Friday passed by quite uneventfully.
With the midterms just ending, none of the teachers went overboard with their lessons, deliberately making the content lighter so that the students would have time to recover their spirits and energy.
But one thing caught Reiji's eye.
Riku didn't talk to either of the heroines at all, which in itself wasn't that strange, except for the fact that he kept scribbling something in his notebook.
Since Reiji sat right at the back of the classroom, he had a clear view of him crossing out whatever he wrote repeatedly, and then writing something else.
He also had moments where he dazed off into space with a blank look, as if he was lost in daydreaming or something of the sort.
Pairing this odd behaviour with how he'd acted yesterday after returning from his fever, Reiji felt a little uncomfortable.
'...Is he okay?'
From the outside view, it seemed like he was genuinely losing his mind.
*DING-A-LING-RIIIIING*
The final bell echoed through the school building, relieving the students from the agonizing wait for the weekend, and the instant chatter between friends began even though the teacher hadn't dismissed them yet.
Reiji packed his bag lazily and waited for Haruna to approach, since he'd promised that he'd go home with her to visit Granny after not being able to do so yesterday.
"Reiji-kun, any plans for the weekend?" Airi asked with a yawn.
"Yeah, I'm studying for the driving test."
"Huh? Already? Aren't you gonna wait for winter break or next summer? That's what most people are gonna do."
"Nope, I want to get it over with," Reiji shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder when he saw Haruna walking over with Hina.
And after Greeny joined in too, they left the class to wait for Ren in the hallway, which didn't take long because he ran up to them with sweat already running down his face.
"S-Sorry *pant* for making you guys wait!" he puffed.
"Geez, there was no need to rush; it's not like we're on a timer," Reiji chuckled.
"Yeah...I'm so pissed that I'm the only one not in your class! It's not fair!"
"....I just realized that now! Damn, Ren-kun! Your luck is so bad!" Airi giggled, smacking his back with pity.
The group exited the school building together, exchanging jokes and discussing their plans for the weekend.
Though Airi wanted to meet up, some of the others had plans.
Leaving aside Reiji, Greeny had to help out at his family restaurant, and Ren was going to visit his family in the next town over.
So they decided to postpone it for now and eventually went their separate ways, leaving just Reiji and Haruna walking alongside each other.
"How did Granny react when you told her?"
Reiji glanced at the blonde girl who had an extra spring in her step, a bright smile on her face that spoke volumes about just how much this achievement meant to her.
It wasn't just about earning back the money to pay rent, but also the fact that she had helped take some of the pressure off that old woman's back while also proving to herself that she is, in fact, a capable individual.
"She.....She didn't seem so surprised when I told her, but she was definitely happy! You'll see for yourself soon enough," she replied.
Reiji nodded, wondering what Granny was going to say.
They soon reached her house, climbing the stairs at a faster pace, especially Haruna, who seemed overly eager for some reason.
And when they knocked on the door, they didn't wait long before it swung open to reveal the wrinkled face that had a wide grin.
"Took you two long enough, get in!"
'Why are they both so excited??' Reiji wondered internally as he stepped in.
But as soon as he did, he figured out why.
There was a large banner hanging on the wall that said 'THANK YOU!', with different colored balloons and streamers around the living room.
On the table, in front of the sofa, there were various bowls filled with chips, chocolates, and chicken skewers with glasses of lemonade.
".....What the?" he muttered, blinking in surprise at the unexpected party preparations.
He turned to the two women, who had their arms on their hips with a proud demeanor.
"Haha, didn't expect this, did you?" Granny smirked.
"....You seem happier that you caught me off-guard than about the party itself."
"Of course! Anything to see that stupid look on your face!"
"Granny!" Haruna scolded lightly, laughing at their exchange.
Reiji sighed as he sat down on the couch and picked up a glass of lemonade, taking a deep swig of the refreshing juice.
"You old bat, you stole my recipe!" he exclaimed.
"Hahhhhh? I didn't steal shit! You gave it to me!"
