Chapter 463: The Cat Smarter Than the Nakano Quintuplets!
At the same time, Ichika, who had been secretly working as an actress, returned home, exhausted but forcing a smile. She had thought her sisters would be asleep, but the living room light was on, with four people gathered on the sofa.
"As expected of Haru!"
"Wow, so amazing!"
Bursts of exclamations could be heard.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she approached. A small black cat with red eyes was lying on the table. "Hmm? Why is there a cat in the house?" Its paw seemed to be holding a pen, scribbling on a math test paper.
Just then, its paw put down the pen. Itsuki picked up the kitten. "This is Ren-kun's cat. Its name is Haru."
"Meow." (Hello.) Haru cooperatively waved its paw.
"Ren's cat… why is it here?" Ichika was surprised.
Yotsuba explained, "Actually, it's like this…"
Before going on the trip, Ren had asked Haru if she wanted to go. After learning what a hot spring was, she decisively refused. She was a cat; she hated water.
After confirming everyone else was going, Ren needed to find someone to look after Haru and chose Itsuki's family. He knocked on their door early in the morning, and a drowsy Itsuki opened it.
"Ren-kun?"
"Itsuki, there's something I'd like to trouble you with."
"Tell me. If I can help, I'll do my best."
"My family and I are planning to travel for a day or two, so I'd like you to help me look after Haru," he requested, holding the small cat.
"Oh, this little cat?"
"Yes, she's very well-behaved. I've brought all her food."
"Of course, no problem."
"Thanks, Itsuki."
And so, that's how Ichika saw the current scene. "Then what were you all shouting about?"
Yotsuba stroked Haru's head. "Ichika, Haru is simply too smart. She can understand us when we talk."
Miku added, "She can even do math problems."
"Huh?" Ichika's first reaction was disbelief. How could a cat understand human speech, let alone do math?
Unexpectedly, Nino, with her arms crossed, spoke, her gaze complex. "Indeed, this cat is very smart… smarter than us…" She could hardly believe a cat could solve problems that she couldn't.
"???" Ichika was bewildered. A cat smarter than us? Are you kidding me, Nino?
"Ichika, look. This is what Haru did," Itsuki said, showing her the paper.
Ichika, skeptical, glanced at it. "…" She couldn't understand the dense formulas at all. Fortunately, by comparing it to the answer key, she could confirm the final result was correct.
"This was done by a cat?" She was dumbfounded. She was sure her silly sisters couldn't have done it.
"Meow!" (It's very simple.) Haru proudly lifted her little head.
In reality, this was all Ren's doing. To prevent cognitive discrepancies, he had transmitted human knowledge to her. Now, she could understand speech and possessed knowledge of the human world.
"Could this have been done by Ren?" Ichika couldn't help but guess. After all, he was a Psychic. "If he can teach even a cat to be so smart, wouldn't teaching humans be even easier?"
Her eyes brightened. "Itsuki, why don't you try asking Ren again to be our tutor?"
Yotsuba also became expectant. "Yeah! If he can teach a cat, we can do it too, right?"
"This… I'll try my best!" Itsuki was also very tempted.
The next morning, back at the hot spring inn in Asahigaoka, the relaxing trip was nearing its end.
Ren was now discussing the arrangements for the inn after their departure with the mothers from the village.
"This, is this really okay?" Kagayama Kaede and the others were conflicted.
After a comfortable night and a delicious breakfast, Ren's proposal made them unsure. He said they would leave in a couple of days, and he wanted to entrust the inn to them for temporary care.
In reality, no one was needed to look after it. He just saw that Renge and the others really liked it, and since it would be idle, he thought of leaving it for them to enjoy. But precisely because his conditions were too lenient, they were conflicted.
They were surprised when they learned he had built it, and even more surprised that the land could be used freely. As expected of a chaebol.
[Inorin's Note: The term 'chaebol' is Korean for a large family-owned business conglomerate. While the story is set in Japan where 'zaibatsu' would be more common, the original text used this term, likely as a general descriptor for a powerful, wealthy entity.]
Knowing their concerns, Ren smiled. "Of course, you can just clean it regularly as compensation. If we leave and there's dust, we would have to clean it again when we come back."
"Alright! I can help clean!" Natsumi was the first to stand up.
"I-I can help too," Komari added.
Coupled with Renge 's fondness for it, the matter was agreed upon.
The others also didn't plan to leave after just one day. They wanted to enjoy the natural atmosphere. Some went to the mountains for mushrooms, some followed Renge to the stream, and some simply chose to camp.
[Inorin Note:
If you wish to support me so I can continue to survive and afford proper food, you can join my membership on Patreon [patreon.com/InorinTL]. Be sure to check out "The Founding Pillars"—a special, limited-time tier that offers all the benefits of "The Plot Uncoverer" at a discounted price! Slots are limited, so grab yours before they run out. Besides membership, you can also donate via Ko-Fi [https://ko-fi.com/inorintl].
I hope I am still worthy of your support. My life truly depends on this... haha, I know I'm so shameless.]