“Geez... people like you could be called imps”
”Why?”
”Because you're only saying that because you know it's not bothering me”
Just a few months ago, Koutarou probably would have been troubled by Kiriha's actions. However, after speaking with Yuuichirou and Kenji, Koutarou had reached the conclusion that he needed Kiriha and the others. And that realization allowed Koutarou to understand Kiriha's intentions more deeply.
“The truth is, I'm actually hoping you will counterattack”
If Koutarou were to do anything at this point, he could blame it on Kiriha's mischievousness provoking him. Letting him shift all of the blame of whatever happened onto her. In other words, this wasn't some normal mischievousness, but rather a free pass in the disguise of mischievousness.
“...If you live like that you'll lose out”
Knowing that, Koutarou couldn't take any thoughtless actions. He placed his hands on Kiriha's shoulders and pushed her back a little. Since he treasured her, this kind of action was necessary. If he was swept away by the feelings on the surface, he would lose sight of what he really needed to treasure.
“Fufu, you haven't noticed, have you, Koutarou?”
Despite being rejected, Kiriha smiled happily, as if she had wanted Koutarou to do this.
“Notice what?”
”That you treasure us more than a normal boyfriend treasures his girlfriend”
Though Kiriha hadn't expected this action, it proved to surpass her expectations.
This action proved that once Koutarou made something fit for a lover, he would take responsibility himself. Moreover, not doing anything thoughtless to Kiriha despite them being so intimate was practically the same as saying that he truly loved her.
“What you aren't doing for us is clearly defining yourself as our lover or any direct expressions of love. You do everything other than that. Even more than a normal lover would”
”Eh...”
Koutarou found all nine girls important to him. That's why he wanted them to be happy and wouldn't hesitate to make it happen. He had reason enough to put his life on the line for them and he wouldn't hesitate to do so. The same could be said for the girls. In other words, Koutarou and the girls felt for each other, trusted each other and supported each other. If anyone was in danger the others wouldn't hesitate to offer their lives. Koutarou and the others relationship had already surpassed that of friendship and was reaching the level of family.
Becoming lovers or marrying could be said as welcoming strangers into your life as family. However, Koutarou had already done something similar with the girls. While he was protecting the pretext that they were now lovers, the distance between him and the girls was surprisingly short.
The question was if even lovers were this close. Kiriha didn't believe they were.
“Your hands tells me everything. Just why did these hands push me away? Because you hate me?”
“That's...”
Koutarou couldn't refute Kiriha. If they had just been friends, he could have followed the flow and taken action. She had prepared the free pass by the name of mischievousness for that reason. However, since he treasured her, he couldn't. He didn't want to push such an unfortunate role onto her.
“That's why I won't lose out even if I live like this. The reason for that is because you are so considerate of me”
Kiriha said and smiled. A deep sense of love and trust gleamed in her eyes. She believed that she would absolutely find happiness as long as she was with Koutarou.
“...I lose, Kiriha. Geez...”
Koutarou raised the white flag. Listening to her words, he started feeling like he wanted to live up to her expectation and trust.
“Then... you admit that this is a date?”
”Yeah, unwillingly”
“Unwillingly, huh. Fufufufu...”
“...”
Kiriha knew that Koutarou calling it unwilling was something his pride as a man made him say, but she didn't push it further. She believed a good woman was someone who let a man save face.