As Lilly and I made our way downstairs, Mom was already preparing breakfast, and Dad was in front of the TV, as usual, reading the morning newspaper.

““…””

The two of them stared at us in silence. Mom became flustered and awkwardly giggled. Dad was calm per usual, sipping his coffee while he waited for breakfast.

He briefly glanced at Lilly and then at me. He made a “Haa~” sound while smugly smirking.

““…..””

Lilly was a little awkward and held onto my sleeve. Her face was red, and her gaze was on the floor. Though, occasionally, she’d glance at me—but would generally avert her eyes from my parents.

“Go-Good morning…” Lilly said.

It seemed like she mustered up her courage to greet Mom and Dad, as I thought… she was cute despite feeling super awkward about everything that’s happened, aka, staying at a classmate-then-boyfriend’s place.  

“Tch… lucky bastard,” No.3 complained.

“Tch, Lucky bastard,” No.1 literally imitated.

“Tch… you’re not very original, No.1,” No.2 commented.

Literally… what’s wrong with my inner monologue today…?

“Good morning, Lilly,” Dad replied with a soft smile.

“…good morning, Lilly, Luke,” Mom said, looking a little conflicted. “…y-you slept well...?” she awkwardly asked.

“/////!?”

Lilly’s face turned even more tomato than before, and it looked like her eyes were spinning as well…

‘Cute…’ I uttered in a low tone.

Of course, it had slipped my mind and just came out, luckily. Mom and Dad didn’t hear me, but Lilly was smiling uncontrollably as she fidgeted.

“U-Um, Ma’am, I-I slept well!” Lilly replied.

“Hmm, you two slept well?” Dad suddenly remarked.

*Poof*

A remark which made me light-headed.

Lilly didn’t seem to understand what Dad meant and seemed worried that I suddenly become ill.

“Luke!? What happened? Are you not feeling well!?” Lilly frantically asked.

“Um… no, it’s nothing,” I replied.

I glared at Dad, and he just chucked. And Mom was just listless after his comment, staring into empty space, looking like a 2-dimensional cardboard cut out.

After a little while, just a few seconds, which felt like an eternity, Lilly seemed to have realised what Dad meant. She sort of became a red statue.

And as she was about to tip over, I grabbed her by the shoulder—to be honest, it was a reflex of sorts, but…

Aaaaahhhh!!!

I can see it, see it! The sexy underwear from this morning! But up close!

“““Tch… degen.”””

Hey! Who complained about originality!? No.2? Hell, you’re all in sync!

Mom and Dad were suspiciously staring at us. Dad heaved a sigh and said, “Why are you two just standing there? Come and take a seat. Also, Luke, you forgot to say ‘good morning’.”

“So-Sorry…” Lilly suddenly apologised.

“It was a joke,” Dad said.

He looked at me and didn’t say anything.

*Sigh*

“…ah, yeah, good morning Father Dearest,” I replied.

 “…..”

Dad had a scornful look on his face but didn’t say anything. Ohh… see, you can be expressive!  

“No fair! What about Mommy!?” Mom rebuked while puffing her cheeks.

“Oh, mornin’, Mom.”

“…ahahaha… Luke doesn’t need Mommy anymore. Ahaha… he’s grown and has a g-g-girlfriend now…! AHHHHHHH! Papaaaa, Luke is, Luke is growing uuuup!”

“Well, I’d be troubled if he regressed…” Dad calmly replied, sipping his coffee again.

“Bu-Buuut!” Mom replied with teary eyes.

…despite her frantic state, she cooks really well, tossing the eggs and making sandwiches….

“Pff, ehehe~, Luke, your parents are so lively,” the adorably unpetrified Lilly said.  

“Haha, you think so?” I replied.

—I think you were livelier this morning, though…

“Mm-hmm!” Lilly nodded and smiled.

— :::: —

After breakfast, we changed into our uniforms. But for whatever reason, Lilly looks a little different.

…was she always this cute in our uniforms?  

The shirt was white with some frills and rose-red embroidery, and the skirt was mat black with thigh highs or stockings accompanying them. The set also includes a mat black jacket with orange-gold buttons. Then again, every button on the uniform is like that….

Overall, it’s a pretty minimalistic uniform, but the quality of the fabric is like… insanely comfortable. You get one set for free when entering and advancing grades, but students can also buy them with a discount based on their grades.

Of course, my uniform is a little different and lacks the frills on the shirt, though the embroidery is still there. But it’s basically the same thing, but with pants.

What’d ya expect? Me in a skirt?

Aaand, our school was one of the few schools in the city with uniforms.

I guess the school wanted to show off its students?

After all, it’s a high-level school and is rather difficult to get into. Mind you, I worked hard to get in! Like, really hard!

“L-Luke… if you stare so much, I-I’d be embarrassed!” Lilly sheepishly said.

“…my bad, you just looked so cute. I couldn’t help but stare,” I frankly replied.

It’s just my honest thoughts, and I need to keep my composure so that people don’t think I’m strange.

“Well, that’s not too difficult since you don’t have much of an expression anyways,” No.1 commented.

“Umm, are you sure?” No.2 asked.

“No.2, what’d ya mean?” No.1 asked.

“Yeah, what’d ya mean?” No.3 recited No.1’s exact words.

“…what do you mean…?” I queried.  

“Well,” No.2 said.

He paused before saying, “Since Lilly’s confession, No.0 has been, y’know? Strange? And more… lively and restless. Sure, from the outside, he looks composed. But it’s total and utter chaos in here!”

“““……”””

“““Nah, he should be fine/Nah, I’ll be fine.””” No.1, 3, and I replied at the same time.

Then…

Lilly hugged my arm from nowhere.

“!!?!?”

“Sh-Shall we head out then…?” she shyly asked.

“…y-yeah…” I nervously replied.

Lilly kept glancing at me, looking conflicted. That was until—

“Y-You look really cool as well today!” Lilly expressed. “T-That’s why… can I keep looking…!?”

“…..”

“……”

“……”

“L-Luke!? What’s wrong?!?!?”

— :::: —

After that, I didn’t remember much when we were on our way to school, but I… feel bliss?

Though there were a lot of stares, like… a lot, Lilly was composed, and I already have… demeanour-less, let’s say, face. Things were pretty normal except for the barrage of questions coming our way.

Lilly was calm and elegant—as if she was completely different from the Lilly that clung to me….

But then again, this is the one I’m most familiar with, isn’t it?

This is just how she normally is. Though, she was very sweet to me yesterday, wasn’t she? And today as well.

I like this side of her, but I like it more when she loses her composure. It’s more fun that way~!

Her flushed red face is cute, and the way she fidgets and grabs her hair to hide her face.

…she’s unexpectedly lewd and aggressive as well.

Well, that’s probably because she felt distressed.  

Still, it feels like I've forgotten something.

Now what could that be?

…..

…

Oh… I forgot to wake Lisa up.