Mahiru put Mochi back on top of her head. She openly and naturally took hold of Ren's hand.
The sunset symbolized the end of a day and the end of a period of time. But today, Mahiru gave it a new meaning.
The act of being a good child just to make people like her was over. Now she could freely be a bad child.
A bad child... who only needed to be a good girl in front of Ren.
"Oh? Ren, Mahiru-chan."
Yui Yuigahama was holding a leash and walking her dog, Sabure. She called out in surprise when she saw Ren and Mahiru walking toward her.
Yui walked toward the two of them. But the brown dachshund named Sabure smelled the scent on Ren. The dog tried to run in the opposite direction.
Yui had experience with the leash falling off before. Sabure had almost been hit by a car back then.
Now, Yui held the leash tightly at all times. She even wrapped it around her hand a few times to keep Sabure from running away.
"Sabure!"
Yui felt the pull on the leash and stopped him in time.
Sabure knew he could not fight it. He followed Yui unhappily. His eyes were full of suspicion toward Ren.
The scent on this human felt very wrong to the dog.
"Mahiru-chan, is Ren the fiancé you mentioned?"
Yui saw them holding hands. She quickly thought about what Mahiru had said about having a fiancé.
At that time, she was curious about who Mahiru's fiancé was and what he looked like. She did not expect him to be so close to her all this time.
"Yes, Yui. Ren is my fiancé."
After Mahiru saw Yui, she took Mochi off her head. She held the cat in her arms.
In front of Ren, Mahiru could act cute and not care about anything else.
But when facing her friends, Mahiru still cared about her face.
"Ren, you never told me you had a fiancée."
After Mahiru confirmed it, Yui turned to look at Ren.
Such big news was right next to her. But she knew nothing about it.
It was too annoying.
"Yui did not ask me. I cannot just brag that I have a fiancée to everyone for no reason."
Katsuragi looked away from Sabure. The dog had been hiding from him since the start.
"That is true... Your cat is so cute! Can I hold it?"
Yui did not worry about it for too long. She soon looked at Mochi in Mahiru's arms.
Yui was definitely a dog person. But that did not stop her from liking cats.
Ragdoll cats are called princess cats. They are very popular because they are cute. A purebred like Mochi was even more so.
As long as it was not time to eat, Mochi really acted like a little princess.
"Mochi, what do you think?"
Mahiru looked at the cat in her arms.
Meow?
Mochi just tilted her head when Mahiru asked.
The cat did not understand. She only knew how to meow.
"I understand."
Mahiru did not understand cat language either. She acted like Mochi agreed and handed her to Yui.
"Is her name Mochi? Thank you, Mahiru-chan."
Yui took Mochi naturally. She held the cat in her arms and started to enjoy her company.
Sabure had a personality like Yui. He also looked up with curiosity at Mochi.
Katsuragi played with Candy on his shoulder with his finger. He was not upset that Mahiru gave Mochi to Yui.
This showed that Mahiru saw Ren as home. The two of them were one.
Mahiru did not need to ask Ren for an answer for everything. She could also make decisions for their home.
Mahiru began to show her real nature.
"Katsuragi-kun? Yuigahama-san, Shiina-san."
Megumi Katō was going to the convenience store for snacks. She also saw Ren and came to say hello.
"Megumi? What a coincidence."
Ren stopped what he was doing and greeted Megumi.
He did not think the three girls would meet at the same time today.
"Hello, classmate. I am Mahiru, Ren's fiancée. Thank you for your help today."
Mahiru heard Ren greeting a girl. She saw it was the same girl who told her where Ren went today. She reached out her hand to introduce herself.
Mahiru did not know Megumi's name, so she called her classmate first.
Mahiru felt a bit of suspicion toward this girl.
A girl paying attention to where a boy went was not normal.
Especially since Ren was her fiancé!
"Hello, Shiina-san. You are welcome. I am Megumi Katō. You can call me Megumi."
Megumi took Mahiru's hand. She spoke with a flat face and a calm voice.
Fiancée? Is she claiming her territory?
Megumi knew Mahiru was Ren's girlfriend. But she did not know they were already at the fiancé level.
The difficulty seemed to be higher now.
"Megumi-chan, what a coincidence."
Megumi had been in stealth mode until Ren found her. Now Yui noticed her too.
"Yes, Yuigahama-san. It is a coincidence."
Megumi answered Yui in a calm way.
Megumi did not have much of a presence. But she knew the personalities of most people in class.
This made it easier to talk to others and not disappear completely.
"Mahiru, Megumi is my friend from class. Her emotions do not change much, so she might sound a bit... cold?"
"Please do not mind it."
"Megumi, this is Mahiru, my fiancée."
Ren stepped into the conversation. He first explained Megumi's tone. Then he told Megumi about his relationship with Mahiru.
Ren did like Megumi a little.
But he would not hide his relationship with Mahiru for that. That would be bad for everyone.
Even if Mahiru did not say anything, he had to give her a full sense of security.
He had just helped Mahiru. He did not want to make her sad by flirting with other girls.
"I understand. Katō-san, can I call you Megumi-chan too?"
Mahiru nodded and spoke to Megumi sincerely.
"You can."
Megumi still had a very calm face.
While the two girls talked, Yui pulled Sabure over to Ren. She looked at Candy on Ren's shoulder with bright eyes.
"Ren... can I..."
Yui still wanted to pet a cat. She was a bit shy and scratched her head. She wanted to pet Candy too.
Mahiru and Megumi were talking and trying to learn about each other. They heard Yui's shy voice.
They both turned and looked at Yui at the same time.