I Was Hired As A Tutor By A Cute Little Devilish Junior - Chapter 37 The Way Home

“Mmmm~”

Satsuki stuck out her hands and stretched like a cat.
It has been about thirty minutes since we started studying in Satsuki’s room. Although it wasn’t that long, I think she was able to study quite well.

The important basics and main points of the area that Satsuki was working on were deeply related to what she had been working on exactly one year ago.
That’s right, a year ago was also the range that Shiina was currently working on.

It was a place that was fresh in my mind as well, since I had told Shiina that it would be important in her second year.
So I went over all the basics and main points as best I could in the thirty minutes I had and explained them.

Thankfully, Satsuki listened intently to me, acquired the knowledge almost perfectly, and was able to solve the problems without mistakes.

“Good job, Satsuki.”
“I feel like I’ve studied more deeply than I ever did at school.”
“Well, if they really had to teach a class to make sure everyone understood it, we’d never finish.”

I think that’s the weak point of school classes.

Of course, the basics are important, and they are covered in class.
However, it is impossible to see if everyone in the class understands it perfectly.
The slightest deviation in the basics may lead to a major disaster when it comes time to apply the knowledge.

One-on-one tutoring, however, has a great advantage when it comes to this weakness.
Of course, there are some things that are not as neatly organized and speedy as a school lesson.
But the most important thing is that you can spend as much time as you want on a single concept or question.

If there is something that is unclear or difficult to understand, we can study it in depth as much as we want.
It may not be a large amount of knowledge, and it may not lead to a good score on a regular exam, but having a deep understanding of a subject is a weapon in itself.

“I…I haven’t had this much fun studying in a long time.”
“Yeah? I’m glad to hear that.”

From my point of view, the joy of studying is to know the deep basic principles and expand your knowledge from there.
It’s just my personal opinion, but I’m a little happy that Shiina seems to be feeling the same way these days.
From the standpoint of teaching, I feel that the moments when people realize how much fun it is are the most gratifying and fulfilling.

“Riku, you’re good with girls, and you can study; you might be the perfect student.”
“What do you mean, ‘perfect?’ I don’t know how to treat a girl.”
“You’re very good at drying and combing girl’s hair.”
“That’s my spoiled sister’s fault, though.”

As an older brother with a younger sister, it was inevitable that I would develop such skills.
Especially in our family, there is a troubled girl who comes closer to her brother than her parents.
At first, there are many things you don’t understand, but familiarity is a terrible thing.

“I’m really jealous of Kana-chan. Riku, can I be your sister too?”
“Give me a break. I’d be horrified at the thought of one more Kanade in her current state.”
“You don’t want me to be your sister?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. I don’t mind having a cute little sister.”
“O-Oh…”
“The problem is, I’ll have twice as many spoiled kids. I’m not confident that I can handle it alone.”

I’ve always thought of Satsuki as a sister, so the idea of her becoming my actual sister was a bit strange, but I would also like to see Satsuki become my sister.
However, when I imagined a scene of two spoiled children like Kanade now, I could easily see how it could go wrong.
I can confidently say that I’ll die of exhaustion in less than a month.

“Well, I like it when things get lively, so I’m okay with that…Satsuki? Are you listening?”
“Ah, yeah. R-Right. That’s right…”
“Satsuki?”
“So you’re okay with me as long as I’m your cute, solid, trouble-free sister?”
“Of course, of course. Well, there’s no way we could do that.”

It was absolutely impossible, but it doesn’t sound so bad.
It was not that I don’t like to spoil Kanade, of course, and it was me who accommodated her wishes.

However, it would be a lot of fun if I had another care-free and thoughtful sister there.
It was too improbable to be true, but if I fantasized about it, I could see a future that would make my heart flutter even more than I thought it would.

Satsuki muttered, “I see, I see…” with a somewhat happy face.
I don’t know what she was smiling about, but she seemed happy, so I’ll leave it at that.

“But well, Satsuki’s mom’s shopping trip is taking too long.”
“That’s true, if you put it that way. She usually comes home right away.”

