When We Found Out We're Not Blood-Related, My Little Sister Became Seriously Love-Brained ~When a Little Sister Stops Being a Little Sister, the Ultimate Heroine Emerges!~

Chapter 55: Labels and a Restart

“Morning, siscon.”

Saitou smacked my shoulder and sat down facing me.

“Shut up.”

“Ah—wait, were you the two-timing guy?”

Getting straight to the point: our kyūdō club is pretty strong.

So, surprisingly, a lot of students had watched that live broadcast, and it spread fast.

Suzune apparently hit a certain niche as an “I-love-my-brother tsundere little sister,” and instead of getting backlash, she actually got more popular.

As for the whole “brocon” thing, people probably just treat it like a character setting.

Nobody’s seriously pointing fingers at her.

For Hotaru, because I exist, she got labeled as a girl who doesn’t pick guys based on looks or popularity—someone who values what’s inside.

Thanks to that, the stupid approaches dropped off sharply, and since her original reputation was already bad, it’s like her evaluation rose instead.

Honestly, thank god.

But in exchange, I got slapped with the label: “siscon two-timing guy.”

“Hey, Saitou.

If you read the rumor carefully, it’s saying I’m two-timing my little sister and her best friend.

Isn’t that worse than normal cheating?”

Saitou answered instantly.

“Rock-bottom human garbage.”

“Haa…”

I couldn’t stop sighing.

Watching me, Saitou grinned.

“Oh, hey—my sis said she’ll be at the dōjō after school today.

You contacted her, right?”

“Yeah.

How’s the club side of things?”

“Honestly, someone joining in the latter half of second year is rare.

But you’re a former Inter-High (Inhai) championship contender, so the coach and the members are apparently thrilled.”

“No, I’ve got a huge gap.

If people seriously expect anything, that’s gonna be a problem.”

“March’s tournament is probably impossible, but you can make summer Inhai, right?”

“Getting back into it doesn’t mean anything if I don’t compete.

I’m planning to make it in time.”

“That’s gonna be brutal.

So what’re you doing first?”

“Yeah… first, I guess I’ll cut this hair that’s grown out for no reason.”

“You got money?”

“Nope.”

“Then have my sis cut it.

She’s seriously good.

No license, but she does makeup too.

She’s weirdly talented.”

“No, that’d be rude.

I can’t.”

Then Saitou messed with his phone.

A few seconds later, a notification came in.

“She says it’s fine.”

So he messaged Sarasa-san.

How fast can someone even reply?

Saitou showed me the screen.

There were tons of ♡ before and after my name at the end.

“Hey.

That insane number of hearts—she’s always like that?”

At my question, Saitou raised both palms.

“No.

Normally, not at all.”

That somehow made me even more uneasy.

“Well, yeah.

She’s stronger than us, after all.

If she comes at you with brute force, you’re done.

Praying for my best friend’s safety.”

So he really is my best friend.

Though it’s a very different vibe from Suzune and Hotaru.

※

—Lunch break.

Today again, lunch with Suzune.

“Were you okay yesterday?”

“Huh?

About what?”

My room’s right next to hers.

Yesterday, I could hear Suzune crying the whole time.

The tournament ended, a few days passed…

and the reality of the results must’ve finally hit.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Ah—wait.

Did you hear something at home?”

“Who knows.

Sometimes I just hear someone’s weird noises, and aside from that, my room’s thin walls are peaceful 365 days a year.”

Smack.

She hit me on the head.

Suzune’s ears were bright red all the way to the tips.

“Idiot.

Drop dead!

Pervert siscon big bro!”

“What’s wrong with being a siscon?

Oh—also, thanks for the arrow.

I put it on display in my room.

And when we get married, I’m bringing it to our new place too!”

“Then that just means my arrow is coming back to me.”

“Ooh, today’s lunch is karaage.

It’s amazing as always.”

“I totally got dodged.”

Suzune pouted, fiddling with her hair.

After the tournament, when I checked Suzune’s left ankle at home, it was swollen.

Looks like she’d been practicing in secret, where nobody could see.

“Your left foot okay?

It must’ve hurt during the tournament.”

“It was totally fine.

But I’m glad I could give it everything until the end.

Hey—on the day of the tournament, before we went to the venue, I prayed at the ring shrine.”

“I see.”

“So, as a thank-you…

Hey, I want to go clean the shrine where we found the ring, next time.

Will you come with me?”

