Aaaaaaagh. Now I see the problem. I thought
@givemersspls might have been overstating things with the "literally no sense" statement but... this... truly makes very little sense.
From what I can tell the arc of the story so far goes like this:
-> Nariyuki's family isn't well off, so he wants to get a good job
-> Needs the college recommendation so he can go to a prestigious college
-> Nariyuki puts in hard work for recommendation
-> Nariyuki tutors the girls against all odds (overarching romance development throughout)
-> Learns that he likes teaching (gathering girls along the way like a concubine katamari)
-> Is inspired by them to go for his actual want-to-do thing, which is teaching
-> Doesn't want to... use them? as a stepping stone to do that thing?
-> So he turns down the recommendation
-> Meaning he has to work to earn tuition, to go to a college, to get a teaching degree...
But... You had... the thing...
Your pride is seriously causing you to do this? Your pride?? "No, I won't take a handout! That's not what these girls who I look up to did! They
worked for their successes!" You did too, you idiot! You were handed a task that multiple professional tutors tried and failed, and succeeded, and continue to do so!
Ugh. I feel like this turn of events only makes sense because no one is stepping in to say "hey uh you earned your keep tutoring those two/three/four girls in need, take your reward?" I mean, it's what he wants to do? But he's thinking about it in a
very strange way. I don't think it "makes the world worse", necessarily.
In the end, I can't actually grab Nariyuki by the shoulders and yell at him (and if I did maybe he'd explain his motivation better to me) but... Ugh.
As long as he's happy. He doesn't seem to be suffering for this. If anything he's enjoying the challenge.
I am
conflicted
EDIT: I reread the pages where he tries to explain himself to the girls. From what I can tell,
@Fulgurion is in the right when it comes to the exact details of the courses the colleges offer.
IF HE TAKES THE RECOMMENDATION: Go to a high class college for free, learn good math, science, etc, learn how to teach that subject, and become a teacher.
IF HE DOES NOT: Go to a middling reputation college for some money, learn specifically how to Teach as a skill, and become a teacher.
The end goal is the same, but the things he gleans from the education path laid before him are quite different. With this in mind, I can see why he might choose this path. Still a bit miffed that he doesn't at least get a ribbon of qualification or something. "He Almost Got The Very Elite Recommendation" on a nice embossed piece of paper.