Natsuki Was House-Sitting

"Mom, hurry and sit down. Everyone's waiting for you."

Seeing Mari appear, Ayano promptly urged her to join them.

Though Suzuran Mari had surprisingly gotten up without any dawdling this time, and had even put on some light makeup beforehand,

Ayano still complained, "This is my mom. She's a novelist and a screenwriter."

"Because of her work, her daily schedule is pretty irregular. Sometimes she stays up working very late."

"Mom was working late yesterday, so she couldn't get up this morning. That's why she didn't come out until lunchtime."

They had guests over, so Mari really should have come out sooner to greet everyone.

After all, these high school girls and one blond guy had cooked the meal, while Mari, the adult of the house, hadn't lifted a finger.

Ayano was naturally used to Mari's lazy habits by now.

But in front of Akimoto Yoichi, Nishida Yuki, and Kuroo Maya, she still tried to preserve her mother's good image in the eyes of her friends and classmates.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, everyone. I'm Suzuran Mari. You can call me Mari or even 'old lady,' if you like."

Suzuran Mari greeted everyone with warm friendliness, though her flirtatious gaze couldn't help but turn toward Akimoto Yoichi.

Their eyes met, and Suzuran Mari tensed her legs in black thigh-high stockings as if she'd been burned, though she kept her expression composed.

Clearly, Mrs. Suzuran had remembered something.

"Auntie Mari, you look so young. You don't look like Suzuran's mom at all—you look more like her big sister. I bet you could put on a sailor uniform and go to Izuki Academy with Ayano without anyone suspecting a thing."

There was nothing but innuendo in Nishida Yuki's words. As she spoke, she watched Akimoto Yoichi's reaction.

She even deliberately emphasized the words "sailor uniform."

Unfortunately, Akimoto Yoichi gave her none of the reaction she wanted.

"Hello, Auntie Mari! I'm visiting today. Do you remember me? I'm Kuroo Maya, and I was in the same class as Ayano in middle school."

Kuroo Maya spoke at just the right moment, covering up Nishida Yuki's mischievous remark.

"Mm, I remember you, Maya. Ayano mentions you quite often," Suzuran Mari said with a smile.

Her beautiful legs, clad in black thigh-high stockings, carried her over to the dining table in elegant strides.

Without hesitation, she headed straight for the seat beside Akimoto Yoichi.

In the entire Suzuran household, Akimoto Yoichi was the only guy.

"Hello, I'm Akimoto Yoichi," said Akimoto Yoichi, seated beside her.

Suzuran Mari clearly hadn't told Ayano what had happened between them in the washroom, so it was best to pretend they didn't know each other.

"Hello, Akimoto-kun. You can call me Mari."

Looking at Akimoto Yoichi's unbuttoned shirt, Suzuran Mari seemed to recall something, and her face flushed faintly.

Then she pulled out the chair closest to her, right beside Akimoto Yoichi.

Suzuran Ayano, who had been about to sit there, looked puzzled. She'd thought Mari would take the seat at the head of the table, not the guest seat next to Akimoto Yoichi.

But she didn't think much of it. It seemed her mother didn't dislike Akimoto Yoichi.

Mari hadn't distanced herself from him because of his blond hair, which made Ayano quite happy.

"Everything today was made by Akimoto-kun," Ayano added, taking the opportunity to praise him. "He's really good at cooking. He even made a whole lot of authentic Chinese buns and dumplings, and they're already in the fridge. I'm sure Mom will love them."

It was the truth.

As she spoke, Ayano took the seat opposite Akimoto Yoichi, Suzuran Mari, and Nishida Yuki, in the same row as Kuroo Maya.

It looked as though everyone had found their seats, but Fukayama Natsuki, watching from nearby, wasn't having it.

"Auntie Mari, y-you can't sit next to him! Let's sit with Ayano-nee."

Natsuki, who had been watching Suzuran Mari from behind, sprang into action and grabbed her just as she was about to sit down.

She ignored Akimoto Yoichi's furrowed brows and Ayano's attempt to stop her.

Desperate to pull Suzuran Mari away from Akimoto Yoichi, Natsuki simply tugged her toward another seat like a child throwing a tantrum.

"What's wrong, Natsuki? That's very rude. Why can't I sit here?" Suzuran Mari asked, puzzled.

"B-because... You just can't!"

Natsuki stubbornly tried to drag Suzuran Mari away, wanting to keep her as far from Akimoto Yoichi as possible.

"Natsuki, you're going too far," Mrs. Suzuran scolded.

It wasn't just Akimoto Yoichi who was annoyed. She thought Natsuki's behavior had become utterly intolerable, too.

"That's right, Natsuki. You're being far too rude. Akimoto-kun is our guest," Ayano scolded as well.

It would have been one thing if Natsuki had simply chosen not to get close to Akimoto Yoichi before.

But now she was trying to keep her own mother, Mari, away from him, too, and stopping others from getting close to him. Doing that in front of a guest was even more discourteous.

Anyone would have been justified in getting angry and leaving.

No matter how you looked at it, Natsuki's blatant dislike of Akimoto Yoichi was extremely rude.

Especially since Akimoto Yoichi was Ayano's invited guest, and he had made all the food.

"He's not a guest! Ayano-nee, Mom Mari, this blond guy... He came here with ulterior motives!"

Natsuki couldn't explain herself.

"Oh? I don't recall doing anything bad to you. Or are you talking about how you spilled curry all over me this morning and then blamed me for it? Hm? Why don't you explain yourself?"

Akimoto Yoichi stared at Fukayama Natsuki, curious about why she was targeting him so relentlessly.

It was already clear that she wasn't simply trying to help her brother, Fukayama Midori, protect his harem.

"S-spilling the curry was my fault, but I already know what you're thinking! Anyway, I'm not going to let you get your way!"

Fukayama Natsuki stuck to her position, but she couldn't explain her reasoning.

Most importantly, she had no evidence.

She really liked Ayano, and she liked this motherly figure, her stepmother, Mari even more.

With Nishida Yuki and Kuroo Maya there, Natsuki couldn't say in front of everyone that Akimoto Yoichi was trying to "steal her family."

Even if she did say it, she had no proof.

"That's enough, Natsuki. If you keep this up, go back to the Fukayama family. Don't come here again."

Watching Natsuki carry on like this, Mrs. Suzuran put an end to it with a single decisive remark.

Hearing Suzuran Mari tell her to leave, Fukayama Natsuki didn't dare say another word.

She saw Mrs. Suzuran as her mother, so when her mom got angry, she naturally stopped making a fuss.

"I-I understand. I'm sorry." Fukayama Natsuki obediently let go of Suzuran Mari, then went to sit across the table.

No matter how much she didn't want Mrs. Suzuran sitting beside Akimoto Yoichi, she didn't dare say anything more about him now.

"Good. Let's eat, everyone."

Suzuran Mari put aside her stern expression and returned to her warm smile.

Everyone began to take their seats.

Akimoto Yoichi, meanwhile, gave Mrs. Suzuran and Fukayama Natsuki a long look.