After attempting to use his supernatural powers to make the Five Sisters smarter—only to fail miserably—Sakurai Saki resolutely abandoned the idea.
Mainly, he disliked such behavior. Repeating the same spell hundreds of times for a single purpose felt far too utilitarian, not something a Superpower user should resort to. Human desires are endless; if he succeeded once, he'd be tempted to try again, and again. At that point, he might as well spend the entire day chanting: "The Nakano Quintuplets are geniuses."
That was the excuse Sakurai Saki told himself.
In reality, after reviewing the Five Sisters' test papers, he was on the verge of collapse.
Right now, he desperately wanted to go home and chant that incantation tens of thousands of times.
But could an incantation even grant that kind of ability? Of course not. It was far too difficult. At best, supernatural powers changed form, never substance.
Sakurai buried his face in his hands, despair creeping in.
"Why can you misspell such simple words?! The same mistake Ichika made—you made it too!" he groaned.
A sisterly bond was one thing, but did they really need tacit agreement in their mistakes?
"Hehe…" Yotsuba chuckled awkwardly, lowering her head.
Sakurai slumped in his seat, staring at the ceiling.
In high school, a student should ideally master a vocabulary of over 3,000 English words. As for these five? Forget 3,000—1,000 was already an overestimation. No, even 500 seemed too generous.
How are they supposed to pass the exam at this rate?
He strongly suspected their passing grades in English last year were nothing but blind luck. Without multiple-choice questions, their scores might have been in the single digits.
"Let's start with the basics—memorize words. Begin with the ones in the book," Sakurai instructed firmly.
At the very least, they needed to understand the questions before answering them. Otherwise, how could they even attempt the test? Luck alone wasn't a strategy.
"We can leave grammar aside for now," he added with a sigh.
Though he had braced himself mentally, the gap between expectation and reality still left him dizzy.
"I usually memorize words," Itsuki spoke softly.
As if to prove her point, she pulled out an English notepad from her bag. The very first word was the eternal classic: abandon.
Sakurai knew that word well. Many students got stuck on abandon for an entire semester, never moving past the first page. Studying was inherently tedious, and rote memorization even worse. More often than not, students ended up scrolling on their phones or watching videos instead, only to realize hours later that their notes hadn't budged from page one.
It was the modern student's eternal struggle.
Sakurai himself often wanted to slack off when studying. But with insufficient sleep and constant responsibilities involving his powers, his study time was like water squeezed from a sponge—if he wasted it, it was gone forever.
"I can at least understand the questions," Itsuki said, puffing her chest with pride.
Sakurai flipped through her test paper, only to find she hadn't answered a single question.
"Next time, if you run out of time, at least fill in the blanks before submitting. With some luck, you might score a few points," he advised.
Same old problem: she worked too slowly. A habit like that couldn't be changed overnight.
As they spoke, Nino glanced at her own paper.
46 points.
Much higher than her sisters.
So… why isn't he praising me?
"Miku did well," Sakurai said instead, picking up Miku's paper.
34 points—far better than expected.
"I promised you," Miku said, her voice soft, her expression gentle. Yesterday, she had declared she would pass next time.
Sakurai nodded, acknowledging her progress.
Ichika had already been evaluated earlier, so he didn't comment further.
Meanwhile, Nino had been waiting with expectant eyes. She watched Sakurai intently, certain her turn was coming.
But after he finished with Miku, ten long seconds passed. Still, nothing.
Eh? What about me? What about me?!
Nino looked down at her paper again.
46 points.
That was higher than Miku! Much higher!
So why did he praise Miku but completely ignore me? Shouldn't a teacher treat everyone equally?!
"Um… Nino-kun, I…" Sakurai finally glanced her way.
"Oh, 46 points. Not bad. Keep it up."
"…."
The perfunctory tone hit Nino like a slap.
So gentle with Miku… but with me? Just that?!
The corners of her eyes burned. She had cried so many times last week that it was becoming a habit.
Even her stomach started aching.
So uncomfortable.
Sakurai lowered his head, deep in thought about possible memorization techniques. But in his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse of Nino's face.
Wait… she's about to cry?
No way.
