Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Thank you for the birthday wishes everybody! Yesterday was great. Although, I’m actually posting this 1 minute from when it will have become the day before yesterday…

Also! Evil God Army members, assemble for Tree of Savior: https://discord.gg/0usrKNKKbEkpFdiV

---

Apparently Ririna completely ignored my warning, and continued trying to get close to Kaburagi. But apparently the upperclassmen girls were like a wall and things didn’t go as she wanted.
Anyway, thanks to that, I lost my composure and spoke to a first year Pivoine girl in Ririna’s class.
When I asked her,

“Is Ririna causing you trouble?” she answered, “Not at all,” but expression told a completely different story. So I told her “I’m so sorry. I will speak to her later,” and apologised.
The girl was flustered that I was apologising to her, but I asked her to immediately tell me if Ririna was causing problems. Anyway, if she’s doing crazy stuff where I can’t see her, I need to know.

Once time when I was heading to the salon, she ambushed me and pestered me to take her along. I told her that I couldn’t but she wouldn’t listen. Thankfully, Aira-sama happened to be walking past, and she gently persuaded her.
Later on she called me and asked, “Who was that wonderful person!?”
In the end, I heard from her that her mother was originally a Pivoine member, and as a child she talked to her about it. She claimed that if she lived close to the primary school, she would “Definitely have gotten in!”
But well, even if she told me that, the reality was that she entered as an External from middle school, so she was disqualified from it. The rules are the rules.
Apparently her conceit is coming from the misconception that she’s actually Pivoine as well.
What an idiot.
Later, Tsuruhana-san told me sarcastically, “What a cute cousin you have.” I couldn’t find anything to say.
I think my stress is hitting its peak.

*妹*

And so, I’ve come to a fast food place.
I haven’t entered before out of fear that somebody would see me, but I don’t care anymore.
With all my stress, I have to eat, or else!
I ordered my first fast food since being born in this world with a pounding heart. I asked for a cheeseburger, and a large chips. For my drink, I went with oolong tea.
Just in case, I sat in the corner. And I felt a little out of place too.
I took a bite of my cheeseburger. Uwah, so nostalgic! I remember this taste!
A ketchup covered meat patty, with pickles, onion and cheese! What a cheap taste!
Maybe because I’m always eating good food, I was a little shocked at how it tasted even cheaper than I remembered, but I guess that’s fast food for you.
The chips are so yummyy. There’s heaps of ketchup too.
It felt like the more I filled my stomach, the more the stress melted away. Hahh, I’m so glad I came.
But I wonder what I should do about Ririna.
Thinking about it carefully, she has similar tastes in men to me.
We love Oniisama, but then as a romantic partner, we go for the complete opposites to him, Tomoe-senpai and Kaburagi. We admire Aira-sama as well. Uwahh, I really don’t wanna be similar to her.
But then I used to loiter about Tomoe-senpai as well, didn’t I.
Earlier, I apologised to Aira-sama. She gently consoled me, telling me “You have it rough, don’t you, Reika-chan. If there’s anything I can do to help, just tell me,” but I absolutely couldn’t bring myself to trouble her like that.
As for Kaburagi, I’m so scared that I can’t look him in the eye anymore. Just imagining how angry he must be gives me the shakes. But I guess maybe I really should gather my courage and apologise once?
Aahh~ Why did that girl have to make it into Zui’ran?
I gulped down the watery tea.

*妹*

Maybe because of what Aira-sama said, Ririna didn’t try and push her way into the salon anymore.
But she was still following Kaburagi as usual.
Even my group was starting to really frown. This is bad… At this rate, my position is in danger.
When I said “I’m really sorry,” they said “It isn’t your fault, Reika-sama,” but I doubt they’ll be saying that forever.
Lately, my stomach has been hurting often since 1st period.
I can’t go without stomach medicine. It hurts too much now.
Should I just flip out?

*妹*

One day, Ririna finally angered Kaburagi.
While he was seeing Yurie-sama off, she tried to get close to the two and speak to them.
It’s a rule amongst his followers that they should never approach Kaburagi when he’s with Yurie-sama, and especially not get in his way, but Ririna ignored it.
Kaburagi is fundamentally indifferent to the noisy girls around him. No matter what they do, he pays them no attention. But when it involves Yurie-sama, it’s a different matter.
When it comes to those who interrupt his precious time with Yurie-sama, he takes off the mask of indifference he usually wears, and shows his emotions.
It’s because they know this that the girls around him will never approach him at these times.
But did Ririna not know that? Since the other nuisances weren’t here this time, she ran over to Kaburagi like it was her chance, just as he was trying to get into a car.
And even though Yurie-sama needed to go to prep school, she ignored the atmosphere and tried to hold them back, so Kaburagi snapped.
He shouted “Cut it out! Never come near me again!” and left Ririna standing there, before riding off with Yurie-sama trying to calm him down.
When I heard all this from Ririna on the phone, I felt dizzy. What the heck had she done…
She asked me to do something about it, but what can I possibly do.
The person himself said not to come near him, so I warned her to learn from her mistake and just give up, but apparently she hadn’t given up yet.
Somebody save me.

*妹*

The rumour that Ririna angered him spread in an instant, and I was having trouble keeping my chest high anymore.
Sometimes there are girls that anger him by kicking up too much of a fuss, and it never becomes too big of a deal though.
Still, the stares from Tsuruhana-san’s group are really uncomfortable.

When I went to the Pivoine, I found Kaburagi and Enjou there, so I braced myself and went to apologise.

“It seems that my cousin caused you problems yesterday. I am truly sorry.”

I said, and bowed.
There were other people in the salon, but it wasn’t the time to worry about how I looked.
After staying quiet for a while, Kaburagi gave a huge sigh and said,

“It’s fine.”

Really?

“It’s not really your fault or anything.”

“But she is my cousin.”

“Then do something about it.”

“I have been trying to do something about it, but…”

“You’re pretty useless.”

Kaburagi chuckled at me.
It looks like he’s not angry anymore. Thank goodness.
Feeling relieved, just as I was thinking that I would help myself to some tea, somebody dropped the bombshell,

“Your cousin is here looking for you.”

I headed for the hallway in a panic and found Ririna talking about wanting to directly apologise, and asking me to get him to meet her.
Just how stupid is this girl!?
Anyway, even when I told her to leave, she just dragged things out and kept talking.
After we continued that countless times, the door to the salon opened, and Enjou appeared.

“Hey, you should really cut this out already. If you anger Masaya any more than this, I don’t know what’ll happen to you, okay? I bet you don’t know that your cousin, Kisshouin-san, has been lowering her head to various people for your sake. After all, if you did, you wouldn’t be doing something so shameless, right? The reason that you’re still fine after making so many enemies out of the upperclassmen is because Kisshouin-san has been doing nothing but apologising for your sake. It’s because Masaya knows this that he’s stayed quiet all this time. But even that’s coming to an end.”

Enjou pierced Ririna with a cold gaze.
When a normally gentle person turns angry, it’s really, really scary.
Speaking of which, the manga Enjou got angry like this a few times too, when it came to Kisshouin Reika.
Ririna turned bright red, and then ran off like she was escaping.
At least say goodbye, dammit.

“Umm, I am truly sorry for this. I even bothered you, Enjou-sama.”

“She was bothering us as well. I thought it was about time to do something.”

“Is that so.”

Ririna, you were really on the brink, you know.

“But Kisshouin-san, this means that you owe me one.”

“Heh?”

“It can’t be that you thought I was helping you for free? You’re really naïve, huh.”

Enjou gave a sweet smile and before he headed back in, he left me the words,

“I’ll be collecting my debt one day, so don’t forget, okay?”

EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?

---

Because of Reika, I am off to McDonalds at midnight.
– Estelion

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

1) Since some people wanted to know, I asked Estelina what she thought of my blog name and scanlation group name.

“Huh? Oh. Nothing? Imouto means, little sister, right? Is it supposed to be offensive or something? I guess some people get offended over anything, huh.”

2) Kryto bought me a founder’s pack for Tree of Savior! So I guess I’ll be playing. But with all my other commitments, I probably won’t get very far. Still! See you there, maybe?

3) I have a friend living in my ‘garage’ now. So if you come across him while looking through my teasers and stuff, do not be alarmed.

---

Matsuo Bashou was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan.

Bashou was born in 1644, near Ueno, in Iga Province. A place famous for him, and ninjas.
There’s a rumor that the famed haiku poet Matsuo Bashou wasn’t just a master of poetry, but a master of the art of Ninjutsu, the art of stealth, subterfuge and spying. The art of the Ninja!

So was Matsuo Bashou just a wandering master poet, or was he a master spy? During the cautious years of the early Edo, or Tokugawa period, people were not permitted to travel freely around the country, however Bashou managed to obtain permission. His position as a celebrated poet gained him a close access to the nobility. He was able to enter castles and palaces, view the estates of the lords and spend time chatting with them. Speaking directly to the various lords, he would have been able to discover their hidden thoughts as they composed poems together. Wonderful opportunities for intelligence gathering.

It took no time at all to hear about Ririna from a friend in Kaburagi’s class.

“Yes, that girl has been loitering about Emperor recently. Ah-, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to badmouth your cousin.”

“No, you are right. I should be apologising to you on her behalf.”