“Of course.

It’s better if we clean it together.”

“Thanks, Yuuma.”

“I want to thank the gods too.”

Suzune squeezed my hand.

“…I love you.”

“You say that every day.”

Suzune puffed out her cheeks.

“It’s still not even close to enough.”

“Thank you.”

Bang.

The tower-stairwell door opened.

It was Saitou.

He was out of breath.

“Shinomiya!

There’s a girl I’ve never seen before looking for you in the classroom!

And she’s insanely cute, wearing Seint Rapier Academy’s uniform.

J-just come to the classroom, now.”

Seint Rapier Academy?

One of Japan’s top all-girls “rich girl” schools.

There’s only one person I know from there.

Suzune and I looked at each other.

“Akane…?”

Misaki Akane.

A girl one year younger.

When it became clear that Suzune was my stepsister, it also set off the chain reaction that revealed we aren’t blood-related…

and that included Akane—my cousin.

Chapter 56: An Ojou-sama Descends

“Haa… haa…”

When I sprinted back to the classroom at full speed… she was there.

A girl with a short bob cut, wearing a black sailor-style uniform.

A sword emblem on her chest.

The uniform of Seint Rapier Academy.

And of course, she was already surrounded by the guys in my class.

The girl spotted me, ran over, and clung to my arm.

“…Onii-sama?”

I couldn’t recognize her at first because she looked so different.

But that pampering, clingy voice—I remembered it perfectly.

It was my cousin, Misaki Akane.

“Akane?”

Akane scrubbed hard around her tear troughs.

“That’s horrible.

After we had such a passionate relationship… you’re dumping me?”

She stuck out her lips and declared it like that.

Yeah, my memories with this brat are “passionate,” all right.

When she was little, Akane was a ridiculous brute—she called me “meatball” and went wild with punching and kicking.

The last time I saw her was five years ago.

I was in sixth grade.

She said, “Next time we meet, I’ll finish you off,” and at goodbye, she actually threw a rock at me.

The pain of that rock has, now, turned into the soft sensation on my left elbow.

Thinking that, it’s… kind of moving.

I looked down at Akane again.

Round, double-lidded eyes, pale cheeks.

Small, plump lips.

Every time her hair swayed, it carried a soap-like, clean scent.

Gentle, rounded eyebrows.

If she stayed quiet, she looked exactly like a bright, intelligent girl.

She was basically a different person from when she was a kid.

When I lifted my face, I was sitting on a bed of nails—pierced by the heated stares of the class’s guys.

“Shinomiya—what, Suzune-chan and Houjou (Hotaru) aren’t enough for him?”

“Stop stealing all the pretty ones, damn it…”

Complaints like that rose from all over.

Looks like I’ve been upgraded from “two-timing guy” to “three-timing guy.”

“So what do you want with our school?”

“Transfer paperwork.”

“Huh?

Starting when?”

I have to go to school with this demon spawn?

No way.

“Uh, from after New Year’s.”

Akane narrowed her eyes and kept going.

“Also, Yuuma—what is that hairstyle?

It’s grown out too much.

Lame.

I’ll take you to a salon.”

She came in swinging for dominance right away.

“I’m having someone I know cut it, so I don’t need you.”

“If your business is done, go home already.”

Akane stuck out her tongue.

“Suzu-nee said you were super cool, so I was expecting a little more.”

“You look thinner than before too.”

“Huh?

I’m fluffy as hell.”

“I meant your presence.”

This little…

“Whatever.

Just get off me.”

“…You’re cold.”

“Huh?”

“Yuuma’s so cold!

I was looking forward to seeing you.

No, no, nooo!”

She put her hand to her tear troughs again.

Fake crying.

So over-the-top it hurts.

“Looking forward to it… like finishing me off?”

At my words, Akane puffed out her cheeks.

“Then hang out with me after school.”

We meet after ages and she’s already selfish as ever.

“No.

I’ve got plans.”

“After school I’m getting taught at Sarasa—my master’s dōjō.”

I pointed at the dōgi bag sitting on the desk.

“Heeey.

Yuuma—doing karate again?”

Akane snickered.

“That’s the plan.

Not your problem.”

“I’m going too.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll send the driver home.

I was planning to go on a date with you, but now I have to cancel a French place and stuff.”

…This girl was seriously planning to take me to French cuisine in a school uniform?

Akane frowned deeply.

Next to us, Saitou raised his hand.

