Shii’s reaction to Sota bringing a bunch of girls to the house was a bit different from what he expected.
“… Older Brother?”
Until now, when Sota brought Yuka, Nanami, or Hagiwara, she would at least send a wary gaze, but there was never a hint of disbelief in her reactions.
After all, all three were top students, even if they each had their quirks. They looked serious just by their appearances.
But the girls who followed Sota today—
At least Nanami and Yuka didn’t seem much different from usual. The awkwardness that Shii used to feel when they visited had almost disappeared, so even when she sent her wary looks, their expressions said, Whatever.
However, Kurosawa and Fukuda, who came in after those two, were a different story.
Kurosawa maintained a blank expression. Her long bangs flowed over her face, while the back was styled in a peculiar way thanks to Nanami.
She had a somewhat gloomy vibe, but if her expression were even a bit brighter, she wouldn’t have seemed entirely dark. After all, a person’s impression is influenced by both looks and expression.
But with her pale skin — looking almost sickly as if she rarely stepped out — and the dark circles under her eyes, her lively hairstyle and face didn’t match at all.
To an unfamiliar person, she might seem strange.
And then there was Fukuda, who popped up while stuffing her hands into her skirt pockets and looking around the house, her bottom lip jutting out a little, looking quite uneasy. Maybe she was trying to conceal her awkwardness the best she could.
Plus, her whole vibe screamed “I look like I’d be fun to hang out with.”
Everyone here knew that Fukuda wasn’t exactly that kind of girl, though.
“Older Brother.”
Shii called out again to Sota, who was turning away—
“Older Brother?”
But before Sota could respond, someone else reacted to that title.
Fukuda, who had been at the back, suddenly stepped up. Nanami, who bumped into her in the narrow entrance, grumbled in annoyance but didn’t seem to care too much.
Out of nowhere, Fukuda stepped forward and stared intently at Shii.
Shii flinched and took a small step back, looking a bit frightened.
She knew that she should tell Fukuda that she wasn’t that kind of girl, but this time, Sota had no time to defend Shii.
“Did you just call her ‘Older Brother’? You can’t be serious, do you really call her that all the time?”
“… Is that wrong?”
At a glance, Shii might seem like she had low self-esteem, but in reality, she was pretty firm.
She was aware that she was, alongside Sota, the rightful owner of this house.
She wouldn’t shove guests out. Of course, especially if they were Sota’s guests.
However, Shii wasn’t the kind to let anyone invade her territory either, so she straightened up and looked up at Fukuda.
“I’m calling her that because I want to, what’s wrong with that?”
In truth, the term Older Brother was something Sota had never heard used around him. At least among his friends who had younger sisters, those sisters didn’t often address them that way.
If the age difference were only one or two years, it would be rare to hear such a title at all considering they often didn’t even talk.
In that sense, Sota thought Shii was a really good younger sister, but—
“That’s because Older Brother is the most dependable Older Brother in the world! Of course, he deserves to be called that!”
—Still, saying that much felt a bit embarrassing.
“Dependable? This guy?”
“Of course! He’s the most dependable family member in the world to me! If you disagree—”
“… No, I didn’t particularly deny it.”
Fukuda interrupted Shii’s words and replied like that.
“Eh?”
Shii blinked, surprised, thinking she’d get an argument back.
“I didn’t deny it. If you think he’s dependable, then that’s how it is.”
“…”
Fukuda seemed drained of energy to even smile as she answered and then walked toward the living room, passing by Shii.
Sota, feeling somewhat awkward, scratched his head.
“Uh… Sorry.”
“Hah.”
When Sota apologized to Shii, she let out a big sigh and looked up at him again.
“Older Brother is just too nice; that’s his downfall.”
Sota figured that was true for her as well.
Of course, he realized that there was no need to argue back in this situation.
*
Though she was somewhat wary, Shii still made sure to treat the guests well now that they were in the house.
She hurried to the kitchen to fetch tea and snacks. The tea was cheap considering the house and condition, but nobody seemed to mind that here.
Green tea was served in front of everyone, alongside snacks that were purchased on discount from the mart. Though the packaging looked a bit shabby, each person had taken the time to arrange it nicely on a little tray, so it didn’t look that cheap.
“So.”
The first to speak was Fukuda.
Seems satisfied with the snacks, she nibbled away as she continued the conversation.
“Are we going to hang out during summer vacation? What plans do you have?”
“Oh, right.”
Maybe she was too focused on the standoff between Shii and Fukuda earlier, but Nanami muttered as if she totally forgot why they came.
“Since it’s summer vacation, how about a trip to the beach for at least one night? I think everyone can manage for a day, right?”
“The beach?”
Shii’s brow shot up.
Shii usually didn’t mind Sota meeting his friends at school. But controlling her brother’s interactions with girls was something she didn’t quite like, Sota thought to himself.
But an overnight trip was a whole different ballgame.
While Shii always called Sota her ‘dependable Older Brother’ and treated him that way, it seemed like she had ruled out that perspective when it came to women.
For Sota, this was rather unfair. After all, he had never laid a hand on any girl.
Technically, if one were to debate about physical contact, it wasn’t like he had none, but clearly that conversation led to very different implications.
Sota had never had a girlfriend, let alone kissed anyone, so the idea of ‘womanizing’ seemed utterly absurd.
“I’m not not trusting you, but I don’t trust girls!”
Shii had once said that.
Then her face turned bright red, and she ran off to the kitchen.
…Well.
In reality, it was only natural to feel suspicious if someone said they were going to the beach alone with girls or a group of girls.
Sota was just an ordinary teenage boy with a normal mindset, so he had no reason to think something like that would ever happen.
“Don’t worry, Shii.”
Nanami spoke to Shii in a very gentle voice.
Still, Shii kept her narrow-eyed glare directed at Nanami.
Though Nanami’s eyebrows twitched slightly at that gaze, she maintained her warm demeanor as she continued speaking.
“Of course, I’m planning to take you along too. It wouldn’t feel right if sisters couldn’t go along with their brother.”
“…”
Shii’s eyes narrowed a bit more, but she still seemed willing to listen, so Nanami nodded satisfactorily.
Seeing Nanami like that, Yuka brought a hand to her forehead, while Fukuda only made a look of disbelief.
And Kurosawa? She sipped her green tea silently, not touching anything else.
But the chocolate chip cookies beside her were being eaten bit by bit.
…Is it okay to put sugar in green tea? I’ve heard of putting sugar in black tea, but green tea with sugar?
Judging by the occasional green tea snacks or green tea ice cream and drinks, it wouldn’t seem too strange to have sugar in them.
Some people might not like tea, but still, it felt a bit regretful to not even taste the drink someone thoughtfully prepared.
As soon as Sota stood up from his seat, all the kids turned to him at the same time.
“Alright, I’ll just step into the kitchen for a moment.”
“Then, I’ll go too, Older Brother.”
Shii said excitedly as she stood up from her seat.
“Older Brother doesn’t even know what’s in the kitchen, right?”
Fukuda looked at Sota with disbelief. Her expression seemed to say, Didn’t you just call him your dependable Older Brother? But Sota had no choice but to remain silent. After all, Shii knew the household chores much better than he did.
“Do you need anything?”
“… I was just wondering if you have sugar cubes.”
“Sugar cubes?”
Shii tilted her head but headed toward the kitchen.
Feeling the gazes directed at him, Sota awkwardly sat back down.
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