Tetsuya and I have completely different academic abilities.
If he's average to below average, then I'm at the very bottom.
There's such a large disparity that I thought it'd be impossible for us to study together.
However, I couldn't hide my surprise when Miyuki skillfully tutored both Tetsuya and me.
She tutored us separately and taught me according to my level.
She answered Tetsuya's questions smoothly and quickly without hesitation.
Even in the midst of that, she took care of me and reviewed the lessons from this semester.
She taught the material so well that even I, a brainless idiot, could follow.
I knew that her passion for education was great, but isn't her teaching ability too much of a cheat?
If she becomes a teacher in the future, she would become a sensation.
Miyuki, who had been tutoring us for nearly two hours without a break, put her hand on her tatami mat and leaned her upper body slightly back as if she was a little worn out.
"Can I take a break for about 20 minutes?"
"You're teacher-nim, so you can do whatever you want."
The corners of Miyuki's mouth went up slightly as if she enjoyed being called "teacher-nim."
A beige bra shimmered through her white T-shirt.
They're not quite as large as the nurse's, but they're still quite large regardless.
I can't completely quell the urge to fondle them.
I blinked slowly to calm my thoughts and then stood up.
"Would you like some juice?"
"Is that okay?"
"Since you're tutoring me for free, I naturally have to treat you. Stop acting so reservedly. Treat this place as your home. Just take what you want…"
I looked at Tetsuya, cutting myself off.
I should be nice to this bastard as well, so I can get points with Miyuki.
"Miura, stop acting so stiff. Relax."
Still, I couldn't manage to say anything nice to him.
Tetsuya timidly thanked me.
"Yes. Thanks, Matsuda."
After placing three cups on a small tray and pouring orange juice, I came back to the round table and set the tray down.
As I did so, Miyuki smiled with her eyes and spoke:
"I'll enjoy drinking it, Matsuda-kun."
Miyuki took the juice to her mouth and immediately began to gulp it down.
Although her face is incomparably innocent, the way she swallows is so sexy.
I'm definitely the one who should have her.
"Matsuda, do you exercise?"
Barely peeling my sleazy gaze off of Miyuki, I turned my head toward Tetsuya, whose meek voice had entered my voice.
Then, I answered:
"I used to, why? Do you want to start exercising?"
"No… I just wanted to ask because your biceps and chest are big."
He rejected the idea, but it's obvious that he wants to start working out.
I guess he wanted to show off his body to Miyuki?
I'm sorry, but I have no interest in teaching you how to exercise.
Search up workouts and diets yourself on the Internet.
"If you used to do… Have you stopped now?"
Miyuki asked further.
I nodded grimly.
"Yeah."
"Could you tell me why?"
"I just don't enjoy it anymore."
I put on a slightly melancholic face.
This made it seem like I had some kind of reason that wasn't easy to explain or I was unwilling to reveal, so I made something up to avoid revealing it.
"Ah… Yes. Matsuda-kun, what do you do on the weekend?"
Miyuki fell for my act and changed the topic with a sympathetic expression on her face.
Later, after I've gotten closer with Miyuki, I'll reveal my reason if she asks again when we're alone.
"On the weekend? I either go hang out with my friends or stay at home."
"Friends? You mean Watanabe's group, right? The kids in that circle… The name of the circle was…"
"Supreme Circle."
"Yeah… Supreme… There are a lot of really bad students there. Does Matsuda-kun belong there too?"
"Right. I joined with Takashi and some friends."
"Why?"
Immature Matsuda Ken became famous after having an accident, so the circle invited me into their group.
I didn't want to join.
And, I'll be leaving the group soon.
Later, I'll use it to gain more affection points from you, Miyuki.
"I'm not sure. It kind of just happened."
"… By any chance… Matsuda-kun, are you proud to be a part of that group?"
"No. Not really."
"Then, you should just leave. If you stay there, you'll only get hurt…"
"Are you saying that because you really care?"
"Of course…! It's a group only for those without any future prospects…! Matsuda-kun is trying to change himself, so that kind of place is…"
As Miyuki stopped talking to her, she looked straight at me.
Seeing my smirk, she cautiously continued her words.
