A Siscon Confession

"…Eh?"

Completely unprepared for this turn of events, Haruno couldn't help but stare in surprise.

"Letting Yuu… Tenkuji-kun, play with us?"

Kouichirou nodded, a friendly smile on his face, shifting his gaze to the cold-faced Yuu in the distance.

"Honestly, I accidentally bought too many game tokens earlier. If it's just the five of us, it'll take too long to use them up, and I don't want to waste them on the machines…"

"If you guys don't mind, could you help us burn through these tokens? Even if we don't use them all, we can give the rest to you."

After he spoke, though their expressions showed slight surprise, the four supporting… the four followers nodded, enthusiastically inviting them to join.

"I see…"

Her eyes darted around, and Haruno responded with a smile.

"While I'm a bit tempted by Yuuki-kun's invitation, I didn't come alone."

"I'll ask Tenkuji-kun first. If he's okay with it, I'll join. If he's in a rush to head home after practice, nothing we can do~"

A few of them expressed understanding.

Haruno turned, quickly walking toward Yuu while pondering Kouichirou's intentions.

Based on her shallow knowledge of Kouichirou, detaining someone without reason—especially a high schooler he'd never met—wasn't something the typically homebody guy would do.

Did her earlier words fail to dispel his interest?

Or did he just think Yuu was handsome and want to get to know him?

Or perhaps he wanted to introduce him to his sister, Asuna, who was as beautiful as Yukino but with a much better figure?

With various possibilities swirling in her mind, constantly calculating her next move, Haruno stopped in front of Yuu.

After briefly explaining the situation, she shrugged: "This has nothing to do with your rent-a-boyfriend duties. You can refuse… In fact, refusing is the best option, for both you and me."

Not meddling too much in a client's personal affairs was an unwritten rule in the rent-a-boyfriend industry.

Haruno understood this, of course. If she were in his position, she probably wouldn't want to stay and play games with someone else's friends either—how awkward would that be?

Especially for Yuu, currently playing the role of a cold sharpshooter, his character fundamentally wouldn't agree.

"After refusing, we'll move somewhere else to avoid running into them again when we go up for rock climbing. It'd be hard to explain otherwise."

Haruno finished speaking, her eyes fixed on Yuu, waiting for his affirmative response.

"Hmm…"

After a moment's thought, Yuu glanced at the five, nodding flatly:

"Then let's play. It's free, after all."

"Then I'll refuse… Wait, what?! Are you serious?"

Haruno, who had been nonchalant, widened her eyes in disbelief, her lips parting slightly as she deliberately lowered her voice so the others wouldn't hear:

"Can I know why? No matter how I look at it, you don't seem like the type to bother with something this troublesome just for a few tokens."

Indeed.

No matter how you thought about it, there was no reason for him to play with those university students.

"The reasons are simple—just two," Yuu cleared his throat, maintaining his flat expression, and spoke fluently.

"First, you and that Yuuki-san aren't actually that close, are you?"

Through observation, he quickly noticed this:

"Even though he calls you by your first name, his tone and responses are very polite and awkward, and so are yours."

"Even if you're not interested in him, you're still pretending to be enthusiastic, digging for information about him and trying to get closer."

However, perhaps because of Yuu's presence, these actions weren't too obvious—it was clear Haruno didn't want to offend anyone.

So, through integrating and analyzing various clues, Yuu reached the following conclusion:

"This pretty much proves that your mom has recently set her sights on Yuuki-san. You, who were originally just casual acquaintances with him, received a request to build a good relationship with him. Even if you're not forced to marry, you're still guessing the elders' plans, so you're proactively preparing for a future matchmaking."

He said this with a confident tone, as if he'd witnessed it himself.

This had nothing to do with the system—purely his own analytical ability, nothing special.

"Ho~ ho~"

Slowly narrowing her eyes, hiding her pupils that shrank in surprise, Haruno let out a strange chuckle.

"Though some details need fleshing out, you're basically not wrong… Ugh, being read like this feels really uncomfortable."

Yuu pursed his lips.

"It's not that bad to be read. You told me all this yourself—I just deduced and refined it a bit."

"So, if I weren't here, you'd probably have joined their group long ago, looking for chances to bond with Yuuki-san, right?"

Yuu maintained his icy demeanor, spreading his hands in resignation.

"Just say it—I don't want to get in your way and even plan to help you. I'll distract the other four, and you can do what you want. That's one reason I agreed."

"…"

Haruno fell silent for a moment, her hands patting his shoulder twice, seemingly with some force.

But Yuu, whose skin was getting thicker, didn't feel any pain.

"Yuu-chan, don't tell me you have a superpower for mind-reading?"

"Not quite." Yuu held back a laugh, keeping his tone as flat as possible. "Besides, there's one more crucial reason I'm staying."

"Crucial? What's that?"

"That."

Following his finger, Haruno turned to look at the billboard.

"There's an event at the game center today. I need to win a prize for my sister."

"…"

After a brief pause, Haruno, whose expression had been slightly gloomy and thoughtful, couldn't help but giggle.

"Hahaha, that's it? That's your most important reason?"

Though she teased in a soft voice, her gaze toward Yuu unconsciously softened, gentle.

"Unlike me, you're really a good big brother."

At that moment, Yuu felt a mutual understanding between fellow siscons.

He thought for a moment, deciding to ask: "If your sister asked something of you, would you flat-out refuse?"

Haruno answered immediately: "No way! Yukino's too stubborn—whatever she wants, she'll get with her own ability. And since she hates me, even if she had to ask for help, she'd never contact me~"

Haruno waved her hand generously, then placed a finger on her chin, tilting her head slightly, lost in thought.

"But if that day ever comes, and she asks me to get her a kitten or a panda or something…"

As she spoke, her eyes softened unconsciously, her smile, for the first time, showing Yuu her most genuine tenderness.

"I'd do my best to get it for her. No matter the cost!"

"After all, I'm her big sister."

Out of habit, she put on a cheerful mask, clenching her fist tightly and letting out two proud snorts.

"Though before that, I'd definitely tease her to death!"

Ignoring her last sentence, Yuu nodded in agreement.

"For us, little sisters will always be the most important reason."