242 I Want You to Drink with Me!

A long period of silence fell between them.

"Why aren’t you saying anything?"

Mika felt embarrassed when her two friends stared at her, dazed, and her face flushed even redder.

"Do you want us to say anything?" Seiji asked after he'd returned to his senses.

"Of course, this... was obvious, wasn’t it!?" Mika said, her face crimson. "I... was just playing a joke to lighten the mood."

‘Your joke was a little too much for us, Uehara-san!’ Seiji and Chiaki exchanged glances and both smiled wryly.

"You succeeded in scaring us, Mika." Chiaki sighed. "Your level is far too high, and we can only admire you from afar."

"What’s this... don’t you guys always act like this?" The double-pigtailed girl looked genuinely surprised. "I was only imitating you."

"Imitating... okay, I suppose that’s fine," Seiji said with an air of helplessness.