Of course, grumbling inwardly was one thing, but on the surface...
As an Onii-chan who needed to set an example for Imouto through both words and actions, although Sogo Doma was a man, he had already resolved that he would never, ever make the mistake all men made. He couldn't help it—what if Umaru, who had grown up watching his back, got the wrong idea and thought all men were like that?
He had always fantasized about Umaru saying, "Even if Umaru wants to... she'll find someone as amazing as Onii-chan!"
So:
"Idiot, I wouldn't lie to you in the first place..." Facing Utaha Kasumigaoka's questioning, Sogo Doma rubbed her long, straight black hair. "I really don't know what goes through that little head of yours all day..."
"My hair's a mess!"
"I'll comb it for you..."
"Hehe..." Hearing that, Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't help laughing again. After a while, she looked at him seriously and said, "Sogo, I believe you. Even if you were lying to me, I'd still believe you..."
"Then all I can do is live up to that trust..."
"..." Perhaps silence said more than words at that moment, and so Utaha Kasumigaoka fell silent once more.
However, after a while, she couldn't help saying:
"Sogo..."
"Hmm?"
"Are you really willing to come home with me?"
"..." Looking at Utaha Kasumigaoka, who seemed to be testing him, Sogo Doma also went quiet for a moment before suddenly smiling. "Of course. I'm really looking forward to meeting your father and moth—my father-in-law and mother-in-law."
"That's not..." Utaha Kasumigaoka instinctively retorted the moment he finished speaking. But she stopped halfway through, then continued, "Shameless. You haven't even, even with me yet..."
"What!?" Before she could finish, Sogo Doma said, "What do you mean, not even with you...? Don't tell