The Heroines Want to Confess

Chapter 441 441: Voluntarily Walking Into the Trap

"Jiiii————"

The cicadas were extremely loud.

The noisy cicadas combined with the nearly 40-degree heat today were honestly a bit unbearable.

In this kind of weather, even the kids who usually played by the river would probably give up, right? When Sakurai Saki got off the car earlier, he saw a little girl wearing a straw hat eating an ice pop in front of a Dagashi candy shop, along with two little boys…

There were fewer and fewer children in the countryside.

A country in a state of negative population growth made people wonder whether, in another hundred years, it would naturally go extinct without any external factors interfering.

"The watermelon's ready."

Behind him, Nino brought over a tray of watermelon and sat down next to him.

Receiving the slice she handed him, Sakurai Saki nodded: "Thank you."

"So polite, huh." Nino smiled.

Their relationship didn't require this level of formality, so she found Sakurai Saki's sudden thanks amusing.

"Then please return that 'thank you' from earlier to me."

"Puh." Nino covered her lips with a soft laugh, but the "thank you" stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.

Seeing her like that, Sakurai Saki sighed inwardly and bit into the watermelon.

She was really pushing it more and more.

As expected, humans never treasure what they already have.

The little puppy that used to cling to him seemed to want to flip the script and act dominant now…

"Is it good?"

"It's fine."

As soon as he said that, Nino secretly leaned her head over and took a bite from the exact same slice of watermelon in his hand.

Then she pouted and criticized: "Why is yours sweeter? That's unfair!"

"It's the same watermelon. How can it be any different?" Sakurai Saki said irritably.

"It is different. It's clearly the same watermelon, but once you bite it, it tastes better. Isn't that strange?" Nino blinked at him, then slowly leaned in: "So I'll study what the secret inside is, okay~?"

Since the other sisters hadn't come out yet, why not sneak in a little "taste"!

But before Nino could kiss him, the sound of a door opening cut in — it was Miku: "Nino, what are you trying to do?"

"…Nothing."

"I saw it. You were trying to kiss him."

Getting interrupted like that made Nakano Nino a little annoyed.

She shot Miku a glance: "Is it forbidden for me to kiss him? He's not your personal property."

"You misunderstood. What I mean is…"

Nakano Miku quickly closed the door and sat down on the other open side next to Sakurai Saki: "If it's just you, then it's unfair. I want to kiss him too."

Half a minute later.

Nakano Itsuki came out of the kitchen holding a watermelon. Looking through the crack of the living room door, she saw Sakurai Saki hugging both girls on each side, kissing the two of them at the same time — the watermelon in her hands almost slipped.

What on earth were those three doing?

This was completely unreasonable!?

"Itsuki, what's wrong? Why aren't you going in?"

Behind her, the bunny-ear headband on Nakano Yotsuba tilted to one side, her whole face filled with question marks.

Itsuki turned back to her, eating watermelon as she said: "Yotsuba, suddenly I really want some ice pops. Want to go buy some with me?"

"Eh? But… aren't we eating watermelon right now?" Yotsuba knew Itsuki loved to eat, but she didn't expect that while eating something in her bowl she'd still crave something else in the pot.

"I don't think the watermelon is very good." Itsuki took another bite.

"..."Itsuki, if you're going to say that, your mouth should at least stop moving for a second.

You're eating like a hamster, you know that?

Nakano Yotsuba ignored her and prepared to enter the living room to sit in front of the fan and eat. It was too hot in the hallway.

"Don't— don't go in there, Yotsuba!"The slice of watermelon in Itsuki's hand suddenly didn't seem fragrant anymore… no, it was still very fragrant, but now she was much more concerned about her sisters.

If Yotsuba saw Sakurai-san kissing Miku and Nino on both sides then… Itsuki didn't dare imagine!

"Why?" Yotsuba turned to her.

"…I… I don't really know why either."

Itsuki knew that disaster was inevitable, but she still had to stop Yotsuba!

Pull — just pull her back!

But Yotsuba didn't give her the chance. She opened the living room door immediately.

And then…

"Yotsuba, why did you take so long? Don't tell me you were hiding in the kitchen sneaking food?" Nino turned her head toward her.

"If anyone was sneaking food, it would be Itsuki."

I'm not the kind of glutton like Itsuki.

"Where's Itsuki?" Miku also turned around to ask.

"I'm right here."

Nakano Itsuki silently let out a sigh of relief.

Phew, thank goodness she made it in time. Sometimes the "delay tactic" really did work~

'Yotsuba, you should be thanking me. If not, you would've been dragged into Sakurai-san's harem already!'

"Listen, Itsuki just said she wanted to eat ice pops."

"I didn't say I wanted them that badly."

Yotsuba, I was desperately trying to save you from the claws of that big bad wolf, yet you—the little rabbit—run straight into his den yourself.

I judged you wrong!

"Itsuki wants some? Then I'll go buy them with you," Sakurai Saki asked with concern.

The scariest thing in life is sudden kindness from friends—Itsuki felt like this guy had ulterior motives!

"…I don't think that's necessary…" Itsuki avoided his gaze, her voice slightly trembling.

"But actually, I'm kinda craving one too."

"I really said it's not necessary."

The gentler Sakurai Saki became, the more frightened Itsuki felt.

'If he gets any gentler, I won't be able to handle it.'

Of course, she also wanted to get closer to Sakurai Saki. But such thoughts hidden deep in her heart were something she would never say out loud.

If Nino was the openly tsundere type, then Itsuki was definitely the hidden tsundere type.

"Itsuki, you're being so fake," Nakano Nino looked at her expression.

As a tsundere, she understood tsunderes way too well.

This hesitant refusal—anyone could tell what it meant.

"Fake?"

"Umu, fake." Even Miku nodded.

"Both Nino and I have already accepted it."

"I'm not the same as you two!" Itsuki slightly furrowed her pretty brows.

Asking her to do those things Nino and Miku did earlier… she'd rather be told to lose 10 kilograms!

This was too indecent—girls acting that intimate with a boy like that, truly shameless!

Such scandalous private behavior—Itsuki absolutely could not accept it!

"Given a chance and not taking it, what a dummy." Nino smiled at Miku.

Miku nodded; even on her expressionless face, a faint smile appeared: "Umu, Baka Itsuki."

"Huh? Who are you calling stupid? I may not be as good as you two, but I'm not stupid!"

At this moment—

Nakano Yotsuba, who had been completely outside the context, asked right after finishing a slice of watermelon:

"What are you all talking about?"

She tried to understand, but nothing entered her head at all.

"Yotsuba, don't try to understand," Nakano Itsuki quickly said.

Nino, however, said the opposite: "Honestly, Yotsuba's feelings for Sakurai-san aren't that different from ours, right?"

Miku shook her head: "Don't drag unrelated people in. Yotsuba's feelings should be something she realizes on her own."

"Alright." Nino felt that made sense.

Besides, whether Yotsuba liked Sakurai Saki in a romantic way, or simply admired him like a student admiring a teacher—Nino herself wasn't sure.

"Eh? So what is everyone actually—"

Itsuki cut off Yotsuba's question, grabbing her hand and saying:

"Let's go buy ice pops!"

"Wait, but everyone—"

"Buy ice pops!"

"…Umm, why is everyone talking in riddles?"

"Buy! Ice! Pops!"

Nakano Yotsuba reluctantly glanced at Sakurai Saki, then pouted as she followed Itsuki out.

'I'll ask Sakurai-san privately later. He'll definitely tell me!'

...