Chapter 34: Under the Futon
When it was time to leave for school, and we stepped outside, there was already a limousine parked in front of the house, and Emera, who was clearly intending to go with me, looked at me with a smug expression.
When I snapped back at her with a “Are you stupid…!?”, Emera stared at me in shock, looking at me as if she were seeing something completely unbelievable.
“—We’re not going by car…!?”
“It’s only a fifteen-minute walk…!”
“You’re going to walk for fifteen minutes…!? That’s definitely a distance you should take a car for…! Especially since Furei hates walking…!”
“You’re spoiling your sister way too much!”
I wanted to say, why would you ever need a car for a distance that only takes fifteen minutes on foot?
Well, sure, I’ve heard that once you’re an adult, you start driving even to the convenience store around the corner, but don’t start relying on cars like that while you’re still students.
—Though, being raised as pampered young ladies since childhood, maybe it really is hard for Emera and Furei to understand.
“But…”
Thinking I was angry, Emera suddenly started to tear up.
“H-hey, hold on…! You’re the girl who strutted around school like you owned the place—don’t suddenly turn timid on me now…!?”
I hurriedly retorted at her, feeling like she was a completely different person, but—
“Eito… you made Onee-chan cry…”
“Onii-chan…”
—I couldn’t escape the accusing stares from the two sisters.
Girls’ tears are just unfair…
“Well… I apologize for the harsh tone. Besides, if Hina and I went to school in a limousine, we’d stand out way too much. So if you’re going by car, you and Furei should go together. I mean, except for the fiancé part, if people find out we’re living together, things are going to get complicated. Honestly, it might be better if you two keep taking the limousine like you always do.”
To protect Hina, I should make it public that Emera and I are engaged.
Rumors will definitely start flying because of it, but if it makes people think twice about laying a hand on Hina, then it’s something I just have to accept.
But there’s no need to say anything about us living together.
That would only invite unnecessary speculation… or even lewd fantasies.
…and the fact that I can’t completely deny those fantasies just makes things even more complicated…
After all, with the way Emera is acting right now, she might easily let something slip or even hint at what happened between us.
“If you’re going to… show off being engaged… then going together is… faster…”
But then Furei, who had been quietly listening, shook her head.
This girl tends to find speaking bothersome and just chooses the most efficient method.
And of course, she doesn’t take into account the burden that method puts on me.
“Are you really okay with strange rumors being spread about you…?”
“Do you think… anyone at school… would dare pick a fight with us…?”
Furei tilted her head again.
I see… she actually had a point.
Whether it’s lewd fantasies or silly rumors, anyone who spreads that kind of nonsense would basically be picking a fight not just with me, but with Emera and Furei as well.
At the very least, no student at that school would want to risk provoking their anger. I couldn’t imagine any of them doing something that reckless.
“Well… you might be right about that, but…”
“Besides… it’d be easier for Hina… if we took the car… wouldn’t it…?”
Seeing that I was still reluctant, Furei—who clearly knew exactly how to sway me—tried to pull Hina over to her side.
Because of that, Hina—
“Y-yeah… I guess so…”
—despite feeling intimidated by the unfamiliar luxury of a limousine, Hina nodded in consideration of Furei’s feelings.
“It’s decided…”
Since Hina agreed, that meant I had no right to complain.
Or at least, that’s how Furei acted as she decided everything on her own.
For me, if Hina was okay with it, then I’m fine with it. Anything that made things easier for her was good. But… we were absolutely going to be the center of attention at school…
“Just so you know… after yesterday’s fight with Koori… you’re already the center of attention… Even if you don’t go with us… you can’t escape anymore…”
“You’re saying it like it has nothing to do with you, but you two sisters are the ones who caused it…!?”
Mainly Emera, though Furei got dragged along by association.
“Even now, thinking back on that fight makes my heart flutter…”
As I pressed a hand to my forehead, feeling a headache coming on, the culprit—Emera—brought a hand to her cheek and blushed faintly.
What is wrong with her?
If she were a guy, I really would’ve punched her.
I couldn’t help but think that.
Well… at least she was obedient now.
Not nearly as troublesome as when she acted like a queen.
“Emera, it’s fine for now, but don’t act like that at school, okay…?”
Honestly, the students at school are going to be shocked, and after what happened yesterday, everyone will probably assume I’m the one who made Emera turn out like this. They’ll end up thinking I’m some kind of terrible guy…
No, well… it is my fault…
“I’ll do my best…”
It’s not even something you need to put effort into…
You just have to act like you always do… right…?
