Yukinoshita's gaze remained fixed on Masao, and she could read his thoughts as clearly as if they were her own. For reasons she couldn't quite name, the words slipped out.
"What's the matter? Getting cold feet?"
Meeting her calm, unblinking eyes, Masao felt a knot of tension in his chest. He swallowed nervously.
"Of course not."
Regardless of how Yukinoshita truly felt about him, that was the only answer he could give. Showing fear in the face of their shared rumor was a sure way to kill any chance of something more.
"Is that so?" She broke eye contact, turning her back to him. "If you're not afraid, then stop dawdling and walk properly."
"Right."
They fell into step, shoulder-to-shoulder, making their way to Masao's home.
—
"I'm home."
"Thank you for having me."
Inside, Masao offered her a new pair of slippers. As she bent over to slip them on, his eyes flickered downward.
'Black tights. Nice.'
Too preoccupied to notice his glance, Yukinoshita followed him into the living room. Its centerpiece was a large, low table, the household hub for games, homework, and hobbies.
Come winter, Masao knew it would be replaced by the kotatsu—a heated pit of blissful, productivity-killing comfort.
The floor was covered in tatami mats, with plush cushions scattered about, rendering chairs unnecessary. Sitting directly on the floor was the local custom, though its main drawback was the inevitable backache from a lack of support.
Yukinoshita selected a cushion and settled into a graceful side-sitting pose, her legs tucked demurely to one side—a posture that preserved her modesty despite her short skirt.
Masao dropped his backpack. "What would you like to drink? We have juice, milk, coffee, or tea."
"Juice is fine."
"I'll be right back."
He retreated to the kitchen to prepare the drinks and a small snack. As he worked, the front door swung open with a burst of energy.
"I'm home!" Jahy bounded into the living room and skidded to a halt at the sight of their guest. "Oh! Yukinoshita! You're here!"
Masao had informed Jahy the previous day about the tutoring session, prompting her unusually early return.
Yukinoshita offered a slight nod. "Jahy. It's been a while."
'She's just as adorable as ever.'
"Come, sit by me," Yukinoshita said, gesturing to the space beside her.
Jahy complied, flopping down before yelling toward the kitchen, "Masao! I want orange juice! And bring lots of snacks! I'm starving!"
His voice echoed back, slightly muffled.
"We're eating dinner soon. No filling up on junk."
"Have a little faith! My stomach is a bottomless pit! Besides, a brain needs fuel to study!"
Just then, Masao returned, balancing two glasses of juice. "I said no. The daily snack quota is non-negotiable."
He ignored the way Jahy's cheeks puffed out in protest, disappearing back into the kitchen and returning with two slices of cake.
One was conspicuously larger than the other.
He placed the large slice before Yukinoshita and the small one in front of Jahy. Her eyes narrowed, darting between the two plates.
"Hey! Why are they of different sizes?"
"Because you're a child. Children get smaller portions."
"My appetite is anything but small! I want the big one!"
Before Jahy could escalate her campaign, Yukinoshita gently slid her plate across the table and switched their plates.
"Jahy can have mine. I wasn't in the mood for much cake anyway."
Jahy's eyes sparkled at the sight of the larger portion.
"Thank you, Yukinoshita You're the best!" She shot a triumphant glare at Masao, sticking out her tongue with a smug nyaah, before diving into her sweet reward with unbridled joy.
Masao sighed in defeat. "Yukinoshita-san, you're spoiling her."
But Yukinoshita was unmoved, her spirits lifted by Jahy's offhand compliment.
"It's not a significant difference," she said softly. "Let her have this."
Had it been healthier, she would have given Jahy her entire slice without a second thought. Yukinoshita took a small bite of her cake, the sweetness blooming on her tongue.
Her attention then shifted to Masao. His own drink was a disturbingly vibrant green vegetable smoothie, and the snack he was gnawing on looked like a piece of petrified meat jerky.
Their appeal was highly questionable. The smoothie was the kind of health concoction most people had to choke down, and while the jerky might have been palatable, its rock-hard texture made eating it a chore.
Even Jahy, with her bottomless appetite, refused to touch the stuff.
Watching Masao pinch his nose and take a reluctant sip of the green liquid, his face contorting slightly, Yukinoshita felt a faint, fleeting sense of sympathy.
But she quickly suppressed it. This was the natural consequence of his choice. If he was serious about losing weight, a little suffering was inevitable. If it were easy, everyone would succeed.
—
Roughly fifteen minutes later, with the table cleared, it was time to begin their studying.
Masao started on the practice test Yukinoshita had prepared, a benchmark to measure his progress.
Meanwhile, Yukinoshita turned her attention to Jahy, conducting a swift assessment to identify her academic weaknesses. The results were… strange.
It was painfully clear that Jahy's foundational knowledge was a mess, full of gaps in basic concepts. Yet, for any question whose answer was written verbatim in the textbook, she responded with flawless accuracy.
A theory began to form in Yukinoshita's mind.
"Jahy," she began, her tone measured. "Have you… memorized the entire textbook?"
Jahy looked up, her expression one of nonchalance.
"Naturally. I read through it once and committed it all to memory."
The truth was, as the former second-in-command of the demon world, Jahy possessed a first-rate intellect.
The loss of her power had done nothing to diminish her mind. A feat like a photographic memory was trivial for her.
"Wait, what?!" Masao's head snapped up from his test paper. "You mean to tell me you're some kind of genius with a photographic memory?"
Jahy just shrugged, looking unimpressed by his outburst.
"Is that really so surprising?"
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