Invited by Ichika to visit the Nakano household, Haruto followed them into the apartment building. Once inside the elevator, all five sisters and Haruto squeezed in together. Though the elevator was spacious, with six people inside, it suddenly felt quite cramped.
Since Ichika led the way in, Haruto ended up being pressed into a corner. Facing him with a playful smile, her eyes glimmering with mischief, she slowly inched closer. As her body leaned toward his, Haruto tilted his head upward, trying to avoid her approaching face. However, there was no escaping the refreshing citrus scent that lingered on her.
While it was true that the crowded elevator left little room to move, it wasn't so cramped that they needed to be pressed this closely together. Haruto noticed subtle glances from the other sisters, as if they were observing the situation, making him sigh inwardly in exasperation.
Ding—
The elevator arrived at their floor, and the doors slid open. The four other sisters stepped out first. Ichika, who had been resting her head against Haruto's chest, finally glanced toward the elevator doors before putting some distance between them. Flashing him a smile, she then exited as well.
Standing at the elevator entrance, Haruto took a moment to look around.
"This is our floor," Ichika said.
Stepping out, he glanced at the floor number displayed on the panel—30. That was quite high up. He then took a quick look around the hallway. The design was surprisingly understated and simple, lacking the extravagance he had expected.
The four sisters who had stepped out first were already waiting at their apartment door. Only Ichika and Haruto remained by the elevator.
"We're going in first," Nino said, glancing back at the two of them before stepping inside, leaving Haruto and Ichika at the doorway.
Watching her sisters disappear inside, Ichika finally turned toward the door.
"Shall we?"
"Yeah."
Haruto followed Ichika to the entrance and stepped into the Nakano household. Unlike the modest hallway outside, the interior was unexpectedly spacious. Sunlight streamed through large glass windows, illuminating the living room. A massive sun-facing glass wall ensured that the entire apartment was bathed in natural light.
The other girls, who had entered ahead of them, were nowhere to be seen. Ichika, seeing the empty living room, didn't seem surprised.
"They've probably gone to their rooms to change," she explained. Then, shifting her gaze back to Haruto, she added teasingly, "Do you want to watch me change? It would be a special VIP show, just for you~"
Hoping to catch him off guard, she threw in a suggestive wink. However, when Haruto remained completely unfazed, she looked slightly disappointed.
"No thanks," he replied flatly.
"Aw, that's too bad," she sighed playfully. "Well, I'll go change too. You can wait here for a bit. Oh, and if anything happens, you can find me in the room at the end of the second floor~"
Pointing toward a direction upstairs, she left him with that information before heading up.
Left alone in the living room, Haruto took a seat on the couch and patiently waited.
Not long after, Yotsuba appeared before him.
"Tea's ready~"
Carrying a teacup, Yotsuba approached and placed it on the table in front of Haruto. Then, instead of leaving, she leaned in closer, staring at him intently.
Her curious gaze bore into him, making him feel a little uncomfortable.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Nope, I'm just surprised you actually agreed to come over," Yotsuba replied.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah! We've never had a boy visit our house before. This is kinda exciting!"
"..."
Haruto wasn't sure what was so exciting about it. He found it hard to follow Yotsuba's train of thought—even though her name happened to be the same as his younger sister's.
"Speaking of which," Yotsuba suddenly said, "last time, you mentioned that my name is similar to your sister's. Is she like me?"
"No, just the name."
"Do you have a photo?"
"I left home in a rush when I came to Tokyo, so I didn't bring any."
"Aww~ I really want to meet your sister someday!"
"If there's a chance, I'll bring her to Tokyo. Then you two can meet."
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
Seeing Yotsuba's eyes light up with excitement, Haruto found himself looking forward to the moment when his sister, Yotsuha, would meet Yotsuba. They shared the same name but had completely different personalities. He was curious about how they'd react to each other.
At that moment, a voice interrupted them.
"What are you two talking about?"
It was Nino. Dressed in a soft red knit sweater, she descended the stairs, looking curiously at Haruto and Yotsuba.
"Nino, I was just talking to Miyamizu-kun about his little sister—the one who has the same name as me!"
"Oh, right. I think I remember you mentioning that to Ichika before. You have two younger sisters, don't you?"
Wearing over-the-knee white stockings that accentuated her shapely legs, Nino walked into the living room. Her gaze settled on Haruto, who was sitting on the sofa—his face perfectly matched the image she had in her mind. It was a shame, really. Ichika had already set her sights on him.
"I think their names were Yotsuha and... Mitsuha?"
"Yeah, Mitsuha and Yotsuha."
"That's kind of similar to our family. But, Miyamizu-kun, why aren't you called Futaba?"
"That was my mother's name."
"Oh... I see."
Nino studied Haruto for a moment, then gave a slight nod before turning toward the kitchen. At the same time, Miku descended the stairs, and only after she was fully downstairs did Ichika make her appearance in front of Haruto.
Dressed in her usual casual loungewear, Ichika approached the living room. She walked over to where Haruto sat and quietly took a seat beside him.
"So? How do you feel?"
"Not much different, honestly."
Even though it was a high-end apartment, vastly different from where he lived, Haruto had been to the Sawamura family home before. Compared to that, this place lacked a certain atmosphere. It wasn't particularly surprising, nor did it evoke any strong emotions in him.
"Huh? You're in a room with five beautiful girls, and you don't have any special thoughts?"