“Question!

A driver?

Akane-chan, are you an ojou-sama?”

I told Saitou:

“Her family’s insanely rich.

And her personality’s sharp, so be careful.”

“Yuuma.

Who’s this guy?” Akane asked, narrowing her eyes.

“My best friend, Saitou.

At least say hello.”

Akane lightly lifted the edges of her skirt.

“Ahem.

I am the eldest daughter of the Misaki family… the leading candidate to become the next head.

My name is Akane.

A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

She bowed her head slightly.

Saitou stepped back.

“The Misaki family… like the founding family of the △△ Group?”

“I saw you on that TV show, Nantoka no Ryūgi.

Please give me your autograph!”

“Fufufu.

Of course.

Kneel.”

Akane wore a smug face.

Flick.

I snapped her forehead with a finger.

“That’s awful!

What are you doing?!” Akane clutched her forehead with teary eyes.

“You’re the third daughter, aren’t you?

And you’ve got an older brother too.”

“You’re not ‘heir candidate number one’—you’re ‘number one candidate who won’t become heir.’”

“Boo!!

Making me look bad in front of everyone—how cruel!”

Akane puffed out her cheeks and started smacking me with little hits.

Watching that, Saitou gave a strained smile.

I said to Akane:

“Also, you’re younger than me—don’t call me by my name like that.”

“Still better than ‘meatball,’ right?”

Akane lifted the corners of her mouth.

“‘Meatball’ just means you hate me way too much.”

Akane tilted her head.

“Is ‘meatball’ really that mean?”

“It’s my favorite food, so it’s a favorable expression.”

“No, that’s exactly what a bully says.”

“I didn’t know…”

“Huh?”

“‘Meatball’?

I don’t know any girl who would call someone something so awful.

Onii-sama, surely you’re mistaking me for some other cute girl?”

(What?

You literally just said it.)

Akane clung to my arm again.

The way she keeps slipping dominance games into everything is seriously irritating.

“Anyway, weren’t you supposed to come at the end of the month?”

“My father’s schedule got moved up, so we had to leave immediately.”

“So starting today, I’m planning to impose on your home.”

“I already got Auntie’s OK.”

“Haa?!”

Tug.

Suddenly, my other arm got yanked.

“Haa… haa…”

It was Suzune.

She was out of breath.

“Suzune, what’s wrong?”

“I’m going after school too!

Hey, Yuuma.”

Suzune brought her mouth close to my ear.

“What?”

At my question, Suzune whispered:

“Cheating is not allowed.”

“No—how does this look like cheating to you?”

“I know.

This girl just hasn’t realized it, but she definitely likes you.”

Akane gave a wry smile.

“Me, liking this meatball?

That is impossible.”

“…Haa.”

I let out another massive sigh.

I’ve got nothing but a bad feeling about this.

Chapter 57: Yamaguchi’s Request.

“Yuuma, about that thing… you think it’ll be okay?”

“Yeah. You mean what we talked about yesterday, right?

It was Yamaguchi’s pencil case.”

“Yeah.

I tried talking to him in the classroom earlier, but he kept going off on a bunch of unrelated stuff, and I couldn’t get to the main point…”

So, because of that, Suzune still hasn’t been able to retrieve the pencil case Yamaguchi has.

I looked around.

Yamaguchi is basically never in the classroom.

Part of it is that he doesn’t have many friends, but more than anything, he practically lives in his club.

Among the girls in our class, there’s even a rumor that they often hear a weird “Fuhih” from the photo club room.

And I promised Suzune, too.

“Alright, let’s go.

Ah—wait a second. I’m gonna message Akane.”

Suzune’s eyebrows shot up.

“You traded contact info?”

“Not traded—more like she forced it into my phone.”

I decided to write Akane a message.

‘Something came up, so I’ll be late. You can go home first if you want.’

The moment I sent it, Akane replied: ‘I’ll wait forever.’

“Forever” until when, exactly?

That’s… kind of scary.

Suzune and I headed for the photo club.

As we climbed the stairs, Suzune grabbed the handrail.

“How’s your foot?”

At my question, Suzune smiled.

“I’m fine.

I’m not doing club activities right now, and the hospital said as long as I apply the ointment they gave me, there’s nothing to worry about.”

As she said that, Suzune took my hand.

“Good.

By the way—earlier you said Akane likes me.

Is that actually true?”

“Yuuma, you seriously don’t get it?

