「So, why are you making girls cry right off the bat?」
「Watch your wording.」
No, it’s 100% my fault that Hina is crying, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t phrase it so misleadingly.
「Onii-chan, who’s this?」
「A classmate.」
「Come to think of it, we were together without proper introductions. I’m Amakake Daiki, you can call me Amakake or Daiki, whichever you prefer.」
「Um, if you’re Onii-chan’s classmate, then you’re Amakake-senpai. I’m Nanami Hinata.」
「Nice to meet you, Nanami-san… By the way, wasn’t there a Nanami in our class too?」
Of course he’d notice. It’s a relatively uncommon surname.
「Is that so?」
「Daiki-kun, you’re Shougo’s classmate, right? Then you must mean Natsuki.」
「You’re in the same class as Natsuki-oneechan?」
「So that means you’re Nanami-san’s younger sister? Hmm? Huh?」
It seems Daiki is getting nicely confused. Organizing information is important!!
「Yes, Nanami Natsuki is my older sister.」
「I feel like I heard you call Shougo “Onii-chan” earlier…」
「Hina is my younger sister.」
「Wait a sec, I’m getting confused here.」
Daiki points his right hand at us while pressing his temple with his left. Well, it’s no wonder he’d end up like this if he takes everything literally.
「I’m Shou-nii’s little sister too!!」
「You stay out of this!!」
Hikari tries to join the conversation, adding to the confusion. Please sit down, we’re not getting anywhere.
「Um, so Nanami-san is… This is complicated. Is it okay if I call you Hinata-san?」
「I-I don’t mind being called whatever you like…」
「Then, since you’re younger, I’ll call you Hinata-chan… So, Hinata-chan, are you in the Shougo’s little sister setting like Hikari and Asaki?」
Don’t call it a setting.
「No, I’m Onii-chan’s real sister.」
「That’s right. She’s my real sister.」
「Referee, time out.」
Daiki holds his head in his hands. Maybe I joked around too much.
Hikari puffed her cheeks, seemingly upset at being called a setting, while Kaname-kaasan and Asaki were grinning at us. Wanting to wrap this up, I send Kaname-kaasan a pleading look for help.
「Shougo, stop having fun at your friend’s expense.」
「Roger that.」
「By the way, who are you?」
「Me? I’m Nanami Kaname. I’m Natsuki and Hinata’s mother, and also Shougo’s, I guess. Thank you for always being friends with Shougo.」
Ohh… She told me to stop, but then she went and made things even more complicated. She definitely did that on purpose, right?
「Sorry, Shougo. I’m really lost here, so could you explain properly?」
「Sure. Well, to put it simply.」
I explained that Hina and I are indeed real siblings, and after losing our parents when we were young, we were taken in by the Nanami family, who were close friends with our mother.
Originally, Hina also had the Chihara surname, but after I disappeared, she was adopted by the Nanami family and her surname changed.
「I see. So, it’s like that. You and Nanami-san… I mean, the older sister. You two were childhood friends?」
「That’s right. Well, I called you over today to discuss that and other things…」
The unexpected visitors have tangled up the conversation.
Of course, I’m very happy to have reunited with Hina, and it was a pleasant surprise in a good way.
「Did Hikari and Asaki know?」
「I didn’t know? Ah, but I did think Hinata-chan and Shou-nii looked a bit alike!!」
「Now that you mention it, you did say something like that at first.」
As the person involved, I don’t really see the resemblance though.
「Shou-nii, why didn’t you tell us you were siblings then? You knew about Hinata-chan, right?」
「I didn’t tell you because of this. I wanted you to become friends without considering my relationship with her.」
「Nnn, I wouldn’t have minded even if I knew Hinata-chan was Shou-nii’s sister though.」
「Did you know, Asaki?」
「Of course. There is nothing I don’t know about Shou-niisama.」
That’s scary.
「I see. By the way, what’s Shougo’s favorite color?」
「Dark navy blue.」
Eh? How do you know that? I’ve never even talked about my favorite color.
「A-Anyway!!」
Sensing that the conversation was getting chaotic again, Hina cuts in.
