Big sister Suiren was gentle, and little sister Aoi was lively.
The two sisters, one considerate, one cheerful, both so adorable, added a lot of color to his once-rural childhood memories.
'I remember Aunt Touka and her family used to live not far from here when I was a kid. I wonder if they're still around today. I'll go take a look first.'
Hikari put on his shoes, stepped out the front door, and walked toward the direction where he remembered Aunt Touka's house used to be.
After walking several hundred meters, Hikari indeed saw a house that looked vaguely familiar.
But the building that Suiren's family had lived in during his childhood was now dilapidated, most of the plaster on the walls had peeled off, there was a gaping hole in the roof, and the yard was overgrown with weeds, looking like it hadn't been tended in a very long time.
The sight clearly showed it had been abandoned.
"Did Aunt Touka and her family move away?", Hikari frowned slightly as he looked at the deserted home.
Before coming, Miss Mira had mentioned that Aunts Miyuri and Sayako still kept in touch from time to time, but Aunt Touka seldom, if ever, did. So it wasn't surprising that he couldn't find her.
Looking carefully again at the house where Suiren's family used to live, Hikari confirmed that no one was there.
But not far from the old Suiren residence, a brand-new house had been built, he didn't know who lived there.
Thinking it might be that Suiren's family had moved there, Hikari watched for a while, only to see a strange man inside.
"Since I can't find them, I'll just head back for now. I'll ask Miyuri and Sayako when I get a chance, it's the same village, they should know something."
Hikari shook his head and turned to go home.
But just as he turned and took a few steps, a sudden shout came from behind him.
"Hikari-kun!"
Turning around, Hikari saw that from the new house beside the old, abandoned Suiren home, besides the unfamiliar man he'd noticed earlier, two more people had come out, a man and a woman.
Glancing at the three, Hikari instantly recognized one very familiar face.
Short golden hair, emerald-green eyes, an overly voluptuous figure, and exotic foreign features.
A foreign woman like that in rural Japan was certainly not common.
That woman was none other than Arisa, the Russian woman who had sat next to Hikari on the bus not long ago.
The man standing beside her was probably the fiance she had mentioned back on the bus.
"Hikari-kun!", Calling loudly, Arisa quickly ran over to him.
"Arisa," Hikari greeted her politely with a nod.
"What a coincidence! I can't believe I ran into you again, Hikari-kun! I'm so lucky," Arisa looked genuinely delighted to see him again.
"It really is quite a coincidence," Hikari said with a small smile.
"Kouta, this is the Hikari-kun I mentioned before, the one who helped me on the bus," Turning to her fiance, Suzumura Kouta, Arisa introduced Hikari.
Then, she continued introducing the others to him, saying, "Hikari-kun, this is my fiance, Suzumura Kouta. And this is Kouta's older brother, Suzumura Kenta."
Hikari looked at the two men in their thirties; they also looked back at him.
After learning who he was, Suzumura Kouta smiled and extended his hand, "Hikari-kun, nice to meet you. Arisa told me about you today. Thank you so much for what you did on the bus."
Hikari smiled and shook his hand, "It was nothing, really, just a small favor."
Compared to Kouta's friendliness, his brother Kenta's attitude was much colder, he only gave a curt nod as greeting, to which Hikari simply nodded back.
After all, Hikari had helped Kouta's fiancee, not Kenta, so the latter's distant attitude was understandable.
However, there was one subtle action from Kenta that neither his brother nor Arisa noticed, but Hikari did.
Though Kenta's expression remained calm and indifferent, his eyes kept sneaking glances at Arisa's voluptuous chest and shapely rear, occasionally swallowing hard.
He was secretly ogling and fantasizing about his brother's beautiful, curvy foreign fiancee.
"Hikari-kun, do you also live around here?", Unaware she was being watched, Arisa asked cheerfully after the introductions.
"Yeah, I live in that house over there," Hikari nodded.
"Wow! That's so close! I'm going to be living here from now on, come visit me whenever you have time," After chatting with him on the bus before, Arisa had come to think of Hikari as her best friend in a foreign land. So finding out they lived nearby made her genuinely happy.
"Sure," Hikari answered politely.
Seeing how warmly Arisa interacted with Hikari, her fiance Kouta didn't seem to mind much, but his brother Kenta clearly looked displeased.
Hikari could even feel the faint hostility in Kenta's gaze.
He didn't pay it much attention and continued to chat casually with Arisa.
"Oh, right, I said I'd treat you to a meal to thank you, Hikari-kun. Is there a restaurant in the village? Kouta, let's take Hikari-kun out to eat, shall we?", Arisa turned to her fiance.
But Kouta looked troubled, "Arisa, didn't I tell you? I have to head to the city today to catch a flight abroad for business."
Hearing that, Arisa's face clouded with annoyance, "You bring me all the way to this village and then just leave? That's too much! I just want you to join Hikari-kun and me for a meal to thank him, is that really too hard?"
"I'm sorry," Kouta shook his head firmly, "I'm really busy, I don't have time. If you want to go, just take Hikari-kun by yourself."
Hearing that, both Arisa and Hikari were speechless.
Letting your own fiancee go dine alone with another man — even if you're busy, that's a bit much.
"It's fine. Let's save that meal for another time, no need to rush," Hikari said, breaking the awkward tension between the couple.
"See? Hikari-kun's not in a hurry, so why are you?", Kouta said smugly to his fiancee.
Then he clapped his brother on the shoulder and laughed, "Besides, Kenta's still here, right? Let Kenta go with you for that meal, how about that?"
