When I Helped the Beautiful Sister Duo Being Hit On, I Ended Up Being Taken Home as a Thank You - Chapter 44: The Feeling of Discomfort

Chapter 44: The Feeling of Discomfort

“Ahem… well, of course, I’m cute, right?” Minase said, striking a pose, as if the awkwardness from earlier had never happened.

“You know, that’s exactly why you don’t get any attention from guys,” I said with a sigh, full of both relief and exasperation.

Minase needed to act like this. If she started acting all flustered, I wouldn’t know how to react.

“So, have you decided on a present yet, Souma-kun?”

“I found two necklaces with nice designs, but for the outfit, this one would probably match better.”

I took the butterfly-shaped necklace and held it up to Minase’s neck using forced perspective.

“Yeah, this is it.” “I think this one works too. You have good taste.”

“Told you. I’m going to pay for it, so you should change out of that outfit.”

“Wait, are you buying this outfit too?” “Yeah, it’s a gift for the one-month anniversary, so it’d be weird if I didn’t buy it.”

“That’s for the necklace, right? I’ll pay for this outfit, so don’t worry.”

“You don’t have any anniversaries or anything, do you?”

“I want to celebrate Kana’s anniversary, even as her sister! So, I’ll buy this outfit!”

Minase was adamant that she was going to pay for it, refusing to back down.

“Well, if you insist,” I said. It was helpful to me since it meant I’d save some money, which meant I could use it for a date later.

The necklace design was perfect. Kana would be happy with it.

Now, I just needed to figure out when to give it to her.

The anniversary day was a school day, so I’d have to give it to her after class.

I thought it’d be more romantic to give it to her somewhere with a nice atmosphere, but part of me also wanted to give it to her in a more relaxed place.

Maybe I could give it to her while watching a movie at home, at a moment that felt right.

“I’ll head to the register first,” I said as I walked toward the checkout with the necklace in hand.

As I took out my wallet and queued up, I heard Minase call out from behind me.

“…Hey.” “Huh? Do you want me to pay for the outfit too?”

“No, that’s not it,” she replied quickly.

“Then what is it?” I turned to look at her. Minase was acting oddly today. She was usually teasing me, but now she was acting strangely, almost like she was embarrassed. Something about her felt off.

“…When you say things like that, I really start to like you,” she said, pouting and looking up at me shyly.

“…Huh!?” Her sudden confession-like words caused my face to turn bright red.

Why was she saying that now? I had no idea what she meant by it.

“Like me? Me? Her sister’s boyfriend?”

My thoughts were tangled, and my brain was practically on pause as I tried to process it.

She said she liked me. Why? Was she joking? Was she messing with me? She couldn’t possibly mean it.

Seeing me freeze up, Minase giggled and lightly patted me on the shoulder.

“Heh… when you turn so red like that, it’s making me embarrassed now.”

“Shut up! If you say something like that again, I’ll seriously punch you!”

This was way too much for my heart to handle.

If a classmate had said something like that, I would have just said something like, “Oh, okay,” and left it at that. But when Minase says it, it messes with my mind.

She’s my sister’s boyfriend. It’s confusing to even think about.

Trying to avoid the situation, I turned my back, but…

“Souma-kun,” Minase called out again.

“Now what?” I didn’t turn around. If she was just teasing me again, I couldn’t handle it.

In response to my annoyed tone, Minase said, “I hope Kana will really like it.”

With that, she quickly changed her tone, and I felt a bit of relief. It seemed like she was cheering me on after all.

If that was her intention, she should’ve just said it from the start instead of teasing me like that. But I guess asking Minase to do that is a little too much.

I turned slightly to glance back at her, feeling a bit more at ease.

But as I looked at the smile Minase gave me, something felt off.

I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but I sensed a small difference.

It was probably something only Kana and I would notice.

The smile she had on her face right now didn’t seem like her usual one. It looked more like the kind of smile she used when she was pretending to be cheerful, like the one she often gave at school.