Chapter 85 - After Returning Home
Spending a quiet evening out with Mashiro again after so long was truly enjoyable.
Nestled together on the grassy embankment, we exchanged quiet words. Even the most mundane conversation felt inexplicably delightful, and every moment with Mashiro etched itself vividly into my mind like a precious, irreplaceable treasure.
Perhaps the coolness of the night meant autumn was drawing near. The stars were beautiful, and the calm, leisurely atmosphere made it feel like something special.
After spending time together until it wasn’t too late, I walked Mashiro back to her apartment. We promised to chat again tomorrow at school.
Though we’d both be busy until the cultural festival began, I wanted to keep cherishing these slow, quiet moments we shared.
Thinking that, I returned home and immediately opened my notebook at the desk in my room, pondering the sweets I planned to present at the festival.
I wanted to contribute as a member of the class and work hard to erase the lingering image of “villain: Shindo Ryusuke” from their minds through the festival. My classroom behavior and test scores had gradually begun to change the environment around me, but it would still take time to overturn everything.
And then there was the matter of Himeno and Fusegawa Raito. The differences from the original story, and what lay ahead—what would happen? At any rate, I needed to uncover the truth behind Fusegawa Raito’s strange behavior and resolve the issue quickly, for Himeno’s sake—she was the one who gave me the chance to become friends with him.
“Onii-chan, I’m coming in—”
“Mm? What’s up?”
I heard my little sister Mai’s voice from the doorway.
When I responded, the door opened and she peeked her face in, still in her school uniform. She was clutching what looked like a school assignment printout and a textbook, and she seemed to be in a bit of trouble.
“Don’t tell me you’re stuck on your homework?”
“Eeeh... I am! Help me out, Onii-chan~”
Lately, Mai had been coming to me like this quite often.
Ever since I ranked first in the grade on the final exam last semester, Mai’s view of me had changed considerably. Now, whenever she hit a wall in her studies, she’d come barging into my room like this.
“Alright, alright. I’ll teach you, so come over here.”
“Yaaay! Onii-chan, I love youuu!”
“Just show me the printout already.”
In stark contrast to earlier, Mai bounced over happily with the printout, sat down beside me, and snuggled right up.
She placed the printout and textbook on the desk and pointed to the part she didn’t understand. As she leaned forward, her adorably round forehead sticking out, I nearly chuckled—but kept my composure and taught her seriously.
“Wow, Onii-chan, you’re seriously smart. You’re so good at teaching too. You really are my amazing big brother~! Handsome~! Kind~! The best~!”
“Hey, pay attention.”
Lately she’d been teasing me a lot, so I pinched her round cheek and said, “Is this cheek the source of all that sass?” Mai squealed dramatically and burst into giggles.
She was still a spoiled little sister, but thanks to these study sessions, her grades had steadily improved, and she was now ranking near the top of her year. As her brother, I was proud—and I couldn’t help but indulge her when she looked up to me like this.
After finishing the problems, Mai stretched with a smile and began tidying up her textbook and printout with a satisfied look.
“Phew. Thanks to you, I managed to solve the parts I didn’t get. Thanks, Onii-chan.”
“You’re welcome. Come by anytime if you need help.”
“You’re really dependable~. That’s my Onii-chan. I love you~!”
“Yeah, yeah. Now that you’re done, go back to your own room.”
“Oh? There’s still time, so let’s chat a bit~”
With that, Mai tried to settle in and stay.
Well, as long as she wasn’t in the way, I figured a little chatting wouldn’t hurt. So I continued thinking about the sweets menu while enjoying a conversation with Mai.