Having finally rested again and recovered her strength, Haruno came downstairs, trying to take a breath.
In her heart, she hoped her mother wasn't home, because she really didn't know how to face her mother right now—
After all, spending an entire day at home doing that kind of thing, she couldn't believe her mother wouldn't have heard.
And she had no idea how to explain it.
Fortunately, as Haruno wished, Mother really wasn't at home.
She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the living room.
But then, she suddenly noticed that on the nearby dining table, there was a covered dish of food.
Quietly heading up to take a closer look, she saw there was a note on the table:
"Haruno, here is some food I prepared for you on the table. —Yukinoshita Miyuki."
Haruno's lips twitched slightly.
So, Mother did know everything—and specifically avoided her, to spare her the awkwardness.
That only made Haruno feel even more embarrassed.
She sighed, forced to just accept it.
Her stomach rumbled nonstop.
Well, this was the situation, so she might as well eat first.
While she was eating, Haruno's body kept undergoing a variety of transformations.
First she turned into Yukinoshita Miyuki's appearance, then Futaba…Mai… various forms of the girls from Rei Ao's side she had seen. After that, she changed into Yukino's form, looking completely identical.
It was all exactly the same as Yukino.
This was the "gift" of protection that Rei Ao had given her:
[Name]: Yukinoshita Haruno
[Ability]: "Dragon Power", "Shapeshifting Demon", "Rei Ao's Blessing", "Inherent Device: Many-faced Mask"
It was also proof that she had become his.
"So this is that amazing power, huh."
Now that she had actually obtained it, Haruno felt a surge of wonder at its mystique.
Besides, right now, she and Yukino actually had no differences in "level," did they…
Thinking of a certain matter regarding Yukino, Haruno opened the chat group.
Yukinoshita Haruno: "Yukino-chan, you there?"
Yukino saw the private message and didn't want to answer, but that was her sister, so she had little choice.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "What is it?"
Yukinoshita Haruno: "Aww, Yukino-chan is so cold to her sister. Now I'm so hurt~"
Yukino was speechless. This was exactly the troublesome trait of her sister.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Forget it, never mind then."
Yukinoshita Haruno: "Hey now, if you don't want to talk, I guess I won't tell you about Rei Ao, then~ Ciao~"
Yukinoshita Yukino: "Wait!"
As soon as she saw Rei Ao mentioned, Yukino couldn't remain indifferent at all.
Yukinoshita Yukino: "What do you mean by something about Rei Ao?!"
But no matter how she pressed, Haruno refused to reply, which frustrated Yukino even more.
She began recalling the conversation from last night, before the party started, when Haruno asked her about something related to Rei Ao.
It was that question she was too embarrassed to answer—
She'd asked if Rei Ao was that strong, if he could truly satisfy everyone…
She froze. Her eyes dilated with alarm.
What does my sister mean by saying she personally "confirmed it?"
She recalled how Rei Ao had escorted Haruno home last night…
"Could it be… at that time…?!"
Clenching her lips, Yukino realized she needed to verify this.
Hence, she opened the chat group.
Rather than message Rei Ao directly, she started by asking Mai and Futaba, the two who stayed at Rei Ao's place…
Meanwhile, Rei Ao himself was currently confronted by a silver-haired young girl.
"Shirogane kouhai, why are you here?"
On his way back to class during break, he ran into Shirogane Kei.
For second-year and third-year classes, the math buildings were different. For her to show up here was definitely unusual…
Facing Rei Ao, Shirogane Kei was quite shy.
"I—I came to thank you, Rei Ao-senpai!"
"Oh, that thing before? You already thanked me, didn't you?"
Rei Ao waved his hand.
He honestly hadn't expected Shirogane Kei to still remember such a small favor.
Shirogane Kei lowered her head. For a moment, she didn't know what to say, especially with passersby possibly watching.
"Shirogane, it seems you're uneasy. If it's inconvenient to talk here, we can find somewhere else."
Sensing her awkwardness, Rei Ao proposed proactively.
They changed location to a deserted stairwell.
Shirogane Kei was obviously more at ease now than before.
"Thank you, Rei Ao-senpai."
She showed genuine gratitude, relieved she no longer had an audience.
"It was no big deal."
"Alright, Shirogane, what did you want to tell me? Here, you can say anything."
"Yes. Actually…my dad, after hearing how you helped me, he's been very, very amazed. And my brother… he really admires you. So my dad wants to invite you to our place, as a way to say thanks."
Shirogane Kei's voice was meek and flustered, and she kept sneaking peeks at Rei Ao from under her lashes.
At this, Rei Ao had to chuckle.
"Truly, there's no need for all that formality—helping out was just something I do for classmates."
Kei also felt embarrassed, biting her lip.
"But my dad said he can't help it, he's just very curious about your unbelievable academic achievements. And my brother is also a big fan… so, well…"
"Shirogane…Shirogane Miyuki?"
Shirogane Kei's eyes went wide in shock.
"Does Rei Ao-senpai know my brother?"
Rei Ao felt a bit awkward.
He knew of Shirogane Miyuki, but they hadn't had any personal interaction.
The notion of being admired by a guy… gave him a bit of an eerie vibe.
"I've just heard of Shirogane Miyuki as a classmate, that's all."
He dodged the topic politely.
"But if that's the case, I suppose I can pay a visit, talk a bit."
Of course, not for the father or the brother—he wasn't into guys. He was interested, presumably, in Kei's invitation or anything else that might happen around it.
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