Watching the group huddled together around Ichinose, Himeno Yuki felt a little helpless. She wondered why they always found it so easy to laugh.
I really don't fit this kind of atmosphere.
"I can't believe Satoru-kun and Honami really did meet before!"
Sitting on Gojo Satoru's lap, Amikura Mako looked surprised, but there was something strange in her eyes, as if she were lying.
When Gojo Satoru heard her say that, he immediately pressed both hands against her face and rubbed it back and forth.
"Didn't you say you believed me? Why are you saying that now?!"
"Mmph, mmph~"
With her mouth squished shut, Amikura Mako tried to speak, but could only make muffled noises.
Watching from the side, Kobashi Yume couldn't help clutching the hem of her skirt.
A while later, after everyone had seen the enormous number of points displayed on Ichinose's student ID terminal,
they returned to their original seats, though they still looked more or less excited.
Seeing that everyone was back in place, Gojo Satoru teased them with a smile.
"I'm so happy Ichinose-kun thinks so highly of me."
"Not at all. We have Gojo-kun to thank for increasing our class's points by so much all at once."
Hearing him call her by that unfamiliar name, Ichinose fell silent for a moment, then quickly recovered and replied.
"Exactly, exactly!"
"We really do have Gojo-kun to thank!"
"I was shocked when I watched the match!"
Seeing Ichinose praise him, the other girls joined in, too. After all, they had all benefited from those points.
Gojo Satoru merely waved a hand and said something cryptic with a smile.
"There's no need to worry about that. We're all family from now on, anyway."
?????
They didn't really understand, but this wasn't the time to call him out. They owed him, after all.
"But are you only going to thank me with words? Couldn't you do something more practical?"
???
The already-silent group fell even quieter.
They'd been so busy celebrating that they'd forgotten they hadn't brought anything. After all, at first, only Ichinose had known why they were coming here.
Now they understood what was going on. Not only had they brought no gifts, they were still a little dazed.
Unlike the others, Amikura Mako glanced around, leaned close to Gojo Satoru's ear, and whispered something cryptic.
"Isn't this already enough?"
Then she winked at Ichinose.
Ichinose blushed and looked away.
It was only a tiny gesture, but Gojo Satoru still noticed.
Is there some kind of deal going on?
About an hour later, everyone except Amikura Mako had happily left.
They had just learned they'd gotten a huge number of points, and wanted to share the good news with the rest of the class.
They could also help Ichinose tell a little white lie. They couldn't let a small thing like this ruin the mood in class. Perhaps that was why Ichinose had specifically chosen these close friends to come over.
After seeing the last reluctant guest, Kobashi Yume, out, Gojo Satoru returned to the room and looked at Amikura Mako, sitting on the bed with her eyes darting away.
"Tell me, did something happen?"
But this time, she didn't answer. She kept tapping her index fingers together and stammered,
"W-well, it's nothing bad!
It's just... I can't tell you yet!"
Watching her strange behavior and remembering Kobashi Yume and Ichinose's gestures earlier,
Gojo Satoru had more or less figured it out. But since she wasn't willing to say anything, there was no need to press her.
"Oh, right. I've got a surprise for you, too, but you'll have to wait until next Monday."
He sat down beside Amikura Mako, but felt something strange beneath him.
He stood up and pulled back the blanket.
!!!
A box of twenty bubble balloons lay there!
Seeing that he'd found them, Amikura Mako blushed and explained, ignoring what she'd just said.
"Exams are over, so I've got plenty of energy for other things.
If... if you want to, Satoru-kun,
we can use them all up tonight!
I'll hold out this time!"
Little Mako, are you serious?!
With that many, she wouldn't last long enough to use even a quarter of them.
How could she say something like that?
Amikura Mako seemed to notice his disbelief. She lay down on the bed, cheeks flushed, and turned her head to the side.
She tossed him the box of bubble balloons and said indignantly,
"Hurry up!
I can handle it now!
Don't underestimate me!"
With that, she pulled up her skirt.
He caught the box she'd tossed him and saw that she was ready. Gojo Satoru decided to stop doubting her.
Then I'll give little Mako a quick checkup to see how much she's grown.
"That spot... no?!"
"Don't!"
And so on...
Two hours later,
Gojo Satoru looked at Amikura Mako, sprawled limply on the bed, feeling rather proud.
Just as he'd expected, she hadn't even used a quarter of them, but she really had grown.
Not just in those areas—she'd gotten a lot more stubborn, too.
The following afternoon,
Walking behind either Kobashi Yume or Amikura Mako, Gojo Satoru felt utterly helpless.
They'd put quite a bit of distance between them, and their voices were very quiet, but to him, it made no difference from talking right next to his ear!
This didn't even count as scheming, did it? To him, it was just a loud discussion!
"Mako, how did things go last night?
Did you really use them all?"
As one of the participants in the "Gojo Satoru Harem Plan" organized by Amikura Mako, Kobashi Yume was very curious about how things had gone the previous night. After all, they'd gone to buy them together!
"It's all your fault! I told you to stay, but you snuck off!
You have no idea how miserable I was last night. I'd made such a big promise, but I couldn't even make it halfway!"
Hearing Kobashi Yume ask about the night before, Amikura Mako complained miserably. They'd agreed to play doubles, but this girl had run away at the last minute!
Hearing that explosive revelation, Kobashi Yume's face turned even redder. She explained bashfully,
"Mako was the one rushing things!
Gojo-kun and I are still just friends. How could we do something like that all of a sudden?!"
As she spoke, she remembered what Kamuro Masumi had said last time, and added miserably,
"Besides, I'm still just a little kid. I've never even tried kissing. How could I do something like that?!"
Amikura Mako wasn't having it. She immediately shot back,
"Then go try it. Once you've tried it, you're not a little kid anymore."
You can just try something like that?!!
Unable to believe she'd just heard such an outrageous thing, Kobashi Yume stared at Amikura Mako in shock.
She fell silent for a moment, then firmly refused.
"Anyway, I won't do anything like that before we're officially dating!
If I rush into it, Gojo-kun will think I'm a bad girl!"
Actually, being a bad girl wouldn't be so bad.
After listening to their conversation the whole way, Gojo Satoru wanted to go over and remind them that he was there, but felt it would be too weird.
Well, whatever.
It was enough that he knew they liked him. There was no rush.
Starting next week, they'd be classmates. They wouldn't just be able to see each other during breaks; they'd see each other every weekday, too.
Rushing things now would only be a little rude.
Before you continue