"...And that's how you calculate the hypotenuse of a right triangle." Ayumi smiled and lowered her pointer. "Any questions?"

I spun my pencil around in my hand and wrote down the formula Sensei had on the board, just to make sure I memorized it. After that, I took a brief look around.

The run-down school building. Unlike yesterday, it was a bit cleaner. No, not just a bit. While the chairs, desks, and everything else were all worn-out, it looked like the entire place had been carefully washed and wiped down. So instead of looking like an abandoned school building repurposed, there was a warm and comfortable atmosphere, like a school that had been long in use instead.

And it was a comfortable school-like scene. The orange light from the setting sun, dyeing everything a warm hue. A beautiful female sensei stood in the front of the room, pointing at a chalkboard from behind her desk.

A small group of students sitting in the front row, consisting of a guy that looked like an MC from a romcom anime, me, and a beautiful foreign exchange student...

But...

"Sen-kun?" Ayumi looked over at me and said, "You seem lost in thought... Are you confused?"

"No." I shook my head. "I'm comfortable with the Pythagorean theorem."

I took math up to multivariable calculus before I reincarnated so I'd better be.

"Oh." Ayumi frowned. "Then is something wrong? Um..." She looked around and said, "I cleaned things up last night, but is this place still not comfortable?"

"It's not that. Instead..." I stared at Sensei. Specifically, at the dark circles around her eyes. "...Did you stay up late?"

Ayumi flinched and let out a nervous laugh. "Ehe..." She rubbed the back of her neck and said, "It's that obvious? Oh!" Her eyes widened and she said, "I didn't say anything wrong, did I? Oh no... what if I've been teaching you the wrong things?!"

Ren waved his hand. "Don't worry, Sensei. I didn't think there was anything wrong. Right, Celes?"

Celes nodded. "Yes. I do not believe there was anything incorrect about what you said, Teacher."

Ayumi frowned. "...But you wouldn't know if there was, would you? That's why you're here for me to teach you... Uu... and now I might have messed it all up...!"

I sighed. "It's fine, Sensei."

Ayumi paused and looked at me. "Are you sure, Sen-kun?"

I nodded. "We can always fix our understanding, but Sensei can't fix her health. I know you're excited to teach us, but take care of yourself first." I looked around at the newly cleaned school room and said, "Don't strain yourself just trying to make us comfortable."

Ayumi's eyes started tearing up and then she laughed. Brushing away her tears, she said, "Silly me... I'm the one who should be teaching. And here I am getting scolded by my cute students..."

An alarm echoed. Ayumi's phone on her desk.

"A-Ah." Ayumi blinked and she glanced at her phone. "It looks like our time's up for today..." She looked up at us and said, "Are you sure it's okay?"

Celes stood up and bowed her head. "It was a wonderful lesson, Teacher! And thank you very much for the food as well!"

Ren stood up and stretched. After that, he grinned and said, "It was great. I'm sure I'll be ready for the entrance exams at this rate, Sensei!"

I stood up as well and gathered my things. As I did, I looked at Ren and said, "You're only happy because Sensei's cooking is great."

Ren laughed. "Can't say that isn't a reason for it. Although..." His face turned serious and he looked at Ayumi. "Please take care of yourself, Sensei. Things might be hard for you, but we'll do our best to help you. So don't worry too much, okay? And if you need to charge more for tuition because of us, don't hold back. You're treating us well enough to deserve more."

Ayumi blushed. "Ren-kun..."

I smacked Ren in the arm.

The moment I did, Celes did the same on his opposite side.

"Gah!" Ren flinched and rubbed his arms. "What'd I do?!"

Celes huffed and rolled her eyes. "For Sen-sama's friend, you sure are a shameless flirt..."

I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door.

Celes quickly moved to my side, leaving Ren behind.

"H-Hey!" Ren grabbed his stuff and ran over. "Wait up!"

I stopped at the door and waved at Ayumi. "Thanks again for the lesson, Sensei! Make sure to eat properly and rest well! You can't teach us if you're exhausted, so take care of yourself!"

Celes stopped to wave as well and said, "It was nice to meet you, Teacher! Be well!"

"Yeah!" Ren stopped to wave too and said, "What they said! Bye Sensei- Wait, why are you guys running away?! Hey! Heeey!"

Ayumi's soft laughter echoed from behind us.

Hearing that, I smiled...

But at the same time, I seriously considered it.

Maybe I should actually try to recruit her. If she was going all out just to teach us, I worried about what would happen when we didn't need to attend her lessons anymore...

-VI|IV-

"See you tomorrow, Kimura-san." Ren waved farewell as we reached the intersection back to my house and then nodded towards Celes. "And take care of my friend, Celes. I worry about him, you know?"

Celes gave a solemn nod. "I will ensure Sen-sama is well, Ren. Have a safe trip home."

Ren laughed. "I'll be fine. It'll take a-"

I quickly cut him off and said, "Shut up! Stop raising death and isekai flags!"

Ren laughed even harder, but then he nodded. "Fine, fine." He turned around and said, "I'll see you two tomorrow. And I hope that protein powder works well, Kimura-san. Let me know how it goes, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go home already."

Like that, Ren left.

And then it was just me and Celes.

Celes watched Ren leave and then said, "He is a good man."

"Sometimes too good for his own good." I turned around and started walking back to my house.

Celes moved beside me and then nodded. "Most good men are. And because of it, they tend to die young."

"...You know, Celes. For someone as sweet and fluffy as you are, you say the randomest dark things."

Celes blushed. "S-Sweet? Fluffy?" She fidgeted with her hair. "S-Sen-sama..."

That's what you focus on, huh...?

I sighed.

"Oh!" Celes lowered her hands and said, "I just remembered. You said you wanted me to help you with something, Sen-sama? It was not the academy, was it?"

"Ah, that..." I hummed. "It wasn't. Though I'm not sure if I should..."

Celes stepped in front of me and cut me off. With a determined look in her eyes, she said, "Do as you wish with me, Sen-sama! D-Do not hold back!"

As she said that, her face turned red.

...Was this that cliché of repaying me back with her body?

Judging from her reaction, it seemed like she would go that far.

In that case... And since I was worried about Sensei...

"Do you want to try being an idol, Celes?"

"Eh?"

HappyVainGlory

I edited the glossary with some pictures! They're not perfect, but they should give you a general sense for the characters.

I'll put the new pictures here too in case you don't feel like heading over there.

Spoiler

Hajime Kimura (Sen's dad)

 

Ren

Ayumi Ishida (Sensei)

Sena Muraki (Sen's ideal female form)

Celes

Azura Stellaris

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