Sana now stood slightly ahead and to the side of him, folding her hands respectfully in front of her, thanking Zhouzhu, Kondo, and Chokata for their hospitality tonight.
His sister stood at a slight distance from him.
Kondo and the others were not in their close proximity either.
He was now in a somewhat near "alone" state with Aoto—Chiba Shigetarou, realizing this, squinted his eyes and quickly took half a step forward to close the distance between himself and Aoto.
"...Mr. Tachibana." Chiba Shigetarou spoke in a low tone that only he and Aoto could hear, quickly asking, "Are you married or engaged?"
Aoto was taken aback, "Mr. Shigetarou, why the sudden question?"
"Haha, no reason." Chiba Shigetarou chuckled, "Just a momentary curiosity."
Upon hearing this explanation from Chiba Shigetarou, Aoto, though still somewhat puzzled, quickly responded to Shigetarou's earlier question:
