Ryuuou no Oshigoto! - Volume 2 - Chapter 3.2

  MOMENT OF TRUTH

“It’s not what it looks like.”

Those were the first words to shoot out of my mouth.

My apprentice is looking at me, standing in the doorway of the classroom and slumping like a string-less puppet, all light gone from her eyes.

Her pupils are huge. Holy crap, that’s terrifying.

“T-This is …… work! Work that the chairman himself asked me to do, so I had no choice but to give this girl lessons. I had to take this job–––.”

“Had to …… had to hold her hand?”

“I-I’m not!!”

I shove Ai’s hand out from under mine.

So here I am, my hands in the air like a bank teller during a holdup, facing my apprentice and unable to think out of pure shock. But I have to keep talking. I don’t think I’ve ever been under this much pressure, not even when forced to react to a move I didn’t see coming with only seconds to read the situation.

“I, I-I-I-I wasn’t holding her hand! She asked me to teach her how to snap the pieces down onto the board so I did what I had to do …… It was part of the lesson! I only touched her hand because the lesson called for it!!”

“Lesson?”

My apprentice said in a flat, monotone voice with her insanely dilated pupils locked onto me. She didn’t blink, not once.

“Master …… You said that your new student was a bald old man, didn’t you? I don’t see any bald people. And your student doesn’t look like an old man. That’s a girl, right? That’s a girl about my age, yes? And a cute one too, yes? Is holding hands with cute girls part of your lessons, Master? Is that the kind of work the Ryuo does?”

“No, yes. Would you listen?”

“Why did you lie? You know that people only tell lies when they feel guilty, don’t you? It means they know they’re doing something wrong, so they lie, yes? Master lied when I said that I wouldn’t get angry so tell me what you’re doing with that girl, which means that Master definitely did something to make you lie to me about doing things like holding hands and being too friendly with another girl you liar, liar, liar, liarliarliarliarlairliar.”

“R-Really, we’ve only been playing Shogi! What do I have to do to get you to believe me?!”

“I will torture you.”

My apprentice’s declaration harkened back to the Middle Ages.

“Since Master won’t be honest anymore, I will get answers with pain and fear. It’s not something I want to do, but Master lies, so I don’t have a choice, do I? As much as I hate to do it, I’ll ask Auntie for help–––.”

She’s going to tell Big Sis about this?! Don’t even joke about that!!

“H-Hey, Ai! Would you please say something! Tell her that this is just a Shogi lesson, as you have no intention of becoming my apprentice and–––.”

“Ohhh? So, this ordinary, airheaded girl with a tooth missing is your apprentice, Sensei?”

“?!”

Ai Yashajin then steps right into my chest, more than likely on purpose, with a devilish smile on her face and starts stoking the fire.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Ai Yashajin. As you have seen, Yaichi-sensei has been teaching me all sorts of ins and outs. Isn’t, that right? Sensei♡”

“Ai …… Yashajin. Ai ……?”

“That’s right. So, we both have the same name. Is that a coincidence? Or is it perhaps …… He got bored of the first Ai? What a cruel teacher you have!”

No-no-no NOOOOOOO! What the hell is this little brat saying?!

“H-He’s not bored of me! I’m Master’s whole world!!”

“Ohhh?”

The Ai standing against me runs her small hand down my cheek and says, “He seems to be head over heels for me now? He just said I’m better than you a moment ago.”

“Hey?! That didn’t mean–––.”

“That’s not true! Master always says the food I made for him is delicious, and he said that I’m cute today!”

“Lip service, to be sure. He’s just making you do chores.”

“He cleaned out my ears last night after my bath! My head was in his lap!”

“It’s dangerous for children to do that on their own. He’s treating you like a child, that’s all.”

“Grrrrrhhh~~~~!!”

“Ummmm, uh …… I-I shook his hand at the association’s classroom!”

“Why are you butting in?”

“I, I just want everyone to calm down, you know ……?” 

Thank you, Mio. I appreciate you trying to come to my defense, but it’s doing just the opposite. If looks could kill, Ai’s eyes right now would be lethal ……

“Master has pushed me down when I was naked before!!”

“He what?”

Of course, everyone else’s heads snap around with a shocking claim like that. Ai Yashajin’s whole body froze like a statue.

“Masta said he’d make Cha his wife too.”

Then, lady Ai looks up at me with suspicion the instant she heard the angel’s innocent claim, “… Could it be, that you have a Loli ……”

“Stop, stop, stop, stop! Everyone, stop talking right now! Cool your jets! Shut your mouths, please! And you, behind the counter! Don’t move!!”

The man sitting at the front flinches; his hand hovering behind his back just inches away from a telephone. I’m onto you and I’m not letting my guard down!

“Okay …… I can explain what Ai just said. Back when she first came to my apartment, she forgot to bring a towel into the bathroom, and I bumped into her when she came out to get one, thus knocking her down …”

Actually it was a desperate attempt to keep Big Sis from seeing that there was a naked elementary school girl in my apartment, but Ai Yashajin looked deflated after hearing my explanation and says, “That’s all? An accident like that?”

“Yes, yes, yes! An accident! Just a simple accident! It’s not like I’m completely interested in Ai’s body or anything like that–––.”

I got that far when I suddenly gulped down the air in my throat.

My apprentice is looking right at me; tears rolling down her cheeks like waterfalls.

It’s just like in Shogi. You don’t recognize a bad move until you’ve made it.

“Ah …… No, it’s just, you see …… I’m only saying that I’m not interested in elementary school girls in that way, not that I’m not interested in you, Ai. Actually I agreed to teach her because I’m interested in you, so that’s …”

“M–––.”

M?

“Master, you

JERKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!”

She screams.

Then Ai spins around and races out of the classroom, crying at the top of her lungs.

“Ah! Wait, Ai?! Crying and running is dangerous!”

“P-Please excuse us!”

Mio almost tripped over herself as she races off in hot pursuit as Ayano politely bows and then grabs the confused Charlette and takes off after them. 

“Huh,” said the little girl, unable to comprehend what just happened.

“Humph, how noisy. Just brats after all.”

Ai Yashajin steps away from me, flicks her black hair over her shoulder before taking a seat in her chair like nothing ever happened and picks up a Shogi piece.

“…… Just now, a group of elementary schoolers just raced out of here at breakneck speed … Did something happen?” said Akira with no clue what had just transpired as she came into the classroom. I heard her, but I’m still in shock.