CH 59

(POV Chiharu)

Summer break. It was a period when we created various memories.

We made a lot of memories. We went to KidZania (an interactive educational theme park), where we joyfully explored different professions, went to the pool, and did some shopping at the department store near the train station.

We took photos, went fishing, did homework, and enjoyed our summer break.

Summer break ended in the blink of an eye, and before we knew it, the second semester would start at school tomorrow.

“Well, summer is almost over… How about we end it with flowing noodles (Nagashi Somen) and fireworks…” 

Onii-san murmured as if he was stuck by a sudden idea.

“Oh! I want to do it! I want to eat them!”

Shining with anticipation, Chiaki wholeheartedly supported Onii-san’s proposal. Chinatsu and Chifuyu, caught up in the moment, nodded affirmatively, eager to partake in the plan.

“Alright then, let’s go out for a little while!”

With those words, Onii-san lightly patted his legs and stepped out of the house for a brief moment. A few minutes later, he returned, leaving us all wondering where he had gone just now.

Curiosity brimming within us, we tilted our heads in unison as Onii-san began to explain various details.

“Since it’s already four o’clock… how about we start with fireworks first and then proceed with the flowing noodles (Nagashi Somen)? Is that alright with everyone?”

“I think that sounds good for me… Is it okay with everyone else?” Chiharu asked.

“””Yeah.”””

“Great.”

“Kaito, where did you go?” Chiaki asked.

“Oh, I just went to talk to the neighbors. I let them know we’ll be setting off fireworks around five o’clock, so I apologized in advance for any noise. Ideally, we should wait until it’s dark for a more beautiful display, but we can’t help it this time… Anyway, shall we go buy the fireworks… Huh? What’s with this atmosphere…”

Onii-san glanced at us, trying to figure out why the atmosphere had suddenly shifted.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He seemed unaware of the reason behind the tension in the air. We admired his ability to pay attention to such details, finding it quite remarkable. Chiaki’s mouth was wide open in amazement. Meanwhile, Chinatsu blinked rapidly, genuinely impressed by his perceptiveness.

“Kaito-san, is truly wonderful….”

Chifuyu murmured in a barely audible voice, a whisper that could easily be missed if not for my presence in the room. Well, it’s true that I have no intention of denying Chifuyu’s feelings, but it’s difficult to express my agreement easily.

While I was pondering over these thoughts, we got into the car and arrived at the nearby supermarket.

“Oh, by the way, don’t fifth graders have a school trip in the second semester…?”

“That’s right! I heard they’ll be making curry!”

“Hee~~, that sounds fun! Oh, is this the right firework to buy?”

“Yeah!”

Onii-san and the four of us wandered through the store, placing the fireworks in our shopping basket. Onii-san believed that even though we came to buy fireworks, it wouldn’t hurt to explore other items as well.

“Kaito! Over here!”

Chiaki grabbed his hand, leading Onii-san, who had the belief that there might be other things worth seeing. With Chiaki at the forefront, the rest of us followed suit. We had a general idea of where Chiaki was heading.

It was the candy section, right?

“Kaito, I want this… Please?”

“I see… Of course, that’s fine.”

Chiaki gazed up at Onii-san, her eyes sparkling, making her request with a slight tilt of her head. Whether intentional or unintentional it had an undeniable effect on Onii-san and me as well. We both wanted to grant her wish. At this point, it could be said that Chiaki had taken over decision-making for Onii-san and me.

“If Chifuyu, Chinatsu, or Chiharu want anything, let me know.”

“I… I would like this, please.”

“For Chifuyu… It’s this.”

“…Then, I’ll go with this.”

Chinatsu and Chifuyu put their chosen candies into the basket. Onii-san had a calm expression on his face, seemingly saying that there was no problem.

“Hey, Fuyu.”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t Aki a bit sneaky?”

“Chifuyu knew this from the beginning.”

“So, she’s intentionally doing it?”

“Probably… I think Aki-nee is just like that,” 

Chinatsu and Chifuyu whispered to each other, wondering if Chiaki was being a little sly. Cuteness is justice, so these things didn’t really matter to me.

“Oh, Kaito. I also want some ‘Kyonyuu (big breasted) Juice’!”

“…Chiaki, it’s pronounced ‘Kyoho’ (grape)…..It means something different if you say ‘Kyonyuu’…”

“Uh…Uuu…”

Ah, she made a big mistake there. Well, cuteness is justice, so it doesn’t really matter. Chiaki is really adorable, as always.

Chiaki is so adorable, and she can cook too. She’s truly defying the saying that you can’t have it all.

“Fuyu, what do you think about what just happened?”

“I think now she genuinely made that mistake… Probably.”

“Aki can be surprisingly sly, huh?”

