After a long, heavy silence, Miku suddenly puffed out her cheeks without warning. Looking genuinely piqued, she spoke with a sharp edge to her voice:
"From now on, don't act like that toward Nino and the others. Tell me the truth... who do you actually like the most?"
This was the question Miku had been suppressing in her heart for ages. Ryunosuke went still for a moment, but before long, he provided his answer.
"To be honest... I like all of you."
Miku: "😐"
"So, you've finally stopped trying to hide what a scoundrel you are?"
Instead of shrinking back, Ryunosuke puffed out his chest and replied with arrogant confidence. "What is there to hide?! I am who I am. I won't hesitate anymore; I just want to be as honest as possible with myself."
He locked eyes with Miku. "Do you hate me?"
Even as he asked, his hand had already captured Miku's small hand—a calculated tactical combination of a mental strike, a verbal assault, and physical proof of intent.
Miku panicked. She wanted to pull away, but her strength seemed to have evaporated. Subconsciously, she didn't actually want to let go; in fact, she found herself squeezing his hand a fraction tighter.
Miku spoke with a trace of bitterness. "Ryunosuke-kun is truly cunning. How am I even supposed to answer that?"
Ryunosuke interlaced his fingers with Miku's delicate ones, pressing her one more time. "So—do you hate me?"
Miku's cheeks burned a deep crimson, but she answered truthfully. "I... I don't hate you."
"I see..." Ryunosuke began to lean his face closer to hers.
Miku didn't dare meet his eyes, yet she didn't shrink away from that intense, burning gaze either.
Ryunosuke offered a thin smile, understanding the feelings of the girl before him. The two ended up sitting close together in an intimate embrace on that park bench. Not long after, Miku scrambled to her feet and ran off, her face glowing beet-red. She even managed to trip, but she scrambled up and kept running!
The events of tonight were far too stimulating for her, even if it was exactly what she had wanted. However, pulling a "sneak attack" behind her sisters' backs still left her feeling a twinge of guilt, making her lose the courage to face him a second longer.
Ryunosuke looked at Miku's contact, now added to his phone, and let out a sigh of relief. "That's two down, three to go... I have to find a way to make peace with them all, just like the old days."
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The following day, Ryunosuke arrived to pick them up as their shift ended. More specifically, he was there for Nino, who, as the kitchen staff, was always the last to leave.
Nino hauled a large bag of trash to the bin and prepared to head home. As she stepped out, she saw Ryunosuke waiting patiently with his bicycle. Her cheeks flushed, but she marched over and demanded:
"What are you doing here?"
Ryunosuke answered casually. "Picking you up to take you home, obviously. Hop on."
He meticulously dusted off the back seat, and fearing he might soil Nino's clothes, he even wiped it down with his own sleeve.
Seeing this man acting so attentive and "stupid" just for her sake, Nino's face grew even redder. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She finally softened and climbed onto the back seat, wrapping her arms around Ryunosuke's waist and whispering shyly.
"Just go, you idiot..." Her voice sounded forced and unnatural because she realized she had fallen head-over-heels for this "idiot."
A woman's heart is actually quite easy to conquer if you know the right opening. Simple words and small gestures can become powerful reasons to fall in love.
Ryunosuke pedaled the bike with one hand while the other held firmly onto Nino's hand so she wouldn't slip—though in reality, it was all part of the strategy.
Nino didn't resist and allowed him to see her all the way to her front door; they even exchanged phone numbers. Nino, the "stubborn one" who was supposed to be the hardest to crack among the five sisters, had unexpectedly become the third to be "tamed." It was truly an upset.
How did Ryunosuke get this good? Just ask his mother. Heavens know what she taught him; perhaps fearing her son would remain single forever, she had schooled him in every possible way to handle women.
At this moment, Ryunosuke truly earned the title "Master of Romance."
◆━⊰✿✧✿⊱━◆
On another front, Ibuki was facing a major crisis: her points were almost gone!
She checked her phone; her balance was under 10,000 points, and the next disbursement wasn't for another 10 days.
Ibuki sighed. She was the type to spend every last cent every month. Unwilling to live in misery for the remaining days, she remembered her "junior" in name only.
With a thick skin, Ibuki marched into the Student Council office to ask Ryunosuke for help.
Ryunosuke felt like complaining; she never remembered him when things were going well, but the moment there was trouble, he was the first person she sought out.
Ibuki pressed her hands together as if in prayer, begging Ryunosuke to help her find a part-time job.
Resigned, Ryunosuke stamped an authorization for a position at the library—the most relaxed job available, where she'd only need to log borrowed books and could play on her phone without supervision.
Ibuki waved a hand in thanks at the Council door, promising to treat him to a meal once she got paid, and left. But a few moments later, she burst back in and changed the plan: she was taking Ryunosuke to see a movie right now!
Ryunosuke scratched his head in confusion but changed his clothes and went along with her. Once they arrived at the theater, he finally realized why she had been so insistent on going today.
A sign was plastered in front of the cinema: "Half Price for Couples (Today Only)."
In other words, Ibuki only had to pay for one ticket to settle her "debt of gratitude" to him. Ryunosuke was utterly speechless.
"Paying back your debt to me like this—don't you feel any guilt at all?"
Ibuki, dressed in a casual yellow dress with a blue bag over her shoulder, answered indifferently. "Being able to go on a date with your senior... isn't that the greatest blessing you could ask for?"
Ryunosuke stared at her with dead-fish eyes. "If you wanted to save money, just say so. Don't beat around the bush."
Ibuki forcefully linked her arm with Ryunosuke's, pretending to be a doting couple. "Shut up! Are we watching or not? Anyway, consider my debt paid!"
She acted completely shameless, as if daring him: "I'm stingy, so what are you going to do about it?"