When I Picked Up A Stunningly Gorgeous Downer-Type Beauty In Front Of The Entrance. - Chapter 33: Dinner with my former neighbor and my sister.

Dinner with my former neighbor and my sister.

According to my sister’s wish, dinner was to be prepared not by my sister… but by Sajou-san.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a meal together at the table.

However, it’s just me, Sajou-san, and my sister at the table.

What a strange combination.

Internally, I’m perplexed by this unlikely gathering.

“It looks delicious. Nee-san is good at cooking, huh?”

“…Anyone could do this much.”

“You can’t, Onii-san.”

Shut up.

Whether she’s carefree or simply unconcerned from the start, she reaches for the pizza without hesitation in the tense atmosphere.

Seeing the cheese stretch, my sister giggles.

“Haha, this is great. It’s my first time eating pizza that’s not delivered, but hmm, it’s delicious!”

“Huh…”

Sajou-san reacts to my sister’s words with surprise.

Well, yeah. We don’t really make pizza at home often.

We’re more of a Domino’s family.

I grab a slice of pizza myself.

With cheese, onions, tomatoes, and green peppers.

The standard tomato sauce pizza commonly seen in Japan is appetizing in both smell and appearance.

Yeah, it looks delicious.

“In fact, you can make pizza at home,” Sajou-san responds with a puzzled expression to my lingering question.

“…Because there are some that you can make in a frying pan. Well, not that. …Isn’t it something you make at home?”

“It’s delicious, so it’s fine. Don’t worry about it, don’t worry about it.”

Sajou-san seems somewhat shocked. Despite having improved her cooking skills over time, she still seems unfamiliar with common sense.

Regardless of any discrepancies, as long as it’s delicious, it’s all good. Eating pizza.

Initially, dinner felt awkward with the members gathered around the table and the atmosphere, but delicious food truly does bring happiness, especially when served by a beautiful girl.

Although conversation was minimal, it was still a pleasant gathering.

“Eating such delicious food every day. Isn’t my brother lucky?”

…There’s someone as loud as a speaker, though. Well, that’s also part of the gathering. Noisy, but lively.

Nodding in agreement with myself, my sister reaches out for the dressing near Sajou-san.

However, she doesn’t seem eager enough to lean forward to grab it, as her fingers tremble slightly, just out of reach.

“Don’t be lazy.”

With a sidelong glance and a hint of exasperation, Sajou-san smoothly reaches out for the dressing with her white hand, silently. She gently pushes out the dressing with her fingertips, moving it within reach of my sister’s hand.

“Wow. Thanks, Nee-san.”

With a smile and a somewhat coquettish voice, my sister thanks Sajou-san, who turns her face away with a sigh.

“I just grabbed the dressing…”

“But I’m happy.”

My sister laughs warmly.

Though somewhat bewildered, Sajou-san doesn’t seem entirely disinterested as she indulges my sister with, “Want some potatoes?”

Observing this scene, I chew on some parsley.

Hmm. It still doesn’t sit right.

As I chew, tasting the bitterness spreading in my mouth, my sister’s sidelong glance catches me. With a teasing smirk, she curves her lips as if she’s found a playful target. What a guy.

“Onii-san, could it be that you’re jealous because my relationship with Nee-san is so good?”

“It’s not like that at all. I’m not bothered at all.”

Without putting any dressing on, I stuff lettuce into my mouth and chew vigorously. Bitter.

But, well.

Even though I try to act tough like that, in reality…

It didn’t feel good at all that the stray cat that had only been affectionate to me easily warmed up to someone else. Responding to my sister’s mockery about “men’s jealousy being ugly” with a “shut up” retort.

I understand.

That this jealousy, and even the feeling of it, is unreasonable.

It’s a good thing that Sajou-san, who usually keeps her distance from people, gets along well with someone other than me, and that it happens to be my sister… Well, reluctantly, I can’t deny it.

I understand, but emotions aren’t something you can just say, “Oh, jealousy is a bad feeling, so let’s stop feeling jealous.” If it were that easy to control, all the world’s problems and conflicts would disappear. But humans aren’t machines that can make decisions in binary. So, it’s not that simple.

However, when I realized that what lies at the root of that jealousy might be a feeling of “inferiority,” I felt a bit down. I felt small.

I set down my chopsticks and look at Sajou-san.

Her well-defined features.

Cute and beautiful.

Even idols don’t have such perfectly crafted features. Maybe they do, but I didn’t know.

And yet, such a person trusts only me.

Feeling happy about that seems wrong and makes me feel down.

It’s severe, I think. At the same time, I need to be careful not to do anything that would take away Sajou-san’s freedom.

“…Rihito? Is something wrong?”

“Hm. Oh, it’s nothing.”

I smile casually. I didn’t want Sajou-san to notice this feeling.

“Hehe.”

…I don’t want my annoying little sister next to me to know either.

Does she realize it? Damn.

While internally cursing, I try to reach for the bottle of lemon juice. But I can’t reach it.

“Um… Sajou-san, sorry to bother you, but could you grab that for me?”

The distance is within reach if I lean forward. Understanding this, I ask her for help.

It’s embarrassing. I know that. But I couldn’t stop myself.

Sajou-san, sitting across from me, briefly throws a glance with her emotionless black eyes, which makes me feel like she’s peering into my soul, making me slightly flustered.

But without saying anything, she reaches for the lemon juice.

As she attempts to place it in my hand…

“…”

The moment her fingertips touch my palm, she jerks her body back as if startled and quickly withdraws her hand.

Huh? What?

I blink in surprise at this sudden action.

Sajou-san holds the hand that touched me with her other hand, clasping it against her chest as if she’s scared.

A small shock hits my head at her somewhat frightened reaction.

Did I offend her? Does she not want to touch me?

I tentatively ask her, placing my hand over my chest as if to protect it, seeking confirmation from her.

“D-Did I do something wrong…?”

“…It’s nothing.”

With her hand still tightly clasped against her face, there’s definitely something going on.

The remaining lemon juice on my palm feels unbearably heavy, almost like a symbol of her rejection.

What… seriously.

Am I disliked?

Being sweet to my sister…

And being rejected…

The numerous shocks I’ve received from Sajou-san, who I haven’t seen in a while, in such a short span make my heart ache. My face twitches.

If no one were here, I might have cried.

Seeing the exchange between me and Sajou-san, my sister giggles as if finding it amusing.

“Geez, my brother really doesn’t understand a woman’s heart, huh?”

It’s the autumn of my first year of high school.

Unfortunately, I’ve never understood a woman’s heart in all my life.

I sense the early arrival of winter in my heart. Huhh.