Regarding Ichika's pleading attitude, Nino couldn't even be bothered to respond.
It wasn't that she lacked compassion—just that, as sisters, she'd seen this scene far too many times.
As long as Ichika still had thoughts of sleeping in, if Nino gave in to her "just five more minutes," the next wake-up call would stretch to ten, then twenty.
Seeing Nino stay silent, Ichika turned as if expecting it and started pleading with Shirase instead. "Shirase, you'll help me, right?"
"If you were doing something worthwhile, I absolutely would," Shirase said flatly.
"Isn't sleeping worthwhile?" Ichika blinked innocently, trying to solve the problem with pure cuteness.
Truth be told, with only her head poking out from under the blanket, her whole body wrapped up, and that expression on her face—she did look adorable.
But Shirase remained merciless. "Sleeping is worthwhile. Unfortunately, this isn't your first offense."
He stepped over the scattered clothes and random clutter on the floor, heading toward the bed.
Ichika's eyes widened. "You're not seriously planning to pull my blanket off, are you? Let me remind you—I'm not wearing anything underneath."
Shirase's expression turned solemn. "Hasn't anyone ever warned you? The same trick doesn't work twice on a Saint."
He stopped at the bedside, gripping a corner of the blanket. "Will you come out on your own, or do I have to do this the hard way?"
Ichika had no counter to Shirase's direct approach. She could only throw a pleading glance toward Nino. "Nino, hurry up and control your Shirase."
Nino's cheeks tinted pink, but she crossed her arms and gave a dry laugh. "Actually, not just me—even Miku and the others have wanted to fix your lazy habits for ages."
"Eh? How cruel."
"Oversleeping's a minor thing. What really irritates everyone is how you treat your room. Every time, we end up cleaning after you. If Shirase can fix that, I'm sure everyone will be thrilled."
Just as Nino finished, a cheerful voice piped up behind her. "Exactly! We've wanted to do this forever!"
Yotsuba poked her head out from behind, mischievously egging Shirase on like a kid. "Shirase, don't spare Ichika—just pull it off! She always says she sleeps naked, but she actually wears something underneath!"
But as she spoke, her gaze drifted to some underwear scattered on the floor. Her face instantly flushed. Why does Ichika's underwear look so… mature?
With the backing of these two "key supporters," Shirase felt like he'd just received an Imperial Edict. Tightening his grip on the blanket, he warned, "I'll count to three. If you're not up by then, I'll have no choice."
Ichika yawned, still half-asleep. "Don't be like that… I really just need five more minutes."
"One."
"Seriously, you two are actually siding with Shirase? Isn't that a betrayal of sisterly bonds?"
"Three."
"Wait, how'd we get to three already? What happened to two?"
Still trying to stall, Ichika froze when Shirase skipped straight from one to three. She barely had time to react before a loud rustle followed—the blanket was yanked away in one smooth motion.
She couldn't match his strength, and with his sudden fast-forward counting, she hadn't even managed to hold on.
As the blanket came off, Shirase started to grin. "Now you don't have any excuse to—holy crap! Why aren't you wearing pants?!"
His expression changed instantly.
Sure enough, Ichika was wearing her usual loose short-sleeved shirt—the plain summer one with faint blue lace at the hem.
That part was normal.
What wasn't normal was that, unlike before, she wasn't wearing pajama bottoms.
Standing by the door, both Nino and Yotsuba froze.
This was not the scene they'd imagined.
They'd both woken Ichika plenty of times before; they knew she usually wore shorts. Even if they were ridiculously short, at least she wore them.
But now—why wasn't she wearing underwear either?
"Eh? Where are my pants? I'm sure I had them on when I dozed off playing on my phone last night."
Still dazed, Ichika looked down and finally realized what was wrong.
A rosy blush spread across her face. Seeing that Shirase had already turned away, she hurriedly grabbed the blanket to cover her bare legs.
"Um… maybe I took them off before bed last night?" she murmured, smiling awkwardly, her cheeks reddening even more. "But I'm not entirely sure… probably something like that."
Probably something like that?
How can you be that uncertain?
Shirase shot Yotsuba a helpless look. "Why didn't you warn me earlier? You were the one pushing me to pull it off!"
"I—I didn't know either…" Yotsuba scratched her head sheepishly.
Nino glared impatiently at Ichika. "Hurry up, put on your pants, then come brush your teeth and eat breakfast."
With that, she turned and left.
Yotsuba scurried after her, afraid Shirase might still be mad.
Just as Shirase was about to leave too, a soft, teasing voice called from behind. "You saw it just now, didn't you?"
"You can also pretend I didn't," Shirase said calmly, turning back only after confirming she was properly covered again.
Ichika cupped her cheeks, blush spreading down her neck, her shoulders trembling slightly. "Have you and Nino ever… done something even more daring?"
"What kind of scenarios are you imagining?" Shirase was dumbfounded.
And what's with that blissful look on her face?
Ichika giggled. "Just imagining it feels thrilling."
Shirase gestured toward the living room. "Why don't you run a lap around the living room dressed like that? I guarantee that'll be thrilling."
"I'll pass. My skin's not quite thick enough for that." Ichika smiled playfully, smoothly dodging the jab.
Shirase nodded. "Hopefully today's incident will help you fix those bad habits. Maybe even start cleaning your room."
Ichika gave him a mock glare. "I'm the one who got embarrassed, and you're still lecturing me?"
"I was tricked by Yotsuba! Though, to be fair, she probably didn't plan it this way either."
"Fair enough. Anyway, I already know—your feelings for Nino are just as firm as my chest."
"…That phrasing is incredibly refined. Approved."
"Thank you."
