บท 274: Walking Home

'Tailoring the teaching methods? This is something that the majority of teachers can't achieve!'

Hearing Homura's answer, Mafuyu couldn't help but exclaim with astonishment inside her mind.

The compatibility between a teacher and their students refers to the teacher's ability to engage the students during their studies!

If a teacher could make one or more students genuinely feel from the bottom of their hearts that their teacher's lesson was 'interesting! I want to listen! I don't want to leave class!' then the compatibility between this teacher and these students was very high.

How could that not lead to improved grades?

However, teachers with that kind of ability were, after all, a minority. Not to mention, Fumino and Rizu had never encountered such teachers. As a result, their bad grades were inevitable.

Realizing all of this, Mafuyu remained silent.

For her, this was somewhat discouraging.

If people who knew Homura well understood her thoughts, they would definitely shake their heads in amusement.

Anyone would be discouraged when compared to this abnormal man; this fact was already widely acknowledged!

"But Minamiya-kun was amazing today!" Fumino had already recovered her spirits. "Better than before!"

Homura felt something was off about her statement.

Was it just his imagination?

"Umu!" Rizu nodded enthusiastically. "Our scores have doubled!"

'Well, isn't that because your original scores were too low? How else could they double so easily?' Homura retorted inwardly.

"Don't get too proud; we're still far from your dreams." Homura shook his head. "That's right, today we took another step forward, but there's still a long way to go, and there's much we can do."

"As long as we keep moving forward step by step, our dreams won't be out of reach!" Fumino said with optimism.

Rizu thought for a moment before agreeing.

"Fumino is right!"

"Although I still don't entirely agree with your way of thinking..." Mafuyu spoke up, "Improving your grades is certainly a good thing. That's why, please give it your all and keep striving!"

That was her honest hope for her students.

Fumino and Rizu held each other's hands, locked eyes with Mafuyu, and after a while, they both nodded vigorously.

Homura watched this scene, knowing that a subtle change had occurred among the three of them, but this change was definitely a good thing.

"So, today's business is concluded..." Mafuyu said calmly and prepared to stand up. "I should take my leave."

"Kirisu-sensei, please stay for dinner!" Fumino tried to convince her.

Upon watching this, Homura and Rizu broke into a cold sweat!

What kind of grudge did Fumino have against Mafuyu? Did she want to kill Mafuyu with her food? Though she had practiced cooking at his home once, was it really effective?

Homura started to worry.

"No, as a teacher, I cannot accept such an invitation."

Even though she couldn't see Homura and Rizu's reactions, Mafuyu refused.

Homura and Rizu instantly felt relieved.

Though they knew this might not sit well with Fumino, there was no other choice. It was not that they didn't believe in her cooking skills, but what if she turned out to be someone who excelled at learning just by doing it once, only to forget all she had learned the next moment?

...

Brain: I got this!

Hand: No... you don't...

Brain: Nonsense! I've remembered everything!

Hand: Come on, then! Do it yourself!

...

In his mind, a strange little drama played out, and Homura couldn't help but smile.

Meanwhile, Fumino once again felt a bit disappointed. Why didn't anyone give her a chance to cook something?!

"Um... how about having a meal at my place?" Homura said, glancing at Fumino's expression.

That was all he could do.

Upon hearing his suggestion, Fumino appeared somewhat tempted, but after a moment's thought, she shook her head.

"Minamiya-kun must be busy preparing your new work, right? It wouldn't be nice to disturb you guys..."

Hearing her answer, Homura didn't push further.

Fumino probably had her reasons, maybe partly because of Mafuyu. She was always cautious about her actions when Mafuyu was around, maybe she didn't want to hear Mafuyu's lectures, as she had heard enough of them.

"In that case, I'll walk home with Kirisu-sensei..."

Homura spoke as he got up, and Haru quickly jumped off Mafuyu's lap.

Mafuyu nodded, showing no signs of objection.

Homura stopped Rizu, who seemed like she wanted to say something.

"Ogata-san should stay here for now and see if you can continue learning from the previous experience."

Rizu considered for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, I'd like to see if I can learn faster now."

Since it was settled, after their goodbyes, Homura and Mafuyu left the Furuhashi residence.

As for the Fumino's neighbors, neither the younger brother nor sister of Haru was around; perhaps they had gone out with the homeowner?

===

Homura and Mafuyu walked in the shade of the roadside trees, but neither of them spoke.

However, the silence was starting to feel awkward.

"Kirisu-sensei, please walk on the inner side..." Homura said as he walked on the outer side of the sidewalk with Haru in his arms.

Mafuyu glanced at him but didn't decline his offer.

"Can I ask... which school is Minamiya-san attending?"

"I go to Toyogasaki High."

"It's not too far..." Mafuyu muttered, thinking about the location of Toyogasaki. "Can I also ask if Minamiya-san is doing something right now?"

"Huh?" Homura was puzzled. "I'm just walking."

"...Not that." Mafuyu facepalmed, shaking her head.

Smiling wryly, Homura quickly understood what she meant.

"I'm drawing manga, and I've also formed a circle, a group with the same passion as me. If Kirisu-sensei were to search my surname online, you'd probably find quite a bit of info about me."

'She really doesn't know anything about me... Did Furuhashi-san not tell her?'

Just as he was thinking like that, Homura noticed that Mafuyu had already taken out her phone and started searching for his info!

"She sure acts fast!" Homura thought with surprise while gently ruffling Haru's fur.

"Shocking. Are you this famous?" Mafuyu glanced at him and then turned back to continue scrolling through the information on her phone. "You've surpassed the limits of what most students can achieve..."

Upon hearing that, Homura chuckled.

"Don't underestimate today's students, Kirisu-sensei. All my circle members are students too, y'know."

Mafuyu followed a link to the profiles of Another Dimension's members and was shocked by what she saw.

Were geniuses this many nowadays?

However, walking while fiddling with your phone without watching the surroundings was indeed risky behavior.

"Kirisu-sensei, what you're doing is a bit dangerous..." Homura reminded.

"True. But I'm almost done." Mafuyu answered, still focused on her phone.

Homura sighed, taking a quick step to kick a small stone lying ahead of Mafuyu. Unfortunately, his sudden move surprised her, causing her to lose her balance and stagger.

*Thud!*

She only regained her balance when her shoulder hit a tree, shaking it slightly.

However, without warning, something fell from the tree and landed on her head.

In that instant, the air seemed to freeze.