On the other side.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who had fallen into a brief daze, looked back and forth between Tanaka Masao and Kashi.
First, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and then she couldn't help but ask,
"Hiratsuka-sensei, you just said they were family. Is that what I think it means?"
Seeing the usually aloof Yukinoshita Yukino show such an expression, Hiratsuka Shizuka found it a bit amusing.
She shrugged, indicating that she wasn't entirely sure herself.
Both of them simultaneously shifted their gaze to Tanaka Masao.
Feeling their stares, Tanaka Masao naturally knew what they were thinking, and he asked, somewhat displeased,
"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of look is that? Do Kashi and I really not look like family?"
Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka exchanged glances, then looked at Kashi, and in perfect synchronicity, nodded at Tanaka Masao.
The meaning was clear.
[How could a guy like you have such a cute little sister? She definitely can't be biological.]
Tanaka Masao was deeply hurt by that look.
"You... how could you two be like that!"
Seeing the distressed Tanaka Masao, Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka both felt a little ashamed.
Indeed, they shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
Although Tanaka Masao and Kashi's appearances were very different.
But what if, what if Tanaka Masao actually had good genes and was just too fat right now, and would look good once he lost weight?
But before the two could reflect for too long, they heard Tanaka Masao speak.
"Alright, you guessed right. We're not biological siblings. Kashi, she's someone I picked up."
"Yahallo (Just as I thought)."
Yukinoshita Yukino and Hiratsuka Shizuka both nodded.
They knew it; how could two people be family?
"Wait."
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly realized something was wrong.
"You said you 'picked her up.' Are you sure you're not using the wrong word? It should be 'adopted,' right?"
"I didn't use the wrong word. I really did pick her up."
Looking at Tanaka Masao's serious expression, Yukinoshita Yukino looked suspicious.
"Where did you pick her up?"
"Just a couple of days ago, in the river under the bridge on our way home."
Yukinoshita Yukino remembered the bridge Tanaka Masao was talking about.
The two of them had often passed that bridge on their way home recently.
In the evening, the scenery there was quite nice, and she liked it very much.
Every day when she walked there, she would unconsciously slow down.
But does that place randomly spawn cute little lolis?
Why hadn't she picked one up?
To be honest, from the first moment she saw Kashi, Yukinoshita Yukino was deeply attracted.
Not for anything else, but for the pair of cat ears on her head.
Isn't this a perfect cat girl? She wondered how they felt to the touch.
Tanaka Masao pulled Kashi closer and introduced her to the two.
"Let me introduce her. This is Tanaka Kashi."
Hearing Tanaka Masao's introduction of her, Kashi retorted,
"'Tanaka' is redundant. Just call me Kashi."
In the Demon World, being given someone else's surname usually symbolized a servant or subordinate.
Although in the human world, a surname meant family, Kashi was still reluctant to acknowledge it.
At this moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.
"Um, can you really pick them up by the river?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka, who had been single until now, thought it wouldn't be bad to pick up a cute daughter to raise.
That way, her family probably wouldn't rush her into blind dates anymore.
Tanaka Masao nodded, "You can pick one up if you're unlucky."
Kashi also nodded.
"That's right, that's right, if you're lucky, you can..."
Suddenly, she reacted.
"Hey, what do you mean 'unlucky'? Explain yourself! It's your honor to meet me, alright?"
Facing the baring-her-teeth Kashi, Tanaka Masao simply chose to ignore her and continued eating his lunch.
"Damn it!"
Kashi stomped her foot, but before she could go up and argue with him, her stomach rumbled.
"Uh, I need to eat."
Tanaka Masao continued to eat with his head down, replying, "I'm not sharing my lunch with you."
Kashi glanced at Tanaka Masao's lunch and said with great disdain,
"Hmph, your bland lunch? I wouldn't even want to eat it."
Just as the two were bickering, Yukinoshita Yukino spoke.
"If you don't mind, you can have some of my bento first."
Upon hearing this, Kashi stood on her tiptoes and looked at Yukinoshita Yukino's bento box.
At this point, about half of the bento box remained.
The somewhat hungry Kashi was very interested in the few egg rolls left inside.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, meanwhile, opened the Service Club door and said,
"That won't be enough. I haven't eaten lunch yet either. I'll go to the supermarket to buy some. You all wait for me here."
"Oh, oh, then we'll trouble you, Shizuka."
Tanaka Masao clearly saw that Hiratsuka Shizuka's steps visibly paused when Kashi called her "Shizuka."
[She can call her Shizuka directly? Is this a privilege only for children?]
After Hiratsuka Shizuka left, Yukinoshita Yukino waved to Kashi.
"Before Hiratsuka-sensei comes back, just eat a little of my bento."
Kashi, who never knew what politeness was, naturally wouldn't refuse.
"Then I'll try some."
Yukinoshita Yukino moved a chair next to her for Kashi to sit down.
Then she picked up an egg roll with chopsticks and brought it to Kashi's mouth.
"Here, ah~"
"Ah."
Kashi opened her mouth and ate it quite naturally. The wonderful taste instantly made her squint her eyes, her face full of happiness.
"Delicious."
Seeing Kashi's expression, Yukinoshita Yukino's lips also curved into a smile.
Tanaka Masao stopped eating, staring blankly at the scene.
The gentle Miss Yukinoshita was so beautiful.
If he were to marry Yukinoshita Yukino and have children in the future, she would probably be like this.
No, rather than being gentle to children, Tanaka Masao wanted Yukinoshita Yukino to be this gentle to him, to personally feed him.
At this moment, Tanaka Masao's envy for Kashi grew even stronger.
[Damn it, isn't she just a little cute? Why is she so popular and gets so many benefits?
If only I could also become a cute little girl...
Ahem, never mind, I don't seem to want that. This is fine for now.]
Tanaka Masao's direct gaze was somewhat intense, bringing Yukinoshita Yukino, who was originally immersed in Kashi's cuteness, back to reality.
She coughed slightly, a little embarrassed, and returned to her usual cool tone as she asked,
"Tanaka-kin, if you're staring at me so intently, is there something you need?"
"Uh, it's just that just now..."
Tanaka Masao hesitated for a moment before continuing,
"Xuezhixia Classmate's expression looked very gentle, just like a kind mother."
Saying this, Tanaka Masao revealed an endearingly simple smile. (See cover for details)
This smile did not receive Yukinoshita Yukino's approval; her expression became even more serious.
"Tanaka-kin, never mind that. Did you eat a bit too much meat for lunch today? That won't help you lose weight. How about you only eat vegetables starting tomorrow?"