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CLOVER Convenience Store.
"That'll be 3,500 yen."
"Thank you! Please come again!"
Suzuki Sonoko and Nakai Yui worked seamlessly together, keeping the convenience store running smoothly. Their teamwork made the most of the weekend morning rush, pushing the store's sales
to a new high.
"Huh...?"
"You're back."
Nakai Yui looked up as three familiar figures entered the store. She quickly stepped forward to greet them.
Sonoko followed suit, but…
Seeing Ran now made her uneasy, like a thorn lodged deep in her heart.
Because last night, she had spent a full hour in the storage room with Akira.
She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Ran found out.
"Yeah... we're back."
Everything had played out just as expected.
The murder at that cosmetics store had taken place right at the edge of CLOVER's surveillance camera range. The footage showed both Mori Ran and Fuyutsuki Shiori passing by the crime scene about three minutes apart. At the time, they were both still fuming from their argument, their anger clearly visible in their body language.
The contrast with their current harmony was striking.
"Shiori-chan."
"What exactly happened?"
Yui pulled Shiori aside while subtly glancing at Ran.
At the same time…
She couldn't help but sense a shift in the atmosphere between Ran and Shiori.
Wait a minute…
Did going to the police station together somehow turn them into "sisters who share Akira"?
And what about her?
Was she now some pathetic little rat hiding in the sewers, unable to acknowledge her relationship with him?
Sonoko suddenly felt like a complete fool—the only one who couldn't openly be with Akira in this ridiculous situation.
10:00 PM.
CLOVER Convenience Store was about to close for the night.
For Ran, Sonoko, Shiori, and Yui, this meant they wouldn't get to spend another fun day at the store tomorrow.
But for him? Nothing would change.
Because starting tomorrow, the smart and capable Enomoto Azusa would be taking over again.
"Yui."
"Come help me with something."
Akira called Yui into the storage room just as they were about to close up.
Before she could even react—
He pressed her up against the door.
"Ah—!"
Yui gasped, her back pinned against the cold door.
In the silence of the storage room, the only sound was the rapid beating of her heart.
"M-Manager…?"
Feeling the heat of Akira's gaze, she instinctively lowered her head, nervously clasping her hands behind her back.
She was trembling.
She had no idea what he was going to do next.
A second later, his finger gently lifted her chin.
Slowly…
He tilted her face up, forcing her to meet his eyes.
"Yui."
"You came back last night, didn't you?"
"So…"
"You saw everything, didn't you?"
Yui inhaled sharply.
She immediately shook her head.
"N-No… I didn't see anything."
Akira chuckled.
She was a terrible liar.
He watched as she frantically denied it, then pulled out his phone from his pocket.
With a tap, he hit play.
The screen lit up with footage from last night's security camera.
The video showed Yui returning to the store half an hour after closing to retrieve the phone she'd left at the register.
But that wasn't the key part.
The real highlight was what she did next—
Instead of leaving, she had gone to the storage room and peeked through the gap in the door.
And at that exact moment…
Akira had been inside, pressing Sonoko against the wall, taking her over and over again.
"Yui."
"You've been a very naughty girl."
If the police hadn't needed to check the surveillance footage today, she might have gotten away with it.
"I-I…"
"I didn't mean to!"
"I was just going to say something and then leave…"
She admitted it—she had seen everything.
She had been about to call out to him but stopped when she heard the noises. Peeking through the gap in the door, she had seen… everything.
She had seen Sonoko's long legs wrapped around Akira's shoulders, her body convulsing with each thrust, as if she was on the verge of passing out.
Even now…
She couldn't erase that image from her mind.
"So you stood there and watched for 5 minutes and 39 seconds."
"Didn't you?"
Yui wanted to deny it.
But…
The proof was right there.
She hadn't even realized she had been standing there for so long.
"So…"
"Did you learn anything?"
Akira smirked, tilting her chin up further, bringing her lips within his reach.
Just as he was about to kiss her—
"Yui."
Fuyutsuki Shiori's voice rang from outside the room.
"Are you done yet?"
"Need your smart and capable big sister to come help?"
Yui jolted awake, snapping back to reality.
"OMG!" She shoved Akira away, her face burning. "I-I didn't mean to…"
Without waiting for a response, she bolted out of the storage room—only to run straight into Shiori.
"Sorry???"
Shiori raised an eyebrow.
"Why's your face so red?"
She examined Yui carefully.
Hmm…
Blushing, not flushed.
Still, she immediately turned a sharp gaze toward Akira.
"You weren't messing with my little sister in there, were you?"
"I'm warning you."
"If you lay a finger on her, I'll never forgive you."
She had already accepted that she had to share him with Ran.
That was more than enough to tolerate.
"No, no!" Yui waved her hands frantically. "I just… made a mistake earlier."
She could never tell them the truth.
Out of the four girls working at CLOVER Convenience Store, three had already ended up in Akira's bed.
"....."