Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

"That's right, just like that. When your senior comes over later, you'll start convulsing, foaming at the mouth, just like that elephant named Little White. If necessary, you can even scream or something..."

Along the path in the zoo.

The ice cream cart was supported by a red and white sunshade, and several benches were placed next to it for tourists to rest. Shido Kuroba sat at the very back, leaning slightly forward, his expression as serious as if he were giving a final training session to an agent who was about to carry out an important mission.

Big Black lay sprawled on a folded tissue, its beady black eyes intently watching its leader.

"Let's do it once, twitching."

Big Black's body trembled slightly.

The left paw twitched twice.

The right hind leg kicked out again.

Then his head tilted to the side, and half of his tongue stuck out.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

"This doesn't look like heatstroke. It's more like you ate a couple of bites of mushrooms and then saw your great-grandmother coming to pick you up. Don't make your movements too predictable; make them random, understand?"

Big Black: "Squeak?"

"It's like giving a tug on the left, then two tugs on the right, and occasionally a big one that bounces you up and then slams you back down."

While patiently explaining, Shido Kuroba pointed to a few spots on Daikoku's body with his finger: "Your breathing can't be too normal. Right now, your chest is rising and falling like you're taking a nap. Senpai can tell you're faking it at a glance. Hold your breath for a bit later, and when she gets close, suddenly take a couple of deep breaths to create a sense of urgency that your condition is worsening."

Big Black listened very attentively.

no way.

The boss said if I performed well, I'd get ice cream.

One bite of vanilla ice cream was enough to make Big Black temporarily abandon his dignity as a sewer strongman and devote himself to the art of rodent performance.

Compared to the hard times of the past, this is a much faster way to make money!

Sure enough, shady businesses are the quickest way to make money...

"One more time."

Shido Kuroba snapped his fingers.

Big Black immediately closed its eyes, its limbs slowly stiffened, then its body twitched violently twice, its claws flailed wildly, its head snapped to the side, and its tongue stuck out.

The movements were fluid.

The rhythm is natural.

It even vaguely resembled the spirit of the little white elephant that had knocked out the little white elephant before.

"Great, you've made great progress."

Kuroba Shido nodded in satisfaction, picked up a wooden spoon, scooped out a tiny bit of ice cream the size of a grain of rice, and brought it to the big black man's mouth: "This is the advance payment; the rest will be settled after the performance."

Big Black ate it in one gulp.

The cool, sweet taste melts in your mouth.

Big Black's desire to perform +10 +10 +10...

"Next is foaming at the mouth, which is a bit difficult. Under normal circumstances, you definitely can't spit it out by yourself. The boss is going to put some ice cream on the corners of your mouth beforehand. When you twitch, the white foam will shake, and the effect will be maximized."

Kuroba Shido held up a wooden spoon and gestured towards the corner of Kuro's mouth: "Screaming also has to be timed correctly. You can't scream as soon as you see your senior, that would be too fake. You have to wait until your senior asks the third question, like 'What's wrong with Kuro?' 'When did this start?' 'Should we go to the vet?' After the third question comes out, you suddenly 'Squeak—' the more pitiful the better."

Big Black: "Squeak..."

"Don't shout now, save your energy."

Big Black shut up.

Kuroba Shido continued to check the plan: "There's one more thing, you're not allowed to open your eyes when you get close to Senpai, especially not to peek at the ice cream. When you sent the photo just now, your eyes were practically popping out from under your eyelids. It's only because Senpai is kind-hearted that she didn't observe carefully, otherwise she would have been exposed on the spot."

"..."

Not far away.

Onodera Zannen stood quietly under the shade of a tree, carrying a paper bag he had brought from the fast food restaurant, and two cups of lemon fruit tea with a clear color and tiny water droplets condensing on the cups.

Her long black hair fell over her shoulders, and the pale sunlight filtered through the leaves, leaving dappled patterns of light on her body.

She had been there for a while.

From Kuroba Shido explaining the frequency of convulsions to Daikoku, to the technical difficulties of foaming at the mouth, and then to the so-called third sentence followed by the near-death scream, he didn't miss a single word of the entire rat fraud training course.

Onodera Zanne blinked.

Shido seemed completely unaware.

"One last time, come on, get ready."

