In practice, I can issue tasks to my master.

"You're making me sad."

Ichinose Honami smiled without saying a word, picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of food, and stuffed it into Nangong Cheng's mouth.

This cycle repeated itself, giving Nangong Cheng no chance to say a second word.

"Alright, it's time for your big boy to go to class!"

"Listen to your mother, okay?"

"..."

Nangong Cheng silently stared into Ichinose Honami's eyes, trying to put psychological pressure on her.

This tactic should theoretically work every time it's used on Honami Ichinose, but it failed this time.

It seems like someone with expertise has given you guidance.

"Not together?"

"It's still early. I can help you wash your clothes before I leave."

Honami Ichinose stood up and straightened Namiya Makoto's collar. Then she took a few steps back, put her hands behind her back, and said, "Besides, such a big thing happened in Class D yesterday. As a core member of Class D, Namiya-kun, shouldn't you step forward and explain?"

"Horikita-kun talked to me a lot before, didn't he? He said that you, Nangong-kun, are a terrible person who just shirks responsibility and doesn't care about anything~"

Nangong Cheng narrowed his eyes.

"Then I'll go first."

“Have a nice trip~”

Ichinose Honami watched Nangong Makoto leave, and only after the front door was closed did she suddenly crouch down and cover her head in defense.

About a minute or two later, Ichinose Honami stood up again, but her face was quite rosy.

She turned the doorknob and peeked out.

After looking around furtively to make sure the person was really gone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He slammed the door shut behind him.

Then--

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

It emitted a sharp, explosive sound.

After releasing my emotions.

"Clap!"

Honami Ichinose slapped her cheeks hard, and then, as she had told Makoto Nangong before, she decided to go and help with the laundry.

She's already very skilled at this.

Although the situation is just as Amakura Mako said to her—Nangong Cheng isn't looking for his mother at all, he's just using you as a babysitter, isn't he?

but……

Picking up Nangong Cheng's clean clothes, Ichinose Honami recalled what her mother had said the night before last.

-----------------

"Fanbo?!"

"What are you doing at home?!"

The night before last, which was last Sunday night.

Honami Ichinose went home.

After all, the items had already been redeemed with real points, so she couldn't just say she was afraid to go home and then actually not go back.

However, before setting off.

To ensure the safety of the [Bamboo Dragonfly], Ichinose Honami somewhat unnecessarily wasted 500 points to exchange for an invisibility potion for a test.

Then I went home last night.

Although it hadn't been a month since she left home, which wasn't a long time, Ichinose Honami still looked somewhat dazed when she stood at her doorstep.

After all, what happened to her was too bizarre, completely shattering her scientific worldview that she had developed over the years.

She never imagined she would be able to go home again.

"Mother……"

Looking at the woman in front of her, whose face was full of exhaustion and haggardness, Ichinose Honami told the lie she had prepared in advance.

"Because of my outstanding performance during my time at school, the school made an exception and allowed me to go home at least once a month."

"So I think I'll probably go home about once every two weeks from now on."

Because of her impressive past record and her understanding of her mother, Honami Ichinose believed that this explanation would convince this strong-willed woman.

In fact, she did just that.

but……

"Fanbo, this home cannot become a cage that binds you."

The woman, whose eyes and face were already showing obvious wrinkles and whose hair was faintly white, said, "I am a failed woman and an unfit mother."

“I know you’ve always been a wonderful kid, and you would have been even better if you had lived in a healthy, normal family.”

"No, no..."

Honami Ichinose shook her head, wanting to refute.

As a daughter, she witnessed firsthand how her mother, a divorced single woman, raised her and her sister.

The hardships involved cannot be simply glossed over with the term "unqualified".

But just as she had never taken the lead in her conversations with her mother before, this time was no different.

"Fanbo, listen to me."

Those calloused hands gently caressed the girl's delicate, smooth cheeks, while those cloudy but still bright eyes looked into the girl's sorrowful eyes.

