Chapter 171: Kiyoura Mai and Saionji Yōko’s Vlog~

After Yoshida Saki invited him over, Haruto followed her to her home.

It wasn't his first time here. As he stepped inside the Yoshida residence, there wasn't much of a sense of unfamiliarity. Quietly, he followed Saki deeper into the house.

Looking around the living room, Saki hesitated for a moment before glancing at Haruto. Clutching the straps of her school bag tightly, she looked up at the boy beside her. His handsome face made her bite her lip, her nervous heart thudding as she tried to gather her courage.

"Um… would you like to… sit in my room for a bit?"

Haruto had been idly estimating how much this kind of house might cost when Saki's tentative voice reached him. He turned to look at her uncertain expression. Honestly, he didn't mind either way.

"Sure. I'm a guest after all. I'll go wherever my host leads me."

Saki, who had been worried that her suggestion might be too forward, lit up at his response. Flustered, she tried to calm herself down, gripping her bag even tighter as she quickly led the way toward the stairs.

"Th-The stairs are over here. My room's on the second floor… P-Please, follow me."

Haruto quietly followed her up the steps. As he walked behind her, he noticed her legs beneath her skirt. Her fair skin revealed that Saki didn't actually fall short when it came to looks compared to other girls. It was just that...

His eyes dropped to the plain black knee-high socks. Her taste was a bit lacking—but that very plainness, that unpolished normality, was strangely refreshing compared to the girls he usually knew.

The girl, clearly both nervous and delighted, guided him up to the second floor, opened her door, and invited him in.

Her room was simple and tidy—somewhat similar to Setsuna's room, though even more barebones. There wasn't much that spoke to her personality.

Just like Saki herself—quiet, reserved, unassuming.

"P-Please sit! I'll go get some tea!"

Clearly overjoyed that Haruto had stepped into her room, Saki quickly darted out and headed downstairs.

Left alone, Haruto sat down and glanced around out of pure curiosity. He let his eyes wander over the room to get a sense of the space where Saki lived day to day.

A simple single bed. A clean desk. A digital alarm clock and a lamp on top. A hanger mounted on the wall. A small side table near the desk with a teddy bear and a framed photo of her family.

It was a completely ordinary room.

After taking in the surroundings, Haruto retracted his gaze and waited quietly. Before long, he heard footsteps approaching, and then the door creaked open. Saki walked in holding two cups of tea.

"Here."

She handed him a cup and sat down in a seiza position, keeping her head lowered, unable to meet his eyes.

"Thank you."

"No, um… I should be the one thanking you, Miyamizu-kun. Without your help… I don't think I could've handled what happened. So… thank you."

"It's only natural to help someone who needs it. Even without me, someone else might have—"

"No! That's not true at all!"

Her voice suddenly rose in protest, startling even herself. She looked directly at Haruto, her expression intense, before quickly lowering her head again.

"Back then, when I was being bullied… there were a lot of people around. But not one of them helped me. Not one. You were the only one—just from hearing rumors—you came, on your own... I'm really grateful, Miyamizu-kun…"

"Didn't Kiryu-sensei help you too?"

"That's different! She's a teacher. You're not the same."

She lifted her head again, biting her lip, then slowly removed her glasses.

Without the thick black frames hiding her features, her face looked much more refined. Even without makeup, the transformation was striking—like a seal had been undone. The plainness faded away, and a fresh, soft beauty emerged.

"Ever since school started, I've been relying on you so much… and I've always, always…"

Her voice began to fade, her words trailing off into soft murmurs. Haruto couldn't quite make out what she was saying anymore. She had lowered her head again, her face buried into her chest, fists clenched tightly atop her knees.

Haruto quietly lifted his tea and took a sip.

"You like me?"

"L-Like…?!"

That one word from Haruto—"like"—was enough to draw out the confession Saki had struggled to say. Her head snapped up, eyes wide.

"Yeah… I thought so. You like me?"

"…Mm-hmm."

Blushing deeply, Saki dropped her head again. That tiny nod had taken every ounce of her courage. That one word—"like"—had drained all her strength.

"I already have a girlfriend. And we've been dating for a while now. So if this is a confession… I'm sorry. But the only answer I can give is a no."

Even setting everything else aside—makeup or not—Saki was, at best, ordinarily cute. Haruto didn't feel any romantic pull toward her. Not even close to what he'd felt for Sekai, who, in his eyes, was far more charming.

Saki had mustered every drop of courage to say those words, hoping for a fairytale ending like in manga or children's stories. But reality… was often much crueler.

Because when she said "I like you," what she got in return was not "I like you too."

Saki's face suddenly turned pale, and her body stiffened. Slowly, she looked up at the boy standing in front of her.

That familiar smile… he hadn't reacted at all to her confession—not even a flicker of emotion or discomfort. Lowering her head, Saki silently accepted reality.

"...I-I see… I'm sorry. I said something that probably made you uncomfortable, Miyamizu-kun…"

"Uncomfortable? Not really."

Seeing the girl shrink back and belittle herself, Haruto couldn't help but find it a little amusing.