When we were kids, that girl threw rocks at you every time she saw you.

That means she cared about you that much.”

That is a wildly creative interpretation.

“No, that just means she hated me.

Expressing love through stoning—how twisted is that?”

Suzune laughed.

“True.

And she probably hasn’t noticed it herself.

But you never know what’ll make someone realize it.

…Cheating is not allowed, okay?”

“Got it.

So this room is the photo club room?”

Suzune nodded.

I stood in front of the door.

Even if I wanted to peek inside, every window was covered in blackout curtains, so I couldn’t see anything.

It’s got an eerie vibe.

Every so often, from inside, I hear: “Fuhih.”

This is absolutely the dangerous kind of thing.

“Wanna just go back?

I’ll buy you a new pencil case.”

Suzune puffed up.

“Then there was no point bringing you along!

And anyway, that pencil case—you’re the one who gave it to me in the first place.”

Huh?

Really?

Suzune did treasure that pig-pattern pencil case…

Now that she says it, yeah, that feels right.

Suzune knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

“Excuse me. It’s Shinomiya.

Um, I came to get my pencil case back!”

From inside came a loud clattering, and the door flew open.

It was Yamaguchi.

“Welcome, Shinomiya-san.

…Tch. You didn’t come alone.”

Yamaguchi’s face twisted openly in annoyance.

Looks like coming with her was the right call.

“P-pencil case…”

Suzune’s mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

“Ah, of course.

I polish it every day and keep it stored carefully.

But before that… could you listen to me for a bit?”

“If I listen, will you give it back?”

“Fuhih. O-of course.

Unlike that three-timing guy over there, I-I’m devoted.”

Yamaguchi, you little—

For a loner, he sure hears rumors fast.

Suzune’s eyebrows shot up.

Did she get mad because he insulted me?

Suzune opened her mouth.

(Yes! Tell Yamaguchi off!)

But it went a little differently than I expected.

“…Three-timing?!

Yuuma! Answer me properly!”

Hey.

Me?!

“No, I literally just met Akane today.

More importantly, Yamaguchi—hurry up and give it back to Suzune.”

Yamaguchi pointed at me.

“You there. Outsiders don’t butt in!”

Looks like there’s no choice but to hear him out first.

“If it’s just listening…” Suzune answered.

Yamaguchi immediately started rubbing his hands together.

“Then first, please come inside.”

Slide.

As soon as Suzune stepped in, Yamaguchi tried to shut the door.

“Hey—wait!”

When I held the door with my hand, Suzune said:

“If Onii-chan isn’t coming too, then I’m not listening.

If that’s a problem, then I don’t even want the pencil case anymore.”

“Tch… fine. Go ahead.”

Yamaguchi gave me a dead-eyed stare and clicked his tongue.

Inside the club room, posters of idols and anime characters were plastered everywhere.

Among them… were photos of Suzune shooting a bow.

This feels less like a photo club and more like a manga club.

I looked around: the room was messy, and there was a faint sweat smell.

There was nothing here that seemed appealing to girls.

Our school puts emphasis on the “principle of a gender-equal society.”

Because of that, “clubs with only boys” and “clubs with only girls” generally aren’t allowed.

(Does this club even have any girl members? Is it okay as a club?)

After offering us chairs, Yamaguchi said:

“Go ahead.”

He served snacks only to Suzune, then began talking.

(Does this guy have it out for me or what?)

“First, I want you to know I’m not going to do anything weird to you, Shinomiya-san, so I want you to feel safe.

I’m the fan club president, after all.”

When someone says “feel safe,” it just makes things feel even less safe.

“So, what is it you wanted to talk about?” Suzune asked.

And suddenly, Yamaguchi stood up.

Then he dropped to the floor in a full prostrating bow.

“The photo club is on the verge of being shut down!

Shinomiya-san, will you model for our photo book?”

…Huh?

What the hell is this guy saying?

Chapter 58: The Club President Cares About His Members

Right in front of me, Yamaguchi was prostrating himself.

A guy who tapes up photos of Suzune in the club room… wants to make a Suzune photo book?

No, no, no way!

When I was about to butt in, Suzune spoke first.

“Honestly, I was a little put off.

But if you’ve got circumstances, then explain them.”

Suzune’s tone was low.

Yamaguchi was stumbling over his words.

“Y-yes!

Actually, the photo club has a lack of achievements, and the student council has started targeting us.

