“Aren’t you the weird one for even having thoughts like that?”
Kousaka Kyousuke looked at her with utter speechlessness and couldn’t help but press a hand to his forehead.
He had looked toward her lower body purely out of thought that she might catch a cold — so how on earth had that translated into a pervert’s gaze in her eyes?
Just how bad did their relationship have to be for a sister living under the same roof to say something like that to her brother?
After those few short exchanges, whatever interest he’d had in continuing the conversation evaporated entirely.
“Just, remember to wear pants at home.”
He stood up, no longer inclined to linger.
“Hey, who said you could leave?”
This guy still hadn’t agreed to keep her secret.
If he told their father, it would mean huge trouble for her.
Kousaka Kirino moved to block his way, only to be met with a glare from Kyousuke.
“Try stopping me, and I’ll call Father right now and tell him your secret.
Want to test me?”
“Ugh…”
Hearing this, Kirino deflated instantly, all the wind knocked out of her sails.
“You lowlife…”
She muttered under her breath.
Kyousuke raised an eyebrow.
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
…
The secret between the two of them caused no real waves at home.
At dinnertime, the family of four sat around the table.
The TV was still playing “Lunar Witch Transformation,” but tonight, for the first time ever, the little sister who normally devoted her full attention to the program had shifted her focus elsewhere.
Feeling Kirino’s burning glare fixed on him, Kyousuke reacted with complete indifference and simply concentrated on shoveling down his food.
There was no way Kousaka Daisuke, seated beside them, could fail to notice the shift in atmosphere at the table.
He downed a mouthful of sake and spoke up, addressing Kyousuke.
“Kyousuke, how was your time in Tokyo these past two days?”
“Mostly quite pleasant.
Nothing particularly special beyond that.”
“You didn’t run into Kirino?
She went to Tokyo too, didn’t she?”
The question, seemingly casual, was entirely deliberate on Daisuke’s part.
Just as he expected, Kirino, sitting off to the side, went completely rigid.
His own daughter might be involved in some illicit dealings outside, and as her father, he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
A million yen was no small sum.
The fact that Kyousuke hadn’t brought it up at the dinner table on his own strongly suggested he’d been threatened by his daughter into silence.
The implication in Daisuke’s words couldn’t have been clearer as he fixed a serious gaze on Kyousuke.
“We did run into each other.
I saw her shopping at a department store with a friend.
I even exchanged contact information with the girl — she seemed very well-behaved.”
“Is that so?
That’s good to hear.”
Hearing Kyousuke’s reply, Daisuke breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
He could more or less tell that Kyousuke wasn’t lying — as a detective, he at least had that much discernment.
He didn’t press further, and when he noticed Kirino’s subtly relaxed reaction, a thoughtful look crossed his face.
But he said nothing more, quietly returning to his meal instead.
Even after the food and drink were finished, Kirino still hadn’t retreated to her room.
She sat on the living room sofa in a state of anxious suspense, her eyes fixed on the anime playing on the TV but her mind completely elsewhere.
“Kyousuke, come outside with me for a moment.”
Mieko was clearing the dishes, and Daisuke pulled a pack of cigarettes from his jacket, gesturing for Kyousuke to follow him outside to talk.
Crap.
They’re leaving my line of sight!
Kirino was so tense she could barely breathe.
That guy was definitely going to crack under Father’s interrogation, wasn’t he?
“It’s over, it’s so over.”
Kirino clutched her head and let out a silent wail in her heart.
She’d been camped out in the living room for two whole days precisely to make sure Kyousuke wouldn’t leak her secret.
She’d finally managed to corner this cheap brother of hers, only to find he had absolutely no intention of cooperating.
“I’m going to be sold out.” Get faster updates on g.com.
The girl sat on the sofa in self-inflicted torment, listening to the sounds of the two of them heading out and the front door closing behind them.
They seemed to be talking about something just outside.
Kirino wanted to creep closer and eavesdrop, but with Mieko right there at the dining table, she didn’t dare make any big moves.
She couldn’t make out a single word.
Time crawled by, and Kirino felt as if she were sitting on a bed of needles, as if at any second she was about to face her father’s thunderous judgment.
Unable to bear it any longer, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Aragaki Ayase.
“What do I do?!
Ayase!
I’m about to be exposed!”
Ayase: “Eh?
Onii-san reported you?
No way, right?”
Kirino: “Father called him outside alone.
I’m dead.
He’s definitely going to talk.
ɵ̷﹏ɵ̷̥̥᷅”
On the other end of the line, Ayase was thoroughly amused by her friend’s antics.
“He won’t.
Onii-san is a good person.
You should trust him.”
“(๑`^´๑) Ayase, you’re defending him again.
Don’t tell me you actually like him?
That guy was threatening me just this afternoon when he got back.”
