Footwork, Footwork! Backdoor!

"Mom! Where did you go? I've been looking for you for ages!"

Seeing her mother, whom she had been searching for quite a while, sitting on the bed, Ayano sat down on the edge of Suzuran Mari's bed with a touch of annoyance.

She had searched high and low for a long time, never seeing Suzuran Mari and never hearing a single response from her.

And yet, here was Suzuran Mari sitting here as if nothing had happened?

"Yeah, yeah! Where did you go, Auntie Mari?" Fukayama Natsuki chimed in from the side.

She scanned the entire bedroom, opened the wardrobe, crawled under the bed, and even lifted the blanket off Suzuran Mari.

She didn't see the trace of the blonde hair she was worried about.

"O-oh, sorry Ayano, I was feeling a bit groggy earlier and must have fallen asleep in your room, so I didn't hear you."

She never expected that one day she would have to lie to her daughter because of a male classmate her daughter had brought home.

Mrs. Suzuran raised her hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her face flushing a deep red.

"Is that so? Mom, you really need to take it easy with work. I know you're famous for writing scripts and all, but you have to take care of your health. What time is it even? And you still have the curtains drawn."

Suzuran Ayano didn't think too much about her mother's words.

She was more or less used to her mother being unreliable; her mom had been this way ever since she was a child.

It was precisely because she had a mother like this that Suzuran Ayano had developed her current personality.

"Look, Mom, you opened the window, so why didn't you pull the curtains open properly?"

"I really can't stand you! The floor is even a bit damp."

"My classmate is here today, a boy. You are not allowed to go out wearing a see-through nightgown like that! Do you understand?!"

However, it was already too late, Ayano.

Mom has already met that classmate of yours.

And behind your back, at that.

"I know, you don't need to worry," Suzuran Mari replied with a righteous air. "Do you take your mother for a child? I know these things, you know."

"As long as you know," Suzuran Ayano said helplessly.

Just as Suzuran Mari thought she had preserved her dignity as a mother, she noticed Fukayama Natsuki staring intently at her.

Why was this child's gaze suddenly so sharp?

Unable to withstand Fukayama Natsuki's piercing stare, Suzuran Mari smiled at her and said, "What's wrong, Natsuki-chan? Why are you looking at your auntie like that? Do I look pretty just after waking up?"

"Auntie Mari is the most beautiful person in Natsuki's heart, no matter when it is!" Fukayama Natsuki replied decisively.

One could clearly feel her adoration for Suzuran Mari in her tone.

But her next sentence was a sudden inquiry.

"Auntie Mari, have you already met that terrifying blonde guy?"

"Ah, ah? What are you talking about, Natsuki-chan?" Suzuran Mari felt a jolt in her heart, but she remained calm.

"Then why is the window open? But the curtains aren't drawn?"

Fukayama Natsuki stood where she was, watching Suzuran Mari.

"I opened it last night and just forgot to close it," Suzuran Mari said.

"Then why was the door to Auntie Mari's bedroom open when we came in?"

Fukayama Natsuki continued to press, her gaze sweeping across the entire bedroom.

"Yeah! Mom, your door was still closed when I got up this morning," Suzuran Ayano added from the side, voicing her own doubt.

"What's so strange about that? I came out once after you got up," Suzuran Mari replied calmly.

Without giving a specific time, and with no need to explain it so clearly, Suzuran Mari gave an answer that sounded perfectly natural.

"Oh, that's true."

Ayano nodded in realization.

Looking at her daughter, Suzuran Mari felt a mix of amusement and frustration.

This child truly inherited her genes; sometimes she could be just as scatterbrained.

"Alright, Natsuki-chan, stop asking random questions. I want to rest."

The biggest problem right now was Fukayama Natsuki.

In daily life, the relationship between Suzuran Mari and Fukayama Natsuki was so close that one could even say Suzuran Mari was Fukayama Natsuki's foster mother.

That was why Fukayama Natsuki could act so naturally in front of her and be so bold as to look around everywhere.

"Natsuki-chan, let's go out and let Mom rest for a while longer," Ayano offered her support again.

She tried to pull Natsuki away, and Suzuran Mari hoped she would succeed.

However, ignoring both of their persuasions, Fukayama Natsuki lowered her head, picked up a pair of slippers from beside the bed, and asked in a low, haunting voice.

"Then what about these slippers? These aren't Auntie Mari's slippers, are they! They look like they're for a guy—they're the ones that blond guy wears, right? Why are they by Auntie Mari's bed!"

Seeing the slippers, Ayano recognized them as the ones Akimoto Yoichi usually wore.

