“You mean to tell me, Azusa, you knew I was here and still did that?”
I never expected her to have already returned.
Just when it was just Shiho and me in our own little world, suddenly hearing my sister’s voice startled me.
“H-Huh, you’re back? Couldn’t you have said ‘I’m home’ or something?”
“I was here like five minutes ago!? And I even said ‘I’m home’ loudly, but you guys totally ignored me!”
Azusa puffed out her cheeks and raised her voice.
Similar to Shiho, she was reserved in front of others but quite assertive at home.
While classmates adored her as a cute little animal due to her quiet demeanor at school, she was quite biting when it came to family.
Perhaps that’s another aspect of her charm, akin to a small animal.
…Well, if Azusa can be like this naturally, it must mean she already considers Shiho as part of the family. If that’s the case, though it made me happy in a straightforward way… since we were saying embarrassing things to each other, it felt a bit awkward, like being caught by a child witnessing a couple’s playful flirtations.
Shiho seemed uncomfortable, her eyes darting around.
“Oh my… sorry, Azu-nyan. Are you jealous?”
“I-I’m not jealous or anything!”
“There, there, calm down. It’s true that I love Kotaro-kun more than anyone in the world, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about Azu-nyan. So, please don’t be jealous of Kotaro-kun, okay?”
“Are you sure!? Azusa, do you think I envy Onii-chan…? I don’t think so. Rather, I think my big brother has fallen for a bad girl—”
“A bad girl!? Me!? That’s absurd… I’m capable when I want to be, you know? I’m definitely a good girl.”
“Your reasoning is so weak. If you can do it but you haven’t done it, isn’t that just not good?”
“…Nyaa! I don’t know.”
“Ah! Onii-chan, did you hear that just now!? Pretending not to hear after being rebutted, that’s so lame!”
“I’m not lame. It’s just a joke.”
“Grr… you’re such a child!”
…I’ve heard that arguments only happen between equals. Based on that, Azusa might be childish after all.
Why do they both sound so young when they talk to each other?
I think they’re relatively normal when talking to me… but this side of them is rather endearing too.
“Anyway, Onii-chan, stop smiling and reflect properly, okay? If you want to flirt, do it somewhere Azusa isn’t!”
“Sorry, sorry… but we weren’t flirting.”
“That’s right. We were just whispering words of love to each other.”
“Whispering love words is flirting! Besides, everyone can tell you two are dating, so there’s no need to hide it anymore.”
…And here, Azusa casually brought up the issue that hadn’t been touched upon until now.
I see… Azusa must already think that Shiho and I are dating.
“…”
Not sure how to respond, I glanced at Shiho. Is she feeling the same way, tilting her head at me as if to ask, ‘What should we do?’
Hmm… but I can’t lie. I guess I have to tell the truth here.
“Um, Azusa? It’s awkward to say this, but… Shiho and I aren’t actually dating yet.”
I conveyed the plain truth.
Upon hearing this, Azusa widened her eyes as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Huh!? You’re not dating yet!?”
Her reaction was only natural.
Despite being so close, we’re not dating yet… come to think of it, that’s actually quite strange—
