Chapter 176

Chapter 176 – With My Brother (3)

“What should we for the souvenirs?”

The restaurant we wanted to visit was a little crowded, so we got a ticket from the clerk and waited on a bench outside.

Shouhei, who had nothing to do while waiting, asked me while dangling his legs on the bench.

“We can’t buy it now, it’ll just become luggage. Let’s buy it when we know the date of our return.”

“Yes, but we also need to buy something for Yuri-san, Ichika-neechan, Kou-chan, Officer Inoue, Gasara-niichan, and everyone at school. I have to buy a lot of things for the grannies in the neighborhood. We have to buy a lot of things, so we have to decide what to buy now.”

“That’s great. I didn’t think about it at all.”

That’s right.

Aside from Gasara, I can’t thank Yuri-san and the others enough for what they’ve done for me.

I have to give gifts to my neighbors, especially.

Our house and the neighbor’s house are far apart, but it’s not as if we don’t know each other at all.

When we first moved in, we didn’t have much contact with each other because we were hiding Aoi and the twins from each other, but since the incident at Tusk Crag, we’ve become friends to the point where we usually greet each other.

They greet me when I take Jaja and Nana for a walk, and since they’re farmers, they’ve even given me some of their vegetables.

There are very few children in the area, so the twins seem to be especially loved.

There are a lot of old people there.

“You should buy something for everyone in your class, too, nii-chan. You want to get along with them, right?”

“I was thinking of buying one for Makio, but I wondered if the guys in my class would be happy to get one from me.”

I don’t know if they’ll accept it in the first place.

It seems that my image is really only slightly better now that the Tusk Crag incident is over and Makio is back to normal.

I don’t really feel it, but since Makio says so, I guess he’s right.

The chairperson cat beastman, Rina, Makio’s childhood friend, is now able to talk to me normally.

Some of the girls who seem to have good communication skills are starting to talk to me.

Oh, I’m so glad I moved to the country!

I’m really grateful to Makio!

“Are you going to give some to Makio-niichan? I’ll give it to Hina-chan, so please don’t give her any sweets.”

“Hmm?”

Huh?

“Aside from Makio, I was thinking of an assortment of sweets since I’m giving it to my classmates, but you’re not?”

I thought the only souvenirs from the trip would be food.

Oh, wasn’t Hina-chan and Shouhei in a different class to begin with?

“Oh, well…”

Shouhei looked down at my words.

His ears turned red.

Oh?

Ohhh?

What’s with that reaction?

I’ve been Shouhei’s big brother since he was born, and this is the first time I’ve seen such a reaction.

“Oh, you see. You know, Hina-chan often comes to our house to play. Makio-niichan is also your friend, so I thought she’s a little different from other girls.”

“That’s true, but…”

He comes over to our house on his days off and brings us cakes and other gifts.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but why is he embarrassed?

“And look, it’s weird to give it to Makio-niichan and not to Hina-chan!”

“Ohhh.”

I see.

Is that so?

No, I’m sure you’re right, but you don’t have to be so forceful about it.

“……?”

“W-what? It’s not like I’m saying anything strange.”

Sensing something in my gaze, Shouhei did his best to look away and turn his body the other way.

His ears are so red I think they’re going to catch fire.

I see.

He’s cool and mature, so I’ve never heard him talk about it before, but now he’s a boy and he’s conscious of the opposite sex.

When I think about it, since he was young, he would come straight home after school without stopping anywhere because there was work to do at home.

But now that Aoi and Yuri-san are here, he can leave a little bit of the work to them and go out with his friends after school.

He used to have so much to do at home that he didn’t have time for that, but now he has more contact with girls.

And then there’s Hina-chan.

As the younger sister of his brother’s friend, he has more contact with her than the other girls.

You’ve become conscious of her, haven’t you?

It was a simple gesture that made him fall in love with her.

Puberty has arrived.

It seems that my little brother has grown up one more time. I’m both happy and sad.

I wonder if my father would be happy or sad if I told him.

What should I do if he asks me to cook red rice?

I’ll call him this evening and tell him. I’m looking forward to it.

I see.

Hina-chan, huh?

She is a quiet but strong girl who can take care of small children.

There’s nothing wrong with her as Shouhei’s first love.

In fact, she’s the kind of girl you want to root for.

The only problem is that she’s Makio’s sister.

He seems to be trying to hide it from me and Gasara, but he has quite the sister complex.

I’m sure he’ll try to oppose it.

It’s my job as the older brother and friend of Makio to appease him.

