Ephemeral Ability Reflects the Heart

「Maybe we should get another one of these tables」

「Oh, that's a good idea. It would be convenient to use them side by side」

Some inconveniences that they didn't feel when it was just the three of them are revealed.

Well, at the moment, the number of people living in the apartment has not increased.

「...That's right. I haven't told Aika properly yet, have I?」

That Chihiro is living in this apartment now, and that Maria and Riko are with him. And that he doesn't go back to the dorm basically, and his dorm is mostly a storage place for his belongings.

After hearing that, she probably had a general idea of the situation.

Aika nodded without much surprise when she heard the explanation.

「So, Riko-chan and Maria-chan, do you do “that” with Izumi-kun every day?」

「Ugh」

Riko moaned. Chihiro also felt a little pain in his chest.

Meanwhile, Maria is eating without a care in the world. 

「Yes. B-But is it bad?」

「No, I'm not saying it's bad. But I'm Izumi-kun's girlfriend, and Riko-chan is his slave, right? Then, it's okay to be a little sarcastic, right?」

Aika puffed with pride.

She must have remembered that Riko asked her to have a relationship with Chihiro before.

Although this seems to be something far from kind, Aika's calling Chihiro "girlfriend" makes him extremely happy.

「Chihiro, you're smiling」

「Eh?」

Riko stared at him.

Aika chuckled and looked at Chihiro.

「Hey, Izumi-kun, can I call you by your first name too?」

「Uh, yeah. Sure」

「Thanks. Then... Chihiro-kun」

（Oh, Riko is right. My face is smiling）

Chihiro recognized it this time.

「Aika」

「Chihiro, kun」

「Okay, okay, stop right there!? That can wait later!」

If Riko had not intervened, they might have kissed.

Maria, who had been eating at her own pace, nodded,

「Right. We need to talk about information sharing and decide Takatsuki-san's position. We'd better get that done first. After all, Izumi-kun and Riko are planning to return their hometown tomorrow」

Even if it's only for a few days, the apartment will still be open.

No one argued with the statement that they should finish the conversation while they still could.

First, in addition to what Chihiro had just told them, Maria, Riko, and Hana told them roughly about their own situations.

――Maria's propensity and the contract they signed.

――Riko's plans to move out of the dorm and into this apartment.

――Hana's feelings for Maria and the compromising situation.

The feud between Riko and Hana, and the rape that accompanied it, are kept under wraps.

This is because Chihiro decided that it would be too heavy to tell everything, but since it was Aika, she must have guessed some things between the lines.

「...How do I put this, it's weird」

The words Aika muttered are also heavy and complicated.

「It's not easy to be told out of the blue, is it?」

「...Well, to be honest, it's a little confusing. But I'll take my time to sort it out」

But because it's Chihiro, Aika smiled.

By the time the explanation was over, the meal was almost finished. The five of them put down the dishes and drank a glass of iced tea.

After a few moments of silence, Hana opened her mouth.

「So, what do you want to do, Takatsuki-san?」

「What do you mean?」

Aika tilted her head at the vague question, and Hana added, "It can' t be helped".

「Are you going to stay at this apartment? Are you going to disclose your relationship with Izumi-kun... that's what I'm talking about. Or rather, that's the main topic」

Currently, Riko and the other three are keeping their relationship with Chihiro a secret.

...Well, it's only a matter of time before someone finds out about Riko, and it's not surprising that Maisaka has information about Hana and other things.

But if they want to live as usual in the school, it would be better to keep it a secret from others.

On the other hand, if Aika reveals her relationship with Chihiro, there is a possibility that Riko and the others will be exposed in a chain reaction. If it's not discussed beforehand, chaos is inevitable.

「You're right..」

Aika nodded, her eyes narrowing as she looked down at her glass.

She must be comparing her feelings with what she had just heard, and searching for the best answer.

Of course, it would be difficult to give her an answer right now.

