Watching Chiharu head toward the kitchen, Uka Senju led Maki into the living room.
After showing her to a seat, he hurried to the washroom to wash his hands, then poured her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
After that brief exchange, Uka Senju sat on the sofa and looked at the girl seated diagonally across from him.
Once again, silence fell between them.
Holding a pale blue glass in both hands, Senju Maki looked at the orange juice, with its bits of pulp.
She drank it in small sips, looking as focused as a little hamster.
But her thoughts had flown back to how she had behaved on the walk over.
Remembering Uka Senju's gaze, she shifted her bottom uneasily.
Then she remembered she wasn't in her own home, and her body stiffened.
As she tilted her head back to drink the juice, she quickly glanced to the side.
Noticing that the boy seemed to be looking at her, she couldn't help showing a hint of awkwardness.
Looking at his fiancée, who was a complete stranger to him, here in a space where it was just the two of them,
Uka Senju really didn't know how to make conversation for a moment.
In his previous life, he hadn't been this timid, and he'd gone for plenty of foot massages. How was it that he couldn't even come up with a topic now?
As he pondered, he saw Maki suddenly shift in her seat, her expression a little unnatural.
So he decided to find a random topic to break the awkward atmosphere, or the girl would soon be unable to sit still.
He cleared his throat to get it ready, then asked, "Miss Maki, are you working for the clan now, or are you a