It was a summer day when the company was closed.
I woke up and went to the living room, where my black-haired high school student sister, Nana, was waiting.
“Ah, sensei. Good morning.”
Her soft, fluffy smile was incredibly cute; just looking at it was enough to soothe me.
“Morning. Is Akari… at work?”
“Yes. She’s working her shift at the Western restaurant today.”
Akari juggles two part-time jobs.
She handles customer service at the cafe by the station and cooking duties at the Western eatery. “I’ll heat up some breakfast.”
“No, don’t worry about it. I’ll make my own, so you should just do your own thing.” “My own…”
Nana looked like she was deep in thought.
But then she shook her head and said with a smile:
“Since there’s really nothing else to do, I’ll go ahead and prepare it.” “No, but…”
”……Please have a seat, Sensei.”
Pata, pata—Nanako heads toward the kitchen.
She takes a plate from the fridge, places it in the microwave, and fills the kettle with water to make hot tea. ”…………” I sit down on one of the chairs in the living room.
Textbooks were spread out on the table. “Nanako’s textbooks.”
With summer vacation upon us, she must be working on her homework. It’s impressive that she’s already studying this early in the morning.
…But at the same time, something was bothering me a little.
”……Sensei, breakfast is ready.” “Ah, thank you.”
French toast with bacon and eggs, and a café latte.
Apparently, Akari had whipped it all up in no time before going to her morning shift.
I take the meal that had been prepared for me.
Nanako sits directly across from me, watching me eat with a beaming, delighted smile.
“Weren’t you supposed to be doing your homework?”
”…No, I finished my homework a long time ago.” “Is that so?”
It’s only been a few days since summer break started, but she must have already completed it.
Come to think of it, even during cram school, Nanae usually finished her assignments either the same day or by the next one.
“I see, so were you studying for exams?” The girls like Nanae are turning seventeen this year. They have college entrance exams looming next year.
There were quite a few people around who started preparing starting from their second-year summer.
Nanae is probably studying for the university she wants to get into.
”…No, this is self-study.” “Self-study?”
”…Yes. I was reviewing the lessons from the first semester.” Just a review, huh.
Speaking of which, what are these kids planning for their future?
Since Nanae is smart, I had assumed she would go to university, but judging by her tone, it seems otherwise.
Well, life plans vary from person to person, so I’m not in a position to judge or meddle.
After finishing breakfast, I cleared away the dishes.
Nanako had offered to do it herself, but I felt too embarrassed to accept and politely refused.
”…………” Fidget, fidget. “Nanako.”
”…Yes, T-sensei? What is it?”
“It’s distracting having you behind me.”
Ever since earlier, Nanako had been standing behind me, peering over my shoulder at what I was doing.
”…Is there anything I can help with? I can wash the dishes!”
“I said it’s fine. Sit down and attend to your own business.” ”…………” Deflated.
She shuffled over and sat down in a chair.
Then she started studying again… or rather, reviewing her first-semester material. ”…………”
As I washed the dishes, my mind drifted back to a memory.
It was the day the final exams from a few days prior had come back.
Akari had two or three red marks on her test, and her scores in all her other subjects were uniformly low.
On the other hand, Nanaiko’s scores were…… all perfect scores.
100 points in every single subject. Both Akari and I praised her, but she herself didn’t look happy about it at all.
“Nanaiko doesn’t really like studying, does she?”
When told what to do, she’s the type who will just do as instructed.
If given assignments, she’ll complete them. It’s just that, unlike her sister, she never takes the initiative to say, “I want to do this.”
I finished washing the dishes and returned to where Nanaiko was. “……………”
Facing a tattered textbook, she was blankly copying out what was in it.
It’s supposed to be summer vacation, yet this girl doesn’t seem to want to go out anywhere.
Unlike Akari, who dives headfirst into something she loves, I felt sorry for her staying at home like this.
“Hey, Nanaiko. Is there anywhere you’d like to go?” “…A day out?”
With a thud, she stood up, her black-pearl-like eyes shining bright.
“Yeah, I happen to be free today. As long as you don’t mind, how about we head somewhere together? Where do you want to go?”
”……Anywhere is fine as long as I’m with you, Teacher. Yay♡ Yay♡ We’re going on a date~”
…I guess that’s why it counts as a date when a guy and a girl go out together.
As far as I’m concerned, I just want to get this kid out of the house; she’s been cooped up indoors the entire time despite it being summer break…
“How about that shopping mall nearby? Let’s go, since we’re bored anyway.” ”……Yes, Teacher!♡” ★
The place we ended up at was a large shopping mall on the other side of the river.
”…Hehe♡ Hehe♡ Hepu-puheh♡”
Nanako kept laughing beside me.
She’s usually always smiling, but today specifically, she just kept laughing and laughing.
“Did something good happen to you?”
”……Yes. Just having Teacher by my side makes me so happy♡ On top of that, it’s just the two of us! Hehe♡”
Well, kids are usually thrilled just because their father is with them.
Uwatsusa-san was saying things like that too. It’s probably just one of those things.
“Here we go, Nako. It’s crowded in there, so don’t get lost, okay?”
”…I’m fine! I won’t get lost.”
For now, we just decided to wander around inside randomly.
But maybe because it was summer break, there were a lot of kids and families. “Hey Nako… Nako?”
Without me noticing, Nako had disappeared. ”…Teac-he-er~”
Far behind… or rather, she was stuck at the entrance.
