As the saying went, plans could never keep up with changes. Though Sogo Doma wanted to claim that what Mashiro had seen was not Rita, "Do you think there's a chance Mashiro simply saw wrong?"
But Mashiro shook her head. "It was Rita. I never forget anything I've seen, especially Rita..."
In fact, Umaru Doma had more or less guessed what was going on. Sweatdropping, she said, "A saleswoman..."
"That's right, she sells paintings and wants to take them back..." Mashiro probably counted, right?
"Hm?"
"Ah, well..." Fortunately, Sogo Doma could still make excuses. "Fine. I just felt that Mashiro didn't want to see Rita..."
Before he could finish, Mashiro said, "I do..."
"Really? She'll stop you from drawing manga, you know..."
"..." Mashiro froze. After a long while, she hesitantly said, "I'll persuade her..."
"You could have persuaded her when she came for the key!"
"..."
"Onii-chan..." Seeing Mashiro lower her head in silence, Umaru Doma said, "Rita is one of Mashiro's few friends, right?"
"That's true..."
"Umaru knows Onii-chan means well for Mashiro," Umaru Doma continued. "But why not leave the choice to Mashiro?"
"Who says I didn't? That day..."
"But Mashiro has only just made up her mind now, right?"
It had to be said that there was a reason Umaru could be so socially adept. Thinking of others and seeing things from their perspective—at any rate, Mashiro was very happy after hearing her out. "Little Sister-chan..."
Umaru Doma: (#^_^)
Although the other girl was actually older than her, being called Little Sister-chan... well, never mind.
"Besides, leaving a girl outside by herself..." As she spoke, she looked up at the sky. The summer sun really was irritating. "Especially in this weather..."
Sogo Doma was not a bad person in the end. Since neither Umaru nor Mashiro