I Promised to Make the Class Honor Student My 'Little Sister'. It Seems She Wants to Be Spoiled a Lot - Volume 1 Chapter 7.2

Me, Returning Home, Achieving First Contact with a “Family”

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My encounter with Ao’s sister─Kakogawa Kizuna, ended in the worst possible way.

It’s completely night now, but the disheartened feeling hasn’t faded.

To distract myself… I quietly proceeded to tidy up my room.

Thanks to Chitose, my belongings arrived─textbooks, notebooks, other school supplies, books, manga, clothes… everything essential for living is now at hand.

Of course, I couldn’t bring furniture like desks or shelves from home, so for the time being, everything will have to stay on the floor.

Still, it looks like I won’t have any trouble living here for the time being.

─But.

“I can’t stay here forever…”

Seeing Kizuna-chan’s reaction made me re-realize.

Me, a total stranger, signing a “Family Contract” and living with Ao and others… it’s not normal.

Ao and Yukari are too lenient, making my senses numb to this reality.

I enjoyed talking with Ao and Yukari so much that I forgot about it.

…No, that’s not right.

I was just taking advantage of Ao and Yukari’s kindness.

Letting myself turn a blind eye…

────Knock-knock.

“…Ryu-kun. Do you have a moment right now?”

Just when my mood was darkening, I heard Ao’s voice from beyond the door.

What’s up… her voice sounds unusually hesitant today?

“What’s up, Ao? Something urgent?”

“Umm… hmm… urgent, I guess. If I come back later, I might die of embarrassment, so… I’d be happy if you opened the door…”

What’s that about?

Her explanation was so vague, I couldn’t grasp what she meant at all.

─But hearing Ao’s voice did calm me down a bit.

So, I decided to let Ao in and opened the door.

“Come on in, Ao─”

The moment I said that, Ao, with her upturned eyes, stepped into the room and…

────Snap!

Abruptly, she turned off the light.

Engulfed in darkness.

“Uh… Ao? What are you doing?”

Unable to see anything, I called out to Ao in the dark room.

But… rustling sounds suggested that Ao, presumably, was moving towards the back of the room.

“Umm… Ao-san? Seriously, what are you doing? Can I turn on the light?”

“No, not yet! You can’t turn on the light yet!! If you turn it on, it’s ecchi, you know!”

What does that even mean?

My room’s light is getting slandered as ecchi.

I have no idea what kind of ritual this is… but I guess I have no choice.

So, reluctantly, I stayed put in the dark.

Then─I heard the closet doors sliding open.

“It’s okay now! Big brother, can you… turn on the light?”

Why such a timid voice?

I barely understood anything… but we won’t get anywhere like this.

I reached for the wall switch─Snap! and turned on the light.

The room was instantly bathed in light.

“I turned it on. Ao, what are you doing… wait, what!?”

That’s when I found Ao.

Hiding in the closet, her cheeks flushed red as an apple, looking up at me with those eyes.

Her usually covered shoulders were boldly exposed, revealing the slender structure and smooth texture even from a distance.

And her collarbones, overtly sensual.

Not to mention, her upper arms and thighs were also exposed.

So─Ao was wearing nothing but a white bath towel.

In other words, she was dressed exactly like Kizuna-chan when I unfortunately encountered her this evening.

“Don’t stare so much…”

“Don’t ask for the impossible! Any guy would… no, wait, wrong! I got it, my bad! I won’t look!!”

In my confusion, I had inadvertently stared.

But thinking about it calmly, gawking at a “little sister” in such an indecent state lacks all forms of delicacy.

So, with a resolve, I turned my back to the closet… but then.

“Uh, umm… Big brother? Aren’t you going to look at me?”

“What do you mean!? You told me not to look, right!?”

“It’s not like I want you to stare… but not being seen at all feels kinda… frustrating.”

What’s she saying?

That’s a terrifying double-bind honey trap. I’d socially die if I looked, but if I didn’t, I’d get scolded for it.

Exposed to such a mental squeeze, one could go mad.

And then─from her hiding spot in the closet, bath towel Ao spoke in a soft voice.

“Um… you know, this evening? You saw Kizuna taking a bath, right?”

“Wait, hold on, that’s a terrible way to put it!! I didn’t peep; I just happened to run into Kizuna-chan when she came out to the hallway!!”

“…But you saw Kizuna’s beautiful skin and got excited, right? Must be. ‘Cause you prefer middle school girls over high school girls, right? Ugh… idiot.”

Who’s the real idiot here?

But well… listening to Ao now, I finally got the picture.

“So, this is it. You heard about the incident with Kizuna-chan, got jealous in some kinda way and decided to challenge the same scenario. And that’s why you started this stupid act!”

“Who’s stupid! No… maybe I am, but! But… you’re my big brother, Ryu-kun. You should pay more attention to your “little sister.”

“Let me make it clear, I haven’t been doting on Kizuna-chan or anything, okay!? Didn’t you hear our conversation in the living room? Kizuna-chan thinks of me as nothing more than trash!!”

“Ugh… so loud! Pay attention to me!”

Ao, seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place, tugged at the back of my clothes, pulling me towards her.

Leaving her IQ at school, as far as I could tell.

Prompted by such a troubled “little sister,”

I hesitantly began to turn back towards her, but then…

────Rustle.

A terrifying sound echoed.

“Nyaaahhhhhhh!?”

With a scream, Ao crumpled to the floor.

The bath towel fell to her feet.

And─exposed without hesitation, Ao’s smooth back.

Ao, crouching, hugged her chest tightly… and said with teary eyes.

“Is… is this something siblings should do!?”

“This isn’t something anyone does, siblings or not!!”

And so.

With Ao regaining her senses out of sheer embarrassment, and somehow managing to resolve the situation─this incident came to a close.

Exhausted both mentally and physically by my “little sister’s” wild antics.

But… let’s call it even, considering the benefits.