I Was Hired As A Tutor By A Cute Little Devilish Junior - Chapter 56 Selfishness

Despite having a cold, Shiina ate every last bit of the porridge I made.
It was a good sign that she had an appetite. Without an appetite, she would be weak from lack of nutrition.
If she could eat that much, there was nothing more to worry about. All I had to do was wait for time to pass.

I sat down right next to Shiina, who was lying down on the bed, and started flipping through a textbook.
Shiina looked at me with some dissatisfaction.

“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not fair that you’re the only one studying while I’m resting.”
“When you have a cold, your body is more tired than you think. Be a good girl.”
“Mmm~…”

Shiina’s mouth mumbled in frustration. She was like a spoiled child who I failed to put to sleep.
Well, it was not good to go to bed right after eating, and it might be better to stay awake for a little longer.

“Okay. Let’s do a little.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah, can you sit up?”

Waiting for Shiina to sit on the bed with her back against the wall, I quickly opened the preparation notebook I made for Shiina.
I read the questions orally and Shiina answered them. It was a repetitive process, but it was not a bad way to study, since she was forced to get the answers without looking at anything or using scratch paper.

It was important to learn how to pull out the answer using your head during the exam.
The exam time was also quite short; if you wanted to solve everything perfectly, it took longer than the allotted time.
Shortening the time to be able to answer a question by being able to answer it with a quick glance was important, but the exercise also allowed Shiina to practice how fast she could search her memory for the answer as well.

I didn’t want to put too much strain on her when she had a cold, so I didn’t try to make the questions too difficult or tricky.
However, even without that, Shiina’s percentage of correct answers was quite good. Even with a light calculation, 90% of the answers were almost exactly the same as the solution.

“Impressive, Shiina. I didn’t think you had it down this well in such a short period of time.”
“Ehem. I do what I have to do when I have to do it.”
“Well, that’s why you’re sick like this.”
“Ng…”

Shiina kept her mouth shut, unable to say anything. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason, but I didn’t supervise Shiina every hour of the day after all.
That was a new challenge for me as a tutor.

I continued to study with Shiina for a while, and the setting sun that shone in from outside the window had disappeared and it was now completely dark.
Looking at my watch, I saw that it was almost time for me to go home.

“Senpai, is it time for you to go home?”
“Yeah.”

She saw me checking my watch and, perhaps sensing this, asked me.
I gave her a short reply and headed to the kitchen with a plate of porridge, which Shiina had already finished eating.

“S-Senpai. I could at least do that much!
“It’s okay. I’m the one who wants to do it.”
“But I don’t want to cause you any more trouble…”
“I have my share of remorse for not paying attention to my students’ physical condition. You can be as lenient as you like when I have a cold.”
“…I feel like I’m spoiled even when I don’t have a cold.”
“At least you are aware of that.”

I naturally do not feel bad about pampering Shiina, but in Shiina’s case, she always goes all out to bother me without a word of restraint, so I sometimes have trouble dealing with her.
But I was the one who allowed her to do so because of her cuteness.

I washed the pot in which I made porridge and the dishes I used, dried them, and put them away.
When I returned to Shiina’s room, she was covered with a futon with an indescribably complicated expression on her face.

“What’s with that face?”
“When I’m told once again that it’s okay to be pampered, what can I say…?”
“I want to be a cool Senpai every once in a while, too. I’ll spoil you as much as I can.”
“…Are you sure you want to do this? I’m going to ask a lot of you, you know?”
“As you wish.”

I puffed my chest out and gave a thumbs up to Shiina. She had always been working hard lately, and a little reward would be nice.
Then, in a change from her usual demeanor, Shiina slowly expressed her wish.

“Then…”

　＊　＊　＊

I placed a basin of water on the bedside table and took a towel out of it.
After wringing out the water on the basin and shaping the towel, I looked at her.

“H-Hey. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Senpai, you said you’d do anything for me.”
“T-That’s…”
“You said it.”
“Um…”
“It’s what you said.”
“…”

Shiina stabbed me with her words once and for all, and she didn’t let me say another word.
I couldn’t even utter a word, let alone make an excuse. All I could do was look at Shiina’s face.

