"85: There’s a Pervert!"

Staaaare—

Eriri stared intently at Luo Shu, her eyes locked onto him without blinking. Meanwhile, Kasumigaoka Utaha sat beside them, legs crossed and cheerfully bouncing one foot as she smiled, clearly enjoying the scene.

Ever since Luo Shu made that bold statement, both girls had turned their full attention to him, demanding an explanation.

"Luo-kun, you know my mom, don't you?" Eriri asked suspiciously, her tone filled with doubt. "And I mean, really know her."

She couldn't bring herself to say something as embarrassing as "crushing on her." After all, what was there to like about that overly cheerful, eternally childish woman?

Sure, she had a slightly better figure, a slightly better personality, better social skills, and... okay, thinking about it, Eriri suddenly felt defeated. Aside from age, she was being outclassed in every way by her own mother, Sawamura Sayuri. Why is my mom so much better than me in every aspect...?

Why is she suddenly looking all depressed? I haven't even said anything yet...

Luo Shu glanced curiously at Eriri, though he couldn't figure out what exactly was going on in her head.

Utaha, on the other hand, was quite intrigued. She used her ability to briefly read Eriri's thoughts and caught a glimpse of that lifelike image of a stunning beauty within Eriri's memories. Seeing that, Utaha suddenly grew a little nervous.

Why do I feel like that auntie is a major threat to me...?

Eriri's sudden dip into depression derailed the confrontation, and with the intel Utaha had just gleaned from her mind, her urge to press Luo Shu for answers lessened considerably.

"Ow ow ow!!" Eriri suddenly clutched her head and shouted in pain, then turned toward Utaha and said, "Did you just read my mind again?!"

"Yup~" Utaha didn't even deny it. Although surprised that Eriri could actually tell, she nodded and said, "I didn't expect it either. Who would've thought Sawamura-san had such an amazing mother?"

Then she twisted the knife a bit, grinning wickedly. "If I were Luo Shu, I'd probably fall for her too~"

"Oi, I said I was just a little curious!" Luo Shu tried to protest weakly.

But Eriri, her thoughts thoroughly derailed by Utaha's teasing, turned red and snapped at him, "I'm not supporting my mom cheating, okay?! Give up on that idea!"

After blurting that out, she seemed to realize her own relationship with Luo Shu and muttered in a smaller voice, "Even if you give me a direct order, I'm not agreeing to it..."

"…You might be misunderstanding something here," Luo Shu gave Eriri a strange look and said, "I think the one I wanted to see wasn't your mother, but... you, transformed into her, right?"

Hearing this, Eriri froze. "Huh? Really?"

But in the next second, the seasoned doujin artist inside her kicked in. Her face turned crimson as she suddenly shouted, "—Isn't that even more perverted?!"

"You seriously want me to turn into my mom and then do stuff with you... Ugh!!"

Just as she was about to continue her outburst, a hand suddenly entered her field of vision—Kasumigaoka Utaha, raising a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, signaling her to calm down.

Slowly, Eriri fell silent, finally realizing what she had just said to Luo Shu.

Seeing her head bowed, her face as red as a steam engine about to blow, Luo Shu couldn't help but sigh and say, "Should I be impressed, Sawamura Eriri? You even imagined all the details for me. Truly, I'm in awe."

"Alright, that's enough out of you." Utaha rolled her eyes at him. She was certain—absolutely certain—that Luo Shu had imagined the very scenario Eriri just described.

Tch. This man... even if he wasn't thinking about it before, he definitely is now.

Thanks to her ability to read people, Utaha saw the flicker of interest in Luo Shu's eyes. Annoyed as she was, she couldn't help but be impressed by Eriri's wild imagination.

She strongly suspected that if Eriri ever created a doujin with a maternal theme, she'd end up drawing herself as the main character... No, no, just imagining that made her head hurt. She needed to stop thinking about it.

Taking a deep breath, Utaha turned to Luo Shu and said, "Didn't Professor Natsuki give you a delivery job? Aren't you going to set off?"

Luo Shu pointed at Eriri. "You think I'd care about a delivery right now?"

"This is exactly when you should care," Utaha emphasized, sighing as she looked at him. "At least try to consider Sawamura-san's feelings a little."

"Fine."

Luo Shu shrugged, picked up the now-empty lunch container from the bench, tucked it into the bag, and said calmly, "I'll be gone for a couple of days then."

With that, he turned and walked toward the stairs.

Hearing his footsteps fade away, Eriri finally began to calm down. Then, she let out a "Tch!" and muttered, "Stupid perverted god... I won't let you get your way. From now on, I'll make sure Mom stays away from him. No—better yet, I'll never let them meet again!"

Honestly, you might be hornier than Luo Shu... Utaha glanced sideways at Eriri, who was mumbling to herself, and made that observation silently in her heart.

Suddenly, she had a thought: If Eriri ever started getting too bold or competitive, maybe letting Luo Shu and Sayuri meet wouldn't be such a bad idea after all...

In Romance of the Three Kingdoms terms, this would be "restraining Eriri through Sayuri." …Wow, I really am a villainess, aren't I? Utaha stuck her tongue out at herself playfully.

—

"Eh? Natsuki-chan actually gave a job to the boss lady?"

[LycoReco Café – Kitchen, back area.]

Chisato Nishikigi, standing at the sink, was utterly shocked after hearing why Luo Shu had come.

"No way! Natsuki-chan is handing a task to the boss lady? That sounds like the end of the world!"

As she spoke, Chisato didn't even bother finishing the dishes. She turned and dashed out toward the backyard.

"This is huge, Takina! Natsuki-chan actually gave the boss lady a job!!"

Clatter!

The sound of a sliding door being shoved open echoed through the café.

Luo Shu, curious, followed behind Chisato and arrived just in time to see what was inside the now-open room: a perfectly sculpted, fair-skinned silhouette mid-motion.

Takina Inoue stood there frozen, staring wide-eyed at Luo Shu. The kimono sash in her hands was still suspended mid-air.

And then—

A high-pitched scream tore through the air.

"KYAAAAAAA—!!!"

"Pervert!! Go die, you creep!!" (ding!)