So You’re Telling Me I’m in My Popular Phase!? - Chapter 8: An Unexpected Great Cook!?

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Great Cook!?

“I’m homeee.”

After a little while, Aki came back.

I wanted to go greet her at the entrance right away, but since Izumi was here, I held myself back.

“Aki-chan, welcome back!”

“Welcome back. Oh right—Aki, make sure you tell me when Izumi’s coming over.”

“So Onii-chan’s back. Ah—Izumi-san, I bought the ingredients you asked for.”

Aki gave me a quick glance, then carried the shopping bags over to Izumi in the kitchen.

Huh… did Aki even hear what I told her to do?

“Yeah, we’ve got everything. Thanks, Aki-chan.”

“No problem. Since it’s something you asked me to do.”

So polite—classic Aki. Cute.

Aki is cute up close, obviously… but Aki from a distance is pretty damn great too.

Up close you can only admire parts like her face, but from far away you can worship the whole package all at once.

Seriously—little sisters are the best!!

While I was gazing at Aki with gratitude that I get to be with her as her brother, both of them glared at me with some terrifying expressions.

Aki’s glaring eyes are cute! …Izumi’s glare is scary, though. Is she mad about earlier?

And why am I getting that hard of a glare just for looking at Aki? I get Aki, but why Izumi? I wasn’t even looking at you.

Or what—do you like me? Jealous because I’m only watching Aki? …Ah, yeah, no. Sorry, Izumi.

“Onii-chan, I’m going upstairs to study, so call me when it’s ready.”

“Yeah, got it.”

Aki slipped away to her room like she was escaping my eyes.

Crap… it’s just me and Izumi again.

“Hey, Ryu-kun…”

While I awkwardly messed with my phone, Izumi spoke to me, looking uneasy.

“W-what?”

I was startled by her sudden voice, but I answered without letting it show.

“Dinner’ll be ready in about an hour, so if I ask you to call Aki-chan, will you go get her?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks.”

“O-oh. Yeah.”

“…”

“…………”

The silence dragged on. I should bring something up myself, shouldn’t I?

“…By the way, what’re we having today?”

“Um—It’s a surprise until it’s done.”

She smiled brightly, touching her cheek with her index finger.

Maybe because of that smile, the gloomy air from earlier suddenly lifted.

Still—what is it? It smells really good, so now I’m curious.

I followed Izumi back into the kitchen.

She’d filled a pot with water and was simmering a ton of vegetables, and I couldn’t tell what it was yet—but even that alone, the aroma of the stock was enough to make my stomach growl.

After that, like usual, I studied in the living room while chatting with Izumi.

About an hour later it seemed to be ready, so I went to call Aki, and we came downstairs together.

“It’s curry, Onii-chan.”

“Yeah, curry.”

The smell made it obvious right away.

Once we sat down, we all ate curry together.

Izumi’s cooking really is the best—she seasons it perfectly to match our tastes.

“Alright, I should head home soon.”

“I’ll walk you partway.”

After we finished eating, she even cleaned up the dishes—and on top of that, she tidied the living room and everything else.

Like always, our whole family is seriously grateful.

After walking Izumi to her place, I ran back home as some post-meal exercise.