I know he cares about his sister, but I also want to support my brother’s first love.

I’m sorry, Makio.

Depending on the situation, I may become your enemy and stand against you.

I hope you’ll be prepared for that.

“I see. Shouhei is at that age, huh? You’ve gotten bigger.”

I grabbed his silky hair and shook.

“S-stop it! Don’t make any weird assumptions.!”

“It’s not a misunderstanding, is it? You like her, right? You’re in love with her, right?”

Have you fallen in love?

Did you fall in love with a cute girl in the same grade?

No, my brother’s love story!

He’s a lot stronger than I am, you know.

We’ve never talked about this before.

“Ughhhhhhhh! You’re so annoying! You’re like an old man!”

“Haha, sorry, sorry. I’m just happy.”

Yes, I’m happy.

So please forgive me if I get a little excited.

“You also have Aoi-neechan and Yunno-neechan, right? You should think about yourself instead of me!”

“That’s the end after you say that, you know.”

I won’t be able to say anything.

I know that much.

I’m aware that I’m doing a terrible thing to those two by postponing the conclusion until now.

As a man, I have to be sincere and honest with the two girls who are sincerely interested in me.

Even if I end up being resented for it, it’s something I have to bear.

… Well, neither Aoi nor Mikuma is that type of girl.

They might cry, but they won’t hate me.

It’s also painful.

What are these problems?

Only good-looking people would be allowed to have such problems.

I wonder why they both fell in love with such a crude and uncivilized guy like me.

I think it’s disrespectful to them to think that way, but I can’t help it.

If you look at me from a bird’s eye view, you can’t find anything to fall in love with. Really.

“I don’t know what to do.”

“… Do you like Aoi-neechan and Yunno-neechan?”

“If you’re asking whether I like them or not, I do. It’s hard to find such admirable and nice people like them.”

However, I don’t know if this feeling is love or not.

… Though that’s changing a bit lately.

It’s the way I feel about Aoi.

When I’m with the twins, and when I’m not.

When Aoi is around me, I naturally feel calm.

There’s a part of me that thinks it’s strange that I’m not there, as if it’s normal for us to be together.

This is clearly a different feeling than when I’m with Mikuma.

Yunno Mikuma is an old friend of mine.

I’ve known her since elementary school, and we’ve known each other much longer than Aoi.

But she’s still a girl in my class, and she’s a stranger to me.

I know her better than most girls, but she’s still the kind of girl that I have to pay attention to every move she makes.

But I don’t know about Aoi.

When I was with her, the only time I really cared about anything was in the beginning.

Now, the first face I see in the morning is Aoi, and the last face I see is Aoi.

There is no sense of discomfort there at all.

From good morning to good night, Aoi and I can stay together in our natural state.

… I’m also aware that the twins are a big part of this.

That’s because it’s inseparable for me and Aoi.

Even without that, the time I spend with her is comfortable.

“… Maybe the conclusion has already been reached.”

“Nii-chan?”

Shouhei peeked at me worriedly as I pondered for a while.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“That’s fine then. Oh, I think we’ve been called.”

The female clerk who just gave me a numbered ticket was smiling and waving at me outside the store.

We had to wait quite a while, but it seemed to be a popular restaurant, so I guess it couldn’t be helped.

“Let’s go.”

Shouhei, who had gotten off the bench with vigor, stepped into the store first.

“Ahh.”

I got up from the bench and stretched.

Looking at the sky, I was reminded that we were on the sphere continent.

Far above, there was a ceiling made of rock, with large holes in various places in it.

The sunlight shining through the holes poured brightly into the city.

The ceiling must be the reason why it is so comfortable to live in such a hot climate.

What’s strange is the sense of seasonality; it’s always summer on the continent, while Australia, which is almost at the same location, is in the middle of winter.

I was told that this was due to the large-scale defensive magic that had been applied to the continent, but I couldn’t understand much about it even after hearing the details.

I looked at the restaurant.

The restaurant was crowded with customers.

It seemed to be a noodle restaurant unique to Dailan, and takeout was available.

I’m going to buy lunch here and have it with everyone at Atol’s house.

“… All that’s left is my determination, right?”

I muttered to myself and followed Shouhei.

Yes, what’s lacking is courage and determination.

I was determined to face the reality of making a girl cry.

I know.

I’m going to do something terrible.

I won’t complain if she hits me. I know she won’t hit me, so it’s not fair.

Yunno Mikuma.

The girl who was strong, kind, and told me she loved me.

I have to face her feelings and give her an answer.