(POV Chiharu)
We, as elementary school students, bid farewell to our summer break and embarked on the second term. A faint, refreshing warmth still lingered in the air.
As I boarded the bus, I was somewhat drowsy. Throughout the break, our morning wake-up time had been later than when we were attending school. It seemed that habit hadn’t completely disappeared, as Chiaki and Chinatsu dozed off on the bus.
“Ugh… I’m still… my blanket…”
“Aki-nee, we’ve arrived at school.”
With nearly closed eyes, Chiaki walked to school, rubbing her sleepy eyelids. Afterward, Chifuyu supported Chinatsu as they walked together.
Upon entering the classroom, I noticed that our classmates were already there, with a row of assignments neatly placed on their desks.
“Good morning, Chiharu.”
“Good morning, Sakura-san.”
It felt like it had been a long time since I last saw Sakura Kitano-san.
“Did you finish your homework?”
“Of course.”
“How about the independent study project?”
“Onii-san and I have compiled a list of the tomatoes we grew and ate together. Chiaki did a curry taste test, Chinatsu did a pancake taste test, and Chifuyu researched the 3 Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).”
“Seems like the youngest one is quite serious about her research.”
Chifuyu’s independent study project was particularly impressive. I knew she had stayed up all night working on it with Onii-san.
“Speaking of which, we have a school trip coming up. What would your group be Chiharu?”
“I’ll probably stay with my sisters. I need to be there for them; Chiaki gets upset when she’s away from home, and Chinatsu needs someone to look after her.”
“Ah, I see. Something like that happened before.”
Chiaki has cried on trips before as well. I need to be there for her.
“But it should be okay, right?”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, Chiaki has a lot of friends, and she seems to be growing and maturing more than before.”
Indeed, Chiaki had grown. She still had her childlike moments, like diving into her blankets and drawing pentagrams on her omelets while playing make-believe as a wizard. However, I felt she had grown up more genuinely than before.
You could even say she had matured. It wasn’t so much that she was childish; rather, she seemed to deliberately act like a child. She had always been one to put on a bit of an act, but lately, she felt even more adult-like.
“She’s about to become a junior high school student now. Maybe it’s time to start distancing herself from her sisters,” Sakura-san said.
“…You might be right.”
“Well, considering the room arrangements for the school trip are going to be all-girls, you might end up in the same group anyway.”
“This year… maybe it’s a good idea to deliberately create some distance.”
“I’m not saying you have to force it, but I’ve been thinking lately that as the older sister, maybe there are times when I should watch over my younger brothers from a distance, or occasionally, it might be better for us to be apart,” Sakura-san said.
“Indeed, I’ve been thinking the same lately.”
Sakura-san was right. Rather than me watching over them from afar, it might be better for me to distance myself. After all, I had become somewhat dependent on my younger sisters.
“But, you know, it’s not that easy all of a sudden. As an older sister, I can’t just distance myself from my younger brothers out of the blue. After all, they’re so adorable,” Sakura-san said.
“My sisters are like reincarnated angels, you know. They’re so incredibly cute that if I were to suddenly separate from them, I’d probably experience withdrawal symptoms.”
“Yeah, I get that. I get that. How about trying something different instead? Like changing the focus of your care. Maybe focus on that guy, Kaito-san, who you’re living with,” she suggested.
“…Onii-san, huh; I’ve thought about this many times.”
“Oh, I’m a girl, so I wouldn’t really know, but guys seem to like maids, right?”
“Maids? Those people who wear those frilly outfits?”
“That’s right, they call you ‘master’ and serve you.”
“Do you think it would suit me? I’m not a fan of changing my expression too much, and I don’t think such outfits would look good on me.”
“I actually think it would suit you surprisingly well. Oh, but those kinds of outfits aren’t usually lying around, huh?”
“…Well, I do have one.”
“Eh? You have one?”
“Yeah, a woman called Miyamoto-san; she’s Onii-san’s senpai at work. She gave him a bunch of clothes, and there happened to be a maid’s outfit among them.”
“Why not try wearing it?”
“Well, if my little sisters catch me in it, it’ll be a lifelong embarrassment…”
“How about putting on the maid outfit and making omelet rice?”
“Ah, I can only make boiled eggs when it comes to egg dishes. I’ve been improving a bit lately, but most of the time, they end up bursting.”
“…So, it’s a perfect opportunity to practice, isn’t it? Give it a shot. And show me a photo of you wearing the maid’s outfit later. After all, me and Chiharu are both older sisters, right?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
That’s true, but wearing a maid outfit is just… I mean, it’s kind of impossible, or rather, it’s embarrassing… If Chaiki sees me, she’ll tease me for a week.
If Chinatsu sees me, she’ll bug me for two weeks…
Eeeh, what should I do…?
************
TN: I say, you should try it for our sake.
TN: This chapter marks the start of the third volume: Third Year.
Leave a Reply