Chisa: "So why exactly am I here too…"
Iori: "More importantly—why are you two here as well…"
Shiro: "So, when's dinner?"
"You bastard—dinner my ass! You brought these two, didn't you?!"
Iori grabbed Shiro's collar and shook him wildly, pointing to Kohei and Aina beside them with his free hand.
"Ma ma, calm down Kitahara~ It'll be a nice memory for all of us to visit your family's inn together."
"Yeah yeah~ Plus, we brought gifts!"
Aina lifted the box of sweets in her hands and smiled shyly. She hadn't expected to meet Iori's parents this soon.
Aaaaaahhhh!!!
She had to do her best and make a great impression! (づ︶ど)
Lost in her romantic daydreams, she once again forgot about her dear bestie. If she had remembered, this return-home trip could've added two more people…
Some scumbag named Shiro was thinking: Good. Forget her!
"No, the issue isn't mainly you, it's…"
Iori's eyes drifted toward the overly eager blond guy nearby.
"Kitahara, want a beer?"
"Your collar's crooked, Kitahara."
"Do you think bringing yokan for your parents would make a good first impression?"
Ever since he found out he'd be seeing Shiori again, Kohei had been extremely helpful. His motives? Blatantly obvious.
Unable to take the harassment anymore, Iori grabbed Kohei and shouted to Chisa, "Chisa, open the window!"
"Even if you throw me out now, I will come back!!"
Kohei shamelessly shouted. No one could stop him from seeing Shiori!
"..."
Chisa silently turned her head away. Sometimes she really didn't want to be associated with these two idiots.
Meanwhile, Aina was still immersed in her imaginary post-marriage bliss.
And Shiro?
That guy had already cracked open a beer and was drinking alone.
As he drank, he gave Iori and Kohei disdainful looks.
Those two idiots—did they not know that train windows can't be opened?
Such low IQ was honestly just sad~
(ˉ︿ˉ;)
…
Eventually, after some stern "persuasion" from the train attendant, the two finally quieted down.
After all—
Neither of them wanted to be kicked off mid-ride.
Still, Iori was worried about the idiot next to him. He whispered to Chisa, "I'm counting on you to keep an eye on this guy."
"Why me?! What makes you think I can stop him?"
Chisa was clearly not thrilled. Wasn't this supposed to be Shiro's job?
"Not necessarily~ Technically, you're a little sister too, right?"
"Are you telling me to call Imamura-senpai big brother?!"
What kind of idea was that?! Was he serious?!
"Well… I mean, she is a little sister, in a way…"
Shiro added while sipping his beer. A cousin is still a sister, right~
Even Aina nodded, and at the thought of Chisa being Iori's sister, she felt quite happy.
Good—no need to worry about them being a couple anymore!
Swish!
Kohei?
The moment he heard the word "sister," he activated red-eye mode and started analyzing Chisa from head to toe.
From Kohei's perspective, it was like a system HUD appeared, overlaying glowing indicators over various details about Chisa's body.
A few seconds later—
Kohei pulled Iori and Shiro in for a hushed conversation.
Whisper whisper~
As he whispered, Shiro stared at Chisa, nodding occasionally.
Just as Chisa was about to lose it, the three finally stopped whispering.
Iori looked at her seriously. "Chisa…"
"What?!"
"Although it's a bit embarrassing to say this... you don't seem to meet the standard."
?_?
Hearing this, Chisa didn't know whether to feel happy or insulted. "…That's such an irritating thing to say."
Since Chisa was apparently not up to par, Iori's gaze shifted to Aina, whose chest looked a bit softer than Chisa's.
"I'm not your little sister!"
Aina immediately cut Iori off—she had no interest in playing out some melodramatic plot where lovers end up as siblings.
Especially when they weren't even lovers to begin with!
╮( ˘ω˘ )╭
"Don't get so worked up, Zombie. You're not qualified either."
Shiro chimed in mercilessly from the side—not every flat-chested girl could be considered a loli.
"Mhm!"
Kohei nodded in strong agreement. It was clear he wasn't satisfied with this "sister" option either.
(°ロ°)!
"You two are actually being picky about this?!"
If Kiyoko hadn't taken away her fake breasts earlier, she would've made sure to show them her real capabilities!
Wait…
Did she forget something?
Just as she was about to reflect on it, Shiro's voice caught her attention.
"Want a drink?"
Staring out at the beautiful scenery through the window, Shiro suddenly felt like hosting a mini drinking party. Drinking alone was just so boring.
"I'm in!"
Everyone nodded in agreement—a little beer wouldn't hurt. No way such a small amount of alcohol could get them drunk~
…
"Ha!"
"Whew!"
"Drinking on a train really is the best!"
Shiro finally understood the mentality of those people from his past life who loved drinking on trains.
It was awesome!