She felt a bit suspicious as well.

Both girls' gazes fell upon Suzuran Mari.

"Didn't I say I got up? I walked out barefoot, saw these slippers when I went to the restroom, and just put them on before groggily running into Ayano's room to rest. Is there a problem with that?"

Suzuran Mari's expression gradually turned serious, adopting the authoritative air of a mother.

Constantly being questioned, Suzuran Mari couldn't just keep answering.

Her gaze turned stern, fixing on the somewhat timid Fukayama Natsuki.

"Natsuki-chan, what exactly are you doing? Why are you acting so strange today?"

"First the window, then the door, and now the slippers?"

"I don't really like it when you act like this. Maybe next time I should forbid you from entering my room whenever you please."

Only those who have wronged others know how wronged they truly feel.

Facing Fukayama Natsuki's aggressive pursuit, Suzuran Mari used her "Adult Authority" card to counterattack.

Sure enough, upon hearing Suzuran Mari say this, Fukayama Natsuki instantly turned into a little kitten.

"I'm sorry, Auntie Mari! I was just worried that my favorite Auntie Mari was being bullied by someone! Auntie, I want a hug!"

A pouting Fukayama Natsuki threw herself onto Suzuran Mari's bed, burying her little head into her chest.

Suzuran Mari and Ayano didn't notice that Fukayama Natsuki's little nose was twitching incessantly.

"Alright, alright, you can't do this again next time, or Auntie will get angry, you know." Suzuran Mari patted the back of the Fukayama Natsuki in her arms.

Having finally quelled Suzuran Mari's anger, Ayano and Natsuki obediently left the bedroom and closed the door.

"Natsuki-chan, you shouldn't say things like that to Mom next time, or she really will get angry," Ayano cautioned.

She had also noticed that Natsuki's behavior earlier was clearly off.

From the start, Natsuki had been suspicious.

She suspected something had happened between Akimoto Yoichi and her mother, but Ayano wouldn't believe that for a second.

"No! I didn't mean to make Auntie Mari angry, I really found something wrong! That blond guy is definitely up to no good!" Fukayama Natsuki protested her innocence.

From the moment she entered Mrs. Suzuran's bedroom, she had smelled a very familiar scent.

It was the scent of the beef and potato curry Natsuki had made herself, containing her special Indian masala.

That curry had been spilled all over the blond guy; the scent should only exist on him, or on Natsuki herself.

It had no business appearing inside Mrs. Suzuran's bedroom.

Ayano couldn't smell it, and Akimoto Yoichi wouldn't have noticed, but Fukayama Natsuki, with her keen sense of smell and the fact that she had cooked the curry herself, had discovered it.

Although Suzuran Mari had answered every question with seemingly reasonable explanations, Natsuki felt even more certain of her theory when she hugged her just now.

That blond guy had definitely made contact with Mrs. Suzuran, and it wasn't just a simple handshake or something like that.

Otherwise, Suzuran Mari's body wouldn't have been tainted with the scent of curry!

On top of that, they hadn't seen Akimoto Yoichi at the time, only Suzuran Mari.

Previously, Ayano had only heard Akimoto Yoichi's voice without seeing Suzuran Mari.

Wasn't this exactly like the plot of a doujinshi Fukayama Natsuki had read before?

The one where a girlfriend invites her boyfriend to stay over, only to find him missing in the middle of the night, while the mother's room is locked from the inside.

"Are you still doubting Akimoto-kun? Natsuki-chan, that's not good of you."

In Fukayama Natsuki's eyes, the Ayano saying these words was playing the role of the "girlfriend" from that doujinshi!

That said, Fukayama Natsuki absolutely did not believe that the Suzuran Mari she admired and loved would take the initiative to do such a thing.

It must have been the blond guy's doing! He must have been planning this for a long time!

Natsuki had originally thought the blond guy was after Ayano, but she never expected him to pull off such a maneuver and "steal" Ayano's home.

Because she was concerned about her face and reputation, Auntie Mari was lying to them, bearing the humiliation.

"B-but Ayano-nee, you..."

Just as Fukayama Natsuki tried to explain, a voice came from downstairs.

"Ayano-chan, I'm here!"

"It's Maya."

"Yeah, and Nishida-san is here too. Akimoto-kun is in the yard, pulling her aside to talk about something."

"Nishida-san? So Akimoto-kun is already downstairs. I hope he doesn't get into an argument with her; everyone is working hard for the student council election right now."

As she spoke, Suzuran Ayano left Fukayama Natsuki behind and headed downstairs.

Watching Ayano's back, Fukayama Natsuki could only stomp her little feet.