Kuroba Shido lowered his voice: "Imagine you are not an ordinary big black rat, but a loyal little brother who ran three kilometers alone in 40-degree heat to protect his master, and finally collapsed from exhaustion, was seriously injured, and was about to leave the rat world."

Big Black: "..."

Isn't the plot a bit too heavy?

"You need to invest emotion, and make your eyes look even more desperate."

Big Black closed its eyes.

"Body convulsions."

Big Black started to shake.

"Foaming at the mouth."

Kuroba Shido used a wooden spoon to dab a little ice cream on the corner of its mouth.

"Get ready to scream..."

"Shidou-san."

A familiar voice came from behind me.

Shido Kuroba's body suddenly stiffened.

Big Black also froze.

The man and the mouse were silent for less than half a second. Then, the lewd director expression on Kuroba Shido's face vanished instantly. His mouth turned down, his brows furrowed, and his eyes revealed a mixture of grief, worry, reluctance, and just the right amount of strength.

Battle face switch complete.

"Senior..."

Kuroba Shido turned around abruptly, carefully supporting Dahei with one hand, his voice hoarse: "You've finally come. Dahei suddenly collapsed, its body convulsing, its limbs ice cold, and it didn't respond no matter how I called it."

Big Black kicked its legs twice in perfect cooperation.

Then his head tilted to the side.

The little bit of white ice cream at the corner of her mouth trembled slightly with her movements.

profession.

powerful.

This is the top-level survival tacit understanding that gradually formed from living under Kuroba Shido's command for a long time.

Kuroba Shido looked down at Dahei, gently stroking its increasingly pointed head with his fingers: "We've depended on each other for so many years, coming all the way from the sewers to where we are today. What hardships haven't we endured, what suffering haven't we suffered? I never thought that in the end we would fall victim to a mere heatstroke."

"squeak--"

As planned, Big Black let out a rather pitiful scream.

Although the senior only asked the first question.

But it's okay.

The atmosphere is right.

Onodera Zannen: "..."

Kuroba Shido took a deep breath and continued his performance: "Big Black, hang in there, the boss won't give up on you. Your wife and kids are waiting for you to come back. After we leave the zoo, the boss will take you to eat the best cordyceps and drink the purest sewer nuclear wastewater..."

Big Black: "..."

It was actually quite touching.

After hearing about nuclear wastewater, I suddenly felt that dying here wasn't so bad.

Onodera Zannen quietly watched the man and the mouse.

When Shido Kuroba got to the point where he was about to give CPR, she gently spoke, "Shido-kun."

"Um?"

"Actually, I've been standing there the whole time."

Onodera Zannen raised his hand and pointed to the shade of a tree not far away: "It started when you made Daikoku learn to twitch."

The grief on Shido Kuroba's face froze.

The big black dog's hind leg, which was halfway through its swing, froze in mid-air.

The wind blew between the two people.

A few leaves slowly fell.

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Big Black: "..."

The man and the mouse stared at each other silently.

Boss.

What should we do now?

Don't ask me, you're the boss now...

The sadness on Shido Kuroba's face gradually disappeared. He slowly lowered his hand that was supporting Daikoku, and finally sat back down on the bench quite naturally, placing Daikoku, whose mouth still had ice cream on it, back onto the tissue.

"cough."

He straightened his clothes, his expression returning to calm, as if the person who had just been holding the mouse and calling out to it with deep affection, almost performing artificial respiration on it, was merely a hallucination caused by the heat of the weather.

"Since you've already seen it, I won't hide it anymore."

Onodera Zane blinked softly: "Hmm?"

"This is a performance."

"Performance?"

"That's right."

Kuroba Shido nodded seriously and pointed at Daikoku: "Daikoku and I thought today's trip to the zoo was a bit ordinary, and we were worried that you might get bored, so we rehearsed a program on the spot to give you a surprise."

Big Black: "???"

When was the decision made?

Wasn't it only made to go along with the ice cream?

Before Daikoku could speak, Shido Kuroba gently pressed a finger on its head, forcibly suppressing all questions.

"The program is tentatively titled 'The Life-or-Death Rescue of the Loyal Rat in the Sewer.' It mainly tells the touching story of a poor and handsome young man from Tokyo who lives with his loyal little brother. When the little brother suffers from heatstroke and is on the verge of death, the handsome young man stays by his side and successfully creates a medical miracle with love and a cup of vanilla ice cream."

Onodera Zannen: "..."

