However sour he felt, Rikuo had not been tactless enough to approach while the blond was still there and make things awkward for everyone.
Instead, Rikuo remained standing in the shadows of a corner, watching expressionlessly as Maki waved goodbye.
Even after the blond disappeared around the corner, she stood rooted to the spot, gazing blankly in the direction he had gone like a wife waiting for her husband to return.
Rikuo could not bear watching any longer and walked over. As he approached, he deliberately made his footsteps louder and gave a cough.
Only then did Maki notice someone approaching. She quickly turned to look, her face filling with surprise.
"Rikuo, when did you get here?"
She sounded quite happy, though a trace of apprehension seemed to mingle with that happiness.
Even her eyes, which usually met his directly, began to dart away.
"I just got here. Anyway, Maki, what were you looking at so intently?"
Rikuo feigned curiosity and looked in the direction Maki had been staring. The blond was long gone, so naturally, there was nothing to see now.
"Uh, nothing. I was just seeing off a colleague from school."
Maki's gaze shifted almost imperceptibly, but her tone remained perfectly natural, betraying nothing.
"Really?"
"Really! Anyway, Doichi told me you'd gone away on a mission. You're back already?"
Maki hurriedly changed the subject. If they kept talking about this, she might not be able to fool her perceptive brother.
"Yeah. You know my Flying Thunder God Technique. It makes both leaving and coming home pretty convenient."
As he spoke, Rikuo held out the parcel of local specialties he had brought for Maki.
"Oh, right. I brought you some specialties from the Land of Flow."
"Oh, you really shouldn't have gone to all that trouble."
Despite her words,