“And that’s the preparations done.”
On Friday night, I finished all the packing.
Leaving only the futon here, I packed the rest of my belongings into cardboard boxes.
Since light novels and manga made up the majority, it ended up being quite a lot. I only have the minimum necessary clothes, though.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I looked around the now-spacious room.
……This room was actually this wide, huh.
For some reason, I feel a bit lonely.
Even though I’ll be coming back a few times a month, my life in a different house starts tomorrow…….
I stared blankly at the ceiling.
In the past, I used to sleep in this room together with Kotono.
Then, we split rooms when I was in the third grade.
I remember Kotono crying her eyes out in this room back then. How nostalgic.
And now, here I am, leaving the house to start living with my fated person.
Time really flies.
Unable to fall asleep, I was thinking about various things when there were a few knocks on the door. Who is it?
“Yes?”
“……Onii, you got a minute?”
Oh, it’s just Kotono.
“Yeah, come in.”
Waiting for my reply, Kotono opened the door and looked around the room.
“Ooh—, there’s almost no luggage left.”
“Yeah. The new house is spacious, so I figured I’d take everything for now.”
“I see…… Onii, you’re really going, aren’t you?”
Kotono dived onto the bed with a *poff*.
Was it just my imagination that she looked somewhat lonely?
“Are you lonely?”
“No way. It’s just inconvenient because my Asshy-kun for school is going to be gone.”
“Don’t call me Asshy-kun.”
Give me back my sentimental feelings. I’m actually feeling lonely over here. Well, I guess this is just like Kotono, though.
I absentmindedly ruffled Kotono’s hair.
Kotono made a weird sound like “Uaaa~~……!”, but she didn’t seem to mind it.
I ruffled her hair for a while. Suddenly, I heard a whisper from Kotono that was almost too quiet to hear.
“(I’m joking, idiot. Of course I’m lonely.)”
“Eh, what did you say?”
“Die, dense protagonist.”
“Isn’t Kotono-chan being way too harsh!?”
My sister can't possibly be this salty.
Ugh, when did she grow up to be like this…… Big brother is worried about Kotono-chan’s future.
While I was fake-weeping, Kotono hopped up from the bed.
“Hey, Onii. Since you’re leaving the house, this room is going to be empty, right?”
“I guess. I’ll be coming back a few times a month, so it’s not completely empty, though.”
“Then, give this room to me? I’ve been having trouble lately because I ran out of space to put my stuff.”
Hmm…… well, I guess that’s fine. It’s not like it’ll cause any trouble.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Yay! I love you, Onii!”
“Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”
“Ugh, hearing a brother say ‘I love you’ to his sister is gross.”
“A third-year middle schooler saying ‘I love you’ to her brother is also pretty crazy.”
“Mine was, you know, just lip service.”
“Kuh. I hate myself for feeling happy even if it was just lip service……!”
I can’t help it. If my cute younger sister says she loves me, of course I’ll be happy.
“There, there. Say that to Riran-tan instead of me. I’m sure she’ll be happy.”
“I know that even without you telling me.”
Take this forehead flick.
“Unyu!? What was that for!”
“Punishment for teasing your big brother.”
“Gunuuu. ……Shippe!”
“Hardening!”
“Nya!? Your muscles are so hard!”
Fuhaha, don't think you can deal damage with the strength of someone like Kotono. Kotono seemed frustrated and kept hitting me with shippes over and over. Hey, that actually tickles.
“Take this, take this!”
“Stop it. I’m gonna ruffle your hair.”
“Kyaa~♪”
Kotono frolicked around happily, accepting the hair ruffling with a smile.
Maybe she really was lonely, and that’s why she came to my room like this.
“Don’t worry, Kotono. I’ll always be your big brother.”
“……Hmph, so you did notice. Idiot, moron.”
“Well, just a hunch. But I’m confident in my own denseness, so I’d prefer it if you said what you wanted to say clearly.”
“Don’t say that with such confidence.”
“I told you, I’m confident in being dense.”
“……No wonder Riran-tan has such a hard time.”
Stop making that ‘good grief’ face.
Kotono stood up from the bed and tugged hard on my arm.
“In that case, Onii, let’s eat ice cream together!”
“At this hour? You’ll get fat, you know?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! I’m eating it because I want to eat it with Onii! There, I said what I wanted to say!”
Kotono puffed out her chest looking embarrassed. It’s a request from my cute sister, so I guess I have no choice.
“Alright, let’s eat then. But is there any ice cream in the freezer?”
“If there isn’t any, we can just go buy some!”
“As you wish, Queen Marie Kotono-wanette.”
“The phrasing is bad, do it over.”
“You’re strict, man.”
I left the room together with Kotono.
In the end, there was no ice cream in the freezer, and I was forced to buy the most expensive ice cream at the convenience store—but that is a story for another time.