Satsuki and I were feeling a little worried, but her mom came home just in time to finish her studies.
When we went to greet her at the door, she asked with a sly grin, “Did something happen?”
Nodding my head together with Satsuki, I told her that nothing in particular had happened, and her mom’s shoulders slumped.

Putting away the shopping bag (which didn’t contain much items considering the amount of time she had spent shopping), Satsuki’s mom started preparing dinner.
I originally planned to tell her that I managed to get the computer working and then leave, but I decided to have dinner with her anyway.
It has been a long time since I’ve had a home-cooked meal from Satsuki’s mom, and I ate a good amount of it while feeling the freshness of the Imai family’s seasoning.

“Thank you for the meal. It was delicious.”
“Fufu, thank you very much.”

As I clasped my hands together and expressed my gratitude after the meal, Satsuki’s mom smiled happily.

“It’s rare that Satsuki helped me today. She doesn’t usually do that.”
“Hey, mom! You don’t have to say anything unnecessary.”
“Just because Riku-kun came, she got all worked up.”
“Oh, really? Thank you, Satsuki.”
“Y-Yes…You’re welcome.”

Satsuki looked a little embarrassed, and her cheeks were faintly stained.
As I had felt when I was given dinner at Shiina’s house, it was very emotional to have a girl cook dinner for me.
Whether it’s Shiina or Satsuki, the fact that I’ve eaten the home-cooked meals of two girl who everyone would say are cute is probably quite a blessing for a man when I think about it again.

“Well, I’d better get going. Thank you for your time.”
“Thanks for the computer, too. Thank you so much for your help.”
“No problem. Please call me if you need anything else.”

I bowed my head and Satsuki’s mom gently patted my head.
I was a little embarrassed at my age, but I felt the same sense of security as I did then.

“Fufu, Riku-kun is really a good boy. Would you like to be my son-in-law?”
“Mom!? What are you saying out of the blue?”
“Ara, are you against it?”
“No, that’s not true…It’s not like that!”

Satsuki’s mother laughed happily, and Satsuki puffed out her cheeks and pouted at her mother faintly.
I couldn’t help but be relaxed at the sight of the two of them, like usual. I said my goodbyes once more, and left the entrance.

It was completely dark outside, and it ended up being the same time as when I was tutoring Shiina.
I had just put my bag back on my back and was about to leave before Kanade started to worry about me when I heard a voice behind me.

“Riku!”
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Satsuki.”
“Well, you see…Mom said I should drop Riku off.”
“Drop me off…My house is just around the corner.”
“N-No, it’s fine. Come on, let’s go.”

Half-forcibly, Satsuki walked ahead of me, and I hurriedly followed her back on my way home.
As I was walking along, thinking that it had been a long time since I had walked this road alone with Satsuki, she stopped and looked back at me.

“Satsuki?”
“Riku, are you going to tutor Shiina-chan again tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan. What’s wrong with that?”

Even though I asked that back, Satsuki didn’t say anything.
She didn’t say a word, but kept her head down, her fingertips wandering busily.
I called her name one more time, and she slowly walks up to me. Then, she hugged me tightly.

“Sa-Satsuki?”
“…”

Even though I was flustered, Satsuki still didn’t say anything.
She just hugged me tightly with her thin arms.
As if to answer that, I also put my arm, which was still frozen in midair, around Satsuki’s waist and hugged her.

Although spring had ended and the season aws heading towards summer, it was still chilly after dark. It was still that time of the year.
It was very warm to feel each other’s body heat directly, but my heart was beating fast and restless.

“What’s wrong with you?”

I whispered into her ear in a quiet voice. At that voice, Satsuki’s body finally twitched.
Then, the strength of the arm around my back tightened slightly, and the face buried in my chest moved slightly.

“It’s nothing…But I want to do this some more.”
“…I see.”

A sweet little request in a weak voice that didn’t suit her.
I felt a tightening in my chest and didn’t force the words out of my choking throat.

I don’t know why she was doing this, but it was probably the first time she has ever been asking to be pampered so honestly.
Feeling both happy and embarrassed, I want to stay like this for a while longer. Thinking this, I hugged Satsuki once again.