"Of course, you might think I'm being nosy…"
"You said you were sincerely worried about me. I won't think of you like that."
"Th-Then…Shouldn't you leave the circle…?"
"It's hard to get out."
"What do you mean it's hard…? Are you perhaps getting blackmailed?"
"Do I look like someone who would get blackmailed?"
"W-Well no… But, if there are any problems, tell me…"
"So you can tell the professor?"
"Supreme Circle is a group that's closely monitored by the academy… It's a group that starts a lot of problems, you know that right…? You never know when the academy will punish them…"
I suppose expulsion, at the very least suspension.
Thank you for this little tidbit that I didn't know even after playing Doki-Doki Academy.
Then, it'd be bad for me to stay there any longer, wouldn't it?
I guess I'll have to enact my plan as soon as the vacation is over…
Before that, I'll have to raise Miyuki's favorability toward me.
"Thank you for your concern."
At my grave tone, Miyuki tried to say something more of her, but she shut her mouth.
As if she realized what I had decided, her face brightened a little.
"Yeah… Since we've rested, should we continue studying now…?"
"Sure."
"I was surprised that you followed along so well today."
After escorting Miyuki and Tetsuya out the front door and to the fence gate, I burst into laughter at Miyuki's words.
"Did you think I would give up after a couple of minutes?"
"Should I be honest?"
"Nah. Just go."
"Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."
"We're doing this tomorrow too?"
"If you don't study every day, you will forget everything. Until Matsuda-kun develops a basic foundation and Tetsuya-kun can apply his knowledge, we should study together every day."
I scratched my head with an expression that questioned whether there really were such diligent students out there in the world.
Of course, my inner thoughts were the complete opposite of my externalized thoughts.
"This is no joke…"
"Are you tired? It's because you're starting from scratch. After a while, it will be fun."
Is there anyone who truly enjoys studying?
That's really… a good research subject.
Anyway, it's bittersweet that she's leaving without showering first.
I prepared an open air bath and a peephole for it.
"See you tomorrow then."
"Yes. We're heading off then. Take care of your plants properly. Also, you really need to practice on your own, okay?"
"Sure."
"I'm going to test you tomorrow?"
"I get it. I get it…"
Waving my hands with a fed up face, I exchanged a few trivial words with Tetsuya before closing the fence gate.
Then, along with Miyuki's shrieking laughter, the sound of two pairs of footsteps gradually faded away.
Sticking my head out over the fence, I watched as Miyuki and Tetsuya slowly moved away.
The reason I just let those two leave by themselves was because of an event.
A situation arises when Miyuki, who cannot sleep, is playing alone on a small playground swing near her house, and I'm thinking of intervening.
But, because you tutored me today, the future might've already changed, and the event might not happen in the first place.
But even so, I have to go.
Now is the time to maximize Miyuki's favorability, so I must try to take advantage of every possibility.
I stopped my train of thought and looked at the time.
It's seven o'clock. After the sun goes down completely, I'll wait a bit before heading out.
And, I'm going to call Takashi to meet up…
Because I'll need an excuse to tell Miyuki.
Perfectly aligned houses face the narrow road.
Should I say it's peaceful? Miyuki's neighborhood was as quiet as mine.
After quietly looking around the neighborhood, I headed for the playground.
There was no one in the dark playground.
It was natural. The playground across the street was much bigger than this one, and there were streetlights at that one too.
I licked my lips as I sat on the playground swing and waited for Miyuki.
Even after I waited for a long time, Miyuki did not come.
As I thought earlier, did my intervention change the event?
It's quite possible, but I believe in the god who sent me here.
God-nim, you must've also played Doki-Doki Academy and got pissed off just like me, so you sent me here to become the real protagonist.
I, who was comforting myself like that and kicking the sand, quickly pretended to ride on the swing as soon as I heard someone by the entrance of the playground.
"…. Oh? There was someone here already…"
Miyuki's voice came from the entrance.
As expected, I, not Tetsuya, was the true protagonist of Doki-Doki Academy.
I internally cheered and stopped the swing, looking at Miyuki's silhouette reflected in the street lamp, then said:
"Hanazawa?"
"Yes…?"
Miyuki was very flustered.
I guess she never expected to hear my voice in a place like this.
