"Is it possible that I was the one who left it there...?" Hakuto said without a hint of embarrassment.
"Huh? Are you saying that you've been up for two or three hours, yet the bed is still warm?"
"Or are you trying to tell me that the scent on your bed is from some new perfume you bought?"
"Nino! You really get me..."
Before Hakuto could finish, Nino kicked him in the leg.
"Stay where you are! Explain yourself first!"
Hakuto was filled with regret—he shouldn't have tried to build relationships with clients. Sure, it made work go more smoothly, but the trouble it brought was just as real...
"I..." Hakuto looked at Nino and the others, but no words came out for a long time. He really had no idea how to explain this.
Should he sell out Nao?
Definitely not... Should he just admit that the person in his bed was Rikka?
That was even worse! At that point, he might as well have thrown Nao under the bus!
How was he supposed to explain this? Huh!? Might as well just stab him and get it over with!
After thinking for a long time, Hakuto shifted his gaze to Yotsuba.
"Yotsuba..."
"Hm?"
"I'm going to count to three. Then you grab me and run..."
"Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)?Huh?"
Yotsuba was just about to ask if Hakuto was joking when, in the next second, she saw the dangerous look in Nino's eyes.
"Shiratori-sensei... Nino and the others aren't deaf, you know..."
"I was already whispering..."
Hakuto swore he had spoken as softly as possible, but the distance was too close! Forget whispering—he could be heard clearly just by breathing!
"Are you hiding something? Or keeping a secret?"
"No... I really don't know!"
"Then whose scent is on your bed!?"
"Whoever you say it is!"
Hakuto had completely run out of options—he really had nothing left!
But just then, Miku, who had been watching Rikka's innocent expression, suddenly spoke up.
"Um... I just saw a white-haired girl on the balcony..."
As soon as Miku said this, all the eyes that had been locked on Hakuto immediately shifted to her!
"Miku, what did you say?"
"The balcony?" Ginko thought for a moment. "I didn't see anyone on the balcony just now."
"Not Hakuto's balcony..." Miku shook her head. "The one upstairs... Takanashi's balcony."
"But I don't know if Takanashi was lying, or if that white-haired girl is the one we're looking for..."
Miku felt that when she made eye contact with Nao just now, her expression had been completely natural, with not a single flaw...
Hearing Miku's words, Hakuto's expression instantly changed—and so did Ginko's.
"Σ(ﾟдﾟlll)?An intruder in the domain of the Tyrant's Eye?!"
"Judging by Takanashi's expression, the room upstairs must be hers..." Ichika commented from the side.
She hadn't expected so much drama just from coming over for tutoring...
And while the five sisters might not know, Ginko was well aware that Rikka's home was indeed upstairs.
Which meant that the white-haired girl Miku mentioned... was exactly the person Ginko had been searching for!
With that realization, Ginko didn't hesitate—she rushed into Hakuto's room and leaned out over the balcony.
But by then, Nao was no longer sitting there, so Ginko saw nothing.
Little did they know, at that moment, Nao was still calmly sitting on the balcony, a chocolate stick in her mouth.
"Hah~? More people are coming now...?" Nao swallowed the chocolate stick. "I should get going too. After all, I made a promise to someone..."
Nao had her limits—she wanted to mess with Hakuto, but she wouldn't push him to the brink!
Nao stood up from the balcony, put on her shoes, and then jumped into Rikka's room.
Fortunately, Touka wasn't home right now. Otherwise, with all the noise Nao had made, she definitely would have come to check things out.
"As expected of a chuunibyou..." Nao sighed as she looked around Rikka's room.
"No wonder that guy Shiratori keeps having his episodes..."
Meanwhile, back with Hakuto, after Nino and Ginko found nothing, they returned to face him again.
"So, did you two find anything?"
"And what about the white-haired girl that Miku saw?"
"How should I know? I'm not the only tenant in this building. Besides, maybe it's that ghost Rikka keeps talking about."
"Um, the ghost I saw also had white hair..." Rikka spoke up.
Because she was too shocked earlier, she had subconsciously ignored the fact that the so-called ghost was originally lying in bed.
But even if she had remembered, Hakuto would have stopped her from saying it.
Hakuto, of course, knew exactly who the white-haired girl Miku and Rikka were talking about, but he could only play dumb.
Suspicion and confirmation are two different things. As long as there's no evidence, suspicion will remain just that—suspicion!
