Left alone with a woman thats close to a stranger, I naturally didnt carelessly approach her.

I dropped the bag on a free space on the computer table and only uttered one word Here before sitting down at the side of the bed, to wait for Satsuki or the return of Setsuna.

Likewise, Juri didnt even bother to look at me as she whispered a silent Thank you before the keyboard began clacking once more.

Well, at least shes not panicking that shes alone with a stranger. That crossed out the possibility that shes afraid of me. Its probably only the case of not being acquainted with each other.

We hadnt even introduced ourselves to each other. Furthermore, shes busy with whatever project theyre doing. Its best not to disturb her.

Time continued to pass with only the sound of the keyboard filling the room. Well, theres also the sound of Juri opening a pouch of potato chips to munch on it.

Despite doing so, the girls focus remained on the screen.

Naturally, without anything to do aside from waiting, I curiously sneaked a peek at the computer screen.

With her hands tapping nonstop, I saw letters quickly filling up pages after pages on the word processor software without even a bit of formatting.

Perhaps shed do that later but for someone to write that quickly without any reference or something to copy with, shes definitely pulling all of that from her mind.

I was amazed. But thats it. I returned to waiting quietly without a shred of thought to disturb her.

And so, time passed once more. Around five minutes later, however, neither Satsuki nor Setsuna showed up.

I already pulled out my phone to ask Satsuki where she was but the girl only replied Cant escape. Return quickly..

Most likely, its Kanzaki whos holding her stuck in that room. By telling me to return quickly, it probably concerned why I hadnt returned yet when I was just supposed to go to the bathroom.

Thinking about the possibility that Kanzaki would be more suspicious the more time I spent not returning, I eventually decided to return.

Setsuna probably caught up to Sakuma and theyre now in a serious discussion. If shes still curious why Satsuki quickly fell for me despite only interacting with me for less than two months, Id just inform Satsuki to give her my contact. Id answer her question through messenger or just an email. As long as her message didnt get buried by my girls messages, of course.

I glanced at the busy woman and still thought of not disturbing her. I stood up and went for the door, deciding to leave as quietly as possible and without informing her at all.

However, it was at that moment that I heard a different sound in the computer tables direction. The clacking of the keyboard stopped and Juris subdued but frustrated voice reached my ears. T-this hateful can! Why do they make it this hard to open!

Upon taking a quick look, the swivel chair shes sitting on was turned to the side, on her hand, a can of apple juice. Shes pulling the tab using her thumb or forefinger in difficulty. However, it just kept on popping back and shes only hurting her fingernails.

Really, instead of the green tea thats in a PET bottle among the contents of what Sakuma bought, the girl picked a canned drink. If the juice was her preference, why didnt she specifically instruct Sakuma to buy those in the same PET bottle?

Ah. Perhaps theres none in the convenience store or she just didnt instruct him to do so. Either way, it still went down whether I would help her or not.

I was about to leave anyway. Lets just do one good deed. It could be a payment for the treat she unconsciously showed me earlier.

Having decided that, I let go of the knob and walked in her direction.

Uhm. Do you need help? I can open that for you.

Really?! Thank you!

I thought it would be difficult to talk to her but she instantly flashed a relieved smile as she handed the can to me.

Alright, looking closely at her, shes definitely a looker. And because shes a fashionista, her make-up and accessories like necklace and earrings enriched her natural appearance.

Perhaps if Shizu or Nami did the same, the two would be more beautiful considering their lush black hair and natural beauty.

Well, anyway, I opened the can in one try and returned it to her with a smile.

Perhaps she found it amazing, theres a hint of amazement in her eyes as she received the can back before saying words of gratitude for the second time. One try Thank you!

Youre welcome. Well then, Ill be leaving. Please tell onee-san when she returns.

At first, she seemed surprised that I would be leaving the room but she recovered immediately and nodded her head.

Thats a normal reaction. I only helped her with a small thing like opening a can. Theres neither a reason for her to stop me nor a topic we could talk about.

Nonetheless, before I left, Juri asked for my name, perhaps to bridge the stranger level. And as a common courtesy, I did the same even if that might become our first and last interaction.

Im Koizumi Juri. Onoda-kun, you have a sense of propriety. I appreciate that you didnt needlessly disturb me despite being left alone with me

Surprisingly, the simple introduction that shouldve ended when she gave her name turned into some kind of little getting to know each other moment.

The girl continued talking before I could even repeat that I was going to leave the girl.

Well, since she looked enthusiastic, I gave it a few minutes, or until she finished her drink and returned to what shes originally doing.

As she took a sip of her apple juice from time to time, Koizumi-san, thats better rather than calling her directly using her first name, shed some light about her lack of reaction when I entered the room. Like I thought, its just her way not to be too nosy on things shes not involved in.

She did apologize for hearing everything but I waved it off since theres no harm done.

Her sudden pause earlier when Setsuna rushed out of the room was partly because of what happened and the fact that she was left alone with me. Something I also guessed.

Well, how many times have I repeated this? Were strangers before introducing ourselves to each other. Thats why its kind of weird that shes trying to explain her behavior to me. Perhaps thats just her personality so I left it at that. I listened and after shes done, I did the same. A little summarized than what she did though.

From that little talk, I understood her character better. Not including her great fashion sense, shes a stickler to propriety.

She truly appreciated that I didnt disturb her unnecessarily and only politely approached her when shes in that dire spot of failing to open the can.

In my own judgement, shes kind of weird. But thats just an assumption from me through that short interaction.

After that, she didnt hold me back anymore as she sent me off with a kind smile on her lips before returning to what shes doing.

Ah. Apparently, thats their group project due on Monday. Koizumi-san and Satsukis older sister was from the same department in college. Obviously.

Anyway, when I returned to Satsukis room, Setsuna or Sakuma still hadnt returned. Furthermore, Kanzaki stared at me suspiciously but didnt say or ask anything.

Soon after that, we prepared to leave for home.