Everyone has their own thoughts about it, but we continued to wander around the supermarket. Eventually, Onii-san finished paying at the counter, and we headed back home.

◆◆

(POV Kaito)

The sound of fireworks filled the air, and I captured a photo of the four girls holding fireworks.

Guh, aren’t they so cute? Cuteness is justice.

In the sweltering heat outside, the four of them wore short sleeves and shorts. Being quadruplets, their faces bore a striking resemblance to one another, or rather, their features were almost identical. Hence, they were all cute. I firmly believed that they would grow up to be beautiful women in the future. It’s partly because of the game knowledge I have, but even without considering that, I just knew.

“Kaito, Kaito! Take a picture!”

“Got it.”

“Can I edit it later?”

“I don’t think it’s necessary.”

“Ehehe… I see… But I’ll still do it!”

Chiaki is cute in her own way.

“Chifuyu, can I take a picture?”

“….Um… Oh, yes, you can… Ah, but not right now…”

“I-I see…”

Chifuyu took out a hand mirror and checked her own reflection.

“Oh, now is good,” 

“I see, okay then, say cheese,” 

“…” 

“Great, you look cute,”

“… (Paaaaa),”

Her face lit up with a brilliant smile. Chifuyu was pure, sincere, hardworking, and considerate—a truly adorable girl.

“Chinatsu, can I take a picture?” I asked.

“Yes…” 

“Okay, say cheese,” 

“…How is it?”

“It turned out really cute,” 

“Oh, I’m glad,” 

I was happy that Chinatsu had become more affectionate compared to before. She had been putting in efforts to grow recently, and she looked adorable. She was straightforwardly cute.

She even helps with dishes and has almost done them all lately. She’s willing to say anything she’s concerned about, and she’s adorable.

“Chiharu, can I take a picture?” I asked.

“Yes,” 

“Okay, say ‘rare cheese’,” 

“Did you get it?” 

“Oh, yeah… It turned out cute,”

I wanted to see Chiharu’s smile, so I tried to make a silly joke, but she just ignored it. “Rare cheese”… That was a lame joke. Maybe it was better that she ignored it.

Not only Chiharu but also Chifuyu and Chinatsu. They still spoke to me in a polite way. Well, it’s totally fine if they find it easier to talk that way.

But it would be nice if they approached me more assertively like Chiaki does.

“Kaito, that rare cheese thing was funny!”

“R-Really? Thanks…”

“Chifuyu thinks so too!”

“Huh? Y-Yeah.”

“Chinatsu thinks so too!”

“Huh? Y-Yeah, I see…”

“Chiharu thinks so too!”

“Huh? Y-Yeah, I suppose you can say it that way too.”

It seemed like only Chiaki found it truly funny. I decided to permanently retire my attempts at being funny. That was my resolution.

“Alright, shall we start preparing dinner soon?”

“Oh, yeah!”

The fireworks had ended, and the used fireworks were placed in a bucket filled with water. Holding it, I entered the house.

The surroundings still had the hues of the sunset, but I could feel the days getting shorter little by little. Time passes by so quickly. It feels like just recently it was spring, and now it’s summer, and soon autumn will come, followed by winter.

Surely, I wouldn’t have felt time passing so swiftly on my own.

If it weren’t for Chiharu, Chifuyu, Chiaki, and Chinatsu. They brought so much fulfillment to my life. I believe that we will continue to experience fulfillment in the future.

With the thought that there would be more enjoyable days ahead, a smile naturally formed on my face.

After entering the house, we washed our hands and rinsed our mouths before starting to prepare for the flowing noodles (Nagashi Somen). All four of us were looking forward to it. I was pumped up. We even bought a flowing noodles (Nagashi Somen) machine through online shopping.

Basically, it was a machine that could be placed on the table. A machine that could spin the flowing noodles round and round. That was the Nagashi-Somen machine. I was certain they would be delighted by it.

Just as I was thinking that…

“Oh, it’s different from what I imagined…”

Chiaki murmured upon seeing it. Ah, so she must have been picturing something like an amazing slide made of bamboo…

“Wait a moment, I’ll go get some bamboo.”

“No, Kaito-san, it’s okay!”

“That’s right! We’re satisfied with this!”

“Onii-san, I think this is enough.”

Their reassurances made me realize that they were content with the current setup and didn’t need the extravagant bamboo slide.

(TN: Search for the said machine to understand how it works; basically, it looked to me like a game where you catch noodles to eat them, and some of them had slides, others didn’t.)

◆◆

(POV Chiharu)

Summer break was ending in just one more day. It was a day filled with a sense of loneliness. We were spending our time leisurely at home.

Onii-san had to go to work on that day, and even though it was our last day of break, he felt the need to apologize as he left for the office. However, there was really no need for him to apologize.

