"Mm..." Feeling that strange softness against the back of his head, Senba Gari's face instantly turned red.
At the same time, the other girls noticed the little boy in Nozomi Tojo's arms and curiously gathered around.
"Oh~ He's so cute~"
"But why is he at Gari's house?"
"Could he be one of Gari's relatives or something?"
"Probably not. I remember Gari doesn't have any relatives younger than him, right? And I feel like he looks really familiar..." Looking at that young yet extremely familiar little face, Minami Kotori couldn't quite remember when she had seen him before.
"Nozomi! Nozomi! I want to hold him too!" Just then, Honoka Kosaka suddenly reached out eagerly.
"Sure. I don't think this little guy will mind."
The moment he heard Nozomi Tojo say that, Senba Gari panicked inside. Taking advantage of the slight slackening in Nozomi Tojo's arms, he hurriedly broke free, then landed steadily on the sofa.
"Hey! You girls, take a good look! Is this how you treat your teacher?!" Senba Gari said angrily as he looked at the girls in front of him, though with his current childlike appearance, the way he got mad only made him look kind of cute.
But after Senba Gari finished speaking, the girls' gazes all turned a little strange as they looked at him. Then Eli Ayase asked with some hesitation in her voice.
"You're... Gari?"
"Who else would I be..."
Senba Gari's little eyes instantly turned into dead-fish eyes as he looked at the eight girls before him, whose gazes were becoming increasingly strange. Wait? Eight?
"Why are you one short? Where's Maki?" Senba Gari raised his tiny eyebrows as he asked. No wonder he had kept feeling like someone was missing. So it was Maki Nishikino.
"Uh... well... Maki-chan, she... she..." Once Senba