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"...Marrying into the family?!"
Ijichi Nijika's eyes widened, shocked by Kita's wild idea:
"That's impossible, isn't it?"
Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly:
"Until the truth is clear, anything is possible."
"But..." Ijichi Nijika bit her lower lip lightly, feeling inexplicably difficult to accept, "To marry into a family, one must be an extremely capable person, right?"
"Kitahara-kun is already very capable," Kita Ikuyo said, counting on her fingers, "He studies well, is very handsome, and he's an exorcist. His personality is also very steady, and he even has an eight-pack..."
Mid-sentence, Kita Ikuyo suddenly realized and quickly raised both hands to cover her mouth.
Stop!
Stop right now!
Praising a boy so unreservedly, people might misunderstand, right?
Yamada Ryo tilted her head and looked over, saying expressionlessly:
"How does Kita know Kitahara-kun has an eight-pack?"
"Th-that..."
Kita Ikuyo's small face quickly flushed red, and her gaze nervously darted elsewhere.
How did she know?
Of course, she saw it in the bathroom yesterday!
Not only did she see an eight-pack, but she also saw a super terrifying monster!
Kita Ikuyo's small face was burning hot. She quickly drove out the terrifying image that had reappeared in her mind and stammered:
"I, I'm in the same school as Kitahara-kun, so I saw it during swimming class..."
"I see." Yamada Ryo changed the subject, "Have you ever touched it?"
Kita Ikuyo's small face flushed red: "Of course not!"
"This is just Kita's guess..." Ijichi Nijika bit her lower lip with her pearly teeth, "Marrying into a family would at least be after university graduation, right?"
"You can cultivate feelings in advance," Kita Ikuyo extended a finger, "I watched a TV show before, and there was a line that said it very well: Since 'The Tale of Genji' allows raising a wife from a young age, then a boy can also be raised in advance, right?"
"..."
Japan's traditional Concept does not discriminate against marrying into a family. In fact, many helmsmen of large enterprises are sons-in-law.
The reason is simple.
A son may not be capable, and instead, a troublesome rich second generation might squander all the family's assets in just a few years.
However, those sons-in-law who marry into wealthy families must be extremely capable, ensuring the family's long-term prosperity.
"Look," Kita Ikuyo lowered her voice and pointed towards the kitchen, "The distance between that girl and Kitahara-kun's standing posture is super close, almost shoulder to shoulder. Ordinary friends definitely wouldn't stand that close, right?"
"..."
The kitchen had transparent sliding glass doors. The girls looked over at the sound of her words and indeed saw the gentle Tsundere Young Miss from Tsukinomori School standing close to Kitahara Makoto, seemingly whispering.
At the same time.
Inside the kitchen.
"Kitahara-kun, shall I help?"
Nagasaki Soyo asked softly.
"You can." Kitahara Makoto, while preparing ingredients, instructed, "Peel those two cloves of garlic."
Since this Tsundere Young Miss proactively came in to help, Kitahara Makoto naturally wouldn't be polite.
"..."
Nagasaki Soyo's lips twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but inwardly complain.
How mean!
He actually directly asked a girl to peel garlic; it's going to leave a smell!
"Leave it to me."
Nagasaki Soyo exhaled lightly, took the garlic cloves, and while skillfully helping, she said casually:
"The four girls in the living room are all very cute. Coming uninvited, will it cause trouble for Kitahara-kun?"
Kitahara Makoto said casually:
"Since I asked you to come over this afternoon, there won't be any trouble."
"That's good." Nagasaki Soyo breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes sparkling, "That super cute elementary schooler, is she Kitahara-kun's younger sister?"
Kitahara Makoto shook his head: "Not a younger sister."
"Eh?"
"She's a mount."
"..."
Since he was idle anyway, Kitahara Makoto briefly explained Hana-chan's existence.
"Otherworld and strange tales?" Nagasaki Soyo's eyes widened. "It sounds so incredible."
"The world is so big, there are always some things that are incomprehensible." Kitahara Makoto finished preparing the beef in front of him and put it directly into a pressure cooker to stew. "Soyo-san, haven't you also encountered evil spirits?"
"That's true." Nagasaki Soyo nodded lightly. "The garlic is peeled. What should I do next?"
"Can you julienne the potatoes?"
"No problem at all."
"..."
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
The kitchen knife and cutting board collided, making clear sounds with a pleasant rhythm.
Kitahara Makoto looked over in surprise: "Soyo-san, you're that good?"
Hearing the compliment, the Tsundere Young Miss's rosy lips curved slightly upwards, and she said casually:
"Mom is busy with work all day. We couldn't afford a Maid Auntie before, so I did all the housework myself."
Kitahara Makoto praised, "Soyo-san, that's impressive."
