Chapter 501

"What are we even supposed to do together...?"

Miyuki asked, finally giving in to my insistence.

I glanced at her in the passenger seat as she touched up her makeup, then replied.

"We'll just grab a cup of coffee together and head back."

"Just coffee?"

"Yeah."

"We aren't doing anything else?"

"Like what?"

"Never mind..."

She probably thought we were heading straight for a love hotel.

I wanted to, but the time wasn't right yet.

Miyuki and Hiyori weren't close enough yet to casually bare their bodies to each other.

Before long, the car arrived in front of Hiyori's house.

Maybe because I'd contacted her beforehand, I could see Hiyori already waiting outside.

I'd called her on such short notice that I figured it would take her a while to get ready, but she was right on time.

Surely Miyuki would view Hiyori a bit more favorably after this, I thought.

That hope was shattered in an instant.

"Hi," Miyuki said.

"Hey," Hiyori replied.

Hiyori had received Miyuki's greeting with a rather haughty air.

"What?"

Hiyori spat the word brusquely, having caught Miyuki staring intently from the front seat as she settled into the back.

Miyuki's temper flared, and her brow furrowed.

"What's with that tone?"

"What's wrong with my tone?"

She was single-handedly throwing away all the affection level she had built up during the school trip.

At this rate, a threesome looked like a distant dream.

"Calm down. Both of you."

The car fell silent as I scolded them in a low, heavy voice.

I couldn't help but find it funny when they crossed their arms at the exact same time, as if they'd planned it.

Miyuki and Hiyori really did have their similarities.

Even if it didn't seem like it at a glance, they were alike in the little things.

"I need to use the restroom."

Hiyori's blunt voice pierced the silence and struck my ears.

I let out a soft chuckle and pointed to a massive cafe up ahead.

"We'll be there in a second, so hold it just a bit longer."

"..."

"You can do that, right?"

"Yes."

Hiyori's reluctant answer was incredibly cute.

Was my type girls who played hard to get?

No, that wouldn't explain how deeply I cherished Chinami.

After pulling the car into the cafe's Parking Lot, I watched Hiyori's back as she excused herself and rushed inside first.

"You saw that too, right, Matsuda-kun? I said hello, and she answered so rudely...!"

Miyuki burst out in agitation, and I gently patted her back.

"You know how Asahina is. She's just acting like that because she's jealous of you."

"Jealous of what?"

"You and I look super close, so she's acting all sullen and bratty out of pure spite. Couldn't you be the bigger person and let it slide?"

"...This is your fault too, Matsuda-kun."

"How is it my fault?"

"She's acting like that because you treat Asahina so well for the sake of your dream. Normally, you should have pushed her away."

She had pierced right through my exact reasoning.

Given where we were at this stage, it wasn't exactly a coincidence, so I readily acknowledged Miyuki's point.

"True. I'm sorry."

"Forget it... You idiot. You dummy."

Hm. Was this the first time Miyuki had called me a dummy?

There was a hint of affection in it, but it was a very aggressive remark coming from her.

Did she hate Hiyori that much? Not quite.

If Hiyori just reined in her temper a little, Miyuki would treat her well.

The reason Miyuki was acting like this right now was because of me.

She was a little resentful that I was keeping my eyes on other women while I had her.

"I'm sorry. I really love you."

I pulled Miyuki into a tight hug as I confessed, and she jutted her lips out in a pout.

"You only say that when you're at a disadvantage..."

"That's not true. I'm just trying to make you feel better."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"The intention is different. Is trying to escape a bad situation the same as expressing my true feelings because I want to cheer you up?"

"Why are you being so articulate today?"

"Because I like you so much."

"Whatever... All talk... Ah, stop it...!"

Miyuki scolded me as I showered her entire face with kisses.

Ignoring her complaints, I pressed light, smacking kisses to her forehead, cheeks, lips, and all the way down to her neck. Only when her face had turned completely red did I flash a satisfied smile.

After that, we headed inside the cafe.

"I'll pay."

Miyuki's eyes widened.

It happened right after we finished ordering, just as Hiyori pulled out her wallet and stepped forward.

"No... I was going to pay."

"It's fine. I'll get it."

Saying so, Hiyori stepped right up next to Miyuki and handed over the cash.

Why did Hiyori suddenly volunteer to pay?

The answer was obvious. She felt bad about acting so bluntly toward Miyuki in the car.

At the end of the day, she was a good kid. That was the kind of person Hiyori was.

"Well... thanks for the treat."

Miyuki thanked Hiyori after she finished paying.

Hiyori simply shrugged in response. She took the Pager from the employee and nodded toward the stairs.

"Let's go up to the second floor. I noticed the vibe was pretty nice when I went to the restroom earlier."

"Really? Okay then."