That’s what I thought, but saying anything more probably wouldn’t matter at this point.
“Well then, let’s go—ah.”
I should lock the house.
Reaching into my bag with that in mind, I realized I’d forgotten my wallet.
I was too preoccupied with Emera this morning, and it seems I left it in my room.
“Sorry, I forgot my wallet. I’ll go grab it.”
“Eito, you’re so clumsy…”
“Well… I’ll just have to accept it for now…”
Since Furei gave me a triumphant smug look, I let out a wry smile and headed back into the house.
Shirayuki-san is probably already asleep… and if I wake her up, she’ll definitely get mad…
I still have no idea why, but she seemed a little angry with me earlier, and if I wake her right after she finally went to sleep, she might get even angrier.
Thinking that, I quieted my footsteps, tried to suppress my presence as much as possible, and made my way to my room.
Then, slowly and carefully, so I wouldn’t make any noise, I opened the door—
“Mm… nnn…”
—as expected, Shirayuki-san was already curled up inside her futon.
But it seemed she wasn’t asleep yet—the covers were rustling as she squirmed underneath them.
It also looked like she had already washed my bed sheets, which Emera had soaked yesterday, since only the bare mattress was left.
Huh?
My pillow is gone too… Ah, she must have washed it together with everything else.
Thinking that, I slipped quietly into the room, still keeping my footsteps silent.
And then—
“Haa… haa… Eito-sama…”
—I heard Shirayuki-san call my name.
Amazing…
Even though I suppressed my presence completely, and she wasn’t even looking this way, she still noticed me…
Character Summary (non-official)
- Aima Eito (愛真 英斗) — A second-year high school boy and twin brother of Hina. Level-headed and cautious, he knows more about the Tenjouin sisters’ cruelty than most after being in their class last year. He tries to stay quiet and unnoticed to avoid trouble, especially from the Tenjouin sisters who despise men.
- Aima Hina (愛真 雛) — Eito’s twin sister, a tiny 148 cm girl who’s adorable, clingy, and very attached to her brother. Sweet-natured and polite, but easily frightened, especially upon learning she’s placed in the same class as the Tenjouin sisters.
- Tenjouin Emera (天上院 翠玉) — One of the school’s notorious “twin queens.” A beautiful girl with long straight hair: a single streak of her bangs is white while the rest is gold. She has heterochromia—right eye red, left eye blue, and a flat chest. Cold, arrogant, and dangerously influential thanks to her powerful, wealthy family. Devoted entirely to her sister Furei.
- Tenjouin Furei (天上院 風麗) — Emera’s twin sister, with opposite hair colors—one golden streak in her bangs, the rest pure white—and mirror-image heterochromia: right eye blue, left eye red. She has a bob cut and a voluptuous figure like a gravure idol. Quiet, expressionless, and mysterious, yet incredibly dangerous beneath her calm. Furei doesn’t care about anyone except for Emera and the girls she favors, and even then, she treasures them more like pets than equals.
- Tenjouin Maria (天上院 真莉愛) — Maria is the foster parent who took Eito and Hina in from the orphanage when they were in second grade. An unbelievably beautiful woman who looks to be in her twenties—and still insists she is in her twenties—she has striking half-gold, half-white hair parted cleanly down the middle, brilliant blue eyes, and an ample chest. Though she appears elegant and composed, Eito describes her as a “demon in human skin,” having put him through countless extreme punishments whenever he failed to meet her expectations. Yet despite her terrifying side, Maria is helplessly weak to cute things, which is why she absolutely adores Hina and has spoiled her since they were little.
- Shirayuki Koori (白雪 氷) — Shirayuki Koori serves under the Tenjouin twins. She is a petite girl with pale blue twin-tail hair and an adorable, youthful face, paired with an icy, emotionless gaze. Despite her doll-like appearance, she is a highly trained combatant raised under special training since childhood. Competitive and proud, she hates losing and becomes flustered or emotional when things don’t go her way, revealing a childish side beneath her cool exterior.
- Shirayuki Hitomi (白雪 仁美) — Koori’s mother and Maria’s loyal maid. Like Maria, she is an unbelievably beautiful woman who looks to be in her twenties despite her age. Her appearance and personality resemble Koori’s, though with greater maturity, and she possesses the uncanny ability to read people’s thoughts at a glance. Despite her gentle demeanor, she may also have sadistic tendencies, given how she smiled gracefully while “punishing” Emera, all the while calling her pitiful.