Looking at Hakuto's retreating figure, Yotsuba scratched her head and asked in confusion,
"Is Shiratori-sensei acting a bit strange today? Could it be because he resigned? Has his attitude even changed?"
"Even you can tell something's off, Yotsuba?" Itsuki shrugged, saying, "Shiratori-sensei just now was like someone about to die, giving his last will."
"Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)??! Itsuki, don't scare me!"
"It's fine, I'm just joking. Maybe Shiratori-sensei's a little sentimental since he won't be around for the next few months."
At that moment, Ichika, hiding behind a tree, crouched down and slowly lifted her head.
"This guy... there really are four of them..." Ichika shook her head.
"I wonder what my gift is..."
Meanwhile, Hakuto was preparing to go home, pack a few things, and take care of his final affairs before heading to Shunsuke's base to stay.
Although Hakuto had to operate under the watchful eyes of some, Shunsuke's base at least allowed him to sleep soundly at night.
As for why Hakuto had said those things to the five sisters earlier,
It wasn't because his personality had changed or anything like that.
It was mainly because he thought that, considering he might be missing for a few months, and possibly even die, he should say some good things before leaving.
Hakuto was also very aware of Nino's little thoughts and didn't mind indulging her.
What was this? A benefit for his clients? Hakuto felt it was more like something was off with his mindset today.
Once back at his house, Hakuto took a quick shower, grabbed a backpack from the closet, packed two sets of clothes and some essentials, and was ready to leave again.
However, just as his hand was on the doorknob, his gaze was drawn to the view outside on the balcony.
"Should be at home..." Hakuto muttered as he tossed his backpack to the floor and walked over to the balcony.
Looking at the endless sky, Hakuto sighed, wondering how long it had been since he'd felt this kind of sorrow.
After a few moments in the cool breeze, Hakuto slowly lifted his head and, with a swift jump, grabbed the railing of the balcony above him.
Using his core strength, he swung his body like a carp and stood on the railing.
"No wonder it's so quiet; she's sleeping..." Hakuto muttered as he looked at the dark room.
At that moment, Rikka was lying on the bed under the covers, fast asleep, completely unaware of Hakuto's arrival.
"The Evil Eye... is... the strongest!"
Looking at Rikka talking in her sleep, Hakuto sighed, hesitating whether to wake her up.
Even if she lost the Brave for a few months, the Evil Eye should be able to hold on, right...
To be honest, after learning about his likely death, Hakuto had the hardest time letting go of Ginko and Rikka.
Both of them were very obsessive, and Hakuto occupied a large part of their lives.
Ginko was fine, but Rikka might end up getting caught in another bullying scandal...
"Chuunibyou..." Hakuto rubbed Takanashi Rikka's head as she lay on the bed.
"It's not bad... at least she's carefree." Hakuto smiled, then decided not to wake Rikka up. He could just send her a text later.
Hakuto jumped back into his house from the balcony and realized why Rikka liked to leave through the balcony—it was really convenient (´△｀).
With his backpack in hand, Hakuto opened the door and stepped outside.
"Lots of clients..." Hakuto now realized just how many clients he had.
However, disappearing for a few months without a trace would likely cause some worry for others.
"I should make a call. The less contact, the better..."
Hakuto was really worried that someone might kidnap an ordinary person to threaten him.
If it was just an ordinary stranger, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but if it was someone he cared about, that would be a real problem.
But Hakuto couldn't protect all the people he cared about.
After all, he couldn't protect them forever, though three or four years would be enough.
But did he want Ginko and others to spend these 3-4 years stuck in the base?
And Hakuto didn't want some people to know where his soft spots and weaknesses lay.
Hakuto was very cautious, even keeping the side effects of the supercomputer hidden for a long time before telling Nao.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Nao, but in this world, once someone knows your weaknesses, it's all over.
Hakuto sighed and took out his phone, dialing Hiratsuka Shizuka's number.
Since he was going to be out of contact for a few months, he definitely needed to inform Hiratsuka Shizuka, his homeroom teacher, about it.
"Yo! Shiratori-kun! The sun must be setting in the west for you to contact me first!"
"Today the sun came from the east, and I don't know about tomorrow."
"Cut the sarcasm. If you're in trouble again, you can hang up now."
"Not because of that..." Hakuto awkwardly clicked his tongue, feeling like his image was being damaged, even though he didn't have much of an image.
"It's just that there's some stuff going on at the Hoshino umi, and after the exchange student program ends, I might not be able to return to school..."
"Hmm? Something's going on? I haven't gotten any notification..."
"The notification should come in the next few days... I'm just letting you know, teacher."
When Hiratsuka Shizuka heard "letting you know," she instantly felt something was off, completely shocked!
Hakuto actually reported to her?!!
This was a phrase Hiratsuka Shizuka had never heard from Hakuto!
It was a joke!
If Hakuto had notified her every time he was getting into trouble, Hiratsuka Shizuka wouldn't have had to deal with so many problems.
But today, Hakuto was actually informing her about a little school notification...
It felt like... his character was falling apart...
"Shiratori-kun... you seem a bit out of character..."
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