At this point, Nagasaki Soyo suddenly pursed her rosy lips, a hesitant expression appearing on her pretty face, and she hesitated:
"There's something I want to tell Kitahara-kun..."
"What is it?"
"That..." The Tsundere Young Miss's pretty face flushed slightly, and she lowered her voice, "Mom said she wants to meet Kitahara-kun."
Kitahara Makoto looked over in surprise: "Why does your mom want to see me?"
"Because of what happened last night, Mom misunderstood our relationship." Nagasaki Soyo's pretty face was crimson, clearly a bit embarrassed. "Mom used to... have bad experiences with people, and she's worried I'll be deceived, so she wants to meet Kitahara-kun."
Goodness, this is clearly a mother-in-law wanting to test her prospective son-in-law!
Kitahara Makoto said speechlessly:
"Can I refuse?"
"I'm sorry, I know it will cause trouble for Kitahara-kun, but there's no other way." Nagasaki Soyo clasped her hands together, a pitiful, pleading look on her face, "Although Mom is usually very steady, sometimes she can be stubbornly persistent to a headache-inducing degree... Mom definitely won't give up if Kitahara-kun refuses, and who knows what headache-inducing things she'll do in the end."
"Please, please, as long as Kitahara-kun meets Mom, I'll do anything!"
"Well..."
Kitahara Makoto looked hesitant, still undecided whether to agree, when a soft thud suddenly came from behind him.
Turning to look, he saw four girls neatly hiding in the corner, with Kita's small face even bumped against the door.
Kitahara Makoto's lips twitched slightly: "What are you doing?"
Yamada Ryo said expressionlessly:
"I came to see what Kitahara-kun was cooking."
If you want to look, just look openly. Hiding in the corner clearly means you were eavesdropping!
Ijichi Nijika cleared her throat twice, her pretty face slightly red:
"Um... we actually wanted to ask if you needed help."
How embarrassing!
She hesitated for a moment and was called over by Kita to eavesdrop, and now they were caught red-handed. It was truly too embarrassing!
"N-no, that's right." Kita, the instigator, quickly nodded, "Kitahara-kun, it's too tiring for you to be busy alone. We also want to help."
"Since you say so, I won't be polite." Kitahara Makoto wiped his hands clean. "Ryo-senpai, you and Kita come over to wash the ingredients. I just checked, and we're out of soy sauce, so I'll go to the convenience store to buy some."
"Hitori-chan, go home and bring Futari over."
Seeing Kitahara Makoto ignore Ryo, Kita Ikuyo quickly reminded him:
"Kitahara-kun, don't forget Ryo-senpai."
"Ryo-senpai, huh..." Kitahara Makoto pondered for two seconds, "She just needs to wait for dinner."
Clap.
Yamada Ryo quickly clapped her hands together, her eyes bright:
"god, thank you for your care."
"..."
Coming outside the door.
Kitahara Makoto quickly noticed that Bocchi-chan's expression was off, seemingly a bit down and depressed.
"Hitori-chan, what's wrong?"
Kitahara Makoto asked softly.
"Ah, I, I'm fine..."
Gotō Hitori quickly shook her head.
(Kitahara-kun is about to marry into a family, so I must keep my distance from now on...)
(Soyo-san looks so cute, so gentle. If I were Kitahara-kun, I would definitely choose her too, right?)
(But... why does my chest feel so heavy?)
Kitahara Makoto said softly:
"You can tell me anything you encounter."
"R-really, I'm fine..." Gotō Hitori hurried her steps, lowered her head, and walked away, "I'm going back first!"
Looking at Little Miss Anxiety's flustered figure, Kitahara Makoto frowned slightly.
"What's going on?"
"She was perfectly normal when she came in just now..."
"Let's ask Kita first."
Kitahara Makoto quickly made up his mind, turned, and went back into the house.
Soy sauce could be bought later, but if the problem wasn't clarified, it would keep bothering him.
"Kita-san, come here for a moment."
Kitahara Makoto stood in the entrance, waving towards the kitchen.
"Eh?"
Kita Ikuyo heard the commotion and poked her head out from the kitchen: "Kitahara-kun is calling me?"
"That's right, come here."
"Coming, coming."
Kita Ikuyo wiped her hands clean and scurried over from the kitchen.
"What did Kitahara-kun call me for?"
Kitahara Makoto lowered his voice and said:
"Just now, when I went out with Bocchi-chan, Hitori-chan seemed distracted and looked down, which felt a bit strange, so I came back to ask you why."
"Eh?" Kita Ikuyo blinked, quickly guessing Bocchi-chan's reason for being down, and stammered softly, "Um...actually it's because..."
Just now in the kitchen, while washing ingredients, Nagasaki Soyo proactively approached her and Nijika to chat. After clarifying the reason, Kita realized she had misunderstood Kitahara Makoto, so she naturally felt too embarrassed to say it out loud now.
