Before I knew it, today's study session had come to an end again.
In the blink of an eye, it was late at night. I stood by my door, feeling that lately I had been lost in thought far more often than usual.
It could not be helped. In just these few days, I had encountered too many things I did not understand, too many questions.
For example, right now.
"Alright, let's start the laundry."
Hanako, wearing her gym clothes and holding an empty laundry basket, said to the other girls dressed the same way, "Please put your uniforms, underwear, socks, and anything else that needs washing in here."
Azusa nodded and efficiently took out a neatly folded stack of items that I forcibly refrained from looking at, placing them into the basket as instructed. "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."
"U-Underwear too!?" Hifumi reacted in shock.
"Why!? Can't we just wash our own underwear separately!?"
Koharu also opposed the idea.
Before Hanako could reply, Azusa, who came from Arius and must have faced shortages of supplies in the past, spoke very seriously. "Washing everything together saves water and detergent. Hanako is right."
Hearing that, and finding it reasonable, Hifumi reluctantly agreed. "Ah, ah… O-Okay… then I'll leave it to you…"
In the end, even Koharu began to doubt herself. "Eh… A-Am I the weird one here…?"
All of this conversation and action happened right in front of me.
So why exactly was I even here?
"Alright, thank you, everyone~" Hanako said, then looked at me. "Ah, Sensei…?"
"I'll… pass."
The others probably trusted me enough not to worry about propriety. As for Hanako asking, she was most likely teasing me on purpose.
The well-proportioned pink-haired girl smiled faintly. "Oh my, is that so? Then I'll head to the washing machine. If nothing goes wrong, they should be dry by tomorrow morning~"
With that, she carried the basket out, humming cheerfully as she brushed past me and left the room.
"Then it's about time to sleep," Azusa said with a faint smile. "Good work today, everyone."
Over these past few days, Azusa's relationship with the others had naturally become very harmonious. That made me quite relieved.
At that moment, Hifumi sidled up to me and lowered her voice. "Um, I have something I'd like to talk to you about, Sensei… Could I come to your room later…?"
She wanted to cuddle up and whisper sweet nothings, was that it? You bold Faust, openly declaring criminal intent like this!
My heart is filled with excit… coughcough anger. 😭💢
Then Hifumi quickly added, "Um, it's about Hanako-chan."
So it was serious business. I immediately reined in my wandering thoughts and nodded quietly.
After that, I returned to my room and handled some work while waiting for Hifumi to come.
Finally, there was a knock at the door, followed by a somewhat muffled voice through the door.
"…Excuse me."
Without thinking much, I stood up at once, ready to hear what Hifumi wanted to discuss about Hanako.
But when the door opened, the person before me was not the worried blonde girl in gym clothes that I had imagined.
Instead, it was a pink-haired girl wearing nothing but a one-piece swimsuit, smiling brightly and raising her hand in greeting.
"Good evening, Sensei."
Faced with this unexpected visitor and her current outfit, I froze on the spot.
Hanako walked in as if it were the most natural thing in the world and casually closed the door behind her. "Hehe, you opened it so easily~ How careless~"
However, with my extensive experience, I quickly regained my composure.
"Hanako? What are you doing here? And what is that outfit…?"
If she had not been wearing a swimsuit, I would have assumed she came because of the Sisterhood's visit earlier. Given her sharp mind, it would not have been hard for her to guess something from Hinata's reaction. Thinking back now, perhaps Sakurako chose Hinata instead of Mari with that in mind.
To make Hanako suspect some sort of connection between me and the Sisterhood, perhaps.
"Oh, please don't worry about this," Hanako said casually. "It's pajamas."
"Pajamas…" I repeated, my mouth twitching.
How should I put it. Very Hanako-like.
"Hehe. More importantly, Sensei, there's something I'd like to discuss with you… It's actually…"
As she spoke, she stepped closer, a hint of concern on her face.
"…About Azusa-chan."
Although it differed from my initial guess, at least she really had come to discuss something serious. And it was something I cared about even more right now.
"Azusa's matter…" I murmured.
Could it be that Hanako had also discovered Azusa's true background?
Hanako nodded and was just about to speak.
"E-Excuse me… Sensei, are you there…?"
Of all times, now?
Before I could respond, Hifumi, who already had an appointment with me, pushed the door open directly. "Sorry I'm later than yesterday, actually…"
Then she locked eyes with Hanako, who was wearing a swimsuit.
"Eh…?"
"Oh my…?"
After a deathly silence.
Hifumi's eyes widened. She bent forward and apologized in a panic. "S-Sorry for the intrusion!? I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't know anything…! I really didn't know anything, okay!? W-When did this start!?"
Hanako perked up immediately and stepped forward eagerly. "…Hifumi-chan, you just said 'later than yesterday,' right!? That means you came yesterday too, right!? I'm right, aren't I!?"
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!? It's probably not okay for me to come back later either, right!? What should I do, should I just give up tonight!? I didn't know, I'm sorry for barging in, I'm sorry for ruining the mood, I'm sorry…!?"
Hifumi was practically incoherent.
"Wait a moment, Hifumi-chan, please explain clearly! What did you two do last night, and what did you agree to do tonight!? Please explain properly, no, better yet, reenact it right in front of me…!"
Hanako looked exceptionally excited.
Watching the two girls, one flustered and one eager, I felt oddly unimpressed.
Honestly, I thought it would turn into a scene of girls fighting over me. I did not expect such a harmonious atmosphere.
But then again, what was wrong with a harmonious harem?
In any case, relying on my outstanding personal charm, I successfully calmed Hifumi and Hanako down and cleared up the misunderstanding.
After that, the three of us began our discussion.