Ayase, who had been sipping tea as she read Kirino’s message, nearly choked.
So her forwardness in asking for his phone number yesterday really had given her the wrong idea, hadn’t it?
The thought made her flush a little despite herself.
It really was the first time she’d ever made a move like that, and looking back on it, it was pretty embarrassing.
She quickly typed out a reply and sent it.
“Don’t be ridiculous.
I only did it so I could keep better lookout for you, Kirino.”
“╭(╯^╰)╮ Hmph, I don’t believe you.
I don’t even get what’s so great about him.
Father treats him way more gently than he treats me, and now even you have such a good impression of him.”
Ayase was just about to explain further when another message from Kirino came through.
“Gotta go, they’re back!”
The front door rattled, and father and son walked back into the living room, chatting amiably.
“Kyousuke, I’m leaving Kirino’s studies in your hands from now on.
She’s really struggling academically and needs extra tutoring.”
“Don’t worry, Father.
I’ll help her out.”
“If only Kirino gave me half as little trouble as you do.”
What were they talking about?
How had the topic turned to academics?
Kirino couldn’t help but glance over, only to meet Kyousuke’s eyes directly.
He winked at her.
What was that?
Were the two of them speaking in some kind of code?
Kirino felt a flicker of irritation.
But seeing that her father didn’t seem to be gearing up to demand an accounting of her misdeeds, a massive weight lifted from her heart.
Just then, Daisuke suddenly called out his daughter’s name.
“Kirino!”
“Here!”
Having just let her guard down, Kirino practically launched herself off the sofa in fright.
“What’s with you, reacting like that?
Where’s your sense of decorum?”
Daisuke gave her a strange look.
“From now on, Kyousuke will be tutoring you after dinner. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Study hard, you hear me?”
“Eh?”
Kirino stood rooted to the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
What on earth was going on?
Her gaze drifted toward Kyousuke, who was already making his way up the stairs.
“What are you standing around for?
Come upstairs.”
…
In the room, Kyousuke sat cross-legged on the floor.
Kousaka Kirino, meanwhile, had dutifully put on pants and was seated in her computer chair, staring at him without moving a muscle.
“What exactly did you tell Father?”
“Nothing particularly special.
I just made a guarantee on your behalf.”
“Don’t give me such a half-assed answer.
Spit it out clearly.”
“I told him you have some legitimate side work…”
Hearing this, Kirino immediately panicked.
“You just told him like that?!”
“What else was I supposed to do?
How else were you planning to explain over a million yen under your bed?”
“?”
Kirino instantly flipped onto the floor and peered under her bed.
After confirming her secret stash was still there, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Father came into my room?
He found out about the money too?”
Kirino’s face went somewhat pale.
Other things aside, if he really started interrogating her, that enormous sum in manuscript fees would be genuinely hard to explain.
Kyousuke nodded and spread his hands.
My foolish imouto, even if the money under your bed hadn’t been discovered, did you really think Father wouldn’t notice all those luxury accessories you’ve been wearing?
Those aren’t the kind of things you can buy just by saving up pocket change.
Trying to fool Daisuke, a career detective, with some flimsy lie would be nearly impossible.
“I vouched for you — that your side work wouldn’t affect your grades.
That’s the only reason Father didn’t keep digging.”
In truth, Daisuke’s demands had been simple: confirm that his daughter wasn’t involved in anything illegal, and make sure it wouldn’t interfere with her studies.
“Wow, Father’s actually pretty open-minded after all.” Kirino relaxed completely and, for the first time, smiled in front of Kyousuke.
“My grades have always been like this anyway.
Even if I spent all my free time drawing manga and playing games, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
Kirino’s poor academic performance was a tradition stretching all the way from elementary school to the present.
Falling any further wasn’t exactly an easy feat, either.
She did pay attention in class at school, and getting into some high school or other wouldn’t be a problem.
“At this level, I don’t need tutoring from you.
I can manage on my own.”
Kirino waved dismissively, her opinion of the brother before her having shifted somewhat.
This guy, he wasn’t so bad after all.
Not only had he covered for her with Father, but he’d even gotten her a kind of tacit approval.
That meant no more interrogations from Father every time she went out to her studio on weekends, right?
She was just about to voice her thanks when Kyousuke cleared his throat.
“I think you may have misunderstood something.”
“Hm?”
“The guarantee I made to Father was that you could get into Chiba Daiichi High School.”
Kirino froze for a moment, then exploded like a startled cat, all claws and teeth.
“What kind of guarantee did you just go and make?!”
Chiba Daiichi High School— even within the sphere of influence of an international metropolis like Tokyo, it ranked among the top five schools.
She was a hopeless student.
How on earth had Kyousuke dared to make a promise like that to their father?!
This guy…
take back that gratitude from just now!
He’d dug an enormous pit and shoved her straight into it!