“I wonder when Kaito’s birthday is…” Chiaki said.

“Yeah… he even celebrated ours.” Chinatsu added.

“I want to celebrate Kaito-san’s birthday too!”

All three of them must have wanted to repay Onii-san, who always showed us unconditional love, in some way.

“Cooking and laundry aren’t enough! Let’s celebrate! The moment of Kaito’s birthday!” Chiaki said.

“But what can we do? We don’t have money, and we can’t buy gifts.” Chinatsu remarked

“Isn’t it about the conveyed feelings?” Chifuyu wondered.

“What do you think, Haru?”

“Well… for me, if I move too much, I might end up causing trouble again…”

“Yeah…”

Once, I thought about doing something myself, but in the end, I ended up committing a reckless act by breaking Onii-san’s favorite wooden and stone dishes.

“Kaito-san really seemed down that time. You sure have a knack for breaking plates,” Chinatsu remarked.

“It just… slipped out of my hands,” I replied.

“You. Are you a clumsy child?” 

“I guess so…,” 

I reluctantly admitted it, unable to deny what Chinatsu said. Whenever I entered the kitchen, I tended to make mistakes… unlike the impressive feats accomplished by Chiaki…

“In the first place, we don’t even know when Kaito-san’s birthday is,” Chinatsu mentioned.

“I’ve never heard of it either. Kaito doesn’t talk much about himself,” Chiaki added.

“Chifuyu doesn’t know either.”

“I don’t know either,” 

“Well, in that case, we should ask him first before planning anything. Alright, as the eldest sister, I hereby decide!” Chinatsu declared.

“Chinatsu! I still don’t recognize you as the eldest sister! Besides, I’m the best cook among us!” Chiaki protested.

“Huh? That doesn’t count as criteria for being the eldest sister! And besides, whenever there’s an opportunity, you always ask for things for yourself,” Chinatsu retorted.

“It’s your fault for leaving an opening!” Chiaki said.

“No matter what anyone says, I am the eldest sister!”

“I am the eldest sister!”

As if it were a heated bargain sale between the eldest sisters.

While the two of them were engaged in their argument, Chifuyu had already moved away. She headed towards the kitchen, took out her notebook, and began working on something while gazing at its pages.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I followed her into the kitchen.

“What are you making?” 

“I’m making some bread,” 

“Hee~~, really?”

Chifuyu must be trying to compete with Chiaki… Chiaki effortlessly creates even the most challenging dishes, and her personality naturally brings her closer to Onii-san. She’s always being praised.

“Of course, Chifuyu will make some for Haru-nee and the others too,”

“It’s delicious,” 

“You’re quick with your feedback! I haven’t even made it yet!” 

“Well, it’s a given that whatever Chifuyu makes is delicious even before I taste it,” 

“I-Is that so…? Anyway, please wait a little longer,” 

“Alright, I’ll wait.”

Chifuyu is just too good of a girl. She’s adorable, pure, and simply the best.

“Chifuyu is going to make bread for us,” 

“Oooh! I’m looking forward to it!” Chiaki exclaimed.

“Fuyu, do you want some help?” Chinatsu offered.

“It’s alright,” Chifuyu replied.

I was really looking forward to eating Chifuyu’s bread.

◆◆

(POV Chiharu)

“I messed up…”

The bread Chifuyu made was charred black and appeared tough at first glance.

“Oh my, this is quite… It seems like since it didn’t want to be eaten, the bread focused all its efforts on defense stats… this bread…” Chiaki said.

“…”

“Ah, ju-just kidding! I mean, you know, everyone makes mistakes! This stuff happens to anyone!” Chiaki added.

“Yeah, I agree! Kaito-san said so too! Failure is worth eight times the value of success! Next time, you’ll make a delicious golden one!” Chinatsu said.

“I think so too. I can’t even cook, and Chifuyu, who can, is already amazing, so have confidence!” I said.

“Thank you,” 

Chifuyu was a hardworking girl…

I thought so. Surely, there would be struggles ahead, but in the end, I believed she would blossom into something magnificent.

I consoled Chifuyu, who was visibly disheartened and had her shoulders drooping. Chinatsu and Chiaki joined in to comfort her as well. Though Chifuyu seemed sad, I found this scene to be peaceful.

Peace… it was something we cherished.

However, that peace and tranquility couldn’t last forever. When we strive to attain what we love the most or when we try to bring about change, clashes become unavoidable.

Someday, when such a time comes, this serenity might crumble.

For a brief moment, I sensed an indescribable anxiety, a feeling that these uncertain times might indeed arrive.

**************

TN: the funny thing is how Chiaki the one who actually makes the best jokes finds Kaito’s lame jokes funny.