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Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.
Outside, the midday sun hung directly overhead, scorching the earth mercilessly as the temperature soared to a sweltering 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35°C).
Inside the comfortably air-conditioned apartment, Bokue was still holding Nagisa close as they relaxed on the sofa.
They were seated intimately facing each other—Bokue leaning comfortably against the couch with one arm wrapped around Nagisa's slender waist.
His other hand held a smartphone to his ear, screen reflecting faintly. Through the reflection, Nagisa could be seen taking gentle, careful sips from a glass of water, rehydrating herself after their recent exertions.
Taking advantage of Nagisa's short break to refresh herself, Bokue had decided to give Asagi a quick call.
After all, it seemed unlikely he'd have much free time tonight.
The phone was answered quickly, Asagi's familiar cheerful voice mingling surprise with delight:
"Oh? Bokue? I didn't expect you to call at this time—what's up?"
"It's nothing major. I just wanted to tell you that tonight I'll probably—"
Before he could finish, Bokue stopped abruptly, hearing a loud slurping sound from the other end of the phone. His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"…Are you eating something right now?"
"Yeah, noodles~"
Asagi answered casually, followed by another loud slurp.
Bokue was puzzled. "You're having noodles for lunch?"
"Lunch? No, silly. It's breakfast."
Asagi corrected him nonchalantly.
Oh, of course. Staying up late again…
Glancing at the wall clock, Bokue realized it was already 11:30 AM.
"Stayed up all night again, didn't you?"
"Hey, don't blame me. It's summer vacation! I have nothing to do at Keystone Gate right now, so why wouldn't I stay up?"
Her response was confidently carefree, but then her voice softened mischievously.
"Though, if you came over more often at night, I might actually get to bed earlier~."
Bokue sighed internally.
"I'd probably end up knocked unconscious first."
"No way, my dad wouldn't do anything crazy like that."
Asagi clearly underestimated the lengths to which a protective father could go for his daughter.
"Anyway, back to what you were saying earlier—what's happening tonight?"
"Oh, right…" Bokue snapped back to the original topic. "I was just saying I probably won't make it tonight."
Asagi's tone rose noticeably.
"You're not coming tonight? Why?"
"Don't you remember the news we saw during dinner a few days ago? The Warlord's Empire delegation arriving on Itogami Island?"
"Oh yeah, right… Now that you mention it, some classmates posted pictures of that gigantic luxury cruise ship docked at the harbor this morning."
Asagi paused thoughtfully.
"Well… when do you think you'll be back? If it's not too late, maybe…"
Clearly, she was still hoping he might drop by later tonight.
Bokue mentally estimated. "If everything goes smoothly, maybe around 9:30 or 10 PM."
"That late, huh…"
Asagi's voice noticeably dipped in enthusiasm.
She had expected this. European-style banquets were notoriously drawn-out affairs, politely labeled as "gracefully paced" by those with higher emotional intelligence.
However, before she could say anything else, Bokue added casually:
"Of course, if things go sideways, it'll be much quicker. Probably two minutes at most."
"…"
The "two minutes" he mentioned was surely him swiftly and violently neutralizing the guests, wasn't it?
She silently retorted in her mind.
Unbeknownst to her, as their conversation unfolded, Nagisa—having just emptied her water glass—placed it aside and mischievously leaned closer. Playfully, she began to trail her tongue teasingly across Bokue's chest, clearly hinting she wanted his undivided attention back.
Feeling her soft teasing, Bokue decided it was time to wrap up the call.
"Anyway, that's the deal. If things end early enough, I'll drop by."
"Mhm! I'll look forward to it then."
Even though she knew it was probably a long shot tonight, Asagi still felt a spark of hope. And with that, the call ended.
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Turning his attention fully back to Nagisa—who had resumed passionately coaxing open the gates to the palace of youth—Bokue gently adjusted her waist, looking down with mild amusement.
"By the way, Nagisa, it's already past eleven-thirty. When exactly are you planning to have lunch? Aren't you hungry yet?"
"Mm, not really…" Nagisa murmured sweetly, "Right now… I still feel full… and warm inside…"
Her words trailed off, periodically punctuated by breathy little gasps that matched her rhythmic movements.
"You can't just survive on this, you know…"
Of course Bokue understood exactly what she meant by "feeling full." He gave her head a gentle pat.
"Besides, even if you're fine, Yukina hasn't eaten yet. If we delay any longer, she's probably going to come over here knocking."
"Yukina-chan, huh…"
Nagisa's eyes flickered thoughtfully.
Having lived in this apartment for years, she knew exactly how thin these walls were.
Given how passionately they'd been spending their time these past few days—and how loudly she'd made sure to express herself—there was absolutely no way Yukina hadn't heard every single detail.
If Yukina wanted to remind them about lunch, she would have come knocking half an hour ago. Yet, it was now 11:30, and Yukina was still conspicuously absent.
Honestly, Big Bro could be surprisingly dense about these things…
Then suddenly, Nagisa's eyes brightened mischievously as a fantastic idea took shape in her mind.
"Actually, I just had an amazing idea!"
"Hmm?"
Nagisa leaned in closer, eyes sparkling wickedly.
"Since Yukina-chan hasn't eaten either, why not invite her over to fill her stomach too?"
"Wait… what?"
Her suggestion was so bold, Bokue actually took a full second to process what she was suggesting.
"Nagisa, you don't mean—"
"Relax! It'll be fine~"
Before Bokue could voice any objections, Nagisa already snatched up his phone from the sofa and swiftly dialed Yukina's number, waiting only a few seconds before Yukina answered.
"Hello? Yukina-chan? Can you hear me? It's Nagisa! I'm calling from Big Bro's phone."
She spoke in her usual bubbly, innocent voice, as if this were perfectly normal.
"Have you eaten lunch yet? Oh, you haven't? Perfect! Why don't you come join us? Big Bro and I made lots of delicious food. Yeah, just come over directly—you don't need to bring anything… Hurry up~ We're waiting just for you!"
Hanging up without waiting for a response, Nagisa tossed the phone aside and looped her arms comfortably around Bokue's neck, smiling up at him mischievously.
"Let's move to the bedroom now. When Yukina-chan gets here, we'll be ready to start eating together~"
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