Do you want to be her daddy? Kaede harshly pinched Rin Ito's thigh under the table.
"Huh?" Ichika also looked at Rin Ito with a surprised expression... Does he really have those connections? Although she didn't believe Rin Ito had connections in that area, Ichika still put on a sweet smile... But what if?
"I'll rely on you then, Ito-kun~"
Kaede knew what Rin Ito meant. In this regard, the only person who could help was probably Karen. Although the Saionji family wasn't inescapable from birth to death, they had invested in many films, and films were... a great tool for money laundering. If he went to Karen, she wouldn't even need to do much; one word would be enough.
Rin Ito wasn't planning to ask Karen to give Ichika a role or use this connection to exploit her. Letting people know she had some relationship with the Saionji family so they wouldn't dare bully her was enough, especially since Ichika was a rare familiar face in this world.
Rin Ito didn't continue the conversation about exploitation. Since they were still students, the topic quickly shifted from exploitation to school.
"Ichika, you're in high school, just like us, right? What if your job conflicts with school later on?"
"Thinking about that is too far off right now." Ichika smiled. "I haven't even finished the basic acting course yet. Then I need to audition, and only after passing the audition can I start filming. As a newcomer, I'll definitely only get some extra roles, and besides...." Ichika's expression became a little awkward here. "Hahaha... and my grades aren't great either... If I keep this up, let alone graduating from high school, I might even have to repeat a grade, ahaha..."
Oh dear... Nanami looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. Seriously... It was true that not everyone could go to university, but how abysmal must one's grades be to not even graduate from high school? When Nanami was still a part-time warrior, working long hours every day, she could still maintain above-average grades. Utaha, who stayed up late and slept in class every day, could still stay in the top ten of her grade. Eri Sawamura and the others also had good grades.
For a moment, they all didn't know what to say. It was understandable if someone couldn't get into university because they weren't good at studying, but not being able to graduate from high school or even having to repeat a grade meant either a brain issue or a complete unwillingness to learn. Ichika didn't seem to have a brain issue where she drooled non-stop; she just purely didn't want to study.
"Um... at least try not to repeat a grade and graduate from high school."
"You're right about that..." Ichika also showed a troubled expression. Although her father was very wealthy—as long as they didn't gamble or start a business, the five sisters could probably never run out of money in two lifetimes, allowing her to freely pursue her dreams without worries. But still... not going to university could be explained as giving up her studies for her acting career, but repeating high school or not being able to graduate would be too embarrassing. Even if she realized her dream and became a star later, repeating high school or not graduating would be brought up forever.
"Dad's only requirements for us are passing grades, not repeating a year, and graduating from high school. He even hired tutors for us, but those teachers were all... ahaha."
"Um... can I try to help?" It wasn't Rin Ito who said this, but Nanami.
Rin Ito had very good grades in high school and got into a decent university. He also used to tutor Kaede and Suzu, but high school knowledge was the intellectual peak for most people! After so much time, Rin Ito had long forgotten those high school topics. Even if Rin Ito wanted to tutor them like a protagonist in an anime, he couldn't... He could teach them how to draw adult comics, though.
"Nanami?"
"Can you talk to your dad and let me try?" Nanami looked at Ichika with expectation.
"Nanami, are you short on money?" Mashiro tilted her head in confusion.
To be honest, the money Mashiro paid Nanami was more than the salary of an average office worker. The money Nanami had saved now was more than enough for the voice acting training class fees, living expenses, and high school tuition for the next year. If she kept saving until she graduated high school, it would cover her university tuition and living expenses for four years.
"It's not that I'm short on money, it's just..." Nanami's expression was awkward, like passing by a favorite breakfast spot and facing the owner who had already packed her order, but not buying it. It wasn't that she needed money now, nor did she have a hobby of being a teacher. It was just... the money she was currently receiving felt too strange!
Mashiro was paying Nanami's salary, and Nanami's job title was nominally to take care of Mashiro and model for her. But in reality... Mashiro and Rin Ito had seen the inside of her "small baby's room" more than once. Mashiro even remembered Nanami's shape and didn't need her to model anymore. As for taking care of her, it was mostly tidying the room, waking Mashiro up, and cooking together occasionally. These didn't feel like work to Nanami; she felt they were things she should be doing.
Besides those things, Nanami's main remaining 'job' was having parties with Mashiro! It wasn't that Nanami was unwilling, but... just having parties meant she was basically being kept by Mashiro, right!? That kind of money felt too weird! When she still had the modeling job, Nanami could still rationalize it as modeling work, but recently, since Mashiro didn't need her to model, she couldn't rationalize it anymore.
Nanami didn't want to rely on anyone. She still intended to take care of things and have parties together, but Nanami didn't want to take the money... As long as I don't take the money, it's not being kept! Tutoring was definitely a legitimate job!
But Nanami didn't know how to explain it to Mashiro right away. Fortunately, Ichika's eyes lit up, giving Nanami a way out.
"I'll go talk to Dad about it." The tutors her father found before were all highly paid, qualified professional teachers with guaranteed integrity and teaching ability, but none of the five sisters liked those old-fashioned teachers, and they were all eventually driven away. Ichika herself had some desire to study, but... if her sisters weren't studying, she, as the older sister, couldn't secretly study alone. If the tutor was someone her age, it might work!
"Really?" Nanami's eyes were full of anticipation. Her grades weren't top-tier, but many classmates at school came to her for help. Besides... if the goal was just to get their grades up to the passing line so they wouldn't repeat a grade or fail to graduate high school, she didn't need exceptionally good grades. To improve their grades, she didn't need high teaching skill; she just needed to make them want to learn. If they wanted to learn, they wouldn't need a teacher.
"Mhm, I'll call Dad later and ask him, but... Nanami, you'll be very busy if you still have voice acting classes."
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm much less busy now than before."
Nanami was happy, but Mashiro was a little unhappy... Before the break, Nanami was the one teaching Mashiro, and although Mashiro didn't like studying, Nanami teaching someone else made Mashiro feel left behind! She definitely had to make him tease Nanami fiercely tonight!
Besides that... Mashiro expressionlessly tugged at Nanami's clothes. "I want to study, too."