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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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“It’s been so long…! How have you been?”
“Same as always… I’m sorry for coming empty-handed.”
“Don’t be sorry… You don’t have to buy gifts all the time or anything. Come in.”
Welcomed by Midori, I smiled brightly and took off my shoes.
As I put on slippers and entered the house, Miyuki said to Midori,
“Mom, I’m going to study with Matsuda, so don’t disturb us.”
“Study? Are you preparing for midterms?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you want any fruit?”
“Fruit? I can take that upstairs myself now.”
“No, why don’t you rest for a bit and take it easy… It would be nice to chat over a cup of coffee. What do you think, Matsuda?”
She looked at me with a bright face, and the more I saw her, the less I understood. Not Midori, but Wataru. How did he marry someone like this? No matter how I thought about it, Midori was way too good for him…
“Coffee sounds good.”
Was she satisfied with my answer? Midori gave Miyuki a look that said, “See?”
Miyuki shook her head.
“Of course he’s going to say yes if you ask like that… We need to study now, so we have to go upstairs quickly. We can have a coffee later… Just before Matsuda-kun goes home.”
Miyuki tugged at my wrist. She wanted to take me to the second floor, but she couldn’t move me with her weak strength. Frustrated that I wasn’t budging, she lightly pinched my butt without Midori noticing.
Come to think of it, was this the first time we had physical contact in front of her family? It was such a minor touch that it couldn’t even be called skinship, but still, it was progress.
I grinned at her exasperated look and said to Midori,
“Would it be okay if we just go there so I can put my bag down?”
“Yes, of course. But…”
Midori trailed off and crossed her arms. Her face was meaningful. She seemed convinced that something was going on between Miyuki and me. Well, as a mother who knew her daughter well, there was no way she wouldn’t notice the subtle changes in Miyuki’s expression when she looked at me. The fact that Miyuki had just acted unusually petulant probably contributed as well.
Considering that Miyuki must have mentioned me in front of her family more than once, it was rather late for her to notice. Was Midori a little slow on the uptake?
“Wh, why are you looking at me like that…?”
Miyuki asked, startled. Midori shook her head.
“It’s nothing. Just go leave your bag and then come back down.”
Her voice was nice. Mischievous. Did she think it wasn’t so bad that her daughter was seeing me? I suddenly became curious about Midori’s mindset. Was she conservative or open-minded about sex? Miyuki said she was conservative, but judging by her reaction just now, she seemed rather open-minded.
Miyuki, looking dismayed by her mother’s reaction, led me to her room. As soon as she closed the door, she scolded me.
“You should have come right up…! I think Mom noticed…”
“Is it bad if she notices? Are you embarrassed by me?”
“That’s not it… I’m worried she’ll suspect I’m at your house when I stay out overnight…”
“Doesn’t she already know? She’s your mom.”
“…I don’t know. It’s all ruined because of you. I’m not going to stay out overnight anymore.”
She was unusually whiny today. I chuckled and bent down to meet Miyuki’s eyes.
“I was just happy to see your mom after so long… And if I came over unannounced, I should at least greet her properly.”
“…”
“Besides, you told me to come. So why are you annoyed?”
“I, I know… I just wanted to be with you quickly… I’m sorry…”
Miyuki apologized readily. I gently pulled Miyuki into a hug, now that she was being honest, and stroked her back.
“Are you really not coming to my house anymore?”
Did my gentle voice lift her spirits? Miyuki let out her characteristic “Hmm” and hugged my waist, burying her face in my chest.
“No, I will…”
I lightly patted her bottom and took a whiff at her scent. The strong plum scent filled my nose and spread through my mind, producing dopamine and making me feel good. This hadn’t changed.
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Miyuki must have decided to seize the day because she tutored me with real enthusiasm. She seemed to genuinely want me to do well in the midterms. Thanks to her, I couldn’t even think about doing anything else and had to focus on keeping up with her lessons.
After such a long tutoring session, my body felt stiff. I stretched and asked Miyuki to excuse me so I could go to the bathroom, then opened the door.
The second-floor hallway was very dark. I could have turned on the lights, but the faint light coming up from the bottom of the stairs created a nice atmosphere, so I just walked down the dark hallway to the bathroom.