The student council president declared, ‘If you can’t produce an award-selection record, the photo club will be downgraded into a dōkōkai,’ so we have to leave a proper record.”

I looked around the club room.

A bunch of random junk collected however he pleased.

Well, even just judging from this “manga club”-looking room, it’s already doomed.

Suzune narrowed her eyes.

“And that leads to a photo book?

Isn’t that a leap?

Wouldn’t normal landscape photos work?”

“We need to place in a contest with a certain scale.

And the nearest contest that meets the conditions… this is the only one.

If we fail, we’ll lose the club room too…”

“And?”

Yamaguchi raised his face.

His face was red, desperate.

“That contest is hosted by a publisher.

You have to submit in the form of a photo book.”

Suzune crossed her legs.

“If you weren’t actually doing proper activities, then I feel like it’s not surprising if you get shut down.”

Suzune’s super serious like that.

She basically hates laziness.

“In this club, aside from me, there’s only one first-year member.

He doesn’t have a place in the classroom.

This is his place.

So I want to pass this club on to him, no matter what.”

It smelled like old batteries.

This place probably feels comfortable for the members.

Suzune put a hand to her chin.

“You want to pass the club on to an underclassman…

I get that feeling.”

“This contest even has prize money.

If we win, I’ll give the entire prize to you as model pay.”

“But why me?”

“The contest theme is ‘Your oshi kid, and your usual scenery.’

And since I can’t lie with photographs… I can’t imagine anyone but you as my oshi, Shinomiya-san.”

“Hmm. What should I do…”

I looked at Yamaguchi’s face.

His eyes were wet.

“How much is the prize?

And these photos aren’t gonna be, like, swimsuits… right?”

When I asked, Yamaguchi looked at me.

His gaze wasn’t the same hostile one from before.

(He’s desperate.)

“The top prize is one million yen.

And swimsuits… I’ll give up on that.”

“You said it’s publisher-hosted, right?

Even if you win, you’re not going to force it into publication or something, are you?”

“Of course not.

If it’s published, it has to be through the host publisher—but whether to publish is the winner’s decision.”

“Even if Suzune wins, I’m not letting it get published.

That’s not a problem, right?”

“Yes.

I don’t want to spread Shinomiya-san around either, so I have no intention of doing that.”

“Hey, Suzune.

At least think about it.”

Suzune swung her crossed leg back and forth.

“This really won’t get distributed, right?

And also—can Hotaru and I model together?”

At Suzune’s question, Yamaguchi stood up.

“It won’t be distributed.

I promise.

And yes—two models is fine.”

“Let me think about it.

And about the girls’ club-member issue, I can’t help you with that.”

“T-that part we’ll handle ourselves.

Also, here—your pencil case.

Sorry it took so long.”

We took the pencil case from Yamaguchi and left the photo club room.

Suzune and I walked down the hallway.

I decided to ask what I’d been wondering.

“Hey, Suzune.

Earlier you said Hotaru would model too—why?”

Suzune stopped.

“Don’t tell Hotaru I told you this, okay?”

“Got it.”

Suzune doesn’t like keeping secrets.

If she’s saying this, something’s definitely up.

“What are you planning to do after you graduate high school, Yuuma?”

“Me?

I’m planning to go to college.”

“Yeah, right?

Me too.

But Hotaru seems like she’s hesitating because of tuition.

Her family’s kind of complicated.

So I was thinking… if we won, it might help with her school expenses.”

Now that she mentions it, I don’t actually know anything about Hotaru’s family.

But she came to the kyūdō tournament to cheer Suzune on.

Even though she’s got her own troubles, she took time off work to support her.

I want to do something for Hotaru too.

“I see.

Then I shouldn’t ask anything more, right?”

Suzune nodded.

“Sorry.

It’s probably something she doesn’t want other people talking about.

If you need to know, it might be better to hear it from her directly.”

“…Got it.”

Beep beep.

When I checked my phone, it was Akane.

“You’re too late!

Can I just go home now?”

Come on.

Where’d that ‘I’ll wait forever’ go?

Chapter 59: The Ojou-sama Has No Money

Suzune and I were at the station-front rotary.

“That Akane… she’s the one who said she’d be here, and yet she’s not.”

When I said that, Suzune looked around restlessly.

“We did keep her waiting a while.

Maybe she went to the bathroom or something?

Akane-chan really got cute, didn’t she?”

