After doing some review with the notebook I borrowed from Ayame-san, I felt thirsty, so I headed to the kitchen.
On my way downstairs, I ran into Natsumi-chan.
"Hello, Natsumi-chan."
"... Hello?"
"Something wrong?"
"No... nothing."
"Okay..."
Did I do something strange? I mean, isn't it normal to greet someone?
Since we're family, it should be natural... Ah—
If I think about it, it's not like I greet my mother or father every time we meet in the house.I guess I should be more careful.
When I arrived in the kitchen, Hiyori-chan was there eating some snacks.
When she noticed me, she gave me a little bow. It made me wonder what kind of relationship the "Tomoki" from here had with them. I never had siblings, so it's hard for me to grasp how that works.
Still, she greeted me, so I should say something.
"Hello, Hiyori-chan."
"He-hello."
"I heard from Natsumi-chan that you helped clean my room. Thank you."
"No problem."
"By the way, today's lunch was delicious. You made it, right?"
"Eh!? Oh... thank you. I just helped a bit, that's all."
"I see... By the way, where do you keep cold water?"
"It's in the bottom part of the refrigerator door."
"Thanks."
It's really hard to figure out what kind of relationship I have with each of them. Anyway, I'll just grab some water and go back to my room.
"Staare—"
She had been eating snacks just a moment ago, but now she was staring at me as I drank my water.
I guess it's inevitable I'll act differently compared to the "me" from before. I should just stop worrying so much about what our relationships used to be.
After finishing my water, I headed upstairs, but I met Miyuna-chan on the way. Our eyes met, but she just walked past without saying a word.
As an older brother, that kind of hurts. I wish she'd tell me what I did to upset her.
Back in my room, I felt more tired than usual. I guess this new environment is draining my energy.Maybe I'll take a nap.
♦♦♦ After a few hours ♦♦♦
Looks like I overslept, but I feel much better now.
Now I'm hungry. Time to grab something from the kitchen again.
When I got there, two women were sitting in the living room, drinking coffee.
If I have to guess, it's Aunt Serina and my older sister, Erina.
"Tomoki-kun, it's been a while. Do you still remember me?"
"Serina aunt, right?" — I really hope I'm right.
"And what about me?" — The younger one asked cheerfully.
"Erina nee-san, right?"
"... Heh!?"
For some reason, my older sister looked surprised. Wait... did I get it wrong!?
And not just her—Aunt Serina stopped drinking her coffee and started staring at me.
I'm pretty sure I wrote their names down correctly. I'd better say something.
"Something wrong?"
"Repeat it..." — my supposed older sister said.
"Uhmm... Erina nee-san?"
"You always call me by my name only. This is the first time you've called me 'older sister.'"
Ah, so that's it. I can work with this.
"Well, I thought it might be more appropriate to call you that. Should I change back?"
"Of course not!" — Erina nee-san stopped me immediately.
I wonder if Miyuna-chan will call me "older brother" too. That'd be nice.
"By the way, here! Just a small gift. I hope you like it."
"Thank you, Erina nee-san, you didn't have to… Nee-san, no matter how I look at it, this isn't a small gift."
"It is though. You can carry it in your pocket."
"You gave me a brand new watch! I like it, but I feel guilty. You should keep your money for yourself!"
"It seems my daughter really takes after me..." — Aunt Serina mumbled something I couldn't quite hear.
"Tomoki-kun, you don't need to worry. By the way, are you hungry?"
"Yeah, I was planning to grab something from the kitchen."
"Wait a minute, I'll make you something. It'll only take a few minutes."
Just like that, she tied on an apron and started frying eggs, slicing cheese, and toasting bread all at once.
"You don't have to go that far. Look, this apple is fine for me, it's delicious—"
"Give me that." — She took the apple from me and peeled it in seconds. — "Here! Now it's easier to eat."
"Erina nee-san, I can eat it without peeling—"
Then she suddenly served me juice.
"I made this yesterday. I hope you don't mind."
