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By afternoon, at four o'clock.

Inside the mall—

I was pushing a shopping cart, with the blonde girl, Mayuri, beside me, ready for a major shopping spree.

Originally, we were planning to head straight home.

However, I remembered that the food, snacks, and desserts at our place had been completely devoured by Tohka, Nia, and the other girls—so I had no choice but to make a supermarket run with Mayuri before we could go home.

———

Passing by a specialty fruit section, I paused.

I'd always heard that fruit in Japan was ridiculously expensive, but I had never really grasped just how much until now. It wasn't until I saw the price tags today that I realized how absurd the cost really was.

A single strawberry, the size of an egg, was priced at 3,760 yen!

'Isn't this faster than robbing a bank?'

"No wonder in Japanese TV dramas, they always buy sliced watermelon to eat. It turns out it's because the price is too high to afford," I muttered to myself.

Then, I called over a store clerk and directly picked out two pairs of muskmelons.

The clerk, upon hearing this, joyfully wrapped the two pairs of muskmelons and was about to put them into a gift bag.

Suddenly, my gaze caught something, and I stopped her. "Please wait a moment... I don't want those two pairs of melons."

"Eh?"

Hearing this, the smile on the clerk's face instantly froze. It was clear that she was now very upset.

"Sir, a-are you sure you don't want them?" The clerk still wanted to say something. After all, having worked for so long for nothing, no one would be in a good mood.

"I don't want them," I nodded affirmatively, then raised my hand and pointed to a high-end shelf. "Repack those two pairs of melons for me!"

The clerk followed his finger and looked, stunned for a moment. She immediately couldn't help but remind him. "Um... Sir, these are Yubari King melons..."

"That's right. I'm sure I want them."

'I want to see if the rind is made of gold or something. For that price, eating it should probably make me immortal.'

———

Next, Mayuri and I picked out a lot more food and fruits, then left the supermarket.

During this time, we drew envious stares from countless people. There were even plenty of girls who flirted openly with me right in front of Mayuri, giving me suggestive looks.

Facing the girls who were looking at him with deep affection, I also just smiled in response.

'To be honest...'

'If I were to invite them to get a room tonight, I believe many of them wouldn't refuse...'

'Of course, I'm not that kind of pervert.'

"Hmph, You're quite pleased with yourself, aren't you? Those girls just now were looking at you like they wanted to eat you alive," Mayuri complained as soon as we walked out of the supermarket, her gaze fixed on me with an adorably fierce expression.

Hearing this, I tilted my head to look at her, amused by her fiercely cute pout.

'Is Mayuri... jealous?!'

"Mayuri, you sound a little jealous."

"Jealous? Why would I be?!" Hearing me say this, Mayuri actually sniffed the air dramatically before realizing she'd been had.

When she noticed me staring at her with a half-smile, it finally clicked.

The girl's face suddenly turned red, but she still pouted her small lips, glanced at me, and said with a very stubborn tone, "Tch, You're such a pervert! As if I'd ever be jealous over you,"

"Alright, my mistake then," I shrugged and said to myself. "But since you called me a pervert, shouldn't I do something perverted to live up to the name?!"

"..."

Hearing these words, Mayuri immediately stared at me with a look of disgust, her body instinctively recoiling.

"Hmph hmph!"

Seeing this, I grinned mischievously and gave her a playful once-over. "If I really become a pervert, the first person I'll go after is you, Mayuri-chan. Not only will I follow you everywhere, but I'll also bathe with you, sleep with you..."

Mayuri wrapped her arms around her chest and glared at him with a look of shame and annoyance. "I say, what kind of messy things are you thinking about in your head!"

"Of course, I'm thinking about you, Mayuri-chan,"

I said, taking the opportunity to continue. "Ever since I first saw you, I was completely captivated. Every day, I think about being with you and maybe..."

"Ouch!"

"Jerk, You can't say stuff like that out here! And..." Mayuri gently pinched my cheek, glaring at me with a look of disgust and helplessness. "Why do you look like you're enjoying this~"

"Ahem, Because as your boyfriend, this kind of behavior from you is a reward for me."

Hearing my ridiculous explanation, Mayuri couldn't help but find it both funny and frustrating.

'How many strange hobbies does this guy have?!'

"Seriously, Kyoya-kun is really like a little kid sometimes," Mayuri let go of the small hand pinching me and complained.

Hearing this, I just grinned.

But I had to say, Mayuri's temperament was so mature and stable, so gentle and considerate. On top of that, her cute and occasionally tsundere side was an indispensable part of her charm.

————

Just like that, the two of them walked home, talking and laughing, their bond deepening once again.

"Hey, Mayuri."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm very curious about one thing. Since you were with me during my dates with Tohka and the others, does that mean you also saw what happened... after Origami and I went to that love hotel?"

Although I didn't finish the sentence, Mayuri's delicate little face was already burning hot. At my reminder, her mind once again flashed back to the scenes she had witnessed.

"Y-Y-You... I-I-I... N-No! I would never follow you to a place like that!"

Seeing the girl's look of utter shame, her reaction told me everything I needed to know.

Immediately, the corners of my lips curled up slightly. "Heh~ Are you sure about that, Mayuri-chan?"

"No, no! I said no, and I meant no..." After saying this, Mayuri turned and ran away with a blushing face.

I looked at the fleeing Mayuri and couldn't help but find it amusing. "A shy Mayuri is really cute."

With that, I immediately chased after her. "Wait for me, Mayuri~"

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