Seeing this, the maid immediately brought Jinno Sumire a hearty breakfast: bread, meat patties, and several other breakfast items, along with a large glass of pure white, fragrant milk.
These were much the same as usual, all things Jinno Sumire normally liked to eat.
But today, upon seeing the breakfast laid out on the table, Jinno Sumire instantly frowned, waved her hand, and said to the maid, "Take the milk away. I'm not drinking milk today."
"Eh? Shrine Maiden, didn't you say you have to drink a cup of warm milk every day?", the maid asked, a little puzzled.
"I don't feel like drinking it today. Take it away, quickly," Jinno Sumire frowned and suddenly could not help but gag lightly.
"O-okay!", Seeing Jinno Sumire's serious expression, how could the maid dare say anything more? She quickly took the milk away and replaced it with a bowl of miso soup.
Seeing the thick, white milk replaced by thin miso soup, Jinno Sumire, who had felt like gagging, finally relaxed.
Once she calmed down, Jinno Sumire began eating her breakfast slowly. Just then, a figure walked into the dining room from outside.
Jinno Sumire turned her head and saw that it was her daughter, Jinno Ai.
"Ai, come eat breakfast together," Jinno Sumire said to the sleepy-eyed Jinno Ai.
"Okay!", Jinno Ai looked like she had just woken up not long ago. She stretched, then quickly walked over and sat beside Jinno Sumire.
"Mmm… just in time to eat breakfast with Mom. There are so many kinds, it's so nice," Jinno Ai said as she ate seriously.
"Then eat more," Jinno Sumire said with a faint smile as she watched her daughter eating earnestly.
She doted quite a lot on her only daughter.
But after seeing Jinno Ai's youthful, smiling face, Jinno Sumire could not help feeling a trace of guilt.
Because judging by Jinno Ai's behavior, there was no doubt that she liked Hikari.
Even while eating breakfast, she kept subtly hinting, trying to get her mother to accept Hikari, practically wearing her desire to marry him on her face.
Yet for her daughter's beloved childhood friend, Jinno Sumire had asked Hikari to help her play the role of a fake husband.
If her daughter Jinno Ai were to find out about this, it would probably hurt her deeply.
And originally, it would have been one thing if it had just been fake. But last night she had even had some rather inappropriate, deeply involved exchanges with Hikari.
Thinking about how much her daughter liked that childhood friend, Jinno Sumire could not help but feel guilty.
But she had already agreed with Hikari this morning that the two of them would forget about that matter, so she stopped thinking about it and let it pass.
'Ai, Mom is just borrowing your childhood friend for a bit. Once I'm done using him, I'll give him back to you.'
Silently apologizing to Jinno Ai in her heart, Jinno Sumire casually picked up the miso soup and took a small sip.
"Hiss… ah!", An unexpected sharp pain suddenly came from her throat, and Jinno Sumire cried out.
Jinno Ai, who was eating breakfast beside her, heard the sound and immediately asked in concern, "Mom, what's wrong?"
Jinno Sumire wiped the moisture from the corner of her mouth. There was a bit of awkwardness in her beautiful eyes, but she still set the bowl down calmly and said, "It's nothing. The soup was a bit hot, I accidentally scalded my mouth."
"S-sorry, Lady Sumire!", The maid beside them quickly bowed and apologized.
But in her heart, the maid could not help feeling puzzled, because she had tasted the soup before serving it, and it was not hot at all.
As the maid was apologizing, Jinno Ai beside her also curiously picked up the miso soup and took a small sip.
Then she said in confusion to Jinno Sumire, "It doesn't seem very hot. Mom, are you feeling sick?"
Seeing Jinno Ai's worried expression, Jinno Sumire felt a bit awkward. She avoided her gaze, turned her head slightly, and said, "Maybe I ate too much seafood yesterday and got a bit overheated. My mouth and throat feel a little uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Jinno Ai did not think much of it and nodded, "I see…"
Jinno Ai's questions made Jinno Sumire feel awkward, and she did not want to continue the conversation.
After all, yesterday her throat had been poked too many times when Hikari helped her do a nucleic acid test, and it still hurt a bit now. She could only eat breakfast slowly.
And seeing that her usually strict mother had suddenly gone quiet, Jinno Ai did not dare say anything more either.
So mother and daughter finished breakfast in silence, not speaking while eating.
Then they each left the dining room and began their busy day.
———
Elsewhere—
Hikari, who had not been able to eat breakfast at the Jinno house, was now very much craving a hearty breakfast.
After all, yesterday he had worked hard cashing out over a hundred million for Jinno Sumire, leaving him tired and in need of some protein.
Originally, Hikari planned to go straight home and have breakfast made for him by the exotic beauty Arisa.
