Chapter 20
My Stepsister Wants to Check
“Welcome home! Big brother!”
“Thanks, Yume.”
When I got home, Yume greeted me cheerfully and energetically, just like always. I found myself enjoying this ordinary sibling-like moment with her—when suddenly, Yume hugged me without warning.
“Yume—”
“It’s fine since we’re at home… It’s normal for siblings who get along well for the little sister to hug her big brother.”
“Well… that may be true.”
“And besides, if someone said I couldn’t hug you at home, I’d probably want to hug you even more outside!”
“…Just a little, okay?”
“Yay~!”
After that, Yume continued hugging me while muttering happily, “Haa… I want to get married…” occasionally. About three minutes later, seemingly satisfied, she let go, and we started eating the meal she had prepared together in the living room.
While enjoying the food for a while, Yume spoke in a slightly somber voice:
“By the way… recently, you’ve been coming home a bit late again, haven’t you? Are you going somewhere with your friends?”
“Yes.”
“…I never asked before because you said you weren’t involved with any girls, but that friend… isn’t a girl, right?”
The moment she asked, my chopsticks, which I had been using to eat, froze in mid-air.
How should I answer this? If I tell the truth—“Actually, that friend is a girl”—it would probably provoke Yume. On the other hand, if I lie and say, “No, that friend isn’t a girl,” there might be consequences later. Either way, it’s tricky… but I had already lied once, saying I hadn’t interacted with any girls.
In that case, it’s better to lie than to provoke Yume.
…Lying pains my chest, but I have no choice this time.
“Ah—”
“…I guess it doesn’t really matter. I said before that if you were involved with a girl, I’d go after you even more. So even if that friend is a girl, you’ll still say she’s a boy anyway.”
She had accurately read my thoughts, and I had nothing to respond with. After a brief silence, Yume seemed to get an idea and said:
“Yeah! I’ve decided! Until now, I didn’t want to interfere with your school life, and I wanted to prioritize making friends in my own high school life, so I hadn’t done this yet. But if there’s even a possibility that you’re interacting with a girl, I want to confirm it. So tomorrow, I think I’ll come to your classroom at school.”
“Eh…!?”
Yume… is coming to my classroom!?
…but now that I think about it, it was strange that Yume, who wants to marry me so badly and even went to the same high school, hadn’t made any effort to approach me.
“What’s wrong? You look so surprised… Do you have something to hide?”
Yume looked at me, and I immediately responded:
“N-No, that’s not it. I’ve never experienced this before, so I was just a little surprised.”
“When we were in middle school, even if I wanted to come to your classroom, we couldn’t because we went to different schools… But I see now! Tomorrow, I can talk to you at school~ I’m so excited, big brother!”
“Yeah… Yume, which break period will you come during?”
“Mornings are busy… so maybe during the third period break?”
“…I see. Got it.”
After that, I continued eating with Yume and spent the rest of the day normally, though my mind was busy with thoughts. The next day, I arrived at school earlier than usual and planned to consult with Kanashizume, who was sitting in front of my seat, about Yume coming to my classroom later.
