Party night!

The enemy did not know that Rito's existence was something they could never predict with common sense in this world as the holder of the guild system, but Rito never noticed that his guard started to drop significantly during the peaceful period and the silent shadow that had been following him started to grow stronger than before.

'She is the one...' With her friends and Shiina accompanying her, Mikan, whose school day had ended, was making her way home.

Their presence had completely vanished within the crowd by the time two men from the crowd caught sight of them and began to follow them stealthily, but their tall stature made it difficult for anyone to go unnoticed.

As a result, Mikan, who had been trained by Beta and had developed adult-like maturity at such a young age, observed their behavior and kept the earring that had been given to her by Beta in her palm in silence.

"Mikan!" Shiina spoke to Mikan, who looked a little bothered by something and held her shoulder to realize that she had been clutching onto something for a while, but when called, she only saw Mikan turning toward her with a usual smile.

"It's nothing; just that tiredness was catching up to me for some reason, and I just wanted to walk quickly back to start preparation for the hotpot."

Shiina smiled and shook her head, realizing that her worry had been in vain.

However, she had also felt that someone was staring at them for some reason. When she turned to look around, however, she was unable to spot anyone.

"Mikan, Shiina-san..." They both found Rito and a blue-haired girl passing by as they left the convenience store, and Rito called them as soon as he saw them leaving with heavy polybags.

"Let me take care of them." Rito grabbed the polybag from Mikan's hand and Shiina's as well.

As a result, Shiina's hand was touched by Rito, but she only responded by taking it back and saying "thank you." Rito simply grinned and cocked his head at this point, and the girl seated next to him simply turned to look at her suspiciously.

'Is she also another girl?' Haruna pondered how Rito really had very beautiful acquaintances with girls like them as she smiled and gazed at Mahiru's doll-like figure and appearance.

"My name is Haruna!" Mikan and Shiina also introduced themselves. While watching Mikan and Shiina introduce themselves while Haruna occasionally turned to look at him, there was a strange vibe to the conversation.

The most awkward moment, however, was when his sister gave him an eye and seemed to be asking him for an explanation.

This made Rito uncomfortably uncomfortable until they all arrived at Rito's house, and Haruna and Shiina joined them for dinner and a short visit.

"I will call my sister for now."

Since Haruna had made the decision to spend as much time as she could with Rito for the moment and their summer vacations had already begun, she made the call to her sister.

"Huh! What the hell is wrong with this situation~!" Given that he was not a blockhead like the real Rito was, Rito, who had returned to his room, eventually became somewhat calmer.

He could tell that Mikan's expression was obviously upset because...

While the feelings reflected in those eyes were unquestionably not those of siblings, it was possible to detect a hint of annoyance regarding Haruna's proximity.

'No! No! That's not possible.'

He was aware that Mikan felt some way about him even in anime, but it was not until the show's later seasons that this began to become apparent due to outside influences.

'Calm down and go to help them out!'

After taking a deep breath and getting dressed for the day, Rito left his room and descended the stairs to find Mahiru, who was also wearing an apron, coming down the stairs at the same time.

"Yuki-kun..." As she was tying the lace on the back waist, Mahiru looked at Rito as she called him out for help.

"Wait, I'll help you out..." Rito followed her as she took a step and tied the lace around her waist, while he took a step back and gave her a slightly bewildered look as he gazed at her trim waist.

"Yuki-kun." As Mahiru turned to wake Rito up from his dazed state, he finished tying the lace.

Rito blushed slightly as he thought about what he had been daydreaming about, but quickly covered it up before responding to her as they walked toward the kitchen.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something and dazed out like that."

As Rito's voice echoed the empty hall along with Mahiru's hmm sound, that was just supporting Rito to not worry about it, echoing along with the Rito sentence.

"Umm, what kind of dish does Rito like?" Haruna was being very straightforward with her words, and the moment Mahiru walked out, although she was blushing while asking, she still stood before Mikan and asked her in a low voice.

"You like Rito, right?"

When it came to her brother's case, Mikan was somewhat overly protective, but after getting to know Haruna, she realized that she had nothing against the girl and wanted to lift her spirits as well.

"Hmm! I will not deny it, but I also know about Lala, so I am sorry if I am burdening you with this." She spoke to Mikan in a firm voice, making it clear that she would pursue Rito despite the fact that she was aware of his existing engagement.

"Haha! That's great, so don't worry; I will cheer you up too." Though she was secretly a little envious of them, Mikan's smile blossomed as she held Haruna's hand and talked about the foods Rito enjoyed. Mikan also began to click with Haruna.

However, Mikan was also aware that Mahiru, who was a formidable foe, should be considered in addition to Lala as someone Haruna should be aware of.

Nevertheless, Mikan made the decision to keep it quiet for the time being and let Haruna see it for herself because they were about to spend some time together.

'But where is Beta at a time like this...' As she watched Rito and Mahiru move toward her from the opposite side, she had an internal thought.