"Hmph, who would bother competing with such a little brat…"
Sainokami Ika's mocking words were cut short as Yukima Azuma cast a sharp, chilling glare in her direction.
Without saying another word, he stepped forward, gently placing both hands on Hinatsuru Ai's small shoulders and pulling her in front of him.
"This is Hinatsuru Ai, my disciple," he said calmly but firmly. "If you want to challenge me, then beat her first."
He looked directly at Sainokami Ika, voice unwavering.
"You always talk about talent and genius, Ika. But Ai—she's more talented than you."
"If you're so obsessed with talent, this match shouldn't leave you dissatisfied."
Sainokami Ika narrowed her eyes as she stared at Hinatsuru Ai. This kid? More talented than me? She didn't believe it—not entirely. Seventy percent of her scoffed at the idea. But the remaining thirty hesitated. Azuma wasn't the type to boast meaninglessly.
"…Fine," Ika finally muttered.
Yukima Azuma gave Ai a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Go. Tame her."
Ai nodded, her expression unusually serious. She walked to the shogi board and sat down.
Watching her go, Sora Ginko moved beside Yukima Azuma, her brow furrowed.
"That brat… you think she'll be okay?"
"She'll be fine, Senpai," Yukima Azuma reassured her. His tone was soft, but confident. "And as for what Sainokami said earlier, don't let it get to you."
"She hasn't even reached the stage where talent begins to truly matter. She's riding on what little skill she has without actual refinement."
He continued, tone tinged with quiet disdain.
"If she were truly that talented, she'd already be a pro. But she's not. Because she doesn't understand the basics of growth."
"Play one match against a real Meijin," he added, "and she'll learn humility fast."
Sora Ginko's lips curled into a small smile. She could feel the tension lifting from her chest. "I'll go keep an eye on the match," she said, turning toward the board. "You go back to your job."
Yukima Azuma nodded and quietly closed the door behind her.
Back upstairs, he turned to the three girls still in the room.
"All right. While Ai is out proving herself, the rest of us are hitting the books."
Kasumigaoka Utaha yawned. "I'll pass. I stayed up late writing—I'm going back to bed."
Without waiting for a reply, she disappeared into her room.
Yukima Azuma led Eriri and Megumi to the study corner on the second floor.
Eriri had to focus on math and English, while Megumi concentrated on history and literature.
Azuma grabbed a practice workbook from a nearby shelf—one he had compiled with Kirisu Mafuyu. It was a goldmine of targeted, high-yield questions.
"Eriri, start with math. Megumi, tackle literature first. When you're done, I'll walk you through your mistakes."
"English and history can wait for the afternoon. They're more about memorization."
Both girls nodded, and the study session quietly began.
Time passed slowly.
Eriri was the first to drop her pen. Not because she finished, but because she gave up.
Math had broken her spirit.
When you're desperate, humans can accomplish a lot. But with math? If you don't understand, you simply don't.
She stared at her half-blank answer sheet in defeat.
Yukima Azuma took it, sighing as he scanned the page.
"…Eriri, give me your scratch paper."
She handed it over. It was a mess.
"Thought so. The calculations are where you went wrong. You forgot the basic order of operations. Multiplication and division before addition and subtraction."
He pointed to a particular error. "And here—you misread your own numbers. Your scratch work is too chaotic. Keep it clean next time."
After correcting her mistakes and re-teaching her how to organize scratch paper properly, he moved on to the blank questions she'd skipped.
By the end of his explanation, Eriri looked completely drained.
"All right, take a ten-minute break," Yukima Azuma said. "Then we'll move on to the next set."
She blinked. "What about those last two questions?"
"They're not worth the trouble. You'll gain very few points, but lose way more mental energy. Knowing what to skip is just as important."
Eriri didn't argue. She jumped up and bolted downstairs for snacks.
Once she was gone, Megumi quietly handed in her literature test.
Azuma looked it over. Much better than Eriri's.
"You're in a good place," he said. "You'll probably pass just fine—but let's make sure."
He pointed at one blank space.
"You skipped this one?"
"Mm. I didn't quite understand it," Megumi replied, eyes calm. "I didn't want to guess."
Yukima Azuma rewrote the sentence on scratch paper, simplifying it.
"I can [blank] Megumi will have a happy future. Our life together will be [blank] secure."
He scribbled two words below.
"Guarantee" and "protect."
"In Japanese literature, the first implies commitment. The second—security, assurance."
Megumi leaned forward slightly.
"So… 'I can guarantee Megumi will have a happy future. Our life together will be protected.'"
"Exactly."
He moved on to the next question. As he began explaining, he felt something soft brush against his leg.
He paused, looked at Megumi—who blinked innocently.
"Megumi," he said with a slight smile, "you need to focus while studying."
"Mm," she murmured.
But the soft sensation didn't go away.
Then she whispered, barely audible.
"Azuma-san… I'm finding it hard to concentrate."
Azuma raised a brow.
"Megumi, do you… like this kind of thing?"
She responded again in that soft, ambiguous murmur:
"Mm."
Azuma stared at her, speechless.
"…We're supposed to be studying."
"But the one making it hard to focus is Azuma-san," she said innocently.
"Eh? You're blaming me now?"
"I'm not!" she protested, poking his side.
But something felt… off.
Both of them slowly peeked under the table.
…Shiratamaru.
The white cat was rubbing against Azuma's leg, while its tail flicked against Megumi's.
Azuma picked up the cat and gave it a light pat.
"Nyan!" Shiratamaru yelped in protest and scampered off.
They returned to studying, but the atmosphere had turned awkwardly warm.
Azuma couldn't help thinking back.
When he asked if Megumi liked it… she had said "Mm."
So she did like it?
Like what, exactly?
He shifted his leg slightly toward her again—
Softness.
"Shiratamaru!" they both shouted in unison.
"Nyaa?"
The cat peeked from behind a bookshelf. Not under the table this time.
They looked at each other. The silence was deafening.
Shiratamaru, clearly not understanding what it had done, tilted its head and trotted away.
Eriri came bounding up the stairs with a plate of cake and a spoon in her mouth.
"Ahh~ This cake is sooo good! …Huh? What's with your faces?"
The strange tension between Yukima Azuma and Megumi hung in the air like a cloud.
Eriri raised an eyebrow but continued eating, unconcerned.
The morning study session wrapped up soon after.
Eriri still had work to do in math, but she was at least on the path to passing.
Megumi, on the other hand, was making rapid progress in literature.
Azuma left them to review on their own and headed downstairs.
Sora Ginko was just stepping out of a room when he passed by.
He glanced inside.
Sainokami Ika was lying on the tatami floor, shirt ruffled, looking utterly defeated. It was unclear if she'd been playing shogi or rolling around in frustration.
Hinatsuru Ai, by contrast, was standing proudly—tears on her cheeks, but her expression full of resolve and satisfaction.
Yukima Azuma smiled. He could guess how the game went.
Sainokami probably dominated the early game with pressure and aggression.
But Ai, his student, had grown.
Even if she still cried easily, she had learned how to survive until the endgame—her specialty.
There, she had turned the tide and won.
"Shishou! Ai won!" she shouted, dashing into his arms.
He smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Good job. Soon, I'll take you to official tournaments. My disciple is about to make a name for herself."
Ai's eyes sparkled. Her signature ahoge twitched excitedly.
"Don't spoil her too much," Sora Ginko said. "Or she'll end up like that idiot sprawled out over there."
"Ai won't become like that!" she shot back proudly.
And Yukima Azuma believed her.