If I don't praise her, she's going to cry too? At this rate, anyone who sees us would think I bullied her again…
Sakurai Saki sighed inwardly before finally saying,
"Nino had the best score on this test…"
He hadn't even finished when Nino's expression flipped—from sorrow to joy, as if she had just tasted honey.
This woman is too easy to deal with, Sakurai thought dryly.
His earlier judgment was correct. She didn't even need someone else to conquer her—she would conquer herself. At this rate, it wouldn't even take a week.
One day, she's bound to get tricked into bed by some scumbag… or worse, she'll drag the scumbag to the hotel herself.
His thoughts toward Nakano Nino were far from polite. Perhaps only after a cruel, abusive love would she finally realize that romance wasn't as beautiful as she imagined.
Still, Sakurai offered her a few perfunctory words of praise—just enough to keep her from crying and disrupting the lesson—before moving on.
"Everyone has different memory methods," he explained. "Some can memorize in their heads, others use pens, or even recite aloud. You don't need to change your habits. But I'll teach you one method now—the chunking technique."
He elaborated: "Chunking means breaking down complex information into smaller, manageable parts. Like remembering a phone number—you split it into groups of three or four. English words can be learned the same way. It won't work for everyone, but it's still far better than blind memorization."
An hour later, class finally ended.
The Nakanos all trudged toward the door, exhausted yet oddly relieved. Ishigami Yu followed behind them.
Sakurai lingered, cleaning up the desk and tucking books into his bag. Just as he was about to close it, he noticed someone approaching.
Nino had returned.
Her steps were awkward, her movements stiff. After taking a deep breath, she looked straight at him and said seriously,
"Nino-kun, I'm… very sorry about last week!"
"…?"
Sakurai raised a brow, amused.
Apologizing now? Don't you think it's a little late?
"If you mean the things you said to insult me, I don't care anymore," he replied flatly. "My anger's gone. After all, I'm being paid for this tutoring. Professional ethics, you know."
"Oh…"
Nino exhaled in relief. Then, cautiously, she asked,
"Nino-kun, are you… going to eat something later? Do you want to come with us?"
Since he'd forgiven her, wouldn't it be natural to share a meal?
But Sakurai didn't seem to think so.
"Sorry," he said with a small chuckle, "our relationship isn't close enough for that. Outside tutoring, we're not even friends. Just strangers."
"Strangers?"
The word hit her like a slap.
"That's right. What else would we be? Friends?" He zipped his bag shut. "I don't think we're there yet."
Nino blinked rapidly, at a loss. "…Then why… did you smile just now?"
Sakurai tilted his head, looking at her like she was an idiot.
"You're asking why I smiled? Isn't it normal for a tutor to smile at his student? Praising you was just to give you confidence. Don't get self-important."
"Then…" Nino hesitated. "…do you hate me?"
As he brushed past her, he said coldly, "Do you think I'd have a good impression of you? Did you come here just to confirm that?"
"Well then, I'll make it clear. Yes—I hate you."
Nino's chest tightened. "…But you said you wouldn't hate me…"
Ah, that night. The night he left. He had said that.
Sakurai stopped, casting her a sidelong glance. His next words were like ice.
"I like you, Nino-kun. If I say that, would you believe me?"
"…!"
"You really don't understand social niceties, do you? That was just polite talk. I didn't want you, in one of your suicide attempts, to remember my name and tie your death to me. Saving you was just… kindness. Nothing more. Don't pester me again."
"You… you remember all that?" Nino's voice trembled, her nose stinging. Pain welled in her chest.
All the hope she'd been carefully nurturing since yesterday evaporated in an instant.
Sakurai's expression hardened.
"Falling for me just because I saved you once? Don't you think that kind of 'love at first sight' is shallow?" He tapped his cheek lightly, almost mocking. "If I looked more ordinary, you wouldn't even bother, would you?"
"No…" Nino blurted, panicked.
Her throat tightened, saliva rising too quickly. She coughed, trying to cover her mouth.
She wanted to explain—but her heart hurt too much to string together another sentence.
Sakurai narrowed his eyes.
"If you can't refute it, then you agree, don't you?"
"No…"
She wanted to tell him—she didn't fall for him because of his looks.
But the words wouldn't come.
Her vision blurred. Tears spilled down her cheeks, dripping onto the library floor.
The pain in her chest twisted with her constant stomach ache, and soon she could barely stand.