The tone woven into Miyuki's answer had softened slightly.

Feeling relieved, I headed up to the second floor with the two of them.

Since it was a large cafe right in the middle of the city, it was packed with customers and incredibly noisy.

It was loud enough to put Hiyori's claim about a "nice vibe" to shame.

Miyuki seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as she shot Hiyori a sidelong glance.

"I meant the interior design. I mean, it was quiet earlier, but..."

Was it funny seeing Hiyori make excuses with such an awkward expression?

A soft chuckle escaped Miyuki's lips.

I didn't know if it slipped out unconsciously or if she did it on purpose, but thanks to that, the heavy air around us seemed to lighten up a bit.

"Let's sit in the corner."

Both Miyuki and Hiyori nodded simultaneously as I pointed to a relatively less noisy spot.

The sight was so funny that I pursed my lips to hold back a smile, which earned me a sharp glare from both of them, as if asking what my problem was.

They acted like oil and water, yet their movements were identical. It was truly adorable.

Bzzzt—!

Right on cue, the Pager in my hand vibrated.

Hiyori immediately snatched the Pager away from me, announcing she would bring the coffee up, and scurried off to the stairs.

"If I knew it would be out this fast, I would've just waited on the first floor."

Miyuki said, watching Hiyori head downstairs with her ahoge bobbing.

Nodding in agreement, I replied.

"Yeah."

"But is she avoiding us because it's awkward?"

"Who's avoiding whom?"

"Asahina avoiding us."

"It's not that. She's volunteering to run the errand because she's the youngest."

"I don't think so."

"I think it's true."

"Why?"

"If she were acting like her usual self, she would've stubbornly told you to go down instead. Asahina has a strong personality, you know."

"That's true, but..."

"Are you unhappy about it?"

"I never said that...!"

"Why are you getting mad?"

"I'm not mad either...!"

"Right, right."

I rested my hand on top of Miyuki's head as she stomped her feet adorably; it felt like her entire small face was covered.

Gently tousling Miyuki's hair, I walked over to the corner and took a seat.

It wasn't long before Hiyori came back up with the coffee.

She set the modern wooden tray down on the table and looked back and forth between me and Miyuki, who was sitting across from me.

The seat she chose was right next to Miyuki.

"Scoot over a bit..."

"Ah, okay."

Was she worried Miyuki would get mad if she sat next to me?

Or was she doing it so I could compare the two of them to see who was better?

Or maybe she just sat there to get closer to her?

I couldn't predict how Hiyori would act around other people at all, so I really didn't know.

"Is Mitsushima doing well?"

"Mihoyo? I saw her yesterday. She's doing great."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. But why ask about Miho?"

"She just suddenly came to mind."

"You didn't have anything else to talk about, did you?"

Our Hiyori could show a rather sharp edge sometimes.

When she struck so suddenly like that, I lost my words.

"Quit spouting nonsense and just drink your coffee."

"Okay~."

One corner of Hiyori's mouth curled up.

She seemed to think she'd scored a hit on me... The way she acted was just too cute.

Miyuki sitting with her legs crossed, and Hiyori fiddling with her Cell Phone...

I looked back and forth between the two of them. They seemed like a mismatch, yet somehow made a surprisingly good combination. Then, I spoke to Miyuki.

"Come to think of it, Asahina needs to study too. How about you teach her?"

"Huh...? Study?"

"Like when we studied with Miura before, should the three of us do it together?"

"S-suddenly...?"

"What's so sudden about it? You've been constantly nagging me to study."

"Well... I guess that's true, but..."

Miyuki's brown eyes darted toward Hiyori.

She looked a bit troubled and uncomfortable by my out-of-the-blue suggestion, but at the same time, there was a subtle hint of welcome in her expression.

Did she really want to get that close to her?

No, rather than that, she probably liked this setup because it indirectly showed Hiyori just how close she was to me—close enough to study alone together.

"Ugh... I'm completely done with studying."

The problem was that Hiyori was entirely oblivious to Miyuki's intentions.

Hiyori hated anything complicated, and since I hadn't brought it up with the kind of ulterior motive Miyuki was suspecting, Hiyori naturally took my words at face value.

Things were taking a rather amusing turn.

But how was I supposed to bring these two closer together?

No matter how I thought about it, in a situation like this, we'd be running in place at best.

I felt a slight headache coming on. How nice would it be if a third party intervened right about now?

It would be great if a guy like Tetsuya showed up and started making a total mess of things...

Not that there was any chance of that happening. As expected, Tetsuya was completely utterly useless in my life.

"Why are you pressing on your head?"

Hiyori asked, watching me press down hard on my temples.

Snapping back to reality, I shrugged and took a massive gulp of the coffee sitting in front of me.

Let's just try something for now. I didn't bring them together just to maintain the status quo, after all.