“‘Subaru Kurai, 16 years old.’ And the address is—”
After logging out of the game, I was signing up for a membership for Karaoke Celery online. I was doing it because you get a 20% OFF coupon upon registration.
“Knight’s Blood Oath (Non-alcoholic cocktail)... A tomato juice base? Whoa, 750 yen! So expensive!”
Glancing through the menu, I saw that various familiar dishes from the game were being recreated. Just looking at things that made it feel like the game world had become reality made my excitement soar.
However, while these things looked great, the prices were steep. Furthermore, if I paid for the collab food on top of the karaoke usage fee, it would add up to a significant amount.
Even if it would make for a good story, it was a bit tough for a high schooler’s pocket money situation. But since it was a special occasion, I also wanted to try ordering various things.
Thinking about it that way, a 20% discount is huge after all...
Anyway, I was going to meet my best friend in real life after only knowing them through the game. Just looking at the menu, deciding what to order, and imagining what kind of silly talk we'd have made me feel happy.
………………………………
…………
……
Before I knew it, an hour had passed while I was looking at the menu and its descriptions. I had been so interested that I just kept reading.
And even though it was almost midnight, I had started to feel a bit hungry. No matter how I looked at it, this was the negative effect of looking at food for so long.
I went down to the living room, thinking I’d trick my stomach by drinking some tea. I took out some pre-made barley tea from the refrigerator and poured it into a glass.
“...Ah.”
“...Hirari.”
Just as I finished pouring, I bumped into a girl.
She had long, messy hair and was wearing a frumpy jersey. I couldn’t really talk about others, but she was dressed quite sloppily.
If she fixed herself up, she had well-defined features, but this was inside the house. There was no one to complain.
For the sake of her honor, I should mention that she is usually proper. She wears her school uniform correctly and gives off the impression of a stiff, honor student. Well, I can't deny that even in her uniform, she doesn't look particularly fashionable though.
She is Hirari Kurai—my step-sister. In fact, we are only three months apart in age and are in the same grade.
“...Do you want some too, Hirari?”
“...”
When I asked her that, her body gave a small twitch, and she just stood there looking timid. She seemed to be trying to say something, but it was as if the words were stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out.
...
As you might have guessed, the relationship between Hirari and me isn't good. The term 'no communication' fits us perfectly.
—She’s the complete opposite of Philia-san, with whom I can casually talk about stupid things.
I suddenly found myself thinking that. Comparing them was rude in the first place, and the other was a game character.
Don't be stupid, I thought, shaking my head.
“...”
“...”
I waited for a while, but there was no response.
Hirari looked down, appearing uncomfortable. So, I quickly put the barley tea back in the fridge and tried to return to my room with my glass. Then, as if switching places with me, Hirari also took out the barley tea from the fridge and started pouring it into a glass, looking somewhat apologetic.
...I did ask if she wanted some, right? She could have just said so...
From her expression, I don't think she absolutely loathes me. Hirari's ears were red, and she would occasionally steal glances at me before looking down and turning away.
I could tell we both had awkward faces. If I had to describe it, it was just our usual similar interaction.
However, we were both being strangely considerate of each other.
It wasn't that we were on bad terms. But I certainly couldn't say we were on good terms either.
As you can tell from the fact that we are only three months apart, there is no blood relation between Hirari and me. Five years ago, we became a family at the same time we entered middle school—she is the child of my father's remarriage partner.
At the time, like many people, I was in my rebellious phase. It was also the age where I became clearly conscious of the opposite sex, and out of a sense of embarrassment, I avoided Hirari.
Without ever catching the right moment to close the distance, we ended up in this delicate relationship we have now. On the surface, things are neither good nor bad. However, there is zero interaction.
Perhaps if we were biological siblings, it might have been something like this anyway.
But since we live in the same house, I did have a desire to open up a bit more. To be honest, it's tiring to feel awkward every time we run into each other at home. I thought about this as I climbed the stairs, gulping down the barley tea as if to swallow the hazy feelings rising in my chest.
...By the time I returned to my room, the glass was already empty. Looking at the empty glass, Philia-san’s face suddenly came to mind.
That's right, maybe I could try consulting Philia-san a little bit about Hirari?
To be honest, I hesitated to talk about Hirari with my family or school friends. On the other hand, bringing up such a heavy topic in the game felt wrong too.
Even if it was just within the game, we had built a relationship where I could consider her a best friend. Wouldn't it be a great idea to ask her what I should do with a light heart? Even if I didn't get a good suggestion back, just talking about it would likely make me feel refreshed.
The person on the receiving end might find it a bother... but I'll just have her laugh it off. I started looking forward to the day I would meet Philia-san.
*Click*
While I was thinking about that, I heard the sound of the door to the room next door closing a moment later.
“~~~~♪”
I could hear a happy humming. I wondered if something good had happened to her? If only I could talk to Hirari about small things like that—