When Makoto proactively invited Yukino to have dinner, the girl agreed without any hesitation.
Everything that had happened today had clearly and completely piqued her curiosity.
They had oden for dinner.
Although Makoto offered to pay, Yukino insisted on splitting the bill.
Fushimi didn't push the issue.
Because of the time loop, he had never cared about money anyway—his wallet would simply "reset" the next day.
At first, this situation felt pretty satisfying, but as time went on, Makoto started to experience a kind of fatigue, similar to aesthetic fatigue.
Just like in that movie: Groundhog Day.
The only thing that made him genuinely happy was that whenever he talked to Yukino about the time loop, this girl would always end up believing him.
That counted as a kind of emotional value in his repetitive life.
"Where are you planning to take me next?"
Seated across from him, Yukino ate gracefully, her beautiful eyes openly fixed on Makoto's face.
It was clear she wanted to continue experiencing these novel events.
Even if everything would reset tomorrow.
"How about going to Chiba?" Makoto suggested.
"Chiba?" Yukino showed a doubtful expression—that was her hometown.
Makoto admitted frankly, "Exactly what you're thinking. We could go meet your mother."
Yukino fell silent for a moment. Remembering how he had been pursuing girls in the time loop, her delicate face grew cold. "You and my mother..."
"Where is your mind going?" Makoto said, a little amused as he looked at her.
Yukino's tense expression relaxed slightly, though her tone remained cold: "Then why bring up Chiba?"
"Because you want to keep experiencing new things. Your mother is currently facing a business problem.
There's an important deal she's very concerned about that hasn't been finalized."
"...I think I know what you're about to say."
Yukino's expression turned helpless.
Sure enough, what Makoto said next was exactly what she had guessed:
"I had some free time, so I looked into her potential business partner. Since I had plenty of time, I once helped them close the deal."
As he spoke, Makoto laughed. "Because of that, she even introduced me to Miss Haruno."
Hearing him so bluntly mention her mother and sister, Yukino's headache worsened. "And then?"
"Nothing much. Miss Haruno isn't as cute as you are, so I'd rather spend time with you."
"...Thank you for the compliment."
Yukino's tone was stiff.
It wasn't that she was shy about the compliment; rather, the thought that she might have been "pursued" by Makoto in the time loop complicated her feelings immensely.
After dinner, Makoto took Yukino to see Hiratsuka Shizuka.
They only watched her from a distance.
Just like Makoto had said earlier, Hiratsuka Shizuka sat alone on a park bench, looking bitter.
The streetlights illuminated her figure, highlighting her loneliness even more.
"Should we go say hi?" Makoto glanced at Yukino beside him.
"No."
Yukino refused firmly.
She had no desire to face a woman who had just failed a matchmaking date.
Meeting at a time like this, Yukino figured Hiratsuka Shizuka would definitely feel embarrassed.
Makoto guessed her thoughts and said, "If we went over to greet her, sure, she'd be embarrassed at first, but if we patiently encouraged her, Hiratsuka-sensei would bounce back."
As he spoke, he remembered something and teased, "Actually, Hiratsuka-sensei blushing when she's flustered is pretty cute too."
Yukino immediately shot him a cold glare.
The meaning behind her eyes was clear: Can we not talk about such strange things?
Unbothered, Makoto said, "I'll take you to meet another girl who's going to be feeling down tonight."
"Feeling down?"
Yukino's curiosity was piqued again.
She followed Makoto across two streets and finally stopped outside an office building.
About five meters ahead of them, a short-haired girl stood looking dejected, while a man in a suit tried to console her quietly.
"Is that a Nakano?"
Yukino recognized her.
But since she had no contact with the quintuplets at school, she didn't know her name.
Makoto took the opportunity to add, "Her name is Nakano Ichika."
"Oh."
Yukino responded softly, her gaze sweeping across Ichika's ample chest in surprise.
Was that really the figure a girl their age should have?
And then looking at her beautiful face and slender waist.
It was the classic "slim tree bearing heavy fruit."
Suddenly, Yukino understood why the quintuplets were so famous at school—even she had heard countless stories about them.
"You're not feeling inferior because of her figure, are you?" Makoto saw through Yukino's inner thoughts.
Yukino said calmly, "Do you think I would care about something like that?"
"Of course not."
"Then there's your answer."
Yukino retorted, then glanced again at Nakano Ichika, who was hanging her head, and asked in a low voice, "Why is she feeling down?"
Before Makoto could answer, Nakano Ichika happened to look over.
When she saw Makoto and Yukino's faces, she froze for a moment.
Then she quickly said a few words to the man beside her, put on a polite, beautiful smile, and walked over gracefully.
"Good evening, Yukinoshita-san, and Fushimi-san~"
Her voice was as sweet as her appearance, immediately lifting people's moods.
But the cheerful smile she now wore was a stark contrast to the dejected figure she had been earlier.
"Hello, Nakano-san." Yukino wasn't surprised she was recognized—after all, she was a celebrity at school too.
Makoto also greeted her.
Nakano Ichika smiled familiarly, "You can just call me Ichika. That way, you won't mix me up with my sisters when you meet them later."
Yukino was about to speak when Ichika suddenly exclaimed, her face lighting up with gossip, "Wait, did I just interrupt your date? Sorry about that!"
Seeing the apologetic yet gossipy look on Ichika's face, Yukino calmly crossed her arms across her chest.
It was her signal to attack.
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