Chapter 27
My Stepsister and Minazuki Begin Their Hunt
“…Haa.”
After getting out of the bath, changing, and drying my hair, I finally sat down in the living room chair and let out a deep breath.
Normally, sitting in a chair shouldn’t feel more relaxing than soaking in a bath—but for some reason, today, this chair was far more soothing.
“……”
I felt a bit confused about myself.
Yui is my little sister, and Minazuki is my friend… I’ve always thought that, and I still do.
But—if I truly thought of them that way, would I really be so aware of how their bodies pressed against me, even with towels wrapped around them?
…Yes, of course I would.
Even if it’s just physical contact, anyone would notice.
So Yui is my sister, and Minazuki is my friend. There’s no lie in that.
While I was reaffirming that thought in my mind, the two of them—Yui and Minazuki—came out of their rooms dressed and entered the living room.
Then Yui walked right up to me and said:
“Onii-chan, how was our bath together?”
“What do you mean, how was it?”
“You know! It was our first time taking a bath together, and even though you had a towel on, it was your first time seeing my body, right? So what I want to know is—how was it? What did you think?”
“…Even if you ask that, it’s hard to answer.”
When I said that, Yui glanced back at Minazuki standing behind her, then said:
“Right! I guess it’d be hard to answer something like ‘I thought Yui was cute’ or ‘she’s attractive as a woman’ when Minazuki-san’s right here!”
She said it brightly and teasingly—but then Minazuki, in a low voice, turned toward me.
“Heh. So that’s how you think about Yui-chan, huh, Itsui?”
It was completely uncalled for, but I immediately raised my voice in denial.
“I—I don’t think that at all! And that’s not what I meant by ‘hard to answer’!”
Even as I tried to explain, Yui just added fuel to the fire.
“You don’t have to lie~! Next time, when Minazuki-san isn’t around, let’s take a nice long bath together, just the two of us!”
“I’m not doing that!”
While Yui and I were arguing, Minazuki quietly came and sat down next to me, leaning in close as she spoke.
“Then, Itsui, how about me? How was I?”
“What do you mean, how was you?”
“I mean—”
Before Minazuki could finish her sentence, Yui abruptly wedged herself between us, shoving Minazuki’s chair aside to open up the space between us.
Then, in a voice much darker than before, Yui said:
“Minazuki-san, the only person in this world who’s allowed to talk to my onii-chan that close is me. You shouldn’t be doing that.”
At that, Minazuki replied calmly, not losing her composure.
“You’re right. The only one allowed to talk that close to Itsui is his little sister Yui-chan, huh?”
“It’s not just about distance. Honestly, I don’t even want him talking to any other girl besides me.”
“I see. So you’re saying you want to be the only one Itsui talks to.”
“……”
“……”
And just like that, the two of them locked eyes in a silent standoff.
“……”
I decided to finally ask what I’d been quietly wondering for a while.
“Hey, you two… don’t you think you’re acting a bit different than usual?”
When I said that, Yui replied calmly.
“Of course. I’ve always hated the idea of onii-chan being close with other girls.”
“I get that, but… can’t you at least try to get along?”
Then Minazuki spoke up, still composed.
“I do want to get along with Yui-chan. But if she thinks that way, then it’s going to be difficult.”
“…Haa.”
Looks like my life is only going to get more complicated from here on out. Still, I could only hope the two of them would somehow learn to get along little by little.
“…Before Minazuki-san steals onii-chan away, I’ll—”
“…Before Yui-chan steals Itsui away, I’ll—”
—While I was busy thinking such naïve thoughts, I had no idea that both of them, in their own way, had already begun to seriously set their sights on me.
