Making Kagami flustered is harder than one might think.

That is, assuming we're talking about flustering her with ordinary things.

Teasing her with mischievous jokes, saying funny things, or playing pranks—none of these really surprise her much.

Oh, of course she was surprised when "I" first did those things. She probably never expected me to show such familiarity toward her.

Now, hugging her is nothing special, and even when I throw light jokes her way, she smoothly returns them.

You could call it composure in life... No, it's more like she's experienced so many strange things that she's developed a resistance to most ordinary situations.

In that sense, it was a bit surprising that Harumi managed to fluster Kagami.

"So, how are things going with my dad?"

"Excuse me?"

Well, to be honest, that was a question that might make anyone flustered.

"Haven't you been seeing my dad lately?"

"I... I've never really met with him separately."

Kagami carefully chose her words in response to Harumi's question.

Before, she didn't seem interested in forming separate relationships with people, but now things are different.

To Kagami, I'm precious family, and Harumi is my friend.

The idea of ruining my friendships probably doesn't exist in Kagami's mind at all.

"...?"

Mako looked back and forth between Harumi and Kagami with wide eyes.

Ah, I see. Mako must know about this too.

After all, we've already been to the police station after getting into a fight with other people.

Mako probably remembers that Harumi's father showed interest in Kagami back then. Honestly, it's not a situation one would easily forget.

"Are you thinking about remarrying or something?"

"...Do you want me to marry your father?"

Yuu's brow gradually furrowed as she listened to the strange conversation between Harumi and Kagami.

Come to think of it, Yuu is my cousin. If Kagami were to marry Harumi's father and I gained a father, that would mean Yuka would get an uncle too.

And that uncle would be her best friend's father... hmm.

Depending on the person, that could be either good or bad, but it seems Yuu thinks it's bad.

Friends are good because they're friends. Isn't a friend someone you can confide in about things you can't tell your siblings or parents? Of course, Yuu and I are closer to being friends than relatives, and Harumi would probably remain that way too—

But still, being related by blood originally and later becoming connected through marriage are two different things. Yuu has already experienced the bizarre situation of her friend becoming a mother.

Yuka looked at me with an incredulous expression, then seemed a bit flustered when she saw me seriously pondering the situation.

She poked me in the side.

"Hm?"

"Do you want to have a father?"

Yuka was considerate enough to ask in a relatively quiet voice. In fact, with the air conditioner running, not many people could have heard her.

"A father?"

The problem was that one of those "people who could hear" was Koko.

As soon as Koko tilted her head and murmured that word, the children stirred.

I'm the type who wouldn't care much whether I had a father or not, as long as it wasn't my biological father, but Koko is different.

Somehow, looking at her makes you think she should have both parents. Even though she'll be an adult in just two years, Koko still has a childlike quality that makes the phrase "a child who needs a dad" feel painfully applicable to her.

"Woo?"

Koko tilted her head when she noticed everyone looking at her.

"Koko."

Kagami spoke with a somewhat serious expression.

"Do you need a father?"

"Uh..."

And Harumi, who had first brought up the topic jokingly, was flustered.

Well, that makes sense. Perhaps Kagami had started to feel more approachable to her. What was meant as teasing a close older sister figure turned serious when Kagami responded this way.

Though she always appears to be the carefree gyaru character, her emotional core is still close to that of an ordinary high school girl.

"Woo?"

Koko tilted her head at Kagami's question, then asked:

"Do I need one?"

It was truly a philosophical question.

And also a dangerous one where one wrong answer could turn you into garbage. To reach this level without even trying—Koko will surely become a good politician when she grows up.

"If you feel something is lacking in your current life..."

"Wooo?"

Koko tilted her head again.

"If I get a dad, will someone else come in?"

We looked at each other.

Then back at Koko.

"I suppose that would be the case."

Kagami replied with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

"I like it the way it is."

Koko answered after thinking for a while.

"I like it with Kagami and Kotone!"

