Fumino Furuhashi felt extremely uneasy as Rei Ao silently studied her with a direct, unwavering gaze.
She cleared her throat twice, then decisively spoke: "Since I've discovered something, doesn't that mean I'm entitled to know more? Rest assured, my goal is only to help you all and analyze the situation, and I promise to keep it confidential."
She wanted the best for this cheerful, close-knit household. Maybe she could mediate any potential conflicts so that everyone's friendship would remain intact.
But to Rei Ao's ears, her words carried a different meaning.
"So, you've figured something out. In that case, you do qualify to learn more. But this isn't the right place to talk about it—let's get you home first."
Fumino felt a surge of happiness. She had finally persuaded Rei Ao. However, the joy didn't last.
In the blink of an eye—
She found herself in total darkness.
A crisp sound echoed.
The sudden bright light that pierced the darkness made her reflexively open her eyes.
"All right, now we can talk."
Rei Ao's voice reached her.
Slowly, Fumino opened her eyes. In the next moment, she froze where she stood.
Everything in front of her was so familiar.
It was the same empty...home she faced every day.
Her mind went blank for a moment. Just now, she had clearly been on a street some distance from home, right?
Next to her, Rei Ao patted her shoulder, seeing her dazed expression.
Fumino opened her mouth but only muttered, "Rei Ao-kun, I think I'm hallucinating. I'm seeing my house right in front of me."
"It's not a hallucination. I used teleportation spell to bring you here," Rei Ao explained.
A huge question mark seemed to appear over Fumino's head.
"Tele... teleportation spell...?"
"That's right. Just like you already know, Rizu was affected by the Inner World the other day. There's a mysterious 'Inner World' in this world."
She recognized all those words as Japanese, yet strung together, they made no sense. Her eyes widened; her mouth gaped, perfectly capturing her state of mind.
Rei Ao realized something was off. He'd assumed she knew about Rizu's situation—she shouldn't be that shocked. Clearly, things weren't simple.
Stroking his chin, he asked, "Fumino, the thing you said you knew about me and Rizu—could it be you weren't referring to the day she went to another world?"
Rizu went to another world? What's that even mean?
Instinctively, she shook her head.
Rei Ao couldn't help a wry smile. "Seems I misunderstood."
But what he'd said was said, and it didn't really matter to him. Then, seeing how Fumino was practically in shock, he asked, "Need a glass of water to calm down first?"
After downing a cup of water, Fumino didn't feel much calmer, but at least she'd sorted out a few basics:
She and Rei Ao were talking about different things. It was true she'd instantly been brought home. Which meant...Rei Ao's words were 100% credible!
She felt like she'd unintentionally opened a door to a world she should never have entered.
"All right, have you settled down? We probably need to have a good talk this time."
Though Rei Ao's tone was plenty gentle, Fumino shrank into a corner of the couch, trembling like a frightened rabbit.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not some creepy old man here to eat you."
Fumino's face reddened.
"Ahem. What did you want to say, Rei Ao-kun?"
"It's nothing. Since this was an accident, we could just pretend it didn't happen," Rei Ao said, shrugging indifferently. "What I really want to discuss is exactly what you were trying to say earlier."
"Uh, I was talking about your...your improper relationship with Rizu."
Fumino timidly voiced what she'd originally thought was crucial, though now it seemed far less important.
"An improper relationship?"
Well, that was amusing.
"Sounds like you have some misunderstanding about me and Rizu, Fumino. We don't have any improper relationship."
Fumino immediately lowered herself into a dogeza on the couch. She had realized she was totally wrong about them. Their secret was probably not a romantic entanglement but rather something about that 'Inner World' Rei Ao had mentioned. It was all her overthinking.
"There's no need to apologize."
"It's just that I'm curious what exactly you define as 'improper relationship?' What were you planning to do?"
Under Rei Ao's curious gaze, Fumino hunched her shoulders and twisted her fingers in hesitation.
"S-should I really explain?"
"Go ahead. I'm not going to eat you."
Clearing her throat, Fumino recounted her earlier "fantasy." The more she talked, the more Rei Ao's expression grew peculiar. When she finished, he looked exasperated and amused.
"So...you thought I was cheating on Mai with Rizu, worried everyone would end up feeling awkward if it was exposed, and you tried to stop us from doing something so outrageous?"
Fumino was on the verge of tears. She hadn't intended this; she'd just let her imagination run wild, backed by various coincidences she'd taken as evidence. She gradually convinced herself that guess was correct, leading to this embarrassing situation.
"Fumino, as expected from a language-arts genius: your gift for creative imagination is impressive."
In other words, she was overthinking.
The "high EQ" joke made Fumino's face burn in shame. It was so humiliating!
"But there's something you guessed correctly: I actually am involved with multiple people at once."
Fumino was stunned. She patted her ears. Did she mishear?
"You heard me—I'm indeed juggling multiple relationships. For example, Mai, Futaba, Tohru, Sora, Ilia—they're all intimately involved with me, in the kind of relationship you're calling 'improper.'"
She knew about Mai. She suspected something with Futaba. A maid Tohru was plausible. But what about Sora and Ilia?! Fumino's entire worldview was already shaken, and now she was taking a second blow. Her brain shut down!
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