Ten minutes later.
Shirase Haruto and the two teachers sat facing each other in the sparkling-clean living room.
Tea and snacks were neatly placed on the table. If one overlooked what had just happened, one would mistakenly assume that the atmosphere among the three had always been quite harmonious.
Both beautiful teachers were seated in a seiza posture, naturally tightening the muscles of their legs, creating an even more captivating curve.
Shirase, however, found this posture uncomfortable. He sat cross-legged across from them, holding the steaming cup of tea and zoning out.
"Today, I suppose I should say thanks to you." Kirisu Mafuyu, seated opposite him, awkwardly avoided Shirase's gaze.
Shirase continued staring into his tea. "So even saying thank you is difficult for Kirisu-sensei? That's really rare."
Kirisu Mafuyu stiffened immediately. It's all because we had way too much physical contact earlier!
Moreover, she clearly remembered how Shirase had gripped her thigh with his hands when struggling to break free earlier.
Back then, she'd been completely submerged in the terror of cockroaches and hadn't noticed. Now, however, she felt as if Shirase's warm palms still lingered on her thighs, causing her whole body to tense up.
"Well, since everyone has some time today, how about finding something to do? Or perhaps play a little?" Kojima Kana knew it was her turn to smooth over Kirisu Mafuyu's awkwardness.
Shirase was the first to refuse: "I'm planning to go home and study."
As soon as she heard that, Kirisu Mafuyu instantly perked up. "You should remember what I told you, right? I'll always be watching you. If I ever discover—"
"If you discover signs that I'm collapsing under study pressure, you'll immediately step in and stop me," Shirase completed her sentence.
Kirisu Mafuyu hummed affirmatively, her eyes sharp as swords, intensely serious. "Exactly right."
Kojima Kana laughed beside her. "Relax. I also frequently observe his condition at home. Currently, Shirase-kun is doing great. He doesn't show even a hint of being overly stressed."
Shirase shot Kirisu Mafuyu a glance as if to say: You hear that?
Kirisu Mafuyu bit her lip. What is with this kid? Ever since our first talk, he's never shown the slightest fear toward my icy reputation at school, unlike other students.
Could it be… he actually saw through my heart a long time ago?
Kirisu Mafuyu's mind shook at that thought.
She started recalling every past interaction she'd had with Shirase. Though few, each scene spoke volumes.
For example, when the kid suddenly flashed her a confident smile, claiming that she was actually very gentle—it completely shattered her initial judgment of him.
Or when he deliberately mentioned bugs in front of the Soccer Club, clearly to knock her arrogance down a notch.
And just now, directly calling out her and Kojima-sensei for being dead weight during cleaning.
The more Kirisu Mafuyu thought about it, the more startled she became. Glancing again at Shirase, calmly sitting across from her, she suddenly became shyly self-conscious.
It felt as though she was completely undressed, thoroughly exposed under his gaze.
"What's wrong with you?" Kojima Kana blinked in confusion. She had watched Kirisu Mafuyu's expression shift from serious to conflicted and distressed, finally turning red from her ears down to her neck. She couldn't understand this transformation at all.
"It's—it's nothing," Kirisu Mafuyu hurriedly replied, afraid of being discovered.
Fortunately, Kojima Kana didn't pry further, instead turning her attention back to Shirase. "How about we three have dinner together tonight?"
Shirase replied, "I don't mind, but I feel like Kirisu-sensei might not want to."
"Eh?" Kojima Kana glanced toward her in surprise.
Kirisu Mafuyu unconsciously clenched her slender fingers, gripping tightly onto her sweatpants.
As expected!
Just as she'd thought, this kid probably saw through her inner feelings long ago. So his attitude towards her was entirely different from everyone else's.
But how exactly had he figured it out?
Had Kojima told him?
But that doesn't seem right either. When she first spoke to Shirase, she and Kojima weren't even close yet.
Which meant… he'd seen through her entirely on his own, purely through his remarkable observational skills?
Kirisu Mafuyu felt extremely embarrassed. Raising her eyes again to Shirase's composed expression, she suddenly got the impression he was silently telling her: Your schemes have all been uncovered by me.
"Hey, hey, are you alright?"
While Kirisu Mafuyu was internally panicking and ashamed, she suddenly saw a hand waving in front of her face, followed by Kojima Kana's worried voice.
"Sorry, I was spacing out," Kirisu Mafuyu quickly snapped back to reality. What a blunder. She couldn't believe she'd shown such obvious weakness.
Kojima Kana carelessly continued, "Shirase just said you might not want to have dinner together. What did he mean by that?"
Have dinner together?
Kirisu Mafuyu paused for a moment, unconsciously glancing toward Shirase again, inwardly impressed. This kid really isn't simple. After seeing through my mind, he calmly tossed the question to me, forcing me into a corner so he could leisurely watch my reactions.
But she didn't realize that Shirase was just thinking about going back home early for [Fixed Hosting]. If it was just dinner, he could easily cook for himself.
Just as Kirisu Mafuyu was pondering how to regain the initiative and probe some information out of Shirase, she suddenly heard him say, "Maybe I should answer instead. I only said that because Kana-nee and Kirisu-sensei are friends, and since you're both women, if you decide to go shopping together, I'd inevitably become a bag-carrying tool."
He was simply telling the truth. Rather than becoming a bag-carrying tool, he'd rather go home and grind the system's progress bar.
Yet in Kirisu Mafuyu's ears, these words took on an entirely different meaning: He's retreating to advance!
Now he'd proactively given a reason, meaning if she refused now, she'd appear rude and even harm her friendship with Kojima.
"Eh? How did you know I wanted to go shopping afterward?" Kojima Kana remained completely unaware of Kirisu Mafuyu's turmoil.
Shirase smiled helplessly, "Because Kana-nee is a woman. You especially like beautiful clothes and bags. According to the experiences I've read online, you probably window-shop a lot more than you actually buy."
Kojima Kana laughed playfully, "That's exactly how shopping works! Most of the time, it's just looking without buying, which helps you compare better and choose the item you're truly satisfied with."
Then she turned to Kirisu Mafuyu. "Since he doesn't want to, how about we go shopping together?"
"Eh? Oh—okay." Kirisu Mafuyu nodded.
She glanced deeply at Shirase, internally praising him. He really is formidable. Kojima didn't sense a single thing wrong, yet he effortlessly resolved my embarrassment with perfect composure.
Meanwhile, Shirase, sitting across from her, pretended to drink tea to conceal his expression, silently wondering, Is there something wrong with Kirisu-sensei? Why does she keep staring at me?