Otonashi Chiya, with his Mangekyō Sharingan, could perceive the minute details on Higashiyama Kobeni's face.
It was evident that Kobeni was not good at lying. Whenever she lied, her gaze became flustered, and her cheeks turned even redder.
These were extremely subtle details, but in Chiya's eyes, they were magnified infinitely.
However, he chose not to expose her. He could already guess that this was Denji's little trick, but it wasn't a bad thing. It was good that Denji could be a little clever and playful.
With a slight glance, he confirmed his suspicion—Denji was indeed hiding behind the bedroom door, peeking at him through the gap.
"Alright, I understand. Please continue from tomorrow onwards as well." Chiya smiled casually.
"Not at all, I should be the one thanking you."
Kobeni bowed again.
Tutoring Denji was much easier than she had expected. Not only was the material simple, but Denji was also quite obedient.
Aside from occasionally getting distracted by teasing Pochita, he hardly required much effort.
Moreover, he was quite inquisitive. If he didn't understand something, he would ask repeatedly—but "repeatedly" wasn't just once or twice…
Most importantly, she was earning a high salary!
If she received 5,000 yen per day, that would amount to approximately 150,000 yen per month. For a high school student from a struggling household, this was already an incredibly high wage.
And she only needed to spend a little over two hours a day working. This was just the probationary period salary, too.
Kobeni carefully placed the 5,000 yen into her bag, feeling delighted as she headed home.
Walking through the bustling streets, she saw various food stalls selling delicious snacks. She immediately felt tempted, her mouth almost watering.
Her greatest passion was eating delicious food, but at home, the meals provided for her and her sisters were always simple. Any good food was reserved for her elder brother and younger brother first, and she never had money to buy snacks for herself.
This was precisely why Denji had been able to "bribe" Kobeni with just a pack of snacks.
"Ugh… I made sure to eat my fill at dinner, so why do I feel hungry again…?"
Kobeni's face, which usually carried a trace of melancholy, grew even more somber as she patted her disobedient stomach.
Reluctantly, she took out the bag of snacks hidden in her bag and decided to finish it before she reached home. If her parents found out, it would be troublesome.
As for the 5,000 yen? She didn't even consider using it. She wouldn't dare.
In her mind, any money she earned had to be handed over to the family. If she tried to hide it and got caught, she would be scolded terribly.
Suppressing her cravings, she satisfied herself with the snacks Denji had given her instead of buying street food.
…
Before arriving home, Kobeni had eaten every last bit of the snack, barely leaving any crumbs behind.
She threw the empty package into the trash, cleaned her hands and mouth thoroughly, and even rinsed her mouth multiple times.
Only after ensuring that there was no trace left did she dare to enter the house.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back, Kobeni-nee!"
One of her younger sisters, wearing a middle school uniform, opened the door for her.
Among the nine sisters, none of them had their own personal clothes. During school days, they wore uniforms, and for the older sisters who no longer attended school, they wore old clothes from years ago. It had been a long time since they last bought new clothing.
Kobeni's first priority upon returning home was to find her parents, who were sitting in the living room watching television.
"Kobeni, where did you go tonight? Why are you back so late?"
Her mother's tone was somewhat stern as soon as she saw her.
Kobeni immediately felt a little afraid and replied in a small voice, "I… I found a part-time job…"
"Oh? What kind of part-time job?"
Her mother's expression changed instantly, showing keen interest.
Her father, who was holding a newspaper, glanced up at her while still watching the television. "I never expected Kobeni to take the initiative to find a part-time job. This will help lighten our family's financial burden a little."
"It's a tutoring job. This is my pay for today."
Kobeni spoke honestly and took out the 5,000 yen from her bag, handing it directly to her parents.
"5,000 yen?!"
Her mother was immediately shocked. "Didn't you just go out for a little over two hours?"
She began to doubt whether it was truly a tutoring job. A wage this high was usually reserved for professional tutors, and this was only Kobeni's first day.
A suspicion crept into her mind—could Kobeni have taken a job in the nightlife industry? However, she didn't really care. As long as Kobeni could earn money for the family, that was all that mattered.
"Wow! You're quite capable, Kobeni! Is this amount daily?"
Her father also looked surprised and immediately put down his newspaper.
"Yes. It might even increase later."
Kobeni's face lit up with happiness.
She wasn't pretending—being able to make her parents happy and even being praised made her genuinely joyful.
This only deepened her mother's suspicions that Kobeni had taken up work in the nightlife industry. But to her, this was great news. She had always planned for Kobeni to enter that industry after graduating from high school.
Now that Kobeni was getting used to it in advance, she wouldn't resist as much in the future.
"Good, good! This is fantastic, Kobeni! Make sure not to quit this job easily. With this, we won't have to worry about Yuta's tuition and living expenses for a while."
Her father's wrinkled face broke into a wide grin.
But his joy was purely because there would be more money for Yuta's university expenses.
Yuta was Kobeni's elder brother, Higashiyama Yuta.
However, he was attending a private university, where the tuition alone cost over a million yen a year, so Kobeni's current earnings were still far from enough.
Even though her parents only cared about her brother, Kobeni still smiled. Though deep down, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.
…
Meanwhile, at the Otonashi household.
"Did Higashiyama-sensei give you any homework?" Chiya asked Denji.
"Yeah, she told me to practice writing and reviewing today's words a few more times to reinforce my memory."
On Denji's desk were a small notebook with cartoon illustrations and a pencil with a bunny-shaped cap—both left by Kobeni.
"Then you need to finish your homework before playing games tonight. If you complete it on time, I'll give you a reward. But if you don't, there will be a punishment." Chiya said.
"Can you tell me what the reward is?"
Denji's interest was piqued immediately.
"Let's see… how about granting you one request?"
"Anything I want?"
Denji's eyes lit up with excitement, her posture straightening instantly.
Chiya nodded. "As long as it's not excessive, I'll do my best to fulfill it."
Denji was suddenly filled with motivation and started scribbling furiously in his notebook.
"Awesome! Knowledge explosion!"