The Daily Life of the Cat-Like Sister and Her Foolish Elder Brother

After the first three days of the New Year passed, life returned to normal.

―However, due to being self-employed, I’ve been working steadily since the end of the year through New Year’s.

At my parents’ house, I faced intense interference from my older sister and Yui, making it difficult to proceed as planned.

It was also tough when it was time to leave.

Yui wouldn’t let go, and my brother-in-law’s gaze was a bit intimidating. Maybe asking my sister to take care of them was the right call.

Well, after all that, I finally returned home…

“What’s up?”

“Hm? Oh, by the way, do we still have mochi? I feel like having some zenzai.” (T/N: Zenzai is a sweet Japanese dessert made from boiled azuki beans (red beans) and sugar, often served with mochi (rice cake) or shiratama dango (small rice dumplings). It is commonly enjoyed during the winter months in Japan as a warming treat.)

“I’ll make it later.”

“Aww. I want it now!”

“Jeez.”

Stepping out from the kotatsu, and into the kitchen—huh?

“Yayoi?”

“Hmm?”

“…Why are you following me?”

“Huh?”

Yayoi seemed puzzled, as if not understanding the question.

…Huh? Did I make some kind of mistake in my remark?

Well, whatever. Let’s just get this done quickly.

Bringing out the rice cakes and the sweet bean paste received from home, they went into the pot.

“How many pieces?”

“Um, two! Oh, I’ll toast them. What about you, Tsukasa?”

“Two as well.”

“Got it, got it.”

She was in a very cheerful mood, but what exactly was she finding so enjoyable?

Was toasting rice cakes in the toaster really that fun??

Admittedly, it was soothing to watch them puff up, but…

—The sweet bean paste was heated, and the preparations were complete.

I took a small taste with a teaspoon. Mm, it tasted good.

“Oh, unfair! Me too, me too!”

“Alright, alright. Do you need a spoon or something—”

“Isn’t this okay?”

With that, Yayoi snatched the teaspoon from me and tasted it.

…Well, it was a bit late for that now.

Usually, she was quite shy about doing things like this.

“Yep, it’s delicious. Tastes just like Mom’s.”

“…Wait, but I made it?”

“Huh?!”

“Ow! Don’t hit me just because you made a mistake.”

Honestly! She was such a rough sister—huh?

Ah…

“For now, could you let go of my arm? Look, the bowl with the sweet bean paste is hot, so it’s dangerous, right?”

“Huh?”

Once again, she was looking perplexed, but this time with a hint of dissatisfaction.

…Did I do something to upset her?

No, she didn’t seem angry.

Rather, she’s been in a good mood since coming back home…

Well, I had no choice but to move with her still holding onto my arm and retrieve the mochi.

“Hehe, looks delicious, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does. I always crave it around this time of the year.”

“Yeah! Let’s eat, let’s eat!”

If I were to express it in onomatopoeia, she was feeling “ukiuki” and “runrun”.

But being in such high spirits was a bit unnerving… I didn’t give her any alcohol, so she couldn’t be drunk, right…?

A bit troubled, I returned to the kotatsu.

Now then…

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“It must be difficult to eat like that, right? Come over here for now.”

“Huh?”

No, no… don’t come next to me like it’s so natural.

If I were to say whether I was happy or not, I’m sure I was happy, but it was so cramped, you know!

There was no other reason.

So, don’t suddenly get grumpy about it.

“Hmm… So, you don’t like having me next to you?”

“Who said anything like that? Just think about the space.”

“…But…”

“What’s wrong?”

“…Over there, with sister, brother-in-law, Yui-chan, mom, and dad, everyone was clinging to you… I hardly had a chance to do this. Sister is so sweet on you… and Yui-chan is really attached… Besides, when we bought this kotatsu, we specifically chose a small one so we could do this…”

“What did you say towards the end there?”

“It’s nothing! But I’m rejecting your ‘get out of here’, alright? You have no complaints, got it?”

I guess it wasn’t that bad, huh?

Just being subjected to those incredibly embarrassing lines because of my sister’s dirty tricks was more than enough embarrassment… Ah, no. I still blushed just thinking about it.

Calm down. The only stroke of luck was that even my sister, as cunning as she was, didn’t record everything…

[I love her. Enough so that I can’t live without her.]

“What the—!”

“Hey, hey, heey! Give that back! It’s one of my treasures, you know?!”

“W-W-Wait, you… you didn’t record that entire conversation, did you!?”

“Why wouldn’t I record it? I thought for sure sister would get everything out of you. Plus- I want to hear those words from you anytime, anywhere. I’ve even saved it on my phone!”

…This person was a bit too fond of me, wasn’t she?

It was kind of similar, so I couldn’t really say anything.

But, this was way too dangerous, mostly for my mental well-being.

I’d have to be ruthless and delete the data…

“Just so you know, even if you delete it, I have a backup. And our older sister has it too.”

“…Alright, let’s have a serious talk about this.”

“It’s okay. I won’t abuse it… much.”

“You’re going to use it!”

“Hehe…”

Gah, so cute― No, wait. Calm down.

Losing here could determine the fate of the whole year.

If I keep hearing that every time――the battle I couldn’t afford to lose was right here!