Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 301, Section 18: "Let Me Eat in a Good Way"

"Wow, this is delicious!"

"Yes, it's true."

After praising the appetizers with Asami, Chiai glanced at Masumi sitting next to her.

"Masumi-nii, what are your plans for later?"

"Huh? We've only reached the appetizer stage, and you're already thinking about what comes after?"

"Of course, just like making plans before a trip! Well, although every trip with Masumi-nii seems to be impromptu."

Qian Ai paused halfway through her sentence, but quickly rallied and asked again:

"When Masumi-nii was in high school, after each light music club rehearsal, he would go shopping with his seniors to pass the time. What happened after he came to Tokyo?"

"Because LiveHouses are open at night, after the performance, we would have a celebration party at an izakaya (Japanese pub) and then rush to catch the last train."

Mio then interjected:

"I did invite Masumi over to my apartment to play games together after that, but she always made up an excuse that it was 'too late' and declined."

At this point, she puffed out her cheeks, looking a little annoyed.

"...Inviting someone of the opposite sex to your house to play games late at night, and possibly missing the last train, seems suspicious no matter how you look at it, and the motives are impure."

Rinne rested her chin on her hand, entering a state of deep thought.

"Ah, that's quite common in doujinshi," Mami added with a smile.

"It's not as exaggerated as you guys make it out to be."

Mio was dissatisfied.

"I just wanted to play some pretend games with Masumi."

"play house?"

Qian Ai tilted her head slightly in confusion, and after repeating the name of the game, her lips twitched involuntarily.

"That's a bit too... childish."

"That's exactly right."

Mio smiled broadly, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and said in a wistful tone:

"Masumi will play the father, and I will play the mother. Then, the two of us will work together to prepare for pregnancy so that we can have a healthy baby. Ah, what a fun game!"

"What kind of child's play is this?!"

Chiai was dumbfounded, while Rinne sighed in exasperation.

"Just as I expected."

"I see, so that's one of those tricks."

Asami pulled out a notebook from somewhere and quickly wrote down what Mio had just said.

"Okay, I'll write it down and add it to my fanfiction idea library."

"Don't memorize this kind of thing, you idiot."

Across the dining table, Masumi mercilessly delivered a chop to her hand, her gaze suddenly meeting hers.

Mio looked at him with tender eyes and mouthed:
"Let's cheer each other on, Dad."

What kind of oil do we need to add?

Masumi has always considered himself a very safety-conscious guy.

So far, he and I, like Ko-senpai, Asami, Rinne... have all engaged in unsafe behavior.

Ugh, this is absolutely terrible.

Chiai's gaze lingered between Masumi and Mio for a long while before she finally spoke with a sigh:

"Honestly, Masumi-nii isn't really considering other people's problems at all."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, I'm just a guy who acts on a whim."

"Really? I don't think so."

Aome disagreed, giving Masumi a meaningful look.

"He's clearly a scheming guy who thinks long-term."

"That first one isn't a good word."

"That's right, that's right."

Mami nodded in agreement, crossed her arms, and stood on the same side as Chiai to interrogate Masumi.

"I don't believe that Masumi-kun's confession a month ago was just a whim. Tell me, when did you start having these thoughts? Confess!"

"Well, if you really want to talk about it now..."

"Oh? Masumi-kun, are you planning to keep your 'girlfriends' a secret?"

"No, that's not true..."

"stare--"

One pair, two pairs, three pairs... a total of five pairs. At first, it was only Mami who took the lead, but even Haizuki, who had been standing aside, came over to take a look.

It seemed there was no escaping it, and Masumi finally gave up, then spoke as if she had given up the struggle:
"Let me think... I think the first time I had a similar thought was last year in Uji."

"Hey, hey, hey, Uji! Wasn't that last August?! That's way too early!"

Asami, Chia, and Rinne were all shocked, and even Mio was speechless. A commotion of silence fell over the dining table.

"...Eh, so Masumi had already accepted my love back then."

Mio covered her mouth in disbelief, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Just because I was worried about other people... I desperately suppressed the burning love in my heart. Even so, I often heard lonely sounds coming from my room at night."

"That's what Mio is doing, isn't it?" Rinne sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Don't misunderstand."

