"..."
Aoba looked at Kurotsuchi's hurried figure as she rushed back home and couldn't help laughing.
He had originally planned to tease her with that corny poem joke "the moon is beautiful, isn't it?" (Tsuki ga kirei desu ne?)
But it seemed Kurotsuchi knew it too, so before he could say it she had already stuffed his mouth and run away.
Thinking about it carefully, they had been engaged for more than half a year. Although their relationship had progressed naturally to this point, he really hadn't formally said that sentence before.
He stood there drinking the juice Kurotsuchi had given him while falling into thought.
Then he suddenly realized that this juice really did taste better when it was snatched from Kurotsuchi's mouth.
But at that moment, the door to Kurotsuchi's house opened again with a small crack.
A small head with beautiful short hair poked out from inside and called to him.
"Aoba!"
"Hm?"
Aoba was slightly stunned when he saw Kurotsuchi stick her head out again.
"What is it?"
"Goodbye!"
Kurotsuchi simply waved at him, then quickly shrank back inside again.
"Heh!"
Aoba couldn't help letting out a light laugh at that. After finishing the juice Kurotsuchi gave him, he used Flying Thunder God and left.
———
For Aoba, the fact that Kurotsuchi could understand things on her own was completely an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Otherwise, he actually didn't have any argument that could truly make her accept it completely.
But since Kurotsuchi had figured it out herself, then naturally everyone was happy.
In that case, the only one left was Terumi Mei.
But if even Kurotsuchi could understand it, then Terumi Mei probably wouldn't have too big of a problem either.
After all, Terumi Mei's relationship with him had already gone a step further compared to Kurotsuchi.
Although kissing and hugging with Kurotsuchi had already become daily routine, and sometimes they even played with her legs, in the end they still hadn't reached the final step.
But with Terumi Mei, if she threw a little tantrum later, he could just force the issue and properly reason things out.
Thinking this, Aoba's figure directly appeared in Kirigakure, inside the Mizukage's office in the Mizukage building.
And with Aoba's sudden appearance, inside the office not only Terumi Mei, but even Aoba himself felt a little surprised.
"Mei-nee, why are you also in the office?"
Could it be that working overtime was popular these days?
But that didn't seem right either. Shizune and the others all got off work on time.
"Hm?"
Terumi Mei, who had originally been pleasantly surprised by Aoba's sudden appearance, immediately slapped the document in her hand onto the desk when she heard this. Her charming eyes narrowed.
"From the way you're saying that, who did you just come from?"
"Mm! I just came from Kurotsuchi. She was also still working overtime in the office just now."
Since they were talking about serious matters, Aoba didn't hide anything.
"Heh! That girl."
When Terumi Mei heard it was Kurotsuchi, she couldn't help curling her lips.
Then she gently stroked her cheek with her hand and changed into a sorrowful expression.
"You actually went to find that girl first before coming to see me. Sure enough, your big sister here is getting old. You, you scumbag who likes the new and hates the old, prefer younger girls."
It wasn't that she truly disliked Kurotsuchi that much. It was just that their first impression of each other hadn't been very good.
Back when they were in Konoha, that girl had mocked her.
And now she had also become the fiancee of this scumbag.
"I've never said that, and I've never thought that either."
Aoba couldn't help rolling his eyes. He walked over to Terumi Mei's side, wanting to hug her and get close.
But before he could approach, a delicate jade-like foot with light red nail polish had already stretched out and pressed against his chest.
The nail polish shone brightly, decorating the fair beautiful foot like several crystal-clear red gemstones, the color just right.
Aoba even smelled a faint fragrance of roses.
"Heh! You might not think that now, but you already went to see Kurotsuchi first. Maybe in a few years when I'm old and faded, you won't even bother coming anymore and just leave me here in Kirigakure."
Terumi Mei spoke in a rather sarcastic tone.
She wasn't entirely being sarcastic though. She really did care about the issue of age now.
After all, she was already heading toward forty.
Before, whenever Aoba came over, things usually went straight to the main topic. Afterward her head would already feel dizzy, and she never found a suitable opportunity to talk about this subject.
This time, since he had proactively said he went to see Kurotsuchi first, it just gave her the chance to make an issue out of it.
"..."
Aoba felt somewhat helpless. He simply grabbed Terumi Mei's fair little foot firmly in his hand and then forcefully lifted her up with one arm.
Naturally Terumi Mei kicked and punched, trying to struggle, but of course it was useless.
After lifting her up, Aoba sat down in the Mizukage's seat himself and then placed her on his lap.
And something that had fallen into his hands naturally wouldn't be easily let go. He directly started playing with the thing Terumi Mei had voluntarily offered.
"I went to find Kurotsuchi because of serious matters. But I've noticed that lately Mei-nee seems to care more and more about the issue of age?"
With her weakness held in the hands of this troublesome guy, Terumi Mei felt an itch in her heart, but hearing Aoba's words still made her dissatisfied.
"Of course I care! Do you know how old I am this year?"
"I remember. Thirty-one, right? Didn't I celebrate your birthday with you this year? What about it?"
Aoba looked confused.
"Heh! So you do remember I'm thirty-one!"
Terumi Mei pinched his face and said through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong with thirty-one? It's not like you'll become old. Shizune-nee and Sister Kurenai are about the same age as you. Konan-nee is almost thirty-five. Teacher is even older. What does it matter?"
Aoba's cheeks were being firmly pinched by Terumi Mei. Although his words sounded a little unclear while speaking, he still said everything he wanted to say.
He had actually already guessed why Terumi Mei cared so much about age.
Nothing more than the marriage deadline she had always complained about in the original story.
But he didn't quite understand. With the Yin Seal and his chakra supply, even if Terumi Mei lived to be two hundred years old she probably wouldn't age and would remain exactly as she was now. Why did she still care so much about something like a so-called marriage deadline?
"I don't care. I'm already thirty-one now and about to miss my marriage deadline. You must give me a clear answer. When exactly are you going to marry me?"
Terumi Mei was still pinching his face, and her eyes seemed to be burning with fire.
She did know that among the girls at home there were quite a few older than her, but that wasn't a reason to keep delaying marriage forever.
"As for that…"
Although Aoba didn't understand why Terumi Mei cared so much about the marriage deadline, he had thought seriously about marriage.
He just didn't know how it should be done. If he married them one by one separately, deciding the order would be extremely difficult.
But if it was together…
Just imagining that scene, Aoba felt—
'It actually seems pretty good.'
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