Chapter 24: Heavenly Space
“―I’m home…”
“Onii-chan…!”
“Whoa…!? ”
As soon as I opened the front door, a small girl, Hina, rushed out.
When I hurriedly caught her, she pressed her face into my chest and rubbed it back and forth.
She seemed to have been crying a little.
“Welcome home, Eito-sama.”
Behind her, Shirayuki-san appeared with a gentle smile on her face.
Compared to when we met at school, her expression was much softer.
She must have kept her promise and watched over Hina for me.
“I’m back. Was there any trouble?”
While gently stroking Hina’s head, I didn’t mention why she was acting this way since I could guess the reason. Instead, I asked Shirayuki-san.
“No, of course not. Well… It was a bit difficult to stop Hina-sama from running out of the house several times because she was worried about you.”
“B-But, I was just worried that Onii-chan might have been hurt badly…”
In response to Shirayuki-san’s wry smile, Hina blushed and made an excuse.
Since Hina’s speech had shifted from polite to casual, she must have warmed up to her once she realized they were classmates.
Seeing them playing together like a pair of little sisters warmed my heart a little.
Man… after getting through that hellish situation, this really soothes my soul.
The difference in atmosphere is so extreme it feels like a completely different world.
If the Tenjouin mansion was hell, then this place is definitely heaven.
“So, did everything go well with your talk?”
Shirayuki-san, who probably knew everything, asked me for confirmation in front of Hina.
I thought she really was excellent and smiled as I replied,
“Yeah, thanks to you… Everything worked out.”
By that, I meant because she called Maria for me.
Although honestly, it’s not like everything is completely settled yet; there will likely be more trouble from now on.
Emera, who had been sitting there dazed and twitching after wetting herself, snapped back to reality and immediately rushed up to me, her face bright red, saying, “Don’t you dare tell anyone…! And forget it right now!!”
Furei is fine, but the idea of Emera being engaged to me… absolutely nothing good will come out of it.
“Fufu, that’s good.”
“Onii-chan… did you really manage to convince Emera-san and Furei-san…?”
Unlike Shirayuki-san, who was smiling in satisfaction, Hina looked up at me anxiously.
Since she only knew about Emera’s tyranny and unfairness, she couldn’t imagine what kind of discussion had taken place between us.
Well, in reality, it was less of a discussion and more of a duel.
And on top of that, the final blow was decided by a completely outrageous gadget.
“Yeah. I made them delete all the photos, and as for the ones her attendants have, Emera said she’ll take responsibility and get those erased too.”
After all, if they didn’t do this, Maria would give them another incredibly harsh punishment.
Emera had been terrified of being tickled again, and honestly, I also hated it.
That was a truly terrifying punishment… one capable of stripping a person of their dignity.
Well… when it’s Emera or Furei on the receiving end, with their excellent appearance, I can’t help feeling there’d be demand for it not just among some niche fetish crowd, but among a pretty large portion of men.
“Good…”
Hina sighed in relief as she patted her chest.
She was relieved, partly because her brother hadn’t gotten into trouble, but mainly because the photos of her in her underwear were deleted.
But it’s still not done yet.
After all, I still haven’t gotten revenge on the others who put Hina through all that.
Furei said she would handle their punishment herself, but she’d definitely go too easy on them, so I insisted that I had to deal with it personally, and I refused to budge.
“Anyway, since I’m back now, you can go home too, Shirayuki-san.”
She had stayed at the house to avoid owing me a favor.
Now that she was done with her task, there was no problem for her to return home. And Emera wouldn’t be able to say anything about it either.
Partly because Maria-san is keeping a close eye on them, and partly because, when all’s said and done, they themselves were saved by Shirayuki-san.
If they had kept butting heads with me without understanding the real situation, things could have gotten much worse. And Maria-san’s anger… it wouldn’t have stopped at tickling or threats, it would’ve gone way beyond that.
That aside, since Shirayuki-san’s mother has the same genetic modifications as Maria-san, maybe Emera could never have bullied Shirayuki-san to begin with…?
…or so I thought.
Because that woman kept tickling Emera with an absolutely radiant smile while saying things like “You poor thing,” even as Emera cried and begged for mercy.
She’s definitely a total sadist too.
While I was thinking about that—
“Huh? You haven’t been told anything?”
—Shirayuki-san, who had just been permitted to go home, looked at me with a puzzled expression.
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.
- Maria (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.