"Although the script was a bit rushed, and the costumes, props, and location were not professional enough, the core emotions were very sincere, and the main purpose was to make the senior happy."

As Kuroba Shido said this, his tone became more and more natural: "Moreover, I have thought about it carefully. If we can't afford to eat in the future, or if we can't find a job after graduating from university, we can take Dahei to the streets to perform and learn a survival skill in advance."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that it can only fake heatstroke now. We can develop it to fake fractures, amnesia, being hit by a car, or even pretending to be a deceased grandfather who comes back to visit you in a dream. It can be used for many purposes and has a broad market prospect."

Big Black: "..."

Big Black looked down at its paws.

Suddenly, I feel a lot of pressure in my life.

"My senior was the first person to see the entire performance, and she can be considered the first specially invited audience member. If we really grow bigger and stronger in the future, her first witness qualification will definitely be very valuable."

After Kuroba Shido finished speaking, he fell silent.

pull.

so funny.

This isn't just ordinary nonsense; it's nonsense given wings, allowing it to fly directly from the zoo into space and fight alongside Ultraman.

But no way.

Now that things have come to this, I can't possibly admit that I had Daikoku fake heatstroke to fool my senior in order to avoid the Sawamura mother and daughter, can I?

It's hard to say what will happen after we admit it.

Even if we don't acknowledge it, there's still at least a one in ten thousand chance of a miracle.

Try it.

Trying it costs nothing.

What if the senior student suddenly does something foolish and believes it?

Kuroba Shido carefully observed Onodera Zanne's reaction.

She did not speak.

The smile on her face seemed a little gentler than before, and her eyes were calmly looking at Kuroba Shido, showing no dissatisfaction at being deceived.

Kuroba Shido raised his gaze again and looked at the top of her head.

Black text slowly appeared.

[Current state: Happy, satisfied, feeling delighted to be the first audience member for the boy's first official performance with the strange wild rodents, considering it a special memory that belongs only to him...]

[Salted Fish Guide: Take the opportunity to acknowledge this impromptu, abstract performance, and continue to invite the senior student as the sole audience member. Utilize her special filter to obtain a long-term supply of food, drinks, and daily necessities—enjoy yourself to the fullest!]

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Did they really believe it?

Oh my god, senior, please don't do this, I'm scared!

Shido Kuroba has a fairly clear understanding of himself.

He knew he wasn't human.

After all, he's Ultraman's human form... it's normal that he's not human.

What's going on with you, senior?

It's unbelievable that they could listen to such nonsense. Not only did they listen, they even came up with sophisticated explanations for themselves, such as "the first official performance," "the first audience member," and "a special memory."

A true master.

It's not about fooling or misleading others.

Just as someone was about to try and trick her, she broke her own leg and then smiled and asked if they wanted to go to the hospital together.

Awesome!

Oh, by the way, he's Ultraman's human form, so it's normal that he's not human.

Kuroba Shido composed himself: "What do you think of this program, Senpai?"

"That's very interesting."

Onodera Zanneo replied softly, "Daikoku's performance was also very good."

Upon hearing the praise, Dahei immediately recovered from its near-death state, propped itself up on the tissue with its two paws, and looked at the ice cream.

The performance has ended.

It's time to pay the remaining balance.

Just as Shido Kuroba was about to scoop out ice cream, Tsunade Onodera walked to the bench, put down the paper bag in her hand, and took out a smaller lunchbox from it.

"I brought chicken breast and some fruit for Dahei, intending to give it to him for lunch, but Shido left too quickly and I didn't have time to take them."

Dahei immediately abandoned the ice cream and climbed to the side of the food container.

The cardboard box is opened.

Inside are small pieces of chicken breast, apple, and a few nuts.

His big black eyes lit up, and he first turned around to look at Kuroba Shido.

The eldest brother didn't speak.

It cannot be eaten directly.

Kuroba Shido was quite satisfied with this, and casually waved his hand: "Eat up, it's from my senior."

Big Black then picked up the chicken breast.

Chew, chew, chew...

Big Black's satiety level +1 +1 +1...

Dahei's affection for his senior increases by 10...

At this rate, it's only a matter of time before Dahei is completely won over by his senior's sweet talk and betrays his boss...

Sorry, boss, the senior student gave us so much!

Big Black kept chewing.

