"This..."
His eyes swept over each photo, Shinichi as he studied them.
"Everything was really cleaned..."
The scene was Mafuyu's room that he had seen twice, all the rubbish that had piled up on the wooden floor was gone, and the bedroom was now clean and peaceful.
Even though the furnishings were still simple, they were at least clean, and looked like someone would live in.
Did she really do it?
There's no harm in being suspicious, after all it's just cleaning a room, and anyone can do it.
But for some reason, Shinichi looked at the cupboard and under the bed in the photo, and still asked doubtfully.
"Sensei, putting things in a pile isn't tidying up..."
"I-I'm sorry! This is so rude!" Her proud expression immediately collapsed. Mafuyu blushed and looked at him angrily.
"Am I the opportunistic type? Everything has been returned to its original place, and the rubbish has been cleaned up. After I checked, there was no dirty place! If you don't believe it, you can..."
"Okay, okay, I understand. I misunderstood. I'm sorry." Before her voice got louder, Shinichi looked around calmly. Sure enough, several teachers looked over curiously.
Shinichi put down the photo and lowered his voice.
"Very perfect. If it continues to be maintained, it will become an example that students, both in the public and private sector, should emulate."
Even though he didn't have a happy expression, Shinichi knew that Mafuyu was very complacent right now.
"No doubt. It is reasonable. I didn't want to get ahead before, but now I suddenly realize that my slum life is over, and there is no room for lazing around being a role model."
Shinichi looked at the photos.
"So, how much will it cost to hire a housekeeping company this time?"
"About twenty thousand yen... Huh?"
Mafuyu suddenly stopped and looked at Shinichi.
Shinichi also looked at her with a friendly smile.
Mafuyu covered her face, lowered her head, and her voice was filled with shame.
"Shame... Asada-kun, please scold me properly and wake me up. Thinking back to how proud I was just now, I'm not face to face with you anymore... No, in front of all the students... "
She admitted sadly.
"My qualifications as Sensei have been lost..."
"No, it's not that serious."
Shinichi finds this teacher funny? No, how serious is she?
"It's not impossible to hire a home company, at least it means you are willing to change..."
Shinichi considered his words carefully. Even if Mafuyu asked him to scold her, he wouldn't be able to say, "Just like the mannequins displayed in the dark warehouse, Mafuyu, you are a dirty woman with only a bright appearance!"
"But considering the costs and privacy, is it better to learn to tidy up in the future? As long as you get into the habit of putting things where they should be, the room will naturally get cleaner in the long run."
"If you vacuum and mop the floor regularly, you no longer need to clean it every time as busy and tiring as general cleaning, and your resistance and laziness will be relatively reduced."
"...Makes sense."
Mafuyu nodded, placing a hand over her face.
Her blue eyes returned with admiration and determination.
After all, she was an adult. Needless to say, Mafuyu quickly adjusted.
"It's a simple truth, why am I only realizing it now?
"Sorry to show you it embarrassing side. From today on I will no longer ask for help from others, I will rely on my own strength to keep my place neat and clean, and develop habits that border on mysophobia. l"
She kept the photo, and her innocent voice reached Shinichi's ears.
"And next time, I'll show you photos of the clean rooms I organized myself."
"Sensei will never break her promise to students!"
Shinichi nodded and answered with a smile.
"Okay, then I look forward to it."
Then his heart shook.
(Isn't this a common thing... Has she ever had a maid help with cleaning since she was little?)
(She doesn't look like a rich woman, how did she cultivate such values until now?)
"What I wanted to say is finished, you may go. Furuhashi and the others are still waiting for you, right? Tutoring meeting after school as usual?"
Mafuyu put the test paper back in front of her and asked casually.
Shinichi nodded slightly.
"Yes, I will strengthen their impression while they still remember the contents of the class, and exchange learning experiences with each other. If nothing happens, the school entrance exam in September will probably be fine…"
"Asada-kun?"
Mafuyu looked at him.
"What's wrong, that expression..."
Shinichi smiled apologetically.
"Sorry, I was thinking about what questions to give them to test later, and I got a little lost. Is there anything else, Sensei? Then, I'll go first."
Mafuyu opened her mouth to deny, but in the end her voice was still cold.
"...Um, it's okay. Be careful on the way."
Shinichi lowered his head and saluted, turned around and prepared to leave.
But just take one step.
"Responsibility..."
Mafuyu's hesitant words sounded behind him.
Shinichi stopped and turned around.
Mafuyu looked a little worried, but the moment she met Shinichi's eyes, they became firm.
"A teacher's job is to accompany and teach. Whether it's related to schoolwork or not, when a student shows a difficult expression, I can't ignore it!"
"So... If you have a problem that you can't tell others, or if you face a dilemma that is difficult to solve, it's okay to tell me."
"And..."
That gentle smile bloomed for a moment like an epiphyllum.
"It's okay to help each other and we're both educators, right? Asada-kun."
Her voice was very soft.
It was a gentle tone that Shinichi had never heard from Mafuyu.
She turned her head away, and the side of she face looked a little tense.
"Go, hurry. Don't linger, other people will look at you even more strangely."
(Apparently you also know...)
Shinichi complained, feeling very complicated.
"I understand, thank you for your concern, Mafuyu-chan."
"That's too much…" Before Mafuyu could finish her words, she looked at Shinichi with a cold face, "The second time! And you also imitate Kominami-san's words... Asada-kun, you need me to teach you. Do you have any skills organizing your words?"
"I just feel Sensei's warmth." With a rare playful smile, Shinichi immediately saluted. This time he really left the teacher's office.
"Kirisu Sensei too. Please be careful on your way home."
"You..."
Mafuyu watched his back move away.
"Next time this happens again, he should learn a lesson…"
"Is my dignity as a teacher getting lower? How dare he make a joke like that… No, this is clearly teasing."
Mafuyu snorted coldly and continued correcting the pile of test papers.
"Kirisu Sensei, is that the student you taught at this school? It seems he has a good relationship with you."
The female teacher who happened to pass by asked curiously.
Mafuyu stopped, slowly put down the paper, holding back the inexplicable panic and embarrassment, and answered with a serious face.
"You misunderstood, we just have an ordinary teacher-student relationship."
"Is that so? Even though I didn't ask that far..."
"…"
Mafuyu blushed.