In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. After breakfast, Takeru and the others soon heard the doorbell ring.
"Coming!" Hearing the doorbell, Miu quickly went to the entrance and opened the door.
"Ebina-nee, welcome!" Seeing Ebina outside with a worried look, Miu smiled and said to her.
"Sorry to intrude. Is Takeru back?" Hearing Miu's words, Ebina spoke with concern.
"Ebina, is something wrong?" Takeru, who was in the living room, spoke up upon hearing her voice.
"Whew, Takeru, it's really good you're okay!" Seeing Takeru perfectly fine, Ebina sighed in relief.
"Come in first. Why do you say that?" Hearing Ebina's words, Takeru looked at her, puzzled.
"Because yesterday you rushed out in such a hurry, and then something like that happened, so I was a bit worried if something was wrong!" Hearing Takeru's question, Ebina then spoke in a flustered manner.
"Is that so? Thank you for your concern." Hearing her words, Takeru nodded understandingly. It seemed Ebina didn't know yet that he possessed special abilities.
And seeing her heavy dark circles, Takeru suspected she might have been worried all night...
"Here, please have some tea first." As everyone returned to the living room, Miki quickly poured tea for everyone.
"Thank you." Taking the teacup, Ebina quickly thanked Miki.
"By the way, Takeru, did you see yesterday's news? Doma-kun and Hirasawa-kun... they're actually Ability Users? It's really amazing!" After taking a sip of tea, Ebina spoke excitedly to Takeru.
"Mhmm, I saw it." Watching Ebina's excited expression, Takeru scratched his nose and spoke.
"Ebina-nee, actually, it's not just Umaru-nee and the others." Hearing Ebina's words, Miu spoke up directly.
"Huh?" Hearing Miu's words, Ebina looked at Miu in surprise.
"And Onii-chan..." Just as Miu was about to say Takeru was also an Ability User, the doorbell rang again.
"It must be Hinata and the others!" Hearing the sound, Miu, no longer concerned with revealing things to Ebina, spoke and went to the genkan to open the door.
"Miu, we're here!" Seeing Miu open the door, Hinata and the others said excitedly.
"Hehe, welcome, come in!" Seeing her friends, Miu smiled and invited them inside.
"Sorry for intruding!" Hearing Miu's words, Hinata, Hana, and the other three politely said, then took off their shoes and entered.
Soon, the five were led by Miu to the living room.
"Master, I'm Hoshino Hinata! Master can call me Hinata. I'll be in your care from now on!" The five came directly in front of Takeru and stood in a row. Then Hinata, brimming with enthusiasm, spoke to Takeru.
"Master, I am Shirosaki Hana. Please guide me well." Compared to Hinata, Hana was calmer and more polite.
"Master, I am Himesaka Noa. From today, I am your cutest disciple. Please guide me well!" The golden-haired Noa also gave Takeru a 'yes' gesture and winked.
"M-Master, hello. I-I am Tanemura Koyori. Please guide me well." Looking at Takeru, the red-haired Koyori seemed somewhat reserved.
"Master, I am Konomori Kanon. I'll be in your care from now on." Finally, Kanon spoke gently and appropriately.
Hearing the five's introductions, Takeru looked at them understandingly. No wonder Takeru felt they looked familiar before, now he somewhat understood.
'Eh? Why are they calling Takeru 'Master'? Does it mean 'sensei'? So is Takeru a tutor, and they came to ask Takeru for guidance on their studies? That makes sense, after all, Takeru's grades are indeed among the best in school!' Watching Hinata and the others' actions, Ebina was stunned, then her mind began to fill in the gaps...
"It's too early to call me Master now. If you want to become my disciples, it will be very hard work. Can you persevere?" Hearing their words, Takeru spoke with a serious tone, looking at the five.
Perhaps sensing the change in Takeru's demeanor and the seriousness in his tone, Hinata and the others were momentarily stunned.
"Master, I am prepared!" However, Hinata spoke up seriously.
