The Daily Life of the Cat-Like Sister and Her Foolish Elder Brother - Chapter 3: Yes Or Yes, Answer With One Or The Other!

Having overcome the morning rush and finished various tasks (though the novel hardly progressed…), I finally started eating lunch around two o’clock.

Today’s lunch consisted of instant spaghetti Napolitan and salad. Hmm, not bad.

Let’s see—after this, I needed to go shopping and then head to my parents’ house by evening.

The souvenir will be a cake.

I needed to buy it on the way. What should I get? Well, I’ll definitely buy the cheesecake my sister liked—but then, my phone rang.

Hmm… this ringtone.

What should I do? I hesitated to answer just for a moment.

The fact that she was calling at this hour probably meant it was a “come out” kind of call. But I still needed to go shopping later, and going out now seemed like a hassle… coming back home later would be even more bothersome.

Well, if I didn’t answer, she’d sulk a lot later. After contemplating for a few rings, I picked up.

“Hello?”

“You’re so slow to answer. Come on, answer quickly.”

“I did answer.”

“Don’t you know? It’s common sense to answer a call from your cute little sister before it rings.”

“That’s not a rule. So, what’s up?”

“Well, I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“I see. Well, I’m hanging up now—”

“Huh!?”

When I answered in an indifferent manner, a loud voice came over the phone.

Ugh, my ears are ringing…

“Shut up.”

“…Tsukasa is so cheeky. I never intended to raise my brother like this.”

“Well, yeah. Rather, it’s because I’ve been raising you.”

“…Your way of saying it is so dirty. You, you pervert!”

“Hey… It’s still early, isn’t it? Isn’t your mind too dirty right now? 

“Shut up! Tsukasa’s way of speaking is weird! It’s not my fault!”

“Yeah, yeah. So, what’s up? You’re still in class, aren’t you?”

“Ugh… you even know your sister’s lecture schedule…”

“I’m going.”

“W-Wait! I was just kidding! Geez… you get angry so easily. Since the class got canceled, I can go home now, right? You haven’t gone shopping yet, have you? Let’s meet up halfway!”

“Ugh.”

“What’s with the attitude? Normally, you’d jump for joy in a situation like this, right? What’s the problem? Even I, who is a kind-hearted person, can get angry, you know? Grrr.”

But really…

Our house and the university Yayoi attended weren’t that far apart.

In that case—suddenly, an anxious voice.

“Hey… Are you embarrassed to be with me?”

“Why would you think that? It’s not about me, but if someone we know sees us, won’t you be embarrassed later?”

“Huh? Why??”

“Well… because, um…”

“Oh… I see. Huh.”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“Nothing really. Geez… Tsukasa can’t be helped. A smart and kind sister with a foolish older brother is bound to have some trouble.”

For some reason, I found myself agreeing. And she seemed cheerful all of a sudden… I didn’t understand.

Anyway, it seemed like my concern was unnecessary.

“So, where should we go? The usual café??”

“Let’s go there. I just had lunch, so a little later—around 3 o’clock?”

“Got it. Oh, Tsukasa.”

“?”

“Thanks for caring.”

“Hmph.”

“Well then, see you later! Don’t be late, okay?”

Without waiting for my response, she hung up.

Sigh… I wish she wouldn’t be so sincere sometimes. It was too much for my heart to handle—she was just too cute.

***

When I arrived at the usual café, Yayoi was sitting by the window.

She was reading a book and occasionally sipping her coffee.

Hmm… even though she was my sister, she was unbelievably beautiful when I gazed at her like this… yet she was not intimidating at all, she was easy to approach.

She was excelling in her studies—she was on a full scholarship for the second year in a row—her hair and skin were beautiful, and she had a great style.

From just her appearance alone, it was natural for her to be popular.

But her personality was quite selfish… the extremeness of cat-like behavior.

With such thoughts swirling in my mind, I stepped inside.

And then—a strong gaze. Alright, alright. I took a seat directly opposite her.

“Oh, so close.”

“It’s not like that. Look, it’s almost 2:55. Oh, the usual café latte, please.”

“That’s not it! To meet your cute little sister even a minute earlier, You should be making an effort, you know? I’ll have another café latte, please.”

“Don’t be unreasonable.”

“And also…”

“Hmm?”

“I think you’re sitting in the wrong position.”

She shoots me a glare, then taps the seat beside her with her hand.

Come on, not here… You’re not seriously going to do that here, are you?

“―We have to go soon, so it’s fine.”

“Nope. I’ve also ordered a refill.”

“Alright, alright. Oh, is there anything else you need for now? We need to buy butter, by the way.”

“Cocoa! I want cocoa!”

“You really like that, huh?”

“Yeah! Tsukasa likes it too, right?”

“Well… not really.”

“Huh…”

Suddenly, Yayoi’s mood took a nosedive.

Hey… Where was the landmine in that conversation just now?

“…”

“What’s… what’s wrong?”

“…You said ‘I love you’ when we drank it together at the ski resort.”

“Oh… yeah. I guess so.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I do like having cocoa at the ski resort. It’s warm and sweet. But drinking it elsewhere—well, I don’t need it every day.”

“I see… hm, okay then…”

She still didn’t seem convinced.

What was bothering her… Oh, I see.

Expressing this was quite challenging, but her staying sulky was troublesome.

―No choice but to say it.

“Don’t sulk like that… Besides, if I were to drink with you…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hm? Uh… it’s nothing.”

“Oh, come on! You’re chickening out now! You were about to say something and then got embarrassed and ran away! What a wimp!”

“Geez, you’re so annoying.”

It was more embarrassing than I thought! Just figure it out!

Yayoi’s smirking face annoyed me.

“Well, it can’t be helped. I’ll throw you, my dear brother, a lifeline from your cute sister.”

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

“You’re such a wimp, and not even cute at that. Here’s a question.”

“Are you going to continue?”

“Nishiki Tsukasa loves drinking cocoa with Nishiki Yayoi. YES or NO?”

“Guh…”

Y-You want me to answer that?

H-Here, now?

…She was seriously teasing me.

She was so cat-like at times.

“Huh? Can’t you even answer such a simple question? Honestly, you’re so troublesome… Fine, I’ll make it even easier for you.”

Yayoi’s gaze as she looked at me seemed to be teasing me—huh?

Why was she getting embarrassed too—

“Nishiki Tsukasa loves Nishiki Yayoi. YES or YES, answer with one or the other!”

…I’d like to invoke my right to remain silent regarding how I answered that.