But not long after leaving the Jinno house, Hikari received a message from Suiren, asking whether he wanted to go to her place for breakfast.
He thought it over and realized that after leaving the Jinno house, the route to the Asakawa house was much closer than going back home.
So he immediately agreed to go eat breakfast at the Asakawa house.
.
.
.
Arriving at the gate of Suiren's home, Hikari noticed that the courtyard gate was ajar and pushed it open.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Asakawa Aoi stretching on the outdoor veranda.
Wearing a JK skirt, she was brimming with the youthful energy of a teenage girl. As she stretched, the overly developed fullness at her slender waist swayed slightly, incredibly eye-catching.
The rising morning sun shone on her straight, long legs beneath the pleated skirt. The black stockings, illuminated by the light, looked faintly translucent, wrapping around her curled arches in a strangely beautiful way, as if teaching people the virtue of savoring simple pleasures.
As Hikari was looking at Asakawa Aoi, she also noticed the sudden presence at the gate.
At first, upon sensing someone had arrived, Asakawa Aoi was about to rein in her movements. But after seeing part of the figure, she immediately knew who it was.
So not only did she not stop, she stretched even more vigorously, deliberately exaggerating her movements until the ripe fruits on slender branches shook nonstop, making it almost dizzying to watch.
Just as Hikari was enjoying her performance, Asakawa Aoi suddenly clutched her chest and pointed at him, scolding, "Eek! What creepy man is this? Oh, it's Hikari-kun! Sneaking a peek at a beautiful girl's graceful body first thing in the morning, how perverted!"
Seeing Asakawa Aoi's mock-shy scolding, her face actually full of a goofy grin, Hikari could not help laughing, "What, will you lose a couple pieces of meat if I look at you?"
"No," Asakawa Aoi shook her head, then blushed slightly and said shyly, "But if you keep looking, Hikari-kun, there might be an extra piece of meat in my belly."
"Uh…", Hikari did not expect her to switch gears so fast. She had just been scolding him, and now she was acting shy. He hesitated and asked, "The extra piece of meat you're talking about wouldn't be a baby, would it?"
"Of course it's a baby," Asakawa Aoi nodded firmly and said angrily, "What? Did you play with me and then plan not to take responsibility? I'm telling you, you have to take care of both me and our baby!"
"When did I ever play with you? And a baby? Where would a baby even come from," Faced with Asakawa Aoi's usual theatrics, Hikari felt a headache coming on.
"Fine, if Hikari-kun doesn't want it, I'll just abort it. As long as you keep your promise to marry me," Asakawa Aoi said, looking like she was about to cry.
Hikari responded with silence, calmly watching her act.
Sure enough, when she got no reaction, Asakawa Aoi lost interest. She instantly dropped the pitiful expression and returned to her usual cold, unapproachable deadpan face, with only a faint smile she reserved especially for Hikari.
"Hikari-kun, why did you suddenly come to my house?", Asakawa Aoi asked as she walked over to him.
"I missed you, Aoi," Hikari said.
"You're lying. If Hikari-kun really missed me, my affection radar would have detected it on the way here," Asakawa Aoi replied.
"What are you, Dora-Aoi-mon? You've got more gadgets than I do," Hikari said speechlessly.
"Spill it. What's your plan coming to my house? You're not trying to take advantage of me while no one's home, are you? No-no, my sister and my mom are both at home," Asakawa Aoi said, clutching her chest.
"You really have too much drama," Hikari said, increasingly exasperated, "Suiren-nee asked me today if I wanted to come over for breakfast. It's closer, so I came."
"Closer, you say?", Catching the keyword, Asakawa Aoi quickly stepped closer to Hikari and lifted her pert little nose, sniffing all over him seriously, like a kitten waiting at home sniffing its owner who just returned.
"What are you doing?", Hikari took a cautious step back.
Asakawa Aoi crossed her arms and sneered at him, "What am I doing? As far as I know, Hikari-kun, your home isn't very close to here."
"And you just said 'it happens to be closer,' which means you weren't at home, but came from somewhere else."
"Let me think… a place that's closer to here… Ino Shrine?"
"This early, Ino Shrine would have just opened. You couldn't have gone to pray, right? You feel like an atheist to me. So, Hikari-kun, did you spend the night at Ino Shrine yesterday?"
"Wait! Hikari-kun, don't tell me you were with that Jinno Ai… no way!"
Faced with Asakawa Aoi suddenly rattling off a stream of speculation, Hikari felt a headache. He knew she was smart, but he had not expected her to be this sharp, "No, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Before he could finish, Asakawa Aoi shook her head and denied it herself, "No! No! That's not it! The scent on you isn't like Jinno Ai's. You're both youthful girls, her scent should be similar to mine."
"The scent on you feels a bit… mature."
