Chapter 64

And after school.

Yuki returned home with Rin'ou.

Rin'ou said she had no time to dawdle (since she had no friends and was bored) and immediately started to deal with her sister.

When Yuki opened the front door and entered the living room first, Suena, who had been lying on the sofa playing a game, suddenly sat up.

"Ah, Yuki, welcome back..."

But, as soon as she noticed a figure behind Yuki, she lost her balance and tumbled off the sofa with a thud.

Without getting up, Suena crawled out of the living room on the floor.

Rin'ou watched Suena leave as if she were a new species of animal, then turned her gaze to Yuki.

"...What was that just now?"

"Ah... just wait a moment."

Yuki left Rin'ou in the living room and went to chase after Suena, who had fled to her room with the TV game still on.

Sure enough, she found Suena peeking through the crack in the door, just like when Yui was around.

"Come out, we have a guest."

"But I didn't hear anything! You should tell Suena properly before doing something like this!"

"I just told you."

"No, you should have given me a heads-up!"

"If you knew, you would have run away."

Suena pouted and stretched her neck to sneak a peek at the living room where Rin'ou was.

Then, her eyes widened in surprise,

"Yuki... already dumped Yui and moved on to another girl!"

"No, no, that's not it!"

"Then what was that?"

As Yuki hesitated, trying to think of a quick response,

"What are you whispering about?"

Rin'ou's voice came from right behind him, and she peeked out from behind Yuki.

Unlike Yui, Rin'ou didn't seem to be the type to wait patiently.

Suena shrank back and tried to hide behind Yuki...

"Thief cat!"

She said that and then hid again.

Rin'ou tilted her head in confusion.

"...Thief cat?"

"Nothing... it's just a thing here."

Thinking about it, if Suena said something unnecessary here, it would be troublesome.

To quickly move things along, Yuki turned to Suena, who was cowering behind him,

"This older sister said she'll help Suena with her studies."

"Huh, that's quite unusual."

"You haven't been studying at all, have you? It's a test."

"Not true. Suena is the type who doesn't show her effort."

And then she made a mysterious proud face.

Despite not doing anything in secret, she thought she had gotten away with it.

"Then let's start studying right away."

Rin'ou, completely ignoring the flow of the conversation, tried to pull Suena out of her hiding spot.

Unlike Yui, she was quite assertive. Suena, on the other hand, cowered and used Yuki as a shield to hide.

"Yuki is taking a full attack from the enemy!"

"Are you going to be okay with the test if you keep joking around?"

"I can do it!"

"You seem pretty relaxed, playing games and all."

"I'm the relaxed Yuki!"

Suena answered in a game-like manner from behind Yuki.

Of course, Yuki wasn't the one saying it, but for some reason, Rin'ou glared at her.

"Then when are you going to do it?"

"Right now!"

"You know that, don't you?"

"Oops... I fell for it."

When you talk like that, it ends up like this. Anyway, Yuki didn't want to be used as a shield.

After a moment of silence, Suena, who had been sulking, seemed to come up with a last-ditch strategy and poked her head out from under Yuki's legs.

"Then, if Suena wins the game, you have to... do it!"

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do I have to win the game?"

Rin'ou countered Suena's proposal without hesitation.

Suena looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected such a response, but rather, why didn't she do this when Yui was around?

"If you don't get good grades on the test, the game will be confiscated."

"I see, that's a good move..."

"...Isn't that normal?"

Rin'ou said this with a slightly exasperated tone.

But Suena, who had been hiding behind Yuki, poked her head out again and pointed at Rin'ou,

"No, that logic is wrong!"

"There's nothing wrong with it."

"Yuki! Do something! Send her away!"

Suena desperately patted and shook Yuki's back.

She was throwing the problem entirely at Yuki, but Yuki wasn't necessarily on Suena's side.

"This is why... What should we do?"

"It's fine. I'm used to dealing with people like this. I've even done tutoring for the children of my parents' acquaintances."

"Don't lump Suena in with those brats!"

"Right. Then let's start studying."

Rin'ou was surprisingly good at handling the situation. She seemed experienced, as she claimed.

However, it seemed that Suena couldn't stay quiet any longer,

"Wait, what are you doing here all of a sudden! Who are you! What's your relationship with Yuki!"

For the first time, a look of confusion appeared on Rin'ou's face.

"Well, I am..."

She looked down, glancing at Yuki's expression.

Yuki thought she might say something ridiculous like "priest and servant," but she seemed to have restrained herself in front of Suena.

But now she had to figure out what to call herself.

Receiving a look from Rin'ou that seemed to be asking for help, Yuki answered for her.

"Because she is... a friend."

"Huh?"

Rin'ou looked up, her eyes wide with surprise.

Caught off guard by the unexpected reaction, Yuki couldn't help but ask,

"Wait, is that not right?"

"N-no..."

Rin'ou's expression, which had slightly relaxed, quickly tightened, and she shook her head modestly.

Perhaps sensing a weakness or something, Suena suddenly became defiant.

"But... I don't know. Even if she's a friend, Yui is more fun and interesting and makes me laugh."

If Yui were here, she would probably say, "Hey, I'm older than you!"

But when Rin'ou heard this, her eyelashes fluttered, and she asked in a slightly lower voice,

"...If I win the game, will that be enough?"