"Suuuure."
Granny snorted and sat next to him, a twinkle in her eyes whenever she looked at Reiji.
".....Thank you," she said softly, her usually maxed-out volume dropping to a whisper.
Reiji rolled his eyes as he chewed on the skewer.
"Please! Let's not turn this sappy, otherwise I'll actually believe that you have a heart."
"Tch, I can't even say thanks??"
"You can, but not with that expression. It actually gave me goosebumps!"
Haruna crossed her legs onto the sofa, resting her head on her hand with a small smile as she watched the two bicker as always.
She let out a deep exhale, relaxing her body and sinking deeper into her seat.
Reiji set down his empty skewer and rubbed his chin, donning a thoughtful face, much to the surprise of the other two.
"What's wrong?" Granny asked.
"Hmmmm....Have you paid the accumulated rent already?"
"No, we'll do it tomorrow."
"Okay, then let's talk about the next steps we need to take."
"The next steps?" Haruna tilted her head in puzzlement.
"Yeah. Now that the midterms are over, we can start planning on how we can earn money to pay off the other debts," Reiji nodded.
A look of realization came across the two women, who exchanged hesitant glances.
"But.....How are we going to do that? Most businesses require startup capital," Granny muttered, the self-deprecation evident in her tone.
"That's true, but that just means we should go for an option that doesn't require much money to get started."
Reiji thought back to the many possible routes in the game and which one best suited their current scenario.
Out of the three heroines, Haruna was the one who earned the most money in almost every single playthrough, as long as her debts were paid off before she graduated high school.
Noa was more suited for actual businesses, and Hina generally leaned towards more people-oriented fields, such as becoming a Doctor or a Teacher.
But Haruna's advantage lay in her flexibility.
She was smart enough to run her own business if she wanted to, and also talented enough to diversify into more niche fields.
But her successful entrepreneurship ventures all came in the university portion of the game.
This is because she had more time on her hands, more avenues to raise capital, and people would take her more seriously as an adult.
If the player tried to help her make money during the high school phase of the game, her options were more limited, but much more flexible and cost-effective.
One example was offering fashion advice to high school girls and young women through a personal blog she created.
This had great potential, but it ultimately took too much time to gain enough trust for it to be viable right now.
Reiji wanted to repay the debt as soon as possible.
Another good option was modelling, which would be much easier to break into because of her stunning looks.
But this was also eliminated because this route contained a lot of drama and conflict with characters in the industry, plus Reiji felt she was too young to navigate these murky waters even with his help.
So the most profitable option was what Reiji decided to go with, even though it had by far the lowest floor if luck didn't go their way.
A 'technique' this brilliant girl used in one of the routes that actually led to her most successful ending.
"What can we even do with less capital?" Haruna asked in confusion.
"We use what you are good at, what you offer that very few people can replicate at a similar level," Reiji responded with a touch of mystery.
But this made Haruna even more bewildered.
"Huh? Me? I don't have any particular talents though....." she mumbled.
"You do. You just don't know it yet."
Granny frowned impatiently.
"Stop messing with us and just let it out!" she snapped.
Reiji scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"How do I put this... Your eyes are very beautiful, and you have a really good voice."
"....What?"
Both Haruna and Granny stared at him with their jaws wide open, and the latter smacked his head lightly after a few seconds of blanking out.
"Why'd you change the topic and start flirting with her? At least wait until I'm not in the room!"
"OW! That's no- wait, what'd you say?" Reiji grumbled with raised eyebrows.
"Reiji-tan, can you explain what you mean by that?"
Haruna's squeaky voice piped up, and Reiji turned to see her blushing faintly.
"Um...What I'm trying to say is that we can combine those two factors to create an online persona," he clarified.
".....I still don't get it."
Reiji grinned, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the sofa.
"I'm saying we should create an account where you take on an anonymous persona and become a 'masked singer'."
Once again, silence enveloped the room.
And then Granny laughed.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."