CH 44

Unlike Tsukinose, a town in the countryside, the setting of the sun in the city dyes the buildings in red, not the mountains.

“Bye-bye, Himeko-chan.”

“See you, Kirishima-san!”

“See you again!”

“Yeah, I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

On the street from the main road into the residential area, in front of a large convenience store, Himeko left her classmates and headed home.

The city streets were much brighter than the dusk that Himeko knew, as the many streetlights that were turned on early brightly lit up the area.

However, her steps were a little heavier.

(I ate too much today. …Ugh, it was delicious, but it was expensive per serving…)

Himeko rubbed her stomach and moved her legs slowly.

[TL/Comment: Oh no! She’s pregananante.] [PRN: Stop, Galado.]

The reason was the convenience store sweets.

The only sweets available in Tsukinose are the ones that are in display for a long time in one dollar stores and seem to be run and made by individuals as a hobby.

On the other hand, convenience stores in the city are filled with sweets that are made with fresh cream and other ingredients with short shelf lives.

For Himeko, who has a low tolerance for sweets, the temptation was too much to resist. Incidentally, Honoka Torikai and some of Himeko’s classmates were amused and recommended various sweets and desserts to her. [TLN: Honoka is her first name while Torikai is her last name.[

As a result, Himeko’s pocket money situation had become very tight.

“Haa…, I’m ho-….me?”

“Oh, welcome back.”

“… Welcome back, Hime-chan.”

However, as soon as she got home, her head began to tilt in confusion.

Hayato chopped the vegetables with a somewhat troubled look while Haruki sat at the sofa, legs crossed with a cushion to hide her breasts with a serious face. There is a somewhat unsettling atmosphere between the two of them.

By the way, Haruki has taken off her socks, and even though she hides her breasts, her guard is so loose that you can see her underwear from the front. A strange sigh escaped from Himeko’s mouth.

“Let’s see, …Haru-chan, what’s this all about?”

“Hime-chan… Hayato is an animal…”

“Huh?”

When Himeko asked her what was wrong, she replied with a serious look on her face, hugging the cushion tightly.

When she’s with her childhood friend, Himeko’s calm side is instantly blown away.

Of course, she knows about their usual relationship. They’re very close childhood friends after all. That’s why Himeko is curious about Haruki’s weird reaction, as if she’s protecting herself from something, and she doesn’t understand the situation with his brother, who is cooking dinner as usual.

“Di-di-di-did he try to assault you? What do you mean Onii is an animal?! I mean, Haru-chan’s are pretty good already, right? Can I touch it too? Or rather, please give me some of its blessings.”

“Hi-Hime-chan, no it’s not me, it’s the girl from the garden –wait, that stomach.”

“Hey, what are you doing, Himeko?! Stop it!”

Hayato doesn’t know how she interpreted it, but Himeko went out of control and assaulted Haruki.

He couldn’t stand to look at it and pulled her away. His eyes were half-serious.

“Half… No, one-third is also fine! So please share it with me!”

“It’s impossible!”

Hayato wrinkled his brow, and let out a big sigh.

◇◇◇

“Oh, I see. Onii saw a girl’s boobs, huh..”

“Yeah, and it was big like a melon back in our town.”

“…Give me a break already.”

The topic of conversation at dinner was Haruki and Himeko’s constant teasing of Hayato.

Himeko’s misunderstanding has already been cleared up, and Haruki’s voice, unlike before, is tinged with a mocking tone.

Hayato knew this, too, and smiled wryly as he shrugged his shoulders.

Today’s main dish was an irregular mapo eggplant, made by frying small cubes of eggplant mixed with minced meat, garlic, maitake mushrooms, and green chili peppers, seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, oyster sauce, and a little miso.

Hayato didn’t share his portion on a plate, but instead he poured it directly over the rice to make a bowl, and Haruki and Himeko followed suit, gobbling it up as they went.

“By the way, Haru-chan, is that girl’s breast really that big?”

“Hmm, she’s a small girl, but maybe two sizes bigger than me?”

“Wha-. Even though Haru-chan and I are two sizes apart?!”

“To be honest, that’s what I was looking at too.”

“Mou~, that can’t be helped. Onii, I forgive you.”

“…Yes, yes, I get it, but don’t just talk all the time, eat a proper meal too.”

