「I’m home.」
Nee-san, who was supposed to have the day off from the student council, came home later than me.
「Welcome back~」
Hearing her voice, I go to the entrance to greet her.
I don’t usually go to such lengths, but today was special.
The reason being, Nee-san’s return was far too late.
I was planning to question her.
Nee-san isn’t the type to hang out with friends after school.
She’s always the kind of person who comes straight home and stares at her textbooks in her room.
So, coming home this late without any notice is normally unthinkable, and I was a bit worried that something might have happened.
However, it seems my worries were unfounded, as Nee-san appeared no different than usual.
「Oh? It’s rare for Eri to come out and greet me. Did something happen?」
「I’m the one who wants to ask that. Why are you so late? You said the student council was off today, right…?」
「Ahh, about that… I-I had some business…」
「Business…?」
Isn’t she less straightforward than usual?
I felt a sense of discomfort with Nee-san’s behavior.
Normally, she would clearly state “with whom”, “where”, and “what she did”, without using vague expressions like “business”.
I don’t usually demand to know every detail of where she goes and what she does like some kind of sister complex.
But this time is different. Since she was this late, I wanted to know the reason, even if it was just a rough explanation.
Instead, I get this “business” excuse, a common escape phrase used when someone has something to hide.
Geez… Is it something she can’t tell me??
This only made me more suspicious.
「Um, well, you see. That… thing. That…」
Nee-san has a habit of touching the back of her neck when she’s trying to dodge a question.
And that’s exactly what she’s doing now.
Touching the back of her neck, using meaningless demonstrative pronouns, somewhat flustered, averting her gaze from me, clearly saying “I’m hiding something??” with her demeanor, I can’t help but sigh at Nee-san.
「You don’t have to force yourself to hide it any further. I don’t know what you’re hiding, but I’ve realized it’s something you think would be bad for me to know.」
「W-W-W-Wait a moment. I was just trying not to say anything that might make Eri jealous or cause unnecessary misunderstandings! That’s why I was hesitant to speak up!」
Nee-san, just from seeing me slightly angry, spills everything as if she doesn’t want to be disliked.
You could say she’s easy to handle, but that’s about it.
It’s a secret that I find it a bit cute how someone usually so cool can be so easily manipulated by me alone because she doesn’t want to be disliked.
「So? What is it? I won’t hate you for something like that! Tell me?」
I hold Nee-san’s hand and make eye contact.
「Really…? You won’t hate me?」
「Really. Believe me?」
「Understood. …Actually, today I tailed Yamanaga Takumi.」
Eh…
……Ehhh!
W-Why would you do that!?
That was far beyond anything I could have predicted.
「W-What do you mean…?」
I must hide my shock.
I tried to maintain my composure while desperately suppressing my voice from rising.
「There’s not much to it. I was just curious about what kind of person Yamanaga Takumi is, so I followed him after school, but I got caught along the way.」
「What are you doing…」
It’s bad enough that the student council president was tailing a male student, but to be discovered by the person herself.
What should I do… the next time we meet…
Yamanaga-kun knows about Nee-san.
He’s definitely going to say something.
What if he says… “You have the worst sister!”…
I know Yamanaga-kun isn’t the type to say such things… I should know that…
But I’m a bit scared of his reaction…
「W-Wait. There’s more to the story! It’s true I was caught, but after I explained why I was tailing him, he understood…」
Understood?? Even being tailed is uncomfortable, and there’s a reason that can make someone accept it??
What could it be… I’m curious.
「B-By the way, what did you say??」
「Ahh, I said that Eri has been talking a lot about club activities at home──」
「Eh──」
「And that you shows a smile I’ve never seen before when you talk about him, so I’m jealous!」
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W-W-W-What are you sayiiiiing!!
Wait a minute??
You told him that?? To his face??
Without even confirming the facts with me, just based on your own subjective view?
I-Impossible!!
Why would you say such a thing without my permission??
No, I wouldn’t give permission in the first place!
As I hold my head in my hands, Nee-san adds more fuel to the fire,
「By the way, I also showed him the photos you sent me.」
dropping another bomb.
「Why!?」
「He asked how I knew what he looked like. I thought showing him the photos was the quickest way to explain.」
In them is Yamanaga-kun’s face.
Ahh… handsome… no. I made a mistake.
B-But, those photos, I originally said “Let me just take a picture of the fruits” and Yamanaga-kun just happened to be prominently in them by chance, there’s no ulterior motive.
「Besides, with that many, Yamanaga-kun’s face was twitching a bit.」
Saying that, Nee-san took out her smartphone and started scrolling.
There were the numerous photos I had previously sent her in high spirits… (because the fruit arrangement turned out beautifully) for some reason with Yamanaga-kun prominently featured in all of them…
「W-Why did you show him all of them!?」
「Was that bad??」
「Of course it was bad!!?」
The worst, the worst, the worst. I’m done… it’s over.
Even though I probably had no such intention, this undeniably looks like I’m taking photos of him.
What should I do… I just took them a bit bigger than the fruits.
I can’t face him… I don’t have the confidence to talk to him now~~!
What should I do… the stall together?
Can we even do it on the day? Nee-san is a stalker, and I’m accused of secretly taking photos.
Yamanaga-kun’s impression of us must be the worst…
「But, he seemed a bit puzzled about being photographed, but he didn’t seem to dislike it? Rather, he muttered, “I’m not needed here…”」
Where!? I mean, right. That’s right.
As expected of Yamanaga-kun. He understood my intention perfectly.
The fruits shine because the main character is there!
Wrong, the fruits shine even more because the artisan who arranges them is photographed with the main character!
And I had forgotten.
Yamanaga-kun has oddly low self-esteem in some areas.
「F-For now, there was no problem??」
I wasn’t sure about his true feelings, but I wanted to get a sense of the atmosphere at least on the surface.
「Yeah, there wasn’t any particular problem. Rather, it seems we might have a chance for a friendly chat between the two of us.」
Ha? Why?
There’s no need for them to talk alone, right?
Yamanaga-kun is my… well, not exactly, but I’m the vice president.
Yamanaga-kun is a member of our club, and if something happens, it could disrupt our activities.
Besides, to maintain order in the club, such a thing shouldn’t be allowed, right??
「Nee-san…」
「W-What is it…?」
「If you talk with him alone, I might end up hating you a lot.」
「T-That can’t be… That’s not what we agreed on… Yamanaga Takumi…」
Saying that, Nee-san was trembling.
I need to give her a good scolding so she doesn’t do anything reckless again.
Even so…
I’m becoming less and less calm when it comes to him.
It’s been about a month since I first met him.
I never thought my daily life would change this much.
The one who added color to my once gray and boring after-school time…
The one who still comes to mind…
Haa… Geez… I’m really just being thrown into chaos…
At first, I even thought it was troublesome, but before I knew it, I started to feel comfortable with the time spent with him, with the daily life where he exists.
This, at least, I can’t deny anymore.
But still, these feelings.
For him who continues to remain… no, for me who is starting to feel something for him… I sighed deeply.