"Alright, come on, let's do evening lessons!"
"Ehh—? It's rare for Brother Chiba to be here today, and we still have to do evening lessons?"
"Let's take the day off! We have so many things we want to ask Brother Chiba!"
After eating and drinking their fill amid laughter and cheer, before the children could crowd around Chiba and bombard him with questions, Zong Mi called out, "Time for evening lessons," and summoned them away. Thus came this string of complaints.
"Enough! Go do your evening lessons!"
Before the children could complain much more, He Yin, who had stood up to clear the dishes, cut them off sharply.
"Yes—"
The children answered reluctantly. After that, they stopped being stubborn and rose one by one, albeit unwillingly, heading toward the place where evening lessons were held.
"I'll probably be staying here for a while, so focus on your evening lessons."
Seeing their unwilling expressions and drooping heads, Chiba secretly wiped away some sweat. In the end, he could not bear it and spoke up.
"Really?"
At Chiba's words, the children's ears perked up at once. The dejected looks vanished from their faces, replaced by delighted surprise. They all turned back to look at Chiba and asked.
At the same time, Hyuga Yukyō, who was reading a scroll across from them, could not help looking up at Chiba.
Has this guy become more human? The old him probably wouldn't have said something like that.
That bewildered thought flashed through his mind.
"Mm."
Chiba nodded in confirmation.
Immediately, the children cheered and jumped for joy, their gloom swept away. They followed Zong Mi, who was smiling happily as well, out to do their evening lessons.
Aside from the original children, the other children who had recently been taken in did not linger