Chapter 38: 36: School or Training?
As soon as I arrived home, Sana and Sona approached me.
""―Ciphy...""
In pure white hoodies that matched their hair―beautifully-drawn pictures of a wonderful snowscape imprinted throughout―and cobalt blue skirts containing large and detailed icy snowflakes, they came up to me in completely matching outfits.
Even the milky white socks they wore seemed to have blue snowflakes on them.
"Look."
"They arrived."
The girls came up to me with the intention of showing off the new merchandise that had been ordered and arrived the previous day.
The set consisted of two pairs of themed hoodies, hats and skirts, four pairs of trainers, and one pair of backpacks. Multiple pairs were bought for each of them just in case one got damaged.
The two had been wearing those hoodies ever since they were first delivered the other day.
"I can see that."
They already showed me the rest yesterday, so was it the skirts that arrived today?
Tomorrow, the rest of it should arrive, so they'll probably show it to me then as well.
""Ciphy...""
"Does it look good?"
"Does it fit us?"
So they asked me, but how should I know?
"They look just as the pictures showed online, and they appear to fit you fine, yes. I ordered them in your size, so I would have assumed they fit you, but let me know if they don't."
If they didn't fit, then I would have to order them again in a different size, but that didn't matter much.
"Anyway, have you two come to a decision yet? I did say you have some time, but it's not good to waste it."
Of course, the decision I was talking about was related to the twins' admission to school.
""Mmm..."" They thought for a while.
The matter of the twins' schooling is something I am a little conflicted about.
On one hand, I would like them to focus entirely on their Supernatural Ability Training.
On the other hand, I would like the twins to develop their other skills aside from solely their combat abilities that will become a great asset to me in the future; just like they had done during the Fighting Festival.
It was a dilemma.
It would be easy to pay for private tutors if I wanted them to undergo education, but that would still leave a gap in their social and interpersonal skills, so the best thing would be to send them to school.
Of course, it's possible to develop those skills without sending them to school, but it would be very superficial.
To achieve a real and authentic improvement in their abilities, a real and authentic experience is required―and in that regard, school is the most authentic social experience you can get.
So, it would seem at a glance that sending them to school is the way to go.
However, the amount of Supernatural Ability training time lost is not to be underestimated.
If they start attending school, then that is approximately 35 hours of training time lost every week; 7 hours each day, 8am to 3pm, from Monday to Friday.
Over the entire school year, that's 1,680 hours of training time gone, or 240 days. The reality will obviously be a little less than that exact amount because they'll be joining a bit later and there might be instances in which they do not attend, but that is the rough estimate.
Whatever the case, this is a lot of training time that will be going down the drain.
Furthermore, if they continue going to school, then so will their reduction in training time.
The twins' birthday is March 31st. Next year, they turn eleven years old. If I send them to school now, they will be in their second-to-last year of Elementary School.
Two years of Elementary School until they turn twelve, three years of Junior High School until they turn fifteen, and three years of High School until they turn eighteen; 8 years in total.
Approximately 13,440 hours, or 1,920 days, with an addition of 2 extra days for the two leap years in that time.
I am not currently sure if I am comfortable with the twins foregoing that much of their Supernatural Ability training time for mere school.
Moreover, all of that is excluding the further time they will waste completing assignments such as homework as well as the time spent commuting, so the actual time may very well be even more than those despicable numbers.
"Girls?"
That's why I eventually chose to leave the final decision to the twins themselves.
If they want to go to school, then I will send them for the two final years of Elementary School.
If they want to continue going to Junior High School after that, then I will think more about it when that time comes.
Of course, what I would prefer is for them to not continue after the first two years, because that should be enough time for them to develop their other skills and train their Supernatural Abilities at the same time, but it also might not be, so I would need to think about it.
However, if they are that adamant about it, then I will have no choice but to permit it.
――Because, even more so than not wanting them to waste their time without training their Supernatural Abilities, I cannot allow them to become so unsatisfied that they are tempted to defy my orders.
For the most part, I need to be firm with them, but if there is something the twins are truly passionate about, then I cannot reject them under any circumstances.
If I do that, then I might as well be shooting myself in both feet.
""We want to go to school.""
Fortunately for the moment, it seems as though they were interested in seeing what school was like.
Hopefully this curiosity could be sated by the end of these two years, else I'll be a little troubled.
Well, I'll just cross that bridge when I come to it.
"Okay. I'll order you some school supplies and you should be able to go in a few days, so get some of the servants to teach you some stuff in advance."
I didn't want them to be unprepared for the school curriculum and be made fun of due to a lack of knowledge, after all.
I can't have the girls be at too great of an academic disadvantage, because that will only make it harder to socialise; thus defeating the entire purpose of trying to improve their interpersonal and other skills in the first place.
Not only may the other kids make light of them and be reluctant to associate, but if Sana and Sona spend all their time studying to keep up with everyone else, then they'll have no time to develop those other skills.
""Okay.""
Whether or not they understood the reasoning behind my instructions, they nonetheless listened, going off to find a servant to teach them. The butlers and maids of Minami's mansion are top of the line, so I have no doubts that they will be able to teach the girls with excellence.
Well, that's that.
I'll have to send Minami a message later, but she tens to get things done rather quickly, so it's not necessary to do it right away.
It might be for the best to leave a bit of time to confirm the twins' academic standpoint before sending them off to school.
As for the document forging... I can leave that to Minami as well this time. No need to do things myself, after all.
Finally, the Order.
It's about time for them to make their move; the move they've been boasting about for quite some time.
The first incident of the new school year.
I already know they've been doing their research, and I also already know what they've got in store for me. Unfortunately for them, they cannot hide anything from me no matter how they may try.
Tomorrow is Saturday.
If I were to take an educated guess, I would say Monday.
The event will occur on Monday―during a time in which they can take me by surprise.
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