"Where exactly am I being close with him?!"
Mrs. Nagasaki's words shook Soyo's confidence—was her interaction with Kamijou Mutsuki really that lacking in boundaries?
Faced with Soyo's rebuttal, Mrs. Nagasaki simply smiled and looked straight at Kamijou Mutsuki.
"Soyo usually keeps everything bottled up. I really didn't expect her to be this straightforward with a boy…"
Mrs. Nagasaki wasn't randomly playing matchmaker. Soyo's refined young-lady mask might fool others, but could it fool her own mother?
In front of her mother, Soyo always wore a gentle, motherly smile. But in front of Kamijou Mutsuki, she unconsciously revealed her true self. It was only natural for Mrs. Nagasaki to suspect something about their relationship.
"…It's really great that Soyo has a friend like Kamijou-kun."
As for Kamijou Mutsuki's presence, Mrs. Nagasaki welcomed it.
After all, if Soyo kept suppressing herself like this, her mental state was bound to crack sooner or later.
"Mom, it's not what you think…"
Soyo was surprised that her mother could see through the mask she wore. Still, that misunderstanding left her helpless.
Had it occurred to her mother that the reason she didn't bother pretending in front of Kamijou Mutsuki wasn't because she liked him—but because this absurd man shattered her mask the moment he showed up?
It wasn't lowering her guard. It was simply that there was no need to be polite with someone like him.
"Does Kamijou-kun have a girlfriend?"
Mrs. Nagasaki ignored her daughter's rebuttal, taking it as typical teenage stubbornness.
"No."
—Though he did have a fiancée, and a childhood friend.
"Then would you consider my Soyo? She might be a bit sharp-tongued with you, Kamijou-kun, but she's absolutely the type to be a good wife and loving mother…"
"Mom!"
Soyo was extremely displeased with her mother's blatant matchmaking.
"Sorry, but compared to Soyo-chan, another girl interests me more."
However, it wasn't just Soyo—Kamijou Mutsuki also rejected Mrs. Nagasaki's recommendation outright.
"Eh?"
So he already had someone he liked. What a shame.
Just moments ago, Soyo had been annoyed at her mother's matchmaking. Yet now, hearing Kamijou Mutsuki reject it himself, she felt inexplicably irritated.
"I think—"
Then, under the astonished gazes of the mother and daughter, Kamijou Mutsuki took Mrs. Nagasaki's hand and said righteously, "Soyo-chan can't live without a father!"
Soyo's eyes widened.
Wait—are you actually daring to say that?!
"Sorry, Auntie is already an old woman. Kamijou-kun would be better off finding a girlfriend your own age~"
Mrs. Nagasaki was slightly surprised, but quickly regained her composure, the curve of her lips light and amused.
She didn't take Kamijou Mutsuki's words seriously at all. At her age, being 'confessed to' by such a young, handsome man was proof enough of her enduring charm.
"How long do you plan on holding her hand? Let go of it right now!"
Soyo's face darkened as she stepped forward, trying to pull the two apart.
Her action, however, earned her mother a knowing, teasing look.
Weren't you saying you didn't like him?
Then why are you getting territorial now?
"..."
Whatever—let her think what she wants.
"It's already quite late. If Kamijou-kun doesn't mind, why don't you stay the night here?"
They weren't chatting downstairs—this was inside Soyo's home.
A high-rise duplex, overlooking the sea and the river.
Faced with her mother's suggestion to have him stay, Soyo unexpectedly did not object.
After all, Kamijou Mutsuki had been the one to walk her home. Since Mrs. Nagasaki had already spoken up, it would seem a bit heartless for her to refuse.
And although she had no fondness for this abstract lifeform, deep down Soyo felt a strange sense of trust toward him. She had never once suspected him of having any malicious intent.
"Then I'll be imposing," Kamijou Mutsuki said.
Seeing that Soyo wasn't chasing him away, he was more than happy to save himself another trip.
"Then I'll go prepare dinner. You two chat for now."
In truth, the one who usually cooked in this house was Soyo.
But today, with Kamijou Mutsuki here, sitting around while her daughter cooked…
Mrs. Nagasaki felt that what little authority she had as an adult would be ground into dust—though, to be fair, there wasn't much to begin with.
So she cast the two of them an ambiguous glance and headed straight for the kitchen.
"Looks like Mrs. Nagasaki is still quite charming~"
Watching Soyo's mother's retreating figure, Kamijou Mutsuki sighed with emotion.
"If you dare lay a hand on my mom, I'll kill you!"
In response to Kamijou Mutsuki's words, Soyo made her stance crystal clear.
Kamijou Mutsuki, however, replied with a straight face.
"Soyo-chan, do you want a little sister?"
Unsurprisingly, he was immediately pinned down onto the sofa by the furious Miss Soyo.
"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to do it?"
Soyo's face was dark, her fist clenched tightly.
Words were useless against Kamijou Mutsuki—only a heavy punch would do!
"I surrender!"
Faced with Miss Soyo's threat of violence, Kamijou Mutsuki—whose combat power was inferior to even 2.5 Kun—immediately chose to surrender.
Soyo snorted coldly, her mood easing just a little.
Yes—only for a moment.
"Um… did I come at a bad time?"
Hearing her mother's voice, Soyo turned her head like a puppet, stiff to the extreme.
Only then did she finally realize just how ambiguous her position was—straddling Kamijou Mutsuki like that.
The girl sprang away as if electrocuted, her face flushed red, unable to say a word.
What had she just been doing?
No matter how angry she was, she shouldn't have done something that out of line.
"No, you came at just the right time,"
Kamijou Mutsuki said as he finally sat up, freed from restraint, looking at Mrs. Nagasaki.
"…What would you like to eat?"
She really was just asking that. She hadn't expected to walk in on such an explosive scene.
She'd only stepped away for a moment, and they were already like this—and Soyo was the one on top.
If she hadn't come back at all, what might the two of them have dared to do? She didn't even want to imagine it!
And this was supposed to be just "ordinary friends"?
That said, Miss Soyo was currently drowning in self-doubt and probably had no mental bandwidth to care about what her mother was thinking.
"Hamburg steak!"
In the end, it was Kamijou Mutsuki who spoke up, bringing the slightly awkward exchange among the three to a close.
As Mrs. Nagasaki left once more, Kamijou Mutsuki also remembered to send a message to Mubo.
[Capitalist:I'm not going back tonight. I'm staying over at Soyo's place.]
On the other side, "Mutsumi" looked at the message Kamijou Mutsuki had sent and silently typed a question mark.
I told you to go comfort Soyo—how did you end up at her house, and even staying over?
She didn't dare to imagine what Kamijou Mutsuki might do next!
But soon enough, Mutsumi figured it out.
Friends staying over is perfectly normal. As long as she didn't see any cream puffs, the two of them were still pure and innocent!
..........................