Chapter 67: Sensei, I'll take over from here. Thank you for your hard work.!
Shimizu Yuto and Sakura Airi had agreed to meet up and check out the clubs at the gym.
However, since the club orientation didn't start until five in the evening, and it was still before three, they had two hours to spare. There was no rush to head over just yet.
As Yuto was packing his textbooks, Karuizawa Kei, Kushida Kikyo, and several other girls gathered around him.
"Shimizu-kun, do you have any ideas about clubs? Which one are you planning to join?"
"Shimizu-kun..."
Sakura Airi, who had already packed her books, glanced at Yuto, who was once again surrounded by girls. With a faint smile, she stood up and left the classroom first, heading back to the apartment complex to continue cleaning.
"Damn it! What's wrong with these girls' taste? I'm clearly way more handsome than that Shimizu guy! Why aren't they coming to ask me which club I'm joining?" Ike Kanji seethed with jealousy as he glared at the surrounded Yuto.
Jealousy had completely twisted his features.
"Hmph." The delinquent Sudo Ken scoffed.
Ever since their run-in at the convenience store, Sudo had been thoroughly annoyed by Shimizu Yuto. But his eyes weren't blind—he could still tell who was the more handsome one.
Ike Kanji doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as that guy.
"Is anyone else heading to the gym? Come with me," Sudo Ken said, pushing himself to his feet. He wasn't just a delinquent; he was the type who despised studying. The only thing he was truly passionate about was basketball.
The moment he'd heard the announcement, he couldn't sit still any longer.
"Go to the gym now? Doesn't the orientation start at five?"
"So what? I'm planning to join the Basketball Club. What's wrong with going early to check things out?" Sudo snarled, his quick temper flaring at the question.
"Alright! Sure, go ahead! It's just that we were planning to head over a bit later..."
"Tch."
The moment Sudo stormed out of the classroom, Ike Kanji immediately started complaining.
"What's gotten into Sudo, acting so full of himself? He spent all last night playing video games in my room! He could at least show me some respect!"
"I hope the Basketball Club seniors reject his application!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Faced with the curious inquiries of the diverse group of girls, Yuto brushed them off with a simple, "I'm not interested in joining any clubs," and left the classroom alone.
"Their enthusiasm should fade in a few days," Yuto murmured softly as he walked down the hallway.
All trends eventually die down, and the girls' interest in him would be no exception. If he just waited a few more days, they would likely stop bothering him as they had just now.
As Yuto left the freshman building, he passed the stairs leading to the second floor. A student stumbling down the steps stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Yuto.
Yuto glanced at the stairs and frowned slightly.
It was Ryuen Kakeru.
From Kikyo's account, Yuto knew Ryuen had fought with the Class C students during their lunch break. His face was now black and blue, leaving him looking utterly battered.
Yet, Ryuen's aura was anything but battered. He carried himself with a triumphant, spirited air.
Yuto guessed that Ryuen must have successfully used violence to subdue the Class C students. Otherwise, how could someone who'd been beaten so badly still wear such an expression?
Yuto's guess was correct. During the lunch break, Ryuen had viciously provoked Yamada Albert.
Although Ryuen couldn't defeat Yamada in a direct fight, Yamada lacked Yuto's ruthlessness. He had been worn down by Ryuen's relentless harassment and eventually submitted.
After bringing Ishizaki Daichi and Yamada Albert to heel, Ryuen had successfully used violence to rule all of Class C. The other students dared to be furious but not to speak out.
Now, Ryuen stood on the stairs, glaring gloomily down at Yuto. Yamada and Ishizaki stood behind him like underlings.
Yuto glanced at Ryuen and Ishizaki, who were watching him warily, but he didn't stop. He kept walking, leaving the freshman building behind.
As Yuto's figure receded, Ishizaki Daichi let out a sigh of relief. He was truly terrified of Shimizu Yuto, the man who was rumored to be a demon.
"Ishizaki," Ryuen said, "do you think the three of us together could pin that bastard to the ground and beat him?"
