(I won’t open a new hole until I’ve filled two holes.)

Putting aside the figure they had glimpsed before, Shota and Ayase continued walking towards the station.

Along the way, the two talked about some nutritious or non-nutritious household things, from Kirino's performance after returning to school, to the coffee in Shota's shop, and some things about the classroom when Shota was teaching in the school.

"Kirino's black friend is also an interesting person."

Originally, Ayase didn't have a very good impression of the black cat, but when she heard Shouta talk about how she had changed in school, Ayase couldn't help but chuckled and replied: "I didn't expect that she was actually a proud cat."

…”

"Proud?"

"Yeah, she's just tsundere."

Ayase nodded and said it using the ACG she learned from Kirino.

"That's true, even Kanako. It seems that the friends around Kirino are all the same."

Shota couldn't help but lamented that most of the girls nowadays are different from the inside out. Even Kanako, a guy who was thought to be a bad person from head to toe, could actually be brave when his friends were threatened.

stand out.

At least from this perspective, that guy is not a bad person.

Maybe, if she grows taller and loses that deceptive loli figure, she may really become a new urban bad legend.

"Am I also a tsundere in Shota's eyes?"

Ayase's light and fluttering voice reached Shota's ears, causing Shota to shiver a little as his thoughts flew to nowhere.

No, there is actually a little devil living inside of you who strictly follows the rules.

Thinking of his younger brother's fear when he occasionally met Ayase at the crossroads near his home, Shota laughed twice and said, "No, no. Ayase is still very frank."

Well, even when he is dissatisfied, he perfectly expresses his anger with deep and empty eyes.

Anyone with eyesight can see that something is wrong, which can be called candor.

However, Shota doesn't really hate this aspect of Ayase. At least she has a routine to follow, and if she doesn't violate some taboo things in her heart, she looks like a lively version of Yamato Nadeshiko.

Moreover, Ayase is also a very good chat partner for Shota. Whether it is about Kirino, about the store, about Kotonoha, or even about the Black Cat group, she has varying degrees of understanding.

, so no matter what Shota talked about with her, she could always pick up the topic.

At least it is impossible for Shouta to talk to Kotonoha about things in ACG, and it is impossible for Kirino to listen to him talking about Kotoha's things.

To Shota, Ayase is somewhat like a real friend who talks about everything, or a confidant - if this term is too ambiguous, then he should be regarded as a good buddy.

No, no, Ayase still doesn't have any masculine characteristics. If I insist on saying so, it would be better to describe her as a best friend.

...I am not a woman either.

Just when Shota raised his head from the completely meaningless worries, he found that Ayase walking beside him suddenly became silent. He didn't know whether his words hurt or offended her, so Shota had to say: "I'm sorry.

."

"ah?"

After hearing Shota's words, Ayase looked at him strangely and said, "Why do you need to apologize?"

"Eh? I thought you were angry because of what I just said."

"How can it be."

Ayase quickly waved her hands, showed a smile to indicate that she was fine, and then explained: "I just suddenly thought of something."

"Can you tell me? If possible, I might be able to share the burden."

"Um……"

After a while, Ayase finally expressed her troubles.

Sure enough, her troubles are bound to be related to the people of the Kosaka family.

What I can tell Shota is related to Kirino.

"Although I am very happy that Kirino is back from the United States, I always feel that something is not right with Kirino at school this week." Ayase's expression was very sad and said: "As I said before, Kirino is at school.

She would often be in a daze, not just in class, but even when she was with me. When chatting, she would mutter something completely irrelevant to the topic. Once I wanted to ask her, she would look past the question with her eyes wandering.

. She seems unwilling to talk to me about topics. In the past, including after I discovered her interest, she would not be like this. Even if it is something that I am not interested in, she will be happy to talk to me, although I don’t really like to hear it...

…”

"But now, she doesn't even want to talk to me."

"Am I a little disgusted by her? No, I should be thinking too much..."

"think too much."

Shota shrugged and said, "She can't possibly hate you. This is something everyone knows. You should know better than me."

"But... I still feel very depressed."

Ayase felt very embarrassed and helpless when she was forced to publicize those things, but now that Kirino has come back and kept silent about it, Ayase felt like she was being put on the PLAY.

"Perhaps, she has been a little busy recently. After all, she just returned to Japan and she has many things to deal with..."

Wait, speaking of busy, Kirino should be busy playing H-GAME all day now, right? In order to clear the long-backlogged games, she has been playing games there day and night recently. Even eating with her family

When she was playing, she would occasionally say something like "Ah, we should start from the save point B4", which made Daisuke's father a little angry.

It seems to be because she has not even reached a HE relationship in the past week with the one she wants to play the most, "It's okay even if it's a brother, as long as there is love". It is said that it is extremely difficult to judge, even for a true strategy expert, no

It is difficult to enter the real HE after passing BE several times.

This guy, isn't it because he is so obsessed with playing H-GAME that his friends have ignored him?

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Shota hesitate to speak, Ayase seemed to realize that he seemed to have understood the truth.

"I probably know what's going on."

Shota originally wanted to go back and talk to Kirino, but when he thought of how she was about to cry because she couldn't play HGAME in the United States, he couldn't sternly warn Kirino not to play these games for the time being and spend time with your friends.

class topics.

"Well, Ayase, let's talk first. What I'm going to say next will be about some things you don't like very much, so don't be angry. Just listen to what I have to say before we talk about it."

Afraid that Ayase would go berserk after hearing this, Shota had no choice but to get vaccinated first.

"I see."

""It's okay even if it's a brother, as long as there is love"..."

Before Shota finished speaking, Ayase's expression changed. If the black cat's words were used, it would be something like "What a strong aura of darkness". Fortunately, Shota was prepared in advance and raised a finger on her.

He shook his head in front of his face to calm down, and then continued.

"Kirino has been playing this game recently. Because it's very difficult, she hasn't finished it, so she keeps thinking about the game. It's the same at home. The only time she came to see me recently was because her computer was broken... Well,

You also know that she couldn't play those games in the United States, so as soon as she returned to Japan, she couldn't wait to play them day and night. It's probably because of this reason that she hasn't talked to you recently."

"That's right."

After listening to Shota's explanation, Ayase accepted this reality and then asked: "How long will it take Kirino to finish playing these games?"

"As little as two weeks, as much as two months."

"...Could it be that only after she plays those games will she return to her original appearance?"

"Maybe."

Shota was a little helpless about this kind of thing. After all, even he couldn't change Kirino's temperament.

"Is there no other way?"

"You play games with her? That's impossible, right? Or you just have to find a way to make her happy. However, the only things that can make her happy now are those games. Unless you can say a few lines in the game to her, maybe

She will snap out of her sluggish state."

Shota shrugged and made a joke.

The joke turned out to be serious.

"I said!"

Ayase looked at Shota seriously and said, "Please teach me how to say those lines."

"...You're not serious, Ayase?!"

“Super serious!”

Ayase nodded and said: "After Kirino comes back, I have to endure the fact that I can only look at her but not be able to chat happily with her. I really can't do it..."

"But, I don't dare to play that kind of game by myself, so Shota, please play that "Even if I'm an Brother" game with me!"

"..."

Shota once again realized that jokes should not be made randomly.

At almost ten o'clock in the evening, Shota, who had returned from a circle in the sky, finally returned home. As always, it was completely dark when he returned home.
To be continued...