I see. So everybody’s been careful not to badmouth a relative of mine in front of my eyes.
Please just give me a break, Ririna~

“Well, could I ask what she does, specifically?”

“Well, things like calling out to him, or sometimes even coming to our classroom. She hasn’t done anything too eye-catching quite yet though.”

It’s plenty already. The thing that the female upperclassmen hate the most is a first year girl following about upperclassmen boys.
Even in my old life, the relationships between females was in a strict grade-based hierarchy. If you didn’t greet them in the hallway, they would say stuff about you “getting ahead of yourself”. I guess when you’re at that age, you start to want to act like you’re a senpai.
For girls of that age, if a younger girl starts making eyes at a boy in their grade, the girl’s name immediately spreads throughout the grade and every girl becomes their enemy.
It’s really scary when that happens, you know. The more extreme senpai will call you out and lecture you too, you know.
I don’t know if the same thing happens at Zui’ran, but they should at least be feeling the same way, so I can’t help but worry about Ririna.
Oh, no, rather than worrying about Ririna as a person, I’m just worried that I’ll get into trouble for being her cousin.

“I must warn my cousin as well.”

“Yes. Umm, we don’t really mind, but Tsuruhana-san’s group is…”

Uwah, she’s being targeted by them?
My stomach is really hurting.

*妹*

The last time I spoke to Ririna was when she came over with her parents before I entered Zui’ran.
That girl has always hated me. But I guess that goes the same for me.
But even though she always used to go “Taka-niisama” “Taka-niisama” when the heck did she turn into an Emperor fan.
And it’s Kaburagi, of all people. Even Enjou would have been better. It’s like a landmine around that guy. Things are going to get bad if she carelessly approaches him.
I could already envision a future where my slowly heaped efforts and reputation were being smashed to pieces by Ririna.
I see. So there was this kind of problem too.
Even if I try my best not to incur Emperor’s displeasure, and even if I stop Otousama’s dishonesties, there’s still the plot device of having my relatives do something instead.
Guilt by association is truly terrifying.
Ririna is selfish and high-handed and spoilt by her parents, so she’s like a miniature version of Kimidol’s Kisshouin Reika, after all.
What do I do, what do I do? I definitely don’t have the skill to rehabilitate that girl!

But, I did at least give her a phone call to give her a few words.

“Ririna-san, I hear that you have been following Kaburagi-sama about? I think it might be better if you abstained from bothering your upperclassmen.”

“My. Whatever I do should be my own business. And Kaburagi-sama has never really said that I bother him.”

And the moment he does say it will be your last.

“But,”

“More importantly, Reika-san. I want to have a look at the Pivoine salon. Take me there.”

This little!

“The Pivoine is off-limits to Externals. And not ‘more importantly’, we were talking about Kaburagi-sama. You have a terrible reputation amongst the girls in the higher grades, you know.”

“Hmph. So? I’m not scared. Aren’t you just jealous that I’m getting close to Kaburagi-sama?”

HAHHH?!

“Ririna-san, Zui’ran has its own rules. If you ignore them, you will be crushed.”

“Yes, yes, got it, got it. Goodness, Reika-oneesama.”

She hung up.
…Annoying. Annoying, annoying, ANNOYINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!
What’s with her attitude! Somebody was calling her because they were worried! Or rather, you’re going to bother me so stop it already!
GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! ANNOYING!
I suppose people do say that every family has its annoying members. Ririna is so tiring to handle.
If I ask Oniisama to help, I think even she’ll behave a little, but Oniisama is busy with work and studies, so he doesn’t have the time for this. I don’t want him to have to deal with something so bothersome.
But is it even possible for me to stop her?!
UGAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The stress is building up!
I opened up a packet of You Can’t Stop, You Won’t Stops that I had hidden in my closet, and began devouring them by the clawful.

If I get fat because of that girl, I won’t forget!

*妹*

*妹*

This year’s excursion was to a mountain temple. Why a temple?
After we got on a bullet train and bus, there was a long, long staircase. You’re telling me to climb this?
Because I heard it was a temple, I let my guard down. Isn’t this exactly the same as last year’s mountain climbing hell?
But before long, my calves started acting up. My body is slanting forward. Somebody, somebody please bring me a cane.
While wheezing just like last year, I saw Tsuruhana-san’s group snickering at me as they passed me by. I didn’t know what to say.
Apparently this temple was a temple featured in a famous haiku by Matsuo Bashou. Bashou climbed this horrifying mountain too? That theory about him being a ninja might actually be true.
O Heavens, please sever my inauspicious connections. I have many of them. Ririna, Kaburagi, Enjou, Tsuruhana…
Names kept coming out. Thanks to that, my heart was pitch-black. Making a pilgrimage with such a negative mindset, will the gods even grant me a miracle?
After somehow making it to the top, it was already time to descend. WHY!? Apparently they were waiting for us. I’m sorry…
After that, they took us to have a stroll around the Five Coloured Swamps Goshiki-numa, a collection of five multicoloured volcanic swamps.

But once I saw the boats on the swamps, my mood suddenly shot up. I want to ride one! I want to row one!
I invited my friends, and quickly got on one.
It’s not moving. Even though I’m desperately rowing, why isn’t it moving. I just keep spinning around on the spot. What’s going on here?
Unable to watch any longer, one of my friends took over the rowing for me. Thank you, Ayame-chan.
It felt great sitting on the boat as it smoothly glided through the water. When I looked around, suddenly there were boats with couples on them! When!?
Before my eyes was a smiling girl. No, I’m thankful that you’re rowing for me. But even I wanted to try a boat ride with a boy…
But looking carefully, Kaburagi and Enjou were on a boat together. Two guys, riding a boat together…? Upfpftpft…
I’ll just consider it a good thing that I’m with my friends.

*妹*

*妹*

By the time I got home, I gradually started feeling the muscle pains. Aahh, tomorrow is going to be rough…
Ah! I forgot to try the Tama Konnyaku!

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

It’s my birthday today, and here I am translating for you inbred donkeys.
What am I doing with my life.

Haha, enjoy, guys!

---

It’s almost Oniisama’s coming of age ceremony.
I bought him cufflinks as a celebratory present.
I actually wanted to buy him a necktie he could use for the ceremony, but Oniisama got an entire suit set from a British tailor, so I didn’t have the composure to say anything.
Also, I don’t really have much dress sense for ties…
I don’t really know what sort of ties are stylish and stuff. And for some reason my eyes keep going to the really striking patterns.
If he was wearing a suit from a splendid tailor, but only his tie was crazy, everybody would laugh at him. That would be horrible!
Oniisama is the heir of the Kisshouin family so for the ceremony he’s going to greet lots of people and see lots of people! If everybody there started laughing at it, it would be the worst!
And so, in order to smooth over my slightly odd tastes, I decided on cufflinks. Oniisama agreed too.
Anyway, I went with Oniisama to a store to pick them out, but there were too many interesting designs so I didn’t know which to pick!
They ranged from your normal innocuous gemstone cufflinks to vehicle and animal motifs, and even mascots designs.

Vehicles might be good, but I’m not really into them. Ah-, the ones with star and snow crystals sure are cute. A broken heart is unlucky! Maybe animals after all? Uwah, reptiles are a bit…
In the end, I remembered the zoo he brought me to in autumn, so I went with the polar bears, as well as dolphins for summer. Ah-, I’ll get the penguin ones too.
This should tell Oniisama that I want him to take me again.

I do think they were a little childish, but Oniisama said they were fine, and cufflinks aren’t all that obvious anyway, so I guess it’s fine, right?
Also you can get order-made cufflinks too, so maybe I’ll get them to make some Tarow the Taro ones and give them to Oniisama. …He’s definitely not going to use them.

After Oniisama’s coming of age ceremony, he’s going to be attending classes while learning about the Kisshouin businesses on the side. Apparently he’s going to follow around Otousama’s secretary and learn all sorts of things.
Oniisama is diligent and talented. If Otousama is committing fraud, he’ll definitely notice.
For a child like me, all I can really do is steadily brainwash him onto the path of righteousness. Oniisama is my only hope.

“Oniisama. You will be helping Otousama with his work from now on, will you not? If Otousama does anything bad, please, you must correct him, okay? But please do not publicly denounce him either. Just gently. Okay?”

When we finished shopping, we went to a café where I implored Oniisama to deal with him.
Oniisama made a slightly troubled expression, and asked me,

“Hah?”

He continued.

“Reika, ever since you were a child, you’ll occasionally say things like that, huh. You keep talking like you’re sure Dad is doing something bad. I feel a little sorry for him. A dad whose cute daughter doesn’t trust him at all.”

“But…”

He did that in the manga.
Otousama might have some troublesome parts to him like his ambition for our family, but he’s essentially a good person who loves his family. Even though he’s rich, he doesn’t have any mistresses either, you know?
But just because he’s a good father, and a good husband, doesn’t mean that he’s a good person.
There are plenty of people who turn into criminals for their families.

“Oh right! The stocks! Oniisama, you must make sure that people do not buy up our stocks and take over the company!”

“…What’s influenced you this time?”

“Rather than influence… I suppose you could call it precognition?”

“I see. That’s amazing.”

Mu, he isn’t believing me at all. But it’s true, okay!
Because even if we make an enemy out of the Kaburagis, as long as Otousama isn’t doing anything wrong, we’ll be safe for a while.

