Yukino Yukinoshita had accepted Shizuka Hiratsuka's recommendation, yet Haruto had never actually come to seek her help.
After a brief silence, she voiced the thought that had been lingering in her mind.
"So... you never intended to come to the Service Club."
Haruto gave a small shrug.
"That's right."
"I didn't think it was necessary."
"Oh?"
Yukino rested her teacup on its saucer.
"So you believe you can improve on your own?"
"I've been making steady progress lately."
Haruto met her gaze without the slightest hint of hesitation.
"I might even finish first in the midterm examinations."
"..."
For a brief moment, the room fell silent.
Yukino's expression cooled.
"Haruto-kun..."
"You seem rather confident."
"Earlier, you claimed you could taste blood in Yuigahama-san's cookies."
"And now you're saying you'll take first place."
"You're quite fond of making extraordinary claims."
Haruto smiled faintly.
"I don't make claims I can't back up."
"Whether it's ranking first..."
"...or my senses."
He stood up from his chair and adjusted his school blazer.
"For example..."
"Even from here, I can smell a cat on you."
"...!"
Yukino's eyes widened ever so slightly.
A cat?
Seeing her rare look of surprise, Haruto simply smiled.
"Yuigahama-san has already gone home."
"I should be leaving as well."
"I won't disturb your reading any longer."
He gave a casual wave before walking toward the door.
Just before stepping outside, he glanced back with a teasing smile.
"See you around, Yukinoshita."
The clubroom door slid shut behind him.
Click.
Silence returned once more.
Yukino remained seated, staring quietly at the closed door.
A cat...
His words brought back the memory of that morning.
Before classes had begun, she had secretly fed one of the stray cats that wandered around the school grounds.
The timid little creature had accepted the food but, as always, refused to let her pet it.
No one should have known she had been there.
Yet...
Haruto had mentioned a cat without hesitation.
"...Could his sense of smell truly be that keen?"
She gently frowned.
It sounded impossible.
And yet...
He had correctly noticed Yuigahama's injured finger.
Now he had somehow guessed she had been near a cat.
Neither explanation made much sense.
Her gaze drifted toward the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window.
If what he said about his senses is true...
Then perhaps...
She recalled his unwavering confidence when he declared he would place first in the upcoming midterms.
"...Very well."
A faint smile, so subtle it was almost imperceptible, appeared on her lips.
"I'll see whether your confidence is justified."
For the first time in a long while, Yukino found herself genuinely curious about another student.
Haruto, however, wasn't particularly concerned about his test results.
Because...
Mai had come to school.
Even though the pubrescence syndrome kept her invisible to others, she was still right there by his side.
"So, what made you come to school all of a sudden?" Haruto asked, gently stroking her hand.
Mai blushed slightly, her cheeks
dusting with a soft pink as she replied softly, "I made a bento. I wanted to have lunch with you."
"Oh?"
Haruto teasingly bumped the tip of his nose against hers, a confident grin spreading across his face. "Missed me that much?"
"Or do you miss something else of mine?"
"Or maybe you want a taste of me again right now?"
The first two comments were playful, but the last one carried an unmistakable, heavy innuendo.
Mai rolled her eyes, a deep crimson flooding her face, and playfully swatted his arm. "You're such an incorrigible pervert!"
"Haha, but my dear Mai isn't far behind in that department. Who was it yesterday who wouldn't let go, and who was the one who—"
As Haruto kept exposing her, each word growing more explicit about their private moments.
Mai quickly lunged forward to cover his mouth with her hand, her dark eyes filled with embarrassed fury. "Stop talking right now, or else!"
Her expression warned that she was ready to snap if he uttered one more syllable.
Haruto's smile never faltered.
Seeing her so easily flustered filled him with a quiet, satisfying warmth.
Knowing when to relent so as not to push her over the edge, he nodded submissively.
"Alright, alright. Let's head to the rooftop for lunch, shall we?"
Hand in hand, the two left together, leaving the hallway behind.
Unbeknownst to them, standing quietly by the staircase nearby was Megumi Kato. She watched their fading interaction, holding two bento boxes tightly in her hands.
Observing their intimate closeness in silence, she gave a small, quiet sigh before murmuring to herself.
"I suppose living with Haruto-kun really does give her a major head start, after all."
"Why can't you ever behave yourself, even while eating lunch?"
Mai sighed in exasperation, her cheeks flushed as she tried to adjust her posture on the concrete bench.
What should have been a peaceful, relaxing lunch on the rooftop had quickly turned into something far more intimate.
Haruto had pulled her right down into his lap.
While the embrace itself was comforting, the real issue was the hard, throbbing presence poking persistently against her hip, making it impossible to sit still.
He insisted it was just a continuation of his "rooftop cuddling" theory. But where on earth did he keep coming up with these shameless phrases?
Holding her waist firmly with a confident grin, Haruto leaned in and teased, "You say that, but why are your thighs twitching and moving so restlessly against me?"
Mai's breath hitched, her dark eyes narrowing defensively. "That's entirely your fault!"
Of course, she would never dare admit out loud that the friction felt incredible, or that her body was already betraying her pride.
Yes, absolutely everything was Haruto's fault!
Click.
Just as they were bantering, the heavy rooftop door suddenly swung open with a sharp creak.
Mai instinctively gasped, pressing her hands down tightly on her skirt and squeezing her legs together to trap Haruto against her body, praying her invisibility would hold.
"Hmm? Is someone already out here?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha stepped gracefully onto the rooftop breeze.
Noticing the presence of others, she initially considered turning right back around—she vastly preferred having the quiet rooftop to herself for writing and eating in peace.
But when she spotted Haruto sitting near the edge, her steps paused, and a subtle change crossed her expression.
She changed her mind.
With her long, slender legs moving in a slow, elegant stride, she approached him and asked in her characteristic, smooth tone, "Mind if I sit here?"
Haruto nodded calmly, a knowing glint in his eye. "Go ahead, Utaha-senpai."
Utaha settled onto a nearby bench, gracefully opening a neat bento and pulling out her smartphone.
She didn't say much at first, nibbling delicately on her food while occasionally casting sideways, curious glances at Haruto from the corner of her eye.
She noticed one bento box open in front of him, yet the arrangement of his posture looked entirely peculiar, as if he were holding something heavy or keeping someone pinned to his lap.
Of course, because of the lingering pubrescence syndrome, Utaha completely remained unaware of Mai sitting right there on Haruto's lap, glaring daggers at the novelist.
*****
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