Not Sensei, but 'Teacher' - 6

The house, which was fine just moments ago, collapsed.

Debris from the breached wall fell with a loud crash.

 

"Hiccup! Wh-What's going on...?"

 

Overwhelmed by the inexplicable explosion, I even started hiccuping.

 

"Nito...? You were inside! Are you alright?! Are you hurt anywhere?!"

 

"Hiccup...!"

 

A girl entered the room.

Her voice sounded familiar, like I'd heard it a few times before.

 

Where had I heard it?

 

"I was so worried when I couldn't reach you yesterday!"

 

More importantly, can't she do something about my house?

 

"Hiccup...!"

 

Maybe it's because I'm startled.

My body can't form proper words and only keeps hiccuping.

 

"I'm just glad you seem to be safe."

 

My house is not safe.

 

"Th-The door...hiccup...!"

 

"The door?"

 

The person who was probably called 'President' turned around at my words.

 

"Um...uh..."

 

It seems she realized she had no solution.

 

"I-I'll fix this...somehow..."

 

It seems my punishment for my karma is still far from over.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

 

"What happened yesterday that you didn't answer your phone even during the times you're usually awake?"

 

Once the debris from the broken wall was cleared and the situation stabilized somewhat, we sat on the floor and started talking.

 

And my hiccups stopped.

 

"Uh, yesterday I went out for a bit..."

 

"Outside?! Nito went outside?!"

 

Geez...

She really has a terrible perception of me.

 

Well, a terrible perception of 'Nito' rather than me.

 

"Th-Then where did you go?"

 

The President, stuttered in excitement.

 

"To the convenience store..."

 

"Convenience store? There aren't any convenience stores around here. The closest one would be..."

 

The President seemed to be thinking for a moment.

 

"Ah, could it be..."

 

She seemed to have a hunch and took out her phone.

 

The President tapped her phone screen here and there. Then, she asked me softly.

 

"Could it be that the place you went yesterday was... Schale?"

 

"n, n-n, n, n-no?"

 

Ah.

I stuttered.

 

"It seems I was right."

 

How did she figure that out...

 

"So, what was your first impression of Sensei?"

 

Suddenly, the atmosphere became serious.

This might be a little scary...

 

"W-Well..."

 

I roughly explained what happened yesterday.

 

"I see... Hmm... Ah!"

 

The President seemed to have realized something.

 

"Hehehe... Nito-chan..."

 

The President laughed in a somewhat unsettling way.

 

"How about you take the lessons you were having with me with Sensei instead?"

 

Wh-What lessons?

With Sensei?

 

"N-No!"

 

"Tsk, that's a shame."

 

Surprisingly, she gave up easily.

 

"But you'll have to make up for the lesson you missed yesterday, right?"

 

?

 

"Come on, let's not stay here and go to my place!"

 

????????

 

"W-Wait a minute...!"

 

I mustered all my strength to resist. The result was...

 

Drag-

 

I ended up being dragged, when I could have walked.

 

ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ

 

We arrived at the President's house.

 

But... is this a house?

 

A place you can only reach by taking a hidden elevator underground.

It was more like a fortress than a house.

 

The inside was as spacious and comfortable as the Schale office, and above all, it was filled with devices that looked incredibly high-tech.

 

"Ahem! Nito? Come over here and sit down."

 

There were only two chairs at the desk.

It seemed I was the only person who came here.

 

It was a large, bright space, but thinking that way, it felt strangely lonely.

 

"Now, shall we begin the lesson?"

 

When I first heard those words, I didn't fully realize my fate.

 

About an hour after the lesson started,

 

"Haaah..."

 

"Nito, we don't have enough time to cover everything you missed yesterday. You need to stay focused."

 

At this rate, I'd much rather have lessons with Sensei.

 

"C-Can I rest a little..."

 

"Hmm..."

 

The President seemed to be pondering for a moment. But the answer that followed wasn't what I wanted.

 

"No! You went out without your phone yesterday... completely ignored my calls... I was so worried! This is your punishment!"

 

That's too much.

 

So, I ended up taking a lesson that lasted a full eight hours, packed with content.

 

I didn't even study this hard in Korea...

 

"Whew... Good work! Should we do this during the day tomorrow too? I was a little tired when we did it in the evening, but doing it during the day feels a bit refreshing."

 

"Haaah..."

 

At this rate, there's no hope.

 

"I'll just... take lessons from Sensei..."

 

"Really?! That's a good decision!"

 

Sensei wouldn't go this far, right?

 

"Ah, but there's a condition!"

 

A condition?

What is it?

 

"You have to call him 'Teacher' not just 'Sensei'."

 

Ah.

That's really too much.