"Here you go."
After leading them into the house, Tohru served tea to the three visitors.
"Thank you."
Furuhashi Fumino looked around the room with curiosity—spacious, tidy, and spotless. Then her gaze fell on Tohru.
Could this be Sakurajima Mai, the student Teacher Mafuyu mentioned?
"Welcome, everyone," Rei Ao greeted, openly expressing his hospitality.
"Pleased to meet you. Thank you for having us!"
Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu bowed politely. They covertly sized up Rei Ao. It was their first time meeting him, and their impression was excellent—mainly because he was handsome, giving off a very pleasant vibe. In this day and age, people really do care about looks.
"And Miss Mafuyu, you don't mind supervising this, do you?" Rei Ao asked.
"Uhh…"
It wasn't really about her time or trouble; it was his gaze that made her skin crawl. Worse still, she couldn't control her eyes constantly flicking toward a certain part of Rei Ao's body—ever since that day, she couldn't erase that mental image.
Close her eyes, and it popped right back—a total lack of shame on her part, she admonished herself. As a teacher, she considered it a massive failure. Now even facing her own students, she felt guilty and furtive, but with Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu present, she had no choice but to try to remain calm.
"Cough. It's no trouble…"
"Let's get down to business then. Shall we begin? Where's Ilia?"
"Huh, here she comes," Rei Ao said, turning with them to see a petite Ilia walking over.
"She's so cute!" Furuhashi Fumino exclaimed, eyes sparkling.
Ogata Rizu nodded inwardly—Ilia was indeed a very cute girl.
"Hello, I'm Ilia. I'll be serving as your tutor from here on."
Ilia showed no shyness and immediately assumed a teacher-like stance.
!!!
Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu perked up at once. Their time under Ilia's instruction was about to begin!
At first, they were half-doubtful. They'd already met all sorts of teachers and tried countless methods, none of which had worked. Although they outwardly clung to the hope of improvement, in truth their spirits had been worn down by repeated failures. Possibly, the one who truly had no expectations for them wasn't Mafuyu Kirisu but themselves.
However, when Ilia began her tailored lessons, specifically addressing their weak points and guiding them with a custom approach, something changed.
Ilia first focused on Furuhashi Fumino's science subjects. Fumino was amazed that the math problems, which would normally make her head spin and put her to sleep whenever she heard or saw them, were suddenly making sense—she found herself genuinely absorbing Ilia's explanations!
Meanwhile, Ogata Rizu—who typically grasped math concepts at a single glance, to the point that she never really listened to the teacher in class—now found herself unintentionally paying attention to Ilia's method. And that intrigued her: She was actually listening. How unusual!
This, of course, was largely due to Ilia's magic-assisted instruction.
Seeing Furuhashi and Ogata both immersed in their studies, Mafuyu Kirisu's eyes shone with sudden hope. "Could this work?" she wondered, a flicker of anticipation lighting up within her.
The living room lapsed into a studious hush. Even Tohru, passing by, kept her voice down, not wanting to disturb them.
Eventually, Futaba Rio emerged from her bedroom and made her way to the bathroom. Even though she tiptoed as quietly as possible, Mafuyu Kirisu noticed.
"Huh?" Teacher Mafuyu, spotting Futaba Rio, felt a sense of déjà vu. "That's…Futaba Rio?"
She called out the name. Wasn't that her student?
"…"
Futaba froze momentarily and replied coolly, "I'm Futaba," then slipped into the bathroom to take a bath.
"Ah?" Mafuyu Kirisu was momentarily stunned. She couldn't have mistaken someone else for Futaba Rio. Apart from lacking glasses, that was absolutely the same face!
"Rei Ao, why is Futaba Rio here at your house?" she asked suspiciously.
"Oh! That was definitely Futaba Rio!" said Furuhashi Fumino and Ogata Rizu, now paying attention as well.
"I saw her too," Ogata Rizu added. She recalled Futaba Rio for her strength in science.
Rei Ao was already prepared for this scenario. He'd come up with a temporary identity for Futaba. "That's Futaba—she's Rio's younger sister."
"Her younger sister?" Mafuyu Kirisu was astonished. Futaba Rio had a twin sibling identical to her?
"Futaba Rio has a twin sister?" Furuhashi Fumino asked, equally perplexed.
Explanation might have gotten complicated, so Rei Ao simply picked up his phone and dialed Rio's number, opting for a video call. Within a few seconds, it connected.
"What is it?" Rio, wearing glasses, looked puzzled on-screen. She wondered why Rei Ao was calling rather than messaging via the group chat.
Rei Ao: "Well, Miss Mafuyu is at my place, and she's skeptical about your 'sister' Futaba. Can you clarify for her?" As he spoke, he offered the phone to Mafuyu Kirisu.
Taking the phone, Mafuyu Kirisu indeed saw Futaba Rio on video. Judging by the setting behind her, it obviously wasn't the bathroom. Meanwhile, from down the hall in Rei Ao's place, the sound of running water indicated that the "other" Futaba was bathing right now.
"… …"
Rio quickly grasped the situation. Willing to cooperate, she said, "Teacher Mafuyu, whoever you saw at Rei Ao's place must be my sister, Futaba—please don't misunderstand."
"Oh… Right."
Hearing Rio say so herself blocked any further doubts Mafuyu might have had.
"Ehh? That's really Futaba Rio!"
"She's exactly the same, aside from the glasses," Furuhashi and Ogata murmured, leaning over for a look.
Rio, seeing them, felt a bit curious. "What are you two doing at Rei Ao's house?"
"We're here for tutoring, hehe." Furuhashi scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
"…" Rio didn't doubt the tutoring claim, but she strongly suspected that Rei Ao had deeper motives. Considering what he might already have done with Futaba, Rio had every reason to suspect he was "hunting." Yet she couldn't say anything—she could only encourage them: "Good luck—bye."
She ended the video call.
~~~
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