Chapter 21 – Imitation and Eccentric Person

“You know, there are a lot of kids in high school who are not good at math. For those kids, I try to have them do problems at the junior-high-school level in secret. It may seem like a roundabout way of doing things, but it really shows at what stage they stumble.”

“I see… Taguchi-kun, who I’m in charge of now, isn’t good at math either, so maybe I’ll give that a try next time.”

“Asai-sensei, you’re very serious, aren’t you? You even go out of your way to ask me for advice.”

“I feel like even though it’s a part-time job, it’s my job, and I have to do it right.”

Today, I’m in an empty classroom talking with Asai-sensei about the teaching policy of our cram school. Ever since the one time Asai-sensei came to my house, I felt that I had somehow grown closer to her.

It would be more efficient to have a serious discussion like this with the principal after our part-time job is over, but for some reason, Asai-sensei seems to prefer talking with me alone.

I sometimes wonder what “such an implication” means, but if I’m mistaken, that would be embarrassing, so I try not to be aware of it.

I don’t want to become a man who can’t read the situation.

Somewhat awkwardly, I turned my eyes towards the open door and saw Rii-chan passing by in the hallway.

Rii-chan walked straight into the classroom, posing as if saluting.

“Hello, Naga-san. Is this a new woman?”

“Don’t say it in a misleading way. Besides, even old men don’t say ‘naon’ nowadays… So what brings Rii-chan to my campus?” (T/N: A slang for woman. Rii-chan said ‘naon’ on the line above.)

“I was here for a general education lecture, and that just ended.”

“Heh… What kind of lecture was it?”

“It was about Humean philosophy. I had no idea what it was about.”

“Why did you decide to take it…?”

“Don’t you think I’d look smart if I took a philosophy class?”

“That’s a statement from someone who’s not very smart…”

Rii-chan is acting normal today. Normally, when a friend is with someone they don’t know, they would be reserved… However, I think it would be nonsense to put her in the category of “normal”.

“Ah, are you a friend of Takenaga-sensei’s?”

“Yeah, she’s Morohoshi’s junior.”

“My name is Rie Tatsutagawa. I am Naga-san’s younger sister and his potential bride.”

“Eh, Takenaga-sensei… What kind of relationship do you have with this girl…?”

“Um… Rii-chan, can I ask you to slow down a little bit?”

“Roger. Deceleration operation is initiated.”

Tsubaki and Rii-chan’s first meeting was pretty much the same, but I have a great feeling that Asai-sensei and Rii-chan won’t mesh well either.

Asai-sensei, with his adult-like atmosphere, and Rii-chan, with her childish appearance, don’t even look like the same college student, and in that sense, they don’t match.

“Um, Tatsutagawa-san, you’re a college student, right? A freshman?”

“I’m a freshman in the Faculty of Science, Department of Planetary Science. My favorite dish is fried potatoes.”

“That has nothing to do with planets, does it?”

“Don’t underestimate the potential of potatoes. I dare say that they are stars of sorts.”

“Sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“No matter what, you can’t resist the pull of them. You can’t help but be drawn to late-night deep-fried potatoes.”

“I can kinda get that.”

Oh, no. Rii-chan’s pacing is taking over again and Asai-sensei is getting left behind. I hope Asai-sensei doesn’t get mad at her like Tsubaki did when she first met Rii-chan…

“Takenaga-sensei, this girl…”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Asai-sensei. She’s a little… No, she’s a very different girl.”

“She’s so cute!”

“Eh?”

So that’s how it is. As I suspected, Asai-sensei seems to have a unique perception.

I often think back to the fact that she gets along well with elementary school-aged children at the cram school. Rii-chan is not a child except in appearance…

“You have a good eye to understand my charms. What is your name, big sister?”

“I’m Ryoko Asai. I’m a third-year law student. I work part-time with Takenaga-sensei at the same cram school.”

“I see, so you’re Ryo-san. I’ll remember you.”

“By the way, what does the Department of Planetary Sciences do? Do you do astronomical observations?” 

“I’m still a freshman, so I haven’t decided on a major yet, but it looks like I can study geology and tectonics as well as space.”

“Wow! That sounds interesting and large-scale.”

I was worried that I might get into trouble again, but it seems my fears were unfounded.

Well, both Asai-sensei and Rii-chan are not bad people at heart, and despite their eccentricities, it’s not impossible for them to get along.

Tsubaki is just a psycho who bites everyone in the first place. I wonder if this is what it’s like when people say most women are good communicators…

“By the way, do you like Naga-san, Ryo-san?”

“Eh… That’s…”

“A pair of man and woman around the same age in an empty classroom, there’s no way that nothing is going on…”

“Stop it, Rii-chan. Asai-sensei is troubled.”

“What about you, Naga-san? I’m not really sure, but I think you two are already at it.”

“No, we’re not like that. Right, Asai-sensei?”

“Eh? Yeah… I guess so.”

I feel like Asai-sensei looked sad for a moment, but let’s pretend I didn’t see it. And I’m not lying anyway…

Perhaps Rii-chan went out of her way to nail it? She may look all fluffy, but she may be more strategic than she seems.

“I was terrified that Naga-san had mistress number two.”

“I have a lot of things I’d like to retort to, but what do you mean by number two?”

“If Sister Tsubaki is the wife and I’m mistress number one, I thought that mistress number two would be next.”

“The whole premise is wrong, and you’re okay with being mistress number one?”

“Oh, do you feel like making me your wife?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“I see… Takenaga-sensei is that kind of person.”

This is getting disturbing because of Rii-chan… What am I going to do about this!?

“Wait a minute, aren’t you misunderstanding something?”

“Yes, Naga-san is not to blame. It’s the legal system that doesn’t recognize polygamy that is to blame.” (T/N: Yes, I completely agree.)

“Shut up for a minute, Rii-chan.”

“I see, so I’d be number two… But, well, I guess that’s just the way it is…”

Asai-sensei is downcast and contemplating, but I can only assume that she has misunderstood something.

“No, Asai-sensei… I think you misunderstood something…”

“No, you don’t have to hide it, Takenaga-sensei. Polyamory, right? I’ve heard of it.” (T/N: Different from polygamy, polyamory means multiple relationships but still not married.)

“I don’t know what that word means, but probably not!”

“But then again, I don’t know much about it, so I’ll do my best to keep up with Takenaga-sensei’s proclivities. For today, I’ll go home and look up polyamory. Good bye!”

Asai-sensei became convinced on her own and left. I’m worried about how she was able to survive until now with that intense assumption.

Now there are two of us left in the empty classroom, me and Rii-chan.

“You’ve done it, Naga-san. You’ll have more company.”

“Rii-chan finds this amusing?”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying myself.”

“Now I hate your genuineness.”

“Come on, don’t be so downhearted. Switch things up a bit.”

“Whose fault do you think this is…?”

Ah, it looks like I’m going to get into more trouble.