A few minutes later, she looked up, looked at Chihiro, and said slowly. 

「I want to live in the dormitory as it is now. And, I'll be coming here from time to time. Also, I want to tell everyone about Chihiro since he's my new boyfriend. But I'd like to keep it a secret until after the summer vacation」

"Can I?", Aika tilted her head at last.

Then, Maria is the first to react to that statement.

「I have no problem with that. ...but I have to ask, how did you come to that conclusion?」

After all, it's less trouble to live there than to commute.

And to tell everyone that she wishes to talk about it and to keep it a secret for a limited time?

Aika turned to Maria and replied.

「I want to keep it a secret because if I stay here, I'm afraid It'll be discovered. I'm not Chihiro's slave, I'm his girlfriend」

「Which means?」

「...I mean, I want to be treated special, you know」

There is a hint of shame in her voice as she responded.

Aika is only interested in being "lover".

She doesn't like the idea of living in the same apartment with Maria and Riko and being held together by them.

Also, living together with her first boyfriend is too much for her.

She preferred to commute, and enjoy their relationship little by little.

「Yes. I want to take care of Aika too. ...as a lover」

「Thank you, Izumi-kun」

Chihiro said that, thinking back on the perversion of his life so far, and received a gentle smile.

「So, when you get a boyfriend, you want to show him off, right? But I'm still a little worried about Kamishiro-kun」

...Aika had gone to the beach for a night and Kamishiro had confessed his feelings to her.

Although she didn't agree, she replied that she wanted him to confess again. So, it wouldn't be nice if Aika started dating someone else yesterday, right after that.

「So, you want reveal it after the summer vacation because that. ...If I thought about it, I agree and it's not surprising that Aika would have a change of heart if you hadn't seen each other for two or three weeks」

Riko shouted in agreement. She's okay with that.

Now it was up to Hana.

She kept silent, looked at Aika sideways and said. Aika saw this and turned around.

「Takatsuki-san, you're pretty reasonable」

「Because I made a promise. Besides, I didn't agree to everything. I admit that everyone is Chihiro's slave, but I'm his girlfriend」

Never give up. That's Aika intention.

Hana also smiled at the fearless smile that appeared on her face.

「Hmm... that sounds good. It might be interesting to steal Takatsuki-san away from Izumi-kun」

「Hana-chan, you have a bad personality」

「Yes. I've been getting that a lot lately」

How the two girls came to understand each other, Chihiro, who was watching from the side, had no idea.

And so the discussion ended for the moment.

As she had announced, Aika would be coming and going to the apartment whenever she could. Although the key would have been in short supply, Maria had added it to the list "just in case something like this happened", so things went well.

There will be more chances to talk with Riko and others at the school, but Maria is still not going to touch Chihiro. The conclusion is that there would be no problem if Riko got along with Aika through Chihiro-related matters.

They also exchanged contact information with each other, including Hana. One more girl's contact information was added, but this time it was a little special. 

（I didn't bother to set up a "Girlfriend" category, but when I typed Aika's name, I felt like jumping for joy）

After that, Maria and Riko took care of all the dishes.

After listening to the conversation, Hana went home. She didn't plan to participate in the party today.

「Well then, we should..」

「Why don't you take a shower, Takatsuki-san? We have towels, and you're sweating, right?」

And so.

「...Yeah, I'll do my best」

Aika nodded strangely and went to the bathroom, while Chihiro moved to the bedroom.

He closed the door and let out a sigh of relief.

As he is about to sit on the bed, he looked at the neatly arranged sheets and thought better of it. There is no chair in this room, so he leaned his back against the wall until Aika came.

He doesn't know why but he felt strangely uncomfortable.

From the flow of the conversation, he somehow understands that this is the case. And because he understands, he can't help but feel nervous.

Still, he managed to pass the time.

After a while, there is a knock at the door, and Aika came into the bedroom.