And that's final! Unless Nino or Ginko actually drag Nao in front of him, he won't say a single word!!
Not even if they beat him to death!
Nino nodded, then turned her gaze toward Rikka.
At that moment, Rikka was pouting, looking extremely displeased as she glared at Hakuto, occasionally waving her small fists at him.
"Miku, when you first entered my room, did you see anything unusual?"
"No..."
Miku shook her head. The first time she entered Hakuto's room, she had a specific purpose in mind, so she scanned the room carefully.
However, she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Except for the box of 18+ manga next to the bed, everything else seemed normal.
"Nino..." Ichika leaned over to whisper in Nino's ear. "Aren't you being a little too stubborn about this?"
Hearing this, Nino snapped back to her senses. Ever since Rikka ran out of Hakuto's room, she had been acting unlike herself.
Maybe she had just been too angry. Even when Ginko had been all over Hakuto, she hadn't been this furious...
Ginko glanced at Hakuto, then silently started putting away the overturned chessboard.
She also threw her broken folding fan into the trash.
By now, Ginko had realized that she had overreacted. After more than ten years of knowing him, she should trust Hakuto a little more.
At the very least, something like this should have been resolved privately rather than turning into such a spectacle.
"A bit of lingering warmth and a faint scent don't really prove anything..."
"Honestly, I've been confused from the start. That so-called lingering warmth could just be from the blanket, and the scent might just be laundry detergent."
The more Hakuto spoke, the more wronged he looked, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
"Um..." Nino felt a chill run down her spine. Now that she had calmed down, she realized just how unfounded her suspicions had been.
Yeah... just a bit of lingering warmth on the bed—what did that even prove...?
And Miku had been in the room first and hadn't noticed anything unusual.
There's no way it was actually a ghost, like Rikka said, right?
Seeing the change in expression on both Nino and Ginko's faces, Hakuto finally let out a sigh of relief.
( ｰ̀εｰ́ )～ …This should be resolved now...
At least, as long as no one stirs things up again, this matter should be... probably... over?
After all, Nino and Ginko couldn't find anyone. If all they had were suspicions, then Hakuto still had the upper hand.
He didn't know where Nao was hiding, but he figured she had probably climbed up the rope to Rikka's room.
And at Rikka's place, it was usually just her and Touka.
Even if Toka was home, Nao could probably handle it with her abilities.
So... this should be over now... right...?
Hakuto looked over at Rikka, who was still waving her little fists at him.
The moment Rikka noticed him looking, she quickly put her fists down, turned her head away, and acted like nothing had happened.
( ｰ̀εｰ́ )～
"I'll deal with you later..." Hakuto muttered just loud enough for only him and Rikka to hear.
Rikka simply shook her head, pretending she hadn't heard anything, looking completely unbothered.
"Nino... after falsely accusing me like this, you better pray that you stay in first place next time..." Hakuto said with a smirk.
"T-That's not my fault... Anyone would have been suspicious in my position..."
"Then why couldn't you talk it out properly? What's with charging in and kicking me right away?"
"I-I was just too worked up..."
Nino scratched her head.
She had a feeling she was going to pay for this later, but as long as Hakuto's 'home' hadn't actually been invaded, it wouldn't be too bad.
Ginko, meanwhile, met Hakuto's gaze and said,
"Don't look at me. If anything, consider this a reward for you."
"???"
Hakuto was baffled—since when did he have that kind of kink?!
But he didn't want to drag this out any longer.
After all, he had been lying this whole time, which was completely out of character for him.
He needed to atone for this later—maybe burn some incense for Guan Yu to repent.
"Um... Sensei, since you survived, does that mean I don't have to do those hundred practice sheets?"
"I'll reduce it to ten sets..."
Back then, Hakuto had really thought he was going to die. But who would've thought that Nao would be so competent—she had hidden herself completely!
Incredible!!
Hakuto suddenly felt like he owed Nao a big thank you...
Actually, now that he thought about it, it wasn't hard to piece things together.
Most likely, Rikka had climbed down the rope into his room and seen Nao lying in bed.
Then, after Nao woke up, she had belatedly activated her ability, which had caused Rikka to scream about seeing a ghost.
That's what triggered everything that followed.
Hakuto felt like such a terrible person! Nao had helped him so much, yet he had still written "turtle" on her forehead!
He felt so guilty! So incredibly guilty!
"I deserve to die... I really deserve it..."
But just then, someone suddenly knocked on Hakuto's door...
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