The two walked slowly, leaning against each other as they gradually drifted farther away, until dawn faintly approached.
Higashino Akira and Kawasaki Saki parted ways at the train station.
He had originally wanted to bring her straight back to his place, but the moment this girl heard that Akira still had a younger sister at home, she refused no matter what, unwilling to suddenly show up for a visit so rashly.
And so, Akira could only return alone.
Come to think of it, it had been almost a month since he last stayed over on Miko’s side.
He had left her living expenses before and had not paid much attention afterward.
I wonder how she’s been lately.
By the time he got near the house, he could see the lights inside blazing brightly even from some distance away.
When he reached the door, he could faintly hear the sound of the television and girls laughing from inside.
Akira knocked on the door and waited at the entrance for a while.
Only after the movement inside quieted down a little did he take out his key, open the door, and walk in.
On the sofa, two girls were sitting together with serious expressions, their gazes fixed tightly on the entryway.
After seeing that it was Akira who had come in, both of them let out long sighs of relief.
“Happy Halloween, Higashino-nii!” “Mm, happy Halloween to you too.” “Hehe, whether it’s happy or not isn’t up to you, Higashino-nii!” Yurikawa Hana suddenly stood up and energetically waved hard at Akira.
Then she abruptly revealed a sly little grin and made a scary face at him.
“Ta-dah!
Trick or treat!” The girl had not dressed up in anything too strange.
She had merely draped herself in a classic white ghost robe, like an old bedsheet.
However, her exceptionally well-developed figure for her age stretched the sheet tight, making it look more suggestive than scary.
On top of that, she was terrifyingly good at acting familiar with people and always looked full of energy.
Beside her, Yotsuya Miko, who had not spent time with Akira for a while, seemed to have become somewhat distant instead.
She stood there staring straight at him, but she did not dare move at all.
Even her legs were trembling slightly, making it faintly seem as if she was afraid of him.
Forget it.
From the start, I never planned to become all that close to her anyway.
At least she’s easy to deal with, rarely causes me trouble, and that’s already pretty good.
Akira’s gaze returned to Hana, who had cupped both hands together like a bowl and was smiling cheerfully at him.
His expression remained unchanged as he shook his head.
“Hana-chan, Halloween already ended last night.
You can’t get candy like this anymore.” “Ehh?
But that’s because Higashino-nii didn’t come back earlier yesterday.
If you’d been with us yesterday, you definitely would’ve given us candy.
Miko and I were looking forward to it together for ages, so even if Higashino-nii came back late, you can’t just refuse to pay up!” With her cheerful words, Hana casually spoke up for her friend.
Even the occasional little look on her face cutely blamed Akira, this older-brother figure, just a bit.
After all, Miko was still a girl too.
Even if they were not real siblings, since he had decided to take care of her, leaving her alone for so long without coming back to check on her was a little too cold no matter how you looked at it.
As her friend, Hana knew that aside from Miko’s initial worry, she had gotten along fairly well with her new older brother afterward.
It was just that after the first few days, the chances for them to meet or contact each other had become far too few.
I told Miko to take the initiative more and act spoiled with Higashino-nii, but she gets too embarrassed.
Then I’ll just have to come over more often when I can and keep her company.
While I’m at it, I’ll find a tactful way to remind Higashino-nii too.
Honestly, I’m being so good to Miko.
What if she ends up liking me too much?
The optimistic girl was deeply worried.
“Hmm.
In that case, I’ll teach you a little trick that lets you ask for candy even after Halloween is over.
That way, you two can go ask other people for candy too.
How’s that?” Akira could sense Hana’s little intentions, but he did not mind.
After thinking for a moment, he offered a suggestion.
Hearing that, Hana immediately nodded in agreement.
“Okay, okay!” “Good.
Then give me some candy first.
I’ll use it as a teaching tool.” Hearing this, Hana immediately handed over one piece of candy.
Akira weighed it in his hand, then shook his head.
“Not enough.
One more.” Hana handed him another piece of candy and placed it in Akira’s palm, her eyes sparkling as she watched what he would do next.
Beside them, Yotsuya Miko seemed to have already predicted something, and her expression turned a little subtle.
“Now, start saying ‘trick or treat.'” “Oh, oh!” Hana nodded with a serious face to show that she understood, then cooperatively called out, “Trick or treat!” “Here.” Akira immediately placed one piece of candy into her hand.
“Ehh—!!?” Looking at the candy that had appeared in her palm, Hana’s eyes widened, and her brain seemed to short-circuit a little.
On the other side, Akira had already raised his hand and waved at Miko, signaling her to come forward.
Then he gestured toward the other piece of candy left in his hand.
Miko’s face instantly turned red.
After hesitating for a long while, she finally called out in a tiny, embarrassed voice.
“Trick or treat~” Another piece of candy was handed out.
Miko hurriedly caught it, gripped it in her palm, and let her gaze drift around.
“No fair!” Beside them, Hana finally reacted and cried out in protest.
“Higashino-nii, you’re so sneaky!
That was clearly our candy!
How can you use our own candy to give candy to us?” “That’s just how sneaky adults are, Corporal Yurikawa.” After saying that, Akira looked at Hana, who had grabbed Miko’s arm and was now muttering complaints to her about a certain older brother’s crimes.
From time to time, Hana puffed up her cheeks and turned to stare at him resentfully.
Akira smiled too.
Teasing kids really is fun.
No wonder so many people like doing it.
As he thought that, Akira’s phone suddenly rang.
After glancing at the caller information, he took the initiative to walk a little farther away and answered the call.
“Your Majesty, something happened on Mr.
Kongming’s side.” “Explain in detail.” “Last night, Mr.
Kongming went out with his classmates to have fun.
Because his appearance is too famous, he was surrounded by a large crowd asking for photos, and he was forced to separate from his classmates.
After that, a passerby brought him to a live house to enjoy a performance.
By the time he finally came out, he was already so drunk that his mind was muddled, and he lay down directly in the alley outside the shop.” “You didn’t bring him back?” “The people we assigned to secretly protect him were just about to act.
But then a female singer who had performed inside the shop earlier came out.
After hearing Mr.
Kongming repeatedly praise her singing, she softened and took him home.” “The hidden guard assigned there still doesn’t have an open identity, so he was afraid that suddenly appearing would make the other party wary and invite questions about his background.
And since Mr.
Kongming was drunk but still had a certain level of judgment and did not actively refuse, the guard could only allow the situation to develop while continuing to observe and protect him from the shadows.” “I understand.
Investigate that woman’s identity afterward and send me the results.” After the call ended, Akira did not wait long before the Embroidered Uniform Guards sent over the intelligence they had already prepared in advance.
Although it was not very detailed, at the very least, it let him know what the other party looked like, what her name was, and what she did.
However, as he flipped through it, looking at the little blonde standing onstage in the phone screen, Akira fell silent for a moment.
Tsukimi Eiko?
Blonde hair, and a name with both “moon” and “hero” in it.
On top of that, she had gotten involved with Kongming.
No way.
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