Volume 1 - CH 2.5

At night on a certain day before the May holidays, the dining table of the Kimioka family was enveloped in a delicate atmosphere. The cause was that Misono, the Kimioka family’s second daughter, who was attending a university outside of the prefecture, had withdrawn her plans to return home during the holidays.

Her parents, especially her father, were worried about his daughter living alone and wanted to see her face, and Misono’s younger sister, Nonoka, was looking forward to hearing about her college life from Misono, who had undergone a major makeover upon entering college, so all three of them were very disappointed.

“If I wanted to take it easy, I would have to take time off from classes, and I want to get used to living alone.”

Misono gave a plausible reason for canceling her trip home, but her big sister Kanami, who knows the situation, can see the lie in her words. It is not difficult to imagine that there must have been some kind of development with “Makimura-kun,” Misono’s love interest, as she withdraws her plans less than a week before the holidays. In contrast to the other three who were disappointed, Kanami was looking forward to hearing about it from her sister.

When Kanami returned to her room after such a dinner, she found a message on her smartphone. The sender was her younger sister, Misono. The content was—

《Please help me.》

“What is this?”

Tilting her head at the not-so-calm message, she dialed her sister’s number and made a call, and Misono answered the phone in no time, as if she had been waiting for it.

“What’s wro—”

『Onee-chan……』

She wondered when was the last time she heard her sister’s crying voice. Perhaps the promise she made to Makimura had drifted away. While Kanami was looking for words to comfort her, Misono requested to make a video call. Kanami agreed and switched to the video call, but when she saw her sister on the other end of the screen, she knew what was going on.

“Go take off your makeup for now.”

Her sister on the other end of the screen nodded silently. After a few minutes of waiting, the video call began again.

“And? You practiced your makeup for your date with Makimura-kun, and that’s how you ended up like that?”

『Yeah…….』

It was not as ghastly as the common fictional tale of a child who uses their mother’s make-up kit without permission and gives birth to a ghost, but it was enough to spoil her outstanding material.

“That was absolutely no good.”

『I won’t do that again.』

“So when’s the date? During the holidays, right?”

『May 5th.』

“Just give up and go on normally.”

『No way.』

Kanami continues to persuade her younger sister, whose mental age has become more childlike, perhaps due to her joy and disappointment, while sighing inwardly.

“It’s not possible by now.”

『But! I want Makimura-senpai to think well of me.』

“Then let me ask you something. Do you know what type of girl Makimura-kun likes?”

『……I don’t know.』

“Then it would be better to go on as usual instead of trying so hard in a weird way.”

It is a lie. Though obviously bad makeup such as the one Misono wore earlier is out of the question, Kanami’s opinion is that no man would not be pleased with a girl who changed her look on a date. Especially on a first date. Even if he prefers her as usual, a man will be pleased with her efforts for him.

But this time, there is no time to spare. Kanami has her own schedule, so she can’t teach her how to do her makeup before the day of the event. It might disappoint Makimura a little, but it would be far better than letting him see her sister in a disgraceful state.

“And heels, don’t wear heels that are too high. You’re not used to them anyway.”

The younger sister on the other side of the screen was clearly frustrated.

“What if your feet hurt from wearing heels you’re not used to?”

『I can stand it.』

“Doesn’t he notice that Misono is enduring a lot of pain? Is Makimura that dull?”

『That’s not true! If it were Makimura-senpai, he would definitely notice…….but, it’s true that he’s a little dull.』

“Well then, just go with your regular shoes.”

She almost lost her senses but pulled out the words Kanami wanted.

『……Okay.』

“You can practice your make-up before your next date. I know you won’t be able to spend much time here, but come home on the weekend after your date.”

『Do you think we will go on another date?』

“Let’s think of a plan for that.”

From the impression she gave about Makimura as far as she was concerned, if Misono asked him out, there was no doubt that there would be the next date. Kanami was nearly convinced of this, but she dared not say so in order not to relax Misono’s nervousness. It was not because it was funny, not at all.

“So far, you’ve only promised to have a meal with him. Lunch or dinner?”

『Which one is better?』

According to Misono, they made a promise before, that they would decide together, but no details have been decided yet.

“You want a long date, don’t you?”

『Yes!』

“Then I guess you’d better have lunch.”

『I’ll do that.』

Kanami sees that Misono, of course, and perhaps Makimura, too, are not accustomed to date. For them, an extended date after dinner would be a heavy burden. However, if they were to go out before dinner, they would not be able to fully enjoy themselves because they would be worried about the time that was approaching.

“Have you given any thought to what you want to do after lunch?”

『Umm. A movie?』

“Rejected.”

『Why?』

“Do you know what kind of movies Makimura-kun likes to watch? What if he doesn’t like movies in the first place? Besides, you can’t talk with Makimura-kun during that time, can you?”

『Ugh.』

If it is the first date after lunch, it would be long enough to break up before evening at the most. Unlike a movie date where you discuss your impressions afterward, you don’t have time to watch a movie in your precious time.

“If it’s Misono, I’d recommend a stroll date.”

『A stroll? Is that really okay?』

“First of all, it will give you more time to talk to Makimura-ku—”

『I’ll go with that.』

An instant answer, as if she doesn’t need an explanation of the other benefits. Kanami smiles wryly.

『What should I do about the restaurant for lunch?』

“Shouldn’t you ask Makimura-kun to take care of that?”

『I was the one who asked him out, is that okay?』

To be honest, she was afraid that if she let Misono choose the place, she would be too enthusiastic and make Makimura withdraw from the date.

Kanami kept these reasons in her mind and gave a more reasonable one.

“Since Makimura is also a man, it would be awkward if Misono decided everything.”

『Well, now that you mention it, I guess so. I’ll leave the restaurant to him.』

After that, Misono seemed to be very satisfied with the results of the various consultations.

『Thank you Onee-chan. I’ll do my best.』

“Don’t be too enthusiastic. Also, as I said before, come home on weekends at the end of the holidays.”

『Yes. Well, I’m sorry it took so long. Thank you. Good night.』

“Don’t worry about it. Good night.”

They talked about many things, but Kanami believes that the date itself will not be a failure if Misono can show her normal self. She is not only cute, but also honest, kind, and the younger sister she is proud of. Now that she has made a promise to return home, Kanami thinks she will wish her sister a successful first date under a sky that is a bit far away.

Then, tomorrow morning, let the three disappointed family members know that Misono will be going home.

“I hope they will be pleased.”

Although her father might cry if she slipped up about Misono’s date.