The next day.
Sayuri got up early to drive her daughter to the school gate.
Before parting, she couldn't help but get sentimental.
"Sweetie, I'm so happy you've come to this realization. My little girl… you've finally grown up~"
"Uuuu…"
Just as she was about to get out of the car, Eriri's slender body stiffened, her cheeks flushing red as she stammered,
"M-Mom, about what I said yesterday… I was just joking! I don't feel that way about Hikigaya at all… I-I don't like him, okay?!"
"Still being tsundere with your own mom?"
Sayuri playfully smacked her daughter's thigh and teased with a chuckle,
"You looked so determined last night, and now you're backing off? Sweetie, how do you expect to land a boyfriend like this?"
"T-That was just because I got too emotional yesterday! Otherwise I— I wouldn't have said yes to you at all…" Eriri muttered, hanging her head in embarrassment.
Just as Sayuri was about to give her a little lecture, she caught sight of Hikigaya walking toward them from a short distance away.
Her eyes lit up. With a smile tugging at her lips, she gave Eriri a push and said cheerfully, "Look, Hikigaya-kun is here!"
"Eh? S-So what?" Eriri stole a glance and instantly panicked, trying to duck out of sight.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go! Running into each other before school—how romantic! It's a perfect chance to deepen your connection with Hikigaya-kun~" Sayuri beamed.
"W-Who wants to deepen anything with him?!"
"Are you going or not? You silly girl, get moving!"
Sayuri pushed her daughter again—this time even gave her a shove on the butt.
"M-Mom, you…!"
Face flushing a deeper red, Eriri exclaimed,
"Uwahhh! Fine! I'm going, okay?!"
"Remember, sweetie, girls should be a little shameless sometimes. Hehe~ Be bold and go get him! Mommy wants to hold a grandchild soon~"
"M-Mom! That's way too soon to be talking about kids!"
Hearing the word "child," Eriri nearly fainted on the spot.
"Okay, okay, just go already~"
Sayuri urged her along again, and eventually, Eriri was forced out of the car, steeling herself as she walked toward Hikigaya.
Watching her daughter's clumsy little steps, Sayuri's lips curled upward.
Sweetie, if you're not willing to have his child… then—hehe—I'll take on that noble mission myself.
How should she put it?
She felt a little bad for her daughter, sure, but… she couldn't help feeling a twisted sense of joy deep down.
There was something oddly satisfying about knowing her daughter was still in the dark.
Ahem.
Wasn't this getting a little too immoral?
Tsk tsk, something's definitely wrong with me. I actually laid hands on the man my daughter likes…
Sayuri sighed, rubbing her forehead as she muttered,
"Geez, I really am sorry, sweetie. But it's not my fault you're such a dunce, right? Forgive Mommy, okay? I've already… well, taken your beloved man for myself. If you'd just been more proactive, maybe none of this would've happened. Can't blame it all on me, can you?"
After mentally soothing her twinge of guilt, Sayuri looked toward the school gate again. Seeing her daughter and Hikigaya standing side by side stirred something within her.
It wasn't jealousy.
It was—
Pleasure. Anticipation.
Hissss…
Am I seriously hoping…? Isn't that a little terrifying?
Then again—
With a smirk forming at the corner of her lips, Sayuri whispered with a hint of mischief,
"The more thrilling, the more fun it is. Otherwise, things just get boring."
---
Meanwhile.
Eriri, stiff and awkward, tried to initiate casual conversation with Hikigaya as if it were a chance encounter. The topic naturally turned to anime.
As they talked, Eriri subconsciously began inching closer to him.
But to her surprise, Hikigaya immediately took a step away, keeping his distance.
Eriri was annoyed. She moved closer again, but Hikigaya continued to retreat—maintaining at least an arm's length between them.
"Hikigaya, what's your deal?!" Eriri stomped her foot in frustration and glared at him.
"Sawa—Sawamura-san, I should be asking you that. What exactly are you trying to do?" Hikigaya asked.
"Eh? I… I just wanted to get a little closer so I could hear you better. You're standing too far—I can't make out what you're saying."
"I'll try to raise my voice," Hikigaya replied.
"Hey! You want everyone else to hear us talking about anime or something?" Eriri snapped, annoyed.
"They'll all look at us like we're weird!"
That… did make sense.
At Sōbu High, otaku culture wasn't exactly embraced. The school leaned heavily toward the "normie" crowd—people who either didn't get anime at all or outright looked down on it.
"S-So, let's just… talk a little closer, okay?" Eriri mumbled, cheeks still pink, shuffling over bit by bit toward him.
Hikigaya immediately sensed danger. But without a good excuse to push her away, he gave up resisting.
They resumed their chat about anime.
However—
Hikigaya began to notice Eriri casting strange glances at him now and then.
Like she was about to explode.
Wait—no way… is she gonna confess?!
Hikigaya's scalp tingled.
Calm down! You're imagining things. It's just a hallucination. Definitely just a hallucination!
Just then, a text message notification snapped him out of it.
While half-listening to Eriri, Hikigaya instinctively pulled out his phone and checked.
It was from Sayuri.
His pupils shrank.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he opened the message.
[Sayuri: Hikigaya-kun, that silly daughter of mine is probably about to confess to you, right? Be sure to say yes, okay? From now on, she and I are counting on you~]
[Sayuri: Love you~.]
[Hikigaya: ?]
That's not a joke you just casually throw around.
First off, he already had a girlfriend.
And second, he'd already… with the aunt—ahem—there was no way anything could ever happen with Sawamura-san.
Beside him, Eriri gathered her courage, face flushed, and stammered,
"Hikigaya, I… I've actually always kind of liked—"
"Sawamura-san, is your mom picking you up after school?"
"Eh?"
Eriri froze, completely blindsided—she had been this close to confessing.
"There's something I need to talk to her about."
"???"
Wait—why do you need to talk to my mom?!