My private meeting with Anju-onee-chan—which was really nothing more than a simple greeting—had been completely derailed by Rui.
Damn it! I had been looking forward to watching that massive butt pulverize every cushion in my room one after another while I cheered her on.
Swallowing my frustration, I led Rui upstairs to my room.
That said, I had absolutely no recollection of ever making any such promise with her.
In fact, I was checking the group LIME as we climbed the stairs, and there wasn't a single message resembling the conversation she had mentioned.
Of course, it was my own fault for not checking it sooner. Still, I decided to ask.
"Hey, Rui. There isn't any record in the group LIME of the conversation you were talking about earlier. What's up with that?"
"Eh?"
Rui blinked, then pulled out her phone and opened LIME.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry, Ryouta-kun. The chat I was having was in the four-girl group with me, Yuria, Airi, and Tanaka-san."
"Wait, why would a discussion about the school trip end up with everyone deciding to hold the meeting at my house? You wouldn't normally plan something like that at the home of someone who's not even in the group!"
I jumped in with the obvious retort… only for a more pressing question to occur to me.
"Hold on. Before that, the real issue is why a girls-only group like that even exists in the first place, Rui."
The moment I asked, Rui's expression shifted into a serious look.
"Fufu… I really don't like how sharp you can be sometimes, Ryouta-kun."
"No, it's obviously suspicious no matter how you look at it! Don't tell me you've all been talking about all sorts of things behind my back in a separate LIME group!?"
The classic girls-only "secret chat that excludes one specific person" scenario!?
"Hmm… It wasn't really intentional, but if I had to put it into words, I suppose it's a group where we keep an eye on each other to make sure the perverted Ryouta-kun isn't committing any sexual harassment. And if something does happen, we share the information."
"Wha…! It's one thing with Airi and Yuria, but there's no way I'd ever do anything like that to Tanaka!"
"Huh? It's one thing with Airi and Yuria?"
"Crap."
The instant Rui's gaze turned sharp, I realized I'd slipped up.
That sounded exactly like I was confessing that I had been sexually harassing Airi and Yuria!
Sure, I'd had a few lucky pervert incidents, but still!
"…Fufu. You wouldn't tell me that the same Ryouta-kun who receives daily selfies from the most beautiful girl in the world—me—isn't satisfied with that alone and has been making moves on Airi and Yuria too, right?"
"P-please believe me, Rui! I haven't done anything to either of them!"
"Is that so?"
And just like that, the situation had somehow turned into a full-blown confrontation.
"Well, it's fine. No matter what you do or to whom, you've already sworn to support me for the rest of your life, Ryouta-kun."
"Huh? Wait, Rui? So you're okay with it?"
"Yes! But you mustn't do anything strange. Not with Airi or Yuria, and of course, not with Hiyori-sensei either."
Rui fixed me with a burning, intense stare that felt like it could scorch me alive.
"Ah, y-yes."
There was nothing else I could say.