Chapter 114: The Anticipated Love Triangle Drama Did Not Occur
"Right, it seems she also knows Aragaki Takiya..."
The Blonde Girl pursed her lips. She suddenly recalled that she seemed to have run into her the last time she went to Aragaki Takiya's house, though that time the girl seemed to be delivering a cake to thank him for something.
Eriri couldn't quite remember the specific incident, but she didn't care about that detail anyway, as it had nothing to do with her.
As they drew closer, Aragaki Takiya also noticed the two girls—and yes, Classmate Hikigaya too. However, Classmate Hikigaya naively thought they were coming over to use the ping pong table, but... "Huh? There seems to be an empty ping pong table right next to us..."
Classmate Hikigaya subtly scanned the empty ping pong table nearby. He was starting to doubt the purpose of their visit.
"Shiina, and Eriri, why did you two come over?"
Just as Classmate Hikigaya was still deep in thought, Aragaki Takiya's proactive greeting shattered his illusions.
Alright, so after all that, it turns out his good friend knew them. That seems to explain it... Wait, no it doesn't! Why would his good friend, who was supposed to be a'shut-in' just like him, know such beautiful girls from school? Hikigaya was waiting online for an answer; it was urgent.
"Um, I just came over to watch..."
Eriri explained hesitantly.
There was nothing she could do. Originally, she intended to state her reason directly, but coincidentally, Shiina Mahiru was right beside her. Although she knew Mahiru wasn't 'that kind of person,' still... Fine, Miss Eriri hesitated again on such a crucial matter, and in response to Aragaki Takiya's question, she could only say she came to watch.
However, compared to Eriri's hesitation, Shiina Mahiru's answer was concise and clear.
"It's a bit too hot over there, so I wanted to play ping pong with you guys here."
Compared to Eriri's reply, although Shiina Mahiru also used a small excuse, her explanation was undoubtedly more acceptable.
"I see. Then let's play together."
Looking at Shiina Mahiru standing not far away, Aragaki Takiya said nothing more, simply agreeing to her request.
After all, he hadn't forgotten that Shiina Kaede also claimed to be his daughter. Although he didn't know what exactly had happened in the interim, the current priority was to stabilize this situation and ensure that neither of the Little ones disappeared.
With Shiina Mahiru joining them, the foursome began the main activity of today's physical education class. Self-introductions followed, but Shiina Mahiru's talent for ping pong was truly remarkable; even though Aragaki Takiya and Hachiman Hikigaya had practiced before, they were no match for her.
Shiina Mahiru quickly completed a new round of'shuffling' the ping pong table. Yes, the three people, including Aragaki Takiya, couldn't even defeat her in a continuous rotation match.
One could only say that she was too versatile.
"Eriri, why don't you come and try?"
Seeing Eriri standing quietly watching nearby, Aragaki Takiya suggested.
"Huh? I think I'll pass. I'm not really interested in this..."
The Blonde Girl hesitated, but still declined the invitation.
How to put it? Eriri was actually quite interested in ping pong. After all, this sport didn't require running around like basketball or soccer, nor did it require the robust physical stamina needed for volleyball. Ping pong required reaction speed and skill, and even if one wasn't outstanding in those areas, they could still play. However... looking at Shiina Mahiru, who had already claimed the 'championship' on the side, she abandoned the idea.
Although she knew the other girl was superior to her in some respects, being publicly defeated was too embarrassing, and she didn't want that.
"Well, there's nothing we can do. Shiina is just too well-rounded."
Aragaki Takiya smiled and put down his paddle.
After more than ten minutes of competition, he had determined his skill level in ping pong relative to Shiina Mahiru. Although he felt they were similar, he was definitely not her match.
"Not at all. I just had specialized training before..."
Shiina Mahiru put down her ping pong paddle. Although there was a little sweat on her forehead, she was quite happy.
"I really didn't expect the 'Angel' they talk about to be such an easygoing girl..."
Looking at the smiling Shiina Mahiru beside him, Hachiman Hikigaya formed his first impression of the girl before him: surprisingly easy to get along with.
This feeling of being easy to get along with wasn't like the forced friendliness of finding common topics that Riajuu groups in class exhibited; it felt much more natural than that.
As for Kato Megumi, who was standing nearby, she had already learned about Shiina Mahiru beforehand. Because of her encounter with Shiina Kaede at the restaurant last time, she had used her secret intelligence network to gather information after returning home.
The result was that the other girl seemed superior to her in terms of personality, appearance, and other aspects—which could be considered quite unfortunate news.
But, how should she put it? For now, this unfortunate news didn't seem so bad, because Kato Megumi couldn't detect any sign of affection for the girl in Aragaki Takiya's eyes; it appeared to be a purely platonic friendship.
However, for Shiina Mahiru, things were not so simple.
She was different from everyone else present because she clearly knew that she had a daughter who had returned from the future, and the father of that daughter was the boy standing before her.
Throughout the process of getting to know him, Shiina Mahiru had gained a preliminary understanding of her future "husband."
His family background was undoubtedly much more unfortunate than hers, but he was a good person, gentle in nature, and possessed a level of meticulousness and thoughtfulness that others lacked.
Although she was initially averse to things that were arranged, that aversion had completely disappeared during their long period of interaction, and she had decided to get to know him again purely as Shiina Mahiru.
However, she realized that this decision might have come a little late.
Although Eriri nearby showed absolutely no interest in that regard, the short-haired girl named Kato Megumi was a different story.
Even if she didn't overtly show loving glances, the way her eyes occasionally fell upon Aragaki Takiya clearly indicated her feelings.
The feelings she held for him definitely surpassed simple friendship.
Falling behind others in this regard was a very bad sign for Shiina Mahiru, especially since Shiina Kaede was involved. She absolutely could not allow herself to lag behind the competition in this area.
But just as she was having these thoughts, Eriri nearby had successfully completed her mission.
Yes, she had sent Aragaki Takiya a text message inviting him and Aragaki Moeha to visit her home over the weekend.
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