“Anyway, Oniisama! I beg you! Please gently, and secretly deal with his crimes.”

“Hahh, I get it already.”

It’s all on you, Oniisama. As for me, I should strengthen my brainwashing.

*妹*

*妹*

Term three began, and the third years are almost graduating. My first love, Tomoe-senpai, is graduating as well. Having said that though, he’s just going to enter the high school section. Still, that means we won’t be seeing each other in the same school building anymore, huh.
Anyway, while I was thinking about these things, I got an invitation from Sakura-chan for lessons in hand-making Valentine’s chocolates.
I never give chocolates to anybody but Oniisama and Otousama, so I don’t really want to learn though. I don’t plan on giving Tomoe-senpai chocolates either, after all.
But Sakura-chan was being persistent about it, so I gave in, and made plans to go with her to chocolate brownie lessons at a famous pâtisserie.

“Hey-! Measure the grams properly!”

“Eh-, I did measure them, you know?”

Each time I didn’t use the spoons or measuring cups, Sakura-chan would scold me, so it was a little annoying.
Skilled chefs use their eyes to measure, you know? In my old life, Mum would never use spoons or whatever for cooking. She just threw in salt and sugar like that. There’s really no need to fuss so much over these things.
Ah-, I spilled a little cocoa powder. Well whatever.

“Heyy!”

“Ehh? But it was just a littleee.”

Sakura-chan’s eyes are scary when she gets mad…

*妹*

Anyway, I tried the brownies a little once they were done, but they were really yummy. As expected of lessons from this pâtisserie! These are probably the best things I’ve ever made.
But apparently Sakura-chan was dissatisfied.

“I was an idiot for inviting you, Reika. To think that it would be this bad…”

“Eh? What is?”

After Sakura-chan compared the brownies we made together with the one the teacher made, she sighed.

Of course you wouldn’t think it’s tasty after comparing it to a pro’s. Sakura-chan, aren’t your ideals set a bit too high?

“You know, Reika, measurements are everything in sweets. You have to measure everything properly. Could it be that all your handmade chocolates so far were made sloppily like today’s?”

“I wasn’t being sloppy. I measured everything.”

“But when it said one teaspoon for example, you didn’t flatten the surface. You just scooped and dunked.”

“Well, I guess?”

But it’s fine. It was more or less measured.

“Reika, I won’t say anything cruel. For the sake of your future, attend cooking class.”

“Eehhh~”

*妹*

When I got home and gave the brownies to Oniisama and Otousama, I got more praise than ever before.
See? You’re being too uptight, Sakura-chan.
But if they praise me this much, I’m starting to actually want to take lessons.
The next day when I handed them to Aoi-chan, she said “They’re really good! I was so surprised!” as well.
Both Oniisama and Otousama supported the cooking class idea as well, so maybe I’ll think about it.
I want to go with Sakura-chan, but if she’s going to nag at me each time like that, then…
Sakura-chan, you know, I think it’d be better if you were a little more relaxed in life.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

I thought the situation with Mochida-san would return to normal after a while, but it dragged out unexpectedly.
Sometimes she would be called out and have complaints said to her face, and other times she would have her things hidden. Not full-blown bullying, but things like whispering “You’re so damned gloomy.” or “You’re ruining the mood.” and then snickering to each other.
They sure seem to be having fun, I thought.
As for Mochida-san, it would have been fine if she just ignored them and lived normally, but she became more and more timid, and more and more gloomy, and just made herself needlessly vulnerable.
Once humans start feeling negative, there’s almost no end to how bad it gets, huh.
I only have whatever impression I formed of her during the remedials, but she already seemed like quite a plain girl at the time. I guess she was the easily bullied type to begin with.
Even Aoi-chan is good at studying despite her quietness, and apparently she’s actually good at sports too, and since she’s an energetic girl that likes the outdoors, girls like her don’t get targeted for bullying so much.
Mochida-san, on the other hand, is bad enough at academics to have to go to remedials, and from her results at the athletics carnival, I assume she’s bad at sports too, and on top of that she looks plain. Just full of openings.
I heard she has friends, so she probably isn’t completely isolated, but I wonder when this will cool down.

But well, even if I’m thinking about that, she’s a total stranger from another class. Not only that, it isn’t even full-blown bullying, so I had decided to just watch from the side, when one day, I went to the infirmary and met her by chance.

I hurt my finger with a papercut, so I went to get a bandaid, and met Mochida-san, since she was there to get medicine for stress-related gastritis. Uwahh…
I startled her when I entered the room, and she began trembling all over with a frightened expression.
Sorry for looking so scary.
Mochida-san looked worse for wear than when I saw her during the remedials, and she was skinnier too.
Apparently she’s even more sensitive than I expected.

“Gokigen’yoh, Mochida-san. Is the nurse in? I am here for a bandaid, but…”

“…Ah, she had something to attend to, so she left just now…”

“My, is that so. Then would it be fine if I simply enter?”

It’s just a cut on my fingertips, so it isn’t a big deal, but it hurts so I wanted a bandaid.
My friends all told me “Reika-sama, please quickly treat your hand!” too. They actually wanted to come with me to the infirmary, but I thought it was a bit much for such a small injury, so I turned them down and went by myself.
I’m glad I did. Imagine how much worse it would be if they were here.

I grabbed one of the cotton balls soaked in disinfectant with some tweezers, and then sterilised my fingertip.
I wasn’t using my good hand though, so it was quite hard and clumsy.

“Mochida-san, could I trouble you to help me with the bandaid? I do not think it would go well using my left hand.”

“Eh-”

Mochida-san had been sitting there with her head hung, and her hands over her stomach. When I called out to her, she looked up at me in surprise.
I held out the bandaid to her.
Although she was timid, she took it from me, and taped up my finger.

“Are you all right, Mochida-san?”

“Eh-”

“You do not look well.”

“Ah-, …yes. I’m fine…”

“I see.”

The world isn’t filled with heroes who’ll save people from their crises. In the end, you have to take care of your problems yourself.
But I think that you still need emotional support for that.

“Hey, Mochida-san. Won’t you become my friend?”

“Eh-!”

It probably wouldn’t be possible to have her join my group. She’s just too different. If I asked it as a favour, I think the other girls would agree, but it would be hard because they would still have nothing to talk about.

“Greeting each other in the mornings, and emailing each other on our phones. That kind of friend. Ah, which reminds me, do you in fact have a phone?”

“Y-, Yes.”

“Then won’t you exchange your mail address with me? Message me when you have nothing to do, or when you feel like talking, for example. I mightn’t be able to answer straight away, though.”

When I was given the silent treatment in my old life, it was during break times and lunch times that I had it the hardest.
Because I couldn’t talk to anybody, I spoke to imaginary friends in my mind.
If Mochida-san has somebody to talk to, maybe things will be easier on her.
And if people know that I’m on good terms with her, the way people see her should change.

“Umm, I am actually somewhat aware of the situation you have found yourself in. But I do not think that it would be best for you if I confront them directly. It would probably only add oil to the fire, and you too would not appreciate being outed as a bullying victim in front of everyone, correct?”

“…”

“So please hold on for a while longer. Just do things with your head held high. There isn’t any reason to hang your head. And perhaps, trim your fringe a little? I think it might make your face look a little brighter. If you have complaints, then I will listen, so message me. All right? If after all of that, you still find it too much, then at that time I will definitely help you.”

Mochida-san began to cry. Large tears dropped from her face.
I just stayed quiet, and stroked her skinny back.

*妹*

Starting the next day, I began intimately greeting her whenever we passed in the hallway.
My friends all looked shocked, so I explained to them that she helped me with my bandaid in the infirmary. One of the older sister-types in my group said “It looks like Reika-sama has been in your care. Thank you very much.” like she was my guardian or something, so we all had a good laugh.

Later on she sent me faint-hearted messages like “They talked about me behind my back earlier” and “Everybody laughed at me. It hurts.”
Hmmm~ When you mistake the school for the whole world, things like that really hurt, huhh.
She told me before that she liked to draw, so I decided to try advising her to find some hobby friends on the internet and outside of school.

As the days passed by like that, one day, I came across the gyaru-group in the hallway.
Tsuruhana-san looked at me, so I silently looked back.
I don’t know what the future holds, but right now I’m higher in the school hierarchy, and the leader of the biggest girls group in our grade.

Right now, I can’t lose.

I glared at her, and with my gaze I asked her, “Do you intend to pick a fight with me?”
I could feel the air around my friends becoming belligerent as well.
After a while, it was Tsuruhana-san who averted her gaze first, and her group simply continued down the hallway.

…I won.

T-, That was scary. I’ve never been good at dealing with flashy girls like her. Thank goodness they backed down.

The girls around me got angry, saying things like “What’s with her attitude!” but she’ll hear you guys, so please stop.
I’m a coward, so fights are scaryy…

*妹*

After a while, Mochida-san grew gradually more cheerful, and she started being able to talk to her old friends again.
From what I could tell, she was gaining her weight back too. It looks like my weight-gain advice has been working. The trick is to snack before sleeping.
I hear that the badmouthing from Tsuruhana-san’s group has been dying down as well.

About a month later, the messages from Mochida-san finally stopped altogether.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Sensei told me to collect the notes we made in class for her.
Together with Class Pres, I brought them to the staff room just as Sensei had created some documents to hand over to the Student Council.
I immediately declared that I would deliver them.
The committee chairman was giving me an ambivalent gaze again. I don’t care!

