"So, what's the real reason you can't tell me?" Ren was used to joking about this issue, so he kept asking her.
"Please allow me to keep this a secret from you."
Nino didn't know what gifts Ren would give them without knowing what they liked.
She still couldn't do things like this by selling out her sisters.
"..."
Ren felt like he had been chatting with her for a long time, yet he didn't get any usable information now.
"By the way, can you make meat buns?" Nino changed the topic and the question.
"No, I plan to find someone to learn from, or learn by myself." Ren said sincerely.
"In that case, as compensation for my deceit to you, how about I teach you how to make meat buns?" After thinking for a moment, Nino took the initiative to suggest.
Even though her sister asked her to keep this matter a secret, overall, it was still her fault.
She not only told her sister about the email Ren asked to keep secret, but she also deceived him.
Therefore, it was still necessary to give him some compensation.
"Can you make meat buns?"
Ren didn't expect Nino to be able to do it, let alone say she was willing to teach him.
"I'm actually better at making desserts, like cakes, puffs, etc." Nino complained, "But because of Itsuki, I can still make meat buns, a food that clearly doesn't suit me."
"In that case, it's up to you."
Ren asked without hesitation.
It was clearly better for someone to teach him than to learn by himself.
"Then let's go home together."
After saying that, Nino stood up and walked towards the door.
Initially, she planned to go shopping today, but the recent events made her mood for shopping suddenly disappear.
Therefore, it was not impossible for today's plan to be directly turned into a teaching plan for him.
"Is Itsuki at home?"
Taking the unfinished milk tea, Ren immediately followed her.
"Of course, she's at home, she rarely goes out." Nino replied casually.
"...Can I not go to your house?" Ren asked, "I want to keep Itsuki a secret for now."
If he learned how to make meat buns at the Nakano's house, wouldn't that be direct exposure?
"I almost forgot about this."
After what he said, Nino realized this problem.
"Where should we go then?"
After not being able to go home, she couldn't think of a suitable place to go.
She only knew a dessert shop where she and Naoki went where they could make desserts.
But making meat buns at a dessert shop seemed strange.
"How about going to my house?"
Ren said what came to his mind.
"Do you live alone?"
After hesitating for a moment, Nino asked.
"Yes."
"Isn't this a little bad? I'll go home with you, and it's easy for people to misunderstand me.." Nino strongly refused.
If Ren lived alone, if she went to his house, she would be alone in the same room with a man and a woman.
Although their relationship with him was quite good, this kind of easy-to-misunderstand interaction should be avoided if possible.
After thinking about it, Nino specifically added: "I don't mean to oppose you, Kamikawa-san, but I have someone I like, so it's better for us to maintain a certain distance and avoid interacting like this."
Going to his house to teach him how to make meat buns. Her sisters were all at home, so she wouldn't be misunderstood.
She just invited him to drink milk tea to thank him for saving her, so she wouldn't be misunderstood.
But if she went to his house and there were only two people, wouldn't it be too ambiguous to teach him how to make meat buns alone?
"Kominami-senpai will also be at my house."
After thinking carefully, Ren understood Nino's meaning and quickly thought of a solution.
"Why is she at your house?"
If Asumi was also at Ren's house, there would be no problem if she went to his house alone.
"During the summer vacation, I taught her and she's responsible for cooking for me." Ren said.
"I see."
Nino nodded thoughtfully, and when she was about to say something, she suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute, does the fact that she's responsible for cooking for you mean you don't know how to cook?"
"Um."
Ren nodded.
"I somewhat regret agreeing to teach you how to make meat buns."
Originally, she thought Ren could cook but couldn't make meat buns, so she agreed to teach him.
But she never expected him to not be able to cook at all.
This gave her a bad feeling.
"It's okay for you to refuse me now." Ren said indifferently.
"No, I just taught Miku how to cook, so even if you don't know how to cook, it won't be a problem."
With Miku as a reference, Nino had prepared herself mentally beforehand.
"Um."
In response, Ren took out his phone and sent a message to Asumi.
At this point, it was clear that it wasn't time to cook for him yet, but to avoid getting too close to Nino, he just needed to call her first.
For this, he was ready to compensate her.
"You lead the way."
After checking the time and making sure there was still enough time, Nino said so.
"Okay, but I don't have kitchen equipment to make meat buns at home, so I have to go to the department store to buy them." Ren reminded.
"It's okay, it won't take much time."
"In that case, come with me."
·······
As they exited the department store, Ren carried two large bags containing items like flour. Beside him was Nino, who also carried a bag.
"How far is it from your house?" Nino asked quite casually.
"It's close."
As Ren answered, he used his supernatural power to hide dangerous items in his house first.
For example, photos of himself without glasses with Gabriel and others.
If Miharu hadn't seen the photo yesterday, he might have forgotten about the photo and brought Nino back.
"This is the apartment where I live."
Arriving on the ground floor of the apartment, Ren reminded Nino.
"It feels nice."
After casually commenting, Nino followed him to the second floor.
When they reached the corridor, and the door to room 204 suddenly opened. Miharu came out carrying a trash bag, and coincidentally saw Ren and Nino who had just walked upstairs.
"Good afternoon, Miharu." Ren greeted her proactively.
"Hello."
Nino also greeted her.
"Good afternoon."
After Miharu responded, all her attention was focused on Nino who was following Ren.
'What's happening here? Why is there another girl with him?'
'And none of them are in the photo!'