The Students I Once Tutored As Part-Time Home Tutors During My Student Days Had Suddenly Achieved Excessive Success In Their Careers. - Chapter 24: Phone Conversation.

Phone Conversation.

“Huh? What the!?”

Sora slowly opened his heavy eyelids and found himself in a room illuminated by a dim light bulb. He blinked his eyes wide open as he awakened to consciousness.

“Oh, Nanase-san… Oh, it’s already time for you to go.”

As he looked at the wall clock while still sitting on the sofa, he saw that it was past 1 AM.

“I really did something awful, didn’t I? I invited her over, and then…”

A remorseful expression crossed his face as he looked at the futon that had been placed over him. Furthermore, the table with the alcohol and snacks had been neatly tidied up.

She had taken care of everything while he was blissfully asleep.

“It’s quite late, but I should thank her…”

Sora rubbed his body to wake up, then moved his upper body and reached for his smartphone that was on the carpet. He turned it on and noticed that he had several messages from her.

He quickly checked them and read the following messages:

First message:

A picture of himself wearing the apron she had given him.

Second message:

“To Sensei, who fell asleep all alone. Thanks for today. I had a great time. Just so you know, I left at exactly 11 PM, so don’t worry.”

Third message:

“After you fell asleep, I made some dinner, so you can have it for breakfast. Sorry for using things without asking.”

“What!?”

Fourth message:

“Also, I left some money under your wallet, so make sure to check it. It’s to cover today’s expenses, like the drinks, and also for the electricity and gas.”

“What!!?”

Sora placed his smartphone on the table and quickly got up, his eyes wide open. He brightened the room and checked the wallet he had placed on the kitchen counter.

There, just as she had mentioned, he found a sum of money placed under his wallet.

“Uh, no, no, ten thousand yen… First of all, there was no need to pay money…”

He couldn’t accept this. In fact, it wasn’t even close to the actual amount he owed her. A rough estimate would leave him with around 5,000 yen in change.

“Anyway, I should put this money in an envelope…”

Although he truly felt this money wasn’t necessary, he couldn’t leave it there. Besides, he still had one more thing to check.

He walked over to the refrigerator.

“Could it be that she made this too…?”

He opened the fridge and found various dishes: the sauce for the rice, side dishes, a salad…

It was all designed to be easy to eat for someone with a hangover.

“Wait, is this pot included too!?”

He closed the fridge and checked the lid on the IH heater. When he lifted it, he found that the tomato soup inside was still slightly warm.

“Did she make all this using the ingredients she bought for herself at home…?”

While his alcohol-fogged mind was slow to catch up, the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. He opened the fridge again to confirm. The number of eggs and vegetables had not decreased.

“Could this… really not be a dream?”

He pinched his own cheek. It hurt, and he confirmed that it was definitely not a dream.

“I really got played here… for real.”

Despite being the one who invited her over, he ended up falling asleep. It was indeed a big blunder.

“I guess I showed her my growth the wrong way…”

His emotions were complicated, but there was a sincere smile on his face. Sora recalled his interactions with her and, while reminiscing, he took out a bowl from the cabinet and ladled the tomato soup from the pot. He carried the warm bowl back to the living room.

He didn’t heat it up any further because he wanted to taste the soup she had made as soon as possible.

Sora quickly tasted the soup and realized, “…it’s even better than what I could make myself.” That was his overall impression of the soup. He immediately finished the contents of the bowl and sent a reply to her:

“Nanase-san, I’m really sorry for falling asleep today and not being able to see you off. I had the soup you made, and it was surprisingly delicious! By the way, I won’t accept that money you left, so you’ll have to come get it next time.”

Content with a sense of urgency:

Once this message was sent, it’ll was read immediately—

“!?!”

The device vibrated, and the distinctive ringtone of LINE, ‘Te-te-te-te-ten♪’, chimes.

Displayed on the screen is the name ‘Sakurai Nanase’.

Sora pressed the response button right away, placing the smartphone to his ear.

“Hey, Sensei, are you awake? Sorry for calling at this hour.”

“Oh, no problem at all. Are you okay, Nanase-san?”

“Yeah, I’m already back home. I’m working on some university assignments right now.”

“You’re working on assignments now? Even after drinking together with me? You really are tough.”

“W-Well, I just felt like I needed to do something to calm down. I couldn’t sleep.”

Was it just my imagination that her voice sounded a little rushed?

“I, I wanted to ask something more important though… My perfume didn’t transfer onto your clothes, Sensei, did it? It’s the citrusy one.”

“Hmm. I don’t think it did?”

“I see. Just in case, I didn’t choose a scent thinking it would transfer to you, Sensei! It’s just, I was wondering if the fragrance might be a bit strong…”

“Personally, I thought it was just right.”

“Mm, then I’m relieved.”

Although it seemed like there was concern, the response was surprisingly casual.

“Oh, by the way. That money I left under your wallet, I won’t accept that, okay?”

“That would be a problem. I can’t use the money anyway…”

“But, Sensei, isn’t it because you fell asleep? If you hadn’t fallen asleep, none of this would have happened.”

“Well, that’s…”

It’s a valid argument to the point of leaving one speechless. If I hadn’t been asleep, I wouldn’t have allowed such a gesture of leaving money behind.

“I mean, I can understand Sensei’s feelings about not being able to accept it, you know? Can’t we change our perspective on this and agree that it’s an advance investment from me?”

“Advance investment?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for the presumptuous statement, but we’re going on a date next time, right?”

“Ah… yeah. Maybe calling it a date is a bit much, but you’re right.”

It’s a typical way for her to express herself.

“Hey, just assert that it’s a date. It’s sad if it gets corrected, you know?”

“Haha, sorry about that. So, what do you mean by ‘advance investment’ for the date?”

“Make sure I have a good time! It’s an investment in making sure I enjoy myself, in other words, being an escort.”

“I see. Got it.”

She nods with a determined ‘kok’ sound.

“Huh? You’re surprisingly straightforward. I thought, being Sensei, you might resist.”

“If I don’t have fun, consider that money returned.”

“Hehe, OKOK. I’ll accept that condition, but in return, I won’t intentionally make it unenjoyable, okay?”

“Of course. So, let’s go with that.”

“Sunday works better for you, right? For our date.”

“Yeah, that works for me. It would be really helpful.”

“Alright. I’ll adjust my schedule and get in touch with you early. Don’t ignore my messages, okay?”

“Haha. I won’t do that.”

They continue their phone call for a few more minutes, laughing and making simple plans together.

The moment has come.

“Well then, is this time?”

“Yeah, it’s a good timing. Well then, good night, Sensei.”

“Good night, Nanase-san.”

“Hehe, Sensei, you should say good night too. Next time, I’m staying over, so I’ll bring a change of clothes and a toothbrush, okay?”

“…Eh?”

When Sora seeks confirmation, there’s no response from Nanase. The only sound that reaches their ears is the beep of the call being disconnected.

“Geez, some things never change…”

Sora mutters to themselves with narrowed eyes.

***

“Hehe, he said ‘goodnight.’ This idiot actually said ‘goodnight’ to me.”

Nanase, having ended the call a bit earlier, propped her chin on her hand and smiled as she looked at her smartphone.

On the smartphone’s home screen was a picture of Sora wearing a worn-out apron.