I think this is bad news for us, Ruki. Look

As we were in the middle of eating our lunch in a family restaurant near the Akimitsu Hills, Juri put down her chopsticks and put her phone in front of my face.

It was just buzzing from vibrations a minute earlier from Setsuna-nees phone call that she didnt pick up. Perhaps she couldnt wait to hear from us, that troublesome Satsuki-lookalike had sent a message instead.

As I read through what could be seen on the preview from her phones notifications, it said Where are you two? Im waiting for you

Although its incomplete, it wasnt hard to infer the whole content of it.

Yeah If shes joining us. Its definitely bad news. What do you think about calling her back and telling her where we are before she speculates why you missed that one call. I suggested but knowing that woman it wouldnt be wrong to assume that shed be nagging at me even if Juri and I didnt cross that line.

Anyway, at the same time as I said that, I also brought out my phone to check. Sure enough, Ive seen her name in my flooded notification list. Although she didnt call me, theres a message from her which says, Oi, Onoda-kun, Juri didnt answer my call. Are you two still on the bus? Dont ignore this or youll kiss my fist when I see you!

Haa Yep. That is typical of her.

One could say that shes annoying to deal with but knowing her history, Setsuna-nee has her reasons why she adopted and cultivated her distrust of men. Even if shes not the one directly affected, that incident hit her harder. Oh. No. Its more so because its Satsuki who got put in that situation. Shed probably take it easier to move on if she was the one who got almost assaulted.

If Im not wrong, shes blaming herself for it. Thats why to prevent that from happening again, she decided to just shut out most men except her family and Sakuma.

Although shes not really against my relationship with Satsuki, her distrust stuck out, which resulted in her trying to antagonize me at every turn. And even though we had a fruitful conversation earlier that lessened her distrust in me, that didnt mean it already disappeared completely.

If, by chance, she started suspecting my close relationship with Juri I could already imagine her designating me as her mortal enemy. Justification be damned but shed definitely be on the right side if that happens.

Who will support a timer, right?

Yes. Youre right. I should give her a call. Mind if I do it now?

Sure. The food wont run away from the table. And if need be, I dont mind feeding you while you talk to her.

This guy You still have the gall to jest at this point. Juri laughingly shook her head.

Then, as though a brilliant idea popped up in her mind, her eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she picked up her chopsticks. She stood up from her seat and leaned over to grab a dumpling from my plate.

Understanding what she was about to do, I waited for it in slight anticipation. Or so I thought

The next moment, Juri sat back down and started biting on that dumpling as an amused expression occupied her face. Want a bite?

Alright This is not the Juri that I know. Ive never taken her for a teaser

Did she unlock her potential after what happened between us? No, right? Ugh Maybe this is the result of her embracing her interest in me and breaking her own rule. She became unbridled.

Dont look at me as if I stole your food, Ruki. I just moved ahead to do what youre planning to Un. This is tasty. I shouldve ordered the same Oh. Right. You can eat some meatballs from my plate too. Dont be shy. After finishing that dumpling, Juris amusement bloomed further as she pointed at her plate.

This girl Act or not, theres no doubt that shes great at this.

Well then, I guess I should play along with her Cant have her think that Im this easy to topple.

No. Im good. Rather, Ill be content to see you happily munching on food. So, here. A second helping.

Far from her expectation, I picked up another dumpling from my plate and leaned over to her, bringing the food next to her mouth.

Juri, who was just about to giggle at how well she played that out, couldnt help but freeze as she alternately looked at me and my chopsticks. The thought of calling Setsuna-nee also seemingly disappeared from her mind.

As a hint of red started occupying her cheeks, Juri opened her mouth slightly, just enough for the dumpling to fit.

Naturally, I didnt waste that chance and pushed it in, successfully feeding her.

As her lips closed around my chopstick, I slowly slid it out before sitting back down on my seat and watching her shamefully chew that piece of dumpling.

While she was at that, I raised my phone and intentionally raised the volume as I snapped a photo of her.

It was a great shot. It fully captured her shame, surprise, and amusement at this unexpected turn. Furthermore, I somehow felt that the photo encapsulated everything that happened between us today or the progress that we made even if nothing had been resolved yet.

When Juri noticed what I did, she immediately tried to grab my phone. And with her mouth full, she could only issue some incoherent mumblings.

And it was at this point that the phone she had placed on the table started vibrating again, stopping her in her tracks.

Yep. Its Setsuna-nee. And that's great timing. Ill give her that.

While looking a little indignant, Juri forcefully gulped down what was in her mouth and pouted at me before sitting back down.

She straightened her expression, in preparation for answering that call.

Setsu? Sorry, we are at a restaurant nearby Huh? No. Ruki isnt trying anything Did you forget? We got delayed by the rain Okay, alright, Im sorry if I missed your call. You know me, if Im starving, my mind is only focused on the food If youre already there, just come here. Ill treat you as well.

And there we go She could really keep up and act the same as earlier. From the way their conversation went, Juri successfully reasoned out why she failed to pick up the call the first time.

Whether that was true or not, I had no idea. I mean, what she just tried to pull didnt look like she was focused on her food, right? Or maybe, shes not yet starving.

In any case, since I heard my name there, Setsuna-nee must have tried to accuse me of something And she lied about that too

Thats inappropriate

Anyway, while the call was still in progress, I used that chance to type in my reply to Setsuna-nee even though its not needed anymore, Kiss your fist? Nope. Ill take Satsukis kiss any moment. By the way, since youll be reading this after your call, I did what you asked. I didnt ignore this message. Im absolved of any crime.

Five minutes after Juri concluded that call, Setsuna-nee showed up and strolled inside the family restaurant. With her eyes scouring the place right away, it didnt take long for her to find us in one corner. While she showed a pleasant smile toward Juri, the girl grumpily narrowed her eyes at me.

Theyre really sisters. I couldnt help but see Satsukis image from that. And thats within my expectation after I cheekily replied like that.

Anyway, in retrospect, we dodged a bullet.

If Juri and I showed up at that third location while still linked intimately, wed be caught red-handed.