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When men and women work together, the work is not tiring.
Gotō Hitori directed remotely with her phone from behind, and Kitahara Makoto was in charge of purchasing at the front. In a short while, all the ingredients on the list were bought.
Kitahara Makoto: "Do we need to buy anything else?"
Gotō Hitori: "No need, everything's bought..."
Kitahara Makoto: "Then let's go pay."
Gotō Hitori looked up, then quickly lowered her small head: "Kitahara-kun doesn't need to buy anything?"
Kitahara Makoto smiled:
"I really don't have anything to buy. I only came to the convenience store because I was worried about Hitori-chan."
"..."
Gotō Hitori's small face was flushed, and she didn't reply to the message anymore.
Kitahara Makoto didn't mind, his good mood was completely unaffected, and he walked towards the cashier with Little Miss Anxiety.
It's definitely not something that can be done overnight to get Little Miss Anxiety to open her heart. He can't rush, he has to take it slow!
"Hitori-chan, you go wait for me outside first." Kitahara Makoto held the shopping bags in both hands, "I'll wait in line to pay."
"Mhm."
Gotō Hitori nodded quickly like a pecking chick, and hurried out with small steps.
For her, queuing to pay when there were so many people was like queuing for the guillotine, it was too terrifying. Now that Kitahara Makoto was helping, it was naturally the best.
There was nothing to say about paying. Kitahara Makoto queued and paid, and when he came out, he saw two small radish heads already gathered around Gotō Hitori.
"Onii-chan~"
Gotō Futari looked up with her small face, softly and sweetly welcoming him out.
Bocchi-chan and the Beast Eared Girl, on the other hand, one nervously looked down at her toes, and the other ate cake expressionlessly, having no intention of speaking to Kitahara Makoto.
"Hitori-chan, I didn't let you down." Kitahara Makoto handed over the shopping bag, "The receipt is inside."
In front of Futari, Gotō Hitori couldn't continue sending messages on her phone, so she could only blush and stammer:
"Th-thank you, Kitahara-kun..."
"Eh?" Gotō Futari looked up in confusion, "Onii-chan knows my sister?"
Kitahara Makoto said seriously:
"Hitori and I are classmates, and Hitori-chan is also my lifesaver."
"Eh eh eh?" Gotō Futari's eyes widened immediately, and an extremely curious expression appeared on her small face, "Sister is actually a lifesaver?"
Kitahara Makoto said without changing his expression:
"I have low blood sugar. A while ago, I was busy going to school in the morning and forgot to eat, almost fainting. In the end, it was the kind Hitori-chan who gave me bread. Wouldn't it be an exaggeration to call her a lifesaver?"
Gotō Futari's eyes were full of admiration: "Sister is so cool!"
"Eh heh~"
Receiving praise from her younger sister, Gotō Hitori laughed triumphantly, but immediately covered her mouth with a flushed small face.
(W-wait a minute... I bit that bread myself at the time... Kitahara-kun seemed to have eaten all of it later...)
(S-so...)
(At that time, it was already indirectly...)
Thinking of this, steam rose from Gotō Hitori's head again.
(No way, no way, no way...)
(Could it be that from that time, Kitahara-kun already, already...)
(N-no way!)
(Bad at studying, bad at sports, bad at everything, someone as useless as me wouldn't be popular!)
Gotō Hitori, as always, denied herself in her heart, but this time, she was clearly a little guilty.
Shaking her head, she drove the messy thoughts out of her mind. Gotō Hitori took out her wallet, pulled out a Fukuzawa Yukichi from it, turned her head to look elsewhere, and whispered in a voice like a mosquito's hum:
"Th-that... this is the money for the groceries..."
"I'll take it."
Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't refuse. Even if he wanted to cough lightly, with Bocchi-chan's personality, she would definitely not agree.
However...
"I don't have any change on me right now." Kitahara Makoto smiled, "Shall I give the change to Hitori-chan tomorrow?"
"..."
Gotō Hitori cautiously looked up, and after seeing the smile on Kitahara Makoto's face, her heart rate suddenly accelerated, and then she lowered her head in a panic.
Not having change was reasonable and flawless, but a girl's intuition told Gotō Hitori...
An excuse!
It was clearly an excuse!
Kitahara Makoto definitely had pocket money on him. The reason he said that was just to... to...
Gotō Hitori didn't dare to think further, she could only stammer a quiet reply:
"N-no problem..."
"Then that's settled, I'll give Hitori-chan the change tomorrow." Kitahara Makoto smiled, "Also, if Hitori-chan comes to the convenience store to buy things again in the future, you can call me for help. Whether it's day or night, windy or rainy, I will come to Hitori-chan's side."
"..."
Gotō Hitori's small face was burning hot, and she lowered her head, not daring to respond.
If it were before, she would have continued to deceive herself, interpreting Kitahara Makoto's words as being warm-hearted, gentle, and helpful, but now she couldn't lie to herself anymore...
Kitahara Makoto invited:
"Hana-chan and I are going to eat something. Hitori-chan, do you and Futari want to join us?"
"Hitori and I have already eaten." Gotō Hitori quickly shook her head, "We're going home now."
Kitahara Makoto nodded, naturally not forcing them, just saying gently:
"Hitori-chan, see you tomorrow."
"S-see you tomorrow..."
After speaking, Bocchi-chan took Futari and hurried home.
Kitahara Makoto pondered for a moment, then took out his phone and sent a message to Bocchi-chan:
"Hitori-chan, message me when you get home. The windbreaker evil spirit might still be lurking nearby. Be careful, don't take alleys, and if you encounter anything unusual, don't hesitate, tell me immediately, and I'll rush over right away."
A moment later, Gotō Hitori replied: "Eh, that windbreaker evil spirit will appear again?"
Kitahara Makoto: "I don't rule out that possibility. Anyway, safety first. If you encounter danger, tell me immediately."
Gotō Hitori: "I-I understand..."
Next was eating and drinking time. Kitahara Makoto took the Beast Eared Girl and started feasting. During this time, he received a message from Bocchi-chan saying that she and Futari had arrived home safely.
Full and satisfied.
Kitahara Makoto took the Beast Eared Girl and headed home, then took out the biscuit box he had obtained from Futari.
[You have obtained an optimizable item. Do you want to optimize it now?]
"Optimize."
Kitahara Makoto decisively gave the command.
Now that he was home, he naturally didn't have to worry about attracting attention.
Optimization began, and Kitahara Makoto quickly felt something being drawn from his body. A faint fatigue surged into his heart, followed by a faint, shimmering light appearing on the biscuit box.
However, with the washing machine situation earlier, Kitahara Makoto no longer dared to hold too much expectation.
A moment later.
The faint light on the biscuit box dissipated.
[Item: magical biscuit Box]
[Current Status: Optimized]
[New Entry: Unlimited Refills. Place this biscuit box in an unobservable sealed environment, and a box of biscuits will automatically generate inside after midnight every day.]
[New Entry: convenience sticker. Stick a convenience sticker on the biscuit box and write down your wish on the convenience sticker. The next day's biscuits will temporarily enhance one of your abilities. Please note, one of the biscuits will give you an extra surprise.]
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