“I hear Airi’s been watching daytime dramas lately.”
“Ehh!? Suspense stuff!?”
“Nope. The ones about young landladies at traditional inns.”
“Oh… So those exist too, huh.”
I feel like I catch glimpses of them when club activities wrap up in the morning. But aren’t those the ones where the mother-in-law torments the young bride? That can’t be good for Airi-chan’s education… Honestly, those shows get pretty messy and dramatic, don’t they?
“Fufu, it’s fine because Airi doesn’t really understand any of it. She’s apparently taken an interest in the job of ‘landlady’ and often imitates it.”
“Hmm… So she’s only absorbing the good parts. What a super good girl.”
“Right?”
“Right?” This was getting dangerous. Aichi looking all smug and proud after being praised for her little sister. Seriously, this was too much. Even though I wasn’t thirsty, the barley tea they’d given me kept going down smoothly. I didn’t really get it, but my instincts were demanding it. I could probably even eat a full meal right now. Wait… was I just hungry?
“She can do a really pretty bow, you know~”
“Right~!”
The moment Aichi said “She does it!” she turned toward me in the middle of the sofa and sat in perfect seiza. Aaaah… I already knew what was coming. I wasn’t sure I could keep my composure.
“Welcome! Thank you for coming!!”
“Ai-chaaan! Come here, onto my lap~!”
“Kyaa!”
“Ah!? Hey, Kei!”
The instant she placed her hands on the sofa and gave a perfect little bow, there was nothing I could do but squirm. The emotion with nowhere else to go could only be unleashed on the Ai-chan in front of me. Or rather, I pulled her onto my lap and started nuzzling her. Haan, she was so soft…
“Welcome, Ai-chan! Thank you for cominggg!”
“Kyahahaha! That tickles!!”
“Geez…”
I was pretty sure I was currently less tired than anyone else in the world who had just finished club activities. She was so cute… What kind of angel was this? I wanted a little sister too. Mom, can’t you do something about that? I could feel energy being replenished inside me. Those nutritional drinks were basically just water compared to this.
“Fufu, Airi. Should we do it for the guy who’s coming later too?”
“That guy~?”
“Ah, um… for ‘Sajoo’ too.”
“Kufu.”
Aichi deliberately used a name that would be easy for Airi to understand. Just hearing “Sajoo” was already funny, but the fact that she was copying Airi’s way of speaking made me burst out laughing. Also, it was adorable. How could someone be that cute?
“Sajocchi’s gonna be so surprised.”
“He really will. If he doesn’t react…”
“A-Aichi…”
I could feel the depth of her sisterly love. No matter what kind of person Aichi usually was, I bet she became terrifying when it came to Airi. If Airi ever hit her rebellious phase, Aichi would probably lose it…
“——Whoa!?”
“Hyawaa!?”
While I was imagining the sisters’ future like some kind of relative auntie, the smartphone on the table started rattling and vibrating. Since it didn’t have a soft case, it made quite a loud noise.
Airi jumped in surprise too, while Aichi grumbled “That scared me…” with a slightly pouty face as she picked up her phone. Not wanting to miss such a cute sight, I grabbed my own phone. Sure enough, mine was going popoko with notifications as well.
【Um… I’ll be there soon, yes.】
“Ah! Sajoo!”
Airi was peeking at Aichi’s screen and bouncing up and down. Oh right, Sajocchi’s display name was “Sajoo.” No wonder Airi could read it.
Still… wasn’t Sajocchi’s tone kind of really humble? He sounded like a dad on the phone with his boss. Was he nervous? Now that I thought about it, he was coming to a girl’s house—and not just any girl, Aichi’s house. Of course he’d be nervous. I wished he’d direct some of that nervousness toward me, though… The fact that I was barely even in his field of vision sometimes pissed me off. Well, I already knew that.
“Look, Sajocchi’s here.”
“Y-yeah…”
Like a puppy that sensed its owner returning, Airi pattered off toward the entrance. That was a little dangerous. I thought Aichi would scold her for running, but Aichi didn’t say anything and didn’t even chase after her. When I glanced sideways, there was a weird girl standing perfectly still with her mouth opening and closing like a goldfish.
“U-um, Aichi…?”
“Ha…!? U-um… Airi!? Where did she go!?”
“She went toward the entrance.”
“Geez…!”
Hey, what do you mean “Geez…!”? She literally ran right in front of you!
Wait, hold on—did this mean Aichi was actually conscious of Sajocchi!? Nice going, Sajocchi! I suddenly felt like cooking red rice! I was so jealous I wanted to sprinkle hot sesame and salt on some steaming rice and slam it into this lady-killer’s face!
I didn’t know how this would turn out, but I hoped it went in a good direction. Sajocchi clearly liked Aichi but always held himself back a few steps. Watching them made my own chest feel tight. I was on Aichi’s side, so I wasn’t exactly rooting for Sajocchi… but the Aichi I loved most seemed to come out the strongest when he was around.
◆
“W-wait, isn’t the floor hard…? Doesn’t it hurt? Maybe you shouldn’t——!”
“Yaaah~!”
“Ahaha, she’s so cute.”
The place Airi had run off to was right before the step at the entrance. Normally that was where you sat and went “heave-ho” to put on your shoes. On the far-from-soft entrance mat, Airi was waiting in perfect seiza. It looked like she wanted to do her “Welcome! Thank you for coming!!” bit.
Aichi was panicking because the floor was hard and trying to get her to stop. Every time Airi fidgeted, you could hear little poki poki sounds coming from her legs in seiza. I’d probably make the same noises. Once you got in the habit, it was hard to stop.
