What Yūtenji Nyamu pointed at was an old-style photo booth.
This kind of thing had a pretty high appearance rate in romance stories, so Sakiko was naturally familiar with it—her cheeks flushed slightly.
Before, what they'd been doing could still be explained as normal interactions between friends.
But taking sticker photos together with a boy of the same age…
That was something she simply couldn't explain away!
Sakiko immediately fell into a dilemma.
She really was tempted by Nyamu's suggestion, but she couldn't quite get past that mental hurdle.
So—was there a way to have the best of both worlds?
Sakiko: ???!
"It does look pretty good,"
Perhaps from spending too much time dealing with Soyo, "Sakiko-sensei" had somehow picked up some of that "genius-level thinking," and today she was full of ideas.
"In that case, Nyamu-chan, why don't you try it with Mutsuki-kun first?"
That's right—if she did it alone with Kamijou Mutsuki, it would seem ambiguous.
But if Nyamu was added in, wouldn't it look perfectly normal?
Nyamu can do it too!
"Ah? Who, me?"
Nyamu pointed at herself, looking completely confused.
Wasn't she supposed to be the strategist?
Why was she being sent onto the battlefield?!
And what was wrong with Sakiko—why was she pushing the guy she liked toward another girl?
"Let's not. I've been allergic to cats lately."
Kamijou Mutsuki smiled as he refused.
"How about Saki-chan instead?"
"I'm not a cat!"
Nyamu puffed up her cheeks in annoyance at Mutsuki's words.
She wasn't Kaname Raana! Sure, her speech quirks were as cute as a cat's, but she wasn't actually one!
And besides, why did Kamijou Mutsuki reject her so decisively?
Wasn't Nyamu-chan cute?
"Me?"
Hearing Mutsuki's suggestion, Sakiko fell into thought once again.
Sakiko glanced at Yūtenji Nyamu for a moment, then took a small step back and gently shook her head.
"I'll pass. Why don't Mutsuki-kun and Nyamu-chan try first?"
If it were just her and Nyamu, Sakiko felt she couldn't quite convince herself.
Besides, she wasn't very comfortable doing something this intimate with someone she barely knew.
So… Mutsuki would just have to suffer a bit!
"Then Nyamu-chan will try it with Mutsuki-kun first!"
Seeing Sakiko's reaction, Nyamu's expression darkened slightly.
I'm working so hard to assist you, and you're rejecting me?
Did she, Nyamu-chan, look like someone who'd just take that kind of grievance?
Fine—she'd see whether Sakiko truly didn't care at all!
Without waiting for Kamijou Mutsuki to respond, she directly grabbed him and pulled him into the booth.
(And yes—in the end, it was still "Sakiko-sensei" who paid. Nyamu seriously felt like this woman had something wrong with her…)
In truth, the moment she saw Kamijou Mutsuki and Nyamu go in together, Sakiko immediately started to regret it.
She had been so focused on convincing herself that she hadn't considered how uncomfortable it would feel to let Mutsuki get close to another girl.
Maybe because Nyamu was practically a stranger, that sense of jealousy was especially obvious.
At this moment, she had no choice but to admit—
She really did seem to have feelings for Kamijou Mutsuki…
Thinking back, what kind of nonsense idea had she just come up with?
Damn it—this must be Soyo's influence, infecting her way of thinking!
But fortunately, it was just taking photos together.
Even if it was a bit ambiguous, it wasn't too intimate.
In fact, if it were something even more intimate, she probably wouldn't have made such a decision in the first place.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Soyo herself was gritting her teeth.
After leaving Tsukinomori, she had followed the location from Nyamu's earlier stream and quickly found the three of them.
Watching the interaction between Sakiko and Kamijou Mutsuki, Soyo sneered inwardly.
And you still say this isn't a date?
The only thing she couldn't understand was—why bring Nyamu along as a third wheel?
Especially when she saw Kamijou Mutsuki go into the booth with Nyamu, Soyo's head practically filled with question marks.
What was wrong with this woman?!
It was her date, yet she was creating opportunities for another girl?
And just standing there watching?!
And even paying for it?!
Insane!
Could it be… Sakiko had some kind of unusual preferences?
Soyo suddenly felt that Mutsumi had tied up the wrong person that night.
Of course, what annoyed Soyo the most was—
If Sakiko could bring along a complete stranger like Nyamu, why not bring her?
If Sakiko had some strange preferences, Soyo could satisfy them too!
After all, they had once been in the same band—weren't they closer than some random outsider?
Meanwhile, although Wakaba Mutsumi was also somewhat puzzled by Sakiko's actions, most of her attention was focused on Soyo instead.
Because of that night, Soyo had left a very deep impression on Wakaba Mutsumi.
And seeing the dark expression on Soyo's face, Mutsumi became even more certain of her suspicions.
This woman really does have improper intentions toward Mutsuki—she's going to drain him dry!
She absolutely would not allow Mutsuki to fall into such a dangerous situation!
Mutsumi made up her mind—this time, she would keep a close eye on Soyo.
As for Sakiko…
She seemed a bit… lacking in common sense.
Mutsumi had tacitly allowed Sakiko to go on a "date" with Kamijou Mutsuki, but what was up with that purple-haired girl?
They even went to take sticker photos together—something she herself hadn't even done with Mutsuki!
Previously, when Sakiko dragged Mutsuki into Nyamu's livestream and even hinted at a romantic relationship between them, it had already made Mutsumi somewhat uncomfortable.
And now, she was engaging in this kind of interaction with Mutsuki—something Mutsumi hadn't experienced either!
Mutsumi silently noted down that purple-haired "big cat" in her mind… along with the "insensible" Sakiko.
Meanwhile, inside the booth, Yūtenji Nyamu instantly regretted her decision.
Because it was an old-style machine, the space inside was extremely cramped.
Of course, this kind of older booth was actually more popular among couples—for obvious reasons.
At this moment, feeling her body pressed tightly against Kamijou Mutsuki's, the irritation she had felt earlier was completely replaced by embarrassment.
Being disliked was one thing—but why had she gotten into a standoff with Sakiko over this?
Clinging to powerful connections wasn't shameful!
After all, she had never had such close physical contact with a boy before.
Could it be… that her "first time" like this would be with Kamijou Mutsuki?
That said, Nyamu didn't actually have a bad impression of him.
But just his relationship with Sakiko alone was enough to make her keep her distance.
Besides, Nyamu-chan wasn't interested in romance anyway.
What mattered for a woman was her career!
She wanted to "improve," not get "promoted" in that sense.
But now that she was already inside, she couldn't exactly drag him out either.
So she turned her head, hoping to quickly finish taking the photos.
However, at that exact moment, Kamijou Mutsuki also happened to turn his head toward her.
Feeling the soft brush of lips against her own, the girl's expression instantly froze.
The cramped booth fell into complete silence.
"Um…"
After a long pause, Kamijou Mutsuki finally spoke slowly: "Next time, don't use this kind of lip gloss. I don't really like the flavor."
......................