翁公和媛媛在厨房里猛烈进出

Snapping me back to reality, I heard two footsteps rapidly approaching my seat.

Unable to look away from the window as Ruby was sitting right behind me, I attempted to see the reflection of the windows, but the timing could not have been worse as the bus had just entered a tunnel.

Well, even without turning around, I could guess who the two\'s footsteps were.

"Kevin, where the hell are you going?"

"It doesn\'t matter to you, so why are you following me?"

"Well, I have nothing better to do on this bus, and I thought this might be entertaining."

"So, I\'m just a pawn used for your entertainment?"

"Well, when you put it like that...? Think of it like this: you\'re an actor putting on a show for me."

Hearing an audible snort, I realized that Kevin and Liam were now only a few seats away from Lily and I.

Well, this was going to be...

If I got up to pretend to use the restroom, Ruby would notice me, but if I stayed, Kevin would bug me for the rest of this trip because I sat next to Lily once.

Placed in this lose-lose predicament, I ultimately decided that my well-being was more important than Lily being suspicious of Ruby and I.

Unfortunately, Kevin\'s footsteps fastened even more at that moment, blocking off my escape route.

"She has to be on a bus somewhere, right?"

"Kevin, don\'t ask me. As an audience member, I can\'t intervene in the play."

"??? What are you saying?"

If I were to step out into the aisle right now, Kevin would see me immediately before noticing Lily sitting beside me.

Looking at Lily, who was also looking up as she heard Kevin\'s voice, I quietly said.

"I need to use the restroom."

Looking straight at Kevin and Liam, she replied.

"Quite the coincidence, don\'t you think? As they\'re approaching, you suddenly need to use the restroom."

"Oh, is it?"

Not wasting any more time conversing, I peeked my head over the seat, making sure Liam and Kevin were looking at the seats in the other direction.

Confirming that I was not in their line of sight, I stood up in my seat, with my back facing Lily, Liam, and Kevin.

Looking to my right, I saw Lily staring at me confusedly, and looking towards the back of the bus, I saw Ruby in the seat behind Lily.

Seeing Ruby staring down at the smartwatch and not noticing me, I did what I thought was an elegant somersault over the seat, landing face-first on the window seat right next to Ruby.

As the seat shook from my landing on it, I saw Ruby almost drop her smartwatch before adjusting her gaze to my back, which was pressed against the window.

Quickly adjusting myself to sit normally with my back pressed against the chair, I turned to Ruby, who had just probably noticed it was me and not some random person.

Pretending to be shocked, I asked.

"Oh hey, when\'d you join the travel club?"

As her shock disappeared and a wide grin took form on her face, she chuckled before responding.

"You do know you\'re a terrible liar, right?"

Slumping down on my seat to avoid Lily\'s gaze, I replicated her smirk and replied.

"What makes you say that?"

"Quite the entrance you had there. Did it take you the bus ride this far to plan that?"

"Greatness takes time."

"When I entered the bus, all I saw was a hooded figure next to Lily. Even looking through the gap in the seats, I saw the same hooded figure staring out the window."

"What can I say? The scenery outside was amazing!"

Resting her elbow on the armrest between us, Ruby put her head on her hand, looking straight at me, before saying.

"You do know, I knew it was you from the start, right?"

...she can see desires, can\'t she? How did I even forget that...?

From the start, she must have seen the flame of my desire in the hooded figure and noticed it was me...

Putting my hood down, causing the black cat resting on my hair to fall back into my hood, I employed my sarcastic tone and responded.

"Really? I didn\'t even know you were sitting behind me. Wow, what are the odds!?"

Lifting her hand off the armrest, Ruby abruptly reached towards me before grabbing my hand and bringing it closer to her.

Shellshocked by her actions, I froze, completely ignoring the voice of Kevin, who had just discovered Lily\'s seat.

"AHH.*

With her other hand, Ruby pinched my hand over and over again. While a normal pinch wouldn\'t hurt me, Ruby used her awakened strength to grab my skin.

"S-STOP."

"Can\'t hear you!"

"STOP P-PLEASE!"

Pausing her relentless pinching, Ruby shook her head while saying.

"Lying isn\'t a very good thing, Ren."

She had been fine with me lying to her earlier, but now it was a problem. What the hell had changed?

Usually, she just acted oblivious to my lies, but now she was inexplicably taking action and... punishing me?

Nodding my head up and down, I quickly replied as her hand almost resumed pinching.

"YES! I WON\'T LIE!"

Hearing my answer, instead of pinching me, she placed her hand on my hand, now completely surrounding my right hand as her hands were both below and above mine.

"Now, answer my question like an honest person, would you?"

Feeling the soft sensation of her hands, I didn\'t dare to lie as I honestly replied.

"I-i was pretending not to se-"

"No, I already know that. Why were you sitting next to Lily when you always used to avoid her?"

"...what? She sat next to me, though."

Making eye contact with me for a second, Ruby nodded her head before removing her hands.

Am I allowed to ask what the hell just happened..?

Completely ignoring my confusion, Ruby changed the topic by asking.

"So, enjoying the bus ride? I believe you said the scenery was interesting."

Turning back to the window, I noticed that we were out of the tunnel as numerous trees were in front of the sun that was setting.

Wait... the sun was setting? It had already been 7 hours..?

Just how long had I been staring out that damn window?

Was the scenery really that good?

"*PFFT*"

Laughing uncontrollably as I stared out the window with a confused expression, Ruby said.

"*PFFT* y-you really weren\'t lying."

Turning around to look at Ruby, I noticed three blank figures standing in ailse while staring intently at us.

...my screaming might have been a bit too loud.