Dinner ended in an atmosphere that was harmonious on the surface but roiling with undercurrents.
Taki proactively stood up, skillfully gathering the dishes: "Brother Kanzaki, Sagiri, dinner was delicious. Let me handle the dishes!"
Sagiri, seeing this, quickly helped out: "I'll help! Taki, you're a guest, how could we let you do all the work?"
And Kanzaki Saku didn't stop them, just smiling gently: "Then I'll leave it to you two."
He watched the two girls' backs as they carried the tableware into the kitchen, then turned and walked to the bathroom to prepare their bathwater.
He adjusted the water temperature and added soothing bath salts to the tub. The steaming vapor gradually filled the air, carrying the faint, elegant scent of lavender.
When Taki and Sagiri finished cleaning the kitchen and came out, Kanzaki Saku happened to be coming out of the bathroom, drying his hands with a dry towel, and spoke in a natural tone.
"The hot water is ready. I added some bath salts. You're both tired today, so have a good soak and relax."
Sagiri cheered: "Brother is the best!" With that, she was about to pull Taki in with her.
Taki, however, now read a different meaning into Kanzaki Saku's actions.
Just now, Kanzaki Saku had given her a proactive hint. Now, his eagerness to prepare the hot water could very well be another hint.
Coupled with the teleportation ability Kanzaki Saku had demonstrated not long ago, Taki immediately thought of a possibility.
Could this be Kanzaki Saku hinting for her to go bathe alone, after which he would teleport in to continue their unfinished battle?
After all, Taki believed that although it wasn't for long, her technique had definitely left a deep impression on Kanzaki Saku. The amount of bean milk was the best proof.
She estimated that Kanzaki Saku was already showing signs of becoming unable to live without her.
"W-wait a minute, Sagiri!" Taki hurriedly spoke, two blushes flying onto her cheeks. This time, it wasn't an act; she was flustered.
"I'm a little unused to bathing with others, I'd like to soak slowly by myself..." As she spoke, she made flirtatious eye signals at Kanzaki Saku.
She was probably saying: "You get it, right? Use that unique ability of yours, teleport in, and let's continue!"
Kanzaki Saku received her gaze and quickly understood Taki's meaning, so he made a gesture of tying the towel in his hand into a knot.
'He understands!!! That must be the signal! It means he agrees! He'll come in using some miraculous method!'
Taki noticed Kanzaki Saku's unusual action. After all, a normal person wouldn't tie a towel into a knot after drying their hands. This had to be a tacit signal between them.
"Oh, I see," Sagiri said. Although she was a little disappointed, she understood. "Then you go first, Taki. I'll go after you're done."
"Mhm! Thanks, Sagiri!" Taki eagerly ran into the bathroom, not even preparing a change of clothes or a towel.
Kanzaki Saku looked down at the knotted towel in his hand and casually draped it on a nearby rack.
"Honestly, Taki, so hasty, she even forgot to grab her pajamas and a towel." Sagiri looked at the closed bathroom door and pouted helplessly.
Hearing this, Kanzaki Saku said to Sagiri: "Sagiri, go get my spare pajamas and a clean towel for Taki. We can't let her come out of the bath with nothing to wear."
"Fine! She's lucky!" Sagiri complained under her breath. If it weren't for the fact that her pajamas were the wrong size and she absolutely couldn't let her good friend come out naked,
she would never have lent her brother's pajamas to her, even if they were brand new and Kanzaki Saku had never worn them.
Inside the bathroom, Taki quickly stripped off her clothes, stepped barefoot into the warm water, and let the hot water envelop her entire body.
She quickly and meticulously washed her body, paying extra attention to every inch of skin. After all, these places might become battlefields later.
She had to leave a good impression on Kanzaki Saku to make him fall for her.
After a quick wash, Taki began the long wait. After waiting for a long time, all she got was Sagiri delivering pajamas and a towel.
'When will he come in? Where will he come from? Through the wall? Or will he just appear out of thin air like before?' Taki began to use her imagination to pass the time.
However, as time ticked by, Taki's initial excitement and anticipation gradually turned into anxiety.
She soaked in the water, her body turning red from the heat, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
'Why isn't he here yet? Is he waiting for Sagiri to leave the living room? Or does he have some other plan?'
She waited patiently. To avoid looking too deliberate, she pretended to enjoy herself by closing her eyes, but all her senses were on high alert, ready for the expected 'intrusion' at any moment.
'What the hell is going on outside? Did aliens invade?' Taki's skin began to wrinkle from soaking for too long, and her mind, a bit fuzzy from the prolonged anticipation and humid heat, started to wander.
In the living room, the scene couldn't be said to be exactly as Taki imagined; in fact, it was completely unrelated.
Kanzaki Saku was leaning comfortably on the sofa. Sagiri was nestled beside him, her head resting on his shoulder, holding a tablet and enthusiastically looking through an album of old photos of her and Kanzaki Saku.
Kanzaki Saku had, of course, understood Taki's very obvious hint, but he felt that he had given Taki enough of a treat for today, so he didn't plan to satisfy her.
Perhaps in Taki's self-perception, she was the homewrecker making strategic moves, but in reality, the rhythm was completely in the hands of Kanzaki Saku, the "female lead."
Tying the towel into a knot in front of Taki was just to tease her.
From the intense first trial in the bathroom, to the hope of a successful sleepover, and now to the fruitless anticipation in the bathroom.
This rhythm of drawing out the battle line, sometimes giving, sometimes holding back, was the best way to manipulate her emotions and make her sink deeper in her craving.
This move by Kanzaki Saku was none other than the "female lead" turning the tables and teasing the homewrecker.
Feeding the homewrecker too much at once would, on the contrary, make them lose the motivation to chase their prey, and he himself would lose out on more fun.
Kanzaki Saku, who was very clear about his "female lead" role in this doujinshi, could be said to have worried himself sick for those homewreckers who wanted to force themselves on him.
Sagiri, beside Kanzaki Saku, was completely oblivious to all this.
Inside the bathroom, Taki felt like she was about to pass out from soaking in the hot water.
'That gesture, was it really just a coincidence? He never intended to come in? I've been here like an idiot, carefully preparing and waiting for so long?'
"Kanzaki Saku, you bastard!" An anonymous fire surged in her heart, but despite her anger, Taki became even more interested in Kanzaki Saku.
After all, the harder something is to get, the more delicious it tastes.
'It seems I've been too gentle, letting him disrespect me like this. I must make Kanzaki Saku brutally experience my greatness.'
____
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