──Light Novels──
──Read Here──
「What’s up? Hina.」
「Um, I understand that Onii-chan and Amakake-senpai are classmates and friends… but what about Hikari-chan and Asaki-chan? You’re in different grades, and they both just transferred here?」
Indeed, I had completely forgotten to explain that part. I just went with the usual flow, but I hadn’t told Hina anything yet.
「Sorry, Hina. I forgot to explain, but those two are…」
「Those two are…?」
Hina swallows hard and focuses on me. Hikari and Asaki also seemed to be watching closely to see how I would introduce them. Alright, let’s go with this.
「──It’s our first meeting. Nice to mee──」
「Shou-nii is really Shou-nii, isn’t he?」
「As I expected… Shou-niisama is Shou-niisama indeed.」
My attempt to lighten the mood was cut off, and I received cold stares from both of them.
「…Onii-chan?」
「Hii!」
As for Hina, she was giving me a very scary smile. Her temples were twitching, please calm down.
「…I’m sorry. I’ll explain properly.」
Pulling myself together, I told Hina everything that had happened.
About being summoned to another world that day. How my leg was healed, and how I’m now attending Kujou Academy thanks to Asaki.
I skipped a lot of details, like the specific method of healing my leg and how we returned here, so the explanation was rather brief. There’s no point in making her worry unnecessarily.
While I was talking, Hina’s expression changed rapidly from surprise to sadness, but in the end, she looked at me with a relieved face.
「Honestly, when you say things like another world, it sounds like you’ve been watching too much anime…」
「Well, I know it’s a lot to ask you to believe it.」
It’s rare for someone to accept it as easily as Kaname-kaasan did. Even though the circumstances were what they were at the time, if you think normally, I’d just be dismissed as a crazy person.
「But it seems true that your leg is healed, and Hikari-chan, Asaki-chan, and, um… Daiki-senpai, don’t seem like they’re lying…」
Hmm? Just now, my Onii-chan sensor picked up something off… Was it my imagination?
「There’s no reason for you all to go this far to trick me, so I believe you.」
「I see. Hina, thank you.」
She may not fully believe me yet, but still Hina said she believes me. If so, that’s enough for now.
「Ah.」
「What’s up, Hina?」
「Um, earlier you said Daiki-senpai and the others could use magic, right? Can you still use it now?」
Hina turns to Daiki with sparkling eyes. Hmm? Why do I suddenly feel like punching Daiki?
「Ahh… Sorry to disappoint, but it seems we can’t use it properly since we returned here.」
Hina looked at Hikari and Asaki, but both shook their heads.
「I see…」
Hina looked a bit disappointed, as if she had been expecting something.
「Ah, but but!!」
Unable to bear seeing Hina like that, Hikari suddenly raises her voice.
「We were trained really hard over there, so we’re super fast now!!」
「Weren’t Hikari-san and Dai-niisama always like that?」
I agree with Asaki. You two were already overpowered characters.
「Even Shou-nii isn’t that different now!!」
「I’m different. Don’t lump me in with you guys!!」
At the very least, I can’t crush stones with my bare hands or jump as high as the second floor. There’s no way I’m giving up being human to that extent.
「T-The two of you are that amazing…」
My sister looks half-doubtful. Don’t worry, that’s a normal reaction.
「Everyone, why don’t we take a break from talking and have lunch?」
Kaname-kaasan calls out at just the right time.
I thought she hadn’t been participating in the conversation, but it seems she was preparing lunch.
「If you’d told me, I would have prepared it.」
「It’s fine. We came uninvited, so this much is nothing.」
「Is it okay for us too? It’s a family reunion after all…」
「Of course, don’t worry about it, okay? Shougo has been in your care after all.」
「Waii!! Food, food!!」
I’d like Hikari to learn a bit from Daiki and Asaki. Specifically, I want her to learn things like restraint.
To put it nicely, she’s innocent and carefree, but to put it bluntly, she has no sense of restraint. It’s endearing, but sometimes I worry she’s too defenseless.
Well, she can probably solve most problems physically, so maybe my worries are unfounded.
「Shou-nii, were you just thinking something rude?」
「Not at all.」
Why are girls’ instincts so sharp at times like this?
As if escaping from the situation, I headed to the kitchen to help Kaname-kaasan.