Is this the Demon King's Castle...?
It looked like a normal house—it should have, at least. So why did it feel like it was towering over me? Was the place I lived in not actually a house, but a stable?
"H-Here we go (falsetto)."
"Don't keep that persona up in front of Airi..."
"Ugh..."
"W-Why do you look like you're about to cry!?"
My 'pretend-to-be-a-girl' strategy was rejected. So, what else was left for me to do? Give up, that's what. I just had to accept my trembling legs and the fact that my mind had gone completely blank. Whatever happened, happened. I was ready for enlightenment. Come to me, Buddha.
"D-Do you really hate it that much...?"
"Crap, I really want to meet your sister now. Is it okay if I hug her later?"
"I'll hit you."
"Eek."
That was close; I almost sat on command like a dog. My mouth let out an 'eek,' but my heart let out a 'yelp.' I didn't know humans could increase the intensity of their facial expressions while remaining perfectly still. If I were a dog, my tail would have been tucked between my legs. Whimper.
"Goodness, let's just go already!"
"Whoa, o-okay, I get it, I get it...!"
Is Natsukawa actually the predatory type? From an outsider's perspective, this looked like she was dragging a guy into her house. I was honored to be entrusted with such a major role. By the way, what should I do with this uncontrollable urge of mine? The sea. I'll go to the sea alone later.
"G-Go in quietly, okay?"
"Wait, is that how we're doing this?"
"Mother will find out!"
"So Mother was at home."
Something like the ghost of a salesman who had mastered his professional persona possessed me. Good call, me. If the worst came to the worst, I'd go with this. I mean, was it bad if her mother found out about me? I’d normally at least offer a greeting. Though I didn't have a gift box of sweets or anything. Did she just not want to show me to her? Eh? That wasn't it, right...?
I followed Natsukawa as she began to sneak around. Was this okay? Wouldn't it look like we were about to do something scandalous if we got caught?
"...!"
Natsukawa opened the front door, and taking that as my cue, I entered as well. T-This was it...! That sweet scent that usually drifted faintly from Natsukawa!
Wait, wasn't this dangerous? The entire air inside the house already smelled like Natsukawa. Well, it was the Natsukawa household, so I guess that was obvious. It was obvious, but the stimulation was a bit much for a boy in puberty. Every person's house had its own smell, didn't it? Since I'd only ever gone to other guys' houses to play games, I never really paid attention to it... Control yourself, control yourself, me...! This is the critical moment...!
Time to switch gears. Mission start: from this point on, achieve a rendezvous with the younger sister without being discovered by the inhabitants of the house. The time limit: the Sajou Family's dinner time.
"—Ah! Big Sis!"
"A-Airi...!"
"Mission complete! Withdrawing from the area immediately!"
"Hey, where are you going!?"
A girl about five years old popped her head out from a door that likely led to the living room. It was a stylish door with a transparent glass pane set in the middle, allowing a view of the other side. Beyond it, I could see a figure that was clearly Natsukawa's mother. The mission was effectively a failure.
So, could you please let go of my hand, Natsukawa-san? We're going to be found out, and more importantly, my blood pressure won't stop rising.
"Big Sis! —And who's that?"
"My name is Sajou Wataru. It is a pleasure to meet you, Airi-san."
"Don't use your business persona..."
Possess me, ghost of a salesman. I am a kind older brother. I am incredibly good at acting composed, and I'm a pro at handling children—I even have several sisters, you know? On the other side of the screen.
While my brain was running wild, Airi-chan was picked up from behind. My body instinctively stiffened at Mother's appearance, which came sooner than I expected.
"—Oh? Did you bring another friend from school, Aika?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Ah, hello. My name is Sajou. It's a pleasure to meet you."
O-Oh... I was able to greet her much more smoothly than I thought. I guess social pleasantries just come out when they have to. See, I can do it if I try.
Feeling relieved, I took another look at Natsukawa's mother. She had a face that resembled Natsukawa. Rather than looking gentle, she gave off a somewhat serious and diligent impression.
"Sajou-kun, is it? Nice to meet you—wait, oh? Is it just this boy today?"
"Ugh... y-yeah."
"O-Oh... then, could it be you're going to Aika's room today?"
"W-Wait a minute, Mother, you're misunderstanding! The playroom! We're going to the playroom!"
"I-Is that so?"
Ah, I knew moms like this. The type who talks to their daughter like they're the same age. I was actually a bit relieved that she was genuinely flustered. Since she was Natsukawa's mother, I thought she'd be the type who was perfectly composed and had no openings. I was glad she wasn't the 'capable female CEO' type... more importantly, I was glad she didn't know about me. It sent shivers down my spine to think what would happen if she knew I had been a nuisance.
"Staaaare."
Whoa, she was really looking at me. Airi-chan was staring at me intensely. Looking at her again, she was super cute—a total Angel. Her eyes were so big and round; I could see why Natsukawa doted on her so much. Little sisters really were the best; I wish I had a sister like this. I was going to go home and break the screen.
◆
"I-I'm sorry about my mother."
"If anything, I'm sorry for just showing up."
"That's fine!"
"So cu—hnnn."
"H-Hey! Don't do that in front of Airi!"
Th-That's right. Natsukawa got dead serious when it came to her sister. I really had to hold back on stuff like that. I hoped I could suppress my urges...
The room we were shown into was the playroom. It was a soft, colorful room with foam mats laid out for children, and there were things like a small slide and a jungle gym. There were also building blocks and various other toys. You could just tell how much she was loved.
As I sat at the small round table in the middle of the room, Natsukawa brought some tea.
"This is a surreal situation."
"D-Don't say that! I'm trying not to think about it."
"...Did you really want us to meet that much?"
"........."
