No, Why am I Afraid?

"Cutting a small slit is nothing."

"Plus, only by trying can I be sure that your changes are really caused by me."

With that said, Sasaki took the fruit knife from Otome's hand.

Sigh——

As the blade slid across his palm, under his subconsciously tightened muscles,

The sharp blade seemed to have cut into the stone, but only left a faint white mark on his skin, which existed for only a few seconds before disappearing.

Just like that, without feeling any pain—merely a ticklish sensation like a fingernail across the palm.

Watching such a scene, Sasaki relaxed his tense muscles and swung the knife down again.

Puff--

This time, even in a relaxed state, the blade barely broke the skin of his palm without bleeding, but he clearly saw the skin heal instantly.

Placing the fruit knife back in its stand, Sasaki touched his unharmed palm, feeling a sense of joy in his heart.

'Now I don't have to be afraid of.. wait, why should I be afraid of a kitchen knife?'

Placing the fruit knife back in its holder, Sasaki touched his unharmed palm, feeling a sense of joy spread through his heart.

'That clears up the issue with the chopping knife... wait, why should I worry about that?'

Dispelling the inappropriate thoughts from his mind, Sasaki, now certain that Otome's strength had indeed been influenced by him, wrapped his arms around her once more.

His chin rested on her shoulder as he looked at her snow-white, elegant neck and kissed it softly before saying:

"Do you think it's because of that thing? After all, you drank a lot of it last night."

With his hands gently caressing her smooth stomach, his tone carried a trace of serious inquisitiveness.

Not sure if Fuyumi was teasing her or genuinely exploring these matters, Otome, who was in the middle of serving soup, blushed deeply at his words.

Though the two were in an intimate relationship, having done everything that could be done, discussing such matters so naturally still made her feel a bit awkward.

But putting aside the embarrassment,

Otome actually agreed with Fuyumi's words.

After all, the changes began after she woke up, and besides the passion last night, she hadn't experienced anything unusual.

As for consuming anything abnormal,

It had to be the white jelly he fed her last night.

Not hearing any rebuttal, Sasaki's fingertips continued to glide over Otome's smooth, soft belly:

"While thinking so is one thing, practice is the best way to verify, so..."

Sensing her lover's evil intentions,

Sakuragi Otome, who was ashamed in her heart and had a blush on her face, opened her mouth to speak when the crisp ringtone of a phone interrupted her.

Ring, ring, ring—

Reluctantly pulling away from her,

Sasaki, still holding her waist with one hand, fumbled with his pocket with the other.

[Sister Yuka]

Seeing the caller ID on the phone screen,

Sasaki, who thought they had already arrived at the door, straightened up suddenly.

But after thinking about it; it wasn't the case.

After all already 7:30 PM.

It wouldn't be the time for them to just arrive.

Puzzled in his heart, Sasaki kept moving his hands and quickly connected the phone.

"Hello? Sister Yuka?"

"You guy, why don't you ever chat with your sister? Not a call, not a message..."

Right after the greeting,

The voice on the phone came through with a crisp tone filled with complaints.

Feeling her unreasonable demands,

Sasaki pictured a girl with black long hair, a clear and refreshing face, as straightforward and handsome as a boy.

Without refuting her words, he responded with a smile:

"I just came back from the hospital a few days ago, and got a lot of things to catch up on."

Yuka, who also knew that Fuyumi had something to do, understood him in her heart.

But understanding is understanding.

There was no shortage of resentment and dissatisfaction in her heart.

But before she could say more,

A burst of sweet sounds came from the microphone.

Afterwards, the person talking to Sasaki became a person whose words were as soft as cotton.

"Little Fuyumi~ Have you eaten yet?"

Listening to her soft voice.

Sasaki's fingers casually twirled Otome's hair as he responded softly:

"Just finished cooking, not yet."

"Have you guys eaten?"

"Just did. Talking to you now, I hope we're not disturbing?"

His temperament is as gentle and steady as ever, and he cares about others.

Ever gentle and considerate, Koharu inquired

Hearing her calming voice Sasaki sighed in his heart, and sat down at the dining table under Otome's gentle nudge:

"Not at all, Sister Koharu. Calling now, have you and Aunt Kyoka decided when you're coming over?"

"Yes~ We usually have classes, which is not convenient, so after discussing it, we decided to go there this Sunday. Does little Sasaki have time?"

Otome, who looked in shock and didn't know they were coming, winked and signaled at him that they would talk later.

Nodding, Sasaki said softly:

"Yeah, I'll pick you guys up when the time comes."

"Pick us up? Don't you remember my mom has a car? We can just drive over ourselves, but you'll have to help me with my luggage."

The voice on the phone switched back to Sister Yuka.

"Got it, got it."

Sasaki, unable to help but shake his head at this sister who was bossing him around before they even met.

Thinking of the two of them calling him, Sasaki figured Aunt Kyouka must be nearby.

Recalling the cool, soft touch on his lips when he returned home from the hospital, Sasaki slightly curled his lips, asking softly:

"Sister Yuka, is Aunt Kyouka there? She's not still working overtime at the office today, is she?"

As his words fell, a few soft and indistinct conversations could be heard from the other side of the phone.

Even though it was not clear,

He could still make out phrases like 'Mom's looking for you,' and 'Eh, Mom, where are you going?'

After a few moments of background noise and knowing they were pushing each other to talk, Sasaki didn't rush.

It seemed that Aunt Kyoka, after calming down from that day's events, still felt quite embarrassed.

Even going so far as to avoid him.

But no matter.

Once they moved in...

Harboring his irreverent thoughts towards the beautiful aunt, Sasaki watched as the call timer moved from 5 to 10 seconds.

And at that moment, a very familiar, gentle voice came through.

"Hello~ Fuyumi."

Not mentioning why she took so long to pick up the phone or what they were fussing about,

Sasaki casually asked:

"Aunt Kyouka, did you miss me?"