CH 29

Chapter 29 – A Sister’s Concern, Unnoticed by Her Brother

Saturday morning.

I was mindlessly going through the daily rounds of my smartphone game routine in my room, when suddenly the door to my room was thrown open with a bang and Haruko was standing there.

“You should at least knock. I have my own privacy!”

Then another appeared from behind the door.

Urushibara-san.

“G-G-Good morning! Moriyama-kun!”

“Huh? Good morning, Urushibara-san?”

“Onii-chan! We’re going to have a study session in Onii-chan’s room now! Onii-chan has no right to refuse!”

“Huh, anyway, I haven’t finished my daily laps yet, can we do it afterwards?”

“Huh? Is it okay? I mean, I’m not saying that you can’t try to resist a little bit against your sister, who is a little bit more aggressive in the romantic-comedy sense…”

“If I did that, it would be bad for Urushibara-san, who came all the way here.”

What are you talking about, Haruko?

You started talking about romantic comedies, you’ve been reading too many romance novels.

I really have no idea what middle schoolers these days are doing.

“For now, Urushibara-san, please come into the room, even though it’s small.”

“Hiya!”

I don’t know why, but Urushibara-san seems to be in clumsy mode.

The room has a study desk and a low table.

As for positioning, one person at the study desk and two at the low table should be appropriate.

“I’ll study at my study desk, you two go to the table.”

These two get on so well that they have study sessions on their days off, huh?

It would be better to study at the table while the two of you cackle and giggle.

But then, Haruko told me to stop.

“No! I’ll use the study table. Onii-chan and Himeka-san use the table.”

“Hiya!”

Well, Urushibara-san doesn’t seem to have any objections, and if Haruko says so, then I’ll start studying at the table.

Only the sound of a mechanical pencil solving a problem set can be heard in the room.

Write, write, write.

Write, write, write. (T/N: I’ve no idea how writing sounds like…lol.)

“Hah~, Onii-chan, Himeka-san is right here, don’t you have anything to talk about?”

“Eh? I can’t interrupt her while she’s studying. Even though I’m insensitive, I know that if I talk to someone while they’re studying, they’ll be annoyed.”

“No, I don’t think anyone would be annoyed today. Even Himeka-san wants to chat with Onii-chan, right, Himeka-san?”

“Hiya!”

Hmm…

I had no choice but to talk about the “lonely deaths of single young people in their 20s and 30s living in cities”, which I saw on Close-Up Today on TV yesterday.

The young people, whose income had been reduced due to the unprecedented epidemic, were undernourished by instant noodles to save money on food, but they continued to work hard to somehow increase their income, and finally they were unable to go to work due to ill health. When the people around them realized it, they had passed away at home alone and lonely. Such cases are said to be increasing.

Urushibara-san listened to me with twinkles in her eyes.

In contrast, Haruko looked at me with a very subtle expression, as if she wanted to say something.

“Onii-chan, I know you’re trying to make conversation, but that’s not a topic you should be talking about with your high school girlfriend.”

“Eh? But Urushibara-san seemed very happy to hear that, didn’t she?”

“Ufufufu, Moriyama-kun, you know a lot of difficult things! Ufufu.”

“See?”

“Himeka-san is a bit tripped up at the moment, so don’t be too convinced by her current attitude! If you don’t talk about something that women might be interested in, you’re going to lose Himeka-san’s affection someday, you know?”

“Hmm, topics that women might be interested in… like diet? Fashion? Cosmetics? None of those things are for me! Since I’m going to resume my studies, you two are welcomed to chat alone without worrying about me!”

“Huh… I want to hear more about Moriyama-kun’s story.”

“So how about this? Let’s talk about Himeka-san. Onii-chan, what did you think of Himeka-san when you saw her today?”

“What do you mean?”

“For example…the way she’s dressed? Doesn’t her attire look lovely, calm, and mature?”

I stared at Urushibara-san, who was sitting like a girl would, from head to toe…

Urushibara-san’s cheeks flushed and she looked embarrassed at my gaze, but she returned my gaze with a shy glimpse. She’s the same as ever, a legitimately beautiful girl with cute gestures. No wonder she captivates all the boys in the school.

“She looks lovely, with a calm, mature look.”

“That’s exactly what I said! You’ve got to get a bit creative or something!”

“Hah♡ Moriyama-kun said I was lovely♡”

“See?”

“Come on, Himeka-san! Pull yourself together! You’re so easy today!”

Haruko seems to be in a bad mood today.

She’s been angry with me for a while now.

I must have done something to offend Haruko, being the insensitive person that I am.

I’m sorry your big brother is like this.