Hanadasaki Ame thought it over for a while, then temporarily set aside the matter of Nibutani Shinka's secret.
He had only discovered that she was hiding something during their university years, which meant the secret likely emerged around the time they entered college. High school had not even started yet. It was still far off, so there was no need to rush.
Planting the seed today would make it perfectly natural to press her about it later.
He sat down at his desk, turned on his computer, and started searching for properties near his future high school.
No matter what the future held, his research into Magnetic Field Rotation had to go forward.
Even just the byproducts of that research could bring him endless money, fame, and social standing. Why not?
His plan was to buy a house near the high school first, convert it into a research institute, and then start looking for research assistants.
That was more or less what he had done in the future he had just observed, except this time he intended to start earlier.
The Inaba High School that he and Nibutani Shinka had both been accepted into was located in the Makuhari area of Mihama Ward, Chiba City, near the JR Keiyo Line. Transportation was convenient, and Kaihin-Makuhari Station—a fairly bustling area—was only about eight hundred meters away on foot.
Their home, meanwhile, was over in Hanamigawa Ward, several kilometers away as the crow flew. The route was almost perpendicular to the railway line, making train commutes impractical, and buses wound around so much that the trip took ages. In the past, classmates from the same middle school usually chose the closer and less demanding Yawata High School instead.
Hanadasaki Ame intended to find a suitable property near Inaba High School, buy it, and use it as a research institute. He would simply live there as well, coming home only once each weekend.
Tomorrow's forecast was sunny, which made it the perfect time to contact the owners or real estate agents and go inspect the places in person.
After picking out four properties that more or less matched his needs, he called each of the listed numbers online and arranged times to meet the owners the next day.
After buying the property, he would likely need to renovate it to some extent and purchase a great deal of experimental equipment. Those devices would cost even more than the house itself. He hoped to get everything done within two hundred million yen. Spending that much would not disrupt any of his existing plans.
Once he had finished contacting the owners, Hanadasaki Ame sent Nibutani Shinka a message asking whether she wanted to go walk around near Inaba High School with him tomorrow.
Her reply came quickly.
No.
She still needed two or three days to recover from the embarrassment, settle her feelings, and regain her composure.
Hanadasaki Ame did not mind. He had no intention of making any further move on her for now. It was fine if they simply maintained their current childhood-friends relationship for the time being.
After that, he messaged his father to ask whether he would be coming home for dinner that night.
Recently, Hanadasaki Tatsuya had received a promotion at the metal-processing company where he worked, and with it came a lot more social obligations. He frequently had to attend drinking parties with coworkers and superiors.
After a short wait, Hanadasaki Tatsuya sent back a photo of himself at a sushi restaurant and told him to take care of dinner on his own.
Hanadasaki Ame thought about it, decided he could not be bothered to cook, grabbed his phone, and headed out to buy a bento from the nearby supermarket.
Unfortunately, he had apparently waited too long. By the time he got there, all the bentos had already been marked half-price—and then bought out completely.
Left with no choice, Hanadasaki Ame had to walk a little farther to a nearby family restaurant instead.
As he ate at a leisurely pace, he browsed international news on his phone, keeping up with global affairs and checking the rise of several stocks he had invested in.
Though he was technically still only a boy about to enter high school, he had already been trading stocks for ten years. He had achieved financial freedom long ago, so pulling out one or two hundred million yen would not hurt him in the slightest.
The power to observe future possibilities had only fully matured today, but for years beforehand it had already been gathering all sorts of information, and that information had helped him immensely.
Some of it included detailed explanations of incredible powers like Magnetic Field Rotation. Some of it was pure nonsense, like "Mount Fuji is also known as Soukaizan and is divided into seven levels." But much more of it was real knowledge—practical, concrete knowledge—covering every possible field in varying levels of detail.
Back in childhood, after his own little moment of enlightenment, Hanadasaki Ame realized that he needed sufficient financial resources to support his life, so he chose stock trading—something that would not interfere much with his daily routine.
After accurately predicting the rise and fall of several stocks three times for his father, he successfully earned his trust and gained Hanadasaki Tatsuya's full support. From there, he began trading aggressively.
By now, the pocket money Hanadasaki Tatsuya could spend casually on a normal day exceeded the entire family fortune they had once possessed, and he often took pride in how he had trusted his young son back then.
Hanadasaki Ame was a genius in every sense of the word. As long as it had nothing to do with sports, there was almost nothing he could not do with ease.
Just as he was finishing his meal and preparing to pay and leave, his phone suddenly rang.
Hanadasaki Ame glanced at it.
It was his father, Hanadasaki Tatsuya.
He answered at once.
"Dad, what is it?"
"Uh, well… Ame, there's something I wanted to ask you. Would you mind… having a new stepmother?"
Hanadasaki Tatsuya's mature, slightly husky voice sounded strangely weak right now, lacking all confidence.
"Hah!?"
Hanadasaki Ame rolled his eyes, speechless.
Noticing that one of the restaurant waitresses nearby had started looking over curiously, he lowered his voice and said,
"Didn't I already tell you? If you've got needs, just go to a brothel and deal with them there. You could go every day if you wanted. Is the service that bad?"
"Hey! Don't talk nonsense. When have I ever gone to a place like that!? I only go out with coworkers for social obligations—izakayas, sushi places, that sort of thing, just to pass the time!"
Hanadasaki Tatsuya's voice jumped noticeably louder as he refuted him in a stern tone.
Hanadasaki Ame nodded.
Got it. So she's right there next to you, huh?
He began tapping the table rhythmically with his index finger as he considered the matter carefully.
Personally, he was not thrilled by the idea of a stranger suddenly inserting herself into his life—possibly more than one stranger, at that. But during high school, he would most likely devote the bulk of his energy to research, and that would only become more true as time went on. In the future, the amount of time he actually spent at home would be very small. From that perspective, having one more person in the house would not affect him much.
There was also another issue: not everyone could endure loneliness.
If someone felt emotionally empty, physical comfort alone could never truly make up for it.
As he got older, Hanadasaki Tatsuya would inevitably feel lonelier and lonelier. Finding a partner would be a good thing for him, and Hanadasaki Ame had no real reason to oppose it outright.
They were father and son, bound by blood—but in the end, they still each had their own separate life to live.
After turning the matter over in his mind, Hanadasaki Ame asked,
"So then, what is the name of the lady who may have found mutual affection with you, Father? And which family member does she live with?"
"Nagasaki Nozomi. She's a strong and cheerful mother. She also has a daughter who's about to start high school too, just like you, though I think she's a year older. Her name is Nagasaki Soyo. I hear she's a gentle, sensible good girl as well. Don't go bullying her just because you're clever!"
Even as he introduced them, Hanadasaki Tatsuya did not forget to warn him. He knew perfectly well what a rotten personality his son could have.
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
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