To be honest, when Nino read the label out loud, Hakuto was just as dumbfounded.
The two of them slowly lifted their heads at the same time, locking eyes in silence for a long while.
"Maybe it was a mistake. I'll call the waiter over."
Hakuto almost blurted out something about this being a separate charge, but he stopped himself—after all, if word got out, it could affect his professional reputation.
At his call, a waiter soon arrived at their table.
"Hello, sir. How can I assist you?"
"Uh, this… this…"
"Couples' Special Cake," Nino helpfully filled in when Hakuto struggled to recall the name.
"This Couples' Special Cake—was it placed here by mistake? We didn't order it."
Hearing this, the waiter immediately checked the order slip pinned to their uniform.
"According to our records, this item was ordered for your table."
"Can we return it?"
"Apologies, but unless there's a special reason, we cannot accept returns once food has been served."
With that, the waiter bowed and left.
Nino stared at the little cake on the table, unable to hold back her curiosity.
"You seriously didn't order this? I mean, the menu was in your hands the whole time."
"This is a separate…" Hakuto caught himself mid-sentence and stopped himself with a mental slap.
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering—do you really think I'd do something this pointless?"
Nino gave it some thought and nodded. From what she knew about Hakuto, he really didn't seem like the kind of person to pull a stunt like this.
At this point, Hakuto had a pretty good guess about who was behind the cake.
He discreetly glanced at the table where the four sisters were seated. After a brief moment of hesitation, he reached for the label on the cake, tore it off, and picked up the dessert.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"Returning this to its rightful owner."
Meanwhile, the four sisters were still at their table, watching Hakuto and Nino's interaction with great interest.
"Huh? Why did Shiratori suddenly get up?"
"Wait… he's heading toward us."
"We've been caught! Run, run, run!"
Like startled birds, the four of them scattered, but Hakuto quickly caught up and placed a firm hand on each of their shoulders, forcing them back into their seats.
"I've heard of you all before, but I suppose this is our first real meeting, isn't it?"
Hakuto looked at the four, now sitting stiffly in their chairs, and placed the cake onto their table before taking a seat across from them.
"What do we do? What do we do?"
"We got caught stalking them! How am I supposed to know what to do?"
At that moment, Nino also arrived at the scene. She looked at her sisters in utter disbelief.
"What are you all doing here?"
Hearing Nino's question, the four of them simultaneously turned their heads away, avoiding eye contact.
"You were following me?"
Itsuki quickly shook her head. "No… we just happened to walk into this café by chance."
"Did you even believe yourself when you said that?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Ichika felt like she couldn't hold it in anymore.
Just as Nino was about to press further, Hakuto pulled her back, seating her beside him.
"Since we're all here, let's get down to business."
Hearing that, Ichika immediately straightened her posture and looked at Hakuto across from her.
"Perfect. I wanted to discuss business with you too."
Hakuto was briefly surprised.
"You figured it out already, Ichika?"
"Yeah… I pieced it together."
Hakuto mentally gave her a thumbs-up. As expected of the eldest sister—this would make the conversation much easier.
However, just as Hakuto was about to speak, Ichika tapped her finger on the table, her tone leaving no room for refusal.
"Name your price."
??!
For a moment, Hakuto was completely dumbfounded. Normally, he enjoyed hearing those words from others, but this situation felt… off.
After a long pause, Hakuto finally processed what she was saying and responded.
"If you're talking about money, Ichika, Mr. Nakano and I have already discussed it. You don't need to worry about that."
"What? Dad already knows?!"
Ichika shot up from her seat, absolutely stunned. She had never expected her father, Nakano Maruo, to be aware of this situation.
And judging by how things looked, it seemed like he had even compromised—going so far as to negotiate a payment with Hakuto.
Thinking along those lines, Ichika instinctively turned to Nino, who was sitting beside Hakuto.
What on earth did she get caught doing?
Even if it were photos, it wouldn't be this serious… right?
Nino, puzzled by Ichika's sudden outburst, asked, "What's with the shouting, Ichika?"
Hearing that, Ichika nearly slapped her own forehead.
"Do you even realize how much trouble you're in?"
"What trouble? What did I even do?"
Nino was utterly lost. She had just gone out for dessert with Hakuto—why did she suddenly feel like a criminal?
Hakuto was just as confused. No, even more confused. He was seconds away from activating his ability just to figure out what the hell was going on.
At first, he thought Ichika was trying to pay him to quit his job as their tutor.
That seemed plausible. But logically speaking, no matter how much she offered, it wouldn't be more than what her father was already paying.
Yet seeing her completely shocked expression, it was clear this wasn't about that.
Yotsuba tugged on Ichika's sleeve. "Ichika… what's wrong? Why are you so worked up all of a sudden…?"
"Ask Nino yourself."
At that, everyone turned their attention to Nino.
"What? What did I even do?"
Nino felt completely wronged. She was the one being followed by her sisters, and she hadn't even settled that score yet. Why was everyone suddenly ganging up on her?
Ichika ignored her. Right now, she had only one priority—convincing Hakuto.
"Shiratori, let's talk this through. Can you delete that thing from your phone?"
Still in a daze, Hakuto finally snapped back to reality when he heard those words.
"Huh? Oh. There's nothing there. I was just messing with Nino. My phone doesn't actually have anything like that."
Wait… were they talking about test scores?
For a second, Hakuto had thought he had committed a crime or something.
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Read 20 Advanced Chapters on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics
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Check out the other translations too: [Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute]
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