After what seemed like a calm and peaceful dinner, Chisato did not continue staying at Yukino's house and took the initiative to say goodbye and head home.
Iroha also casually came up with a vague excuse to say that she would be back soon, and followed Chisato out.
After the two left, Yui sighed softly, "Isshiki-chan is more proactive than I thought. I hope she'll be back before 8 o'clock, then we can take the train together."
Yukino, who was organizing the documents sent by the City Council President on her computer, only responded with a quiet "Mm" to her friend's words, her indifferent expression unchanged, making it hard to read her thoughts.
Just outside the gate, a few steps away.
Iroha placed her hand on the entrance cabinet, using her left fingertips to skillfully take off her little shoes, placing them neatly with the toes facing out.
Though she understood that there was no one else in Chisato's house right now, out of courtesy and to show her obedient side, she still sweetly called out, "Excuse me~" as she entered.
Of course, aside from the light from the motion-sensor lamp at the entrance, the rest of the interior was darkening, and no one responded to her.
No one, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything else.
"Fuhuhu—"
A strange sound grew closer and clearer. Before Iroha could even react, she saw a shadow rush toward her from the end of the hallway near the entrance.
She hurriedly moved closer to Chisato's side, grabbing his arm tightly and pressing her body against his.
This time, she didn't have any ulterior motives but was genuinely frightened by the unknown.
"Alright, stop fooling around, we have a guest. I'll play with you later," Chisato's calm words reassured Iroha, and she quickly saw what had landed on his shoulder.
It was a crow, much larger than the crows typically seen on the street, and it appeared unusually majestic, its pitch-black eyes seemingly watching her with intelligence.
That feeling lasted only a moment, and as Iroha recalled, she remembered seeing Chisato raise a crow before.
But…
If she wasn't mistaken, the crow back then was of a normal size, only a bit larger than typical birds.
Now... it looked at least as small as an eagle, with a tail that was much more exaggerated, thick and long.
She had an urge to touch it...
Chisato, noticing Iroha's curious gaze, could roughly guess what she was thinking.
After they entered the living room, he went to the kitchen to pour some tea.
He had eaten quite a bit of meat, and the high-quality beef had a lot of fat, so he needed to cut through the grease.
Meanwhile, the black-winged crow, at his gesture, jumped off his shoulder and landed on the sofa, curling up next to Iroha, allowing her to fulfill her desire to interact with it.
By the time Chisato returned with the tea, Iroha was already getting along quite well with the crow.
Iroha's palm held some crushed nuts, and the crow was eating happily.
"Ah, senpai... it brought this over by itself. Seeing how much it wanted to eat, I took the liberty of opening it," Iroha explained in a flustered tone.
"It's fine," Chisato shook his head, indicating he didn't mind.
He placed the tea on the coffee table, then took the remaining nuts from her hand and walked toward the balcony with them.
Now, it was time to get back to business.
"So, you specifically said you wanted to talk to me alone. What is it?"
Chisato blew on the hot tea, taking a small sip.
As he drank, his gaze naturally shifted down, landing on Iroha's legs.
She wore black thigh-high stockings, the kind that many high school girls wear.
Below that, her skin, pale and smooth, was proudly exposed from the middle of her calves to her thighs.
The length of her skirt stopped at mid-thigh, which felt like it might accidentally reveal too much if she wasn't careful.
Speaking of which, Yukino and Yui's skirts were about the same length, and they must have been wearing safety shorts underneath...
"Is something wrong with my legs, senpai?" Iroha asked, noticing his gaze.
In the isolated environment of being alone, it was hard not to notice everything.
Chisato, caught in the act, blushed slightly but quickly gave a serious answer, "Mm, I was thinking, in this kind of weather, isn't it cold to have your legs exposed?"
"Are you concerned about me, senpai~?" Iroha smiled teasingly.
"Well, you are an important junior," Chisato responded, but it wasn't the answer Iroha was looking for.
She pouted in dissatisfaction, but still explained his question, "It's cold, yes, but if you take protective measures, it's really not that bad."
"Protective measures?"
"Mm, I'm not sure how other girls do it, but for me, I put heating pads inside my sweater. If my upper body stays warm, my legs might feel a little cold, but it's still bearable."
Iroha began to unbutton her sweater, intending to show him how she wore the heating pads.
"Wait a minute."
Chisato stopped her by pressing his hand on hers, "You don't need to show me, just tell me."
Iroha looked at his hand on her own. Even though the contact was brief, it made her heart flutter.
"And when I'm at school, we always have the air conditioning on in class. As long as I stay inside, I don't feel too cold.
After school, I go straight home and jump into the heater, so even though I dress like this, I only really feel cold during my commute."
"Well, the commute is short, but it's still best to keep warm," Chisato added, thinking of Iroha's little "cute" friend from earlier who had bundled up warmly with leggings underneath her skirt to stay cozy.
"Since you've said that, senpai… I understand," Iroha said, feeling quite pleased with herself.
Then, getting back to the main topic, she said, "Actually, I came here to talk about my future plans."
Iroha placed her hands on her thighs, sitting upright and speaking seriously.
"Compared to me, I think it would be better to discuss this with a teacher or your parents."
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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