It seemed like she couldn’t move forward because of the stream of people coming from the front. I hurried over to her. “Sorry, I got ahead of you.”
”…No. I’m sorry. I’ve always been clumsy…”
Nako slumped her shoulders in disappointment. I took her hand. “Eh…!?” “Come on, let’s go.” “Ah… ♡”
I left a child behind alone in such a crowded place. It’s an unforgivable act for a guardian.
Even if we’re high schoolers, she’s still a girl. Plus, she’s always been a bit scatterbrained. I need to hold her hand so she doesn’t wander off and make sure I’m properly taking care of her.
”…I’m so happy I might float up to heaven~ ♡”
Like yamaimo steeped in hot water, Nako wore a limp, deflated smile.
”…W-What if someone sees us like this… What would they think of us?”
“Mm. Ah, probably a parent and daughter.”
”…S-Supposedly.”
Poof… Just like that, her spirits had completely collapsed.
What the hell is going on…? I don’t get it. Puberty makes women’s emotions way too unstable.
Come to think of it, Akari and Ruisia also seem to get angry or happy at really random times.
I guess I need to buy some parenting books and study up on how to handle a daughter going through puberty.
“Well then, Nako. Is there anything you want?” ”…Do you mean something I want?”
“Yes. You all help me out so much, so I’d like to give you a present.” ”…A present-!”
Nako’s face lit up with a dazzling smile.
But then, flustered, she immediately shook her head.
“N-no way! That’s too much!” “Don’t be so modest.”
“B-but… I can’t…”
Nanako stopped in her tracks, looking down as she spoke.
“Acari does the cooking, the laundry, and everything else. But… I can’t do any of that. I’m just allowing myself to live with you all. A gift like this… I don’t deserve to receive it…”
I tapped Nanako’s forehead with my finger, a sharp ton sound marking the touch.
“I’ve told you before. Because you two have my back, I’m able to approach my work in peak condition. I am equally grateful to both of you.” “Sensei…”
“I’ll get Acari a present sometime too. But today is your turn. Tell me what you want. Name anything, and I’ll buy it for you.”
Nanako was an incredibly hesitant personality.
Put charitably, she was gentle and demure; put uncharitably… she was indecisive and overthinking.
Perhaps growing up alongside a sister with such a strong sense of self made her own will somewhat weak.
It might be fine for now since Acari is by her side.
But eventually, they would part ways and go their separate paths in life.
At times like that, I never want to be the kind of person who stands there helpless. I don’t want her to become like that either.
That’s why I asked what she wanted; it was so she could practice asserting herself, even just a little. ”…I don’t know.”
Sure enough, Nanako seemed unable to decide what it was she wanted.
“Then let’s look around at a few places. Something you’ll like is bound to turn up, right?” ”…Yes, teacher.”
After that, we went browsing through the shopping mall, looking at all sorts of things.
Clothing stores, stationery shops, bookstores…… But……
“I have enough clothes for now, actually.”
“Stationery is still fine too. Ah, that pencil you gave me during cram school is a treasure to me, so I don’t want to replace it with anything new.”
“Reference books? Since I get perfect scores on mock exams using only the textbook content, I think I’m good without them.”
No matter which store we visited, Nanako didn’t show any interest in a single item.
“Sorry to bother you like this, teacher. But… let’s just go. Let’s head home…” Just then. ”……”
Out of nowhere, Nanako stopped walking. “It’s a pet shop…”
It was a pet shop located inside the shopping mall.
Puppies and kittens were on display in glass cases. ”…Waaah, waaah”
Nanako pressed her cheek against the glass, her eyes sparkling.
The one that caught her particular interest was a miniature dachshund with brown fur.
”…Cute♡ Just like a hot dog.”
Do “cute” and food coexist in the same mind?
I really couldn’t understand the sensibility of high school girls… But then again, this was it, I thought. “Nanako. Let’s get this one.”
”…Huh? R-really?”
“Yeah. Since we finally moved into a standalone house, I’ve been thinking about getting a dog for a bit.”
”…Sensei! Ah, but the price…”
I glanced at the price tag and covered it with my hand.
“It’s cheaper than I thought, so don’t worry.” ”…But…”
「Nanako. Wait for me at the food court over there. I gotta take care of some money stuff and a few other things first.» 「…………Yes, sir.」 Nanako walks away.
The price tag is… damn, I can’t show her this.
“Excuse me, could I have this miniature dachshund?” “Oh, you got it!”
A cute clerk pulls the dog out of the glass case.
I get a rundown on the insurance and shots.
“Buying it as a present for your girlfriend, are we~?”
The gossipy clerk asks me. “It’s a present for my daughter.”
“Oh, I see! Man, your daughter is lucky! Spending that much on her!”
“It’s fine. If it works in her favor, the money doesn’t matter.”
I finish up the paperwork and buy a dog carrier (a basket for transporting dogs, kind of like a Boston bag).
With the puppy inside, I head toward the food court. “Sensee!” “Treat it right.”
I hand over the carrier containing the puppy. “Ah…”
thump, the miniature dachshund pokes its head out.
Looking up at Nanaeko, it licks her cheek slurp slurp.
”…Kyaa, that’s ticklish ♡”
Nanaiko breaks into a bright smile.
Yes, this child looks best when smiling innocently like this.
“Sensē~e, thank you so much!”