...
After that little morning fiasco, Ichika naturally had no reason to stay in bed.
Once she'd washed up and slipped on her pajama shorts, she couldn't even be bothered with makeup. With her bare, fresh face, she came to the living room for breakfast.
Shirase wasn't in any rush either. He waited patiently until she'd finished her cake and milk before starting the day's tutoring.
By around 11:30, as lunchtime drew near, Shirase stood with chalk in hand and addressed the quintuplets. "According to today's plan, we'll be reviewing social studies this afternoon. But after checking the last practice test, I found Miku surprisingly talented in this subject."
As he spoke, everyone's gaze naturally drifted toward Miku.
Her cheeks turned faintly pink, and she froze, clearly uncomfortable under the sudden attention.
Shirase went on, "So, since today's session happens to match Miku's strengths, how about we let her lead the review? I'll just assist from the side."
"Eh?"
The sisters' voices overlapped in unison.
Miku blinked at him, eyes wide with pure surprise—no resistance, just disbelief.
"Shirase, are you trying to slack off? That's not allowed, y'know~" Yotsuba teased with a grin.
Resting her chin in her hand, Ichika smiled knowingly. "I don't think he's slacking. More like he's noticed Miku's usual lack of confidence. She gets stage fright easily, so he's trying to help her build courage and self-assurance. Pretty thoughtful, if you ask me."
Shirase gave Ichika an approving look. "As expected—you caught on right away."
Ichika beamed. "Well, you've already seen everything of mine. If I still couldn't read you, wouldn't that be sad?"
"What? Seen everything?"
Miku and Itsuki both snapped their heads toward her, eyes wide.
Under their shocked stares, Ichika didn't flinch. She just smiled shyly, playing along perfectly. "Yep, just earlier, Shirase saw everything."
Nino shot her a sharp glare. "You forgot you weren't wearing pajama bottoms. Don't twist it into something else!"
"Oh, that's what it was," Miku and Itsuki muttered, quietly settling back down.
Ichika heaved a dramatic sigh. "Nino, you've changed. You're so cold now—taking Shirase's side over your own sister."
Nino's face turned scarlet, ready to snap back, when Shirase cut in sharply. "Please remember we're still in class. If Ichika and Nino keep arguing, I'll have no choice but to hang you both up and spank you."
"Whoa, that harsh?" Yotsuba's eyes went round with excitement, looking suspiciously eager—as if volunteering herself wasn't off the table.
Miku watched her sisters' bright-red faces and thought quietly, It makes sense Shirase and Nino are close, but even Ichika's gotten this comfortable joking with him…
Then she remembered the matcha soda he'd made specially for her, and his effort earlier to boost her confidence.
Her cheeks warmed with a soft blush.
If I can get closer too, she thought, I won't feel like the odd one out anymore… like everyone else already belongs with him, and I'm still standing on the outside.
...
When lunch break came, Nakano Itsuki kept her word—she followed Shirase into the kitchen to help.
Nino, excellent at cooking herself, frowned. "That little traitor, Itsuki."
The others immediately understood what she meant, and Yotsuba chimed in, "But Shirase's cooking really is amazing! Even the fancy restaurants we've been to weren't any better."
"That's true," Miku agreed with a nod.
Nino's frown deepened. "Exactly why she's a traitor. If she had even half your backbone, I wouldn't complain."
Yotsuba scratched her cheek with an awkward laugh. "Actually… I wanted to go help too, but Itsuki beat me to it."
Miku added mildly, "If what she said about getting a 'VIP first-taste seat' is true, I wouldn't mind going either."
"You two are doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Nino's blood pressure visibly spiked.
Miku calmly twisted open a bottle of matcha soda. "Just stating facts."
Copying her, Yotsuba picked up her glass. "Same here—just facts."
Nino froze, then exhaled in defeat. Fine. No use fighting a four-on-one battle.
Once she'd cooled off, she suddenly realized something odd—Ichika, who usually loved butting into conversations like this, had been oddly quiet all morning.
Instinctively, she looked around—only to find the sofa where Ichika had been lounging completely empty.
Where'd she go?
"If you're looking for Ichika, try the restroom," Miku said casually, sipping her soda with a content little smile.
"Oh, she went to the restroom?" Nino tapped her forehead lightly, realizing she'd been too distracted to notice her leaving.
"That's because Nino was so focused on Shirase she didn't even see Ichika leave~" Yotsuba teased. She'd seen the whole thing.
"I was not!" Nino's face went red, her denial lacking conviction.
Ignoring their bickering, Miku got up and headed toward the kitchen.
"What's she doing?" Yotsuba tilted her head.
Nino thought for a moment. "Probably to thank Shirase. He's been going out of his way to help her study and fit in better with us."
Yotsuba nodded vaguely, half-understanding.
...
Meanwhile, the moment Miku stepped into the kitchen, she spotted Itsuki standing beside Shirase, chopsticks in hand, eyes shining as she opened her mouth.
The next instant, Itsuki bit into the piece of meat he offered and murmured through a full mouth, "So good… this is so good."
"So this is the 'VIP tasting seat,' huh?" Miku blurted out.
"Huh? M-Miku?!" Itsuki's face flushed instantly, caught red-handed—like a bunny caught stealing snacks.
Shirase didn't stop cooking. Glancing sideways, he asked, "Want to try some too?"
"Yeah, come on, it's amazing!" Itsuki eagerly held up the plate of steaming, fragrant meat, clearly trying to share the joy.
Miku eyed the glossy, dark-brown slices for a moment, then asked suspiciously, "What is this?"
"Hong shao rou—red-braised pork," Shirase said, as if he'd been expecting the question.