"Thanks for the meal."
I put my hands together and gave a small bow.
"So, you seem to be in an even better mood than the rest of us. Something happen?"
"Hyuh?!"
Just as I was patting my full stomach without a care in the world, the sharp question hit me out of nowhere, and I let out a weird sound.
Panicking, my eyes darted toward Kotori, sitting beside me, trying to gauge her expression—though her face remained cool and composed.
The moment our eyes met, I could feel her silently saying, "You idiot."
"We're all in a good mood, aren't we?"
I tried to deflect. Even if that happened, if things move too fast, we'd lose our advantage... and our period of exclusivity. That's how I see it.
By the way, if we wanted to talk, we could—after last night, we got the whole rundown. But maybe we're just not emotionally ready for that step yet.
"You're all shiny like you just got laid or something."
The people around us, who had been listening in, started checking their own skin, touching their faces or pulling out mirrors.
Way too many of them heard that.
And honestly, she wasn't wrong. Everyone's skin did look different—more vibrant, glowing, even glossy.
Even her, the busty zombie-looking girl who sat in front of me yesterday, with a pale face and dark circles under her eyes, looked decently presentable now.
"And including all that—still suspicious."
She smiled confidently, pressing on with a follow-up attack. She was clearly formidable. I wasn't going to win this one with words.
"Apologies for the late introduction. Here's my card."
She handed it over, keeping her voice low.
Yotsuba Publishing – Investigative Reporter – Kanako Doi
A professional. Great. Now we've really got trouble.
I could feel the eyes of everyone around us watching intently.
Instinctively, I turned to Kotori for help.
"Give it up."
She made a playful little cross gesture with her fingers in silence. So much for backup.
"Well, uh… right now's not really…"
I tried to wriggle out of it with a small voice. At the very least, I wanted to minimize the damage.
"Then how about we bet the secret behind your good mood—on a ping pong match!"
That… was a weird escape route.
"Sounds good to me."
She accepted instantly, like a gift from the heavens.
Tomboyish girls like her are usually sports-types. Unlike delicate guys, they tend to bond through physical activity—simple-minded, really.
And we, the operations team, can at least hold our own physically. Even now that we're working adults, staying active is expected. In fact, we're pretty decent.
Especially when it comes to martial arts or sporty stuff.
"All right then, let's do this!"
The girl who had been silently battling a half-size monster omurice just minutes ago suddenly wiped her mouth with a napkin and stepped up, eyes gleaming.
Her plate was spotless. Not even a grain of rice left.
Even a half portion was huge—did she eat the whole thing? Impressive.
"Which team are you joining?"
Hoping she'd join us.
"I'll go with you guys, since you helped me out yesterday."
Looks like she's taken a liking to us.
"Then I guess I'll be on the other side."
Someone else stepped up for the opposing team.
"I suck at ball games, so I'll be the ref. You guys handle it."
Kotori casually threw us under the bus. Traitor.