Ishizaki Daichi shivered violently. Trembling, he stammered, "Absolutely not! I heard from other delinquents that the demon took on ten guys single-handedly!"
"Tch." Ryuen Kakeru clicked his tongue in annoyance, glaring at the shaking Ishizaki. "Why are you trembling? Are you that afraid of Shimizu Yuto?"
Ishizaki didn't answer. He only twisted his mouth in a silent scoff.
Of course I'm afraid!
If I weren't, why would I have proactively sought out Ryuen yesterday to form an alliance?
…
Sakura Airi, who had reached the detached apartment first, spotted a woman in the courtyard.
The woman was facing away, her back to Airi. Because she was bent over, Airi couldn't see her face—only the alluring, peach-like curve of her buttocks.
Airi watched with a mix of confusion and awkwardness. "Chabashira-sensei?" she asked uncertainly.
Though Airi couldn't see the woman's face, she recognized Chabashira Sae from the black business suit and her long, dark hair.
Chabashira Sae straightened up and turned around, greeting the bewildered Airi naturally.
"Sakura-san."
"Huh..." Sakura Airi stared oddly at the handful of weeds Chabashira Sae was clutching. "Are you helping to pull the weeds in the yard, Sensei?"
Chabashira Sae's lips twitched. Helping? No, no, no—she had been tricked into working by that brat!
"You could say that."
Too embarrassed to admit the truth to Airi, she kept her answer vague.
"Sensei! You're such a good person! I'll go change out of my uniform right now and come back to help you weed the garden!" Airi exclaimed, her face glowing with delight.
"Um... What about that brat Shimizu?"
"Yuto is probably still in class. A bunch of girls surrounded him as soon as school let out. He's as popular with the ladies as ever."
Chabashira Sae glanced at Airi as she spoke.
Not a hint of jealousy crossed the girl's face; there was only admiration.
Admiration for her childhood friend's charm.
"Sakura, don't you mind that Shimizu is so popular? If I had to guess, you two are a couple, right?"
Sakura Airi lowered her head, a shy blush spreading across her face.
"Yuto and I aren't a couple," she murmured. "We're just... ordinary friends."
"So it doesn't matter how popular he is!"
Chabashira Sae's lips twitched. You two are about to move in together, and you call that 'just friends'?
What kind of 'ordinary' boy and girl 'friend' move in together?!
Flustered and shy, Sakura Airi hurriedly bid Chabashira Sae goodbye. She used her student ID card to unlock the front door of the detached apartment and went inside to change out of her school uniform.
After changing into casual wear, she returned to the garden to help Chabashira Sae pull the remaining weeds.
Half an hour later, Yuto finally arrived at the apartment, carrying two large bags of groceries.
"Yuto~!"
At the sight of him, Airi instinctively dropped her work and eagerly walked over to greet him.
Yuto looked at her—her fiery red hair and face were glistening with sweat from her labor. He set the bags down and gently wiped the perspiration from her cheek with his palm.
"You've worked up such a sweat," he said softly. "You must be tired."
"I'm not tired~" Airi narrowed her eyes slightly, savoring Yuto's affectionate and tender gesture. Suddenly, a realization struck her, and a burning flush crept across her cheeks.
She had completely forgotten that Chabashira-sensei was standing right behind them...
Watching from a few steps back, Chabashira Sae's beautiful face, glistening with a light sheen of sweat, twisted in a look of pure disgust.
This brat is forcing me to eat more dog food!
Blushing furiously, Sakura Airi gently pulled Yuto's hand away from her cheek
"Yuto," she murmured softly, "Sensei is such a good person. She even came over to help us tidy the garden."
"Well, Chabashira-sensei will be taking charge of the cleaning and housework from now on," Yuto replied, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "And my three meals a day too."
"Huh?" Sakura Airi looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Didn't you just say Chabashira-sensei is a good person, Airi?" Yuto grinned, glancing back at Chabashira Sae, who was glaring daggers at him.
