I'll Take Nanase-san, Who Is Small And Adorable, Away From Her Cheating And Clueless Ex And Make Her Happy. - Chapter 6: It’s No Longer Nanase-san; It's Hiyori-san.

It’s No Longer Nanase-san; It’s Hiyori-san.

“Oh, I’m so sorry for earlier! And thank you so much for helping with dinner!”

“No, really! I didn’t do much at all! If anything, I’m sorry for barging in and not being able to help more!”

“Oh, no, it’s really something! I mean, can you believe it? Yuusuke, of all people, bringing a girl home! As a mother, I’m thrilled, but I also can’t help but wonder if he’s gotten involved in something criminal, it’s just so surprising!”

“That last part doesn’t make sense. What do you even think of your son?”

Five placemats and plates of steaming curry were arranged neatly on the rectangular dining table. Despite the warm meal in front of her, my mom was talking non-stop to Nanase-san, clearly in an unusually good mood.

Nanase-san and I sat along one of the longer sides of the table, with my brothers sitting across from us. My mom, having taken the seat closest to Nanase-san, beamed with a wide grin as she continued to chat.

“Come on, you idiots! Introduce yourselves to Nanase-san!”

“I was going to, but you kept going on and on, Mom. I didn’t get a chance!”

“The timing was totally lost, and it’s been super awkward.”

My brothers voiced their frustrations in response to our mother’s command. I shot Nanase-san an apologetic look, feeling bad about all the noise since they had come home, but she simply gave me a cheerful smile, clearly enjoying the lively atmosphere.

“Mm…! Sorry for the late introduction. I’m Ogami Masato, Yuusuke’s younger brother.”

“I’m Taiga, the third son. Thank you for making the curry.”

“Masato-kun and Taiga-kun, nice to meet you! Wow, you’re both tall like your brother!”

Nanase-san greeted my brothers cheerfully, acknowledging their height as they bowed slightly in return. Indeed, all three of us brothers were quite tall. While we had some similarities in appearance, there were enough differences between us that made it interesting.

Masato, the second eldest, was the most talkative of the three and skilled at putting on a façade. He was tall and slender but ironically, the worst at sports among us. Despite his thin frame, he was the biggest eater in the family, which often surprised people.

In contrast, Taiga, the youngest, though slightly shorter than us (still in the high 170s), had the most muscular build, thanks to his involvement in the judo club. Though he was shy and not much of a talker, Taiga was the strongest when it came to physical confrontations. Definitely someone you didn’t want to anger.

As for me, I was the middle ground in terms of height, muscle mass, and athletic ability, fitting the role of the balanced eldest brother.

“And I’m the mother of these three brothers, the head of the Ogami family, Ogami Marie! Pleased to meet you, Nanase-san!”

“Yes! It’s a pleasure to meet you too!” Nanase-san responded brightly.

With that, the introductions from my family were complete. Though I just sat there quietly listening, feeling slightly awkward, the dinner table was lively—unfortunately, much of that liveliness was centered around teasing me.

“So, Nanase-san, how exactly do you know our goofy big brother?”

“Hm? We became friends after being in the same class this spring!”

“What made you come over today? You didn’t get tricked by our idiot brother, did you?”

“No, no! I’m the one who suggested it! I owed him a favor from yesterday, so I thought I’d cook dinner as a thank you, but I ended up getting treated instead!”

“How’s my brother doing in high school? Last year, we were in the same middle school, so I could keep an eye on him. But now that he’s in high school, I’m a little worried he might be getting into trouble…”

“You guys, how do you come up with so many ways to make fun of your own brother and son? What do you even think of me?”

“Haha! You’ve got such a funny family! Yuusuke-kun, you must have a blast every day, right?”

“From my point of view, constantly being made fun of is far from amusing… Wait, hold on…”

Half-responding with a retort, I reflected on what Nanase-san had just said, feeling a slight sense of unease.

Did I mishear that? I questioned my own ears, but Nanase-san, noticing my confusion, flashed a mischievous smile and repeated herself, clearly enjoying my reaction.

“What’s wrong, Yuusuke-kun? Why do you look so surprised?”

“N-no, it’s just… the way you called me…”

Nanase-san, now deliberately emphasizing my name, continued to grin mischievously.

Still baffled by her sudden decision to use my first name, I looked at her in confusion. She gave me a bright smile and explained her reasoning.

“Because, if I called you by your last name, Ogami-kun, no one would know who I’m referring to! After all, everyone here except me is an ‘Ogami’!”

“Well, that’s true, but still… it’s a bit shocking when you suddenly start calling me by my first name…”

“Oh, sorry, sorry! So, Yuusuke-kun, don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Huh…?”

Grinning widely, Nanase-san asked with a teasing tone, leaving me puzzled once again.

As I struggled to figure out what she meant, my family let out a collective sigh, somewhere between disappointment and exasperation, before chiming in with their own thoughts.”

“How silly. My brother is really just a fool…”

“Well, what can you expect? Yuusuke has never even had a girlfriend before.”

“Hey, you guys are the same! Why are you acting like you’ve had experiences with girls?!”

In response to my sharp retort, both Masato and Taiga began whistling and averting their gazes.

As I felt my irritation growing, my mother, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up with an exasperated tone.

“Yuusuke, come on…! This is the moment where you should be calling Nanase-san by her first name, too! If you, her friend, don’t use her name, how are we supposed to understand the distance between you two?”

“Huhhhhh…?!”

Though I thought we had been speaking quite closely up until this point, I couldn’t help but feel that my mother was making a valid point, causing me to groan softly.

It was true that Nanase-san had addressed me by my first name with affection, and it felt a bit rude for me to continue calling her by her last name.

Stealing a glance at Nanase-san, I noticed she seemed to be encouraging me. With a slight tilt of her head and a charming upward gaze, she asked:

“Yuusuke-kun, do you remember my name?”

“Y-yeah, of course I do…”

“Great! Then let’s do this! Ready, set!!”

With Nanase-san’s, my mother’s, and my brothers’ expectant gazes piercing through me, I felt like I was in a spectacle. My face flushed with embarrassment at the thought of calling a girl by her first name. But accepting the situation, I steeled myself and finally addressed her by name.

“Hi—Hiyori-san…!!”

“Fufufuu~~~…! What is it, Yuusuke-kun?”

Calling her name was all I could manage, and I felt my face flush with embarrassment as I looked down. Meanwhile, Nanase—Hiyori-san—leaned in closer, peering at me with a playful smile.

My family, witnessing this scene, was in an uproar of laughter.

“Hey! Yuusuke, this curry is kind of sweet?! Did you accidentally buy a mild curry roux?!”

“Wow, it’s super sweet! We’re eating curry, and it’s not spicy at all!”

“You guys, just wait until later! I’ll make you regret it!”

“Hiyori-san…! I mean, Hiyori-chan! Please take care of my foolish son…! If anything happens, let me know right away! I’ll personally make sure to give him a proper beating!”

“Mom! Don’t say such weird things!!”

To mask my embarrassment, I shot back at my family with a sharp retort.

Seeing me in this flustered state, Hiyori-san clapped her hands in delight, laughing joyfully. Though I felt a bit wounded by the teasing, I thought that as long as she could forget her earlier troubles and smile, that was what mattered most.