Upstairs, the short-haired girl who'd been pulled aside earlier frowned. "Grace, we worked hard to scavenge that food. If we give it to them, what are we supposed to eat?"
"Yeah," added another girl, soft-spoken and bespectacled. "They didn't see our stash, right? If we just say we don't have any, they won't know."
Grace gave them a look. "You're thinking too simply. What happens if we say no, and they come up here and find it anyway?"
The girls hesitated.
"I guarantee they've already searched other rooms," Grace continued. "They'll know someone's been through them. You think they won't figure out it was us?"
"…They will," the short-haired girl admitted.
"Exactly. Even if we've hidden the food, they'll assume we have it. That's why they asked."
Grace's voice was calm but firm. "There's a big difference between them finding it themselves and us offering it willingly. Understand?"
The other three nodded slowly. "Got it."