*imouto*

When I entered the student council room, Romeo-senpai was eating a high class Ginza rusk.

When I handed him the documents, he gaze me a dazzling smile. Uu, his gaze is shooting through mee!

“You’re such a hard worker, Kisshouin-san. How about entering the Student Council next year? Should I recommend you?”

“No…! I would not be suitable at alll…”

There’s no meaning in a Student Council with no Romeo-senpai. The only reason I’m so hard-working is because I have another motive.

“I don’t think I’d agree, but, well, you are still a Pivoine huh. I guess it’d be impossible for you to join. I personally think it’d be great if you acted as a bridge for us, though.”

“That is… But if there is something I can do, I will do my very best to assist.”

“Really? Then if anything happens, I’ll count on you, okay?”

“Yess…!”

My wonderful senpai saw me out with a smile.
Man, he’s cool as everr.
But…
…A high class Ginza rusk?

After that, I headed straight for the Pivoine Salon.

*imouto*

*imouto*

A few people were in, and drinking tea gracefully while chatting.
An oneesama from the high school section was playing chopin on the piano.
I looked at the various things on the platter on the table.

Financiers.

Dacquoise.

Galette.

Nougat.

Rusk…

High class Ginza rusk.

There’s no mistake.
A Pivoine member other than me has been smuggling sweets to Senpai.

*imouto*

When I first met Senpai, what he said at the time made me go, “Huh?”
“I nicked it from the Pivoine though!”
How, I wondered. Only Pivoine members were allowed in the salon, so sneaking in to steal them would make you an amazing thief. And since it was the Pivoine you were stealing from, it would turn into a huge issue too.
But I never heard anything about a person charging in to steal things. Of course, neither did I hear anything about Senpai getting permission to enter.
But despite that, Senpai occasionally eats sweets. In Zui’ran, you aren’t allowed to bring sweets. Although, for events like Valentine’s, they’ll turn a blind eye.
Anyway, the only ones who can eat snacks at Zui’ran are the Pivoine, inside the salon. Of course, the Student Council, who are supposed to act as models for the ordinary students, are definitely not allowed.
Then that means one of the Pivoine members supplies him with the sweets.
Who?
It’s time to make a comeback as a spy.

*imouto*

*imouto*

Starting the next day, I began keeping a lookout in the Pivoine Salon, and started to check who was bringing snacks home with them.
Normally, you wouldn’t expect anybody to regularly do this.
Even I worry about what people think, so I’ve only procured offerings for Senpai a few times.
Anyway, while I was watching, I noticed a senpai get the concierge to separate a few snacks for her.
She left the salon, so I followed.
If I remember correctly, that’s Fukakusa Kasumi-sama from the middle school’s third year.
She isn’t as gorgeous as Yurie-sama’s group in the Pivoine’s main faction, but she’s tidy, clean-looking and peaceful.
Fukakusa-senpai went as far as a small flowerbed behind the school building.
She started looking left and right, as though to check for any onlookers, before a voice called out,

“Kasumi.”

It was Romeo-senpai.
Fukakusa-senpai ran over in delight. Then, the two sat down by the flowerbed, and enjoyed a happy chat together.
They were talking quietly so I couldn’t hear the contents, but from stuff like how Fukakusa-senpai happily watched him eat the sweets, or how Romeo-senpai stroked her head, I could more or less guess.
I left.

After a while, Fukakusa-senpai emerged from behind the school building. She seemed like she was about to leave for home, so before she reached the car park, I called out to her.

“Fukakusa-senpai.”

“Kyaa-!”

When I did, she let out an adorable scream.

“Eh-, Kisshouin-san? What’s the matter?”

“Senpai, I shall go straight to the point. Are you in a relationship with the Student Council President?”

Her face immediately stiffened.

“Why?”

“Earlier, I spotted the two of you by chance. And occasionally, the Student Council President will eat sweets from the Pivoine. And thus I wondered whether he was close to somebody on the inside, you see.”

“…”

After that, I found out various things from her.
About how they were in the same class last year, and gradually grew closer.
About how after they changed classes in third year, Romeo-senpai confessed to her.
About how Romeo-senpai was the StuCo President, so they had to keep things a secret from everyone else.
About how Romeo-senpai got hungry a lot, she would occasionally bring sweets from the Pivoine to him.
About how so that she wouldn’t be found out, he claimed that he “nicked” them etc. etc.

“Must you go so far to hide it?”

“Because the Pivoine and Student Council have always opposed each other. And this year’s Pivoine President, Okishima-senpai, really loathes the Student Council. Senju said that we should just be open about it, but I’m afraid. The Pivoine might give me the cold shoulder.”

Ah-, she just called him Senju like nothing.
“Kasumi” and “Senju”. Hehh~ Hohh~ Hmmm~

“Please, Reika-sama. Don’t tell anybody about this.”

“I shall not. I do not know if I can help you in any way, but I hope that you will be happy together.”

“Really!? Thank you! You know, Senju said that you might be able to become a bridge between the Pivoine and Student Council. I think so too!”

“You overestimate me. I have no intentions of entering the Student Council, either.”

Did he recommend me out of self-interest?
After all, at this rate the two of them won’t be able to openly date in high school either.
But with him openly eating Pivoine sweets like that, I think they’ll be caught eventually.
Could that also be part of his plans?

“You’re strong, Reika-sama. Even though you’re younger than me, I admire you a little bit, you know? Umm, I was thinking that it would be great if we could become closer. Is that no good?”

“No, I would be honoured.”

Fukakusa-senpai smiled happily at me. She seems unreliable, and cute. I wonder if this is what drew Romeo-senpai’s attention. She’s the complete opposite of me.
After that, I started calling her by name, and I agreed to occasionally hear her out about love.

*imouto*

*imouto*

I rode the car home, and then collapsed onto my bed.

Tomoe-senpai was Romeo, but his Juliet was Fukakusa-senpai.
Somebody like me was just a mob character, or Juliet’s wet nurse at best.

…I wanted to get all excited about love as well. Everybody always talks so happily about love, but only I’m the one living a dull life.
What the hell. Couldn’t they have let me dream a little longer?
I shouldn’t have investigated. All it did was needlessly show me reality.

UOHHH! What the heck am I going to do if I’m single for the rest of my life?
For some reason I can’t even picture myself in a proper relationship.
I mean, I got ‘curse’!
I bet in both lives, I’ve been stuck with the fate of being forever unpopular.

UOHHHH! I don’t want to spend life being a stalking horse! UOHHHH!
UOHHHHHH! …

*imouto*

*imouto*

The next free day I had, Oniisama brought me to a zoo in Hokkaido. I’ve been wanting to go for a while now, so I’m super happy!
A polar bear! A seal! A penguin!

“Oniisama, please bring me again, okay!?”

“Yeah. I really wonder when the next time will be.”

?? Does that mean Oniisama will be busy?
But he promised that he would definitely bring me here again someday, so I decided not to think about it.

---

“No…! I would not be suitable at alll…”
“No, I would not be suitable at all.” (←spoken ecstatically and breathily)

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

I’m feeling so lethargic today. Studying is tiring. Reading is tiring. Even typing is tiring. Did some Mexicans visit me in my sleep and siphon away my life force? This is exactly why Australia needs a great wall as well…

---

Right after the athletics carnival was the mid-sem exams, and thanks to my remedials and cramming, I somehow made it back as far as 16th place. I let out a secret sigh of relief. With this, the teachers should trust me again.
But Enjou and Kaburagi are at the top as always. This time it was Enjou that was 1st place though.
I bet it’s because of that, right? Kaburagi was too busy training for the cavalry battle. I wonder what on earth makes him so obsessed with that.

Our next class was in another room, so I was walking with the friends in my class when I noticed a girl walking our way with her head hanging.
Hm? Wasn’t that girl in my remedials? What was her name again?
As she got closer, I noticed a group of girls laughing from behind her. When the girl noticed, she left with hurried steps.

“What was the name of the girl who just walked past us, again?”

“Who knows. I’ve seen her face though.”

“That girl is in the same class as Ayame-san, isn’t she? Remember? The one who messed up during the great skipping rope event.”

“Aahh, that girl.”

“Great skipping rope event? Speaking of which, I do believe I heard something about a big failure in Ayame-san’s class for that event.”

“Apparently she practised quite a bit, so Ayame-san was frustrated as well, wasn’t she.”

I see. So that’s the girl who stacked it?
The girls behind her seemed to be in the same class. I wonder if she’s finding it uncomfortable to be there.

*imouto*

“Ah, Mochida-san. She’s being isolated in class at the moment.”

At lunch break, I tried asking Oomiya Ayame-chan about the earlier girl, while we were eating together.

“Isolated? Why?”

“Everybody practised really hard for the event, so when she messed up at the very beginning and disqualified us, she earned a lot of ire. My class had quite a bit of confidence that we would do well, after all.”

Ehh~ Because of something like that?

“When it happened I was angry as well, but of course I am not angry any longer. Only, the problem is that it wasn’t just the skipping. She stumbled during the three-legged race as well, and even injured somebody else.”

“She injured somebody?”

“It was simply a scrape on the knees, but the issue is that the injured girl belongs to Tsuruhana-san’s group.”