"Nee-san, I can serve myself—"
PLIN
"The toast is ready." — She assembled a sandwich with the fried egg, cheese, and toasted bread. — "I wanted to add more, but we don't have enough ingredients."
"Don't worry, Erina nee-san. It's perfect. Thank you!" — I hope she stop doing something this time.
I ate the sandwich and drank the juice. I wonder if this is how everyone eats here.
"Erina-nee, welcome home. Working hard as always." — Natsumi-chan grabbed an apple and bit right into it, no peeling.
"Erina nee-chan, welcome home. You must be tired. Doing part-time work on Saturday is tough." — Hiyori grabbed a cookie.
"Onee-chan, welcome home. You should take better care of yourself." — Miyuka took an apple and peeled it herself.
"Well, if everyone's saying it, I guess I'll relax today." — Erina nee-san smiled.
Now I feel like the worst person in the world. But in my defense, she did all this without asking.
"Tomoki-kun, you must be tired from moving. Go rest." — she said gently.
And just like that, she cleaned the table before I could react.
Everyone else just ate like normal—except Miyuna, who looked at me and said:
"Spoiled brat..." — She mumbled, but I heard it.
Well, she's not wrong. But... again... it's not my fault!.
Sigh~ I feel tired again. Let's watch some TV. I'm not in the mood to study right now.
[Good evening. Our top story tonight: A shocking case in which thirty women were deceived by a man who promised marriage—after taking large sums of money from each. Authorities say it's part of a growing trend of so-called romance scams, where the illusion of love is used to exploit victims financially. For more on this, we turn to our correspondent with a fraud investigation specialist.]
[Good evening. In recent years, we've seen a steady increase in romance scams targeting women. Typically, it begins with what seems to be a genuine relationship—dates, sweet words, small gifts from the woman to the man. But before long, she's unknowingly become the victim of a con. The troubling part is that many victims don't even recognize what's happening, or they turn a blind eye because they don't want to believe it.]
[There's also been a surge in the so-called "rental boyfriend" trend, where women pay to spend time with an attractive man.]
[And that's another factor driving these cases. Some women become so obsessed with their so-called "boyfriend" that they believe spending more money on him will make him love them more. Unfortunately, there are men who take advantage of that.]
"Erina-nee, you've been working hard lately because of that boyfriend of yours, right?" — Natsumi-chan asked.
She has a boyfriend? Well, she is beautiful, so it's not a surprise.
"What are you talking about? I just want to be able to pay when we go on dates. But he's not like those men." — Erina nee-san replied.
"Erina nee-chan, since you met him, you've been working too many part-time jobs. You never spend on yourself. We're worried." — Hiyori-chan said.
"Onee-chan, I was afraid to ask but... is he really your boyfriend?" — Miyuna-chan asked seriously.
The mood got tense. Aunt Serina, still drinking coffee, finally spoke.
"Erina, I won't tell you to stop. I did something similar when I was younger. But I was lucky to meet your father. Just... be careful."
"Yes, Mom. Don't worry. He's not like that. He's doing his best to become an actor someday." — Erina nee-san said firmly.
"Onee-chan..."
"Don't worry, Miyuna. Thanks for worrying. Tomorrow I have a date with him, so I'll go prepare."
"Wait! Tomoki-nii, what do you think about all this?" — Miyuna called me "older brother" for the first time.
Honestly? Judging by their conversation, I've got a bad feeling about this. There's a good chance she's paying him to act like her boyfriend.
"Erina nee-san, tell him you don't have money and ask him to pay for tomorrow's date instead."
"!?" — Everyone froze, even Aunt Serina.
"Tomoki, that's insane. What if he—" — Erina nee-san tried to reply, but I cut in.
"If he stops talking to you just because you can't pay—despite all the money you've already spent—then that tells you exactly what kind of man he is."
Silence.
Erina nee-san finally said she'd think about it, then went to her room.
We had dinner together, except for her. I hope I'm wrong about him... but I doubt it.