“I-I’ll go call him over!”
“Ah!? Wait, Aichi! I’m coming too! Sorry Airi-chan, just wait a second okay!”
“Okaaay!”
I dashed out the entrance after Aichi. This was ridiculous… Had Sajocchi just instantly turned into Aichi’s enemy…? Where did that faint, fluffy feeling from earlier go? Her priority for Airi was way too high. Didn’t she realize she had zero chance of winning?
After we went outside and walked a little, we spotted a suspicious-looking guy. Or rather, it was just Sajocchi. He had a brown one-shoulder bag slung over his shoulder and was carrying plastic bags in both hands while walking in the heat. What were those? Had he actually brought snacks for us?
He must have heard our footsteps. When he looked up at us, his face twisted into the most shocked expression I’d ever seen.
“Wataru!!”
“!!?”
Called out to so strongly, Sajocchi straightened his back on the spot and let out a reply that wasn’t even words. It sounded like a high-pitched squeak of panic.
If someone came running at you full speed with their hair flying around, you’d be startled too. I mean, even if it was a beautiful girl, that was scary. Tough luck, Sajocchi. Actually, this was great for him. The girl he liked was rushing toward him. Congratulations. Now hand over the snacks.
“Hurry up and come!!”
“Oss!!?”
Aichi grabbed Sajocchi by the wrist and yanked him forward. Sajocchi let out a sound like a walrus that had just taken a gut punch and was helplessly dragged along.
As they passed by, Sajocchi’s eyes met mine with a look that screamed ‘What the hell!? What the hell!?’ I gracefully secured the plastic bags full of snacks from both his hands… Oh! There was ramune! That was nostalgic! Nice!
It was hot outside. But after getting used to the steamy gymnasium during club, this level of UV attack was nothing. I’d put on sunscreen, after all!
As I chased after Aichi and Sajocchi while applying UV protection in my final sprint, the two of them stopped in front of the entrance. Oho! Aichi was still gripping Sajocchi’s arm and refusing to let go! It was a little much, but I was happy to see it!
“Wataru…”
“Eh, um, ehh? My arm—— I mean, Natsukawa-san?”
“——Be prepared.”
“Ehhh!?”
Wasn’t Aichi going a little too wild? Could she stop looking at an unarmed opponent like she was about to stab him with a sword? Even I, as a fellow girl, found a beautiful girl’s glare scary. And the way Sajocchi looked both happy to be touched by a beauty and terrified at the same time gave off such a pathetic loser vibe that it was actually making me sad.
“Haaai, stop stop.”
“Ha, hahida…”
“Your tongue isn’t working, Sajocchi~”
In that one instant, it looked like a whole bunch of things had been stolen from him. Including a boy’s pure-hearted feelings. He wasn’t literally spinning, but he might as well have been. For now, let’s just say it was Sajocchi’s fault for making Airi sit in seiza. Yeah, we’d go with that. He was a guy, after all.
“Aichii, how long are you going to keep holding onto Sajocchi’s arm~?”
“Eh?…… Ah!”
Aichi suddenly let go of Sajocchi’s arm. She clutched the hand she’d been holding to her chest and started fidgeting awkwardly. Aahn, so cute! But Aichi! Given the current situation, Sajocchi wasn’t just embarrassed—he was completely confused!
“Um…”
“Anyway, just come inside! Don’t stop in front of the door!”
“W-why?”
Even Sajocchi calmly shot back. It was a small but definite resistance. I don’t think I’d ever seen him look annoyed at Aichi before. He might have sensed something.
The entrance door had a frosted glass panel… so maybe Aichi’s plan was to make Sajocchi’s legs or waist visible through it so Airi could see him approaching?
“Come in.”
“Eh, is that okay?”
“Come in.”
“Oss.”
The conversation was progressing at a speed that didn’t feel like a reunion between a boy and girl with a complicated relationship. Airi’s charm was no joke. She could completely change Aichi.
Sajocchi looked confused, but he didn’t seem tense anymore. Actually, his face said it was best to just obediently follow along. Shouldn’t he wipe off that sweat first? Oh, he had body wipes. That was a good point in his favor.
Looking like he was about to enter a haunted house, Sajocchi said “O-okay, opening it,” and reached for the sliding door. He pulled it open with a clack———
“——Welcome!! Thank you for coming!!!”
“Guhah!!!”
“Huh?”
On the other side of the door, Airi was sitting neatly and bowing beautifully. After receiving a 120-point welcome, Sajocchi clutched his chest and writhed in agony. I accidentally let out a sound at his unexpected reaction, but since Aichi was standing there with her arms crossed, nodding in satisfaction, I guess it was fine. She looked like a coach after a player hit a perfect spike…
“Isn’t she cute? Right? Isn’t she cute?”
Whoa, amazing! That was Aichi’s doya-gao! I’d never seen it before! This was the first time I’d ever seen Aichi looking so proud of herself! It was super cute though!? Sajocchi, look to the side! The side! Airi was cute too but look over here!
“……That posture is super effective.”
“……?”
Still slightly crouched, Sajocchi muttered in his suffering. Effective? Was it because Airi was too cute? She really was cute. Had his back pain been healed? Or was it something else?
“——Phew. Thank you for the welcome, Airi-chan.”
“Ai!”
At any rate, Sajocchi, who had read the room, gave his thanks, and Airi energetically raised her hand in reply.
When I looked to the side, Aichi had frozen solid like a stone statue.