Tsuruhana Maki. The leader of the gyaru group, huh. What terrible luck to injure a girl from that group.
I did the three-legged race too, but the girl I was paired with said “Reika-sama! Let us pace ourselves loudly!” and pulled me along, so we managed to run smoothly until the end.
If I remember correctly, one of the contending classes for top suddenly dropped in rankings. So that was Mochida-san, huh~

“Ever since then, Mochida-san has been eyed by Tsuruhana-san’s group.”

“Is she being bullied?”

“I wouldn’t say that. But I do hear them bad-mouthing and blaming her.”

Isn’t that bullying then?

“All this just because of the athletics carnival?”

“I understand what you mean. To us, simply watching Kaburagi-sama and Enjou-sama’s exploits is enough, but Tsuruhana-san’s group is a lot more athletic, and seem to be enthusiastic about sporting events like that.”

Aahh~ Yeah, there are girls like those too, huh.
The girls around me started to heatedly discuss the Two Tops.

“The dead heat during the relay!”

“Enjou-sama was so cool during sprint!”

“But the coolest really was the Emperor during the cavalry battle. He was so skilled~”

“Speaking of the cavalry battle, the Student Council President was wonderful as well, wasn’t he.”

WHAAT!?

“Yes, certainly. I had no idea that the middle school StuCo President was such a dreamy person. Tomoe-senpai, wasn’t it.”

“Yes, Tomoe Senju-senpai. He joined the middle school as an External, and his grades are always in the top three; a model student. He’s skilled in basketball too, you know.”

“He’s a little scary when he’s silent, but once he smiles he’s cute.”

“I know exactly what you mean~!”

OH MY GOD!
When did I get all these rivals!? And some of them know even more than me!
Pretty much the only thing I’ve ever done for him is smuggle him some sweets from the Pivoine after the athletics carnival.
When he thanked me with a smile, my heart fluttered so much. I really wanted to bring him some more stuff, but then I realised that with my personality, I might really be tricked by some bad guy, and turn into his wallet, so lately I’ve been a little uneasy.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

In order to give her the Snow White Akizawa-kun photo, I met up with Sakura-chan for the first time in a while.
Shockingly, we were chatting and drinking tea at a stylish open cafe. Having tea at a café? It’s like we’re totally friends! So nice!
I’ve been keeping in touch with her through lots of emails, because our schedules haven’t lined up, I haven’t been able to see her recently.
I only went to her house once during the summer break. That day I told her to keep our conversation a secret from Akizawa-kun, and did nothing but talk about Senpai.

“So since then, you’ve made no progress? That’s hopeless. You even had a chance to get close to him during the athletics carnival.”

“But…”

Getting closer to him, is actually pretty difficult you know?
Sakura-chan is tough when it comes to love, so if I let her be she’ll just keep lecturing me.
I changed the subject.

“Audibly badmouthing them? Yes, that does happen a lot, doesn’t it.”

“Mn.”

I decided to tell her about Mochida-san.
She’s been on my mind since then, and I tried observing her, and it turns out that she probably was being targeted after all.
They weren’t openly bullying her, but would whisper stuff while walking past her, before snickering to each other. They were clearly hurting her.

“It happens in my school as well, but I don’t suppose there’s much you can do about those things except wait them out.”

“I see.”

In my old life, there was a time when people suddenly started ignoring me. They wouldn’t even tell me why. But after a while, the target would change, and they would speak to me as well.
I guess this sort of stuff happens no matter the age or world, huh.
I feel bad for Mochida-san, but we’re in different classes, and don’t know each other at all, so it would be hard to help her.
But at the moment they’re just harassing her with sharp words, so I guess it might be fine?

Sakura-chan was really happy about the Snow White photo.

*imouto*

After I left the Cafe, I went and looked at some cute accessories with Sakura-chan at a miscellaneous goods store.

Having a look at misc. goods stores on a day off? It’s like we’re totally friends! So nice!
Anyway, while we were in the area, Sakura-chan suddenly said she wanted to go to a nearby shrine to a marriage god.
I wasn’t really into it, but Sakura-chan wanted a charm no matter what, so I decided to follow her.
Sakura-chan got ‘middle blessing’. I thought it was a plenty good result, but she said “I don’t know about that. Takumi still isn’t decisive about us, you know,” with a frown.
I brought Senpai’s face to mind, before pulling a charm. Bring it on! My first charm since ‘future blessing’!

“Hii!”

Shockingly, it was ‘curse’. It’s my first time getting a curse. So they really exist…
Sakura-chan peered in from the side, and then immediately backpedalled. Stop that! Stop treating me as cursed!

‘The awaited person, will not come. The things you lost, you will not find. Chance of proposal is far off. Very dim prospects.’

“Ummmm, when you get a bad fortune, apparently you’re supposed to tie it to a tree with just your left hand, okay?”

“…Really?”

“Y-, Yeah.”

I folded up my terrifying fortune, and tried to tie it just like Sakura-chan said.
But it was harder than expected.
It was so hard that I messed up and it fell on the ground.
Should I purify myself and go home?

---

“I’ve been keeping in touch with her through lots of emails, because our schedules haven’t lined up, I haven’t been able to see her recently.”
A reminder that Japanese phones use an email system in place of SMS.

If you’ve forgotten about the charm results, you can refresh yourself here:
https://oniichanyamete.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/reika-sama-038/

‘The awaited person, will not come. The things you lost, you will not find. Chance of proposal is far off. Very dim prospects.’
The way it was written was obviously done in the way of shrine charms, but since I don’t know of any famous precedence of those being translated into English, I just translated it however I liked.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

In the end I never did make a friend.
I followed Aoi-chan’s advice and each day I could greet kids sitting near me with a smiling “Gokigen’yoh,” but on the first day a few of them acted strangely. I continued doing that each day, and eventually they became able to greet me back normally.
But it never developed further. I decided to think of it as lucky just that they weren’t afraid of me anymore.

*imouto*

*imouto*

After that, school began again. When I met my group again for the first time in a while, they said,

“My, Reika-sama. Have you slimmed down?”

You guys… You really did notice that I was getting fat, didn’t you.
I won’t forgive you if you were secretly calling me drill-hair tanuki, okay?
Once they found out that I had been going to remedials, for some reason they said

“As expected of Reika-sama. Truly devoted in your studies.”

and interpreted things conveniently for me. I decided not to correct them.

*imouto*

*imouto*

The first order of business after school began again was working out the participation lists for the athletics carnival.
Now that we’re middle schoolers, we have a student council, meaning that we now had representatives from the clubs, as well as an athletics committee to do the work, instead of an executive committee like in primary.
Although, class representatives had to do various jobs together with the athletics committee instead.
I was enthusiastic about it.
I finally had a point of contact with the student council!
If it’s for Senpai’s sake, then I’ll move my hands and feet as much as he needs!
I immediately headed to the Student Council room to help organise!

There are more relays in middle school. I hate running, so I’m trying to avoid them as best I can.
Aside from the great skipping rope and ball toss events, I was invited by my friends to join the three-legged race.

The most troubling event was the boys’ cavalry battle. We had a hard time deciding on the candidates. And of course. Because that guy is going to appear in it for sure.
From the boys who had competed with him in it before, I once heard that he was apparently terrifying in his pursuit, and completely different to any other contender.
I bet that Emperor is busy deciding on his horse right now. Apparently if you’re chosen as the horse, you’ll be forced into secret after school training. That way even his horse stands above the rest.
Considering that, yeah, I doubt anybody would want to join. I’m glad I’m not a boy.
In the end, we decided to send some Externals who didn’t know the story, and some unlucky boys who lost in rock-paper-scissors. Try your best, guys.

Anyway, now that we managed to somehow get the participation sorted out, I was on my way to the meeting for the athletics carnival, organised by the Student Council. Come on, Class Rep, let’s go. Don’t dawdle like that.
Because Miharu-chan is going to the meeting as well, Class Rep was standing there, using the reflection in the window to do his hair. He’s a total maiden.

*imouto*

When we got there, everybody else had already arrived. And naturally, sitting in the middle was President Romeo-senpai.
Aahh, it’s been so long since I’ve seen him up close!
Perhaps he went to the beach during the break because he had this tan that gave him even more of a wild look.
The corners of my mouth started to rise naturally, so I grit my teeth to stop it. I don’t want him to think of me as some weirdo girl who smiles to herself all of a sudden. But my muscles just keep moving on their own!
Our gazes met! He looked at me weirdly! Do I really look strange after all!?

The meeting went over the assignment of responsibilities and important points to remember, and at the end of the meeting we handed in our class participation lists.
Suddenly, looking at printouts, Romeo-senpai said,

“Speaking of which, apparently there’s a crazy strong guy appearing in the cavalry battle?

“I’ll be participating too. I wonder if I can win.”

WHA-!?
Romeo-senpai is participating in the cavalry battle!? Then I definitely have to cheer him on!

When it came to my turn to hand my list over,

“Senpai. Please try your best in the cavalry battle,” I said, after gathering my courage.

Although Senpai looked a little surprised, he immediately smiled at me and said,

“Thank you.”

I did it!

