First impressions mattered. Even with an explanation, Ryo and Ikuyo's reactions still left an impression on the Eriri and Utaha.
They responded by saying it didn't bother them, but they were surely having their own thoughts deep down.
Chisato understood this, but there was nothing he could do except hope that, during the trip, they'd gradually get to know one another and overcome the vague and indescribable sense of distance between them.
Seika received a message with the group's location and successfully joined them with her sister about ten minutes after getting off the car.
Her mood had been rather bright—until Chisato introduced her to Utaha and Eriri.
This change in the situation was clearly unexpected.
Still, as an adult and the creator and owner of STARRY Hall, she handled it far more maturely than the younger members of Kesshoku Band.
She greeted the two girls in a relaxed tone, introduced her general responsibilities at the company, and even exchanged LINE contacts with Eriri, who responded with enthusiasm.
That should be a good sign, right?
At least in Chisato's view, Seika's presence helped lift the tension between the two groups, making things gradually more relaxed.
With Chisato mediating, constantly throwing out conversation topics that both sides could chime in on, the wait to board the plane became much less dull—and even occasionally filled with light laughter.
Everything was going smoothly.
Until it came time to board.
Chisato, Kesshoku Band, and Seika had all bought their tickets together in advance, so their seats weren't far apart.
To put it simply, the four members of Kesshoku Band were divided into two pairs, seated one behind the other on the right side.
Chisato and Seika, meanwhile, were seated across the aisle, sharing a three-seat row with a stranger.
Chisato was in the middle, fastening his seatbelt, when Seika casually said,
"Want me to switch seats with one of them?"
Who "they" were was obvious from the direction she glanced toward.
Chisato shook his head.
"No, even if you're willing, that would inconvenience the gentleman beside me."
"Oh."
Seika had only asked out of politeness. Since Chisato declined, the topic should've ended there.
In fact, Seika was already reaching for her seatbelt.
But then the middle-aged stranger sitting next to Chisato suddenly spoke up.
"Excuse me, were you hoping to switch seats?"
"Ah, no need, really," Chisato quickly responded.
"Oh, it's fine. Actually, I'm not a big fan of aisle seats. I noticed earlier that you wanted to switch with those two girls, right?"
He'd seen how close Chisato was with Eriri and Utaha when boarding, and combined with Seika's glance earlier, it wasn't hard to guess.
He scratched his thinning hair.
"I'm not fond of aisle seats anyway, and their seats by the window looked nice. If you'd like to switch, it's really no trouble—actually, I'd prefer it. What do you think?"
"Uh…"
"Then we'll take you up on that,"
Before Chisato could respond, Seika beat him to it.
She suddenly wore a terrifyingly cold expression for some reason, unbuckled the seatbelt she had already fastened, and stood up to express her thanks.
This wasn't what she wanted. It was completely different from what she had imagined last night.
But... What else could she do if not this?
After all, this was a proposal she had made from the start.
Now that this Mediterranean idiot had pushed things this far, did she really have any choice other than to accept?
"That's really great. Thank you."
The unfamiliar passenger smiled cluelessly and was the first to head toward Eriri and Utaha.
"Thank you, Seika-neesan,"
Chisato also expressed his thanks.
"Hehe, it's my honor to serve you. After all, you're the club president."
Seika said this with a smile, but for some reason, it gave Chisato a chill down his spine.
And when Seika passed by to the aisle, even though Chisato had deliberately pulled his foot far inward, she still stomped hard on it.
Fortunately, he usually wore casual shoes outside of work, otherwise that deliberate pause, concentrating all her weight on one foot, would definitely have made him suffer a lot.
Seika left, but not before leaving a footprint on Chisato's once-clean shoe.
Not long after, Eriri and Utaha, both beaming with clearly good moods, walked over and sat down on either side of him.
They chatted noisily to him.
Chisato responded absentmindedly, occasionally glancing down at the faint footprint on his shoe.
Meanwhile, on Seika's side, after the plane took off, the middle-aged male passenger next to her—having taken in the view outside the window and feeling satisfied—turned to notice that the woman beside him was, by all accounts, a stunning beauty.
Thinking his earlier gesture of kindness might've left a good impression, he gulped, took out his business card, and slowly leaned toward her with the intention of striking up a conversation.
"Miss, I'm—"
"Scram."
"Eek!"
Seika's face held no warmth. Her beautiful eyes were now burning with a pitch-black flame.
Meeting her gaze felt like it would ignite you instantly, reducing you to ashes.
The man immediately shrank toward the window side, trembling, the very thought of flirting erased in an instant. He didn't dare utter another word.
Seika turned back with a blank expression, pulled on an eye mask, and began resting with her eyes closed.
Meanwhile, in the seat ahead, Utaha—who was sitting on the inside seat—was smiling as she played a palm-drawing word-guessing game with the eyes-closed Chisato.
Eriri turned the small makeup mirror in her hand toward herself, applied her lip balm, and then put everything back into her bag.
She had clearly seen Seika's terrifying expression earlier when dealing with the passenger beside her.
Now she lowered her head and looked again at the footprint on Chisato's shoe, seemingly deep in thought.
"Idiot, it's... black."
Utaha whispered the answer into Chisato's ear, then took his hand and placed it on her thigh.
What the hell—this girl acts relatively normal most of the time, but whenever she's around Chisato, she turns into a full-blown lusty pervert.
How could she not even notice something that obvious?
Eriri stared at Utaha with deep disdain.
Noticing her gaze, Utaha gave a smug little chuckle, convinced that Eriri was just jealous she got the seat closer to Chisato, making it easier to flirt with him.
"..."
Eriri had originally thought of talking to her.
But now… forget it.
Didn't seem necessary anymore.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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