Even in this situation, Natsukawa had wanted to introduce me to her sister. Ashida said that otherwise, Natsukawa wouldn't be satisfied. I hadn't heard it from her own mouth yet, but she hadn't denied it either, and more than anything, it showed in her attitude.
"Ah."
While we were having that exchange, Airi-chan, who was by Natsukawa's side, came toddling over and stood directly in front of me as I sat cross-legged.
"............Takaa-ki?"
"...Hm? Takaaki?"
"T-That's..."
Was that her dad's name? No, she wouldn't call him by his first name... In that case, it had to be another guy's name. Ah, come to think of it, this kid took a liking to Sasaki, didn't she? Now that I think about it, when I went to that guy's house with Yamazaki to play Winning Eleven, I think I heard his mother call him "Takaaki."
"Airi, this big brother's name is 'Wataru'."
"Wa-ta-ru."
"Hehe, what's with that way of saying it?"
"..."
What was this sight... Heaven? Was this heaven? A Goddess and an Angel were frolicking together. When had I passed away? In the first place, was it okay for me to be in heaven?
I squinted my eyes at the sight that was far too dazzling. It even felt like I was looking at something I wasn't supposed to see. What on earth was I supposed to do...?
"Come on, Wataru, introduce yourself too."
"O-Oh."
Natsukawa turned a kinder face toward me than ever before. Her tone was soft and gentle, as if she were stroking me, and she just normally called me by my name; I could only stand there in a daze. Eh, was it normal for older sisters in the world to be like this? Was it weird that I was bewildered... no, that wasn't it, my Nee-chan was the one who was weird.
"...Maybe my name is hard to say? Airi-chan, call me 'Sajoo'."
"Sajoo."
"That's right, Sajoo."
"Sajoo!"
"Sajoo!"
"you don't have to act like a child too..."
Oops, an unwanted desire just slipped out. As someone with younger brother attributes, I must have been drawn to Natsukawa's older sister attributes. I almost regressed into childhood unconsciously. I'd given up; I was a Pervert. I wanted a knee pillow so bad it was dangerous.
Airi-chan, apparently finding something fun about it, was thrusting one hand up like Ultraman while shouting "Sajoo!" I was glad she seemed to have remembered it. I thought my surname had a good ring to it, if I do say so myself.
"Sajoo! Funny hair!"
"I'm going to go dye my hair right now."
"Don't do that now."
So my hair's two-tone color was weird...! I knew it. I really should do something about this hair eventually... though I didn't mind leaving it as is. I didn't really have any particular preference right now. But this look mixed with brown hair did look kind of messy.
"Sajoo! Huggie!"
"Eh."
"Huggie!"
H-Hug? How was I even supposed to do a hug? After normally picking her up... what was I supposed to do then? Ugh... if it came to this, I'd use the ultimate form of hugging, the Princess Carry...!
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, um..."
"Stand up."
"Oh..."
Seeing that I was struggling, Natsukawa offered some support. I stood up as I was told and stood rigidly at attention for the time being.
"You can imagine the general shape of a hug, right? Just do that."
"O-Ossu."
"The answer is 'yes'."
"Y-Yeth."
As expected of Natsukawa. Her Big Sister Power was no joke. If it weren't for this moment, I might have completely turned into a younger brother and acted spoiled. I wish I had an older sister like this...
"Airi-chan, I'm going to hug you, okay?"
"Hmm?"
"Final answer?"
"There's no way she'd understand that... just hurry up and do it."
"Yes."
Um, how was I supposed to do this again... Just pick her up by the armpits and place her against my chest... a-are...? Something felt a bit awkward...
As I was panicking by myself, Natsukawa immediately came closer to help.
"Listen, okay? Have both the child's legs straddle your right hip a bit, and use your left arm to make a 'seat' for her. Your right arm will be the backrest. That way she'll be stable, and it'll feel comfortable for the child too."
"O-Oh... she's much easier to hold."
"Right? After that, match her eye level. Airi is looking up at you."
"M-My bad."
I applied some strength and lifted Airi-chan further up. When I matched her eye level to about the same as mine, Airi-chan reached out her hand to my head and started touching my hair.
"Eh? Eh? What are you doing?"
"She's touching your hair. About that... why don't you dye it soon?"
"True... um, Natsukawa, which do you think suits me better, black or brown?"
"Th-That is—"
"Same as Big Sis!"
"I understand."
"Stop it."
Matching with Natsukawa... not bad. It would create a sense of closeness, and I felt like I'd like to see myself with reddish-brown hair too. The price would be the emotional distance. There's a price?!
"Why—?" Airi-chan tilted her head to the side. Doing that while being held had incredible destructive power. So cute... both sisters were beauties; I wondered how much good karma they must have accumulated in their past lives. Someone like me probably just worked as a normal farmer.
"Hey, hey, color. How can I change it?"
"You'll be able to change it when you become an adult."
"Ehh, no fair."
"Adults are unfair."
"Hey."
"Heh."
I guess that was one comment too many, as Natsukawa pulled on my cheek. My mouth stretched sideways, making it hard to talk. I must have had a weird face right now. But Airi-chan was giggling. She had a great smile. I'd secretly pull her cheeks later when Natsukawa wasn't looking.
"Ehehe, ehehe."
"Nyafu."
Airi-chan started pulling on my other cheek. She seemed very pleased, pulling and squishing them. When I tried making a weird sound, she just laughed and laughed. She was a child who laughed a lot; I was sure she'd be just as popular as Natsukawa, or maybe even more.
"Hehe, hehehe."
............Um? Excuse me, Natsukawa-san...? Are you enjoying this too? You don't seem like you're going to let go at all... Well, whatever. It's a rare opportunity to be touched by Natsukawa anyway. I'll think of this as the last time—ow, ow, ow, Airi-chan, your nails, your nails!