Maruo's concern was actually quite reasonable.
It was like the heir of a prominent noble suddenly approaching a poor girl.
Did the noble think the poor girl was kind and want to help her?
While that possibility couldn't be ruled out, realistically, the most likely scenario was that there was a specific purpose!
For example, affection.
Haruto certainly hadn't approached Itsuki because he liked her from the start.
It was due to the negative aura surrounding Itsuki.
But now, everything had changed.
Haruto glanced at the quintuplets, who were anxiously standing not far away, and then said honestly, "Because I like your daughter."
Maruo: "😐"
He squinted his eyes slightly, looking at him with a hint of wariness: "Really? However, I still want to ask, which of my daughters does Kuromori-kun like?"
"All five, so I want all of them. Please, I beg you. Let me date all five of your daughters at once!"
If Haruto said that, would he be beaten up?
If it were him, he would definitely break the other guy's legs without saying a word!
Haruto thought for a moment and said without hesitation, "It's Itsuki."
Maruo looked surprised. He had thought it might be Ichika or Nino, but it turned out to be the least likely, Itsuki?
Honestly, Itsuki had always been the calmest.
Maruo sighed, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest and a sense of loss.
"This matter ends here."
His daughter had grown up, and there were some things, as a father, he could no longer say much about. All he could do was investigate the character of the other person, which was within his rights.
But fortunately, aside from his mysterious identity, this young man wasn't the type to toy with emotions. Up until now, there had been no scandals at Sobu High School. Well, none that involved other girls.
Maruo fell silent for a moment: "The tutoring contract continues."
He looked at Haruto with a warning in his eyes: "However, I don't want anything to happen, do you understand what I mean?"
He was likely referring to something bad like one man with two or three girls, right?
But Haruto felt sorry for him.
It was too late to say that now!
Because besides Itsuki, he had already kissed Miku and Nino more than once!
And Yotsuba had also worn a maid outfit and given him a lap pillow!
If Maruo knew this, he would definitely explode!
Haruto looked serious and said earnestly, "Uncle Nakano, please entrust your daughters to me!"
'Did you just start calling me uncle now?'
Maruo lifted his gaze. He thought he might understand why this person could gain the trust of all five of his daughters.
At the very least, this young man already possessed one special skill crucial for successful people: thick skin!
Maruo said nothing more. After asking a few more questions, he left in the car.
Honestly, even he had to admit that Haruto was excellent in every aspect.
But that wasn't the reason he was entrusting his daughters to him.
What really made him step back was Haruto's mysterious identity.
Maruo looked out the window, then shifted his gaze slightly upward, focusing on the blue sky, though his pupils reflected dark cracks.
Yes.
He could see cracks in the sky.
This had started some time ago, triggered by a few dreams, leading Maruo to return to the city of Chiba, where he saw them, confirming what had happened in his dreams.
Through his observations, he found that the cracks in the sky were expanding.
If this continued, sooner or later, it would spread across the entire world.
This wasn't something to be taken lightly.
But he had seen it before, and it happened in a dream. In his dream, he had witnessed it.
At that time, the sky was full of cracks, and countless terrifying monsters struggled to crawl out of them, trying to escape.
The scene resembled evil spirits escaping from hell, attempting to return to the human world.
Maruo had confirmed that what he experienced wasn't just a false dream. It was more likely that forgotten memories were gradually awakening.
As a doctor, he was well aware of this phenomenon, and it was certainly frightening.
Then, Maruo began to secretly investigate certain things and eventually found Haruto.
He had been paying attention to Haruto early on.
Because Haruto was one of the survivors of the Space Lost incident that shocked the world. At the same time, he was the only one given a serious warning during the investigation.
And many things didn't need evidence; suspicion alone was enough.
So, when the quintuplets were instructed to drop out of school, Maruo hesitated for a moment, then chose Chiba.
Because he knew that the seemingly peaceful and ordinary world was actually full of crises. It was not impossible that the apocalypse could suddenly arrive one day.
"I hope I made the right choice."
Maruo murmured, the only thing he didn't have to worry about now, besides his parents, were the five daughters Rena left behind.
❀❀❀
At this moment, in a small town not far from Chiba, there was a shrine that had long since turned into ruins.
Looking down from above, two large craters had formed in the center of the shrine, remnants of a meteor strike.
At the foot of the mountain, the torii gate, bearing the marks of time, had lost its original bright color, becoming worn and faded.
The sharp sound of wooden sandals echoed softly as they struck the moss-covered steps.
The wind blew, gently lifting her waist-length pink hair.
She was a woman wearing a blue and white striped yukata, her slender waist tightly wrapped with a black sash, her skin pale to the point of being almost white, and she had a pair of blue eyes.
She walked towards the mountain, step by step, neither in a hurry nor slow.
"Itomori Town was once struck by a meteor in ancient times, and three years ago, a comet suddenly shattered as it fell, striking Itomori Town again, destroying the Miyamizu Shrine."
"What a coincidence, isn't it?"
Her voice was soft, as though she was asking someone, but no one responded.
All that could be heard was the rustling of leaves in the wind.