"Hmm?"
To meet the girl's gaze precisely, Kurumi tilted her little head slightly, seeming rather surprised by the girl's appearance.
"Wow!" Akina Nagisa, who had run out wearing only house slippers, threw her arms around Kurumi.
"Mi-chan, that's totally unfair! You're so, so, so, so cute!"
"Huh?" Before Kurumi could reply, Akina Nagisa's gaze shifted to the key in Kurumi's hand.
"Mi-chan, do you live here? We're neighbors! Both households next to ours moved away these past two days, and I was worrying about how to get along with the new neighbors~ I never expected it to be Mi-chan~ Ehehe."
"I was wondering who would move into Mr. Tanaka's old place."
Kurumi deftly inserted the key into the lock and gave it a gentle turn. The sound of a traditional mechanical lock opening reached both their ears.
"Maybe another cute, beautiful girl like Nagisa~ After all, this place is very close to Saikai Academy, so it's perfect for students from out of town to rent."
Akina Nagisa did not hear a single word of the latter half of Kurumi's sentence. All she heard was Kurumi calling her cute... cute...
The bizarre rules of the Mo Hei Universe had always insisted on treating all living beings equally.
After hearing Kurumi call her cute, the usually carefree girl instantly blushed bright red. It was practically like a lover whispering softly into her ear, warmth blooming beside it...
Click~
With another soft sound, Kurumi pushed open the door and entered. Akina Nagisa came back to herself, hurriedly shook her head, her single ponytail swishing rapidly behind her, then patted her flushed cheeks.
"Come in. Dressed like that outside, you'll catch a cold easily."
"Ah? Okay!"
Akina Nagisa did not know why her emotions were fluctuating so violently. When she faced Kurumi, she felt