The way Haruno was acting at that moment was incredibly familiar to Chisato.
Previously, back when she had stumbled upon the situation with Kazusa, she had worn the same expression when facing him.
That seemingly pleasant smile clearly concealed some other thoughts beneath the surface.
In contrast, Yukino's slightly stiff and uneasy expression formed a stark contrast.
Having interacted and conversed with Haruno several times before, though each meeting had not been long, Chisato had already gained a certain level of understanding of her.
In short, she seemed quite intrigued by the current situation, and unless she was satisfied to some degree, she probably wouldn't let him leave so easily.
On this point, Chisato was quite certain.
But he felt he should at least make an attempt to struggle.
"It's already past ten o'clock... It's really too late..."
"Oh, come on, don't be so fussy. You're all high schoolers—what's a little past ten? Back when I was in high school, I even had a record of staying out all night."
Haruno stood on tiptoe and casually draped an arm over Chisato's shoulder, giving him two firm pats.
Her stance and demeanor made it seem as if they were old friends who had known each other for years.
Thanks to her complete lack of restraint, Chisato once again found himself experiencing, in an undeniably close manner, the greatness of her figure.
And with her subtle exertion of force, he was pressed back down onto the sofa.
Even though she was a woman, her strength was surprisingly formidable. It was probably related to what she had mentioned before—how she had learned aikido as a child.
"Sister, that's not exactly something to brag about. And... you're too close."
Yukino stepped in and pulled her sister's arm away from Chisato's shoulder.
Chisato gave her a look of gratitude, relieved. Yukino merely shook her head slightly, as if to say it was nothing, though she seemed more apologetic than anything.
And indeed, she had good reason to feel that way.
After all, she was the one who had asked Chisato for help, yet now, thanks to her sister, he was being put in such an awkward situation.
She hadn't anticipated this unexpected scenario or taken any measures to prevent it, which had resulted in her sister—who should have had no part in this—getting involved.
This, in turn, made an already complicated situation even more troublesome. At its core, she truly owed Chisato an apology for her lack of foresight.
"Oh~"
Haruno, who had been quietly observing the exchange of glances between Chisato and Yukino, let out a meaningful chuckle and slowly narrowed her eyes.
A certain indescribable gleam flashed in her gaze, akin to a predator locking onto its prey. Though she was smiling, the sensation it gave off was chilling.
Yukino, hearing her sister's laugh, turned to face her but said nothing. Instead, she quickly shifted her gaze away.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—a gesture that, in Chisato's eyes, was brimming with feminine charm. Then, as if making casual conversation, she asked,
"Sister, how did you get back?"
"By car, of course."
"What about when Mother gets back later?"
"She can figure it out herself. Whether she takes the Shinkansen or a flight, it's up to her.
I already brought back the things that were inconvenient to carry, so all she needs to bring are her clothes. It's not a big deal."
"..."
Sitting on the sofa and listening to the sisters' conversation, Chisato felt rather uneasy.
At this time of night, what was he even doing here, listening to a family discussion that had nothing to do with him?
When their conversation finally seemed to reach a pause, he prepared to make another firm attempt to take his leave.
He had already resolved that, no matter what Haruno said this time, he would leave.
But before he could move, she suddenly wrapped her arm around his shoulder again—this time, even more intimately.
If her earlier gesture could be passed off as something between good friends, then now, with both arms in play and her entire upper body practically pressed against him, the situation had completely surpassed that.
The only logical conclusion one could draw from this scene was that Chisato was her boyfriend.
And to top it off, she cheerfully added,
"How nice~ I was planning to go look for you tomorrow, but I didn't expect to find you here."
"Sister!"
Yukino finally couldn't stand it anymore.
Haruno pouted and responded teasingly,
"What's the matter? Are you jealous?"
"...!"
As expected of an older sister—whether it was due to some natural dominance in their sibling relationship or not, with just a single lighthearted remark, she completely shut Yukino down, rendering her unable to continue the conversation.
"Do whatever you want."
Shaking her head, Yukino turned and left, heading straight back to her room.
Chisato, who had been helpless throughout the whole ordeal, watched as she closed the door.
Then, he reached up and firmly grasped Haruno's wrist, still draped around his shoulder, letting out a sigh.
"If you just wanted to test my relationship with your sister, you didn't have to go this far."
"So you saw through me, huh?"
Haruno released her grip, though she didn't increase the distance between them.
"But, you know, I don't really feel like I was forcing myself. After all, you're quite handsome, Chisato-kun.
And hugging you feels pretty nice. Plus, despite it being summer, you don't have that awful sweaty smell—on the contrary, you actually smell rather pleasant.
So, all in all, I don't think I'm losing out here."
"..."
Help. There's a dangerous older sister here. Hugging him was one thing, but did she really have to go out of her way to sniff him too?
"But putting the tea aside, you were even drawing while you were here..."
Haruno's attention shifted to the laptop on the table, which Chisato had yet to put away.
"And your drawings are quite good. Is this a manga?"
"No, just some simple anime character designs."
"Let me guess... for those kids from Kesshoku Band?"
Chisato, who had just closed his laptop and was about to put it in his bag, turned to look at her in surprise.
"Haha~ It was easy to figure out. The characters you drew resemble them quite a bit—it wasn't hard to guess. But enough about that.
Didn't I say I'd properly thank you for taking care of little Yukino when I got back?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "taking care."
"So, since I came back from Sapporo, I made sure to bring some local specialties for you.
This is handmade Daifuku from a very famous shop there, and these are cream-filled grape sandwich cookies.
I've tried them myself, and they're really good. I hope you'll like them too."
As she spoke, she pulled two exquisitely packaged boxes from her bag and held them out to Chisato.
"I already told you there was no need. It was just a small favor. Besides, Yukino already reimbursed me for the medicine."
"Come on, just take it. I accidentally bought too much this time, so consider it helping me get rid of some."
Since she had put it that way, Chisato felt that continuing to refuse would be unnecessary. In the end, he accepted it.
"But you did remind me of something.
Could it be that when little Yukino was paying you back, she gradually started to notice your good qualities, and that's why your relationship has improved to this extent?"
"Improved… I wouldn't say that's entirely accurate.
I never really interacted with her before, but if I had to put it into words, I guess we do understand each other a little better than before."
"Oh? How much better? Tell me."
Haruno's lips curled into a slight smile as she rested her chin on both hands like a curious schoolgirl.
"It's only on the most superficial level, so there's not much to say."
"Such a flawless answer. That's just like you.
And because of that, you're able to skillfully navigate between all these girls, aren't you? Your next target wouldn't happen to be—"
"Hey!"
Chisato, who had been relentlessly questioned, was starting to get annoyed and interrupted Haruno.
"Miss Haruno, could it be that… you're actually a siscon?"
"…!"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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