After I Comforted My Younger Stepsister Who Had Her Boyfriend Taken From Her, She Started Becoming Obsessively Sweet - 26

Chapter 26: About Orihara-san

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“But still, that was a close one. If I hadn’t shown up, you two were planning to skip class and leave early to flirt all you want, right? I’d have had to go all the way to your house. What a close call indeed.”

School had ended. Shikino and I were walking together with Era, the girl we had met this morning. We were on our way to a karaoke place.

“…From our perspective, your arrival was the worst thing to happen to us. Thanks to you, I couldn’t leave early with Onii-chan.”

“Ahahahaha! Sorry about that! Little Sister-chan, you really love your big brother, huh? So? What were you planning to do after you left early? Come on, tell me~”

“…Isn’t it obvious? We would go straight to our home and I would drag Onii-chan to my room. After that—”

“Shikono, stop. There’s no need to take her seriously and go into every little detail. You’re dancing right into her palms.”

Right after I said that, Era clicked her tongue and snapped her finger, seemingly disappointed at me. On the other hand, Shikino puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and said to me.

“There’s no harm in letting her know about it though.”

No, no. That was definitely not a good idea. I had a bad feeling about her. Letting this person know too much wouldn’t do us any good. 

“Era-san, I know it’s a bit late to ask this now, but…”

“Hm? What is it? Era-chan is always ready to answer any question! There’s no such thing as ‘too late’ to ask a question! Ask away!”

“Can we really trust you? As our ally?”

“Hah?”

“You said you like Takumu and that you’re helping us because he asked you to. I’m asking if we really can rely on you and talk to you about everything. So? What’s your answer.”

I asked her that and instead of nodding immediately, she only looked up at the sky, seemingly pondering her answer while humming to herself. 

“That’s not something you should be asking me.”

“Huh…?”

“This is just a controversial opinion of mine, but generally speaking, no human is worth your complete trust. The only thing you can trust completely is a machine and even then, the machine needs to be unbreakable and flowing flawlessly.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“That’s my answer to your question. Well, hear me out first.”

Era casually placed a hand on my shoulder as she said so. Noticing this, Shikino immediately brushed Era’s hand off my shoulder. Shikino didn’t even bother to hide her hostility toward Era. 

Laughing playfully at Shikino’s reaction, Era continued on. 

“Just think about it. Let’s say I ended up listening to your problems and, in turn, learned some very valuable information about you.”

“…Alright.”

“But then, one day, Orihara-san came to threaten me—your enemy threatening to kill me… with a knife, for instance.”

“Huh…?”

“Seeing that… I was shocked beyond belief! Of course, I’d be completely terrified and begged for my life, even going as far as clinging to her feet to spare my life.”

“….You should just get stabbed and die in that scenario.”

“You’re so cruel, Shikino-chan! Don’t say that! Jeez! Well, anyway, Orihara-san then would make me an offer. An offer I can’t refuse!”

“An offer…?”

“That’s right. If I don’t want to die, I need to tell all the secrets I know about Mamori Unami and Shikino Unami. What do you think I would do in that scenario?”

“…You would…”

“That’s right! I’d sell you out! Even if you’re Takumu’s best friend, I’d still betray you! Sorry, but I still want to live!”

“So… You’re basically saying we shouldn’t trust you.”

“Precisely! You should never trust me wholeheartedly! See? I’m kind, right? I’m telling you all this in advance! I’m so considerate, aren’t I, Shi-chan?”

“…No… Don’t call me that.”

“Ahahaha! That’s a good one, Shi-chan! That murderous glare… It’s so different from the way you look at your big brother! You seriously gave me chills! Ahahahahaha!! I’m getting goosebumps for real!”

It was clear to see. This woman was a total weirdo. I was starting to understand why Takumu didn’t date her.

“…Fine. In that case, I won’t trust you. Besides, this will probably be the last time we ever talk to each other anyway.”

“Oh, no, no. I don’t think this will be the last time. I’m certain you will need my help again.”

“I won’t and I don’t want to get involved with troublesome people like you anymore than this. To be honest, I’m regretting my choice now. I should be going home with Shikino instead.”

“So you’d hole up at your home and nurture your immoral love together? Not a good idea man. You’re going to get the ‘bad end’ for sure. You two would become social outcasts!”

“Stop making assumptions on your own. Your assumptions are making me so mad.”

“No, no, no~ I don’t think my ‘assumptions’ are wrong though? Besides, my hunch tends to be accurate.”

While we were exchanging banter like this, we eventually arrived at the karaoke place. There was no sign of the girl Era had mentioned before. It seemed Ayane Sugai hadn’t arrived yet.

“Alright. Let’s go ahead and grab a room for us. I will send her the room number on LIME after that.”

