Crystal and Dixie put the topic of the contract behind them as they focused on getting their 'classes' over with. Clearly, neither of them were too enthusiastic about it, but both had their own reasons for being unable to avoid it.
"Alright, that should be fine. You understand the difference between centerline radius and bend angle now, right?"
Dixie looked disgusted as she slammed her notebook shut.
"I think this is bullshit!"
The heroine blinked in surprise. "What?"
"I said, it's bullshit! It makes no sense!"
Crystal felt her temples throb as she tried to remain calm. "And why exactly do you think so, Dixie?"
The girl snorted. "Because steel pipes don't bend. I've never seen it! The book is wrong."
Crystal found herself unable to respond for a moment. Just how can someone be so confidently wrong?
"They do…? It's used in many industrial applications. You just have to apply enough force at the right temperature, and it will bend like any other hard metal. Look, have you really never seen something like, uh, steel handles on a bicycle, for example? They're not straight, right?"
Dixie's eyes were slightly red as she bit her lip. Steel pipes were the foundation of her character! How could she allow someone to question their integrity? Doesn't that mean her character is questionable?
"I-It may, under very, VERY specific circumstances, bend a little here and there, but it'll snap back into shape just as quickly! There's nothing more reliable!"
Crystal opened and closed her mouth for a while, but no words came out.
'Are we really talking about steel pipes? Isn't that just a spring? Besides, steel springs also exist, and they're not straight! Although it's not like what she's saying is completely wrong, but it's not really right either…'
She took a deep breath.
'Alright, right now, Dixie is my student. I must make her understand the concepts in the syllabus. No need to get mad.'
"Okay, so there IS a concept of 'spring back' in bending, but that only happens when the bend radius is too large—no, wait! That's way out of our syllabus! Just understand the two things I told you about earlier. How difficult is that?"
Dixie snorted, and the heroine could feel her temple throbbing in pain from trying to reason with a mule.
'It's like smashing your head against a wall!'
"Alright, how about this… forget about steel pipes, replace it all with copper… Can you memorize what centerline radius and bend angle mean now?"
"Oh… that's easy."
Crystal breathed a sigh of relief.
'Does this girl have a fetish for steel pipes or something? What a weirdo…'
It's a good thing that their syllabus only had the very basics of fluid dynamics for now. Still, she worried how Dixie would cope with it two years later when they started delving into details.
Would the religiously unbendable nature of steel pipes in the girl's mind forever hinder Dixie's future?
'Well… it's only a single seven mark question missed at most, so it's not like she can't get by without ignoring it, but… yeah, let's not worry about it too much right now.'
The arrival of her mother interrupted their 'studies'.
"I'm sorry I couldn't serve anything earlier, but I squeezed out some orange juice for you two."
"Don't worry, auntie, it's not a big deal. And thank you."
The difference between Dixie's attitude towards Crystal's mom and the girl herself was like night and day, and the heroine couldn't help but roll her eyes.
'What exactly does she have against me? It couldn't be… because I inadvertently insulted her steel pipe fetish, right?'
Crystal shook her head to clear that thought.
'Nope, not going there.'
"Thanks, mom."
"Ahaha… Don't mention it, please. Let me know if you need anything else. Although the kitchen downstairs is being renovated right now, we also have a small one on this floor, if you didn't notice."
Dixie smiled. "It's okay, auntie, but thank you."
The heroine's mother sighed. "Don't thank me, I should thank you, instead. You don't know how much you've helped us out."
She smiled as she looked at her daughter. "The two of you must get along really well."
The two girls turned to stare at each other. It was like lightning clashed and thunder roared. For the first time in their life, the two of them had a single, united thought.
'Get along well my ass!'
Of course, neither of them could express their 'profound respect' for each other in front of the older woman. Dixie would still be alright, but Crystal would probably end up receiving the first spanking of her life.
Dixie felt a little awkward receiving the lady's gratitude. Because she really wouldn't have done it if not for Emilia. But even if Emilia's instructions were strange, she still had to take responsibility for this 'favor'.
"I didn't do anything, auntie. Mom just asked me where I'd been, and I told her I went to a friend's place. When she found out about this place, she realized it would be perfect for her next branch, in terms of both location and infrastructure."
It was obviously not what really happened, but Dixie didn't want Crystal's mom to feel indebted.
Regardless of her attitude towards the heroine, the middle-aged lady had been nothing but nice to both herself and Emily. And Dixie hoped she could have some more peace of mind and live a better life.
"Oh, I guess we really were quite lucky, then. But still, let your mom know that I'm very grateful for the opportunity, okay?"
Dixie scratched her head.
"Um, I will. She'll probably come by pretty soon, though. Mom's very active in inspecting everything personally, so it shouldn't be long before you meet her."
"Oh! I can't wait, then!"
Looking at the lady's jovial mood, Dixie bit her lip and decided not to warn her to be careful of her mom. Anyway, even if her mom's a beast, she won't tear into this tofu-hearted lady, right?
Besides, perhaps her mom was much kinder than she thought. She did make the contract far more lenient than usual, after all.
If she knew that her mother just wanted Emilia to feel more indebted to her daughter, the reaction of Emilia's ever-loyal knight could be imagined.
"Do you girls mind if I watch the TV over there? I'll mute it, of course."
"Not at all, mom. We can't see it from here anyway, so go ahead."
"Auntie can turn on the volume too. I don't get easily distracted."
Crystal's mother smiled. Ever since those two girls had walked into her restaurant, it was like her life had shot straight from hell into heaven.
"I'll keep it low. You girls have fun."
As her mom left, Crystal decided to move on to language instead of science, since Dixie wasn't being very cooperative today anyway. It was better to argue over things that could have multiple interpretations, such as poetry.
Dixie's face turned green as soon as she saw the book.
'Oh no… it's the disgustingly fancy word vomit subject!'
Clearly, she wasn't a big fan of poetry.
Just as her torture was about to start, however, the two of them were startled by Mrs. Miller's clearly excited screech.
"Crystal! Your friend's on TV! Quick, come!"