Regardless of everything else, the day couldn't truly begin until I’d filled my stomach with breakfast.
However, I still found it incomprehensible how Rui Kuroki had become intimate enough with my family to be the one preparing that breakfast. Given that the mystery had started with her sneaking into the room where I was sleeping, I decided it was best not to overthink it any further.
Besides, my sister usually ended up devouring my portion of breakfast, so if Rui had made this, I was grateful knowing that things would likely be safe on that front.
"Now, Ryouta-kun, you need to hurry and get ready for the morning. I've left a change of clothes on the desk, so please wash your face and get dressed, okay?"
Rui urged me to prepare for the day as if she were a personal maid.
Being served by a beautiful girl like this was a reward in a sense... but the catch was that with Rui, there always seemed to be some kind of hidden motive or ulterior agenda.
"Also, those dirty books you love so much and the related goods that were tucked into the gaps of your bookshelf—I moved them into the closet so no one would find them."
"W-Whoa! You! What do you think you're doing?! What do you think a man's Spank Bank Material is?!"
"Oh, and I confiscated some of the frigid gal stuff and the breast milking stuff because they're bad for your education, okay? I'll make sure to transfer the equivalent value into Ryouta-kun’s bank account later."
"Get out! You demon!"
Calling her a trespassing classmate was an understatement; she was the Spank Bank Material Confiscation Committee Chair. If I didn't ban Rui from the house, she might end up managing every single aspect of my life.
☆☆
By the time I headed downstairs for breakfast, it was already past eight o'clock, leaving Rui and me alone in the house.
My father was at work, my mother was out playing Sepak Takraw eight days a week, and for some reason, even my sister was absent.
Mornings during summer vacation were always like this, with a single memo left on the dining table as usual. This note likely contained the family's schedule for the day... wait.
'Use a rubber, okay? -Big Sis'
"Good grief. As if I would, you stupid sister."
"Ryouta-kun, going raw is a no-go, you know?"
"That's not what I meant! I meant I'm not doing anything at all!"
"Just a joke, just a joke. I'll get breakfast ready."
Rui headed toward the kitchen with a soft giggle. When she was the one saying it, none of it sounded like a joke.
"I've been thinking this for a while... but Rui, you're surprisingly tolerant of dirty jokes. You even make them yourself."
"Hmm? I don't think that's true, though."
It was true. Without a doubt.
"But if I had to say, since being a model student is my default state, the backlash might make me a bit loose-lipped when I'm around Ryouta-kun. I know it's okay to say dirty things around you."
"W-What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means... I can show the side of me that isn't perfect when I'm with Ryouta-kun, you know?"
Rui said it with a wink as she carried the warmed breakfast to the table. In other words... what the heck was she getting at?
"I'm a girl, too... sometimes I want to talk about 'that' side of things, you know?"
Come to think of it, Yuria had mentioned before that girls actually have stronger sex drives... maybe that was just how things worked?
Perhaps because we were having such a conversation, even the arrangement of the sausages and cherry tomatoes being served started to look like a dirty joke. No, no, I had to stop this.
"Airi and the others are coming at nine, so please eat quickly, Ryouta-kun."
"A-Ah... okay..."
As instructed, I began to eat the breakfast Rui had prepared for me. The menu consisted of white rice, miso soup, sausages, scrambled eggs, and a salad of cherry tomatoes and lettuce.
I had imagined something flashier using expensive ingredients since Rui was the one making it, but it was surprisingly simple. Was it a case of 'simple is best'... or was it just that our fridge was that pathetic?
"Ryouta-kun, if there's anything you don't like, I'll eat it for you, okay?"
I'll eat it for you... huh.
I wanted to punch myself for the "sausage" joke that crossed my mind for even a split second.
"By the way, did you have fun bug hunting yesterday?"
Being asked about the bug hunting so suddenly made the sausage I had gripped with my chopsticks slip.
"I-Is... are you not angry, Rui?"
"Angry? Why?"
"Well, based on the vibe of those LIME messages from before, I thought you were mad."
"Why?"
"No, well, because..."
"Did Ryouta-kun do something shady with Airi that would make me angry?"
"I... I didn't! Absolutely not!"
"Then isn't it fine? Or... do you want me to be angry with you, Ryouta-kun?"
Rui spoke with a smile the entire time, but she didn't seem gentle at all. Crap, I was breaking into a cold sweat.
"Hehe... you're cute when you're scared, Ryouta-kun."
"Y-You sadist."
"Conversely, you're a masochist, aren't you, Ryouta-kun? Since so many of those kinds of books turned up."
"D-Don't just look at them without permission!"
"Hehe, but if that's the case, then we're quite compatible, aren't we?"
She was toying with a virgin like me with such clever words. I was being danced completely in the palm of Rui's hand, but as an unpopular guy who felt that even being teased by a girl was a reward, I found myself thinking it wasn't so bad.
In the first place, reacting to being teased by such an incredibly beautiful classmate with a "good grief" sentiment was something probably reserved for a light novel protagonist.
C-Conversely... what did Rui... think of me?
"...Hey, Rui."
"I’m coming in!! Oh! Rui-chan's shoes are already here!!"
From the entryway, I sensed the arrival of a certain busty girl with a voice like a child. When I turned around, Airi came stomping in through the front door, carrying a floatie and a pool bag.
"Morning, Ryouta! Oh, you're eating breakfast! Lucky!"
"Good morning, Airi. Where are the other two?"
"Everyone's here! Look."
As Airi said that, Yuria and Tanaka slowly followed her inside.
"Morning, Ryouta, Rui."
"Good morning, Yuria. And Tanaka-san, too."
"A-Ah! Thank you very much for inviting me as well today!"
Tanaka was stiff as a board. It was no wonder. This was surely her first time going out to play with friends like this.
"Ryouta, eat your food quickly! We're going to the pool!"
"I-I get it, so don't rush me."