After the five people finished dinner, the plates and chopsticks were temporarily stacked in the sink, and they immediately moved to the living room and took their seats in sequence.
Just like when Shinichi and Rui visited the Nakano family, Nino crossed her legs on the main chair like a young lady, while Ichika sat obediently across from her.
Yotsuba wants to escape somewhere else, but Miku and Itsuki bring her back. They pushed her on the sofa next to Ichika and sat on the bench like a jury. Beside Nino, she looked directly at the two sisters opposite.
"Even though in general I noticed..."
Ichika smiled bitterly: "Is this family gathering just for the two of us?"
"You know very well, right? It saves you from having to explain." Nino shuffled her feet and laughed a little evilly, "I remember the last family gathering was because I did something excessive to Shi-kun. Was it just held?"
"Oh, that scary atmosphere like interrogating a prisoner is really nostalgic~"
Ichika's smile didn't change: "Nino, your appearance is starting to look more and more like Shinichi-kun."
Nino didn't care at all, and instead looked happy.
"Who is the person I like who has this kind of good nature? If you are close to red, you will become red. Nothing wrong with that."
"Um, that's right." After Ichika agreed, she looked around in a very calm manner.
"So, what do you want to interrogate us about…" She pursed her lips.
"It seems there is no need to ask. That's the only answer, right?"
Ichika looked at Itsuki with confirmation, and Itsuki nodded slightly.
After all, they were quintuplets, and even though it was a small thing that happened to each other, they could detect the clues just by intuition.
When Yotsuba also sat next to her as a "subject", Ichika understood the reason for the meeting. Although she didn't mean to hide it, it was a pity that they were able to notice it so quickly.
Be it Nino or Itsuki, their acting skills were superior to their eldest sister's. When faced with family doubts, they will ask questions directly without hesitation.
In this slightly serious atmosphere, Ichika felt a little sad when thinking about the past.
(I hope I can end this meeting with a touching sibling bond like last time)
Ichika leaned back on the sofa chair and sighed.
She was not nervous at all, and the corners of her mouth even turned up slightly.
Because this time the problem was not with her, but with Yotsuba beside her. She should not sit in the position of the main perpetrator, even as an accomplice.
In this "incident", she was simply Itsuki who was smarter and understood love, and she had to sit down with Miku and the others.
So...
"Chief referee, I have all the moves here." Ichika raised her hands jokingly, showing a posture of surrender, "Know everything, answer everything, and cooperate with procedures 100% to handle this case. But I didn't. I don't think I deserve this kind of treatment, please release me as soon as possible after being interrogated."
"Pfft… Have you been shooting crime investigation films lately?" Nino chuckled and waved her hand casually, dispelling all the tense atmosphere.
"Don't worry, I still understand the seriousness of this matter. I just want to know what the problem is."
She shifted to a cross-legged position, propping her face with one hand on her knee and her eyes scanning the two back and forth.
"We discussed your affairs with Shi-kun at noon today. He said that most likely the message he sent to the three of you caused you two to be in such a strange state."
"Shinichi-kun said it himself? He's clearly at the center of everything!" Ichika opened her eyes in surprise.
Even Yotsuba who had just been silent, clenched her fists slightly on her knees.
"Asada-san, are you saying...?"
She glanced at Itsuki quickly, her tone a little hasty.
"Itsuki, what exactly did Asada-san say?!"
"Eh? He told you the content of the message he sent you…" Seeing Yotsuba's stunned expression, she said carefully, "But before he finished speaking, the school bell rang… He just said something about regarding future choices, Nino thought what what wasn't mentioned later might be a reason that affected both of you, so she planned to ask you directly."
"I see..."
Relieved by this answer, Yotsuba sighed, and a smile appeared on the corners of her mouth.
"As I thought, it's Asada-san, how could you say something like that directly..."
"Oh? So, what is it?"
Nino didn't skip this line and asked the question straight to the point.
Yotsuba's expression stiffened, the smile froze on her face, and her body couldn't move because of guilt.
"Nothing happened? You heard wrong~"
"Look away." Miku complained, while Yotsuba pretended not to hear and shook her eyes.
The classic appearance of "Yotsuba lies", this of course cannot escape the eyes of others.
"Yotsuba, just tell me honestly!"
They Ichika have a higher chance of causing trouble, but does the cause actually lie with the Yotsuba?
Nino pounded the table with both hands, leaned forward, and stared at Yotsuba's increasingly panicked expression.
She wants a certain bastard to call and give her a good beating in the heart.
Is this man planning to get all her sisters?
"Yotsuba, would it be better to say it yourself? If it were up to me, if you guessed wrong, you and Shinichi-kun might be misunderstood by everyone."
Ichika looked at Yotsuba with interest, and chuckled meaningfully.
"What does the expression 'quintuplets are all the same' mean?
"In the message Shinichi-kun sent you, what else was hidden in the message that you didn't say?"
"Don't keep it in your heart. It would be better for everyone if you talked things through. Is not it?"
Itsuki nodded in agreement, then began to persuade Yotsuba:
"Yotsuba, Asada-kun didn't just say 'I like you, I like everyone too' to you, right? There must be something else that made you so strange at that time…"
"Aha--?!"
Before Itsuki could finish speaking, Nino raised her voice and shouted with an incredulous expression on her face.
"Wait, Itsuki, what did you just say that guy said?"
Miku also turned her head in surprise, her eyes full of confusion, trying to find an answer from Itsuki.
"Uh, that's..."
Feeling the immense pressure rushing towards her face, Itsuki put her hands in front of her in panic. Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a calm voice on the other end.
"Nino, I'll ask you about this little thing later."
"What a trivial matter! You know-"
As Nino's excited expression came into contact with Ichika's smiling gaze, she slowly calmed down.
Ichika kept her calm smile and spoke softly.
"I know. That's why I said this is a trivial matter."
She then turned to look at Miku, and her voice became a little softer:
"Miku, please calm down. You can send a message to Shinichi-kun first and let him explain it to you himself."
"I also want him to explain to me! A bastard who says everything to girls…" Nino gritted her teeth and took out her phone with Miku.
Finally, Ichika and Yotsuba looked at each other.
"How? Can you tell me?"
"What were you thinking that night?"
Through the armrest of the sofa, Ichika stared at her without retreating.
The question, which came two days late, echoed in the living room, creating waves of echoes.
"If Shinichi-kun really likes all of us as the opposite sex, the words 'so what' and 'we're quintuplets'.... Do you really understand what he means? Yotsuba. "
"I..."
Yotsuba sat stiffly in her position, looking confused and speechless.
There was only one thought left in her mind which was completely blank.
(What should I do to help Asada-san...)
(How should I answer Ichika to save Asada-san's unspeakable cause?)