After her moment of confusion, sticking her head out onto the playground's grounds, she asked:
"Are you… Matsuda-kun?"
"Yeah. Why are you here?"
Miyuki quickly walked towards me.
She looked at my face from multiple different angles as if she was trying to make sure she was talking to the real Matsuda Ken then said in surprise:
"Why are you here…?"
"I just asked that."
"Ah… That… This is my neighborhood…"
"Your neighborhood? You live around here?"
I feigned shock as Miyuki slowly nodded her head and pointed at a house with her finger.
"Yeah… That's my house."
"Okay…? I didn't know."
"Now, Matsuda-kun, answer me. Why are you here…? Weren't you resting at home?"
"I was going to hang out with Takashi, but I ditched him since I realized it'd be boring with him. I just stopped here because it had a quiet atmosphere. I had some things to think about as well."
At the mention of Takashi, Miyuki's expression was colored with disgust as if she just saw a cockroach.
Poor Takashi, that's why you need to stop the bullying act.
Not really my place to say, but… It's truly unfortunate.
"Does Watanabe Takashi live around here too? Or was the meeting place just around here?"
"It's the latter, but the meeting place is a bit far from here."
"Ah… That's good to hear…"
Miyuki, genuinely relieved, got on the swing next to me.
Then she pointed to my phone, which was ringing in my trouser pocket.
"Aren't you getting a call?"
"They're texts."
"They seem kind of urgent, don't they? Are they from Takashi Watanabe?"
"Right.. He's whining about why I'm not coming. Wanna see?"
"N-No… I don't want to see…"
Even though I heard what Miyuki said, I still pulled out my phone and showed her.
And, Miyuki, although she said that she wasn't interested, stared at the screen with such intensity that it seemed she was going to burn a hole through it.
It's only naturally to find someone else's phone interesting.
"What's it say?"
"…Why aren't you at the meeting place… Th-There's too much slang for me to understand…"
This should have cleared away even the slightest bit of doubt, right?
This is why you should have insurance.
Snickering, I returned my phone to my pocket.
Then, placing her arms on her knees and leaning forward, Miyuki asked:
"By the way, you said you were thinking about something earlier? What were you thinking about?"
"That? Just stuff about the future. What I'm going to do for a living…That kind of boring stuff."
"Ah…"
"You were about to say that 'even Matsuda-kun worries about that kind of stuff,' weren't you?"
I hit the nail on its head, didn't I?
Miyuki's shoulders flinched.
"N-No…?"
"No, what. I must've guessed perfectly. You're not very good at lying."
At those words, Miyuki let out a shallow sigh.
"I'm sorry if I offended you."
"Why are you apologizing for that? Even though you're nice, the fact that you're too nice is also a problem."
"Is that so…? Do I look kind to you, Matsuda-kun?"
"To be honest, yes. You seem like the type to get easily scammed."
"What the heck… That's not kind, just naive."
Miyuki burst out laughing lightly, kicking the ground and pushing the swing.
Then, she spoke:
"Rather than already thinking about the future, why not focus on the present? We are still 1st Years. There is still plenty of time."
"Isn't that what lazy people say? We are still young, we are still bright, we still have a future… Yet, as time flows by, they regret their words more and more."
"I didn't mean that, I just meant there was plenty of time to lay the groundwork for your future. If Matsuda-kun continues to do what you should do, I think the future will naturally open itself to you."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"For now, studying. Did you review what you learned today?"
"I didn't."
"Then what? I'll punish you if you fail tomorrow's exam."
"Tie me up and whip me? I like that kind of play."
If Tetsuya had said such a thing, Miyuki would have scolded him with a straight face.
However, since I usually act lightheartedly, Miyuki burst into laughter.
Even this would not have been possible if we hadn't been close to each other, but after the molester incident, we became quite close, so Miyuki easily glossed over my words.
"What are you saying… I can't do that."
The atmosphere is not bad. Let's keep going like this.
Like Miyuki, I kicked off the ground and began swinging as I talked and joked lightly with her.
The main focus was on academics, but I made some dumb jokes.
I made sure not to cross the line with them, though.
And Miyuki, fortunately, liked my dumb jokes.