"Me?", Kenta looked pleased to hear that, his gaze glued hungrily to his beautiful sister-in-law-to-be, his eyes shamelessly roaming over her ample chest and smooth thighs.
Although a bit slow on the uptake, Arisa suddenly noticed Kenta's lecherous look, she could faintly feel the lust in his eyes.
And seeing how much Kouta trusted his brother, Arisa couldn't help saying, "Kouta, why don't you take me with you abroad? Staying here in the countryside alone feels… inconvenient."
But Kouta shook his head, "No, no, that'd be too much trouble, you just got here. And bringing someone along while I do business would be inconvenient. I'd worry about you more if you came. You'll be fine here in the village, Kenta will take good care of you, so I can relax."
Hearing that, Hikari, who had clearly noticed Kenta's unconcealed le*d gaze, was speechless.
And Arisa, too, was left at a loss for words.
She argued with her fiance a bit more, but Kouta trusted his brother completely and insisted on leaving her in the village.
Since Arisa wasn't strong-willed, she reluctantly gave in.
When she finally agreed, she turned pleading eyes toward Hikari.
Between Kouta's brother Kenta and Hikari, the high schooler who had once saved her, Arisa trusted Hikari far more.
If staying in the village, especially under Kenta's care, made her uneasy, then knowing Hikari was also there was her only comfort.
Still, after a bit more small talk, Hikari didn't meddle in their family's affairs any further.
Because just then, a familiar sound echoed in his mind, the alert tone of the Pure Love Paper Crane.
[Ding! Anti–NTR Warning!]
[Your beautiful and caring Aunt Miyuri has caught the eye of a certain potential blond threat. NTR probability: moderate. Please take immediate countermeasures!]
Hearing that, Hikari lost interest in chatting with Arisa's family any longer.
After exchanging a few polite words, he made an excuse to leave.
Before he went, he secretly bound a Pure Love Warning Paper Crane to Arisa, since Kenta's lustful eyes were far too suspicious.
And given that Kouta could so casually leave his fiancee alone with his single older brother, he definitely had "cuckold victim" written all over him, so Hikari decided to set up precautions.
After all, hunting down cuckolders was his ongoing mission.
Once he'd handled that, he hurried off toward Aunt Miyuri's house.
———
Maybe because he walked quickly, by the time Hikari returned near Miyuri's home, she seemed to have only just gotten back herself.
From a corner, he saw three people standing at her doorway, Miyuri herself, Natsuki Kazuto, and his younger brother Natsuki Akito. The three were talking about something.
It seemed related to Akito's return, and also to Miyuri and Kazuto's upcoming marriage.
Hikari noticed that when the marriage was mentioned, Akito's face grew visibly dark.
Clearly, between Miyuri and her fiance's younger brother, her future brother-in-law, there was some kind of story.
He didn't know the details, but Hikari could guess the gist.
Still, he didn't care much about their complicated relationships.
His only concern was eliminating bull-headed men and ensuring Miyuri wouldn't fall victim to one.
Once that was done, and he finished the task Miss Mira had given him, he planned to leave the countryside altogether.
After watching for about half a minute, he saw the three finish talking.
Natsuki Kazuto picked up his briefcase and hurried off, apparently to work.
Once Kazuto was gone, only Miyuri and Akito remained, unaware that Hikari was quietly observing from the corner.
Now, the two, the soon-to-be sister-in-law and brother-in-law, close in age, stood staring at each other.
Their expressions were complicated; neither spoke, and the air between them turned awkwardly tense.
Finally, Akito couldn't hold back and spoke first.
"Miyuri-nee, are you really going to marry my brother?", His voice trembled slightly.
"Yes. We're already engaged. We're just waiting to pick a good day to hold the ceremony," Miyuri replied matter-of-factly.
"Um… Miyuri-nee, there's something I want to tell you. Can you come with me for a moment," Akito's face had gone pale as he spoke.
After a moment's hesitation, Miyuri followed him toward the back of the house, behind it was a small bamboo grove.
———
Standing hidden among the bamboo, Miyuri and Akito faced each other, silent once again.
This time, Miyuri spoke first.
"So… you finally decided to come back, huh?", she said coldly, staring at his timid face.
"Miyuri-nee, have you… been doing well these past two years?", Akito asked guiltily, avoiding her eyes.
"Fine! I've been very fine these years! Even though you left the village without a word back then, Kazuto's always taken good care of me, of course I've been fine."
Though her words said one thing, her tone was full of resentment, clearly, that wasn't the whole truth.
"I… I'm sorry… Miyuri-nee," Akito hung his head, his voice heavy with guilt.
"It's fine. You're my brother-in-law, there's nothing to apologize for," Miyuri said flatly.
"Are you really going to marry my brother?", Akito suddenly grew agitated, reaching out toward her.
"What are you doing? Don't touch me! I'm your sister-in-law!", Miyuri dodged his hand in alarm and irritation.
"I… I'm sorry," Akito blurted, realizing what he'd done. Then, his voice trembling, he said, "I still can't forget you, Miyuri-nee! Even after two or three years away, I think about you every single day!"
"I finally understand, I love you, Miyuri-nee!"
After who knows how long of internal struggle, Akito finally confessed.
But hearing that, Miyuri's eyes flickered, she didn't look happy at all. Her expression darkened, and her voice trembled with anger and bitterness.
"If that's how you felt, why didn't you tell me sooner? Why didn't you confess back then? I'm already engaged to your brother, and now you come to tell me this!"
Hearing that, Akito cried out emotionally, "Brother… I didn't expect him to beat me to it!"
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