Seeing Koko exclaim with both arms raised high, Kagami's expression turned somewhat moved.

No, it wasn't just Kagami. Probably everyone in the room was touched. Well, except maybe the cat sleeping in the corner.

"Right? This is fine as it is, isn't it?"

Kagami exclaimed as she pulled Koko into a tight hug.

"Waa!"

Koko shouted happily.

I could see Harumi letting out a sigh of relief.

"..."

By the way.

Asking her daughter something like that shows that Kagami is quite extreme. In such matters, her own feelings should be more important.

If Koko had said she wanted a father, would Kagami really have considered marriage?

Being a devoted mother is good, but she should think about her own life too.

Right now, her only joys in life might be the two of us, but perhaps as time passes, she could find other sources of happiness.

"Anyway, that's how things stand for now. I'm sorry."

"N-no, there's no need to apologize."

Harumi responded to Kagami's words with an expression that was difficult to describe.

In exchange for flustering Kagami, Harumi ended up showing an expression we never see from her normally, so this round ended in a draw.

Though I'm probably the only one thinking of it as a competition.

"Still... I was thinking that maybe, not dating or anything, but just meeting face to face occasionally might be nice."

"Oh my."

Kagami blinked at Harumi's words.

"But Fukuda-san rarely contacts me first."

Rather, it's probably that he lost confidence because Kagami almost never contacted him first. Even the most confident man would lose the courage to send another message if a woman ignored his previous ones.

"What if he contacts you first?"

"Depending on my schedule, I could meet him."

Of course, that "meeting" wouldn't mean dating or anything like that. It would be literally just "meeting."

"I see..."

Harumi answered with a somewhat complicated expression.

"Actually, my dad has been a bit..."

Harumi held back her words, but we all roughly understood what she meant.

He's probably missing her, or something like that.

Kagami smiled bitterly.

"But would that be okay? Just meeting and nothing more."

Harumi's expression became even more complicated.

She's not the type to have a boyfriend, and her love life isn't particularly complicated, but there are some things you can understand just by imagining the situation.

It's not impossible for men and women to be friends. But being friends and meeting someone who has romantic feelings for you are completely different stories.

The balance of feelings becomes uneven.

Mr. Fukuda doesn't seem like the type to do anything strange to Kagami, but still.

If something unfortunate were to happen, the relationship between Harumi and me would become incredibly... complicated. In many ways.

It might become even more complicated than if they actually got married.

"I guess... I'll have to talk to him about it."

Harumi said with a sigh.

She's the type who sometimes grumbles about her dad and speaks roughly to him, but her family bond is definitely strong.

In the end, we couldn't reach a proper conclusion.

But at least we could all feel a bit more at ease.

*

Originally, we had planned to sleep in two groups, but we found we could fit if we squeezed in.

Since the air conditioner was only in this room, we couldn't send our guests outside, so we decided to sleep like that.

"We'll be fine if we stick close together."

Well, I've already experienced sleeping under a pile of legs during our last trip.

If I had to choose between being held tightly in Kagami's arms or being crushed under the kids' legs, I'd rather be embraced by Kagami.

"Come, come, stick close to mama~"

Kagami said as she pulled Koko and me tightly into her arms.

Her body temperature seems higher than usual. Her face looks slightly flushed too.

...Is she drunk?

Could she be drunk from just one glass of alcohol that's not even 10 percent proof?

Well, the definition of "drunk" varies from person to person, but if someone's behavior changes after drinking alcohol, that could be considered drunk.

A drunk Kagami clings more annoyingly than usual.

Thanks to that, even though we slept with the air conditioner on, my pajamas were soaked with sweat the next morning.

And so was Kagami's side where I had been nestled.

It seems she didn't toss and turn while sleeping, as she kept holding me until morning.

...Alright. Let's decide never to give her alcohol again.

Maybe even last night's "Koko's dad concerns" were all because of the alcohol.

Looking at Kagami, who was still half-asleep even though everyone else was up, I made that resolution.