"Mhmm, we are prepared too!" Following Hinata's lead, Shiraishi Hana and the others quickly reacted and spoke up.
"I see. In that case, then each of you will start by doing fifty push-ups. If you can persevere, then I will accept you as disciples. If not, then I can only apologize. Your aptitude and determination are insufficient." Hearing their words, Takeru spoke calmly.
"Onii-chan!" Hearing Takeru say this, Miu looked at Takeru in shock.
"Eh, Takeru, this..." Ebina beside them was also stunned. Making ten-year-old girls do fifty push-ups at once seemed a bit too harsh.
"Miu, Ebina, you both sit over there. If they want to become my disciples and can't even do this, then they definitely won't be able to persevere later. It would just be a waste of time." Hearing Miu and Ebina's words, Takeru spoke flatly to them.
They were different from Miu. Miu was his sister, so Takeru's demands on her weren't high because Takeru was confident that even if Miu's aptitude or determination were lacking, he could use vast resources to nurture a 'strong person'!
But resources were limited. Even Takeru himself couldn't guarantee how many resources would be left for others after ensuring enough for himself, his family, Karin, and the others...
"I understand!" Hearing Takeru's words, Hinata nodded, then without another word, directly lay on the floor and began doing push-ups.
"Hinata!" Seeing Hinata so decisive, Hana, Noa, and the others, who were initially hesitant, were stunned, then pursed their lips and followed Hinata's lead.
Takeru watched Hinata, a hint of appreciation in his eyes, though his face remained stern.
"1, 2, 3... 11, 12..." Soon, as Hinata quickly did push-ups, though not perfectly standard, she quickly reached over twenty. However, after twenty, her speed noticeably slowed, and she seemed to be struggling greatly.
It was normal. The five were just ordinary little girls. Fifty push-ups were something even ordinary adults might not complete, let alone a little girl.
But upon sensing fatigue, Hinata didn't give up, still struggling to do the push-ups.
The others were even worse off than Hinata, especially Noa and Kanon. The two were already panting after doing a dozen or so.
Normally, Noa would absolutely not continue. But looking at her friends beside her and Miu watching from the sofa, she gritted her teeth and continued.
Time slowly passed amidst their exercise. After about ten minutes, all five were extremely exhausted, but none of them said much, just silently doing push-ups. When they really couldn't move anymore, they paused there to rest.
After all, Takeru only asked them to do fifty push-ups, and he didn't force them to complete it within a certain time. What Takeru wanted to see was their determination.
The fifty push-ups lasted over twenty minutes. Finally, the last one, Noa, with the weakest stamina, completed them.
Watching the five panting heavily on the floor, with Noa even having tears in her eyes, Takeru felt somewhat emotional.
"Master, I... we finished. So... according to the agreement, we... are Master's disciples now!" Seeing everyone had finished, Hinata stubbornly looked at Takeru and spoke.
"Mhmm, I understand. However, the training afterwards will be even harder than this. Are you sure you want to become my disciples?" Hearing her words, Takeru spoke again.
"Mhmm! I want to be as strong as Miu too. I want to protect everyone in the future, protect my older sister. Because my sister is very timid, so... so I need to become stronger!" Hearing Takeru's words, Hinata spoke seriously.
"Is that so? It seems your sister is really fortunate." Hearing Hinata's words, Takeru smiled lightly.
"Hehe!" Hearing Takeru's words, Hinata just forced a smile.
"I understand. I declare that from today, you are my disciples. And Hinata, you are the head disciple, understand?" Hearing Hinata's words, Takeru spoke directly.
"Great! Miu, Hana, Noa, Koyori, Kanon, we succeeded!" Hearing Takeru agree and make her the head disciple, Hinata excitedly stood up.
However, due to the intense exercise earlier, standing up suddenly made her dizzy. Just as she was about to fall, Takeru quickly used telekinesis to stabilize her in place.
"Really now." Looking at the somewhat scatterbrained Hinata, Takeru sighed helplessly.