章 680: Life Education

　　Regarding the future, only Ichika is the clearest among them.

　　Although Yotsuba received many offers from sports universities due to her outstanding sports performance, she hesitated. When asked if she wanted to go to school or an internship location, she answered vaguely.

　　On the other hand, Itsuki has an unknown goal. After Mafuyu's encouragement, she seemed to have found the direction she wanted to know for now. When she came back after walking around, she also had a lot of flyers in her hands. However, she prevented them from seeing clearly.

　　"When I am completely sure of what I want to do in the future, I will take the initiative to tell you... Keep it a secret for now!"

　　Seeing Itsuki's expression, Shinichi looked at Ichika.

　　He remembered that at first, Ichika was so worried about the success or failure of the audition that she kept her dream of becoming an actress to herself and waited until she got better before she was willing to tell her sister.

　　Now, Itsuki seemed to have the same idea.

　　"As expected of the quintuplets."

　　Shinichi watched her with a smile and Ichika wore a confused expression.

　　"What is wrong?"

　　"I think the way the three of you hesitate before setting your goals is exactly the same."

Shinichi looked at the three of them.

　　"It is true that the way out for the future is to think carefully, but being too careful will waste all the time that could be taken and even create more detours."

　　"If there are conditions that allow you to make timely improvements even if you fail, you might as well take a bold risk and do your best to do what you want to do and are interested in. Once you have the results, you can consider other advantages and disadvantages."

　　Shinichi smiled faintly and said:

　　"Just like Ichika, she started the path of becoming an actress because of her passion. She chose whether she wanted to or not beforehand, whether she should or not, so that he she have the opportunity to work hard until now and get the best results."

　　Being young, beautiful, and coming from a rich family creates opportunities for Ichika to try boldly.

　　And her persistent and unremitting efforts gave her the possibility to realize this opportunity.

　　"Eh..."

　　After receiving such a compliment, a blush appeared on her face. Ichika touched her cheek with the back of her hand and smiled shyly.

　　"To be honest, if it weren't for Shinichi-kun's help, it's hard to say whether I could have survived until now."

"Don't underestimate yourself."

　　Shinichi faced Yotsuba and Itsuki and said seriously.

　　"There's still some time before the final year of high school. You can think about it carefully, but don't get too carried away."

　　"If you have questions about your future dreams, just ask. Whether it's Kirisu Sensei or me, I can give you some advice."

　　From a friend's perspective, his concerns were undisguised, and his sincerity was conveyed to the two of them in a very straightforward manner.

　　Perhaps without realizing it, Shinichi also considers himself to be their teacher, wanting to help them solve the confusion they encounter on the path of life.

　　There's nothing wrong with that, if he can help them.

　　"...I see."

Yotsuba who had been hiding complex thoughts since before lunch, started to show her usual excited expression.

　　"I will think carefully before making a decision, Asada-san!"

　　"Asada-kun..."

　　After hearing those words, Itsuki looked at Shinichi and the hand holding the flyer in the bag became a little tighter.

　　"You too, one of my dreams..."

　　Speaking softly, she hid the admiration in her eyes.

　　But at this time, Shinichi ignored their respective reactions because Ichika pulled him to whisper.

　　"Yotsuba and Itsuki are finished... Shinichi-kun, now only Nino and Miku are left."

　　She deliberately lowered her voice, as if she was talking about some dirty secret.

　　Shinichi's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked at her with a mock serious expression.

　　"…What exactly do you want to say?"

　　"That's a happy thing," Ichika blinked pretending to be stupid.

　　"Shinichi-kun, don't you want to treat people with favoritism? If they find out what you did to us when you return, but you don't get rain and dew evenly..."

　　She said with a smile: "This refers to the aspect of 'life education'. After all, Shinichi-kun is half a tutor to us!"

　　"…"

　　Shinichi was silent.

　　Then there was a click, and Ichika crouched down, covering her forehead and whining.

　　"Why..."

　　Shinichi withdrew his hand without expression.

　　"Idioms are not meant for you to use carelessly."

　　"Liar, you have a guilty conscience…"

　　"Who asked you to go fishing on purpose?"

　　"Because I want to know..."

　　She adjusted her voice to a sad and soft girl's voice, which made Shinichi sigh, maybe this girl could really debut as a voice actor.

　　However, that expression was too deliberate, and Ichika had no intention of hiding it. She looked directly at him with a smile, and the conversation seemed to enter a fight.

　　Shinichi did not choose to face her directly, but continued playing puzzles with her calmly.

　　"You said so, I will do it when I go back."

　　"If I don't tell you, you will do the same thing when the time comes."

　　"Any question?"

Shinichi gave her a hateful sideways glance.

　　"No."

　　Suddenly, Ichika mentioned the past while smiling.

　　"By the way, do you still remember the 'probability' you mentioned that day?"

　　"Probability..."

　　Shinichi quickly recalled that during summer vacation, when he'd confessed to her at home, he had been asked a question—

　　"Asada Shinichi and Nakano Ichika, what are the chances of them being together?"

　　At that time, he gave her an answer that satisfied her... At least an answer that wouldn't disappoint Ichika, and that's how he got her help in the Rui incident.

　　Now think carefully...

　　Wouldn't it be embarrassing to say that in front of others.

　　Under the curious gazes of Yotsuba and Itsuki, Shinichi felt awkward about this, and felt an inexplicable feeling of guilt:

　　"Remember."

　　He gave a short answer, but there was a flaw in his acting skills. The shift in his eyes made it easy for Ichika to detect something was wrong.

　　He raised his head to look at her closely.

　　"This is very suspicious..."

　　"Nothing suspicious."

　　"…So the odds are the same for everyone?" Ichika suddenly asked, with a dangerous smile on her lips.

　　"Not a related incident, but an independent incident?"

　　—No matter who you are with, since you like everyone equally, does it make no difference to you?

　　Luckily, he didn't say this in front of Yotsuba and Itsuki.

　　Unfortunately, Shinichi heard the deeper meaning of her words and felt dissatisfaction and even anger in the girl's heart.

　　"...Not like that."

　　After a pause, like a bastard caught red-handed with evidence of cheating, Shinichi didn't look her in the eye and speak, instead turning his head to look at the moving crowd and speaking in a calm tone.

　　"Let's go, the communication tea party is about to begin."

　　Just like that, he dropped the topic and walked away.