Her face was practically buried in her chest, as if she wanted to disappear into the floor. Haruto's eyes calmly watched her trembling shoulders, as though she was trying hard to hold something in. He quietly set down his teacup.

"Yoshida-san."

"Yes…"

"Why do you like me? Is it because I helped you? Or… because I'm, well, good-looking?"

"I… I don't know."

After hearing his question, Saki hesitantly raised her head a little and sneaked a glance at Haruto. She couldn't deny it—if someone else said something like that, it might've sounded arrogant. But coming from Haruto, it didn't feel off at all.

Even if you randomly stopped someone on the street and asked them what they thought of Haruto's looks, no one would say he wasn't attractive. His appearance was the kind that universally appealed to the public.

Faced with his question, Saki felt uneasy.

If the person who had helped her wasn't Haruto, but someone else… would she have still fallen for them?

Unable to answer that question in her heart, Saki fell silent and discouraged, dropping her head again. Haruto looked at the girl who had gone quiet and got up from his seat. Walking over to her, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you think I approached you because of your appearance?"

Heading for the door, Haruto realized there really wasn't much else to say between them. He hadn't expected such a straightforward confession right off the bat.

"I've got some things to take care of, so I'll head out now. No need to see me off~"

Leaving the girl alone in the room after being confessed to, Haruto found himself in surprisingly good spirits as he smiled and stepped out of her house.

That evening, seated at the Kiyoura family's dining table, Setsuna noticed Haruto smiling more than usual and couldn't help but grow curious. Sitting across from him, she quietly observed, while her mother, Mai, gnawed on a pork rib, glancing between her daughter and the smiling Haruto.

"You seem to be in a good mood today?" Setsuna asked.

"Yeah. A girl confessed to me today. It's the first time anyone's actually confessed since I entered school."

After hearing that, Setsuna stared at him for a moment, then silently set her chopsticks on her bowl. Mai noticed her daughter's reaction, sighed lightly, and turned her attention to Haruto.

"Is getting confessed to really that exciting?"

Sensing Setsuna's slight shift in mood and hearing Mai's question, Haruto let out a soft chuckle.

"It's not the confession itself that made me happy. It's just… the girl didn't seem to understand the difference between gratitude and love."

He gave a simple rundown of what had happened without mentioning Saki's name. Mai raised an eyebrow, then turned her gaze back to Setsuna.

"Setsuna, you haven't run into any trouble like that at school, have you?"

"Nope. Because Sekai's with me, no one really messes with me."

Thinking back on her school life, Setsuna realized it wasn't as dramatic as the girl who had confessed to Haruto. At most, she ran into some minor issues while doing her class rep duties, but with Sekai around, those problems were usually solved quickly. Life at school had been relatively peaceful.

Upon hearing the name Sekai, Haruto didn't react much. But Mai frowned slightly before letting out another soft sigh.

She couldn't quite understand her daughter, nor the younger generation in general. The best she could do now was to stay wary of Saionji Yoko. She didn't want that woman getting involved in what was already a tangled web of relationships.

"Well, now that you've said what needed to be said, I'm sure the girl will calm down soon."

Mai's gaze returned to Haruto. She hadn't expected him to respond that way, but she didn't think he would lie about something like this either. Choosing to believe him, she said nothing more. Setsuna quietly picked up her chopsticks and resumed eating her dinner.

In the days that followed, Haruto didn't see Futaba Rio, and Yoshida Saki seemed to avoid him. Whenever they passed by each other, Saki would bow her head and remain silent.

Seeing her act that way, Haruto simply chose to ignore it, quietly going about his calm, uneventful daily life.

_ _ _ _

"You actually came out today, huh."

"You promised, didn't you? That we'd go shopping this weekend? It's been a long time since the two of us went out like this."

On the weekend, Mai looked at Yoko, who had dressed up far more elegantly than she ever did at the restaurant. Her expression was a bit complicated. She wanted to say something, but when she saw Yoko's ever-cheerful smile, she swallowed her words.

Just like how Setsuna and Sekai mirrored each other's personalities, Mai and Yoko were similar to their daughters as well. When faced with someone as spontaneous and unpredictable as Yoko —who resembled Sekai's energy—Mai often chose silence.

"So, where to today?"

With makeup on and dressed in fashionable clothes she rarely wore, Yoko didn't look like the mother of a teenage daughter. Even among young, stylish women on the streets, she stood out.

Compared to her, Mai had only done a modest touch-up. Seeing Yoko's bright smile, she sighed quietly.

"You decide."

"Then let's start at the jewelry store. It's been ages since I browsed for accessories."

Because of her job, Yoko rarely had the chance to wear fancy clothes. But accessories—earrings, necklaces—were easier to wear even at work. She'd been thinking of buying herself something new.

After all, no woman can resist the allure of beautiful, luxurious jewelry—no matter how old they get.

Mai didn't really mind. She nodded.

"Alright. Got anything in mind?"

Standing on the streets of Shibuya, Mai tilted her head slightly and looked toward Yoko —only to see her raise her left hand and flash an 'OK' sign with her slender, pale fingers.

Mai couldn't understand it—how could someone who worked in the restaurant industry every day still have such soft, delicate hands?