*imouto*

*imouto*

My plan to get close to Senpai during the preparations went almost entirely unfulfilled.
The class reps did nothing but odd jobs for their class, and the preparations for the athletics carnival was almost all handled by the Student Council, the sports clubs, and the athletics committee.
Even so, whenever there was even a slight reason to head to the student council room, I would take the initiative to go.
The student council members gave me ambivalent looks, so I silently threatened them not to say anything uncalled for.
Just one time, when there were snacks left over in the Pivoine Salon, I secretly stole them all and presented them to Senpai. When I did, he said,

“Oohh! These are delicious. Thanks!”

with a dazzling smile, and I almost blurted out,

“For that smile, I’ll smuggle you as many sweets as you want!”

But geez, even though Senpai eats so many sweets, he doesn’t get fat at all. Speaking of which, Kaburagi is always eating macarons and chocolates in the salon, but he doesn’t have any needless flab either.
Isn’t that kind of unfair?

*imouto*

*imouto*

The day of the athletics carnival arrived. I once again put on the high strength sunscreen that Okaasama gave me, and participated as well.
I didn’t participate in any of the main events, so I tried my best to cheer for them.
When it came to the great skipping rope, the other classes made some mistakes, and it ended quite well for me. I never even imagined that it would be this tiring though.
For the club-vs-club costumed relay, Akizawa-kun from the Track and Field Club ran in a Snow White costume so I took a photo with my digital camera. I’ll show Sakura-chan later. You actually turned kind of beautiful, you know, Akizawa-kun.

As for Kaburagi and Enjou in their relays, they ended up surrounded by girls bringing honeyed lemon. Even if you give them that many, they won’t be able to finish them…
Honeyed lemon appears a lot in manga and novels as the clichéd thing you give to people in sports clubs, but I’ve never actually tried them. Are they yummy?

Anyway, the events went on, and in the afternoon, it was finally time for the cavalry battle.
When Team Emperor arrived, the cheering got noticeably louder. Emperor sitting with dignity on his heavily breathing horse. They must have trained a lot. Their confidence was palpable.
I could hear “Kaburagi-samaaa!” and “Emperor!” from here and there. Upfftpfft.

And then, Romeo-senpai and his team entered as well. Try your best, Senpai!
I wanted to actually say it aloud, but because of all the people around, I could only say it in my heart. Uwahh~ So vexing!
Besides the loud cheers for Kaburagi and Enjou, there started to also be cries of “Tomoe-kuuun! Try your beeest!” mixed in too.
This is bad. Senpai seems more popular than expected. I have lots of rivals. This is terrible.
While I was panicking, the battle began.

Kaburagi crushed nearby teams one after another, charging at teams that were trying to escape. T-, That was a team from my class. He’s being dragged along. He’s falling. Ah. He fell.
Yeah, you guys did your best. It looked like the other people crushed by Kaburagi were consoling each other. May you rest in peace.
Romeo-senpai hasn’t lost yet. While giving out accurate instructions, he captured enemies. How wonderful, Senpai!

After the battlefield ran out of prey, it was only Kaburagi and Romeo-senpai left over.
Romeo-senpai! Romeo-senpai, do your best!
While I was praying with all my heart, one of my friends sitting next to me said,

“Don’t worry. Kaburagi-sama will surely win.”

You’re wrong! I was praying for the other one!

As Emperor and Romeo-senpai fought, they seemed about even. Neither I nor the audience had ever seen the undefeated Emperor struggle like this. We were shocked.
Could it be that he’ll win!? Or so I thought, when Senpai’s horse stumbled, and Kaburagi used that gap to steal his headband.
The field was blanketed in loud cheers. It was the loudest it had ever been today.
Although Senpai lost, he still smiled like he was having fun. As for Emperor, who had been forced this far for the first time, seemed a little frustrated despite his victory.
That guy is definitely going to practice even harder next year, huh…

*imouto*

*imouto*

After the tallies, it was Romeo-senpai’s class that won overall. But the MVP was the Emperor, who won in both relays and the cavalry battle.
Emperor held his trophy in one hand, and raised it towards the sky. You really are having fun, huh.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

It’s been a few days since my remedials began, but I’m still living on a deserted island.
Even when the printouts were being passed from the front, they were oddly careful with me. And they wouldn’t look me in the eyes, either.
Am I scary? Everybody, am I really that scary?
Are you afraid that I’ll show you hell if you displease me?

I don’t mind at all when I’m alone at cram school. I’d be fine with it even now.
But to think that I would have to endure being alone at school…
Normally at school it’s always lively with my friends and followers around me.
But despite being in that very same school, right now I’m alone.
I finally know what Sakura-chan meant, that time when Akizawa-kun was home sick from cram school.
If you’re alone from the beginning then it doesn’t matter, but if you’re always with somebody else and have them suddenly taken away, it makes you feel really vulnerable and lonely.
Hmmm~ At this rate I’m going to start chatting with an imaginary friend, so this is getting quite scary if I do say so myself.
Because I don’t really want people to think I’m lonely, I’ve got this ‘I’m completely fine’ look on my face, with my textbook open in front of me. I’m not ‘lonely’, I’m a ‘loner’. I’m proud, and lofty and aloof.
But thanks to that, everybody is too afraid to approach me, so it’s just a vicious circle.
I wonder if by the time this ends, I’ll have made even one friend.
Because I’m Pivoine as well as the daughter of a powerful family, my appearance is flawless from my curled hair, to my nails, but I’m actually quite a nice girl, you know~ I won’t bully you, you know~ I’m not scary, you know~

I started my diet recently, so I haven’t been eating my favourite foods. Because of that, my heart is a bit weak it seems.
Before I began my ‘tanuki stomach removal plan’, I warned Otousama to stop bringing me presents.
Lately, he seemed to be bringing a lot of stuff, so although I was wondering what was up, I happily ate it anyway since he went out of his way to get it.
I’m just a poor person at heart, so I never leave behind food. Naturally, I appreciated Otousama’s feelings, but I was also thinking about the farmers and workers who would feel hurt if their efforts were thrown into the bin, so I couldn’t bring myself to waste any of it. I enjoyed every last bit.
And so I got round.
Otousama seemed shocked when I told him to stop, but when I bluntly said that I was getting fat, he replied with,

“Girls are cuter when they’re a little round.”

Naive! If I get fatter, my clothes won’t match me. I’ll get flabbier too, and there’s nothing more disgraceful than having my stomach poke out when I sit down.
And to begin with, it’s a defeat for me as a girl. It has nothing to do with the tastes of men.
Okaasama was completely supportive of me. And she also said,

“Actually, I’ve been thinking for a while now that you’ve been getting fatter, Reika-san.”

…Please say that sooner.

Okaasama dragged me to a beauty salon, and I had my tummy meat ruthlessly massaged, and then warmed with infrared rays.
The result? Beauty salons cannot help me defeat my flab.
Anyway, right now I’ve gone back to my original plan of quietly and steadily exercising with a hula hoop in my room. Lately, I’ve even picked up the skill of spinning a hula hoop while walking. The plan is going well.
When school begins after summer break, I shall unveil Kisshouin Reika – The Remake!

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

During the summer, besides my remedials I also have summer courses at cram school, as well as private lessons with Karin-sensei, so the days are filled with studying.
I think I’m studying even more than I did for my middle section entrance exams. I finished all of my holiday homework by halfway through July. Honestly, what a model student I am.
As for cram school, I’m happy that I can meet Aoi-chan there.
After experiencing days of being lonerised in my remedials, my time with Aoi-chan always soothes me.
Speaking of which, Aoi-chan used to be afraid of me too, didn’t she.

“I am actually attending remedials at my school at the moment, but it seems that I am being kept at a distance by my classmates. Am I truly so loathsome to befriend? Do I seem so malicious to others?”

“Ehh-”

Aoi-chan’s eyes began to swim.

“Umm, rather than loathsome to befriend, maybe it’s more like, you’re so gorgeous and flashy that they’re shy? I don’t think it’s stuff like looking malicious or anything. Yeah.”

“Shy, is it.”

“Mn. You’re a beautiful ojousama, so it doesn’t seem like you’d give normal people the time of day, or maybe I should say that it seems like you’d ignore us even if we spoke to you. Yeah, something like that, I think. But once they get to know you, I’m sure you’ll get along.

“Okay?” she added with a smile.

AOI-CHAAAAAAAN!

“Thank you, Aoi-chan!” I said in the confusion.

She looked a little shocked, but then she immediately smiled again and said,

“Try your best, Reika-chan.”

Anyway, Aoi-chan advised me that rather than awkwardly complimenting them, it would be better to try greeting them first.
Basically, if I keep greeting them each day, perhaps they’ll feel closer to me.

She said stuff like,

“I’m sure they’ll be happy to be greeted by a person like you, Reika-chan,”

so I’m totally happy right now. Try your best, me!

*imouto*

*imouto*

Today my parents are out, so Oniisama is picking me up from cram school, and then we’re going out to have dinner.
When I told Aoi-chan about it, she said

“What a wonderful Oniisan. How nice~”

Oniisama has come to pick me up a few times already, so Aoi-chan has met him too.
Ever since, she often says “I’m jealous that you have such a wonderful Oniisan.”
Apparently she has two older brothers as well, but in the past when I asked her about what they were like, she only muttered “…Muscles, and otaku,” before averting her eyes.
The atmosphere that she gave off made me reluctant to press further, but I actually still want to know so badly. What exactly does she mean by ‘muscles, and otaku’?