Following her lead, we went to the registration table to book a room. We booked a two hour session. For high school students like us, karaoke places like this weren’t exactly cheap. Even though we needed a place where we could talk in private, paying this much still created a dent in our wallet. We had to make sure the conversation with Sugai was worth the price.

Although we were feeling somewhat exasperated, we filled our cups with drinks of our choice and entered our assigned room. The place itself wasn’t bad. The room was just right for four people.

“Ayane-chan says she’ll be here soon.”

“Ah, I see.”

“We’ve got time to kill, so is it okay if I pick a song to sing? Let me sing something!”

“Onii-chan, let’s sing together. I don’t want to let this woman sing.”

“Whoa! Harsh as ever, Shikino-chan!

“I will pick this song, this one and this one too.”

“Oi, oi, oi! Did you just pick three songs in a row?! And all duets songs! Are you really trying to single me out?!”

“The song is starting, Onii-chan. Grab the mic.”

“Hahaha! Too bad! I already have the mic first! I will sing in your Onii-chan’s place!

“….Then I will cancel the song.”

“Oi,oi,oi,oi! Aren’t you being a bit too tyrannical, Shikino-chan?”

I remained quiet while the two of them kept bickering with each other. Just watching them like this was enough to exhaust me. 

Please hurry up and get here, Sugai-san… Or whoever you are.

“Sorry, sorry. Thank you for waiting for me.”

While I was lost in my thoughts, the door to the room suddenly opened. A girl who I assumed must be Sugai-san entered the room. 

“Oh! Finally! We’ve been waiting for you, Ayanon!”

“Still as hyper as ever, Era…. On the other hand… The Unami siblings look so chill…”

“That’s not true! This girl is actually pretty wild! Look! She’s been glaring at me with eyes full of open hostility! She’s like a rabid dog!”

“That’s because you keep trying to mess with Onii-chan. Stay away from my Onii-chan or I will kill you for real.”

“See?! You see?! She’s been like this since forever!”

Sighing, Sugai sat down on the box sofa, right next to Era. She was sitting while facing us. 

“Whatever. Besides, we’re here to talk, right? Turn off the music. It’s weird to have the song playing when no one is singing.”

“Alright, alright~ Come on, Shikino-chan! Turn it off! You’re the one who queued the songs!”

“Why don’t you do it? The control panel is right next to you.”

“Ughhhh! Geez! Fine! You’re so cheeky!”

With that, Era canceled all three songs that were queued up. The ad screen started playing, and the room grew relatively quiet.

“Alright, let’s get to it. You want to know more about Megumi, right, Unami Siblings-san?”

Sugai suddenly said. Her straightforwardness caught me a bit off guard.

“We do. We want to know, but are you really fine with it? Are you really going to tell us things about Orihara-san?”

“Sure. There’s not much to hide and it’s not like the information I tell you will put Megumi at disadvantage anyway.”

“But she’s really hostile towards us right now. I don’t know why she’s like this.”

“Well, she has her reasons, you know. There’s also that thing with Sugisaki-kun and of course… The thing with Shikino-san.”

“Shikino… But why…?”

Hearing her name being mentioned, Shikino tilted her head to the side in confusion. Her eyebrows furrowed together. 

“Did Shikino do something to Orihara-san without realizing it? I really don’t get it… And I’m sure Shikino is as confused as I am.”

“Yeah… I guess you could say that… She certainly didn’t do it on purpose.”

Sugai turned her gaze to Shikino. Shikino continued tilting her head to the side, looking completely confused. 

“Ah, sorry for butting in, but since Shikino-chan didn’t do it on purpose, I don’t think they will understand anything if you don’t explain it to them. Just saying ‘Yeah, Shikino-chan didn’t do it on purpose’ doesn’t make any sense, you know? Once again, sorry for interrupting.”

“….Then, can you tell us what Shikino has done that caused Orihara-san to hate her so much?”

“Sure. I can tell you. Megumi probably didn’t want to tell Shikino-san outright. That’s why she’s been acting like that.”

“Huh…?”

“To put it bluntly, Sugisaki-kun has a big part in this whole thing.”

“Sugisaki-kun…?”

“Well, I guess it’s more precise to say it’s about the way Sugisaki-kun and Shikino-san dated each other? Also, the way Shikino-san used to keep her distance with her big brother.”

“The way Shikino used to keep her distance from me…?”

“Yeah.”

Sugai said as she took a sip of the melon soda in her cup. 

“Everything combined just made Megumi mad. Like a lot.”

“….What…?”

“Allso, Megumi has some feelings for you.”

“M-Me…?”

But I never really talked with Orihara-san before. We didn’t really have anything to do with each other before this mess.

“You see… Megumi likes you a lot.”

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T/N: Oooh! So it’s Mamori… I really thought Orihara-san likes Shikino-chan…