Maya's hand, which was holding Houtarou's arm, tightened a bit. Clearly, she was concerned about this too.
Houtarou realized he had underestimated Kei.
Wasn't that comment a critical hit for the still-loving girl? Now Maya was already wanting to let go of his hand.
However, considering that today was about keeping Maya quiet — making her satisfied so she would keep the secret — it wouldn't be good to drive her away now.
So he explained.
"About the senior, I don't really know much." Houtarou said, "After enrollment, someone has been sending me 1 million Points every month, but they've never sent me any private messages, just regularly transferring money."
"Eh?" Kei already knew about this, but it was the first time Maya had heard it.
"I only receive their transfers, but I can't even confirm their gender." Houtarou said, "I'm guessing they might make demands of me at an appropriate time."
"Is that so? So the person keeping you might not be a girl but could be a man?" Maya discovered a blind spot.
But Houtarou didn't like this kind of talk.
"It should be a girl." He said with certainty, "Because last month on my birthday, they sent me congratulations. If it were a guy, they wouldn't pay attention to my birthday."
"Ah... birthday?" Maya felt like she had suddenly lost a lot of points.
She had seen the message that sugar mommy senior sent that day. Then she realized that to be with Houtarou, she would need to support him, but she definitely couldn't afford 1 million yen per month.
If she had thought of this earlier, giving him a birthday present might have earned back some points.
Standing beside Maya, Kei straightened her posture — not only did she know about his birthday, but she had also given Houtarou a present.
"It's not really a big deal..."
Houtarou, who had received birthday wishes from many people that day, was feeling satisfied and generous, and was just about to comfort her.
But a voice came from behind.
"Ah, isn't this Oreki-kun~ And also Satō-san, Karuizawa-san... What an unexpected combination..."
It was the familiar voice of Nao Tōyama.
{T/N: The Japanese voice actress of Honami.}
Standing before them was a girl with beautiful long pink hair — Honami Ichinose, the Class B archangel. Pretty and approachable, she radiated warmth like a celestial being.
Her greeting revealed her impressive social skills. She not only recognized Houtarou but also knew both Maya and Kei.
However…
"Actually…" Kei immediately ran over to her.
"Oh, I see…" Honami quickly understood the situation and left with her companions.
She wouldn't be a third wheel.
"Thank you, Karuizawa…"
When Kei returned, Maya immediately expressed her gratitude.
Though Maya was quite attractive herself, she knew there was still a gap between her and popular girls like Honami.
That girl was an archangel, admired by most boys. Maya worried Houtarou might have feelings for her too.
And indeed, he did think highly of Honami, viewing her as a true archangel. After discovering Kikyō's deception, he found Honami's genuine angel-like nature even more precious.
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Despite Honami's brief interruption, the date continued smoothly. The three finally reached the movie theater. They waited in line among the crowd before purchasing three adjacent seats.
The movie wasn't the one Houtarou had gotten from Kikyō, "Your Name".
He first consulted Maya about what she wanted to watch. Her interest was in horror movies.
Hmm... Horror movies. The kind that Houtarou found rather stressful.
But since today's date was essentially work, he prioritized her interests and chose a horror movie.
Very quickly, Houtarou understood why Maya had chosen this genre.
She preferred sitting in the middle, so everyone accommodated her, with Houtarou sitting beside her and Kei on the outer edge.
But then...
"The movie is so scary..." Maya said, grabbing his right hand that was resting on the armrest.
The movie hadn't even reached a scary part yet. But looking at her trying to watch the screen with slightly reddened cheeks, Houtarou understood.
He realized he still had much to learn about dating.
As the movie started, Maya became engrossed in the film. At this point, Houtarou thought it might be better if she let go of his hand.
He had held hands with his sister before and felt a sense of security from it.
He had also held hands with Arisu — or more precisely, she had held his. That feeling was somewhat heart-fluttering.
Holding hands with Maya gave a different feeling. How to put it... he could sense her nervousness.
Her hand was smaller than his. Holding it wasn't uncomfortable; rather, it was quite pleasant.
As the movie continued, Maya kept hold of his right hand. Houtarou's left hand remained free. He tilted his body slightly, resting one elbow on the armrest to support his chin.
The movie opened with a bus scene — typical horror movie territory.
Since Houtarou didn't have much tolerance for scary things, he diverted his attention from the screen and looked to his left.
Just then, Kei noticed his gaze and looked over. Her eyes were extremely beautiful, like amber. But now they seemed to convey a "what are you doing" meaning.
Because Houtarou had been staring at her for more than ten seconds.
'Nothing.' Houtarou replied with his eyes.
Then he lowered his hand. Kei looked momentarily dazed until she realized what was happening — he had taken her hand.
"Waaah—" Kei suddenly exclaimed.
"Hmm?" Maya curiously peeked over, but since Houtarou sat between them, she couldn't see clearly.
"No, it's just too scary." Kei hurriedly pointed at the movie screen.
The scene was indeed frightening.
As if destroyed by an invisible force, everyone on the bus except the female protagonist had lost their heads. Truly terrifying.
"I know, right? I think so too." Maya said, visibly shaken.
She turned her attention back to the movie.
'What were you just doing?! Satō-san is right beside us!' Kei's eyes clearly conveyed her message.
So does that mean it would be okay if Maya wasn't around?
Houtarou just felt that Kei seemed lonely and dejected. Following a friend only to watch that friend date the boy she likes — that feeling couldn't be pleasant no matter how you looked at it.
But there was no other way. If she hadn't come, wouldn't it be even worse if Maya and the boy she liked developed a relationship?
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While Houtarou and the others were already engrossed in the movie.
Swoosh—
Masumi came to Arisu's room, opened the window curtains, and sunlight immediately flooded in.
"How annoying... I don't want sunlight right now."
Arisu was still in bed, wearing a pink nightgown and a sleep cap.
When the sunlight hit her, she sat up and stretched.
"You should check what time it is." Masumi said with a stern face.
It was already 10:30, yet Arisu was still lazing in bed.
"You know that Oreki-kun has been coming to learn chess from me lately." Arisu said, "This is good for me, but it requires preparation — like deciding what to wear when he visits.
Kushida-san must have told you about his apparent preference for feet. So I need to consider whether to wear ankle socks, knee socks, thigh-highs, or stockings in white, black, red, or yellow.
After thinking about all this, I can't sleep well."
Oh. I see.
So since you found out he's not coming today, you don't have to face him, and that's why you're casually catching up on sleep.
... Wait a minute.
Masumi: "..."
Suddenly she felt something strange.
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