Chapter 19

About 30 minutes after he’d contacted his little sister, a somewhat lively commotion could be heard from the other side of the door.

“Sorry for always causing a fuss! I’m truly grateful for how well you take care of my hopeless big brother…!”

“Oh no, not at all! It’s not just Sator-kunu—you’re so mature and dependable too, Chisa-chan.”

With those words came the sound of two sets of footsteps climbing the stairs.

“Wait, she’s coming up too!? H-Hey! Reika, wake up!”

“Mm, what is it?”

“I asked Chisa for a favor, but it looks like she’s planning to come all the way up here. We can’t let her see us like this!”

Even if they were just peacefully sleeping, this kind of position was not something a middle school aged little sister should be witnessing.

“…Isn’t it fine? Your mom already saw us earlier. Compared to that, this is no big deal.”

“Well, yeah, but… Wait, you were awake back then!?”

“I was. But seriously, what was I supposed to say to my mom in that situation? I figured silence was the best policy.”

“Given the circumstances, I can’t even blame you… But you can’t use that logic with my little sister, too!”

“Fufu. But Chisa-chan is your family, right? I want to make sure even your family fully acknowledges who I am.”

“You don’t even have to try—she’s already your number-one disciple…”

Satoru tried to shift the situation, but Reika didn’t budge one bit.

And then—knock knock. The one voice he really didn’t want to hear rang out from behind the door.

“Reika nee-chan, is it okay if I come in?”

“Yes, no problem.”

“Kay~ Excuse meee… huh!?”

Chisa opened the door and froze the moment she laid eyes on them.

Speechless, she stood there stunned for several seconds.

“Th-thank you GOD! Truly a feast for the eyes!”

“That is not the appropriate thing to say right now…”

“I could die happy just from this moment alone…”

Ignoring Satoru’s deadpan retort, his little sister continued to gush with increasingly questionable remarks.

“Sorry to let you see me in such a messy state, Chisa-chan. And thank you for coming all this way.”

“No worries at all! What matters is that Reika nee-chan gets better!”

She was like a completely different person—nothing like the girl who always clashed with her brother.

“She’s such a good kid. Having a little sister like her must be a blessing.”

“I’m ready to become your sister-in-law whenever you say~!”

“Could you not just say whatever pops into your head…?”

Getting along way too well, the two continued their back-and-forth with zero restraint.

“Okay, here’s the food you asked for. That’ll be 100,000 yen for the delivery fee. Reika nee-chan, do you think you could handle some jelly?”

“You even brought something for me? I really appreciate it…”

“I’d do anything for Reika nee-chan!”

“I’m gonna cry from how differently she treats me…”

Satoru watched in despair as his  little sister transformed her tone and language entirely depending on who she was speaking to. Still, for now, he sat beside Reika and began eating.

He bit into one of the onigiri she’d prepared—clearly made to be easy to eat. Reika, meanwhile, took the jelly and spoon Chisa had brought and pushed them toward him.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“Aa”

She didn’t say anything specific—just opened her mouth slightly.

Apparently, she wanted him to feed her.

“Wha—whaaat!? Are you seriously doing the ‘aaahn’ thing right now!?”

“Pipe down, peanut gallery! And how long are you planning to stay here anyway?”

“Excuse me! Who do you think is gonna clean all this up? You want me to guess when you’re done and come back later?”

“I sincerely apologize.”

Faced with a solid logical argument, Satoru could only hang his head and accept defeat.

“…But seriously, why now?”

“I just realized—I’ve never had you do this kind of thing for me before. And I’m guessing you’ve never done it for another girl either, right?”

“Well, no, I haven’t.”

“Then I’ll be taking your first time for this too. I did say I plan to claim all of your firsts, remember?”

“Guhhhhhh…”

“Don’t growl like some kind of monster.”

Every time Reika said something, Chisa looked like she was going to ascend on the spot—it was emotionally exhausting.

“Anyway, that’s how it is.”

“Yeah, yeah. Here.”

“Mm”

Satoru picked up the spoon and scooped a bit of jelly, then slowly guided it to Reika’s mouth, which she’d gently opened with her eyes closed.

“…Putting something into someone else’s mouth is kinda nerve-wracking.”

He was glad it was jelly—if it had been a fork, he might’ve bailed on the whole thing.

He slowly, carefully placed it into her mouth, and she closed her lips.

After a gentle pull, the spoon came out clean, and the moment of tension was over.

“Fufu. ‘My first aaahn’—thanks for the meal.”

“You don’t need to emphasize it like that.”

“I can die happy now…”

Chisa collapsed to the floor and rolled around like she’d turned into a pile of ash. Not that Satoru cared.

“Seriously though, feeding someone with a spoon or fork is more nerve-wracking than I expected.”

“Nervous?”

“Obviously.”

“That alone proves it was your first. A memory you’ll never forget, right?”

Smiling, Reika scooped some jelly for herself and now held the spoon out toward Satoru.

“Okay, your turn. Open up?”

“N-no, I’m good…”

“I’m taking your first time being fed too. I’m sure no one’s done this for you either.”

“I mean, maybe, I guess—”

“Family like aunt doesn’t count.”

“O-oh… Then, yeah, I guess this is a first.”

“Exactly. So, say aah”

Knowing there was no winning against her once she decided something, he gave in and opened his mouth.

Reika gently guided the spoon to him.

“W-wow, you’re good at aiming with that spoon. It’s like… you’ve done this before.”

“Oh? Getting jealous? Don’t worry, this is pretty common between girls sometimes. But you’re the first guy I’ve ever done it for.”

“I-I see…”

She saw right through his brief moment of unease and immediately put his mind at ease.

While he appreciated the honesty, it was still kind of embarrassing how easily she could read him.

And so, their mealtime continued—while Chisa quietly disintegrated in the background.