"Eriri-chan seems to be in a really good mood today."
During lunchtime, Ikuyo Kita noticed that Eriri had been smiling nonstop, clearly in high spirits.
Having been eating lunch together with Eriir and the others for a while now, the group had grown quite familiar with each other's personalities and habits. To exaggerate a bit, they were practically a "lunchtime-exclusive" family at this point.
Because of that, Ikuyo could easily tell that Eriri was unusually cheerful today—normally, her expressions weren't this dreamy.
"Did something happen with Shin?"
After a brief moment of thought, Ikuyo made her guess.
She had noticed Eriir glancing at Shin repeatedly, and given that nearly every girl in the Paranormal Research Club (or as she accidentally thought of it, the "Lunch Club") had feelings for him, it wasn't hard to deduce that Eriri's good mood was almost certainly Shin-related.
"N-Nothing happened!"
Eriri reflexively slipped into tsundere mode before clearing her throat and explaining the real reason for her happiness.
"It's just… I invited Shin to have dinner at my place today. And, well, meet my mom."
Though Shin had technically met Sayuri Sawamura before—at a comic convention—in Eriri's mind, that didn't count as a proper introduction. This time, him visiting her home officially meant meeting the parents—or at least, that's how Eriri saw it.
"Wha—?! Shin is meeting your parents?!"
Ikuyo's heart skipped a beat, a sudden sense of urgency gripping her. She hadn't realized Eriri and Shin had already progressed this far.
She knew Shin and Megumi Kato had an unusually close relationship—one that had even escalated to that level—but she hadn't been sure how things stood between him and Eriri.
"Ah, Shin met my parents yesterday too, when he helped me move."
Megumi chimed in with a calm smile—though her tone was even, there was an unmistakable hint of competitiveness in her words.
What she really meant was: "Shin met my parents first, not yours."
Even someone as usually composed as Megumi wasn't immune to these little rivalries.
"Even Katou-san too…?"
Ikuyo glanced at Megumi, her sense of urgency intensifying.
Her gaze instinctively shifted to Gotou Hitori, sitting beside her—wait, did that mean the Kessoku Band members were the only ones who hadn't introduced Shin to their families yet?
Well, no—Nijika Ijichi's older sister, Seika Ijichi (the manager of their live house), had met Shin, so that technically counted.
But what truly caught Ikuyo off guard was Hitori's timid voice piping up:
"Um… Shin actually came over for dinner at my place a while ago too…"
Instantly, every girl's eyes locked onto Hitori, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief—even Megumi looked genuinely surprised.
No one had expected Hitori, of all people, to be the first to make progress on this front.
In Japan, meeting parents was still a fairly significant step—even though Megumi and Eriri had already gone further physically, they'd somehow lost ground in this area.
Now Ikuyo was really panicking—was she the only one lagging behind?!
She'd thought she and Hitori were in the same boat, but turns out Hitori had already brought Shin home.
"No… I can't just sit around anymore. I need to do something!"
Looking around at the Paranormal Research Club members, Ikuyo silently steeled her resolve.
Sure, she'd already hugged Shin, even kissed him—but part of her had still hesitated.
After all, Shin was so close with the other girls that she'd wondered if she should even keep trying.
But now, seeing how fiercely everyone else was fighting for him, Ikuyo decided she couldn't afford to hold back anymore. If she wanted something, she had to go for it!
That said, even with her newfound determination, Ikuyo wasn't about to rush straight to a home run—she'd still need a proper plan.
---
"I'm sorry for taking up your lunch break like this, Yukinoshita-san."
In the faculty office, the math teacher clasped her hands apologetically as she spoke to Yukinoshita Yukino.
She was a new teacher and still unfamiliar with most students—the only one she really knew was Yukino, who stood out even in class.
Fortunately, despite her cold demeanor, Yukino was willing to help, spending her time assisting the teacher with organizing materials.
"It's fine."
After finishing the task, Yukino gave a curt nod and left the office.
However, once outside, she couldn't help but frown slightly—this little detour had completely eaten up her lunch break.
Not that she blamed the teacher, but she'd planned to visit the Paranormal Research Club after lunch.
Now, with class about to start, there was no way anyone would still be there.
"Could this be Shin's supernatural ability at work…?"
The thought crossed Yukino's mind—she didn't know much about "superpowers," so in her mind, they could basically do anything.
Was Shin using some ability to block people from disturbing his lunch break?
But she quickly dismissed the idea—if Shin could do something like that, his powers would be practically godlike.
What Yukino didn't realize was that her wild guess wasn't far off—this was the result of "Blackbird Requiem's" fixed outcome.
Though Yukino and Shin were acquainted, "Blackbird Requiem" didn't classify her as part of his inner circle, hence why she couldn't approach the clubroom during lunch.
Still, failing to catch Shin during lunch didn't discourage Yukino. She returned to her seat in class, deciding to try again after school.
If she still couldn't find him then… well, she'd just have to message him.
They had exchanged contact info, after all—Yukino just wasn't the type to reach out for personal reasons.
But this time, since it involved Yukinoshita Haruno as well, she figured it was worth asking properly.
To be continued…