Mine Shiori had left.
As for why she left, Sawamura Haruno could more or less guess the reason.
It was nothing more than Miyazawa Maki blurting out a bunch of strange, overly explicit things, which had caused quite a bit of distress for someone as relatively traditional as Mine Shiori.
On top of that, Maki had sat down beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world, without caring in the slightest whether he and Mana were broken up or not.
Perhaps sensing that things had gotten out of hand, Uemura Rena also chose to leave after quickly finishing her meal.
In the end, only Sawamura Haruno and Miyazawa Maki were left sitting in the cafeteria.
"Feeling satisfied now?"
Sawamura Haruno let out a sigh.
"Eh… so-so."
Maki turned her head away, clearly not wanting to look at his face.
"I'll explain to Mine Shiori later that you're not Mana. What about the girl who came with you—do you know her?"
"I don't."
Maki replied impatiently,
"What does it matter? Once she sees Mana, she'll understand anyway."
"You saying nonsense about Atami aside…"
Sawamura Haruno rubbed his brow, already deciding to have Mana deal with the aftermath herself later. He was, after all, an outsider—interfering too much wouldn't be appropriate.
Besides, there was something else he wanted to know more.
"What you said earlier about Atami—was that actually true? Did Mana ever tell you anything?"
"She didn't say it outright. She wanted to, but I didn't listen."
Maki curled her lips slightly, speaking indifferently.
"But I could roughly guess what was going on. After coming back from Atami, she was pretty down for a while. And honestly, it's related to the 'secret' I said I'd tell you."
"A secret?"
Sawamura Haruno's curiosity was successfully hooked.
Everyone had secrets—some they wouldn't even tell the people closest to them. Maybe Mana's secret really was the so-called truth.
"Mana, she…"
Maki suddenly turned to look at him. Her face was expressionless, but what she said next hit like a hammer.
"She has feelings for you that are… honestly kind of terrifying."
"What did you just say?"
Sawamura Haruno's expression darkened instantly.
Did this girl think his patience was infinite—that she could say whatever crossed her mind without consequences?
He was relatively tolerant in some matters, but that didn't mean he'd allow someone to trample over the same line again and again.
"I'm not lying."
Maki said calmly.
"This is something Mana told me in private a long time ago—back when we didn't even know each other yet. Probably in middle school."
"…Are you serious?"
"Do I have any reason to lie to you?"
She shot back immediately.
"Wasn't it you who wanted to know the real reason for the breakup? I didn't hear her say it outright after Atami, but I could guess. Middle school left a really deep impression on me. Back then, my relationship with her was still decent, and living under the same roof, it's normal to notice some things, right?"
"…You're talking about Mana?"
Looking at the unusually serious Maki, Sawamura Haruno's expression grew more and more complicated.
Why did this feel like things were spiraling in a completely different direction?
Was this really the truth behind their breakup?
Impossible… right?
Maki had to be exaggerating.
As if to answer that doubt, the next instant—
System text suddenly flashed across Sawamura Haruno's vision.
[You have learned a shocking secret from Miyazawa Maki: her twin sister harbors an intense and unsettling emotional attachment toward you.]
[Whether this is truly the "truth" no longer seems to matter. What matters now is why Mana developed these feelings—and what role Maki herself played in the process.]
[You realize that Maki knows far more than you imagined. You feel it is necessary to learn more about the twins. (Physical aptitude slightly increased.)]
At the same time, the phone in Sawamura Haruno's pocket vibrated.
"…So it's real?"
His pupils shrank violently.
The system—silent for nearly a whole day—had reacted again. That meant there was a connection between the truth and what Maki had said.
Did Mana really break up with him because of something like this…?
"Your face looks awful."
Seeing Sawamura Haruno's stunned expression, Maki let out a short, humorless laugh.
"When we were in middle school, there was one trip where I shared a room with her. That night, she suddenly brought up the topic of what kind of person she'd date in the future… and then very subtly expressed that sort of preference."
She paused, her lips curling into a cold smile.
"Her expression looked pretty off back then, so I kept it in mind. Sure enough, later I found several manga hidden in her room. Want to guess what kind?"
"…You don't need to say it."
Sawamura Haruno rubbed his temples.
He already knew.
"Even though some of the things I said earlier went too far, I did keep my promise."
Maki stared at the half-eaten food in front of her, having completely lost her appetite.
"So now that you know the truth, what are you going to do?"
"What can I do?"
Sawamura Haruno felt a wave of irritation rise and gave a bitter smile.
"We're already broken up. What's the point of digging this up now? I'd rather talk about how to get you home sooner."
"I'm not going back."
Maki muttered stubbornly.
After a brief silence, she still refused to give up.
"Don't you want to get back at Mana at least a little? She broke up with you over something like this, didn't she?"
"First, what you said isn't confirmed as fact. Second, I'm not a kid anymore—I'm not going to deliberately get revenge over something like this. And even if I wanted to, how exactly would I 'get back' at her?"
"Then we can do it together, can't we?"
Maki immediately perked up, lowering her voice excitedly.
"She doesn't even want to be with you anymore, so why not just—"
Before she could finish, Sawamura Haruno flicked her forehead hard.
"If what you said is true, that's not revenge—that's encouragement. And if it's false, then it doesn't even count as revenge. Either way, we're already broken up."
He paused, then added flatly,
"And no matter whether it's true or not, I'm not doing something this stupid with you."
"…Tch."
Maki clicked her tongue, looking unconvinced.
Clearly, she still didn't quite believe him.
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