Onodera Zannen sat down next to him and handed another drink to Kuroba Shishi, saying, "Shishi-kun has been walking for a long time, you must be thirsty. This is lemon iced tea, it's not too sweet."

The transparent glass contains a light red liquid, with lemon slices floating among the ice cubes. The glass is sealed tightly with a separate straw inserted next to it.

Kuroba Shido instinctively took it.

"Thank you, senior."

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly stopped.

The drink... reminded Kuroba Shido of some unpleasant memories.

Could my senior have tampered with it?

Shido Kuroba bent down to examine it.

The seal is intact.

There are no pinholes.

Straws are individually packaged.

There were no signs that the cup had been reopened.

The color is normal.

The taste is normal.

The lemon slices weren't arranged in any dangerous patterns.

The problem is, if someone of her caliber really wanted to do something, she certainly wouldn't leave any traces that ordinary people could see.

The most dangerous poisons often look as ordinary as soda.

Onodera Zannen picked up her drink, gently inserted the straw, and took a small sip: "Don't you like the taste?"

"no."

"Shido-kun hasn't drunk any."

"I'm observing lemons."

Kuroba Shido raised his glass and glanced at it in the sunlight: "It's cut very round, your knife skills are good."

Onodera Zanne looked at the lemon slices in the cup and observed them carefully as well: "They are indeed very neat."

"..."

Why go along with him?

You should complain!

Onodera Zannen didn't urge him. Instead, she placed her own drink aside and said, "If Shido-kun doesn't like it, you can switch with me. This one is white peach oolong."

"It's not a taste problem."

"Are you worried about what's inside?"

Shido Kuroba's heart skipped a beat.

That's too direct a question.

That only makes him seem petty.

In particular, Onodera Zanne showed no dissatisfaction on her face, but simply looked at him quietly with gentle eyes, as if she was genuinely worried about what she had done in the past that made Kuroba Shido feel insecure.

"Of course not."

Kuroba Shido immediately denied it: "Senpai is so kind, how could she put anything weird in my drink? I just finished eating a hamburger and I'm not thirsty right now."

"Um."

Onodera Zanne nodded gently, without asking any further questions or demanding proof from him. She simply placed the drink on the bench between the two of them.

"Then let's wait a while before drinking it. It won't be too cold after the ice melts a bit, which will be better for Shido's stomach."

reasonable.

Considerate.

There was no coercion involved.

Kuroba Shido's tense mind gradually relaxed.

Think about it carefully. Zoos are public places, full of tourists and cameras. And Onodera Zanne had just come out of a fast food restaurant. Where would she have had time to prepare strange things?

Moreover, both drinks were purchased on-site and were fully sealed, while the one in my hand didn't even have a straw.

Unless the senior student can activate some kind of spatial teleportation ability through the barrier, how can we even begin?

Normal beverage.

That's definitely normal.

"Shidou-san."

"Um?"

"If you're still worried, I can take a sip first."

Onodera Zanne reached out, seemingly preparing to take the cup from Kuroba Shido's hand.

Kuroba Shido immediately pulled back.

"There's no need."

What a joke.

If the senior student were to take a sip first, regardless of whether there was anything in it or not, the nature of the situation would change.

This makes him even more suspicious of a kind-hearted female student who bought him a drink.

Kuroba Shido tore open the straw packaging and slammed it into the sealing film.

It's no longer a question of whether we're thirsty or not.

It is a battle to protect personal trust.

I bet your gun is empty!

Kuroba Shido mentally made a classic gamble and took a deep breath.

The cold drink enters your mouth.

It has a light tea flavor.

It has a lemony sour taste.

It's not very sweet.

It doesn't have a strange bitter taste.

My tongue didn't feel numb.

There was no fever in my throat.

The field of vision did not rotate.

The system did not display any fatal warning.

Safety!

It was just ordinary iced tea!

Kuroba Shido put down his cup, his expression returning to calm: "It tastes good."

Onodera Zanne's eyes curved slightly.

"I'm glad you like it, Shido."

Kuroba Shido took another sip.

My doubts vanished completely.

Although she sometimes seems a bit off, she is fundamentally a kind, gentle senior who prepares nutritious lunchboxes for Dahei.

We shouldn't always think the worst of people.

The most basic trust between people should still exist.

"ah."

Onodera Zan'in suddenly spoke softly.

