Hearing this and thinking back to Fuyumi's 'snake catching' from the night before, Okino Rinka, whose shyness had already been spent the previous night, looked at Sasaki with a strange gaze.
Although she was taken by surprise upon stumbling upon the scene, she was, after all, a grand magician who had been practising for many years.
Therefore, after some rest and mental adjustment, her lively and cheerful nature quickly pushed the remaining shyness to the back of her mind.
Glancing sideways at Otome, who was serving rice, the girl leaned in, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Sasaki:
"Fuyumi-nii... I don't think you should do that in the future...after all, it could lead to a baby.
And turning Otome Nee into a high school mom... That's too weird..."
"Though wearing a condom is uncomfortable... it's still better than Otome-nee going to school with a watermelon-sized belly..."
"If you don't want to buy it... I can do it for you..."
As she spoke, her large eyes glanced towards the kitchen intermittently.
Despite her halting speech, Rinka Okino showed no sign of shyness.
Her sincere suggestion, however, made Sasaki look at her with a strange intensity.
Good guy, this little girl really dared to say anything.
People who don't know would think she knows a lot…
"Don't worry, it's fine. I wouldn't do that if it weren't safe."
Waving his hand dismissively, Sasaki indicated that she didn't need to worry so much.
"That's good..." Glancing at Otome, who had come over with their meals, the latter replied softly and then dropped the subject.
Discussing this matter privately with any of them was fine for the girl, but having a conversation about it with all three together... although she wouldn't mind, it somehow made her feel like they were having a party...
Unaware of the wild thoughts in this girl's little head, Sasaki and the others left the house after eating.
Since her school bag was still at her house, they happened to bump into Okino Kazuko, who was about to leave, right as they entered.
Sasaki stood at the front, followed by Otome and Rinka on the left and right behind him.
Looking at the guy, who did not dare to look directly at him and the two girls, he pulled Rinka, who wanted to say something:
Go get your school bag first. Don't make me and your sister Otome wait too long."
Glancing at her brother, whose face was tilted to one side and could only scratch his head and smile, Rinka Okino wanted to say something.
But thinking about his ferocious look last night and his indifferent attitude now, she finally swallowed the greeting in her mouth and, after turning his head to Sasaki and responding, walked straight past Okino Kazuki.
Feeling his sister's unfamiliar indifference, Okino Kazuki was about to apologise but realised it was too late when Rinka had already started up the stairs.
Looking at the retreating figure, Okino Kazuki, who thought he could apologise after a while, did not take a step to follow in the end.
Instead, he turned back, only to see the girl he liked holding Sasaki's arm and looking at him.
Seeing this, he stiffly twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was even uglier than Fuji Tsubaki's smile.
"Good Morning, Otome."
"Morning, Kazuki..."
Not to mention Otome, even Sasaki was a little afraid of his stiff and forced smile.
That look of 'I'm hurt, but I'm fine, don't worry about me' almost made him spit out his breakfast.
So, after exchanging an unbearable greeting, Sasaki, unable to bear looking directly at him, led Otome by the hand and lowered his head, carefully observing the small pebbles at his feet.
Although he couldn't stand Okino Kazuki's incompetence, their relationship wasn't close enough for him to teach him how to behave properly.
Thus, the only thing he could do was to adopt an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude.
Sakuragi Otome, who had no particular feelings towards Kazuki, followed Sasaki's example, also lowering her gaze to the pebbles on the ground
Looking at the girl clinging to Sasaki, embodying a harmonious couple, and remembering the map-drawn sheets he saw the day before, the boy's eyes widened in anger, and he couldn't help but clench his jaws tight.
At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps descending the stairs came from behind.
Tap tap—
Rushing downstairs and running to the entryway, Okino Rinka, who was walking slowly by Okino Kazuki, glanced at her brother subconsciously.
After seeing his familiar, ferocious face, memories from the previous day came to her mind.
What followed was the fear and sourness that filled her heart.
The fear stemmed from the fierce expression on his face when he slapped her, and the bitterness was because he had not shown any concern or asked about her well-being even once until now...
Blinking quickly to clear away the tears that were slowly gathering, the girl turned her head, and the pace that had slowed down quickly accelerated as she walked to Sasaki's side.
"Okay, I got my schoolbag, let's go."
Pretending to be nonchalant, holding Sasaki's arm, Okino Rinka pulled him, looking at the boy.
And knowing that she didn't want to see Kazuki now, Sasaki naturally followed her bare minimum strength and was pulled out of the courtyard without using any force.
Standing at the entrance door, watching his sister drag Sasaki out of the courtyard in the blink of an eye.
Okino Kazuki, who had finally realised what he should do, stretched out his hand.
But looking at the three people who had disappeared into the courtyard, he finally put them down.
.
.
.
Walking on the way to school.
Looking at Rinka on the right, holding his arm tightly, Sasaki raised his hand and touched her delicate face.
Feeling the warmth and softness in his hands, his slightly rough thumb gently rubbed the delicate and tender ends of Rinka's eyes:
"Is the breakfast that your sister Otome made really that bad? Why the long face so early in the morning?"
Upon hearing Fuyumi teasing her, Otome Sakuragi playfully punched his arm.
Then she pulled Rinka to the side, smiling again:
"Don't listen to his nonsense.
He was the one who made the breakfast. I was just in charge of serving it."
She retorted, attributing the teasing back to him.
Otome, aware that the siblings were just having a minor disagreement, didn't rashly try to smooth things over with Rinka.
Instead, she engaged her in quiet conversation about popular topics among girls, aiming to divert her attention.
Noticing that both were trying to comfort her in their own ways, the latter glanced at the cheerful Sasaki walking by the roadside and chatted with Otome Sakuragi, feeling warmth in her heart.
The three of them walked and talked in a leisurely manner until they arrived at the school.
After changing shoes at the school entrance, Sasaki parted ways with Otome.
Entering the classroom through the back door, the first thing he saw was the class idiot, Tsukimi Chifuyu, looking his way.
Approaching his seat,
Seeing her still gazing eagerly at him, Sasaki, knowing what she was hoping to see, smiled and reached into his pocket.
Looking at the big fist in front of her, Tsukimi Chifuyu, treating it like she was unwrapping a precious gift, gently pried open Sasaki's fingers with her delicate hands.
Sasaki didn't resist, allowing her to open his hand with her gentle force, finger by finger.
However, what came into the girl's view wasn't the pink charm she was expecting.
Instead, it was a sky-blue charm, similar to hers but in a starkly different colour.
"This..."