Anyway, after Oniisama picked me up, we went and ate at an ethnic French restaurant.
An excessive diet is bad for the body, so I’ve been making sure to eat properly, and to just cut down on sweet things.
But you know, cutting down on sweet foods is really hard for a person like me~
When I looked at the menu, my eyes kept getting drawn to them. But I’ll endure.
If I eat it, I’ll be a baby tanuki for life.

“Are you, having trouble with remedials?” asked Oniisama.

“Once I grew used to it, they were fine. Although, having both homework assigned for the holiday, as well as homework for each day of remedials, might be a little difficult.”

“I see. You’re thinner than usual, so I was worried that it might have been the remedials.”

“Eh-, I have gotten thinner!?”

So the effects of the diet are…! I’ve been too afraid to use the scales, but when I smile in the mirror, I see my dimples have returned, so could this mean that I’ve gone back to normal?
Then maybe it’d be fine to order dessert…

“If you’re overdoing things, then you can take a break from cram school, okay?”

“I truly am fine. This is thanks to cutting down on sweets, and doing stretches every night. Ah, and the hula hoop as well. You saw me with it the other day, did you not?”

“Ahh, that, huh…”

The other day, Oniisama visited my room while I was in the middle of challenging my record, so he knew what I was talking about.”

“Well, leaving the hula hoop aside, Reika, I heard that you have somebody you like now?”

“EHH!”

The sudden change in subject caused my heart to stop.

“Why so suddenly… Ah-! Could it have been Imari-sama!?”

“Yeah.”

“Ehhh~! Even though he promised to keep it a secret from youu…”

“It’s your fault for talking to someone like him about it.”

It’s because I thought that Imari-sama would be able to give me some good advice. And he even came to our house at just the right time.

“Well, who is it?”

“Eh~…”

“So you can tell Imari, but not me…”

Oniisama’s expression turned sorrowful.

“That is not the case at all! It is the Student Council President of the middle school section!”

I immediately confessed.

“The Student Council President. Hmm~ What kind of kid is he?”

“He is a person who well suits Orff’s O Fortuna. But I have scarcely had the chance to talk to him. I simply watch him from afar.”

“Suiting that song is… Isn’t he pretty dangerous then?”

“Goodness, no. He is a very dynamic and cool person. As the Student Council President, he has leadership as well.”

“Hmm.”

I haven’t seen Romeo-senpai ever since summer break began. How lonely.

“That cookie practice was to give him some handmade sweets, right?”

“Yes, but Imari-sama advised that I did not, and so in the end I never did.”

Yeah. Thinking about it, if some strange underclassman suddenly gave you some kookies, you might really be surprised, huh.
Thank goodness I listened to Imari-sama.

“Oh yes, that reminds me, Oniisama. Will Imari-sama be coming over to play soon? Last time I received a wonderful biidoro glass toy from Nagasaki from him, remember? It is terribly cute, and I have grown quite fond of it, so I wish to thank him again.”

He bought it for me when he went to visit relatives there, and it’s really pretty and colourful.
When the light shines through it, it sparkles, and when you blow on it it makes cute pakkin pakkin sounds. Only, it’s supposed to be making poppin sounds instead, so why…?
But geez, Imari-sama really knows what girls like, doesn’t he.

“Imari is busy, so I doubt he’ll be coming over for a while.”

Oniisama gave me a bright smile.

Well that’s a shame…

---

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Thank this guy for reminding me to post this: Ratatoskr

---

I’ve been over the moon since falling for Romeo-senpai.
So over the moon that I can’t do a thing about it. Awake, asleep, my mind is always filled with Romeo-senpai.
I’ve been doing things like checking his class schedule to see if I ever have a chance to pass by him, or staring hard out the window to see him during P.E. class.
Even when I get home, before I know it I’m thinking about Romeo-senpai, and end up picking at flower petals.
My the results of my urara flower divinations was unfavourable. But using the flower with my name, I’ll break through with guts and willpower!

Anyhow, as I was spending my days like that, my ranking fell on the end-of-term tests. Hard.
Of course it did. I pretty much never studied, after all. I was too busy being happy.
And honestly, even I didn’t think I would fall this badly.

When I realised my name wasn’t on the published list, the girls around me said stuff like “What a shame~” but I thought that I’d fallen only 2 or 3 places at most.
But when I looked at my slip, I had fallen over thirty ranks.
This is a critical moment. Critical like trying to keep my balance on the point of a cliff. “As expected of Reika-sama” is in the past now. It was incredibly short-lived.
Honestly, these marks are just horrible…

Or so I was thinking to myself, depressed, when my homeroom teacher suddenly called for me. And to the student counselling room, no less.
I’ve got a terrible, terrible feeling about this.
I wondered what she was going to say as I headed there in depression. When I arrived, my homeroom teacher asked me for my thoughts on my term-end results.
Well, even if they ask me that, I’m so shocked by my ranking drop that I honestly don’t know what to say. What should I say?
Or so I was wondering in a daze, when she made a difficult expression and looked at me.

“Honestly speaking, it was completely unexpected that you would fall this far, Kisshouin-san. I’ve seen your grades in primary school, and they were exceptional. I asked all the other teachers as well, and they all told me that you took your lessons seriously, your exams results were splendid, and that you were an excellent, model student. I thought so too. As a teacher, I had almost no worries about you.”

“And yet,” she continued, “how do you explain this drop in results? If something happened, please speak to me about it.”

Well, even if she asks me how, it’s simply that I fell in love and didn’t study, so I definitely can’t tell her the truth.

“I believe that I was simply lacking in effort this time. I truly apologise.”

“You know, things have become a problem. It isn’t just your results. Lately your attitude in class has been an issue as well. A number of teachers have told me that in class you simply sit there in a daze, without really trying. And the result can be seen in your grades. Just what on earth happened, I wonder.”

Eh-, it’s become this big of a deal? Just because my marks fell!?
Or rather, isn’t this the kind of thing you say to problem students!?
Far from “as expected of Reika-sama”, I’ve turned into one of those problem children that get called in to the counselling room!

“You know, Kisshouin-san, could it be that some bad boy is tricking you?”

“Hah?”

What’s this all of a sudden?

“When it comes to girls worsening their behaviour, most of the time a boy is involved. That the diligent model student that you were has changed this much… Could it be that you have begun dating some strange man?”

Sensei leaned forward as she asked this.
In other words, I began dating some bad man, and I fell onto the path of a delinquent?
Oh my gosh.
To think that while I was being over the moon, I almost got the label of ‘delinquent girl’ attached to me!

“No, absolutely not.”

Far from a bad boy, he’s the esteemed Student Council President, famous as a model student, and loved by all the teachers.
And far from dating him, I haven’t even had a chance to talk properly before.
All that I did was go “Guhuhu, Romeo-senpai~” and roll about in my room.
Even though this is all just because I accidentally lost control of my lazy side, the situation turned into a surprisingly huge matter!

“It has reached the point where we believe it would be best to try contacting your guardians.”

EEHH!? IT’S THAT BAD!?
And I’m even being brought up as an issue at your staff meetings!?
Aren’t there plenty of girls with way worse grades than me!? Why am I the only one being portrayed like I’m on the straight road to delinquency!?

“Umm, it truly is not big deal. I simply became a little too relaxed this time. I am reflecting on it, and will try my best next time.”

“…The staff here has great trust in you, Kisshouin-san. The shock we received from this was not small, you know. Also, would you consider taking summer remedials?”

“Remedials?”

In the middle school section, they have remedial classes during the summer break for kids with bad grades. Kids that are particularly studious also attend them, but they’re in the minority.
Remedials… “As-Expected-of” Reika-sama going to remedials…
But going to those remedials also serves as a way for them to keep an eye on my behaviour.
After all, sometimes there are kids who undergo shocking changes during the summer break. That’s exactly when kids start making bad friends.
But Sensei, far from bad friends, I barely have any normal friends. I have almost no friends who will play with me outside of school…
Just how on earth am I supposed to turn into a delinquent if I’m just sitting at home all day?

Well, can’t be helped. You reap what you sow.
Now that it’s come to this, all I can do is repair my reputation.

“I understand. I shall attend the remedials.”

My first summer break as a middle school student, turned into quite a tearful event.

*imouto*

*imouto*

On the first day of remedials, I headed for school.

After I came out to my family about going to remedials, they were in shock.
Okaasama was bewildered, saying “With grades like this, must you go to remedials?”, but I think it’s more about the drop in my rankings that’s shocked the teachers.
But if I went with a stupidly honest reply like, “The teachers think I’m being tricked by a bad man.” things would really blow up, so I didn’t say a thing though.
As for Oniisama, he fell into thought as he looked at my report card.
I’m sorry for being a disappointing sister.

But I really have reflected a lot, this time.
Although it was pretty shocking that just a drop in grades turned into such a huge matter.
Still, I’ll admit that my lifestyle turned quite lazy.
I also inconvenienced a lot of people, and caused them to worry too.
My home tutor, Karin-sensei, became a little depressed because she thought it was the fault of her teaching style.

And also, becoming fatter because of my idle lifestyle is actually the biggest issue here.
I used to have these clear dimples when I smiled, but lately they’ve become harder to see because of the meat.
I’ve been ignoring it as just my imagination, but my big tummy was yelling at me, “This is your reality!”
This won’t do. I like A-line dresses, but an A-line figure is definitely a no.
This rounded tanuki stomach is definitely a no!

