The calm before the storm

　　At a restaurant in an amusement park.

　　There were eight women and one man sitting around a ten-seat table.

　　"Even though there's a lot I want to ask..."

　　After greeting each other, Shinichi sat on the left and Rizu sat on the right. Rui started the conversation.

　　"To put it simply, everyone met here by chance?"

　　There was silence before the quintuplets and the liberal arts duo nodded at the same time.

　　Rui pretended not to see the guilty expressions on several people's faces.

　　She resisted the urge not to pierce Shinichi next to her with her sharp eyes.

　　Even if she put on a helpless expression like "I'm really surprised", it would only make her feel even more unhappy.

　　"Oh my, Japan is so small~ suddenly we meet again here..."

　　Ichika laughed, mixed with a soft sigh.

　　Nino covered her forehead.

　　"Yeah, this isn't the only restaurant in the amusement park. And I wanted to refuse to share a table with others, but you two suddenly appeared..."

　　"I happened to meet Fumino and Rizu at the door. No wonder you're suspicious."

　　"Ahahaha, what a coincidence…" Hearing her name mentioned, Fumino smiled awkwardly.

　　"Thanks to Yotsuba's sharp eyesight, she saw us queuing outside and brought us in, so we didn't have to sunbathe for too long..."

Rizu nodded: "Nakano-san, thank you very much."

　　"Ehehe~ It's okay." Yotsuba scratched the back of her head embarrassedly, and said with a cheerful smile.

　　"By the way, when we made the reservation, it happened that there was only one table left for ten people. It would be too empty for just five people to eat… It would be livelier if there were more people!"

　　Rui said coldly.

　　"Yes, that's absolutely true..."

　　"Ugh..."

　　 Yotsuba becomes guilty again.

　　Rui narrowed her eyes slightly and looked around to confirm each of their expressions.

　　Ichika is calm, Nino is relaxed, Miku is incomprehensible, Itsuki is studying the menu carefully. Among the quintuplets, only Yotsuba is too naive.

　　As for Fumino looking away with a smile, while Rizu looked around carelessly, with no intention of talking to anyone.

　　As long as she continued to ask difficult questions, they would soon reveal her shortcomings.

　　After all, they don't seem to be able to lie.

　　Rui cleared her mind, and asked.

　　"By the way, Fumino and Rizu, why did you come to the amusement park too?"

　　Rizu reflexively answered: "Because the ticket..."

　　"Won the shopping street lottery! Asada-kun said he would take Rui-chan out today, but we didn't expect our goals to be the same!"

　　Before she could say anything, Fumino hurriedly took over the topic and answered.

"I see."

　　Rui's expression didn't change. She looked down at the menu and stopped paying attention.

　　"…"

　　Shinichi glanced at her.

　　In fact, meeting the liberal arts duo and quintuplets here was not planned.

　　He couldn't explain this, because if he didn't spend all his pocket money to throw this amusement park farewell party, Rui would never be able to see it.

　　After thinking about it, he put aside his plans temporarily, and blinked at the girls in front of him, trying to convey the meaning of his eyes.

　　(Sorry, can anyone do a variety show to lighten the mood?)

　　Everyone noticed his expression and gave different answers.

　　Ichika: (Hmph, Shinichi-kun looks handsome when he raises his eyebrows~)

　　Nino: (I hate it, don't look at me so affectionately in front of everyone)

　　Miku: (Meaning unknown...)

　　Yotsuba: (Eh? Want to start making faces? I—)

　　"That!"

　　A voice suddenly sounded, breaking the silence at the dining table and ending the meaningless exchange of glances.

　　Itsuki raised her hand towards the waiter.

　　"Excuse me, I would like a set of extra large fried shrimp and tomahawk steak..."

　　Sensing the strangeness of the atmosphere, she looked around.

　　"What is it? Am I missing something? Why is everyone looking at me like this?"

　　"I want to order one too. I want a strawberry sundae for dessert…" Fumino followed up on her previous words and told the waitress.

　　"Now is not the time to do something like that!"

　　Rizu tilted her head in confusion.

　　"Fumino, what else can you do if you don't order food when you enter the restaurant? Shinichi-san is the same…"

　　Once she saw the waitress standing aside in embarrassment, Rizu who was also a waitress in the catering industry, and said a little apologetically.

　　"Sorry to keep you waiting so long, please bring me a set of specialty udon dishes."

　　After Rizhu replied like this, Fumino couldn't help but doubt herself.

　　"W-What you said is true..."

　　"Eh? Wait, am I the only one among everyone who understands what Asada-kun wants to express?"

　　Rui put down the menu, her expression slightly satisfied and happy.

　　"When I wasn't paying attention, what did he want to express to other girls with his eyes?"

　　"Fumino, I'm very curious, can you tell me?"

　　"…"

　　Shinichi decided to ignore the interactions between the girls and concentrate on choosing the menu.

　　Although to some extent, the awkwardness of the chance encounter has been resolved...

　　But what's with this premonition of an ominous future?

　　 Rui didn't look too angry, and she started talking to others fluently, no different from usual.

　　If this atmosphere continued, she wouldn't refuse to play games with everyone after lunch.

　　Thinking so, there was a feeling of calm before the storm, which made Shinichi worry whether he should change his plans.