"You and I are different."

"Your sister is different from you too."

The woman stroked the girl's soft hair with her other hand, her voice full of nostalgia: "Your ability to be highly developed is both proof of your potential and a stroke of good fortune. All of this shows that you can have a bright future."

"...But I almost ruined you."

Honami Ichinose simply shook her head.

Her voice was already trembling with tears: "No, that's not it... it's all because—"

"It's all because of me."

Like a mother loving her child, the woman gently licked away the tear that was about to glisten in the corner of the girl's eye.

Then she said, "You just wanted to give your sister a birthday present. You did nothing wrong, my child. It's all because of me... If only I hadn't gotten sick, if only I could have held on a little longer..."

As she spoke, she also began to cry.

Honami Ichinose also cried, and then she hugged her mother.

Or perhaps it's a strange connection based on blood ties.

The younger sister, who had been asleep, woke up and came out of the room to find them crying their eyes out.

Then the scene changed to three people crying.

a long time.

She was probably exhausted from crying.

Honami Ichinose finally had a chance to speak: "Mother, this is the scholarship the school gave me. Please take it."

Actually, she redeemed it using points.

It remains at 40 yen.

“Sailing Waves…”

Ichinose's mother looked at the thick stack of envelopes her daughter handed her, her emotions a complex mix that defied description.

She was a woman who was strong-willed throughout her life.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on raising her two daughters alone after divorcing her husband.

Now, watching one of her daughters finally grow up, even being admitted to a school of advanced development, and being exceptionally allowed to come home at least once a month, enjoying a special treatment that no one has ever heard of since the school was founded.

While feeling proud, I still felt very guilty.

"Mother, let bygones be bygones. We can't let this stop us from moving forward."

"Life is getting better, isn't it?"

Honami Ichinose smiled.

She was a cheerful girl and firmly believed that as long as the family supported each other, they would have a happy ending.

The fact that she can now be at home proves that her insistence was not wrong, doesn't it?

Whether it's luck or something else.

A bright future is sure to follow.

But before that, she needed to talk to her mother about something very important—

"Actually, I came home today because there's something... very special and important that I want to discuss with you."

"As someone who has been through this, I think you can give me some advice or inspiration."

Ichinose's mother wiped away her tears.

To be honest, she doesn't know if it was a stroke of good luck or what, but she did make a fortune during this period.

Furthermore, with her daughter's "glorious return," she didn't want to spoil such a precious atmosphere, so she immediately nodded and said—

"Go ahead and speak... but should your sister leave for a moment?"

She feared that what her daughter said might involve school secrets.

As an adult, I naturally understand the importance of keeping secrets, but my youngest daughter is still too naive, so it's best if she doesn't know too much.

"It's nothing, it has little to do with the school."

Honami Ichinose twirled a strand of hair, a hint of shyness and embarrassment in her eyes.

"It's fine to let Yueyue hear it. She's almost of age, and it's time for her to learn about these kinds of things..."

"Ok?"

Ichinose's mother immediately became alert.

What does it mean to be "almost at the right age"?

"Fanbo, what exactly happened?"

"That... is..."

Honami Ichinose hesitated for a moment, but under her mother's stern gaze, she explained her purpose: "It's about a boy I met at school..."

"You're in a relationship?!"

Ichinose's mother stood up abruptly, her voice unconsciously rising several decibels.

Ichinose, who was standing nearby, was startled and didn't know why her mother was suddenly so agitated.

"No, no!"

"I am—"

Honami Ichinose hurriedly tried to explain, because her mother had instilled in her the idea that "men are unreliable" since she was a child, so she naturally knew her mother's views on early relationships.

But before she could explain, Ichinose's mother grabbed Ichinose Honami's wrist and rushed into the bathroom.

A few minutes later.

Ichinose looked at her older sister, whose face was as red as a monkey's bottom, and her mother, who looked embarrassed, with a bewildered expression.

"Gasang~ What's wrong, sister?"