"It's actually pretty good."
Aina looked at her beer in surprise—was it just her imagination, or did it taste better than before?
Among the five of them, only Chisa wasn't drinking. She calmly continued eating her bento.
"Right, just don't get drunk."
Chisa was mostly speaking casually. These guys treated high-proof spirits like water—there was no way a few beers would knock them out.
"No way, no way…"
Iori initially took it as a joke too, but as he waved his hand, his body also started swaying.
Wait a minute!
He was starting to feel drunk?!
Shiro stared at him in disbelief. "Don't tell me you got drunk before finishing even one bottle of beer?!"
"No… that can't be…"
Iori looked down at his beer bottle, dumbfounded. No matter how weak he was, this little beer shouldn't be affecting him…
Wait!
Why was the beer level still so high after all this time?
Realizing something was wrong, Iori looked beside him—only to see a certain blond sneaky guy repeatedly pouring "Water of Life" into his beer bottle.
"..."
BAM!
Without hesitation, he landed a solid punch!
You bastard! What kind of evil mix is this—beer +Water of Life?!
Trying to get him drunk as fast as possible or what?!
"You didn't even notice while drinking? You good?"
"This stuff's got to be like super high percent alcohol…"
Chisa and Aina looked at Iori worriedly. At this point, it wasn't just a matter of taste anymore.
"I don't know… It just tasted smooth to me."
Iori sipped again. Honestly, it did taste good.
Yep, it was official—he was now fully "PAB-shaped" .
"Seriously though, maybe drink some water?"
Chisa stood up, ready to buy some water.
"Thanks~"
Watching the interaction and Chisa's silhouette as she walked away, Shiro's eyes flashed with a strange glint.
He nudged Iori with his elbow. "You two seem pretty well-matched. Want to give it a shot?"
(′｀;)?
"Give what a shot?"
"Go after Chisa. Make your pretend-girlfriend into a real one."
"..."
"What's that look for? ?_?"
Judging by Iori's clearly disdainful expression, Shiro could tell—this guy didn't know what was good for him.
"There's no way. I just think of Chisa as a little sister."
"So what? It's not like you're related by blood."
"No blood relation?!"
The moment Shiro said that, a voice beside them sounded like her entire world was collapsing.
Aina felt like the sky was falling~
Author's Note: Leave of Absence
Sorry.
I had planned to upload today, but my grandfather's condition suddenly worsened, and he was moved to the ICU…
I've been busy all day and things only just stabilized.
I'll have to skip a day.
"You didn't know?"
Shiro looked at the Aina in surprise—he didn't think it was a secret.
"How would I know?! Wait—you knew too?!"
Aina stared at Kohei in disbelief. She could accept that Iori and Shiro knew, since they were childhood friends, but why did even Kohei know?!
Just how much had she missed while she was away?!
"I heard it as a rumor. Didn't think it was true though."
Kohei scratched his head. It was one of those hearsay things—he didn't even remember who told him.
"Then… why does everyone say Chisa is your cousin?"
Aina still didn't want to believe it. She looked at Iori, eyes full of hope that he would deny it.
Unfortunately…
She was doomed to disappointment.
"Because my dad is adopted."
As he said that, Iori even kindly drew a diagram to explain their complicated family situation.
In short, while Iori's father and Chisa's mother are technically siblings, one is biological and the other adopted—so they're not actually blood relatives.
Clear and simple~
So simple that Aina was banging her head against the seat—why did adoption have to exist?!
"Then…"
Kohei looked like he wanted to say something. "Does this mean Chisa's mother is…?"
It wasn't unreasonable for Kohei to be suspicious. After all, they had been living in G?B for half a year now, and no one had ever seen Chisa's mother.
"Oh, no—she's just working abroad."
"Yeah, my aunt's totally fine, not divorced or anything. Pretty happy family overall."
Kohei nodded. That had always been his question, and now it was finally answered.
"No blood relation… No blood…"
Meanwhile, the Corpse Cosplayer had been zoning out ever since the revelation.
Just as Iori was about to check on her—
"Verdammt! (You bastard!)"
A voice in a foreign language cut through the air.
"This kid would totally rock a magical girl outfit! (German)"
"Nonsense! It's got to be a kimono with hakama pants! (German)"
The voices came from behind Kohei and Aina. They sounded oddly familiar, but to these language-challenged individuals, it was all unintelligible babble!
"Are they fighting?"
"Obviously. Must be foreigners."
"Geez, don't they know that's disturbing the peace?"
"I don't think any of you are qualified to say that…"
Aina's lips twitched—these three had just been warned by the train conductor a little while ago.
"Well, I'll go talk to them."
As a friendly college student, Shiro volunteered himself. He loved making new friends.
Especially foreigners—they always bought lots of local souvenirs at high prices~