I’ve decided that this summer break, I’m going to turn over a new leaf and try my best.

*imouto*

The remedial lessons weren’t arranged in classes, and instead each grade would be grouped together in one room.
When I entered the classroom, the students already in there looked at me in shock.
Gokigen’yoh, everyone.
Even though I was supposed to have put on a friendly smile, all of them averted their eyes. Why.

Almost all the kids in the room were those with bad grades, and not only that, the ones that didn’t stand out at school. Well, I suppose you could say that they’re the bottom caste in the school hierarchy.
Even the kids here out of enthusiasm are all just swots and hardcore crammers.
Not a single person from my caste was here.
Even within my very own group, there are kids with grades worse than mine, but those girls all have a private tutor, or go to cram school, and would never go to remedials.
And neither would any of the more rebellious kids come.
Pretty much everybody here belongs to the harmless, docile type, and they’re all the type that quietly live out their lives at school.
When I took a seat at the back of the classroom, one of the students sitting near me, slooowly moved to another seat.
Some of the kids with friends were forming small islands, but I was stuck living on a deserted one.

When I looked out the window, oh my? Was that a mirage just now? The scenery swayed.
…I’m definitely not crying or anything.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

The recompense for being over the moon about love, turned out to be quite large.
This heartrendingly lonely remedial lifestyle, was only just beginning.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Everybody, please check the FAQ first before asking me questions.
If it’s not on there, please feel free and ask. I only get annoyed at questions when the same one has been asked 10+ times, and by then I’ll have updated the FAQ.
Thank you for your consideration, guys!

---

Kisshouin Takateru

My sister has been acting weird.

The other day she went out somewhere, but the moment she came home she stuck to me.
My sister always fawns on me, but that night was different.
Because she’d been clinging to my arm with her face buried, I couldn’t see her expression. Still, I could tell that she was down.
After a while, my clothes felt cold.
She was crying.
I wanted to find out what happened exactly, but my sister can be surprisingly stubborn.
So I pretended that I didn’t notice, and just lent her my arm.

I’d been busier lately, so I didn’t get home as early. Because of that, we had less time together.
Even though it was something sad enough to cry about, my sister wouldn’t speak.
Maybe she’d been lonely.
So I decided at that moment that it might be better to make the time to come home a little earlier.
My arm started feeling heavier, and when I turned to look, I found that she had cried herself to sleep.
I would have felt bad waking her up, so I went to get a blanket for her, but when I draped it over, her stomach grumbled. She was chewing in her sleep too.
…Apparently she was hungry.
So I went to prepare food, so that she could eat the moment she woke.

*imouto*

*imouto*

Since that day, for some reason my sister has been really lecturing our father.
She casually whispers things in his ears like, “The Heavens see through all” or “Bad news travels quickly” or “Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know and I know”.
Well, to be honest, my sister has always treated him like this, and she’ll say stuff like this on occasion, like she suddenly remembers to.
But its frequency has been increasing.
Even though she says “Otousama. I believe in you, Otousama.” with a serious expression, it seems like she doesn’t at all.
And being a father who isn’t trusted at all by his daughter, naturally he feels down.
She even came up to me and said, “You’re the only one I can rely on, Oniisama. Please rehabilitate Otousama for me.”

Little Sister… Our father is right behind you…

Apparently in my sister’s mind, our father is an unbelievable villain.
I heard him mutter “I wonder if it’s her rebellious phase…”
…How pitiful.

*imouto*

*imouto*

But lately, her weird behaviour has taken another strange turn.

She sighs a whole lot, and will suddenly grasp at her chest in pain.
A disease!? A spasm!? Or so I thought as I ran over in panic, but she just said something weird like “This is a maiden’s affliction.”
I was still worried about whether it actually was some disease, but at dinner she was eating happily as usual, so I figured that she was alright.
As for my father, in order to raise her opinion of him, lately he’s been diligently buying all sorts of rare pastries and cakes and fruits for her. And she’s been dilligently eating them all.
Well, I’m glad that she’s healthy.

*imouto*

*imouto*

This one time, she whole-heartedly plucked petals. She would pluck at them, and sigh, then pluck at them and sigh again.
Only after a number of flowers were left bald did she stop, after one final, big sigh.
Then after that, she silently cleaned up the pitiful remains of the flowers.
Had she simply been really stressed?

*imouto*

*imouto*

Most recently, it happened while my sister was doing homework. One of her answers were wrong, so to rub it out, I picked up the rubber from her pencil case. And then she screamed “AAAAHHH!” like it was the end of the world.
After snatching it in panic from my hand, my sister dropped her shoulders in gloom.
Just what was going on with that rubber?

“Oniisama, you’re too much…”

After leaving behind those mysterious words, my sister picked up all her things and left my room.
What the?
And Little Sister, are you fine with leaving that answer wrong?

*imouto*

*imouto*

“Wasn’t that flower fortune telling?”

I spoke to my friend Imari about her.
She consulted him about something quite passionately, when he came over to play the other day.
Even when I asked her what it was about, she just replied “Nothing at all”, and wouldn’t reply to me.
…No fun at all.

“Flower fortune telling?”

“What, you’ve never heard of it? It’s pretty common, isn’t it? That thing where they go, ‘He loves me. He loves me not.’ as they pick at petals and stuff. Don’t you remember the girls doing it, back when we were kids?”

“Aahh, I think I did hear something like that.”

Flower fortune telling, huh.
Seeing my sister rend petals with ghastly vigour, that kind of maidenly idea never came to mind.
Rather, I had wondered if she had some sort of grudge against them.

But flower fortune telling, huh.
Wasn’t that a love fortune?
Love?

“…Imari. What did my sister talk to you about?”

“Eehh, well, nothing big…”

“Imari.”

“Ehh~ I mean, I already made a promise with Imouto-chan, so…”

“Imari.”

“Come on, Takateru, even you have heaps of stuff your sister doesn’t know, right? GUHOH-!”

Silence, fool.

As warning, I gave him a second punch.
Even though he started coughing and spluttering, he still wouldn’t talk.

I sighed.

“Professor Kumesuke’s wife. At the Academic Meeting”

“UGEH-! How did you know about that-!?”

“What did my sister talk to you about?”

“…It’s what you suspect.”

Hm.

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know. I tried asking, but she wouldn’t tell me. Ah-, but she did say something about Romeo.”

“Romeo?”

Are we still talking about a real person here?
Could it be that my sister has an imaginary boyfriend? Considering who we’re talking about, it’s certainly possible.
Perhaps my sister has a foreign boyfriend that only she can see.

“Also she started talking about giving handmade cookies as a present, so I told her it would better not to.”

“Cookies?”

Ah-! I remember!
Just a while ago, my sister made my father and I eat cookies.
Because of my mother’s diet, she doesn’t eat sweet things at night.
The cookies were burnt bitter here and there, but the rest of them were sweet, so perhaps you could say that my sister’s cooking was slowly approaching the average person’s.
The cookies on my father’s plate were far more burnt than mine.
He asked, “Oh, were these choc chip cookies?” causing my sister to grow sullen.
Dad, those cookies might be pitch black, but there’s no chocolate in them at all. They’re plain cookies.
My father wordlessly washed them down with his tea.

“So it was that huh.”

“Oh! Do you know something?”

“I guess.”

In order to give cookies to the person you like, you used me as a lab rat, huh.
Burnt foods are bad for you, you know.
Know our father’s grief.

“Well? What are you going to do?”

“Nothing at all, of course.”

“Oh? I thought you’d try and stop it.”

“As if.”

Well, I will check to see that he isn’t a weirdo though.
If somebody was tricking a lady of the Kisshouin house, and planning to do bad things to her, I’d be troubled.
As long as that isn’t the case, I’m fine with anything.

“After all…”

I can’t even imagine that absurd little sister actually succeeding in her romance.
To begin with, I’m not even sure he’s real.
Hmm, she mentioned before that she wanted to see the zoo in Hokkaido. Once it’s done, I’ll take her there.

But Little Sister, if you really have fallen in love, maybe you should hold back on our father’s tributes.
After all, your face is getting a little round.

---

“The Heavens see through all” or “Bad news travels quickly” or “Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know and I know”.
All of these are Japanese sayings.

The first(天網恢恢疎にして漏らさず) is literally,
“Heaven has large meshes, but nothing escapes.”
and comes from Lao Zi’s
「天網恢恢，疏而不失」.

The second（悪事千里を走る） is literally,
“News of misdeeds spread across a thousand li.”
and comes from the Beimeng Suoyan’s
“Good deeds do not go beyond the door, evil deeds spread a thousand miles” or in Chinese,
「好事不出門，壞事傳千里」.

The third（天知る、地知る、我知る、人知る） is literally,
“The Heavens know, the Earth knows, I know, and you know.”
actually comes from a quote from an Eastern Han official by the name of Yang Zhen（楊震）.
When a man named Wang Mi visited Yang Zhen at night and attempted to bribe him 10 catties of gold, Yang rejected the gift. Wang Mi persevered, saying that nobody would know.
Yang Zhen famously retorted “Heaven knows it, God knows it, I know it, and you know it. How can you say that no one knows it?” or in Chinese,
「天知，神知，我知，子知。何謂無知！」
shaming Wang Mi into leaving.

---

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