Outside the Elevator, Ground Floor – Apartment Lobby
Nakano Yotsuba scratched her head awkwardly as the silence among her sisters lingered. Something felt off.
It was Sakurai Saki's first time seeing all five Nakano sisters together. Their hair colors were similar, and their facial features nearly identical, making it hard for him to tell them apart—except for their distinctive hairstyles and accessories.For instance, Itsuki wore a pair of golden star-shaped clips, while Miku had headphones with a triangle emblem.
"Pervert!" Nakano Itsuki shouted suddenly, her mouth still half-full with a meat bun. She had turned her head, frozen for a moment after spotting Sakurai, then jabbed her finger at him.
Several residents waiting for the elevator turned to look at Sakurai with suspicious expressions.
"He's pretty handsome, but…""Caught cheating, maybe?""Yeah, these good-looking guys always date around these days…"
Before this turned into a full-blown gender war, Sakurai raised his hands and tried to explain.
"It's just work, Itsuki-kun—"But she cut him off.
"But I saw you! You were going out with different girls! You changed them several times in one week!" Itsuki's voice echoed across the lobby.
"Oh my~ Teacher-chan is really bold, huh?""Heh. Slag. I'm calling you Scum-kun from now on!""Saki-kun, just because you like Sengoku games doesn't mean you can have three wives and four concubines in this era.""Wait, is Sakurai-kun really that kind of guy…?"
Sakurai barely held onto his composure. A teacher losing his temper would only backfire.He reminded himself: Happy education works. Spartan methods don't.
"Alright, enough of that. It's time for study. Let's go upstairs and talk about everything calmly, okay?"
Itsuki made an X with her arms. "No way am I letting a guy like you into our home!"
Nino scoffed. "Scum. Pervert. Repeat offender."
Miku glanced at him with concern. "Saki-kun… please explain."
Ichika smiled slyly. "Looks like Teacher-chan's not too welcome."
Yotsuba's ribbon bounced as she cheerfully chimed in, "I'm okay with it! Sakurai-kun is super interesting! A boy who can change girlfriends several times a week? Sooo entertaining!"
Sakurai's face twitched. That kind of evaluation brought no joy whatsoever.Even if he tried to explain his rental boyfriend job, would they even believe him with this crowd around? Better to explain upstairs.
He sighed. "Don't worry, I have no intentions toward any of you."
"Oh my~ Does Teacher-chan not like girls?" Ichika asked with a teasing, concerned tone.
"He doesn't like girls, yet still changes girlfriends weekly?" Nino looked like she'd just witnessed a divine revelation. "He's not just scum. He's something beyond human…"
"Saki-kun…" Miku murmured, lowering her gaze.
Yotsuba slapped his back cheerfully. "Sakurai-kun likes boys! I know tons of cute guys in the sports club—I'll introduce you!"
Itsuki was so shocked, she nearly dropped her meat bun.
Sakurai glanced at the surrounding bystanders. Their expressions had shifted from suspicion to deep sympathy. Now, they were looking at him like he was the tragic lead in a melodrama.
Enough was enough.
He shoved the sisters into the elevator one by one.
"Don't touch me randomly, Teacher-chan!""Saki-kun…""Pervert, keep your hands to yourself!""Fine! I'll go in myself!!""Um… sorry. I didn't know you were…"
Finally, with everyone inside, Sakurai hit the door-close button and sighed in relief.
"My sexual orientation is perfectly normal," he stated calmly, pressing the button for the 30th floor. "I just won't develop feelings for any of you because right now, I'm your teacher. Got it?"
The elevator ascended. The floor number ticked upward.
"I've reviewed your test scores from last year," he said. "They weren't terrible—not to flatter you. You barely passed most of the time. Itsuki even scored slightly above average."
He pulled a form from Yotsuba's bag and held it up. It showed the sisters' score trends.
The girls seemed oddly proud. Itsuki even smiled goofily at the praise.
Sakurai sighed. "That wasn't a compliment. Just a statement of fact."
"Actually, Scum-kun…" Nino said in a surprisingly soft voice, "we're all bad students who don't even want a tutor. You don't have to try so hard."
"Can we change the nickname?" Sakurai asked. "Maybe not 'Scum-kun'?"
"Then how about… Pervert-kun?"
"…Never mind. Let's just leave it."
Yotsuba chimed in again, "Sakurai-kun, I'm really clumsy. Even if you teach me for a whole semester, my grades probably won't improve."
"But if you're still willing to try, I'm okay with that!"
Compared to the others, Yotsuba was practically an angel.Unfortunately, she also had the worst grades among the five.
"I like ancient history," Miku said quietly.
Meaning—she had no interest in other subjects.
Sakurai smiled wryly. Having been in the same class as her last year, he already knew that.It also explained why Miku hadn't refused to meet him last week.
As for Nakano Itsuki, she stood protectively in front of Miku, as if shielding her from the clutches of a notorious scumbag. In their eyes, Sakurai Saki was nothing short of a heinous, womanizing villain.
"Teacher-chan, just give up already," said Nakano Ichika, speaking with the calm maturity of the eldest sister. "We've always struggled to keep up in class—ever since we were kids. Things only got worse after we entered high school."
"If… if you really can help improve our grades," Itsuki added, turning her face slightly with a shy but bright smile, "then I don't mind letting you try. I can overlook your private life."
She was still basking in the afterglow of being praised just moments ago.It was the first time anyone had complimented her on academics.It felt like all her effort had finally paid off—and she was absolutely over the moon about it.
"So that makes three in favor, two against?" Sakurai asked, glancing at the elevator display.They had reached the 30th floor.He paused a moment, then stepped out after the sisters.
"Not so fast," Nino said coolly, arms crossed."You're still a few hundred years too early to be teaching me."
After tossing that ice-cold remark at Sakurai, she casually turned to her sisters with a cheerful smile.
"So, what do you guys want to eat later? Cookies sound good?"
…Isn't that a little too much of a double standard?Sakurai didn't even bother replying to her. Instead, he turned to Ichika.
"Cookies? Sounds good. I'll take some," Ichika said, then turned to look at Sakurai with curiosity."Teacher-chan, got anything else to say?"
From her tone, it was clear she had no real interest in studying either.Sakurai decided not to waste his breath.
If this tutoring gig weren't a personal request from Shirogane Miyuki…He probably would've walked out right then and there.
'This is going to be a long, long road…'