kscans

Chapter 525 - Tuition Fee

The battle lasted a little over thirty minutes, and I had a terrible time.

As was my right, my first move was to loudly proclaim, "I absolutely do not have such a specific 'hobby,'" but frankly, the three guys probably didn't care about the facts and just wanted to poke fun at the perfect new material. They wouldn't listen.

Sora-san, who was twirling a strand of her silky hair and glancing my way, was cute enough, but Nia, who had apparently developed a mysterious sense of rivalry, had to go and shout something unnecessary like, 'I'm gonna make him stare at my hair too!!!' which only fueled the fire.

In the end, I was labeled a 'lover of older women with long black hair,' and even Helena-san, who had remained neutral and not joined in the commotion, was shaking her shoulders with laughter.

This was not my intention, not my intention at all. And it was all—

"You've really done it now, Princess..."

During the morning session of our after-breakfast lecture time, Her Ladyship Alicia White, who was sitting next to me with a composed, unrepentant face, may or may not have had this all planned.

Seriously, she's so pure white. The morning sun is reflecting off her and it's blinding. Can I close the curtains?

"I know you have a shy personality and tend to be overly considerate... but I was hoping you would have noticed on your own."

"And this is your revenge, is that it? I swear, it's not like I'm uninterested, as you once suggested."

"I know that. Because you look at me so closely."

As she said that, Ashe clicked the ring on and 'transformed' before my eyes.

"Listen... I've told you over and over, my base image of you is from your avatar in the virtual world, so my eyes are just drawn to the difference...!"

That wasn't an excuse; it was the honest truth.

It was the same with Nia. The atmosphere was just so different between her spiky short hair there and her fluffy long hair here that I couldn't help but notice.

So, in short, it's the gap moe—no, that's not it. I do not have a specific hobby.

"..."

"Oh, what's with that disgruntled expressionless face? You've gotten quite adept at expressing your emotions."

I glanced over as I ran my pen across the workbook, and what met my gaze was not black, but garnet. Don't just put it on and take it off to play with it.

"Putting aside hobbies and fetishes..."

"Hey, don't just casually say 'fetishes.'"

"You must have some preferences. Which me do you like?"

"Don't think I'll answer everything just because you threw a straight fastball."

As expected, I had no intention of honestly exposing unnecessarily sensitive parts of myself. No matter what she said, I would remain silent on this matter—

"Payment."

"What?"

"I demand payment for my services as a temporary instructor."

—I would maintain my silence... or so I was thinking, but then the conversation took another strange turn, and I couldn't help but stop my pen.

"...Isn't accompanying you on this trip payment enough? No, not payment, but the idea was that you'd come along thinking of it as a study camp, right?"

"That was just to give you an excuse and a pretext to skip university. Accompanying you on this trip was originally supposed to be compensation for me tacitly approving your event with just Nia."

"Hold on, wait a second? I feel like there are a lot of things to question there, so give me a moment to think..."

"I won't wait. Just tell me what you like about me, Nia, and Sora. Hurry up."

"Huh? What—wait, wait, wait, wait!"

Hey, what just happened in that split second? The question has undergone some mysterious ultimate evolution.

"This is ridiculous, how did it come to this...! I'll concede a hundred steps and talk about you alone, but why do I have to answer for the other two as well!"

"...Because I'd like to know?"

"Don't think I'll waver just because you tilted your head cutely...!"

That's exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about! —But I couldn't just come out and say it.

As I frantically tried to figure out how to get out of this situation, Ashe narrowed her eyes, a rare expression on her face, and...

"Then I'll make another demand."

"...Oh? I'll hear you out. Let's have it."

"The matter of how you've clearly allowed far less physical contact with me compared to Sora and Nia. In the interest of fairness, we will make an adjustment right here and—"

"Okay, what I like about them. Let's go with one thing for each of them."

My father used to say that when a woman hits you where it hurts as a man, it's wise to immediately raise the white flag and surrender. Otherwise, you'll end up paying a much higher price in the end, and you'll be the one to regret it.

To reiterate, it's not that I dislike physical contact with Ashe. It's that when my opponent is her, who has no brakes, I can't ignore the possibility that neither of us will be able to stop, so I have to avoid it.

And so— —what I like about them, huh...

"Uh... first of all, as a premise."

"Yes?"

"When it comes to looks and all that, I'm passing. All three of you are, how should I put it, beyond the realm of personal preference."

"...You don't have to go into detail, but if that's the case, then say it clearly."

Damn... she's showing no mercy.

"So, well... uh, I mean, you know, it's that."

"Yes?"

"It's at a level where my personal preferences don't even matter, they're each just that charming."

"Yes?"

"Sora is... uh, just incredibly cute? And Nia is so beautiful and cute it's overwhelming? And as for Ashe, well, you know..."

"Yes?"

"...Y-you're so beautiful that I'm still at a level where it's hard to look at you directly."

"Yes."

It's all well and good that your voice is getting happier with every nod, but my head, and in fact my whole body, is burning up so much that I can't even focus on studying anymore.

Seriously, this is so late in the game. The fact that all three of them are ridiculously beautiful. I've been praised plenty, but I still don't think I can match them in terms of looks.

"So, yes. That's it. Are you satisfied?"

"Hm—now, for the next part. About the parts other than their appearance."

"Ah, yeah, okay..."

It would have been nice if she'd let it slide and that was the end of it...

"Alright, let's see... First, about Sora."

In the end, there was no escaping this. With Ashe, who has already seen through my heart so thoroughly, I suppose I'll just have to give up and accept a little embarrassment.

...Will my heart be able to take it?