Kuroba Shido stopped moving: "What's wrong?"

She glanced at the lemon iced tea in Kuroba Shido's hand, then at the white peach oolong tea next to her, a very subtle look of surprise on her face.

"I think I took the wrong one."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

"That cup in Shido's hand should be mine."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Awesome!!!

He stiffly placed the cup back on the bench, his mind already searching for any nearby taps, disinfectant, or medical facilities that could perform a lip replacement on the spot.

Onodera Zannen blinked twice as she watched his reaction.

"Just kidding."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "???"

"That cup is for Shido-kun."

A slight smile curved her lips: "I haven't tried it yet."

Kuroba Shido stared at her.

The senior student would actually joke around?

Moreover, it was such an extremely malicious joke that it would cause your heart to stop beating and almost make you spit out your lemon iced tea through your nose.

Onodera Zannen picked up her white peach oolong tea and took a small sip: "Shido-kun's expression just now was quite interesting."

"Senior, you've gone astray."

"Yeah?"

"My senior classmates weren't like this before."

"Perhaps it's because I've spent so much time with Shido that I've been influenced a bit."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Shifting the blame.

Standard blame-shifting.

And yet, what he said made perfect sense.

Kuroba Shido picked up the iced tea again, but did not drink it immediately. He looked at the straw with a complicated expression. Even though Onodera Zanne had said that he had not drunk it, a subtle feeling still arose in his heart.

Onodera Zannen quickly noticed.

"Isn't Shido going to drink anymore?"

"I'm not thirsty anymore."

"Is it because I said I took the wrong one?"

"no."

"Shido-kun looks disgusted."

"Absolutely not."

"It's because I've done some things that make you uneasy that Shido doesn't believe me."

Onodera Zanne lowered her eyes, her voice a little softer than before: "I just wanted to make Shido happy, I didn't expect it to cause trouble."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

coming.

wrong.

To be precise, it's unclear when it started.

The battle may have already begun the moment Onodera Zanne said "You took the wrong one".

Just kidding.

Make him react.

Then explain that you haven't drunk it.

Observe whether he continues to drink.

Finally, he precisely transformed his hesitation into distrust of her.

A series of combos flowed smoothly and effortlessly.

There was absolutely no coercion.

Even Onodera Zanne took the initiative to take responsibility, attributing all the problems to her own shortcomings, as if Kuroba Shido was hurting a gentle upperclassman who was trying to get closer to him if he didn't continue drinking.

high.

It's really high.

In order to deal with extreme social terrorists like Aoko Jingu, Shido Kuroba specifically read a lot of free love quotes, dating tips, and "Fifty Hints of How to Identify Dangerous Women".

Onodera Zan'on is clearly different.

I watched it for free.

I've also watched the paid content.

He mastered all the membership courses, internal handouts, one-on-one mentorship, and even the forbidden versions that may have been discontinued, and then used every trick in the book on him.

"Senior, you're overthinking it."

Kuroba Shido bit the straw again and took a big gulp, proving with his actions that he didn't find it disgusting.

Onodera Zanne raised her eyes.

"real?"

"certainly."

"Is it okay even if I've already drunk from it?"

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Senior, I'm begging you...

Kuroba Shido choked and coughed twice. Onodera Zanne reached out and gently patted his back: "Slow down."

"Senior, please don't ask this kind of question all of a sudden."

Why?

"People could die easily."

"I just wanted to make sure that Shido-kun doesn't hate me."

"No, I don't dislike it."

Kuroba Shido took a few sips of iced tea, feeling that all his intelligence for the day had turned into a negative number when facing his senior.

Even though they knew the other party was leading them.

Even though they knew that continuing might lead them into a trap.

But the senior student left herself a reasonable escape route at every step, forcing him to take the initiative to move forward.

This is no longer just a regular dating technique.

It's a gentler version of "luring someone into a trap."

The faint disappointment in Onodera Zanne's eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a gentle smile: "That's good."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

He looked up at the top of Onodera Zannen's head.

[Current state: Happy, satisfied, confirmed that the boy will not reject physical intimacy, and feels that today's relationship progressed very smoothly...]

[Salted Fish Guide: Continue drinking the free beverages offered by the senior, accept her emotional support and food, utilize her self-control strategies to reduce long-term living costs, and enjoy yourself to the fullest!]

Kuroba Shido silently withdrew his gaze.