“You told me.”
“I haven’t said anything yet…”
“I know that you are a man of integrity who doesn’t go back on your words.”
“I would have been honestly glad to hear those words if it weren’t for the circumstances.”
“And you won’t go back on your words, right? Senpai.”
“…Yeah.”

After a few more moments of conflict, I nodded.
In my hand was a wet towel. And she couldn’t take a bath because she has a cold. …That’s all.

I’ve never thought that not going back on my words would backstab me today.
I’ve experienced this kind of pattern so much in my life with Shiina that I don’t know why I haven’t learned my lesson.
I always set up promises that I can’t take back. Only to her, of course.

“Umm, well…could you turn your back a little bit, please? It’s a little embarrassing to be seen in those clothes…”
“S-Sorry.”

I quickly turned my body and headed toward the door.
What about that time when we were at the hot springs the other day?
…That being said, I think I could understand the embarrassment of being seen changing clothes.

After a while, I hear the sound of cloth rubbing behind me. It made me crazy to think that she was taking off her clothes right behind me, and I regret not covering my ears first.
Once I start hearing the sound, I was strangely hesitant to mute it in the middle.
I felt immensely immoral, but I continued to listen to the sound.

“I-It’s over, so you can turn back now…”
“Y-Yeah.”

At the sound of her voice, I slowly turned toward Shiina.
Of course, nothing was okay, and the image jumped out at me.
There it was, a pure white, slender, beautiful back.

Her hair swept forward from her shoulders to not get in the way.
This exposed a part of her neck that I usually don’t see, and I gulped.

“S-Senpai?”

As I clutched the towel, unable to move from the spot, she called my name.
For no reason at all, I dip the towel in the washbasin again, and after a few moments, I was prepared.

“T-Then, I’m starting.’
“Y-Yes.”

Slowly, I moved the towel closer to Shiina’s back.
Her back looked so beautiful and delicate that it seemed as if it would break just by touching it.

“Hmm…”

When the towel touched her skin, Shiina let out a faint moan.
Just that one moan sounds strangely erotic and I felt mentally drained.

I wiped Shiina’s back carefully with my arms as if stroking her, while I put in a lot of effort to keep my reason in check.
However, I was trying not to put too much force into it, so it didn’t work quite as well.

“I’m going to touch you a little.”
“Eh…hyah.”

I put my free left hand on Shiina’s shoulder.
She let out a small scream, but I couldn’t back down now that I’ve came this far.
I grabbed her shoulder as gently as I could and moved the towel again.

“Nnnnghh…!”

She sensed that I was wiping more forcefully and firmly than before. But of course, the left hand touching her naturally felt different for her.
Touching Shiina’s bare skin was not something I am used to, and my heart was beating fast.
All I could think about was keeping my composure as I continued to move the towel around.

“Oh, it’s done. Take care of the rest yourself…”
“W-Won’t you do the other part for me?”
“I can’t take a lot of areas…Can Shiina do it yourself?”
“…I’ll try.”

I don’t feel I could do it with respect to any other part of her body. I’ve come full circle and realized that her back was the safest part of her body.
I was over my capacity, so I decided to wait outside the room while Shiina wiped everywhere but her back.

Then I put away the towel, and to escape the awkward atmosphere, I looked at the clock and saw that it was completely time for the good children to go to bed.
I turned off the light and was about to leave the room when she grabbed my clothes.

“It’s my last selfish request. Will you stay next to me until I fall asleep?”

She begged me to do so in a faint voice.
I sighed, grabbed her hand, and sat down beside her on the bed.

“Now can you sleep?”
“Yes♪”

Shiina giggled and said, “Good night, Senpai,” and closed her eyes.
I only said “Yeah,” in return, and lightly meditated with my hand still in hers.

After doing so for a while, before I knew it, my consciousness was fading, and I came back to senses with the sensation that my head was about to fall over.
The clock had moved forward about half a turn, and she was resting on the bed, sleeping peacefully.

I slowly let go of her hand and stood up.
Shiina was sleeping with a happy face. I gently bring my face close to hers and gently placed my lips on her forehead.

“Good night, Shiina.”