Mahiru's eyes blinked in surprise as she returned from the cafeteria, and her two friends, Yukiho and Yuzuru, turned to her with glaring eyes.
Another friend who had gone shopping for lunch with her, Akabane Aki, a so-called “easy-going”* girl, noticed the strange atmosphere and asked in a stiff voice, “What's wrong Everyone~?”
(Tired: ゆるふわ - please tell me if I translated it wrong.)
“Yukiho~ You look so scary~ But do you need something with Mahiru~?”
“Listen to me, Aki! There's a possibility that Mahiru has a boyfriend, you know!?”
“Ehh~ Seriously~?”
“What are you guys talking about in front of me!?”
“T-T-T-Then what about it, Asahi!? Is it true that you have a boyfriend just like the rumors say!?”
“No, I don’t! Why are you talking about that…!? Ahh…!?”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I didn’t tell them anything.”
‘Did Hiyori-chan talk about Onii-san!?’ Mahiru thought so, but Hiyori, the only one who knew what was going on, made a gesture that she didn’t do anything.
The bespectacled girl who was causing all of this commotion made Mahiru sit on a chair and then approached her as if she was about to ask her various questions about what was going on.
“You can't fool my sense of smell, Mahiru. The way you've been acting lately…you certainly have the scent of a male…”
“How s—”
“I’m sure you have a boyfriend, if not, there’s at least a guy you’re interested in, right!? Let us hear about your love life!”
“W-W-What are you talking about, Yukiho!? I-I-I don't have anyone like that!”
“Don’t play dumb with me! Looking back, you haven't talked about anything like that since we were in Junior High school! I mean, I've been thinking about it for a while now, but there's just not enough of that kind of romance talk in this group! It's always you or Aki who are popular, and yet you have no interest in having a boyfriend! That's going to be a problem for Hiyori and me, who are trying to get potential boyfriends from you guys!”
“...Can you not casually drag me into this, will you? I don't remember having any such petty ambitions.”
“B-But yet you're hiding things from us, your friends, you know!?”
Completely ignoring Hiyori's tsukkomi, Yukiho plopped down on her desk and began to cry hysterically.
“T-That’s…” Then Mahiru, who had a puzzled look on her face when she saw so, had no choice but to tell Yukiho that she was being taken care of by the college student next door, regardless of whether it was something Yukiho wanted to know or not.
“...I see, I understand what you're talking about…I mean, Mahiru, you are…”
“U-Un?”
“....So you're trying to get it with this college guy, is that what you're saying?”
“You really don't understand anything! I'm just there to learn how to cook!”
“Then introduce me to him!”
“E-Ehhh!?”
“You're not even aiming for him, right? Hey, Hiyori, is that college student hot!? Is he good-looking!?”
“Eh?”
Suddenly, Hiyori is asked to say anything about it and tries to recall a college student she has only met once in her memory.
“...hmm, well…hmm….”
“....Ahh….”
“Why are you just guessing!? O-Onii-san is nice and cool!”
“No way~ if you're looking for a boyfriend, it's the face, not the personality.”
“Yukiho is a sucker for good-looking guys, huh~?”
Yukiho lost interest in Yu Yamori the moment she discovered he wasn't a good-looking guy. She is the type of person who is constantly adoring idols and actors, so she is most likely looking for a handsome guy rather than a nice guy. Her ideal man seems to be very high.
(...Well, I knew Yukio would lose interest eventually...)
Hiyori casts a glance at one of the guys—who has been unusually quiet since a few minutes ago.
(...Yunomae is going to be troublesome, for sure…)
There was a bespectacled man who appeared to be in a fierce rivalry with someone.