"If it's not Jinno Ai, then who could it be? Could it be that you went to see one of your aunties yesterday? But judging by the distance, that doesn't quite fit either…"
Asakawa Aoi muttered to herself in confusion.
"Aoi, can you stop overthinking this and just go eat breakfast?", Hikari said, black lines practically forming on his forehead.
"Fine, fine, I'll take you in to eat," Asakawa Aoi agreed, leading him inside, still muttering.
"This scent is mature and sweet. The age doesn't feel young. It has this sealed-for-years richness, like a fine wine aged in a cellar waiting to be uncorked. It feels truly top-tier. Who in the entire Ino Shrine could have this kind of allure…"
"The shrine maidens? They don't seem that charming… According to Sherlock Holmes's reasoning, once you eliminate all impossibilities, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth, so…"
"Wait! Could it be? No way, Hikari-kun! Could it be… be…?"
Asakawa Aoi suddenly stopped walking, staring at Hikari in shock.
Facing her stunned gaze, Hikari's heart skipped a beat, 'Is this girl's nose really that sensitive?'
If she found out about what happened between him and Jinno Sumire, it would be a little awkward.
But given Asakawa Aoi's personality, even if she knew, she definitely would not spread it around, so it would actually be fine. What truly shocked Hikari was just how keen her nose was, like a dog's.
And her brain was sharp too, coming up with wild deductions this fast.
Just as Hikari was weighing whether and how to explain things to her,
Asakawa Aoi suddenly shook her head again, "No, no… that's still not right! If it were that person, the scent should be extremely mature, sweet, and seductive. This aura is mature and sweet, but it's an unopened richness, like a fine wine aged for years, waiting for someone to open it. That's not it, not it."
"Besides, how could Hikari-kun possibly have anything to do with that person…"
"But if that's the case, then I can't guess it. Could it be that you were really that greedy yesterday and ran around to several places?"
Hearing Asakawa Aoi's guesses, Hikari also vaguely confirmed a few things in his own mind.
But he still said to her with a helpless expression, "Enough already. What nonsense are you talking about? I just sprayed a bit of perfume before going out, that's all. Stop overthinking it."
"Okay! Aoi totally believes you, Hikari-kun!", Asakawa Aoi suddenly clung to Hikari's arm and said sweetly in a cutesy voice, like a devoted Yamato nadeshiko obedient to her husband.
Seeing how drastically different this was from her earlier Sherlock Holmes cosplay, Hikari felt even more speechless.
If you want to act like the 'wife who suspects her husband of cheating but lacks evidence, so she pretends to be gentle while secretly investigating,' then at least do it seriously. What is with that goofy grin?
"Alright, alright, let's go eat breakfast," Hikari said, pulling along Asakawa Aoi, who was currently pretending to be an obedient Yamato nadeshiko.
After a few steps, Asakawa Aoi suddenly said, "By the way, Hikari-kun, you said you came because Suiren-nee invited you to eat breakfast at my house, right?"
"Yeah, why?", Hikari asked, puzzled.
"When I invite you, you don't come. When Suiren-nee invites you, you come. You're treating us differently, aren't you?", Asakawa Aoi suddenly shook off his hand and sneered at him.
"No, when did you ever invite me?", Hikari asked, utterly confused as Asakawa Aoi slipped back into her dramatic mode.
"I didn't invite you because I knew you wouldn't come, which actually counts as having invited you. But you rejected my invitation and accepted Suiren-nee's instead. So that means, Hikari-kun, you're still secretly in love with Suiren-nee, right?" Asakawa Aoi sneered.
"You really have endless drama. Calm down already!", Hikari flicked his index finger and gave Asakawa Aoi a sharp knock on the forehead.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!", Asakawa Aoi pouted, about to say something else, when she noticed a figure walking out of the dining room toward them. She immediately shut her mouth.
"Good morning, Suiren-nee," Hikari greeted Suiren politely.
"Good morning, Hikari-kun. Come eat breakfast," Suiren replied gently. Her fair, beautiful face was slightly flushed, as if she had heard Asakawa Aoi's earlier remark about Hikari secretly liking her.
Realizing that Suiren had misunderstood, Hikari turned his head and glared at Asakawa Aoi in annoyance.
Asakawa Aoi, however, calmly looked away, acting as if nothing had happened, and took the lead in walking into the dining room.
Hikari followed Suiren into the dining room as well.
Once inside, Suiren said she would go bring out the breakfast. Hikari was about to sit down with Asakawa Aoi, but before taking his seat, he noticed that besides Asakawa Aoi, there was another figure at the table.
Long, straight black hair cascaded down, nearly reaching the floor. Her cold, beautiful face was as calm as an ancient well, without a ripple. Beneath the sleeveless black sweater, her figure was so full it bordered on exaggerated.
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