I closed my eyes.

“Well, sure.

I guess she falls into the ‘beautiful girl’ category.

If you ignore what she’s like on the inside.”

“But, you know… she’s a good kid.

Not that I want to do the whole ‘sending salt to your enemy’ thing, but…”

“Which part of her is good?

That idiot?”

“Umm, like…”

Then suddenly, someone yanked my bag from behind.

I lost my balance and almost fell over.

“Hey—”

When I turned to complain, it was Akane.

The deep vermilion scarf at her chest fluttered.

“Did I surprise you?

That’s what you get for making me wait!”

“No, you said ‘I’ll wait forever,’ and then you couldn’t even hold out.

Your patience is seriously nonexistent.”

Akane crossed her arms.

Her sun-browned leather school bag had a feather sticker on it.

(That sticker’s totally clean.

Did she even have that on there when I saw her in class earlier?)

“So?

If you did something bad, there’s something you say, right?”

She complained, sulky.

“Yeah.

Sorry for making you wait.”

I apologized, but it still didn’t sit right.

“Then what about the fact you threw rocks at me?

I don’t remember ever getting an apology for that.”

Akane averted her eyes.

“…I don’t know anyone like that.”

When I looked at Suzune, she was giggling.

Somehow, it was embarrassing.

“Whatever.

Sarasa-san’s waiting, so let’s go for now.”

The three of us started walking side by side.

Suzune came to my left.

Akane was on my right.

—This feeling… is kind of nostalgic.

“Yuuma, do you remember when the three of us used to play at the park when we were kids?”

“Yeah.

I think some neighborhood kid took my toy…”

When I was little, I was weak, and sometimes boys I ran into at the park would mess with me.

“Yeah, yeah.” Suzune smiled.

“And in the end, what happened back then?”

“Akane-chan went and called a police officer for us.”

Now that she mentions it… yeah.

I looked at Akane, and she nodded silently.

I turned back to Suzune.

“Oh, right.

But didn’t it turn into a big mess after that?”

Suzune started giggling again.

“Yeah.

Even after things settled down, Akane-chan tried to leave, then she jump-kicked the kid.

He got kicked in the back, rolled over, started bawling…

and then the kid’s parents complained to us.”

“Yeah… that’s right.

Hey, Akane?”

When I looked at her, she averted her eyes.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

Akane puffed out her cheeks.

“You’re worse than the bully, you know.”

“Because I got mad.

The only one who’s allowed to hit Yuuma is me.”

Saying that, Akane looked straight at me.

Hey.

She just casually dropped something insane.

“You…”

…Well, whatever.

She did help me, that part’s true.

The pedestrian signal turned red.

The three of us lined up and waited for it to change.

The sun had started to dip, tinting the crosswalk’s white lines orange.

Trucks roared past with an awful racket.

When I checked the time, it was 4:00 PM.

(That’s a lot of traffic.)

“Big sister!”

A kid’s voice called from behind.

When I turned around, it was an elementary-school-age boy.

He had a donation box slung over his shoulder.

“Oh—you’re that boy from earlier.

It’s dangerous here, so next time, make sure you watch the signal, okay?”

Akane said that and patted his head.

The boy broke into a huge grin.

“Thank you, pretty big sister.

If you hadn’t helped me, I might’ve gotten run over by a truck.

You saved my life!

And you even helped with this too—thanks to you, I’m today’s MVP!”

The boy spread a 10,000-yen bill open with both hands.

…No way.

I looked at Akane.

“You donated?”

Akane looked away.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Then the boy pointed at Akane’s bag.

“This sticker is proof you did a good deed.”

I asked the boy a question.

“Did this big sister throw rocks at you or anything?”

The boy shook his head.

“I tried to give it back like, ‘This is too much money,’ but she said, ‘I am the next head of the Whatever Zaibatsu, so this is pocket change,’ and she laughed in this really high voice.”

As he said that, the boy put the bill into the donation box.

On the box, it read: “So children around the world can eat until they’re full.”

The boy waved and headed back.

When our eyes met, Akane mumbled under her breath.

“…I don’t know anything about that.

He probably mistook me for some other beautiful girl.”

Looks like the self-proclaimed beautiful girl in front of me doesn’t want to be identified.

Before I knew it, the signal had turned red again.

The orange on the white line had turned pinker than before.

“See?

Told you so,” Suzune said, looping her arm around my left arm.

Come to think of it…