Masumi quickly explained:

"It was just that when we were watching the fireworks on Tower Island, I suddenly had this thought that I could spend these moments with these five people all the time."

"Wow, that sounds so romantic."

"Hmph, just as I expected, boys are most vulnerable to girls' exposed nape and bare feet when they wear yukatas!"

Chiai's eyes lit up, while Mami nodded smugly.

"Don't make me sound like a lustful glutton."

"Eh, isn't Masumi-kun the same?"

Mami asked with a smile, her luscious lips curving into a giggle.

certainly not.

Masumi was about to say that when she suddenly felt something touch her knee.

He reflexively tried to dodge, but the thing seemed to be tracking him, continuing to touch his knee.

what happened?

Masumi glanced under the table and saw a sneaker that had been taken off and was lying on the floor, its bare foot poking at his knee.

From the bright orange toenails, Masumi deduced that they belonged to Asami's toes.

Looking up, Mami met his gaze, as if to say she did it on purpose, and gave him a wicked smile.

Then, she cleverly moved her toes, tickling Masumi's knee.

"Wait……!"

Masumi almost burst out laughing from the tickling sensation, but Asami shushed him, put her index finger to her lips, glanced at the girls chatting beside her, and winked at him.

It seemed to be a reminder to Masumi to be quiet.

This gave him the sudden illusion that the surrounding noise had become even louder.

"Hey, Rinne, my dad brought me some gluten buns from Nagoya Station when he came back from his business trip last time. The red bean filling is refreshingly sweet, and the outer skin is very elastic. They're so delicious!"

Although only Chiai was speaking, her gaze was fixed on Rinne, who nodded as if listening attentively to her.

"A famous product of the Tokai region, Ms. Shionji also recommended Ise's Akabuk to me, and I would like to try to replicate it and add it to the dessert menu."

"Hey, that sounds really good! With Rinne's skills, it's sure to be a hit!" They chatted about local specialties and then moved on to the coffee shop's new products, seemingly having a serious discussion about the dessert menu.

Meanwhile, he himself, with his knees constantly being teased by Mami's toes, seemed so frivolous.

"..."

What kind of punishment game is this...?

No, Masumi couldn't even tell whether it was a punishment or a reward.

Seeing that he remained unmoved on the surface, Mami became even more emboldened.

"……Well!"

This is going too far, isn't it...? As she gradually escalated her actions, Masumi accidentally let out a "uh" sound, quickly clearing her throat to cover it up.

"Masumi, why have you been clearing your throat like this since just now? Is your throat sore?"

Mio asked with concern.

"No, that's not true, it's just... I drank something sweet."

"That's it."

Upon hearing this explanation, Mio pondered for a moment, then suddenly reached out her hand to him.

Masumi, worried that Asami would discover her flirting with him under the table, broke out in a cold sweat.

With a clang, Mio picked up the soft drink in front of Masumi and took a small sip from the spot where Masumi's lips had just touched.

"Mmm~ It really is sweet."

Mio smiled sweetly.

"Mio's opportunistic nature is really something else."

Rinne made a lighthearted teasing remark, while Mio calmly retorted.

"Rinne's speed in getting back on defense is also pretty good. If you were a boy, you might become the ace of the basketball team in high school."

"Aren't girls good enough? The women's national basketball team won the Asian Cup last year."

Why do we still need to care about political correctness?

Mio chuckled to herself, while Masumi observed everything, realizing that not only her relationship with them had changed.

The same applies to them.

The two women, who used to be like oil and water and often had cat-and-dog battles, now seem to be more like bickering friends than sworn enemies.

That's good. If the people he likes can get along well, Masumi will naturally feel at ease.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

But then, the feet under the table, which had been quiet for only a short while, started moving again.

He could no longer tolerate it and reached out to grab the restless foot, but...

Huh?
He felt the light and smooth texture of the ice silk in his palm, and he couldn't help but look down. A small foot wrapped in a white short sock rested on his thigh.

Huh?

Asami is a barefoot person, and she wasn't wearing socks just now, so the owner of this foot... is someone else?!

who is it?

