The train heading home rumbled along as the twilight outside the window deepened.
Although it was Sunday, there weren't many passengers in the carriage. It looked a little empty at first glance. Sitting in a corner seat, Kaito found himself flanked on both sides by two green-haired girls, like retainers of a feudal lord in a Taiga drama, guarding their master in front of the palace gates.
Though if he went by his own feeling… didn't he feel more like a hotdog being squished inside a sandwich?
'Forget it. Such details aren't important.'
Some things were like that, once you get squeezed often enough, you just get used to it.
He didn't pay it much mind. Realizing there was still a ways to go before reaching home, he took out his phone to check if there were any messages he hadn't replied to yet.
Unlocking the screen, a few pop-up notifications greeted his eyes.
Naturally, the first was from Soyo. After the usual greetings from his girlfriend, she had quickly gotten down to business.
As more and more people were staying at home these days, their current residence was starting to feel a bit cramped.
To avoid a future situation where someone needed to stay over but there were no rooms available, Kaito had decided to move into a bigger place. Big enough to host a dozen people for a music party without feeling crowded.
So, some time ago, he had asked Soyo to help him look for suitable listings.
Of course, Soyo wouldn't refuse her boyfriend's request, and she had her own little private reasons as well.
If she could get Kaito to move closer to her home, then going to school together or meeting up for dates would be so much easier. And since her mom was often away, what used to feel lonely and cold now felt… like a golden opportunity.
As a couple deeply in love, chatting so happily that they lose track of time and end up having to stay the night, that's perfectly normal, isn't it?
And since they're already dating, sharing the same room to save space, that's normal too, isn't it?
Cough! Cough! The rest of that content would be behind a paywall. In short, it would be an intense battle.
[About that thing you asked me to do, I had Mom contact the landlord, just got a reply.]
[The address is right below my apartment. It's also a duplex, nicely furnished, just a bit smaller than mine. Final price, 988 million yen.]
[Mom says that's likely their bottom price, so not much room for negotiation.]
'988 million yen?'
Kaito raised his eyebrows.
A little more than he'd expected, but still within acceptable range.
He'd never been the type to obsess over money. Spend where it's worth spending, save where it's worth saving. And he trusted Soyo's judgment. If she thought the place was good, then it probably was.
The only problem was… his little "private fund" might not be enough.
Though he did have an exorcism side job, he only took commissions for the sake of life enjoyment, not profit. His income easily covered daily expenses, but buying a house was a different story.
Fortunately, understanding and considerate Soyo had already prepared for that. Sweetly, she suggested that she had some money saved since childhood, and if he didn't mind, he could use it.
And if even that wasn't enough, she could always ask her mother for help.
'Ah! The blessing of dating a rich girl. Ordinary women might distract a man from drawing his sword, but a rich woman? She'd buy him a sharper one.'
"Onii-chan, who are you texting?"
Before Kaito could reply, a small green head popped into view. Mortis tilted her head, trying to sneak a peek at his screen. Unfortunately, she couldn't see clearly, only catching a glimpse that seemed to suggest someone wanted to send him money?
"Nothing much. Just some adult stuff."
Kaito pocketed his phone. Though he was planning to move, nothing was decided yet, no need to announce it prematurely. Better to keep it as a surprise for later.
Mortis looked suspicious, 'What kind of "adult stuff" involves someone giving nii-chan money, and why hide it from me?'
That kind of vague excuse made her imagination run wild, 'Could it be that nii-chan has taken a wrong path… and gone to work as a host in some club?''
Beside her, Mutsumi wore a thoughtful expression. As Mortis's close sister in both blood and brain circuits, she'd clearly arrived at the exact same idea.
But then, the rational part of her brain reasserted itself, 'Onii-chan might be capable of becoming a host, but… it doesn't seem that likely.'
A bit of disappointment flickered across her face. If it really were true, she could have secretly gone to his club to boost his sales.
A hundred thousand yen in champagne might be steep for the daughter of Suzuki Mining, but for the daughter of celebrity Mori Minami, it was pocket change.
"What exactly are you two imagining?"
Seeing little Mortis's pained, almost tearful face, as if she were about to plead for him to "return to the right path", Kaito's mouth twitched. He lightly knocked her on the head and decided to clear things up, "I've been thinking of moving, so I asked Soyo before to help me look for a good place. She just got back to me. That's all."
'That's all?'
Mortis rubbed her forehead, the pain forgotten, she finally exhaled in relief.
'As long as her my nii-chan hasn't been ensnared by some rich woman, it is fine.'
She has already heard from Sakiko that her brother was thinking of moving, so this wasn't too surprising. But she was still curious, "How come you suddenly want to move?"
Mortis herself had no complaints about their current place. It wasn't as grand as the Wakaba Mansion, but it was cozier, it felt like home.
"The 3LDK layout's still a bit small. It's fine for now, but if guests come, it's not great to make them sleep on the couch."
Of course, that was only part of the reason.
The other… was that Mutsumi and Mortis weren't little kids anymore. Sharing a bed every night with him wasn't a long-term solution.
Might as well take this chance to get things back to how they should be.
After that little interlude, Kaito went back to checking his unread messages.
[Anon: Kaito-kun, good afternoon!]
That message had come in two hours ago. But back then, he was still at the aquarium, so he hadn't replied.
Perhaps because she hadn't gotten a response for a while, half an hour later Anon sent another one, this time with a sticker.
[Anon: angry_cat.jpg]
In the image, a cat was swiping its paw like it wanted to punch him through the screen.
Kaito casually typed back:
[Sorry, was busy just now.]
Almost instantly, her reply came, as if she'd been waiting the whole time.
[Anon: Finally! What were you doing that kept you so busy?]
———
[Chihaya Residence]
In a bedroom filled with the faint sweetness of a girl's scent, a girl in dinosaur-print pajamas lay sprawled on her bed. Her damp pink hair draped over her shoulders, while her pale white feet peeked from beneath the pajama hem, toes gently wiggling in the air, shiny like tiny shells and tinted with healthy pink.
The glow of her phone screen illuminated her face. Reading Kaito's message, [Was accompanying my little sisters to the aquarium.]
Chihaya Anon blinked in mild surprise.
'Kaito-kun… has sisters?'
'What kind of girls are they? I definitely have to meet them sometime.'
Drawing from her years of reading shoujo manga, Anon knew one universal truth about "childhood friend heroines": They almost always shared one key trait, the approval of the family.
Anon had faith in her social skills. As a top-tier extrovert, her greatest strength was connecting with others.
You like your brother, I like your brother, doesn't that make us allies?
Once she won over the little sisters, she'd basically count as half a "childhood friend heroine."
And combined with her "transfer student" background, that would form the strongest bond archetype, the Heavenly-Dropped Childhood Friend.
Cough! Cough! But that was all for later. For now, she had something more pressing.
———
[Anon: Kaito-kun, I have a question.]
[Anon: I want to ask out a friend I haven't hung out with in ages, what's a good excuse?]
Reading her message, Kaito thought for a moment.
He wasn't exactly an expert in romance, but when it came to inviting someone out, he could still think of plenty of casual reasons.
For example—
[Kaito: Go see a movie?]
[Anon: Sure! Sure!]
[Anon: Then it's settled!]
Kaito: —_—''
After two seconds of silence, he slowly typed back—
[Kaito: ?]
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