While Hayato was talking to the person on the other end, neither Aiya Yayoi nor Miyajima Tsubaki dared to breathe loudly.
They exchanged glances. Although they didn't know who was on the other end, the girl's voice was quite audible; even without Hayato on speakerphone, they could tell her gender, but as for what she was saying… after all, it was a phone call, so they couldn't hear it very clearly.
They could only deduce the content of their conversation based on Hayato's replies.
"…Okay, okay… Okay, okay, okay, don't talk anymore, you eat first. Finish eating and then continue with your homework… Don't throw a tantrum… Hmm, you eat first… What do you mean, skipping meals won't give you a stomach illness? If it does, don't make me accompany you to the hospital… Huh? Did I just say that?… Oh, I really did. But people's physiques are different… Okay, I'll be right back."
After Hayato finished speaking, he hung up the phone, then scratched his head and sighed, seemingly complaining, "…Annoying."
But after complaining, he immediately said to Miyajima Tsubaki, "Let's go. Don't dwell on what happened today; I'll handle it. If you can sleep, go to sleep quickly."
Miyajima Tsubaki, who had just been displeased, immediately let go of her minor emotions upon hearing the boy's serious words. She nodded and said, "Okay."
"And…" Hayato pointed vaguely at Hayato as if calling out soldiers, "You come with me. My bike is still in your car, accompany me to get it."
Hayato puffed out her cheeks, seemingly letting out a slight "hmph" because of Hayato's call with the young girl.
But under the boy's sidelong glance, she still followed him out.
"Was that Nanase?" Hayato asked after they left the room.
"Mm." Hayato nodded without denying it, and Hayato's mouth pouted even more.
"I knew it was that little brat. You only care about that girl; you really do prefer young flesh…"
"Nonsense." Hayato said calmly, "I just like to torment her. I find joy in seeing her miserable."
"Ew…" Hayato eyed him disdainfully, "I didn't realize you young people played so openly… I can be miserable too, I can be tormented too."
Hayato smiled faintly, looking down at her:
"Alright, then I'll quickly prepare a hundred high school math problems for you too."
This was something Hayato hadn't expected.
"…You guys play way too inhumanely!!" She quickly waved her hands, "No, no, this body really can't take it."
"Stop messing around." Hayato said, "What did you say to Miss Tsubaki?"
Clearly, she had said something to Miyajima-mama… which had caused the atmosphere to fall into such a delicate state just now.
Hayato immediately wrinkled her nose, looking at the boy with a pitiful expression, tears almost welling up in her eyes.
"Murae-kun, I… I'm sorry…"
"Act." Hayato said.
"I… I really didn't mean to."
"Continue." Hayato said.
"I accidentally told that old hag about us sleeping together." Hayato bit her lip, cautiously observing Hayato. Seeing him frown, she immediately added, "You… you can insult me, whip me… or even slap me a couple of times."
"Why would I reward you?" Hayato said expressionlessly.
Aiya Yayoi immediately couldn't hold back. She wanted to step on Hayato's toe. Normally, a boy would play along at this point, maybe let out a small yelp if stepped on, act a little pathetic to amuse the girl, and the matter would pass.
But Hayato was no ordinary boy.
His belief was: Amuse? Why amuse?
A boy's toes are precious too; they hurt when stepped on. So he quickly pulled his foot back, and before Hayato could retract her foot after missing, he stomped down with a "thud."
It didn't hurt much, but Hayato's eyes widened, looking at him in disbelief.
"I won." Hayato smiled faintly.
"Won what? We're not playing 'hand-slap'!"
"Heh, you lose and then say you weren't playing, typical of you."
"Shut up, are you a child?"
"Seventeen, a student. Young and beautiful, jealous?"
Hayato's teeth itched with anger; she wished she could pounce on the boy and bite his young flesh a few times. But since they were still in the hospital, she ultimately held back.
She still steered the conversation back to the main topic:
"I really shouldn't have told her, but I couldn't help it."
"If you said it, you said it. Anyway, it was a mistake I accidentally made, so being gossiped about behind my back is my own fault." Hayato was very magnanimous.
"What do you mean by 'mistake you made'?!" Hayato asked loudly.
How did he make it sound like he was the one who suffered a loss?… Although she was indeed older, and a woman whose life was almost set and without much capability, while the boy in front of her seemingly had a boundless future… But even if it was true, how could he say it out loud?
"Youthful recklessness, I suppose." Hayato sighed.
"That was just last month!"
"I… have grown a lot."
"Then go grow up!" Hayato was genuinely a bit angry. Not at Hayato, but at herself for being useless. She had always believed that Hayato was the one at a disadvantage, so this topic was always her minefield; mention it and she'd get upset.
And then… Hayato's specialty was dancing on minefields.
After a few dances, Hayato seemed less sensitive… She had a strong sense of boundaries, but once Hayato crossed her bottom line, she would lower it a bit more.
However, Hayato was finding comfort in adversity. She realized something: this guy really wasn't afraid of her spreading their relationship everywhere, acting as if he was completely upright. This actually made Hayato a little touched… It would have been even better if he hadn't said those annoying things.
"But you and Miss Tsubaki have only known each other for such a short time, and you're already discussing such topics?" Hayato said, "I didn't expect you, Great King, to be so open. This humble concubine is quite shy, you know."
He was playing on the "bandit queen" joke from before.
Hayato cleared her throat and took over the conversation: "It's all that wicked woman's fault for subtly asking, 'What's your relationship with Lin-kun? I just feel like there's something unusual between you two'… So this Great King just…"
"The Great King explodes easily when provoked. It seems you won't accomplish great things in the future. Ah, then let's not 'do' it in the future." Hayato said.
Hayato got anxious,
"How can we not… No, isn't this all your fault?"
"Hey, even when shifting blame, you need to follow basic principles. What does it have to do with me?"
"Heh."
Hayato bit her silver teeth, annoyed, "There was no mirror at the time, so you didn't see how wonderful your expression was after that old hag said, 'We're accomplices now'… I could tell at a glance that you've taken a liking to her. I don't care, even if she's older than me, she can only rank below me in the future. We'll each have our own seniority, just like Nanase ranks higher than me…"
Hayato: …
He was clearly thinking, "Damn, if you kill someone in a place like this, dealing with the body will be a hassle."… Did he really show a "liking" in his eyes? Impossible… At most, it was appreciation. Hayato must be imagining things.
He was born without a mother and had a Sima face; how could he have rich expressions?
"Are you being tsundere now?" Hayato speculated about Hayato's thoughts.
"Shut up." Hayato said coldly.
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