Masumi looked at the three girls sitting opposite him, from left to right: Mio, Mami, and Rinne.

Mami's suspicion has been cleared; she has now lost interest in teasing herself and is now enjoying a hearty meal.

Given Rinne's composed personality, she doesn't seem like the type to do something like this, so there's only one answer.

That being said, after all this reasoning, there was clearly a simpler and faster way.

Masumi pinched the beautiful arch of her foot and gripped the top of her sock.

He slowly brushed her ankle down to her toes with his fingertips, taking off her socks. Her fair instep and bright red toenails came into view, creating a striking contrast.

really.

As soon as Masumi looked up, he saw Mio staring at him with a mischievous smile.

Really.

Why do they all like doing this kind of thing?

There were other people right next to us.

As Rinne's head was quietly bowed across the room, Masumi was being teased by Mio, who was smiling alluringly.

"Sister Mami, you've had too much to drink."

"What does it matter? It's Masumi-kun's treat anyway, Chia, don't be shy, make this scumbag a killing!"

Asami picked up a piece of fried chicken with her chopsticks, as if treating it as a substitute for Masumi, and took a vicious "whoosh" bite.

The moment the small mouth bites into the fried chicken, the juices splatter out like water spraying out at a fire scene.

"Wow, it's fried chicken, but the chicken thigh meat wrapped in a crispy skin is as tender as stewed meat, it melts in your mouth, and the juices are fresh and sweet, perfect!"

Asami pressed her cheeks and let out a satisfied groan.

"Chiai, eat more too, it's delicious."

"No way! It's so high in calories, I'll get fat if I eat too much."

"Xiao Qianai is already thin enough, it's okay for her to eat a little more."

"This is based on Asami-nee's standards, isn't it...?"

The moment Chiai blurted out the words, Mami's smile froze.

She remembered the jeans that were sticking out of her pants because her hips had gotten bigger.

Then, thinking of Masumi's ill-intentioned and utterly shameful way of helping, he felt a surge of anger and glared fiercely at Chiai.

The childhood sweetheart witnessed that expression and was so frightened that her voice and shoulders began to tremble.

"Waaaaah! I was wrong! I didn't mean to say that Asami-nee is fat!"

"It's too late. The sins committed by our childhood friend should be borne by Chiai, who is also our childhood friend!"

"Hey, that's not how it works! Mami-nee is clearly a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong!"

The two girls were arguing and making a ruckus over there, and Masumi was also restless under the table.

Her alluring little feet broke free from Masumi's restraints, her toes deftly gripping the brass zipper. Mio's eyes held an ambiguous look as she gazed at Masumi.

Oops.

If they let the other person act recklessly, things could get really bad. Masumi grabbed Mio's ankle again, but Mio stubbornly stretched out her other foot.

Perhaps because Masumi was holding her, her movements seemed a bit clumsy, like a little kitten lying on Masumi's legs.

Masumi wanted to teach Mio a lesson, so as to punish her, she tickled the sole of her foot hard.

"Meow meow!"

Unexpectedly, the heiress's expression changed noticeably at the dinner table; she frowned, bit her lip, and made a sound.

No way?
Masumi looked at Rinne in disbelief, only to see her quickly revert to her usual indifference.

The same method was used to uncover the secret.

After removing the white ankle socks, delicate light blue toenails were revealed.

After being fully exposed to the air, the delicate and lovely toes curled slightly, just like a startled little animal.

when……

Has she gone astray too?
Masumi sometimes admires the heiress.

Despite her toes being tightly curled up due to nervousness, her face remained expressionless.

Looking back, it was the same thing that happened between the two of them in the bathroom. Even though they were lying awkwardly against the glass, they tried their best to maintain a nonchalant expression and calm tone, which dispelled Mio's doubts.

Now, the two of them seem equally unaware of each other's presence, each treating Masumi's left and right legs as their own territory, pressing closer and closer.

It was just like the daimyo of the Warring States period who came to Kyoto from the west and east respectively.

With a determination to protect the towering and magnificent five-story pagoda of To-ji Temple in Kyoto from falling, Masumi held the two women firmly and pushed them out by tickling them.

Both of you, get your feet off me! I want to eat properly!
(End of this chapter)