Then—
Thud!
Nino collapsed, curling into herself like a wounded cub.
Her tear-streaked face, Rika-like in its fragility, would have stirred pity in anyone… anyone except Sakurai Saki.
He simply watched her, silent, then pulled out his phone.
No gesture of comfort. No words of kindness.
Their relationship wasn't that close.
If it were Miku, perhaps he might have crouched down, maybe even hugged her. But Nino?
No.
Nino lifted her head, desperate, expectant. But Sakurai offered nothing—not even a flicker of warmth.
And in that silence, the light in her eyes dimmed.
Why? Why won't you say anything? Am I not even worth a single word of comfort?
A minute passed before Yotsuba burst in.
"Nino! Sakurai-kun, why didn't you help her?!"
"Men and women shouldn't touch casually. And a stomach ache isn't fatal," Sakurai replied flatly. "Besides, I already messaged Miku. And now you're here."
Yotsuba dropped to her knees, gathering Nino into her arms.
"…Sakurai-kun, your attitude toward Nino is really cold." Yotsuba frowned, anger flashing in her usually cheerful eyes.
She'd thought nothing of Nino's decision to come apologize earlier. But now—this cold dismissal?
Sakurai slung his bag over his shoulder.
"I always keep work and life separate. See you next week."
And just like that, he left.
A rental boyfriend was just a rental boyfriend.
Sakurai General Affairs was Sakurai General Affairs.
A tutor was a tutor.
And Sakurai Saki… was just Sakurai Saki.
He kept those identities strictly apart.
As general affairs, he treated all students kindly.
As a rental boyfriend, he pleased his clients.
As a tutor, he tried to improve his students' grades.
But after school hours, he was none of those things. He was simply Sakurai Saki—someone with a terrible personality who didn't care about others' feelings.
"Nino, are you okay? Is your stomach hurting again?" Yotsuba asked softly.
Nino said nothing. Her eyes stayed locked on the door where Sakurai had vanished.
Falling for someone on your own… really is just being an idiot.
"Sakurai-kun is so mean," Yotsuba muttered angrily. "How could he just leave you like that?"
Nino didn't answer.
Moments later, Ichika, Itsuki, and Miku rushed in, panting.
They'd passed Sakurai at the door. He'd only said goodbye before leaving.
"What happened? Are you feeling better?" Ichika asked.
"Nino, are you okay?" Miku's voice trembled with concern.
"Maybe you should take a day off tomorrow," Itsuki suggested.
Nino looked up at them and forced a faint smile.
"…Mm."
That night — Nakano Apartment rooftop.
Nino stood at the railing, staring at the city lights below.
"…Regret medicine really doesn't exist," she whispered.
Since the day he left, she'd prepared herself mentally: once Sakurai Saki regained his memories, he would hate her.
But her sisters' words yesterday had planted unrealistic hopes. Hopes that had now been mercilessly crushed.
After their mother's death, her sisters had become her only treasure. Her exclusivity, her overprotectiveness, was her way of guarding them. But last week, in her despair, even her treasures had slipped away from her.
And it was then—an outsider who saved her.
When all light is gone, even a small flame is worth chasing. Sakurai had been that flame.
Too bright. Too hot. Enough to burn.
Nino leaned against the railing, peering down.
"…Thirty stories. So high."
One jump, and it would all be over.
Her mind replayed the afternoon.
"…Hm?"
Something didn't add up.
Why did Sakurai remember her staying at his house? Why did he accept it so easily? Back then, he didn't recognize her—she was certain. Yet today, his acceptance seemed far too natural.
Frowning, Nino stared into the night, lost in thought.
In the living room, Itsuki emerged, only to see her sister leaning dangerously over the balcony.
Alarmed, she sprinted over and grabbed Nino from behind.
"Don't do anything stupid!" Itsuki cried, pulling her back into an embrace.
Nino jolted in surprise.
"What's wrong with you?!"
"…Huh?" Itsuki blinked. "Weren't you… going to jump?"
"Jump?!" Nino shot back, indignant.
…Though, admittedly, her pose was a little suspicious.
"I'm not that foolish. I've just… had some setbacks. But these won't defeat me."
Her voice steadied.
"I won't give up that easily."
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