Current time is 13:00.
Hime arrived at my house an hour earlier than promised.
She was wearing a pure white dress today. The red hat was a nice accent and looked very cute. The shoulder pouch she brought with her was also red. The white and red colors looked really good together. It was an outfit that made me think she must have dressed up.
Meanwhile, Shinyo, who was wearing shorts and a black sleeveless top, the complete opposite of Hime's, stood with her eyes wide open, with the door open.
""""
Silence. No one speaks.
The only thing making noise is the bag Hime brought with her. Inside is some sort of gift... Maybe Mei gave it to her?
I wonder what's inside. I'm looking forward to it -- I was so excited that I started to escape reality, my head in my hands.
This is bad. I've already noticed that the air is freezing.
He could clearly sense that the two were not friendly towards each other when they first met.
"Um..."
For now, I try calling out to invite Hime inside.
However, before I could suggest that, Shinyo-chan interrupted me.
"Yo-chan, who is this woman?"
Your voice is cold...!
Although she is usually cheerful and innocent, right now she seems emotionless.
This was the first time I'd heard Shinyo's voice like this. I was surprised.
"Yohei, I'm curious about her too... who could she be?"
Meanwhile, Hime's voice was the same as usual.
She usually speaks in a calm tone, so there's no difference, but there's no doubt that her expression is somewhat tense.
It's been quite some time since they became friends, and because he's slowly become able to read Hime's emotions, he was able to notice her strange behavior.
Now...what should I do?
For now, let's try to mediate between the two of them.
"This is my niece, Haruyama Shinyo. She's my sister's daughter."
"...is that so"
First, I'll explain to Hime about Shinyo.
I don't have any priorities in mind. In this situation, I thought it would make more sense to explain things to Hime, a guest, before my family member, Shinyo.
However, it seems that Shinyo didn't like that very much either.
"So Koharu is on the back burner? Hmm, I see."
He was sulking. He looked displeased and aloof.
If I left it like this, he would get seriously upset, so I hurriedly explained the situation to him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. She's Hoshimiya Hime... she's my classmate and friend."
"What do you mean? Isn't this woman just as bad as Koharu?"
"It's true that he's eight years old, but he skipped a grade and we're in the same class."
"Tobikyuu? I don't know what that is."
Was the concept of skipping grades difficult for a first-grader?
Well, that's not really important right now.
"Anyway, we're friends so we promised to hang out today."
"Yes. I promised yesterday."
Hime also gave a detailed explanation.
She seems a little calmer than Shinyo. She's a smart girl, so she's probably quick to grasp the situation.
"Friends... hmmm."
On the other hand, Shinyo still doesn't seem to understand a lot of things.
Or rather, she probably doesn't like the fact that Hime and I are friends. She seemed to be in a bad mood.
So what will happen from now on?
Nothing has happened yet, but it feels like the calm before the storm and it's scary.
Hopefully, things will be resolved peacefully.