I felt a bit wronged when I finished and was about to open Miyuki’s door again. I had been studying for almost three hours without a break, so I thought I deserved a break.
After some light stretching, I leaned my arms on the railing that surrounded the hallway and exhaled deeply. It would have been really refreshing if this were a balcony, it was a shame it wasn’t.
Lost in thought as I looked down at the bottom of the stairs, where I could faintly hear the TV,
*creak*
“Huh…? Matsuda-kun, what are you doing here?”
At Kana’s quiet voice, which came as the door opened, I scoffed inwardly. She played pranks every time I saw her. I wasn’t falling for it anymore. There was no love in your altered voice.
I was about to turn around to chat with Kana, who was playing her silly prank, but a good idea came to mind, so I kept my mouth shut.
Kana poked my back with her finger and asked again,
“I said, what are you doing here?”
“Looking around.”
Did she think I had fallen for it completely, since I answered casually without even turning around? Kana boldly came next to me and peeked over the railing.
“What is there to look at? Did a cat get in?”
“No. The staircase design is pretty.”
“Staircase design…? Can you even see it properly in the dark?”
“I can see it just fine. Look. The wood grain is beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Really? I can’t really… Eek…?”
A startled gasp suddenly escaped Kana’s lips. I had slid my hand onto her back and gently pressed her waist.
She jumped back, startled, without making a loud noise.
“Wh, what are you doing…? Who are you…?”
Pretending as if this kind of physical contact was perfectly natural, I finally turned around and looked directly at Kana. Then, I said in a bewildered tone,
“Huh? It was you?”
Kana blinked her large eyes a few times, gulped, and stammered,
“Y, yes…! It’s me…! What did you just do…?”
“I touched your waist.”
“That’s why…! Why did you touch me there…!”
The way you often teased Miyuki had made me think that you were a little more promiscuous than her, but it turns out you’re as shy as her, huh? Don’t play these pranks anymore. Next time, it won’t end with me just touching your waist.
“I thought you were Miyuki. I’m sorry.”
“I, I knew it…! You two…! You two are…!”
Kana’s face was completely red. It was clearly visible even in the dark hallway. She was even chattering her teeth, she must have been quite shocked.
Chuckling inwardly as I observed her reaction, I scratched my head, pretending to be awkward.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
She just stared up at me, dumbfounded. Since she had tricked me first, she couldn’t get angry even if she wanted to.
By the way, the feel of her slender waist was just like Miyuki’s. And her reaction just now too… Sisters are sisters, huh? I suddenly felt aroused.
“I sincerely apologize if I offended you.”
As I apologized again in a serious tone, Kana’s complexion calmed down a bit. She clutched her chest and said,
“I wasn’t offended… It was my fault too, so don’t worry about it…”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Wh, why are your hands so big…? No, never mind… I’ll go in…”
Kana, rambling, went into her room without waiting for my reply. The door clicked shut and locked.
Chuckling at the firmly closed door, I returned to Miyuki’s room.
“I heard voices outside… Did you talk to my sister?”
“Yeah. She suddenly came out and played a prank. She changed her voice to sound like you.”
“Sigh… why does she always play the same prank…? She’s not an elementary schooler… I wonder when she’ll grow up…”
Miyuki clicked her tongue and turned her head towards Kana’s room before continuing,
“Come sit down. We need to study.”
“I’m really tired, can’t we stop? We’ve been at it for three hours.”
“We’ve only been at it for three hours. Let’s finish today with math.”
Miyuki tapped the chair next to her. I sighed and sat down obediently, and she patted my head.
“You might be annoyed now, but you’ll thank me later.”
“Who’s annoyed? Let’s start quickly.”
“Okay.”
She giggled and then, with a serious expression, opened her notebook. I did the same, focusing as much as possible to keep up with her tutoring. With all this effort, I had to do well on this exam.
Miyuki’s tutoring continued beyond that day. Twice a week during the week, and every day on weekends. I studied diligently with Miyuki, to the point of getting headaches, and time flew by until the day of the midterms arrived.
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Thanks neko!