Kitahara Makoto raised an eyebrow and said:
"Because of what?"
Kita leaned against the wall in the entrance, her face averted guiltily:
"Because...because it's all Kitahara-kun's fault."
"???"
Question marks appeared above Kitahara Makoto's head: "I've been washing vegetables in the kitchen all this time, how is it my fault?"
"Oh, Kitahara-kun, don't worry. I'll explain everything clearly to Bocchi-chan later." Kita Ikuyo was extremely guilty and urged softly, "You should hurry out and buy things."
Buy what? The more guilty you are, the more curious it makes me!
Bang.
Kitahara Makoto raised his right hand and pressed it directly against the wall by Kita's ear, then leaned in closer.
"Too, too close!" Kita Ikuyo's face quickly flushed red. She quickly reached out to brace against Kitahara Makoto's chest, nervously saying, "Kitahara-kun, don't get so close!"
Kitahara Makoto looked intently and said:
"Quickly tell me what happened, or else I'm going to bully Kita."
Kita Ikuyo's eyes darted nervously, and she whispered:
"If Kitahara-kun dares to bully me, I, I'll call for help!"
At a time like this, you should call the police directly. Calling for help has no deterrent effect at all!
"Then call." Kitahara Makoto continued to lean in, "Anyway, I have a thick skin."
Kita Ikuyo: "..."
The distance between them grew closer and closer, soon reaching the point where they could hear each other's breathing.
Kitahara Makoto could already smell the sweet fragrance on Kita.
Thump thump thump.
Besides that, in the quiet entrance, he could even clearly hear the girl's nervous and rapid heartbeat.
(The entrance and the kitchen are only separated by a wall, which means Nijika-senpai and Ryo-senpai are right behind me. If they find out...)
Just thinking about such a scene made Kita Ikuyo's heart pound even faster, her face flushed crimson and burning, as if on fire.
Immoral!
It was simply too immoral!
"I, I'll tell you then..."
Kita Ikuyo frantically begged for mercy, her face crimson as she blurted out her guess about him marrying into the family.
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
No wonder Bocchi-chan looked down; it seems she really believed your wild guess!
"Kita-san has a very active imagination. It's better not to guess wildly in the future." Kitahara Makoto explained helplessly, "Soyo-san and I are just ordinary friends. She came over this afternoon because she wanted to ask me for help with exorcism."
Speaking of exorcism, it was inevitable to mention the amusement park. In front of Bocchi-chan, Kitahara Makoto did feel a bit guilty and didn't want to talk about going to the amusement park with other girls.
However, it seemed he couldn't avoid talking about it now.
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood Kitahara-kun..."
Kita Ikuyo, however, admitted her mistake readily, sticking out her pink tongue and apologizing softly: "When Bocchi-chan comes back, I'll help explain everything clearly."
Kitahara Makoto nodded: "You go play, I'll continue to buy things."
"Then I'll go wash the ingredients in the kitchen...Ahhhhhh!"
Kita Ikuyo turned to slip away, then suddenly saw a Beast Eared Girl standing silently behind her, scaring her so much that she literally jumped.
Thump!
Kitahara Makoto was bending down to tie his shoelaces when his head was suddenly hit by a headbutt. Immediately after, he was pressed down by Kita. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he looked up, and two soft, warm objects directly blocked his words.
"..."
Lips met.
The air suddenly grew quiet.
Kitahara Makoto could clearly see his reflection in Kita's eyes.
Conversely, Kita could also clearly see her own expression changing in Kitahara Makoto's eyes.
Within just two seconds, her expression first became bewildered, then shy, and then from shy to flustered, her face turning explosively red with a 'bang'.
Whoosh—
Kita Ikuyo quickly sat up and moved to the side, frantically raising her hand to wipe her lips, her face burning red. She cried out in shame:
"Three, three-second rule!"
Kitahara Makoto was startled: "What do you mean?"
"If food falls on the table, as long as you pick it up within three seconds, it's as if it never fell." Kita Ikuyo quickly stood up, her face full of shame, "It was less than three seconds just now, so it doesn't count as a kiss!"
Kitahara Makoto: "..."
What a self-deceiving move. You can't even fool yourself with that kind of logic!
"And Hana." Kita Ikuyo looked at the Beast Eared Girl, her tone resentful and full of grievance, "Don't stand silently behind people!!!"
The Beast Eared Girl tilted her small face:
"Cupcakes."
Kita Ikuyo put her hands on her hips: "No cupcakes."
The Beast Eared Girl was expressionless:
"Tell Mommy, you kissed..."
"S-sorry! Please, please don't tell anyone!" Kita Ikuyo immediately panicked, pressing her hands together and quickly pleading, "I'll buy you cupcakes right away!"
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter