As Kojima Kana happily enjoyed her meal, Shirase was already changing his shoes at the doorway.
"You're going out?" Kana managed to ask between stuffing food into her mouth.
"Yeah. Don't wait up—I have something to take care of," Shirase replied without looking back.
Kana laughed cheerfully. "Nee-san didn't plan to wait anyway. But since you cooked dinner and even bought meat buns, I'll save you some food."
After leaving, Shirase headed straight to the same shop Nakano Itsuki had visited earlier, bought ten whole meat buns, and then started back toward the Nakano sisters' apartment again.
Though the system was technically responsible, it was still his body that had robbed the meat buns.
So he had no choice but to handle the aftermath personally.
When he returned to the Nakano home once more, Nakano Yotsuba answered the door again.
But this time, the enthusiastic smile was gone. Instead, her eyes were sharp like swords, very sharp indeed: "Shirase-kun, what exactly did you mean by what you did earlier?"
"I'm here to apologize." Shirase raised the meat buns he'd just purchased.
Yotsuba grew even more puzzled. "Then what was that all about just now? You made Itsuki cry! She even threatened to complain to Dad, saying you bullied her."
From inside came Nakano Ichika's voice: "Shirase-kun's here? Yotsuba, let him in."
"Okay~!"
Yotsuba stepped aside, leading Shirase into the living room.
On the sofa now sat three girls in a neat row:
Ichika, Miku, and Itsuki.
They were arranged so neatly it reminded Shirase of the line-up he once imagined—Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, Itsuki, Rikka, Shichimiya, Nibutani—all perfectly lined up in his mind.
As Shirase approached, he instantly felt the three sisters' scrutiny.
Well, strictly speaking, only Ichika was scrutinizing him.
Miku was merely curious, but Itsuki…
Itsuki was already puffed up with anger, her face rounded into a bun-like shape, her eyes full of unconcealed grievance and fury.
"Have a seat first," Ichika said smilingly, dressed in an off-the-shoulder white top and blue shorts, lifting her smooth, pale legs into a crossed position, arms folded, as if presiding over a trial.
Shirase sat down obediently.
Yotsuba seemed to realize it'd look odd if she remained the only one standing. Seeing as how the atmosphere had gotten serious, she quickly scurried over to sit beside Miku.
"Well then… let's have our culprit-san explain himself clearly: why exactly did you snatch our victim Itsuki's meat buns?"
Ichika smiled with the maturity of an elder sister, lips slightly curled, tapping a finger lightly against her cheek. "You know, I was rudely awakened from my nap by Itsuki's screams just now. I'm sure you can imagine just how upset she was, right?"
"I'm sorry," Shirase sincerely apologized. "I need to sincerely apologize for the prank I pulled earlier. It really went too far."
"A prank?"
All four girls froze at those words.
The anger in Itsuki's eyes froze instantly. Just as she opened her mouth, Shirase placed the bag of meat buns directly in front of her. "As compensation, I've bought you double the buns—ten in total."
Then Shirase rolled up his sleeves and stood up. "My cooking skills are pretty decent, and Kana-nee can vouch for me. To make it up to Itsuki and help ease her hurt feelings, let me cook your dinner tonight. That way, you won't have to wait hungry for Nino to come home."
Shirase's smooth combo completely blocked whatever words Itsuki had been about to say.
She had originally planned to explode in anger and give Shirase a fierce scolding.
But seeing those large, soft, fluffy meat buns right before her—twice as many as she'd bought herself—and hearing Shirase offer to stay and cook as an apology, Itsuki just couldn't bring herself to keep reprimanding him.
Observing the situation keenly, Ichika spoke up, smiling softly: "Since Kana-nee praised your cooking, we naturally trust you, but…"
"But what?" Shirase calmly looked at the short-haired beauty. They'd known each other for nearly a month now, and he was fully aware of the playful nature hiding beneath her gentle elder-sister surface.
Ichika glanced teasingly toward Itsuki, whose attention had already shifted to the meat buns, and smiled ambiguously. "I'm more curious why Itsuki was chosen as the target of your prank rather than someone else?"
"Oh? Ichika's right!" Yotsuba blinked rapidly, her curiosity practically overflowing. "Why wasn't it me or Miku?"
Miku said nothing, but her steady gaze clearly showed she was also curious about this.
Shirase had anticipated Ichika would pull something like this even before he arrived. Remaining composed, he replied smoothly, "Because I carefully analyzed the situation beforehand."
"What analysis? Go on." Ichika smiled sweetly, watching him intently.
Shirase answered calmly, "If Ichika were the target, knowing her personality, not only would my prank fail miserably, I'd probably get pranked by her in return. Definitely not worth it."
"That makes sense! Ichika is really good at teasing people," Yotsuba immediately nodded in agreement.
Shirase then turned towards the energetic girl: "As for not picking Yotsuba, that was simple. Your athletic ability is too good—if I got caught mid-escape, that would be incredibly embarrassing."
"Ehehe, am I really that impressive?" Yotsuba giggled happily, scratching her head.
Ichika merely smiled quietly, saying nothing more.
"What about me?" Miku suddenly spoke up.
Shirase smiled calmly, "If it were Miku, she probably wouldn't even let me in the door. My entire plan would fail before it even started since she'd shut me outside immediately."
Miku pondered silently for two seconds, then nodded: "That's quite likely. But you're someone Dad values highly, so if you had a convincing reason, I'd at least let you stand outside the door for a while."
"Ohhh, that makes sense! As expected of Shirase-kun—you really put serious thought into a simple prank!" Yotsuba exclaimed admiringly.
Looks like I've managed to bluff my way through it.
Shirase quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wait!"
Just then, Itsuki, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.
When everyone's eyes turned to her, the girl, with disbelief written clearly on her face, slowly pointed a finger at her own pale cheek and muttered weakly, "So...the reason you picked me was because…you thought I was the dumbest, easiest one to bully?"
"Ohhh, I see!" Yotsuba suddenly exclaimed in realization.
Realization my ass!
Yotsuba's sudden reaction made Shirase's heart skip a beat.
Ichika, who had been watching the show with her chin propped in her hand, burst out laughing. "When you put it that way, Itsuki, it does seem quite plausible."
Miku's eyes rapidly turned icy-cold: "Shirase-kun, you're guilty. Commit seppuku."
Sure enough, unforeseen circumstances had occurred.
Shirase kept calm as his brain worked at lightning speed.
Thankfully, he'd thoroughly prepared for exactly this scenario on his way here.
He quickly put on a serious expression: "No. The reason I chose Itsuki was that, based on my judgment, she seemed like a girl who could easily handle a joke and had the biggest heart."
"Huh?" Itsuki's expression instantly froze, confusion filling her eyes.
Her gaze seemed to silently ask:
Am I…really someone like that?