"Hoshimi, what time is it?"
At the Hoshimi's house, Kasumigaoka, dressed only in a white shirt, lazily asked.
At this moment, she was snuggled in Hoshimi's arms, who was in a half-sage-like state, watching a historical drama together.
"Ha~~" Hoshimi, feeling a little sleepy, yawned and slowly turned to glance at the wall clock. "It's past 5:40..."
After saying this, Hoshimi suddenly became more alert.
5:40—at this time, Yukino should be almost home, right?
With this thought in mind, Hoshimi stroked Kasumigaoka's waterfall-like hair and pretending to be lazy and asked, "Utaha, it's getting late. Do you want me to take you home?"
"Home?" Kasumigaoka half-closed her eyes and, like a lazy cat, turned in Hoshimi's arms, finding a comfortable position, and said, "I took three days off. I'm not in a hurry to go back."
"Three days?" Hoshimi's heart suddenly tightened, and an ominous feeling crept in.
Three days... that's a long time and increases the risk of exposure... especially since Kotoko will be back soon. The risk of getting caught will rise with her around. Kotoko's intelligence-gathering skills are just as formidable as her clinginess.
"Yeah, three days. I took leave yesterday, so I can go back tomorrow."
Upon hearing Kasumigaoka's explanation, Hoshimi breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, she's going back tomorrow, which lowers the chances of being found out significantly.
But if she's not going back until tomorrow... does that mean she'll stay the night?
With that thought, Hoshimi unconsciously looked down at Kasumigaoka, who was nestled in his arms.
Earlier, when she took a bath, Kasumigaoka had soaked her clothes, so they were tossed into the washing machine. Not wanting to wear a bathrobe, she ended up putting on his white shirt.
Yes, just a white shirt—and nothing else...
He was half a head taller than Kasumigaoka, and his shirt barely covered her thighs.
The length of the shirt wasn't an issue, but the fit certainly was. Since it was a custom-fitted, slim design, and his frame wasn't particularly broad, it was obvious that the buttons around her chest couldn't be fastened.
So Kasumigaoka simply didn't bother buttoning the top part, only fastening the buttons below her chest.
As a result, from his viewpoint, the "scenery" was truly breathtaking.
As he continued looking, Hoshimi's nose couldn't help but itch.
He had to admit that, in terms of feminine charm, Kasumigaoka easily surpassed Yukino and Kotoko by miles. After all, he had never been so tempted when snuggling with Yukino or Kotoko.
"Utaha, are you staying over tonight?"
Ring~~ Ring~~
Just as Hoshimi was speaking, his phone rang. He froze for less than a second before quickly reacting.
At this time of day, there was a 50% chance it was Yukino, a 49.9% chance it was Kotoko, and the remaining 0.1% was telemarketers or spam calls.
"Utaha, I need to take this call." Hoshimi, keeping a calm expression, picked up his phone and headed to the second living room.
"..." Kasumigaoka watched him out of the corner of her eye, a strange glint flashing through her wine-red irises.
Does he really need to step away to answer the phone?
Come to think of it, he also stepped away when answering a call earlier this morning...
Who could it be?
After pondering for a moment, Kasumigaoka reclined on the sofa, lazily waiting for Hoshimi to return.
Meanwhile, in the second living room, Hoshimi glanced back a few times to make sure Kasumigaoka hadn't followed him before answering the call.
"Hoshimi, are you coming home today?" Yukino's cold voice came through the phone.
Hoshimi quickly adjusted his tone, making his voice sound groggy as if he had just woken up. "Oh, Yukino... I just got off the train... I'll be home soon. You haven't had dinner yet, right? What do you want to eat? I'll bring something back."
Yukino: "No need. I'll cook myself. Have you eaten yet? Should I make enough for you too?"
Hoshimi's eye twitched slightly.
Wow, Yukino was being pretty direct. She might as well have just said, "I'm waiting for you at home, so come back soon."
Thinking it over, Hoshimi replied, "I've already eaten. You just make your own. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, I understand. Be safe on your way home." With that, Yukino hung up.
Beep—beep—beep—!
Hearing the busy tone, Hoshimi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Now what?
He stood there pondering for about ten seconds before returning to the first living room with a serious expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Hoshimi's stern expression, Kasumigaoka sat up straight and asked.
"My aunt is in Chiba." Hoshimi responded without lifting his head, furrowing his brow.
"Aunt?" Kasumigaoka was slightly taken aback.
"Yeah, my aunt." Hoshimi glanced at Kasumigaoka, his frown easing a little. "She's my legal guardian. After my parents passed away, she's been taking care of me. I told you about her before, right?"
"Because of my skipping class on medical leave, she gave me an ultimatum: I have to be in the top five of my grade."
"Uh..." Kasumigaoka didn't quite know how to respond.
Now that she thought about it, this whole situation started because of her. If she hadn't impulsively invited Hoshimi to meet in person, he wouldn't have skipped class, and his aunt wouldn't have caught him.
So, is Hoshimi going to be scolded now because he didn't meet the goal?
Kasumigaoka pursed her lips, feeling conflicted as she asked, "Hoshimi, how far are you from the goal?"
"Hmm? How far?" Hoshimi replied with a hint of confusion. "I'm first in my grade. I've already exceeded the goal. Utaha, you didn't think I hadn't reached it, did you?"
"Uh..." Kasumigaoka's eyes widened in disbelief. "Hoshimi, I saw you frowning and thought you hadn't made it, so you'd be in trouble. I didn't expect you to have overachieved. So why were you frowning...?"
"Sigh~" Hoshimi let out a soft sigh, sat down next to Kasumigaoka, leaned on her shoulder, and said tiredly, "I'm just dreading seeing my aunt."
As soon as Hoshimi said this, countless plotlines flashed through Kasumigaoka's mind, given her career as a light novel author.
Suppressing her curiosity, she gently asked, "Hmm? Does your aunt...?"
"Whatever you're imagining, it's not that," Hoshimi said, holding Kasumigaoka's hand, rubbing it gently as he explained. "I don't want to see my aunt because we're not that close. She's my parents' friend and only took me in because of them. I am not familiar with her."
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