"Sogo was always good at pretending to be obedient..." Shizuka Hiratsuka recalled what Taihei Doma had told her. Of course, she hadn't believed it at the time. Could someone with Sogo Doma's awful personality possibly be called obedient? Taihei probably had some kind of misunderstanding about the word "obedient," didn't he?
"When I say obedient, I mean Sogo is good at flattering people with his words..."
"Is he?"
"Of course. There's a prerequisite, though. Whenever he flatters someone, either they have something he wants, or he's planning to mess with them."
"..." That really was awful! Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted to complain—so was it a good thing that Sogo had never flattered her? No, that wasn't right. That brat had flattered her before, then immediately introduced her to his brother, Taihei Doma, for a blind date. Didn't that mean she had something he wanted?
Thinking about her past experiences, then looking at Sogo Doma flattering her again now, even Shizuka Hiratsuka, who was full of fighting spirit, instinctively shivered. "Enough. Cut the unnecessary talk. Mashiro is what matters most right now. I've already come clean with you, so shouldn't you come clean with me too?"
"Come clean? What does Sensei want to know?"
"Didn't you just ask whether anyone had come looking for me? If I'm not mistaken..."
"Mm..." As if he knew what she was about to say, Sogo Doma nodded before Shizuka Hiratsuka could finish. "You're not mistaken. Someone from Mashiro's side has already come."
"Is that so? Looks like the worst-case scenario has happened..."
Hearing that, Sogo Doma couldn't help waving his hand. "Worst-case scenario? Not at all, not at all..."
"Not at all?" But before he could finish, Shizuka Hiratsuka shot him a sideways glance. "Doma, are you really clueless, or are you pretending to be?"
"Huh?"