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"Are you going to go after her?"
Shiina Mahiru asked Nakano Miku beside her, her caramel-colored eyes looking at her.
Nakano Miku replied emotionlessly, "Don't worry about Nino. It's just a little bit of annoyance; she'll figure it out herself in a bit."
"Oh, then let's go."
Shiina Mahiru said, yet her gaze casually swept over Kisaragi Rin.
Although she asked Nakano Miku, she wanted Kisaragi Rin's answer.
"She's a beautiful girl who likes you, after all. Are you sure you're not going to go after her, just in case some dramatic accident happens?"
Receiving such a look, Kisaragi Rin sighed and said, "You two go to the Service Club. I'll keep an eye on Nakano Nino."
Although the Spider Mother, who habitually spied on him, had certainly already noticed Nakano Nino, considering Nakano Nino's personality, Kisaragi Rin still decided to follow her.
Nakano Nino was still very easy to understand.
The tsundere personality in her was completely 'dere' overpowering 'tsun'.
Compared to letting her remain annoyed, Kisaragi Rin only needed to take a few steps.
In fact, it really was just a few steps.
As soon as he left the classroom, Kisaragi Rin saw Nakano Nino's back. Nakano Nino was walking very slowly, clearly waiting for Kisaragi Rin to come after her.
"Hey, Nakano Nino."
Kisaragi Rin greeted her.
Hearing Kisaragi Rin's voice, Nakano Nino's pace instantly quickened again, her cute leather shoes somehow exuding the aura of a Red Carpet Queen.
Kisaragi Rin: "..."
He chose to turn around directly.
Did a mere Nakano Nino really think she could make Lord Kisaragi Rin act out a romantic comedy of "he runs, he chases, he can't escape" with her?
Nakano Nino: "..."
Nakano Nino, who realized Kisaragi Rin was no longer chasing her after only a few more steps, felt extremely wronged.
Without any thought, she already chased after Kisaragi Rin like an angry Sheepdog.
"Kisaragi-san!"
Then, She found she didn't know what to say.
Kisaragi Rin had already said he had something to do, and it was only natural for him to advise her to go to the Service Club for tutoring. He hadn't done anything wrong, so her sudden departure would seem strange in Kisaragi Rin's eyes, wouldn't it?
"...How embarrassing."
Nakano Nino's brain was a bit frozen.
"Thinking back, I didn't say anything excessive to him just now; I just expressed that I didn't want to go to the Service Club. This isn't even anger, at most it's just a normal bit of annoyance... He probably won't find this behavior very strange, maybe he'll just think I don't want to study."
Using this explanation to trick herself, Nakano Nino chose to pretend nothing had happened and, with her usual tsundere expression, asked with her arms crossed, "Where are you going?"
Kisaragi Rin: "Deer God Shrine."
Hearing the name of the shrine, Nakano Nino began to recall carefully in her mind, finally confirming that she had never heard of this place in Chiba.
"Never heard of it at all."
Nakano Nino: "What are you going there for? It shouldn't be a bother if I come along, right?"
Kisaragi Rin: "I am the Chief Priest of the Deer God Shrine. Of course, it would be a great bother if you came along."
"Huh? Are you an idiot? How can you just directly say someone is a bother!
And what's with 'Chief Priest'? So your family runs a shrine?
I heard many shrines have real estate and connections to the underworld. Your appearance really makes you look like some Noble Young Master of the Underworld who secretly takes enemies' lives.
Hmm... just like that title rumored in Soubu high school: 'The Destructive Dragon from the Great Ming Empire.'"
This title made Kisaragi Rin feel utterly embarrassed. Looking at Nakano Nino, who was becoming increasingly excited beside him, Kisaragi Rin chose to quiet her down with a single sentence.
"Nakano Nino, do you like me?"
Hearing this question, Nakano Nino's cheeks instantly flushed red.
While the redness and heat hadn't quite caught up to Nakano Miku's when Kisaragi Rin learned her secret, it was already enough to fry an egg.
"I, I, I..."
Her brain had crashed due to overheating, and Nakano Nino kept repeating the question in her mind.
It was like an adult who had watched 'Infinite Horror' suddenly finding a virus on the computer they were working overtime with late at night.
It read: "Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly... live?
Yes or No."
Even knowing that choosing didn't mean realization, one would still subconsciously recall the past, letting the smoke of hesitation entwine around the mouse, unable to click.
And now, before Nakano Nino, such a 'Yes or No' lit up.
Except this wasn't 'Infinite Horror,' but a romance option in a Bishōjo Game.
"Do I like Kisaragi?"
Nakano Nino looked at Kisaragi Rin. Having never seriously considered this question, she couldn't ascertain her feelings.
Delinquent vibe, rebellious, handsome... Kisaragi Rin perfectly matched Nakano Nino's preferences.
Their brief time together was also very comfortable; Nakano Nino didn't feel any awkwardness.
On the contrary, the more she interacted with Kisaragi Rin, the more she felt her affection become concrete.
It transformed into the image of the person beside her.
Nakano Nino tensed her face, realizing she desperately needed the help of the other Nakano Quintuplets right now.
Silence fell between the two.
Kisaragi Rin and Nakano Nino walked down the stairs and out of the Soubu high school gate.
Seeing that there was no one nearby, just as Nakano Nino was about to answer the question with her hands behind her back, Kisaragi Rin spoke again, "No need to answer now. You seem to have forgotten something. When you tested me on the rooftop to see if I could tell you all apart, Kasumigaoka Utaha already told you, didn't she?"
Nakano Nino was startled; she remembered.
That senior student had said at the time: "Oh, Kisaragi, is this your new girlfriend?"
"You mean?"
"That's right, I already have a girlfriend."
Kisaragi Rin said seriously. Everyone around him basically knew this.
Among those familiar with him, besides Yuigahama Yui and the older single woman Hiratsuka-sensei, only these newly transferred Nakano Quintuplets didn't know.
"...Already has a girlfriend."
Nakano Nino repeated, suddenly feeling a bit hurt.
She had just realized her feelings, and before she could even act, she was already a 'loser dog'?
Are you kidding me, heavens!
"Well, that's that."
Kisaragi Rin turned and left, feeling that this matter might calm Nakano Nino down for a few days.
Hmm... Sawamura Eriri, who had made a socially embarrassing move influenced by Tomoya Aki before, was still avoiding Kisaragi Rin to this day, completely daring not to appear before him.
"Wait."
Nakano Nino pursed her lips, her fingers instinctively clutching Kisaragi Rin's wrist.
She wanted to clarify this matter.
Then, her fingers happened to touch the bracelet on Kisaragi Rin's wrist, which was a Stand transformed into a bracelet.
The rough rust on the Stand's surface, like steel needles, cut Nakano Nino's fair and tender finger, causing bright red blood to flow from her fingertip.
Nakano Nino was about to let out a cry of pain but found the stinging pain had disappeared.
And Kisaragi Rin raised his bleeding finger.
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