Arranging a private tutor for the Nakano quintuplets? Moreover, the requirements were strictly limited to a high-achieving peer from the same grade...
Izuru pored over the application, weighing every word. As he digested the document, he sank into a profound state of contemplation.
If this were a private request for a school faculty member to act as a tutor, the paperwork would have been handed directly to the Headmaster. However, because the applicant had explicitly limited the choice to students, the document naturally landed on Izuru's desk in his capacity as Student Council President.
In the world of private tutoring, teachers were usually the gold standard. Not only was it difficult for a student to refuse them, but they possessed vast pedagogical experience and could provide specialized attention. The benefits were countless...
Yet, there are parents so neurotic about their children's education that they choose a different path: scouting high-achieving students to teach their less-than-brilliant offspring.
There is a vast gulf between a student tutor and a professional teacher; each comes with a distinct set of pros and cons.
A teacher has a mountain of advantages a student can't touch, but conversely, they possess glaring weaknesses compared to a peer-tutor. A student, while lacking formal experience, has a unique edge—they speak the same language as the pupil. They build rapport easily, they blend in, and who knows? They might even snag a spot as the quintessential quintuplet son-in-law...
Wait, scratch that last part.
As for which was better, it was entirely a matter of perspective!
However, armed with the "spoiler" knowledge of the future, Izuru could guess with his pinky toe why the Nakano father was headhunting a top-tier peer to be a private tutor, regardless of gender.
It was clearly because he wanted a quintuplet son-in-law... Okay, he was joking again.
It was obvious that the Nakano patriarch was the type of man rarely home due to work, leaving him almost no time to accompany his daughters. Thus, based on both the psychological and physical needs of the girls...
Finding a brilliant classmate to act as a tutor was actually a stroke of genius. Not only would it provide academic motivation, but it would also give his lonely daughters a much-needed playmate.
The only side effect was the high risk of gaining a "Quintuplet Son-in-Law" in the process...
*SLAP!*
Izuru smacked his own forehead. He couldn't wrap his mind around it—why did his thoughts spiral toward "son-in-law" every single time he saw the name Nakano?
Forget it; he needed to focus. Even if the "high-achieving peer" requirement felt incredibly specific, there was no way the end goal was actually matrimonial... right?
"Yashoku, what's your take on this tutoring request?" Izuru asked, looking up slightly toward Kaguya.
Kaguya, however, seemed to have been watching him the entire time. While Izuru had been lost in thought, she had silently drifted behind him, peering at the document with a knowing gaze.
"It is Kaguya, not Yashoku..." she corrected him reflexively, before continuing. "This type of tutoring request is actually quite common. However, the fact that the subjects are quintuplets is... unusual. Their mother must have been remarkable to give birth to so many at once."
{Funny you should say that, I was thinking the exact same thing,} Izuru thought, his expression unreadable.
Kaguya maintained her characteristically cool, detached tone. "But setting the quintuplet aspect aside, the fact that they are all failing their classes is both shocking and somehow... mathematically plausible."
{You mean they're quintuplet idiots? Is that what you're trying to say?}
Izuru frowned, but pressed on. "Yashoku, how do you think we should process this? Do we have any suitable candidates?"
"Suitable candidates?" Kaguya stared at him with a gaze heavy with hidden meaning. Slowly, she began to list the criteria. "Based on the applicant's demands, the ideal candidate would be defined as..."
"A top academic performer, a peer from the same grade, someone who communicates effortlessly with others, and someone with a massive amount of free time."
{Eh?} The corner of Izuru's mouth twitched. Why did it feel like Kaguya was taking a jab at him for being a smooth talker with too much time on his hands? Was he just being paranoid?
After all, the four conditions Kaguya mentioned fit his current situation like a glove: ranked first in his year with terrifyingly high scores, currently serving as Student Council President, a silver-tongued devil who could talk a bird out of a tree, and a proud member of the "Going Home Club" who avoided extracurriculars and loathed actual council work...
It felt like a targeted strike. Or was Kaguya trying to nudge him toward helping the quints?
{Wait, stay calm. Don't let her lead you around by the nose!}
{This could be one of Yashoku's traps.}
The moment Izuru "graciously" volunteered to be the tutor, Kaguya would likely fix him with a gaze as cold as a winter morning, looking at him like a common garden pest, and say: "President, why are you so eager? Is it because they're quintuplets? Is this the true nature of men? President, you really are 'quite cute'..."
{I see, so that's how it is? I understand now...}
{Shinomiya Yashoku... oh, Shinomiya Yashoku. There's no mistaking it. Every word is a hidden pitfall. Just to see me embarrassed, just to insult me with that word 'cute,' you'd go this far?}
Izuru, having constructed an entire internal narrative where he had outsmarted her, felt his dark eyes sparkle with sudden clarity. A confident, knowing smirk spread across his face as he finally spoke.
"Those requirements are quite steep. A smart peer who's a good communicator and has endless free time? Does our school truly possess such a rare talent?"
Kaguya nodded thoughtfully. "You have a point. The criteria are quite difficult. After all, people with top grades are usually either social recluses who do nothing but study, or the type who have plenty of free time but possess a mouth they absolutely cannot control..."
WTF!
Izuru felt like he'd been hit by a stray bullet. A cluster of dark lines formed on his forehead. There was no way he could miss the subtle shade Kaguya was throwing.
But Izuru felt the need to defend himself. His mouth wasn't "uncontrollable"; if one truly pondered his words, they would find deep, soul-cleansing wisdom within. In other words, he was actually a sweet-talker—it was just that others lacked the depth to appreciate it...
{Wait, I've got it. This is a Shinomiya Yashoku conspiracy!}