Yotsuba asked, "Kuromori-san, do you want me to call Ichika and the others?"
"No need." Haruto shook his head, not concerned.
Since he arrived early today and it wasn't the agreed time yet, there was still enough time.
The most important thing now was Yotsuba. Haruto had come early specifically because of her.
This girl still needed to work harder.
Haruto took out his notebook, "Yotsuba, let's start first."
With a new day starting, the body fully rested, the mind was clearer, and memory retention improved. That's why many schools held early morning reading sessions.
Of course, this time shouldn't be wasted.
Soon, the time reached 9 AM.
At that moment, the sound of a door opening came from upstairs. Haruto looked up to see Nino in a red tracksuit walking out of her room.
Mafuyu also had a similar tracksuit from high school, which she often wore at home because it was comfortable.
"Kuromori?"
Nino noticed something and unconsciously looked down. After spotting Haruto, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Kuromori, why did you come here so early?"
"Right."
Nino thought for a moment, then looked at him with bright eyes, not blinking, "Have you had breakfast? If not, I'll cook something now."
It was already 9 AM, and naturally, Haruto had eaten breakfast.
He thought for a moment and replied, "I've eaten, but I'm not full yet."
Yotsuba: "😐"
'I just asked you that, and you said otherwise!'
Haruto remained calm. Just now and now are different moments. Moreover, if Nino was offering to make breakfast, of course, it shouldn't be wasted!
Nino's change in attitude was far too obvious!
"I see." Nino displayed a confident expression, "Just wait, I'll prepare breakfast. Oh, Yotsuba, go wake up Miku and the others."
After a pause, Nino glanced at Haruto, "You're not allowed to leave."
Haruto smiled calmly.
However, it was clear Yotsuba's soft-hearted nature wasn't very effective.
Itsuki was already awake, and Miku, though taking a bit longer, eventually got up.
But Ichika was still missing.
It wasn't just that Yotsuba couldn't handle it—she was often teased and ended up running away, hiding her face!
Haruto couldn't help but be speechless. As the eldest sister, it was one thing that Ichika didn't lead by example. But when her younger sister came to wake her, she teased her?
Yotsuba felt disheartened, "Ichika's too much. She's awake but won't even shout."
"It's fine if you shout that loudly."
Haruto intertwined his fingers, narrowing his black eyes with a dangerous glint, and said calmly, "I have a method that works every time. Do you want to know, Yotsuba?"
"Kuromori-san, please tell me right away."
"Sorry, it's a paid service."
"?"
Seeing Yotsuba's blank stare, Haruto coughed and held back the urge to tease her further.
"It's actually very simple." Haruto smirked slightly, "Go tell Ichika that if she doesn't get up, I'll go up myself."
"Really?" Yotsuba climbed back upstairs with a look of skepticism.
And then, Ichika obediently got up.
Ichika came downstairs and gave Haruto a look of playful resentment.
Unfortunately for her, Haruto chose to ignore it.
As Ichika passed Haruto, she puffed out her cheeks, glared at him, and lowered her voice, "Kuromori-kun, you're so awful. Threatening girls like that, you're going to get beaten up."
Haruto reminded her, "Ichika, button up."
"Eh—"
Ichika blinked her eyes, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. She placed her hands behind her back, leaned toward Haruto, and smiled, "Kuromori-kun, you're also a guy, so you're trying to sneak a peek at girls, huh? I get it."
As she said that, Ichika tugged at her collar with her left hand and said with a gleeful grin, "As long as Kuromori-kun lets me sleep in the future, I'll let you have a peek."
At home, Ichika dressed very casually. She wore a white shirt, but the buttons were often not fastened properly.
As a result, there was always a glimpse of blinding white skin!
And when the girl leaned in, Haruto could practically estimate her size!
Haruto paused for a moment, then looked into Ichika's blue eyes and calmly said, "Ichika, do you realize you're not wearing underwear?"
Ichika gasped.
She had gotten so caught up in teasing Haruto that she forgot.
Her face turned slightly red, and she quickly raised her hand to cover her chest.
Haruto asked, "Does what you just said still count?"
"Eh?"
"You can sleep later, I agree."
Haruto narrowed his black eyes, "So, please take your hands away and undo two more buttons. I can't see clearly right now."
Ichika froze for a moment, then let out a small cry of embarrassment, "Kuromori-kun, you're such a pervert!"
Next to her, Yotsuba raised her hand, glaring with resentment in her eyes, "Shouldn't Kuromori-san take it further?"
Even though she was there, Haruto still teased Ichika as if no one else was around. He had actually said something about undoing two more buttons. If Ichika did, she'd be completely exposed!
"Of course not." Ichika hugged Yotsuba's waist, her smile brightening further, "We're sisters. Naturally, sisters must share both blessings and hardships. So, Yotsuba, let's stick together—Kuromori-kun will be over the moon~"
Haruto carefully considered the scene: teasing Ichika in front of Yotsuba, or teasing Yotsuba in front of Ichika.
The thought made his heart race a little.
Hearing Ichika's teasing, Yotsuba's face turned bright red. She quickly raised her hands to cover her face and cried out in embarrassment, "Kuromori-san, you're terrible!"
'Enough! It's clearly Ichika teasing you; don't shift the blame onto someone else!'
Seeing Haruto's serious expression, Ichika stuck out her tongue and quickly moved away from him. Then, she lifted the corners of her mouth, winked at him playfully, and smiled, "Kuromori-kun, the road ahead is long…"
"Come at me!"