"Thank you for the meal today. I'll be going now." Ichika only chatted briefly after dinner and didn't stay long... Her sisters thought she was just hanging out with classmates. She had never told her four sisters about being scouted and signing with an agency... It wouldn't be good if she returned too late and they noticed something was up.
Nanami and Suzu were washing the dishes in the kitchen. Kaede quietly pulled Rin Ito into his room on the second floor. Based on Rin Ito's behavior just now, a typical girlfriend would definitely be questioning him about his intentions with Ichika. Kaede didn't ask that... even if he was interested in Ichika, it wouldn't happen overnight. The most important thing now was how to reconcile Kaguya and Ai Hayasaka.
"What are you planning to do tomorrow? Are you going to invite Kaguya or Ai Hayasaka... Why are you laughing? I just want them to reconcile!" Seeing Rin Ito suppressing a smile, Kaede punched him hard.
"Of course, I want them to reconcile. What did you think I was thinking?" After another sharp punch from Kaede, Rin Ito continued with a grin. "Right now, Kaguya wants to make Ai Hayasaka feel betrayed by taking me, the person who supposedly likes Ai Hayasaka, away from her. So, the first thing we need to do is let Kaguya see me on a date with Ai Hayasaka." After a brief consideration, Rin Ito continued. "Here's the plan: when you go back, tell Kaguya that you heard I'm going on a date with Ai Hayasaka tomorrow. Then, tomorrow, you guys follow me and let Kaguya firmly believe her suspicion is correct."
"Okay, but Kaguya will probably bring Chika Fujiwara along. Is that a problem?"
"No problem."
After confirming the simple plan for tomorrow with Kaede, she climbed back into Mashiro's room, and Rin Ito called Ai Hayasaka. As soon as the call connected, Ai Hayasaka's cool voice, tinged with a hint of exasperation, came through the phone.
"Perverted Master, what do you need?"
"Nothing much. Go on a date with me tomorrow." Hearing Rin Ito's words, Ai Hayasaka was stunned for a moment... A date? Had he lost his mind?
"If you want to eat me, Perverted Master doesn't need to go through all that trouble. I can come over or meet you at a hotel, no problem." Although she stayed on the island for over a week, Rin Ito had only eaten Nao and not Ai Hayasaka. Ai Hayasaka had wondered how she would be eaten. But she wasn't eaten until she left... Ai Hayasaka could only attribute this to Rin Ito's twisted sense of fun.
"I said a date, so a date it is. Dress up cute tomorrow, got it?"
"Yes..."
The next day. Just as Rin Ito said, today Ai Hayasaka was not in her usual maid uniform but in a white sailor uniform with a light blue scarf, paired with a black pleated skirt. Below the skirt were neat black knee-high socks and brown loafers. Her hairstyle was no longer a side ponytail, but her golden, smooth long hair hung naturally. She instantly transformed from a cool and capable maid into a sweet and cute kohai (junior student), and... Why is her bust a cup size larger?
"Quite cute, but this outfit... doesn't seem to fit very well?" Her uniform seemed one size too small and ill-fitting. A sliver of her slim waist was visible between the pleated skirt and the hem of the sailor uniform... It seemed her chest was too big, pushing the uniform up so the hem couldn't cover her waist... She didn't seem that big on the island, did she?
Noticing Rin Ito's gaze on her waist, Ai Hayasaka shyly pulled at the hem of her clothes.
"Oh~ Ito-kun, you're a pervert!"
"...Pfft." Although Rin Ito knew Ai Hayasaka was a great actress, after getting used to the Ai Hayasaka who flirted with Nao and the one who wore a cool, expressionless maid outfit when Nao wasn't around, seeing the sweet kouhai Ai Hayasaka made Rin Ito burst out laughing.
"Oh, Ito-kun, what are you laughing at? Is my outfit funny today?" Ai Hayasaka asked with a cute, hands-on-hips voice.
"Okay, I won't laugh, I won't laugh," Rin Ito took a deep breath to stop himself from laughing. "Why is this uniform so short, and your chest..."
"This is my middle school uniform, so of course it's a little small~" Ai Hayasaka's face still held a sweet smile, and Rin Ito nodded thoughtfully.
"I thought you padded it too much, and that's why the uniform didn't fit."
"...." Ai Hayasaka's smile froze. After a while, she spoke, "What are you talking about, Ito-kun...."
"Nothing. Let's go. What should we do today..." Rin Ito smiled and took the hand of Ai Hayasaka, who was playing the sweet kouhai... Ai Hayasaka wasn't the main character today.
Not far behind Rin Ito and Ai Hayasaka, Kaede, Kaguya, and Chika were following them. The three of them were uniformly dressed in light brown trench coats and deerstalker caps, looking exactly like detectives in a novel, minus the pipe. And why were they dressed like this? Chika prepared the outfits and made them wear them, saying it fit the atmosphere better. How attention-grabbing such outfits were was not her concern. Passersby around them were almost calling the police because of their attire!
"Whoa... They look really close. Kaguya, do you really want to be the third wheel?" Kaede glanced at Chika. Third wheel? Kaguya wouldn't be the third wheel; she'd be more like the thirtieth wheel, which was perfectly fine.
"This is all Ai Hayasaka's acting." Having lived with Ai Hayasaka since childhood, Kaguya was very aware of how good Ai Hayasaka's acting was. Ai Hayasaka was a cool and capable maid in front of her, a cheerful and sunny gyaru at school, and now she was putting on a sweet girl act in front of him... Kaguya knew that all of this was fake, all an act. Only the girl who liked to flirt in front of her mother, Nao, was the real Ai Hayasaka.
Is Ai Hayasaka using this facade to make him find a way to take me away from the Shinomiya family? How pitiful... A man who can take me away from the Shinomiya family is being completely fooled by Ai Hayasaka's acting... Kaguya's lips curved into a smile. So naive for love that he can't see through the act... How cute.
Next to Kaguya, Kaede was gritting her teeth... What is wrong with him!? I haven't even been on a date like this with him! Although Rin Ito and Ai Hayasaka were just dating like a normal couple, Kaede, the actual girlfriend, had never experienced this. In the past, Kaede and Suzu were usually together except when sleeping, and out of consideration for Suzu's feelings, Kaede never flaunted their relationship in front of her. A date between the two of them? Never happened. Seeing Rin Ito and Ai Hayasaka happily dating made Kaede feel more jealous than seeing him have a party with other girls!
Kaede gritted her teeth, glaring intently at Ai Hayasaka. My boyfriend... seems to be in love.