As November was coming to a close, the awaited day of the school trip finally approached.
On the road to school on a sunny but chilly morning, I see three a small group of three walking ahead of me with Haruka in the middle.
There is no specific loud laughter occuring, but it seemed like they were making up some topics to fill in the gaps.
"You don't want to call out to them?"
Kei said so while walking by my side.
"It's fine. This is what I decided back when Airi was expelled."
For that group, I am now an unnecessary presence. Rather, I have to be so.
"Then I won't say anything again. Because I know that it's the correct answer if you're fine with it, Kiyotaka."
For Kei, who thinks this is all other people's business, I'm sure that the former Ayanokoji group's affairs aren't something to deeply care about. "And? That means I can have you all to myself, right?"
She faced me with a sincere smile from the heart.
There's no suspicion about the fact that I have become a pillar of psychological support for Kei after all this time.
"I'm super looking forward to the next school trip, you know! Where do you think it'll be?"
"I'm not giving up on my dream of Kyoto."
"Oh, right, you said something about that. If it's not Kyoto, I'm fine with any place." For some reason, my aspiration Kyoto is the only thing immediately excluded.
"Do you hate Kyoto that much?"
"Huh? Come on, it's all about the temples and the cultural properties. It doesn't seem fun at all, does it?"
I think that precisely is one of the true charms of it, but…
It is true that for Kei, visiting temples and shrines may not be so fun.
"What's on my mind right now is exactly that, you know. Yep, yep."
"The location of the trip is important too, but don't you care about the results of the end of term test?"
"My grade won't increase if I start caring about it now, will it? Well, I do feel like I did quite well for myself, so. That's also thanks to you, right?"
There is a small problem with that overconfidence, but it is also the reality.
Although she can't expect high scores, it is true that the bottom level for Kei is getting higher.
It is only a vague declaration but doing some self-grading I can truly feel her growth.
"Maybe I should increase my study time with you more too, like Sudou-kun." She muttered so with the tip of her index finger on her lips.
Perhaps she doesn't understand that her academic ability won't improve like Sudou's simply by studying for the same amount of time.
The motivation of the person in question is very important, but, in the same way, the skill of the teaching side is also important.
Sudo's remarkable growth is certainly the result of Horikita's educational talent.
That's the part about her that gives her the edge over Keisei.
My education does not stand on such a foundation.
It's simple to forcibly raise Kei's academic ability by giving her a thorough education, but that's not my duty.
That part has to be left to someone else from among the class.
I should only do the bare minimum.
I simply have to get them to start studying on their own.
So that one day, the fitting student can take over.