Yukinoshita Yukino stared at Tanaka Masao, she probably guessed what he was thinking.
For some reason, she couldn't help but ask.
"What, are you scared?"
Meeting Yukinoshita Yukino's calm eyes, Tanaka Masao was a little nervous, and couldn't help but swallow.
"Of course I'm not scared."
At this moment, regardless of whether Yukinoshita Yukino had a good impression of him or not, he definitely had to say he wasn't scared.
If you don't even have the courage to face rumors with her, then what's there to talk about?
"Is that so."
Yukinoshita Yukino withdrew her gaze and turned around.
"It's good that you're not scared. If you're not scared, don't cower behind; just walk confidently."
"Okay."
The two walked side by side towards Tanaka Masao's house.
...
"I'm home."
"Excuse me for intruding."
Back home, Tanaka Masao took out a new pair of slippers for Yukinoshita Yukino to change into.
As Yukinoshita Yukino bent down to change her shoes, he subconsciously glanced at her feet.
Black stockings, truly nice.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who was bending down, didn't notice Tanaka Masao's gaze and followed him into the living room.
A large low table was placed in the middle of the sofa, which was usually used for games, studying, and handicrafts at home.
In winter, this low table would be replaced by a kotatsu, becoming a deep abyss of decadence.
The living room floor was covered with tatami mats, and cushions were placed nearby, so no chairs were needed; one could just sit on the floor.
This was also the custom here.
The only drawback might be that sitting for too long without a backrest could cause back pain.
Yukinoshita Yukino took a cushion and sat in a very ladylike side-leg position.
This sitting posture ensured that even when wearing a short skirt, nothing would be revealed.
Tanaka Masao put down his school bag and asked Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, what would you like to drink? Juice, milk, coffee, or black tea?"
"Juice is fine."
"Okay, please wait a moment."
Tanaka Masao went to the kitchen to prepare drinks and snacks.
During the preparation, the front door was pushed open, and a very energetic voice rang out.
"I'm home!"
Kashi came into the living room and saw Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Oh, Yukino, you're here."
Yesterday, Tanaka Masao had informed Kashi that Yukinoshita Yukino would come to help her study.
So she specifically came home a bit early today.
Yukinoshita Yukino nodded in response, "Kashi, long time no see."
[After a few days, little Kashi is still as cute as ever.]
"Come and sit down."
She gestured for Kashi to sit beside her.
Kashi didn't think much of it and sat next to Yukinoshita Yukino, while also calling out to Tanaka Masao in the kitchen.
"Masao, I want orange juice, and bring more snacks, I'm a bit hungry."
Tanaka Masao's voice came from the kitchen.
"We're still having dinner, you can't eat too many snacks."
"You have to believe me, even if I eat snacks, dinner will definitely be no problem, and how can I concentrate on studying if I'm not full?"
As he spoke, Tanaka Masao came over with two glasses of juice.
"No means no. There's a set amount of snacks and desserts every day; you can't eat more."
Ignoring Kashi's puffed-up cheeks, Tanaka Masao went back and brought two servings of cake.
One cake was large, and one was small.
The large one was given to Yukinoshita Yukino, and the small one was given to Kashi.
Kashi compared the two cakes and immediately felt unbalanced.
"Why are the two cakes different?"
"Because you're a child, and children have small appetites, so naturally you should eat the small one."
"My appetite isn't small at all, I want the large cake too."
Before Kashi could continue to make a fuss, Yukinoshita Yukino proactively swapped the cakes.
"This one is for Kashi. I don't want to eat too much anyway."
Seeing the larger cake, Kashi's eyes immediately lit up.
"Thank you, Yukino, I love you the most."
Then she made a face at Tanaka Masao in a provocative manner, and then happily enjoyed her cake.
Tanaka Masao was a bit helpless.
"Xuezhixia Classmate, you're a bit too doting on Kashi, aren't you?"
Kashi's casual "I love you the most" had already made Yukinoshita Yukino's sense of satisfaction skyrocket, and she said indifferently.
"It's not much of a difference; it's fine for Kashi to eat a little more."
If it weren't for the consideration that eating too much cake isn't good, she would even want to give her own portion to Kashi.
Yukinoshita Yukino dug a small piece of cake with a spoon and put it into her mouth, savoring the sweetness.
She looked at Tanaka Masao.
Unlike the juice prepared for the two of them, Tanaka Masao's cup contained green vegetable juice.
And what he was eating was a piece of dried meat that looked very tough.
Both items were quite suitable for someone on a diet.
But the taste was hard to describe.
Vegetable juice goes without saying; most people don't like it.
The dried meat tasted alright.
But it was just too tough; one piece could last an hour.
Kashi didn't even want to eat this stuff; it was simply too much work.
Watching Tanaka Masao pinch his nose and take a sip of vegetable juice, then his expression twisted slightly.
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly felt he was a bit pathetic.
However, she had no intention of pitying him.
Since he decided to lose weight, suffering and paying a certain price were normal.
Otherwise, so many people wouldn't fail at dieting.
...
After more than ten minutes, the three finished their afternoon tea, tidied up the table, and began their studies for the day.
Tanaka Masao first took the small test Yukinoshita Yukino had prepared for him.
To check how well he had learned.
While Tanaka Masao was taking the test, Yukinoshita Yukino assessed Kashi's actual level.
Only then could she formulate a suitable plan.
After a thorough check, she found that Kashi's situation was also a bit unusual.
It was very clear that her foundation was poor, and she didn't know many things.
But as long as it was in the textbook, she could answer it.
After a moment of thought, Yukinoshita Yukino had an answer she wasn't quite sure about.
"Kashi, have you memorized everything in the textbook?"
Hearing this, Kashi said as a matter of course.
"Of course, I read the book once, and I remembered everything in it."
Unlike what Tanaka Masao had assumed, that Kashi was an idiot.
As the second-in-command of the Demon Realm, Kashi's intellectual talent was absolutely top-notch.
Even though she had lost her power now, this did not affect her mind.
Having photographic memory was too easy for her.
(⊙o⊙) What?
Tanaka Masao, who was doing the problems, looked up.
"What did you say? You're a genius with photographic memory?"
"What's the matter, is there a problem?"
Looking at the surprised Tanaka Masao.
Kashi had a look on her face as if he had never seen the world; what was so surprising about such a small matter?