Chapter 76 - An Unexpected Visitor
“Onii-chan, is your cold all better now?”
“Yeah. I’m totally fine now. Sorry for making you worry, Mai.”
“Not at all—thanks to you being down with a cold, I got to eat Mashiro-san’s homemade cooking. Honestly, I’d say I got lucky~”
“Make sure you thank Mashiro properly. She took care of me for two whole days.”
“Of course I did! I thanked her yesterday, and I sent her a thank-you message on RINE today too, so we’re good—”
The next morning.
Fully recovered from my cold, I was tightening the necktie of my school uniform.
I was chatting with Mai, who was lounging in the living room. She lay sprawled across the sofa, remote in hand, watching the morning news.
Normally, Mai would leave the house much earlier than me for track club morning practice, but today she was taking it easy. Her chestnut ponytail swayed gently as she kicked her feet in a relaxed rhythm.
“Mai, no morning practice for track club today?”
“Nope~ I decided to take the week off. Pushing myself too hard isn’t good, you know?”
“I see. You’ve been working really hard lately, so taking it slow once in a while might be a good idea.”
Mai had already changed into her uniform and packed her bag, which sat beside the sofa. She probably planned to laze around until it was time to leave for school.
Wanting to make my little sister’s morning even more luxurious, I headed to the kitchen to brew some coffee.
I ground my favorite coffee beans with a hand mill, then poured the filtered brew into a mug.
The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the room, and Mai sniffed the air, lifting her face with a dreamy expression.
“Onii-chan, did you make coffee?”
“Yup. It’s a perfect time to relax, after all.”
“Eh… seriously!? You’re the best, Onii-chan! So thoughtful~!”
Mai bounced up from the sofa and hopped toward the mug of coffee like a rabbit. Smiling wryly at her antics, I handed her the freshly brewed mug.
She held the cup with both hands and sipped the coffee with delight. Watching her enjoy it, I sat down on the sofa and was about to take a sip myself when—
The doorbell rang. The chime echoed through the house, signaling a visitor, and Mai perked up.
“Oh, is it Mashiro-san!? Did she come to pick you up?”
“Nope. Mashiro left early this morning to help with the cultural festival prep. So it’s probably not her.”
“Aww, I wanted to thank her again…”
Mai had been hoping to see her beloved Mashiro first thing in the morning, and her disappointment was plain to see.
Mashiro had been throwing herself into preparations for the cultural festival and was apparently at school from early morning. Even lunchtime was packed for her, so I hadn’t seen her face lately either—and I missed her a bit.
I gently patted Mai’s head to cheer her up, then headed to the front door.
It wasn’t Mashiro, and it was too early for a delivery. So who could it be? I reached for the doorknob.
Could it be my old middle school buddies, Kogane or Obayashi? Maybe they were worried since we hadn’t hung out in ages.
Thinking that, I opened the door—and standing there was someone unexpected.
“Hey, Ryusuke. I was worried, so I came to check on you. I know I’m a bit late, but I wanted to drop by and see how you’re doing.”
“Reo, you came?”
Standing on the other side of the door was Reo, wearing a bright smile. He held a plastic bag filled with sports drinks and instant soup.
It was Reo’s first time visiting my house, and honestly, I was a little surprised. I was happy he came to check on me, but I wasn’t sure how to respond and found myself flustered.
Then Reo glanced at my uniform and spoke.
“Ryusuke, you’re in uniform—does that mean you’re heading back to school today?”
“Yeah. Thanks to Mashiro’s nursing, I actually recovered yesterday. But I figured I’d take one more day off just in case it came back.”
“I see. Glad you bounced back quickly. Actually, I wanted to come with Kyōya, but he’s on cleaning duty today. He couldn’t make it.”
“He’s probably busy with basketball practice too, so it can’t be helped. Still, how’d you find my house?”
“Mashiro-san told me. I was going to contact you first, but then I thought maybe a surprise visit would make you happier. My own little—”
“A surprise, huh? Reo, you’re more playful than I thought. But I’m glad. I actually really like stuff like that.”
Reo grinned like a kid who’d pulled off a successful prank. I was genuinely touched that he came all this way just to cheer me up.
Since there was still time before school, I invited Reo inside.
We headed into the living room, where Mai was still sprawled lazily on the sofa.
“Onii-chan, who was it—?”
“A friend from school came to check on me. I figured I’d chat with him a bit before heading out.”
“Mmm? Onii-chan’s friend—?”
Mai, who’d been facing the TV, rolled over and looked at us. The moment she noticed Reo, she sat up straight.
“O-O-Onii-chan’s friend!?”
Her words were almost identical to before, but her voice was trembling now. She blinked rapidly at Reo, clearly flustered.
She scrambled to her feet and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
“O-Onii-chan… W-Who is this handsome guy…?”
“I told you, he’s my friend. No need to be so shocked.”
“Of course I’m shocked! I didn’t know you had such a refreshingly handsome friend!”
To be fair, the only friends Mai knew of were my delinquent pals Kogane and Obayashi. They were the complete opposite of “refreshingly handsome”—more scary-looking than anything.
Reo, on the other hand, was like a prince. Until now, aside from Mashiro, I’d only hung out with delinquents, so it’s no wonder Mai was surprised to see me close with someone like Reo.
Flustered, Mai ran her fingers through her hair to tidy it, then stood before Reo and shyly introduced herself.
“H-Hello! Th-Thank you for being friends with my brother. I’m his little sister, Mai!”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kizaki Reo. You must be Ryusuke’s sister, Mai-san. Pleased to meet you.”
Reo responded to Mai’s awkward greeting with a charming smile.
Blushing deeply, Mai stared at him in a daze. Noticing this, Reo chuckled softly and narrowed his eyes.
“Is there something on my face?”
“Ah!? N-No… It’s nothing…”
Reo’s gentle smile only made Mai blush harder as she gazed at him, entranced.
It was rare to see Mai this shy. I guided Reo to the sofa and headed to the kitchen to pour him some coffee.
Since he was here, I hoped Mai would get along with Reo. Sharing a warm drink and chatting together sounded like a great way to start the day. With that in mind, I began brewing another cup.