“It’s so hot…!” That was the only thought left in my head.
Under the blazing sun, I was sweating profusely while wiping the windows outside the house.
Did I really have to do this on such a scorching day…?
Sure, the windows had gotten noticeably dirty lately and it was getting hard to see outside… plus, there had been a lot of yellow sand and pollen in the spring… yeah, they were pretty filthy, I’ll admit.
On top of that, the spring rain during the rainy season hadn’t washed the dirt off much.
So doing it now that the weather had cleared up made sense because they’d dry quickly… but still, on a midsummer day like this… I had just lost a fierce battle (rock-paper-scissors) against my little brother Yuichi and ended up with this chore.
Yuichi got stuck with cleaning the toilet.
…It was probably about the same level of suffering, depending on who you asked.
On top of that, because I hate getting sunburned, I was fully geared up with a hat, a tracksuit (long sleeves and long pants), and rubber gloves — complete UV protection.
That made it even hotter.
No matter how much I wiped, sweat kept pouring out… I felt like I was going to get dehydrated.
…Complaining wasn’t going to make it easier.
I just had to move my hands quickly and finish this as fast as possible.
That was my only way to escape this hell.
When I finally finished the job and returned inside the house, even greater despair was waiting for me.
“You’re kidding… right!?” “Unfortunately, it’s not a joke.
Yuichi is in the bath right now.” That idiot…!
I was covered in sweat and felt disgusting.
I wanted to jump into the bath immediately…!
Toilet cleaning shouldn’t have made him sweat much at all!
I was the one working outside under the blazing sun!
Shouldn’t he have let me go first!?
Honestly, I had reached my limit… I didn’t want to wait even one more minute.
And yet…!
“…Hey, Mom?” “What?” “Since we’re siblings, there’s no problem with us taking a bath together, right?” “Of course there is.
Think about your age.” “That’s right, Mizuha.
You’re already a university student, so have some modesty.
Besides, Yuichi is in his second year of middle school now.
He’d probably feel embarrassed.” It’s fine.
That guy would be secretly thrilled in his heart.
The proof is the barbaric acts he commits in my room almost every night.
“Also, Mizuha, Yuichi left a message for you.
‘If you barge into the bath, I’ll delete all the video recordings you’ve set.'” “That idiot is sharp when it counts… Damn it, next time I’ll organize all his hidden erotic books on his desk by number of uses…” “Stop that, it’s pitiful.
And don’t say things like that in front of your father.
It puts me in a difficult position to respond.” “By the way, how do you even know the number of uses?” You can tell a lot from how worn the pages are.
Those kinds of books are usually held with one hand, fixed in place, and flipped while being ‘used.’ With no other choice, I returned to my room, stripped completely naked, and wiped off as much sweat as possible with wet tissues.
I thought about changing clothes, but decided I’d rather bathe first, so I reluctantly put back on the clothes I had been wearing earlier — everything except my soaked underwear and undershirt.
Those were drenched in sweat, so I skipped them.
Putting them back on would defeat the purpose of wiping myself.
I set them aside with a towel to throw into the washing machine later.
Still, Yuichi is taking forever… I was getting more and more irritated.
…Maybe I should mess with him a little.
As stress relief.