The sudden voice scared Mira so much she almost screamed.
Thankfully, she reacted quickly and clapped her free hand over her own mouth.
If she made too much noise and drew Elfman and Lisanna over, then her dignity as their big sister would be utterly gone.
Of course, the current scene was already more than embarrassing enough...
Mira stiffly turned her head. Kabe had rolled slightly to the side, his dark eyes wide open, staring straight at her.
She forced out a smile that looked uglier than crying.
"I... I saw you were asleep and wanted to help you change clothes."
"Oh, is that so?" Kabe's tone was thick with amusement.
"Then poking my face and playing with my tail was also part of taking care of me?"
"You... you knew? You are not drunk?!"
Mira's little face turned pink in an instant. Inside, shame at being caught doing something bad tangled with the humiliation of being teased and the anger of being made fun of.
Kabe rolled fully over, his tail loosening as his hand shot out to catch Mira's almost-criminal little hand instead.
His eyes gleamed with mischief as he chuckled,
"My tolerance is pretty good, you know. That little bit of alcohol is nowhere near enough to get me drunk. I just got a little tired from having fun and fell asleep for a bit.
I did not expect that by accident I would catch someone in the act, attempting something improper toward me.
So... how do you think I should punish you?"
"Who... who was trying to do something improper to you? Do not flatter yourself. I was just... just curious about your body, that is all."
"What did you just say?"
Kabe's smile froze, utterly thrown off by how blunt she sounded.
Mira's toes were curling so hard in her boots it felt like she could scrape a hole in the floor. Her brain had already stopped working properly from the embarrassment, so she simply stuck her neck out and gritted her teeth.
"Jerk, since you already noticed, I am not going to pretend anymore.
Tonight I am going to strip you and see exactly how that tail of yours grows out!"
Before Kabe could process that, she pounced, grabbing for his pants and tugging like her life depended on it.
'Seriously, is this not supposed to go the other way around? I catch her, she goes bright red while I tease her, then she runs off in a fluster because she cannot take it anymore, right?
How did it turn into this?!
Mom, help, I really have run into a female delinquent!!!'
Shouting inwardly that this was bad, Kabe scrambled upright and fought back with everything he had.
"Mira, no!!!
Just pretend none of that happened earlier, all right? Please spare my pants!!!"
His miserable wails echoed throughout the room.
Outside the door, one big and one small figure were pressed against it, eavesdropping with great interest.
Hearing that tragic scream, the two of them stared at each other, speechless.
After a long moment, the siblings stepped back two paces and looked at the tightly closed door, both drawing in a sharp breath.
Lisanna murmured, "As expected of big sis Mira, she really is... a heroine among women."
Elfman nodded solemnly. "Big sis... is a real man!"
After each letting out a heartfelt sigh, the siblings tiptoed away, not daring to disturb their sister's "important business."
...
Early the next morning, in the Strauss family dining room.
Mira and Kabe sat on opposite sides of the table, quietly eating with their heads down, as if nothing at all had happened the previous night.
Lisanna opened her mouth several times, wanting to ask, but every time she looked at the strangely calm, almost harmonious atmosphere, she shut her mouth again.
On the side, Elfman was getting anxious just watching, shooting Lisanna urgent looks, trying to push her to speak.
Lisanna glared right back, her eyes saying clearly, "You go ask."
But Elfman did not have that kind of courage either. He could only stare and silently wrestle with her across the table with his eyes.
Mira noticed her younger siblings' eye games, her eyes narrowing slightly before she let out a cold little huff.
The two of them were so frightened they instantly ducked their heads and focused on shoveling food into their mouths.
They had only eaten a few bites when Lisanna could not help sneaking another glance.
"Um, big sis Mira, big brother Elfman has something he wants to ask you two."
"...!!"
Elfman stared at Lisanna in shock, betrayed, but before he could speak, Lisanna stomped hard on his foot under the table.
"Ah... r-right, I wanted to ask, last night, you and big brother Kabe, you two..."
"It is none of your business. Eat your food."
Mira's voice turned cold and low as she scolded him. Elfman shut his mouth at once.
Lisanna, furious that he cowered so quickly, gave him another vicious stomp, but this time no matter what, he refused to risk touching his sister's bad mood again.
Kabe, watching the siblings' little drama, kept his face carefully neutral, eyes on his bowl.
With his level of strength, after the initial shock and confusion last night, it had been easy to pin Mira down and stop her from actually doing anything to him.
After that, things progressed the way they probably should have. Once she was subdued and sobered up a bit, Mira's face went scarlet. She had not said a single word before bolting out of his room.
Now, he had no idea what Mira was really thinking, so he chose to keep his mouth shut and give her some time to calm down.
Breakfast was finished in this heavy, oppressive silence.
Just as the siblings were about to help clear the table like usual, Mira suddenly spoke.
"You two go help out at the guild first. Kabe and I will handle things here."
Their movements halted. The brother and sister exchanged a quick look, then, without a word, dashed out the door at a run.
Once again, only the two of them remained. Kabe silently started gathering up the dishes.
"Leave that for later. Come with me first."
Mira stopped him and tugged him toward the kitchen.
Kabe followed along obediently, curious what she wanted to say.
He had just stepped into the kitchen when Mira suddenly spun around and shoved him hard in the chest, forcing him back against the wall.
A second later she stepped in, closing the distance, and pinned him there with a full-on wall slam, completely blocking any chance of escape.
"Kabe."
Her flawless face was so close he could see every eyelash. A faint, clean fragrance drifted into his nose, wrapping around his senses.
Kabe swallowed. Only after silently chanting "I am not a lolicon" three times in his heart did he answer in a small voice,
"I am here."
Mira pressed her soft, glossy lips together, obviously embarrassed. She kept her head lowered as she whispered an apology,
"About last night, I was wrong. I should not have messed with you while you were sleeping."
She paused, then lifted her head again, forcing on a fierce expression as her tone shifted,
"So just pretend nothing happened last night. Especially, you are not allowed to tell Elfman and Lisanna about it."