Translator: Lilo
Editor: Ryuubii

Prologue

It has been a while since I’ve been to school, and I’m walking together with my classmates through the corridor.

It has been a week, I think.

At first, my friends seemed to be at a loss as to how to interact with me, but after eating lunch together, they have been able to adjust.

I was now on my way back from the cafeteria.

‘Mom used to make my lunch, but… this is how it will be from now on, huh?’

I thought about the days I’ll never get back.

“Look, It’s Hasumi-senpai.”

Then one of my classmates spoke up.

His voice sounded a little excited and cheerful, as if he had found a good topic of conversation that was not too bland, but still exciting.

I came back to my senses at the sound of the voice – or more accurately, the name that was spoken.

I looked in front of me. At the end of the hallway we were walking down, a group of girls from the 12th grade, a year above us, were approaching.

A girl stood out among them.

Her hair was short in length and brownish in color. Her eyes were large and beautiful, giving her a lively look. She was wearing make-up like any other highschool girl, but nothing too flashy. And the way she dressed made her look like a sporty girl.

Seeing her, one of my classmates called out to her.

“Hasumi-senpai, good afternoon!”

“Hello there, juniors! Are you guys doing great?”

She replied to our greeting in a light tone.

In addition to her conspicuous appearance as mentioned above, she has such an outgoing personality that it is impossible for her not to be popular – as a matter of fact, she is one of the top two famous girls in our Private Akanedai High School.

Her name is Hasumi Shion.

From the looks of it, Hasumi-senpai also noticed me, and when our eyes met, she turned her head away with a snort.

Unfortunately, I’m the only one she’s giving this attitude to.

‘Well, it’s not surprising…’

I let out a sigh in my mind.

Then the two groups passed each other.

“What would you do if I told you that she and I are siblings?”

“Huh?”

Walking behind them, I casually said a few words, and the place instantly froze. Everyone stopped and turned to look at me.

“Are you okay, man?”

Eventually, one of them opened his mouth and got really worried.

Well, I suppose that’s what’s gonna happen. I lost my mother the other day. I was absent for about a week due to the funeral and other things, and when I came back to school for the first time in a while, this is what I said. No wonder they’ll be worried.

“It was a joke.”

“What? So it was a joke.”

My classmates let out a dry laugh, as if relieved.

“That was a clear slip up from you, Makabe. Considering how you always make great jokes.”

“True.”

I played along with them.

I didn’t want to make the excuse that I wasn’t feeling well. If I said that, the atmosphere would probably become awkward again.

But in fact, it was far from a joke. Just the other day, I really became a sibling to that Hasumi-senpai.

“Hasumi-senpai sure is great, right?”

“I know, right? She’s easy to talk to, and she’ll listen carefully when you talk to her.”

Words were exchanged deeply.

In the midst of all this, I looked back on a whim.

As a matter of course, Hasumi-senpai’s group was already far down the corridor, and she wasn’t looking back at us.

“Nah, It’s definitely Takinami-san for me. She’s calm and beautiful.”

With such an objection, another name came up this time. That voice brought my face to look back at the front.

Takinami Ruika.

That is the name of the female student who is the counterpart of Hasumi Shion, who always comes up in this kind of talk.

“Yep. My vote goes for her.”

A voice in agreement immediately sounded.

Takinami Ruika and the previously mentioned Hasumi Shion. It can be said that the two of them split the popularity among the male students of this school.

“Oh, speak of the devil. Man, I’m in luck today.”

“You serious?! Man, what a luck!”

A group of third year girls were in front once again.

Compared to Hasumi-senpai’s group, they seemed to have much calmer demeanor. Apparently, Akanedai High School used to be a school for young ladies until about ten years ago. Maybe they were all like this back then.

And at the center of the group was Takinami Ruika.

Her black hair was carefully set and she has a beautiful face. She has the calm atmosphere of an honor student and always has a kind smile on her face.

“Takinami-senpai, good afternoon.”

Perhaps because of that, we greeted each of them in a more restrained tone of voice than before.

“Good afternoon.”

Considering what she was like, it was only natural that a greeting with a smile would be returned, but even so, some of them grip their fist out of happiness. 

But for Takinami-senpai, being greeted by a complete stranger was a regular occurrence. The two groups pass each other again without stopping.

At the end, when she passed by me, she gave me a wave that only I could see… with a special little smile.

However, I pretended not to notice and looked away. She made a slightly annoyed face when she saw how I ignored her.

It was such a momentary exchange.

However, this was the true representation of the relationship between me and Takinami Ruika.

And going back, the exchange between me and Hasumi Shion earlier was also an accurate representation of our current relationship.

In other words, in these few minutes, there was a microcosm of relationships between me, Takinami Ruika and Hasumi Shion.