“”Okay~.””

After finishing the meal and taking a rest, Haruki was back to her normal self by the time she was ready to go home.

While Hayato was washing the dishes, Himko was lazing around in the living room, looking comfy as Haruki.

(Oh, so that’s about it huh.)

Himeko realized Haruki’s feelings.

Haruki must have sulked in some way because of the incident this morning. She tried finding the right moment to make up with him, or rather, start treating him as usual again. Himeko noticed this and completely understood the situation.

“Haru-chan’s not very straightforward, huh.”

“Hey, what’s going on all of a sudden, Hime-chan?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

When Himeko turns her attention to Hayato while speaking in a dumbfounded manner. Haruki felt that she had been seen through, and began to prepare herself as if she were trying to cover   something up.

“Oh it’s that late already? I must go home now. Thanks again for the food today.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Haru-chan…”

Haruki pulled herself up and started to put on her high socks, which she had taken off with a squirm.

While watching Haruki, Himeko, who was remembering what they had just talked about, muttered to herself as if it was an extension of an idle conversation.

“Well, Onii can’t help it, you know? There are two pretty girls here, and you’re talking about those girls’ breasts.”

“Haha, I know, right? But that woman’s chest is bigger than mine, It makes me worried…”

“Well, it shouldn’t be a problem. If you saw her chest is bigger than yours you shouldn’t be worri-… Haru-chan?”

“…”

For some reason, Haruki’s movements suddenly stopped. She had only put on one sock, and  was in the middle of putting on the remaining high sock on the right side, dressed very half-heartedly.

Even Himeko, as expected, had a quizzical look on her face when she was frozen in place for several tens of seconds.

“Haru-chan? Hey, Haru-chan…”

“….! H-Hime-chan! A-haha..Yeah, I’m leaving today! I don’t need someone to see me off or anything, so bye!”

“H-Haru-chan…?”

Haruki snapped back to reality at the sound of Himeko’s voice and ran out of the house at a brisk pace, looking strangely flustered, with her high socks still halfway up.It happened so fast that there was no time to stop it.

When Himeko was stunned, Hayato, who was also stunned, stopped washing dishes to talk to her.

“Did Haruki go home already?”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

“Is it okay not to send her off?”

“She probably thought you’d be staring at her chest if you went with her, wouldn’t she?”

“Of course not… Don’t be silly, the bath is already hot, come on in.”

“Okay.”

While exchanging such light words, Himeko headed into the changing room.

As Hayato prepared towels and other things, he wondered if what Himeko had said earlier in a light-hearted way was not entirely wrong.

(Onii, are you sure you’ve never looked at Haru-chan that way before? …No, no, that’s impossible I guess.)

But it was instantly denied.

Haruki’s usual appearance at home is something else. He’s as relaxed as Himeko herself.

Himeko had never seen her older brother to be strangely conscious of such Haru-chan. In fact, the way he looks at her is the same as the way he looks at himself.

(On the other hand, maybe Haru-chan has become conscious of Onii… Haha, there’s no way…)

Then Himeko thought about it, but for some reason her heart was bothering her and she also denied it too.

As if to dismiss the thought, she vigorously took off her sailor suit and stripped to her bare essentials undergarments.

Suddenly, she noticed a scale in front of her. Himeko hasn’t weighed it in a while. And a slightly chubby stomach jumps into her eyes as she put her feet on it.

“……………!?!?!?!?!?”

Then she let out an inaudible scream.

“Himeko, what happened?! Are you okay?!

“Don’t just come in here and peek, you idiot!

“S-Sorry!”

Himeko crouched down on the spot in shame, and now she held her head in frustration.

(Wh-wh-wh-wh-what should I do…?）

The first time she got on the scale in about 10 days, it showed a growth rate of her fat at almost 10% over the previous day, probably due to her recent binge of convenience store sweets.

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Proofreader’s Afterword: Sorry it took awhile to put these chapters up, I was busy with other stuff before I was able to PR and post it. Also, Galado said he wouldn’t be translating this week anyway so the next chapters would either be next week or the week after that.

On another note, I have finished translating the entire first volume of “How Could You Like Another Girl When You Already Have A Cute Fiancee Like Me?’ I hope you guys would give it a read too!