To put it bluntly, a girl named Asahi Mahiru is popular with boys.
She, along with Akabane Aki, is one of the top students in her first-year class at Utatane High School and is regarded as one of the top students in her grade. Because of her good looks and kindness to everyone, many boys secretly have feelings for her.
On the other hand, none of the boys would approach Mahiru, who had been popular since junior high, as if they had a prearranged meeting.
—It is forbidden to tarnish her innocent smile.
—No one was allowed to hurt her, who was so kind to everyone.
It was as if there had been an unspoken agreement. All the boys naturally made a "Peace Treaty" with her, just as a kitten or puppy stimulates the desire for protection.
That’s right, they were content as long as they could see her smile. It didn't matter if they could only watch her from a distance, but—
“...Wait, Isn’t it suspicious to follow them like this?”
“...No, it’s not.”
“Asahi Mahiru has a boyfriend,” that kind of rumor suddenly spread around this day. Two suspicious shadows were seen around 20 meters behind Mahiru and Hiyori, who was on their way home.
And those two are Minamida Ryo and Yunomae Yuzuru. They are male classmates who regularly hang out with Mahiru and her friends.
“Target・Entered・Market”
“Just say ‘She entered the supermarket’ like a normal person. Why say it like that?”
“Don't screw up, Ryou. If we get caught, things won’t be easy.”
“Well, that’s true. What we’re doing right now is definitely stalking.”
The two men follow them into the supermarket. From the outside, it appeared to be stalking.
Ryou, who is not pleased with Yuzuru's plan, scratches his dull blonde hair and then says in hushed tones,
“....Hey, Yuzuyu. What would happen if Kotsubaki discovered we were doing this? ”
“...We'll be beheaded, torn in half, or boiled in a cauldron at best.”
“This is bad; we're going to die regardless of what we do...”
In their group, there’s a person who is called “Mahiru’s Mother.” The two men shuddered at the idea of going against her.
“I can't believe you did this even though you know her that well…How much do you even love Asahi, Yuzuru?”
“Lo–!? T-That’s not it! I'm just worried that Asahi might be being stalked by a nasty college student!”
“Isn’t Asahi right now being stalked by some nasty classmates?”
Ryou sighs at the bespectacled man with red fiery eyes and looks at Mahiru who is shopping in front of them.
She’s happily looking at some vegetables even though she couldn't tell what is good, and she said she was being taught to cook by this college student. He believes that if that guy was a bad person, she would not have come shopping with that expression.
First and foremost, as long as the Mother (Hiyori) recognizes that guy, there appears to be no reason for her to be concerned.
(...Well, I guess that means he really likes Asahi that much….He's a stalker, though.)
However, his friend's love would be unfulfilled if he was caught doing this. Ryou was about to say something to Yuzuru to tell him to stop when it happened—
“Ah, Onii-san!!”
“”!!””
When they turned their head to look at the voice, they saw Mahiru waving her hand in the distance. he looked over and saw a man in casual clothes at the end of his line of sight.
“You idiot, don't yell inside the supermarket. You're bothering the customers around you.”
“Ouch. Ehehe~ Sorry~”
After receiving a light chop from the man she calls “Onii-san,” Mahiru’s holding her forehead and smiling with a smile that looks awfully happy. That’s right, that is a different kind of smile from the one he usually shows at school—
“That guy…! He’s casually touching Asahi…!”
“This guy! Hey, stop!”
Ryou rushes to stop his villainous friend, who is revealing his anger like a melting pot of fire.
“W-Why are you so angry!? You're not even supposed to be at the point of being that furious yet!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I've been committed to the ‘Peace Treaty’ from the moment I met her until today! And I'm going to let that happen to some random guy!”
“What are you saying!? I thought all you wanted was to see Asahi's smile!”
“Don’t talk to me herbivore!”
“Oh, now you’re just denying the ‘Peace Treaty’ thing, huh!? You're just another typical herbivore!”
“Who’re you calling a herbivore?”
After somehow restraining the strings that were about to fly out at any moment, they began to observe Mahiru and the others exchanging words in the Fruits and Vegetable section from behind the shelves.