Ichika playfully poked Haruto's cheek with her finger, narrowing her eyes mischievously as she gazed at him.
"You must have a lot of confidence in yourself to call yourself a 'beautiful girl' so casually."
"Oh? You disagree?"
Haruto glanced at Ichika beside him but decided not to comment. If nothing else, the fact that they were five sisters was certainly a bonus factor.
The brief silence made Ichika's brow twitch slightly. She gave Haruto a meaningful look, and the playful smile on her face turned subtly dangerous. However, she didn't say anything, instead shifting her gaze toward Miku and Yotsuba. Nino was absent, and only now was Itsuki making her way downstairs from the second floor.
"What should we do for lunch? Should we cook, or...?"
"Let's order takeout."
"Yeah, takeout sounds good."
"Let's just order something simple. What about Nino?"
"No idea."
The four sisters quickly reached a consensus on ordering takeout. But just as they were about to decide what to get, Haruto witnessed firsthand what it meant to have 'sisterly love.'
"So, what should we order?"
"Pizza."
"Sushi!"
"Ramen!"
"Curry."
Four different voices, four different choices.
For a brief moment, silence fell over the room. Then, all four girls turned their eyes toward Haruto.
"Well? What's your pick?"
"…"
Having the decision forced onto him, Haruto suddenly felt like he had chosen the wrong day to visit. Maybe he should have come another time instead. Four pairs of eyes locked onto him, making it clear that they were entrusting the choice to him…
Just as Haruto was contemplating the best way to respond, Nino, who had been missing, suddenly emerged from the kitchen. Wearing an apron over her clothes, she looked at everyone in the living room.
"You guys! Come help me make lunch. Are you seriously just planning to sit around until dinner?"
"Huh? Nino, you're cooking?"
Standing in the kitchen doorway with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face, Nino's words took Yotsuba by surprise.
"Is there a problem? You're not doing anything, right? Come help me."
"Oh… Okay."
Yotsuba got up and headed toward the kitchen. Nino, knowing that Yotsuba was the only one among them with decent cooking skills, didn't even bother asking the others for help.
Watching Yotsuba join Nino, Haruto glanced at the remaining three sisters in the living room before slowly standing up.
"I'll help too. I'm fairly good at cooking."
"You? Well… I guess it's fine if you want to help. Whatever, come on in."
Nino shot Haruto a skeptical look but, after hesitating for a moment, agreed to let him join them in the kitchen. The three of them began preparing lunch together, while Ichika blinked in surprise as she watched Haruto leave. She then turned to look at Miku and Itsuki.
Miku, however, ignored Ichika's glance and simply lowered her head, focusing on the book in her hands. Itsuki, on the other hand, met Ichika's gaze.
"Does Miyamizu-kun know how to cook?"
"He seems pretty skilled in cooking class. But I didn't expect him to volunteer like that…"
"Hmm…"
Remembering that Ichika wasn't particularly good at housework or cooking, Itsuki gave her a strange look.
Back in the kitchen, while tying her apron, Yotsuba casually asked Haruto, "Do you cook often?"
Initially, Nino had been watching Haruto closely, half-expecting him to be just showing off in front of Ichika. However, as soon as she assigned him some simple tasks and saw his precise knife skills and confident movements, she had to admit she had misjudged him.
As Haruto diced a carrot, he paused slightly at Yotsuba's question and glanced at Nino. He nodded.
"I cook all my meals myself. Why?"
"No reason."
Nino was surprised, but not overly so. She simply lowered her head and focused on stirring the curry.
Seeing that Nino had gone quiet again, Haruto glanced at her briefly before continuing to chop the vegetables.
Initially, Nino hadn't paid much attention to Haruto, but after realizing that he was skilled in cooking, she suddenly found herself noticing him more. When she wasn't busy, her eyes would naturally drift toward him. He already matched her type visually, but now he had an extra layer of appeal.
As for Yotsuba, the other 'assistant' in the kitchen… she had been completely overlooked by Nino.
"Curry, huh?"
When the meal was finally ready, Ichika gave the plate of curry a subtle look. It wasn't that she disliked curry—it just felt a bit too simple.
"Is that all we're having?"
"The ingredients at home were limited, so this is what we could make. If you have a problem with it, you can cook your own meal."
Nino wasn't in the mood to indulge Ichika, giving her a pointed look before sitting down.
Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki—who actually liked curry—had no complaints and took their seats. Seeing that no one else was protesting, Ichika gave up and quietly sat down as well.
Haruto, having helped prepare the meal, had no objections either. He took a seat beside Ichika and joined the sisters for lunch.
However, as he ate, Haruto couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.
When he raised his head, he met Yotsuba's gaze.
"Hehe~"
With her signature green ribbon in her hair, Yotsuba grinned at him mischievously. Haruto had no idea what that smile meant. He quickly lowered his head and continued eating, pretending he hadn't noticed.
But later, he felt another gaze on him. When he looked up this time, he saw nothing.
"What's wrong, Haruto?"
Ichika had noticed him glancing around and asked curiously.
"No, it's nothing."
Haruto was sure that someone other than Ichika was watching him. But having just met Yotsuba's eyes, he felt that the second gaze wasn't hers.
As he lowered his head again, the strange feeling disappeared… at least until lunch was over.
After the meal, Nino seemed a little distracted. She glanced at the dishes on the table but didn't make a move to clean up. Instead, her eyes kept drifting toward Haruto, who was sitting on the sofa next to Ichika.
Her brows furrowed slightly.