"Sorry, I need to take a call."
Homura took out his phone.
"Dad? Hey? Dad, what's up?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to let you know that the items from that box you dug up have been appraised."
"Oh?" Homura became interested. "Could it be that there's something good?"
"Well... there's a jade Buddha statue and a lot of jade talismans. They're not really valuable items."
"The objects are a few hundred years old. Although the quality of the jade isn't great, given the time period, they might still be of interest to collectors."
"Wait a minute!" Homura interrupted in confusion. "A few hundred years old? That old box should have rotted away long ago, right?"
"I haven't finished yet. Why are you in such a hurry? The items are a few hundred years old, but the box itself was buried only a few decades ago at most. Inside, there's also a nearly decaying ledger-like thing that has been eaten by bugs beyond recognition. There's no way to restore it."
"Oh, I see..." Homura nodded. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"
"That's about it. After all, you were the one who dug up the items. I also wanted to ask you if you want them."
"Nope." Homura replied without hesitation.
"I knew it, you're not interested at all. Shizuka still insisted that I ask you. I told her—why bother asking for a Buddha statue? If it were some action figure, there might be a slight chance!"
Homura: "..."
Even if it were an action figure... maybe, possibly, he might want it...
"What are you up to, kid? Why does it sound like someone is whispering something behind you?"
"Nothing, just helping someone with their studies."
"Ohh~! Helping others with their studies? That's not easy... by the way, it seems like you've always been the top student in your grade huh? Tutoring shouldn't be a problem for you..."
'It's really rare for you to know about my grades...'
"Alright! Carry on with what you were doing... oh, by the way! Sawamura family invited us to their place for a banquet tomorrow. I'm busy, so I wanted to ask if you want to go?"
"Eriri's place?" Homura became curious. "I saw her this morning. Why didn't she mention it to me?"
"I just received the call recently, and since Shizuka kept nagging me about the old box, I thought I'd tell you too."
"Alright, let me think about it. These past couple of days have been quite busy. I'll consider it when I get home today, and then I'll talk directly to Eriri."
"Okay, sounds good. I'll hang up."
"Alright, bye, Dad."
===
Homura hung up the phone and returned to his seat, looking at Nayuta and Miyako chatting happily not far away, a slight smile appeared on his face.
Their chemistry is truly unbelievable. It's a good thing that when he heard the name Miyako, he immediately thought of Shirakawa Miyako; otherwise, he might have missed this!
"It's really great, Minamiya-kun..." whispered Fumino.
"Yeah..." Homura nodded. "It's amazing that Nayu and Shirakawa-san got to meet each other. Shirakawa-san is such a kind-hearted girl."
"That's right! Miyako is indeed very kind, maybe a bit too gentle!" Fumino sighed. "But it's because of that, Nayuta-chan can open up to her."
"By the way, why does Shirakawa-san wear a school uniform?" Homura finally asked the question.
"Ahh, it's simple. Miyako went to school this morning, and Shuchi'in Academy has strict rules, so Miyako had to wear the uniform."
"Oh... I see..." Homura nodded.
'Shuchi'in Academy... no wonder the school uniform looks so familiar...' Homura said inwardly.
The memories of Shinomiya Kaguya and Fujiwara Chika suddenly flashed through Homura's mind, including information about the Shinomiya and Fujiwara families.
Comparing the memories from his past life, there appeared to be an issue with the information concerning the Shinomiya family.
For instance, the Shinomiya family's assets were approximately 2 trillion yen. The memories of this life suggest that the scale of the Shinomiya family is somewhat comparable to the Kotobuki family.
"Minamiya-kun, Minamiya-kun?" Homura, lost in his thoughts, was called back to reality by Fumino.
"Sorry, I spaced out."
"It's okay." Fumino shook her head. "But, Minamiya-kun, did you think of something?"
"Shuchi'in, this school's students, they're either children from influential families or highly talented students. Either way, it's not easy for Shirakawa-san to be in this school, right?"
"Oh... that's true. Miyako's grades are really good... she even tutored me before..."
'But it was all for nothing, right?' Homura silently complained in his mind.
"Well, let's continue. Studying is the most important thing now."
===
Two hours later, the tutoring session officially ended.
"Not bad! Everyone made progress!" Homura smiled.
"It's mainly because Minamiya-kun is such a great teacher!"
"That's right, Fuminocchi! Seriously, Minamiya-sensei is amazing! It's like he's even better than our school teachers. At least I couldn't understand what they were teaching." Uruka enthusiastically chimed in.
"Minamiya-sensei... why does it sound so strange?" Homura scratched his head. "When you call me that, I feel like I've truly become a teacher, rather than just being a mangaka."
"I believe it's perfectly fine to call Minamiya-kun a 'sensei'!" Rizu agreed. "I think you have the demeanor of a teacher. At least you're better than those teachers who keep telling us to change our aspirations or even give up."
Homura shook his head. "Don't be like that. They just want you to develop in the direction you excel in. That's not necessarily wrong... it's just that they don't understand the reasons why you can't give up on your own dreams."
"Perhaps..." Fumino continued, "We have expressed our aspirations to them more than once, but after teaching us for a while, they couldn't see any hope and just gave up. Maybe they can't understand the reasons why we must persist."
After saying that, Fumino let out a self-deprecating smile.
"The most commendable thing is that you all persevered. Despite countless people persuading you, none of you had any intention of giving up. That's what really matters. With that, even without my presence, I believe you will definitely succeed."
"Now, you are all starting to chase after your own goals, right?"
Then, everyone exchanged smiles, knowing that those words were the most important! They were getting closer and closer to their goals, no longer wasting their time in vain!