and I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. Well, I’m glad to be able to talk to Satsuki’s mom again like this.”
“Ah. You say so many nice things. You’re making this old lady embarrassed.”
“How can I call you an old lady? You’re still beautiful.”
“Kyah! What should I do, Satsuki? I think I’m going to cheat!”
“Yeah. Don’t do it, okay? Mom.”
Satsuki stopped her with quiet anger in her smile.
“That’s not the point, Mom. Why did you call Riku today?”
“Mou, Satsuki, you can’t even stand a joke. You don’t have to be so impatient, I’ll give you Riku-kun.”
“I-I wasn’t talking about that! Goodness!”
As I watched the two of them, I had a cup of tea.
It has been a while since I’ve seen the two of them talking like this.
As has always been the case, Satsuki and Aunty are very close
And even though Satsuki was always confident and perverted in front of me, she seemed to be no match for her mom.
Watching Satsuki like this was fresh and fun, and so I kept on watching her.
“Hey, Riku, say something too!”
“Ah, can I have another cup of tea?”
“Of course. Here, let me make you some more.”
“Thank you very much.”
“…”
Finally, Satsuki became frustrated and didn’t say anything.
After taking another sip of tea, I got down to business.
The reason I came to Satsuki’s house today was that her mom asked me to do something for her.
The reason was that the computer in her house was not working properly.
The Imai family, including Satsuki, consists of three members: Satsuki and her parents.
All of them are spectacularly mechanically illiterate and are weak to basically any kind of electronic device.
Even when I was in middle school, there were a couple of times when I was asked for help like this.
“I heard that your computer is not working well. What exactly is it?”
“Oh, yes, the computer. Well, when I booted it up the other day…”
After that, I listened to her mother for a while.
During that time, Satsuki was in a prostrate posture on the desk, only looking at me the whole time.
When I looked back at her in the middle of the conversation, she averted her gaze with her head.
I finished listening to Aunty’s story and went to where the computer was.
Even Satsuki, who had been propped up on the desk, somehow managed to follow me as Satsuki’s mom and I moved.
I asked Satsuki’s mom to just start up the computer, and then I took over.
As I was looking around at the various parts, Satsuki’s mom suddenly shouted.
“Oh, no! I’ve got to go shopping today! Riku-kun, will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Don’t panic. I’ll fix it while you go.”
“Eh, Mom? Wait a minute!”
“Thank you, Riku-kun. Then I’ll leave the rest to you two.”
“Okay, have a good day.”
“Hey! Hey, Mom!”
“I’m off~!”
With that, Satsuki’s mother waved her hand with a smile and ran out of the house like a storm.
“Well. I may need a little more time on my end, so you can do as you please.”
“Fu, it’s just the two of us…”
“Satsuki?”
“D-Do as I please…”
“…Satsuki?”
“I-I’m going to take a shower!”
“What? H-Hey.”
Before I could call out to her, she left the room at the speed of a storm with her mother’s blood flowing in her veins.
I don’t get what Satsuki was saying or doing, but right now, I have to fix the computer first.
It was a request from her mom, of all people. I have to fix it properly.
I was determined to do so and set to work.
(EDN: I think this is the first and probably last chapter where the word “Senpai” isn’t uttered…)