"Since she's so kind, she'll be handling all the chores for our apartment from now on, right, Chabashira-sensei?"
"That's right," Chabashira Sae replied, her voice dripping with annoyance.
"..." A look of hesitation crossed Airi's face.
Although she didn't understand why Chabashira Sae would be taking over the housework and cooking Yuto's meals, one thing was certain... That's supposed to be my job!
If Chabashira Sae were only helping out occasionally, Sakura Airi would have welcomed it. But if she were to take over all the chores, that was something Airi couldn't accept!
"Yuto," Sakura Airi murmured softly, "I want to know why Chabashira-sensei will be responsible for the housework and your meals."
"Sure." Yuto nodded. He knew Airi would be confused and had already prepared an explanation.
Bending down, Yuto rummaged through one of the plastic bags and pulled out a bottle of drink. He tossed the chilled bottle toward Chabashira Sae, who was standing in the garden nearby.
"Catch, Sensei. Thanks for your hard work."
Chabashira Sae reached out with her slender hand and caught the bottle thrown by Yuto. Glancing at it, she saw it was a peach-flavored drink.
"Why is it a soft drink? I wanted beer," Chabashira Sae said, her pretty face twisting with a hint of disdain.
Yuto retorted crossly, "Beer? Have you forgotten that students can't buy beer?"
"...I forgot."
Because Yuto's demeanor and speech were so mature and composed, Chabashira Sae had subconsciously forgotten that this brat was only seventeen—still a highschool boy.
"Then you should take a break, Sensei. Airi and I will put the drinks and ice cream into the fridge." Yuto picked up the two plastic bags stuffed with groceries.
Sakura Airi reached out with both hands to help, but Yuto refused. The bags were quite full, and Airi would have had a hard time carrying them.
Chabashira Sae watched Yuto and Sakura Airi head into the apartment together. She twisted open the bottle of peach-flavored drink and took a sip.
Hmm... It's quite sweet.
As she drank the chilled peach drink, most of her inner frustration and the exhaustion from the chores vanished.
…
The next moment, back inside the apartment, Sakura Airi couldn't wait any longer and asked, "Yuto, why is Chabashira-sensei in charge of the housework and your three meals?"
"Well, actually, it's like this. Chabashira-sensei wants me to lead Class D to ascend to Class A, so I took the opportunity to request..."
Yuto told Airi everything about the agreement he had with Chabashira Sae without holding anything back.
After hearing Yuto's explanation, Airi understood, but instead, a resentful expression crossed her lovely, fair face.
Tugging at Yuto's sleeve, Airi said aggrievedly, "Yuto, that's my job..."
"Isn't this a good thing? Chabashira-sensei is sharing your workload, Airi. You won't have to do so much work anymore. Isn't that great?" Yuto said with a smile.
"Not at all," Sakura Airi replied, shaking her head.
Cooking and doing laundry for someone else might be a tedious and troublesome chore.
But for Sakura Airi, being able to do these things for Yuto was her happiness.
She found a sense of fulfillment and joy in these tasks.
After Sakura Airi's continuous pleading and coaxing, Yuto finally gave in and let her handle the housework, while Chabashira Sae would only be responsible for his three meals.
"Hehehe~"
Looking at Airi's silly, beaming face, Yuto shook his head helplessly. What a cutie.
"Airi, I'm sure Chabashira-sensei would be more than happy to hand over the housework to you. But the apartment needs a thorough cleaning first. Once we've tidied the whole place up, you can take charge of all the future chores."
"Okay!"
Yuto and a delighted Sakura Airi finished putting away the two large bags of supplies. They stowed the drinks and desserts, like ice cream, in the refrigerator and placed daily necessities—toothbrushes, towels, and indoor slippers—in their proper spots.
Afterward, Yuto and Sakura Airi left the apartment to join Chabashira Sae in weeding the garden.
The three of them worked busily for over an hour, finally clearing the apartment's courtyard. With the overgrown weeds removed, the entire area looked much tidier and more pleasant.
…
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