"Fine, when I handed you the bento, I honestly didn't expect you to hold out until I got back. So when you said you'd wait for me, I told you that if I was gone for too long..." Sogo Doma's benevolent expression did not ease as he watched the two compete to admit their mistakes. "And what did you say?"
"Utaha, you said this, didn't you? 'Sogo, who are you looking down on? It's only one lunch. Back when I got busy, I'd just take care of lunch and dinner together.' That's right, isn't it?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka lowered her head. "..."
She hadn't lied. When she had first been writing her debut volume, she really had combined lunch and dinner whenever she got busy. But why did she feel so guilty now? It was an illusion!
"And Mashiro, you said this, didn't you..." Just as Utaha lowered her head, Sogo Doma abruptly shifted his target toward Mashiro Shiina, who was holding onto him. "And you said it very firmly. 'Sogo, Mashiro can endure it too!' That's what you said, right? You could endure it, right?"
Mashiro Shiina, still holding onto him, lowered her head. "..."
She had endured it, but she hadn't managed to endure until the end...
"After you took turns assuring me, I believed you and even entrusted my own bento to you for safekeeping. What did you say then? Utaha, you said this, didn't you? 'Sogo, once you take the bento out, don't put it away again. Mashiro and I both said we'd wait for you...' That's right, isn't it?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka buried her head even lower. "..."
"And Mashiro, you said this, didn't you? 'Sogo, Mashiro will definitely watch over your bento!' That's right, isn't it?" As Sogo Doma spoke, a dangerous smile appeared on his