“Shiori-nee, be my bride in the future!”

“Ufufu~ Yuu-kun, how assertive~ You’ll have to wait though, I’ll only marry you when you’ve grown into a fine shinobi though…”

“Just you wait, onee-chan! I’ll start training once I’m eight years old next year. I’ll definitely become a strong shinobi and stand by your side!

“Ufufu~ is that so Yuu-kun?”

---

“She will be married to you once you two are of age.”

“Shiori-nee!?!”

“... let’s get along from now on, Yuu-kun.”

---

“Yamaguchi-sama is so pretty! I wish I had an adult woman’s charms like her…”

“She’s so perfect…”

“But that scrawny guy she always sticks with…”

“Eh? Yeah! Why would she enjoy being with that type of guy? She deserves so much better!”

“That loser should be self-aware and just get out of the way, all he’s doing is getting in Yamaguchi-sama’s way…”

---

“Eh? Yuu-kun, what are you reading? Is that a love letter? You’re already mine though! Let Onee-san look!”

“... It’s a letter from the Saito elders regarding the events of the knight [Compatible] and the fire [Inhuman].”

Shiori immediately composed herself and put away her flirty attitude.

“... I see. Take your time, Yuu-kun. I’ll go take a bath.”

As expected, the knight woman was from outside of Japan and had a feud with the Saito and Yamaguchi clans. It appears that the Yamaguchi had helped killed off the rest of her family after they provoked the Saito. Her first name was unknown, but it appeared she carried the family name of Lebenev. The fire [Inhuman] was Japanese though; He was from a clan called Onishima, but was exiled due to his violent tendencies. It is unknown how the two met and formed a [Soul Link].

“Huh. ‘Prepare yourself for another attack by trapping the surroundings of the house.’ Is that right, great-grandfather? Well, I still am a shinobi, and you would be underestimating me if you thought I hadn’t already done that.”

Indeed, a variety of traps had already been set around the house in preparation for another attack.

However, there was still the issue of what the [Soul Link] thing was...

“Yuu-kun! I’m done bathing! Your turn!”

“Oh, Shiori- Awawa!?! What are you wearing? Put some clothes on!”

Shiori had let down her long, black and now wet hair that was normally in a ponytail and was wearing only a white towel that left very little to the imagination.

“I don’t mind you looking, though…”

“Don’t do this to me, Shiori-san...”

“How cold of you… A pretty onee-san is offering herself to you in nothing but a towel, and you’re going to use ‘-san’?”

“I’m going to take a bath…”

---

Shirori waited silently in his room until Yuudai had entered the bathroom

She then proceeded to plop herself onto his bed.

“Fuu~, such a calming smell…”

“...stupid Yuu-kun. Always thinking that you’re not good enough for me when the only one I want is you.”

“Everybody only sees me as a perfect girl, but you’re the only one who can see my flaws and still love me, you know? I’m a monster, an [Inhuman], and a weak one at that. If I lived without someone strong like you by my side, I would probably get killed if I got caught up into a fight.”

“Yuu-kun, you dummy…”

---

Outside the door, a certain dummy was listening. That certain dummy had forgotten to bring a pair of pants into the bathroom.

Now, of course, he couldn’t just walk in like he’d heard nothing.

Should he open that door and face what he just heard?

Maybe he should finally be honest with himself…

…

No. Not today. The dummy went back towards the bathroom.