CH 124

I started to think that I didn’t need to pretend to be asleep anymore, so I got up, but as expected, no one was surprised.

Of course, no one thought I was asleep.

I mean, it would certainly be a talent if I could lie down and fall asleep immediately.

While everyone was smiling at Kaede’s comment about how much she loved her big brother, only the president looked different.

But if asked the reason, I wouldn’t be able to answer.

President would probably reply the same way even if I asked her about it.

Then there was nothing I could say.

I didn’t participate in the conversation and just waited at a distance for the conversation to end.

On the picnic blanket, all the people who had gathered today were sitting as before, but Yuuto was the only one who left that place and sat down next to me.

“Don’t you want to join the conversation…?”

“It looks like your sister is busy making friends and it was kinda turning into a girls’ only gathering, so…”

It’s true that the flow of the conversation is completely in the atmosphere of girls in the class talking a lot.

However, Koizumi stayed.

Even Yuuto, who is a lump of communicative power, stayed away as if were uncomfortable for him.

In conclusion, Koizumi has high girl power.

Well, leaving aside his girl power, the fact that he is the only boy left there is probably because he is good at matching and getting into the conversation without making the others uncomfortable.

You could say that he is good at conversing.

The student council members were all envious of my close relationship with Kaede.

Because I had never heard about the family situation around me, and I had never talked about it myself, so I don’t know much about the others.

I’ve also never heard of Miura and Hino-kun’s family situations, of course.

But what I can tell is that we were one of the siblings on closest terms.

We’re in different schools and different grades, so I’m sure that the council members don’t know much about us, but Shizuku and Kirasaka didn’t seem surprised.

Of course, Shizuku and Kirasaka were already familiar with her.

As I listened to Kaede’s bro-con remarks, president turned her gaze from Kaede to the two of them, as if she was wondering about them.

“Oh, you guys don’t have a problem with Kaede doting on Shinra, do you?”

“What’s the problem with that…?”

I was trying to keep my mouth shut, but my voice came out automatically.

I think it’s because some people are skeptical of siblings who get along too well with each other.

But I want to reassure you, this brother is more concerned about that area than you all.

I don’t get closer than necessary on a crowded street, and when I come across Kaede’s friend, I always take a few steps and kill time properly.

I wonder if having a talented sister makes an older brother more capable of avoiding troubles.

If there is an opportunity to submit a graduation essay, I can even write about it.

In response to president’s question, Shizuku and Kirasaka looked at each other.

They looked at each other’s faces with a puzzled expression, as if being asked an obvious question, and then answered simultaneously.

“I was thinking that in Minato’s case, Kaede would be part of the package.”

“Shinra-kun and Kaede-chan are a set”

“Oioi …which Happy Set is that?”

I wonder if I’m an extra toy.

Well, yes, they’re actually right.

When I ordered it, I thought I would love it, but when it came, I didn’t want it half as much as I thought I would.

I regretted buying it and wanted to throw it away.

When they said this to the president, Kaede, who was behind them, jumped to hug them with her face glowing red.

They looked truly good together, as if they were sisters.

If I had a camera, I’m sure I would have surely taken a picture.

This scene in my mundane life was one of the few ones that looked fun.

In fact, everyone around me was smiling.

Shizuku stopped hugging her with a big smile, as did Kaede, and Kirasaka was patting Kaede’s head with a slight smile.

“They’re like three sisters, aren’t they?”

“…Yeah, they are.”

Yuuto replied.

If looked from aside, they looked like three sisters.

No one would think that Kaede and I are siblings.

But it’s not the first time I’ve heard about it.

It’s a line that has been said hundreds of times before.

So I replied appropriately and stood up alone.

If I stayed in this hot place all day, I would get sunburn all over my body.

Besides, I wanted to go home and relax as soon as possible.

So I think I’ll end my break here and get back to work.

“Come on, Yuuto, let’s go.”

“Okay, let’s finish it then.”

Yuuto continued after holding the mop he was leaning against.

The girls should stay like that a bit longer.

I’m not so foolish as to interrupt them and return them to reality.

So Yuuto and I resumed our work.

In conclusion, the only thing we got out of this pool cleaning was an abnormal amount of sore muscles and the demonstration to the student’s council that how close the Shinra siblings are to each other.

In addition, I came with Kaede’s happy set.

On the way home, I was walking with Kaede to do some shopping for dinner.

Kaede was in a good mood, humming to herself as she walked, probably having enjoyed cleaning the pool today.

Suddenly, she turned around, walked up next to me and hugged right hand which was free.

“It was fun today, wasn’t it?”

“Was it? …I’m just tired.”

I will never do unpaid work again.

Just when Kaede muttered something happily ironically.

“I heard that me and nii-san are a set?”

“Oh, that…”

I wonder if it’s my imagination or not that I’m completely in the process of being handed over to one of those two.

It’s something I can’t help but think about, but when I think back on it, I can’t help but wonder.

(TL/N – I’m quite confused by the above two lines.

I’ll attach the original one, just in case

完全に俺があの二人のどちらかに貰われる流れなのは気のせいだろうか。

考えても仕方がないことだが、こうして思い返してみると疑問に思えてしまう。)

However, Kaede was smiling with a genuine expression.

It was the same then, and it is the same now.

Then, in a voice that was loud enough for me to hear, she said.

“So my brother and I will always be together, right?”

“…”

Kaede said so with her eyes.

I didn’t see any hints of joke in her eyes.

I didn’t need to confirm that what she spoke came from her heart

I’m sure Kaede was conveyed the words as they were.

But I know this for sure.

Kaede loves me as her brother.

If we were not brother and sister, if we were just childhood friends like Shizuku, Kaede would not have been this close to me.

The reverse is also true. If she wasn’t my sister, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to her so openly.

In other words, it’s because we are brother and sister that we have this relationship.

And we’re very similar.

I don’t understand what it feels like to fall in love with someone.

Kaede told me that she has never fallen in love with anyone other than me, her brother.

I’m sure it has something to do with her lack of interest in boyfriends and the fact that she goes to an all-girls high school where there are no boys.

That’s why her love for her brother has become even deeper.

However, it is family love, not a love for the opposite sex.

Because that is what it is, and that is what it was.

I can only say this because something happened very recently that made me think about love.

Thanks to Shizuku, thanks to Yuuto, and thanks to Kirasaka.

In the end, I still haven’t found my own answer.

That’s why I hope that there will be a man whom my sister will truly love. The feelings I have now are for my family, and the meaning of “true love” is different.

To know the feeling of love, I don’t know it yet.　

I am more aware than anyone else that I am not in a position to say such a thing, and the words coming from a person who hasn’t even sorted his own situation doesn’t seem trustworthy.

Besides, this is a hypothetical story.

Even if such a situation comes true, nothing may change.

So, first of all, let’s change the situation from having my sister take care of me all the time.

If the time comes in the future when Kaede introduces someone she likes, she could proudly introduce me as her brother.

But that’s still a long way off.

As long as Kaede is looking up to me as her big brother, I’ll spoil her as well.

No one can tell me if this is the right choice or not.

TL/N – I’ll be taking a 2 weeks break before starting the next arc. (¬_¬”)