Hakuto put on a mysterious expression, though what he was about to say wasn't exactly a secret to most people—except for Nao, who was definitely in the dark about it.
"Let me guess, is it that girl, Sawamura Eriri?"
"You'll never gu— Wait… No…"
Hakuto had originally planned to show off a little in front of Nao, but things didn't unfold as he had expected.
"How do you know?"
"That kind of thing? Just ask around, and you'll find out."
Hearing this, Hakuto helplessly patted his forehead.
He had completely forgotten that Nao had already been to Toyosaki Academy for an on-site investigation.
Knowing about Eriri wasn't hard at all.
"But how did you connect this night market to her?"
Hakuto had realized that this place had quite a connection to Eriri.
After all, her home was in a prime location, surrounded by a thriving economy, so it wasn't surprising that a night market like this existed here.
But how did Nao know about that?
At his question, Nao glanced behind him, then pointed with her disposable chopsticks to a spot a little behind his right side.
"Because the Sawamura Eriri you're talking about is standing right over there."
"…??!"
Hearing this, Hakuto instinctively turned his head—and sure enough, just as Nao said, there she was.
Dressed in casual clothes, Eriri had her signature twin tails tied up and was standing at a small stall not far away.
Next to her stood a woman who looked about sixty to seventy percent similar to her, the only major difference being her black hair.
Neither of them seemed to notice Hakuto in the distance, or maybe even if they had, it wouldn't have mattered.
"Well, isn't this interesting… But wait, didn't she never eat this kind of stuff?"
Seeing Hakuto's completely unbothered reaction, Nao frowned in slight dissatisfaction.
She placed the chopsticks between her lips, propped her chin up with one hand, and glanced at Hakuto.
"So dull. I thought you'd be all flustered."
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Am I wrong? That girl over there is the one you've liked for two years, isn't she?"
Hakuto and Sayuri had kept things so well under wraps that even someone as nosy as Nao couldn't dig up a single clue.
So naturally, she just assumed Hakuto had been crushing on Eriri for two years.
"That's all in the past."
"Hmm? Why do you sound kind of off? What's wrong? Did you suddenly remember something sad?"
"Stop trying to mess with me. I know exactly how I feel right now. Also, stop biting the chopsticks."
"If you trip, you'll stab your throat, and that's the end of you."
Before coming to this world, Hakuto had been a proper countryside kid. He couldn't stand seeing Nao hold her chopsticks in her mouth like that.
Back in his hometown, his grandparents would have given him a good whipping for doing something like that.
"Alright, alright, so naggy."
Despite her grumbling, Nao obediently took the chopsticks out of her mouth and placed them back into her meal box.
Hakuto continued looking at Eriri in the distance, not feeling troubled in the slightest.
After all, from his perspective, even if they did run into each other, they'd probably just pretend not to know one another.
At least, that's what he expected Eriri to do. As for himself, that was a different story.
"Let's go say hi."
Nao's hand, still holding her chopsticks, suddenly froze. She almost dropped her entire meal onto the ground.
"What, you still have feelings for her?"
"Not really. The one standing next to Sawamura Eriri is her mother. She's helped me quite a bit."
Hakuto wasn't wrong. After all, Sayuri was his first real major client. The second was none other than Nao.
In any case, Sayuri had provided Hakuto with many conveniences and brought him significant benefits. After all, she used to think of Hakuto as a future son-in-law.
But Hakuto didn't care what Sayuri thought of him. He only knew that she had done him a favor.
If he ran into Eriri, he could easily pretend not to see her, but it was a different story when it came to her mother.
With that, Hakuto tossed the skewer from his grilled food into a nearby trash bin, straightened his clothes, and walked toward Sayuri.
Before leaving, he glanced at Nao behind him to make sure she wouldn't cause any trouble.
Only after confirming that did he finally take a step forward.
"Mom, why do we keep coming to this night market every day?"
"Just strolling around, relaxing. If you stay cooped up at home all the time, your brain will get dull."
"What kind of reason is that?"
Eriri sighed helplessly.
"By the way, Eriri, you mentioned that Hakuto became an exchange student?"
"Yeah, though I have no idea why. He just started school…"
Eriri scratched her head. She genuinely couldn't understand why the school had made Hakuto an exchange student.
Because of that, her plans for today had completely fallen through, leaving her feeling utterly frustrated.
But Sayuri seemed to have a different perspective.
"Maybe it's because he has good grades."
"Good grades? I thought schools sent exchange students to promote their academic reputation."
"If anything, the first thing Hakuto would do at another school is go around picking fights with their delinquents."
As Eriri casually chatted, she suddenly noticed a bitter smile forming on her mother's face.
Sayuri was even subtly signaling her with her eyes.
"Mom… Did you get something in your eye?"
"N-no…"
Just as Eriri was feeling puzzled, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Sorry, but the first thing I did at Hoshino Umi Academy wasn't fighting."
"Eh?!?!"
Eriri spun around in shock, only to find Hakuto standing right behind her, waving.
"Good evening, Sayuri-san… And good evening to you too, Eriri."
"H-Hakuto?! What are you doing here?"
Her reaction was intense—so intense that she felt her blood rushing backward, and her entire face flushed red.
Seeing her daughter's embarrassing display, Sayuri quickly stepped forward to take control of the conversation.
"Hakuto, what are you doing here? Could it be that you came specifically to find my Eriri?"
"Mom! What are you saying…!"
Sometimes, Sayuri truly felt her daughter had issues—especially when it came to relationships.
"You're joking, Sayuri-san. I'm just here to visit the night market."
"I see. So you just happened to run into us?"
"That's right."
"I heard you became an exchange student at Hoshino Umi Academy?"
"I just got the notice yesterday morning."
At that moment, Sayuri suddenly pointed at the empty space beside Hakuto.
"And this girl—did she come with you? I see she's wearing Hoshino Umi Academy's uniform."
"???"
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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]
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