Black-hearted system.

All you've got to say is that it's a free drink.

Big Black had finished eating the chicken breast and was holding a small piece of apple, his beady black eyes darting back and forth between the drinks in the two people's hands.

It doesn't know what indirect contact is.

All I know is that the eldest brother drank a lot, and the senior sister drank a little; both cups tasted sweet.

It also wants to drink.

Dahei crawled two steps toward Kuroba Shido's hand.

You can't drink it.

Kuroba Shido blocked it with one finger: "Tea, sugar, ice, none of these are suitable for you. You just pretended to have heatstroke, and now you're really getting heatstroke after drinking this. The boss isn't going to play along with you for a second act."

Big Black stopped.

Onodera Zannen took out a small bottle of room temperature drinking water and poured it into a mini bottle cap: "Daikoku, drink this."

Big Black immediately shifted its target.

After chewing, I lowered my head to drink water.

Big Black's health value +1 +1 +1...

"Senior, you even prepared this?"

"Yes, it takes a long time to walk around in the zoo, so Big Black needs to drink water too."

"You're even more thoughtful than I am, the boss."

"Because Daikoku is an important member of Shido's family."

If I don't try to steal and possess her place in his heart...

Onodera Zanne looked at the big black dog who was drinking water with his head down, and said gently, "I will take seriously what Shido cares about."

Shido Kuroba paused slightly.

There's no trick to this statement.

At least it doesn't sound like it.

He glanced down at Daikoku, then looked at Onodera Zannen. His mind, which had been full of vigilance and sarcastic remarks, suddenly fell silent for a brief moment.

"Thank you, senior."

"Shido-kun has said thank you many times today."

"If you take too many freebies and don't say thank you, you'll be struck by lightning."

"Then we can try a different approach next time."

"In what way?"

Onodera Zannen didn't answer immediately, but just smiled gently: "I'll tell you later."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

It leaves us in suspense.

Why do these smart women always leave things unsaid?

Does this mean that the world's rules will deduct money from my account after I complete the game?

After a short rest, the two set off again.

The afternoon's itinerary included the marine life exhibit inside the zoo. The building's exterior was designed in a deep blue color, and a huge whale model hung at the entrance. Visitors walked through a gradually darkening passageway, and the surrounding noise also subsided.

The transparent water tank is embedded in the wall.

Schools of small silver fish swam under the blue light, their bodies reflecting light as they changed direction, like a constantly moving galaxy.

Big Black lay on Kuroba Shido's shoulder, its beady black eyes following the movement of the fish from side to side, its head turning back and forth.

Left.

right.

Left.

right.

The speed is getting faster and faster.

Kuroba Shido reached out and held its head: "Stop looking, or your neck will twist into a pretzel, and the boss will have to set your bones."

Onodera Zannen stood to the side and said softly, "Daikoku seems quite interested."

"It's not interested; it's calculating how to eat it."

Big Black: "..."

The area ahead is a jellyfish zone.

The translucent jellyfish slowly unfurled in the dark tank, their edges shimmering with a faint blue light. Visitors unconsciously lowered their voices, and the entire space was so quiet that it seemed completely separate from the zoo outside.

Onodera Zannen slowed his pace.

Kuroba Shido stopped complaining and looked up at the jellyfish floating in the water.

"Does it resemble a soul?"

"Um."

She looks pretty, but she's actually brainless.

Onodera Zanne turned to look at him: "Shido-kun, are you talking about jellyfish?"

"Of course, who else could it be?"

"I thought you were talking about the person you just met."

The Black Feather Warrior said, "..."

Is the senior referring to the pink-haired mother and daughter?

uncertain.

Let's observe for a while longer.

Onodera Zannen had already looked away, as if it had just been a casual question without any deeper meaning.

The two continued along the curved water tank, the water reflecting on their faces. Kuroba Shido walked slowly with his cane, while Onodera Zanne kept pace with him. Occasionally, when they encountered steps with dim lighting, they would naturally reach out to support their arms.

Most of the drink in the cup has already been drunk.

Lemon slices are stuck to the inside of the cup.

Only a small half cup of white peach oolong tea remained.

Kuroba Shido was completely unaware that Onodera Zanne's smile deepened slightly every time she looked at the drink in his hand.

As for whether that lemon iced tea was actually drunk...

Hehe... Actually, I drank both cups.