On the other side, Alistair and Kasumi Haruno were walking side-by-side in a small bamboo grove behind the house.
"Kasumi, do you want to go out for a stroll tonight?"
Alistair, walking casually with Kasumi Haruno and brushing past the bamboo stalks, asked. He felt that just spending the afternoon sitting around with her was insufficient. In school, he sat all day long too. Compared to now, only the environment was different. So, Alistair thought it would be nice to go out for a walk together in the evening, depending on Kasumi Haruno's interest.
"That... I have to cook dinner for Ryūto tonight, so I probably can't go out."
Kasumi Haruno thought for a moment, then replied regretfully.
It was impossible for her not to be disappointed with how the afternoon had turned out. Firstly, she had expected a fun little gathering, but it turned into a study session. Furthermore, she felt awkward about leaving early, so she could only lament the wasted time. Despite this, Alistair had stayed with her the whole time and hadn't left early, which was something she hadn't expected.
In school, Alistair would often find any excuse to leave if he wasn't interested in a class. The same was true in conversations: if a topic didn't interest him, he would just say "boring" or "don't know" and walk away. Kasumi Haruno, however, often wanted to leave but felt too awkward to speak up. She actually envied Alistair's free-spirited nature but never had the courage to act on it.
Most importantly, nobody dared to question Alistair's actions. His combat ability was well-known by now, and his previous actions in the classroom had shown people that Alistair truly dared to hit anyone, male or female. Consequently, most people didn't dare to refuse Alistair's joining or leaving, nor did they dare to cold-shoulder him. They were terrified of upsetting him; this guy acted instantly and seemed utterly fearless of consequences. Everyone assumed Alistair had a deep background, perhaps being the young master of some powerful family.
This indirectly raised the status of Kasumi Haruno, recognized as one of his girlfriends. No matter what happened eventually, she was currently in his bed, so people often sought her out for conversation. Even if she said nothing, no one would ostracize her. As for what they said behind her back, of course, they were as vicious as possible. But Kasumi Haruno took it in stride. That kind of back-stabbing happened everywhere; three seemingly unrelated small groups could have ten factions plotting against each other.
To escape these rules, one had to be either extremely powerful or simply ignore the rules. The former made everyone bow down and fear to speak ill, forcing them to curry favor. The latter made one a target for bullying, with everyone eager to step on them, primarily because refusing to do so would lead to isolation. So, some people, even if unwilling, had no choice.
Alistair clearly belonged to the former category, which was why he lived such a carefree life at school.
Getting off track. The bottom line was that Kasumi Haruno still felt very regretful. The time she had managed to secure was passing by so monotonously. Kasumi Haruno also wanted to go out and stroll around with Alistair. Normally, she could skip class, but she had always been the quiet, obedient type, so she was hesitant to try such things, still holding a certain reverence for school rules. Well, that was a good thing in some ways.
Furthermore, Kasumi Haruno figured that Natsuha Shinomiy would soon join Alistair's lineup of girlfriends, meaning the time she could allocate to him would decrease further. (Kasumi Haruno was unaware of Alistair's true situation).
Although she was happy about Alistair's evening invitation, she had to prepare dinner for Ryūto, so Kasumi Haruno reluctantly declined Alistair's offer.
"Dinner for Ryūto? Let him go eat out. He's not short on money, and he's old enough—he's only a year younger than you, right? If he absolutely has to, let him cook for himself. I'm taking you out tonight. What's the point of just staying at home? You can't keep cooking for him forever. Besides, I haven't even tasted your cooking."
Alistair directly turned Kasumi Haruno's face and cupped her cheeks in his hands.
"That... wouldn't be very nice..."
Kasumi Haruno looked into Alistair's eyes, her gaze somewhat evasive.
"There's nothing wrong with it. Ryūto has to live independently sooner or later. Plus, he's old enough. He's in the third year of junior high, right? That means he's only one year younger than us. Does he still need you to take care of him? It's time for him to learn to take care of himself."
Alistair vaguely recalled that Ryūto Haruno and Eita Yamano weren't in the same class, but they were likely the same grade. Eita Yamano would be taking high school entrance exams next year, and so would Ryūto Haruno. That meant Ryūto Haruno was in the third year of junior high, just one year younger. He shouldn't need constant attention; it was time to let him fend for himself.
"But my parents asked me to take good care of him..."
Kasumi Haruno hesitated. Alistair's words were reasonable, but her parents had asked her to look after Ryūto Haruno, and letting him fend for himself felt like neglecting her duty.
"Just tell them you're training him. You know, helping him learn to take care of himself is also a form of care."
Alistair chuckled. Ryūto Haruno would surely be flustered for a while, but Alistair guessed that a sensible person like Ryūto Haruno would probably handle everything except cooking himself. Alistair wasn't worried about Ryūto Haruno's well-being; he could always buy a pre-made meal from the convenience store.
"Then... I'll talk to Ryūto about it later."
Kasumi Haruno paused, then agreed to Alistair's plan.
"Good. Tonight, I'm taking you to a very nice dessert shop. I hear their signature cake is very popular."
Alistair rubbed Kasumi Haruno's cheeks. The soft, tender texture made Alistair rub them a little longer, prompting Kasumi Haruno to pout unhappily. She also reached out and tried to pinch Alistair's face. Finding that Alistair didn't mind, she let go of her restraint and they mutually "mauled" each other's cheeks.
However, Kasumi Haruno was no match for Alistair. After a brief period of mutual "harm," Kasumi Haruno was the first to beg for mercy. When Alistair finally let go, both sides of Kasumi Haruno's face were bright red, while Alistair's face looked perfectly normal.
"Alright, alright, I'll help you cool down."
Alistair poked Kasumi Haruno's slightly puffed-up cheek and said with a grin.
With that, Alistair cupped Kasumi Haruno's reddened, beautiful face in his hands and released the Horse Talisman's healing power. Although the redness caused by the rubbing faded, Kasumi Haruno's face still held a slight pink flush. Her adorable appearance made Alistair unable to resist lowering his head and seizing her lips.