Class time was about to start.
Sawamura Haruno and Mine Shiori slipped into the classroom just in time.
Perhaps because this place was called the University of Tokyo, most students naturally gravitated toward the middle or front rows. Only a small handful were willing to voluntarily sit in the back.
But for Haruno, it didn't really matter where he sat.
The back row was even better—he could slack off a bit, and this lecture wasn't all that important anyway.
If attendance hadn't been so strictly enforced, he probably wouldn't have shown up at all.
What surprised him was that Mine Shiori followed him to the back as well. In the end, the two of them sat down with a single empty seat between them.
"…"
Haruno couldn't help glancing at her a few more times.
She wasn't looking at him, though—she was quietly organizing the books she'd need for class.
From this angle, Mine Shiori was actually quite pretty.
She didn't lose out to the Miyazawa sisters in looks at all—though hers was a more youthful, almost immature kind of beauty.
A petite frame, half-lidded eyes that seemed perpetually unenthusiastic, a cool and indifferent attitude, and a flat, steady tone with almost no emotional fluctuation—
When these elements came together, they somehow made her unexpectedly popular.
"Sawamura-kun… could you please stop staring at me like that?"
Mine Shiori suddenly spoke, sounding a little uncomfortable.
"S-sorry. I was just a bit distracted."
Caught red-handed, Haruno's expression stiffened slightly.
He really had been staring too intently.
After all, this was a completely different feeling from the Miyazawa sisters. He still hadn't developed much resistance to this type of appearance, so if he wasn't careful, he'd end up sinking into it.
"I'm fine, but…" After hesitating for a moment, Shiori added softly,
"I only just noticed—your complexion doesn't look very good. Did you not rest well last night?"
"Yeah, sort of," Haruno coughed lightly and replied casually.
"I argued with my younger sister last night. She even ran away from home and stayed over at a friend's place. I'm trying to figure out how to get her to come back."
"So it's your sister…"
Shiori's tone remained calm, but if one listened carefully, there was a hint of concern in it.
"If it escalated to the point of running away, I think it might be better to keep some distance for now. Let both sides cool down."
"What do you mean?"
Haruno immediately felt uneasy.
"Literally what it sounds like," Shiori said, then paused before continuing.
"Generally speaking, siblings don't often fight to the point of leaving home, right?"
She tilted her head slightly.
"I don't know exactly what happened between you two, but since things have already reached this stage, it might be better to give both yourself and her some time to calm down and think things through. Then you can apologize later and bring her back."
…Mm. A very textbook answer.
Exactly the kind of "correct" advice Haruno had expected to hear from Mine Shiori.
"I'm just worried she'll cause trouble for her friend if she stays there too long," Haruno said, probing cautiously.
"So I was thinking—what if I just go straight over and bring her back?"
"That would definitely lead to another fight," Shiori replied without hesitation.
"You argued just last night. If you rush over now to drag her home, she might feel embarrassed in front of her friend. That would almost certainly cause a bigger argument."
"That… does make sense."
Haruno's eye twitched slightly.
There was no doubt about it—if Mana suddenly showed up at his door, Maki would absolutely blow up.
Even though Maki had quietly admitted last night that she didn't actually hate her sister, knowing something in her head didn't mean she could act on it emotionally.
Especially when this issue had been building up for a long time. There was no way a few words could resolve it.
"Sawamura-kun, you actually get along quite well with your sister, don't you?"
While Haruno was still deep in thought, Shiori spoke again.
"It feels like you're in such a hurry to bring her back because you're worried about her."
"…Uh."
Haruno forced an awkward smile.
Sorry, Shiori.
I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint your expectations.
Honestly, I just think Maki would be a huge problem if she stayed at my place. This has nothing to do with sibling affection.
If I had to be honest, at most it was a trace of leftover feelings from my past relationship with Mana.
Just a tiny bit of lingering attachment—
mixed with the possessiveness that men can't quite get rid of, especially since Maki looks exactly like Mana.
In that regard, I'm probably still immature.
"I guess I am a little worried," Haruno said vaguely, lips twitching.
"But I think I understand what you mean. I'll let both of us cool down first."
"Mhm."
Mine Shiori smiled faintly.
The impact of that smile was strong enough to make Haruno's heart skip a beat.
A high-value girl who perfectly embodied those four traits—
even when she smiled, her eyes still carried that slightly sleepy look. And it was precisely because of that that she felt so irresistibly attractive.
"Sawamura-kun, your eyes—"
"…Sorry."
Caught again.
Haruno's face grew increasingly awkward. Thankfully, Shiori didn't say anything more.
After gently reminding him once, the petite girl quickly returned her attention to the book in her hands.
But Haruno no longer had the focus to properly listen to the lecture. Once he calmed down, his thoughts drifted back to Miyazawa Maki—and the "golden finger" that had appeared last night.
"The truth I deliberately ignored…"
Haruno muttered under his breath.
Could it be referring to the real reason Mana had broken up with him back then?
But when they broke up, Maki hadn't yet started isolating herself at home. It didn't seem directly related.
The main reason for their breakup had simply been the pressure of entrance exams. Neither of them had the time or energy to maintain the relationship, and before they realized it, they'd drifted apart.
By the time they came to their senses, the feelings were already gone. Even now, despite being at the same university, neither of them had any intention of getting back together.
So if that wasn't it…
Could the "truth" be related to why Maki had always been so cold toward him?
Was it not because of Mana?
Could it be that he had unknowingly offended Maki before he even started dating Mana—and from then on, she'd disliked him, even extending that resentment to her sister?
Haruno felt a headache coming on.
He couldn't quite piece the connections together. And honestly, that hundred thousand yen might not have been worth this much trouble.
The task was stuck here without even a hint, and he'd been hoping the system would at least give him some way to get Maki to obediently go home.
…Who knows if that girl has even woken up yet.
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