Ina: Nanaiko had gone to Hokkaido with Okaya. Meanwhile, back home…
Her little sister Akari, a high school girl, was working a shift at Café Alkuma. Ka-ron ka-ron♪
“Welcome in… Whoa, it’s Rushia!”
Kaidera Rushia. She was the light novel author assigned to Okaya.
She was a petite girl known for her distinctive white hair and red eyes.
Usually, she wore traditional kimono regardless of the season, but…
“Huh? What’s this? You’re dressed quite cutely today.”
As Akari observed, Rushia’s outfit today was remarkably casual.
A white dress paired with a large straw hat—a fresh and lovely look.
“Oh, it was Okaya’s idea. He said I should wear clothes like a normal girl sometimes.”
A tall man in a suit emerged from behind Rushia. “Hey there, Nierikawa-san.”
“It’s been a while, Akari-chan.”
A large man with a Terminator-esque appearance; his name was Jirota Ninukawa.
The Ninukawa siblings worked as bodyguards for the Karuta Group.
Their shifts varied day by day, and apparently today was the day Jirota was assigned to protect Rurushia.
Ninukawa pulled out a chair, prompting Rurushia to sit in it.
Akari promptly brought over two servings of cold water.
“Much obliged for your kindness, but I’m the security detail, after all.”
“Oh, I see. That must be tough.”
With that, Ninukawa stepped outside the shop.
“He’s wearing all that in this sweltering heat?”
“I’ve told him a dozen times he could wear cooler biz attire, but he won’t listen.” “So dedicated.”
The menu was placed in front of Rurushia. As she flipped through the pages, Akari spoke up.
“Hey, Rurushia. Did you and O-garin… do it?”
Rushia’s eyes widened for a split second. That glance alone told Akari everything.
In other words, Okaya had slept with Rushia.
For just an instant, her chest throbbed with a sharp pang of pain.
The man she loved was sleeping with another woman. Given the depth of her affection for Okaya, it was only natural that Akari’s heart ached.
But she quickly steadied her composure.
Because this was exactly part of her plan.
Akari was seducing Okaya to break down his walls as a man. She was trying to drag him into degradation.
After all, in Okaya’s eyes, Nanaeko and Akari were nothing but children.
She intended to drag him down from being a【sensible adult】into a【single stud in heat】. In pursuit of that goal, she even considered it acceptable for him to sleep with other women.
“Aah. I see. You’ve understood well, then.”
Unaware of Akari’s schemes, Rushia puffed out her chest, huffing smugly.
“Not long ago, when Okaya came to my house, I gave him my first time.” “Oh, I see. Congratulations.”
Lushia was surprised that Akari was keeping her composure.
She had expected the girl to be far more shaken. “Why are you looking so shocked?”
“I thought I’d give you a much bigger shock.”
“Oh? Is it not really all that bad?”
For a split second, a tense atmosphere drifted between them. But… Lushia sighed.
She realized that trying to outdo each other right there would be pointless.
“A part-time job? Hard luck for you, with the summer break coming up.” “Not really. What about you?”
“I’m working. In the gaps between my work shifts.”
Lushia’s duties as Hitada. And her real day job—or what she thought was her real day job—as a light novel author.
Even though Lushia held down two jobs, she didn’t find it burdensome.
To her, writing light novels was her true purpose in life. “Do your best.” “Thanks.”
Lushia spread out a manuscript sheet and began to write.
Akari brought over her iced coffee and sat down next to him.
“Do you do anything besides your part-time job? Like going out with your sister?”
“No, my older sister is currently on a date trip with Ocarin.” “Hah!?”
Lushia, who always wore a mask of ease, showed visible shock for the first time. “What happened?”
“N-no… I’m sorry. It was an unexpected… turn of events.” “Is that so?” “What occurred?”
Akari informed them that their sister had gone to an open campus event.
Lushia nodded, acknowledging it made sense.
“Accompanying her, I see. Right, that must be it… yes, that must be it…”
She remembered a deeper nuance than that.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t like your older sister and Ocarin traveling together?”
“W-well, of course I do. It’s just that Oka is… WATASHI’S…” “‘Ours,’ right?”
Oka was seeing multiple women.
The women are perfectly content with the situation.
Lusia didn’t seem particularly bothered by it either, accepting the state of affairs as a matter of course… It was only natural for multiple females to chase after a strong male…… But… “Hmph……”
“Whatcha doing, gettin’ scared of having a harem now all sudden?”
Akari flashed a relaxed, smug grin.
On the other hand, Lusia, whose sore spot had been hit squarely on target, remained flustered as she spoke.
“W-What about you? Your sister might take away your okayaka, you know?”
“It’s totally fine, totally fine. There’s nothing like that going on.”
“…You trust her quite a bit, don’t you?”
“It’s not exactly trust or anything. I just get what kind of person my older sis is, you know.”
Akari believed she wasn’t the type of woman who would go for a forced-romance scenario.
“S-So that’s how it is… Hmph, but… Mmm-hmm!”
Lusia was in a state of intense agitation.
Just the other day, that man I loved so deeply…
…casually went traveling with another woman.
I didn’t mind before. But now… I’m laying my possessiveness bare for all to see.
“You’re becoming quite human too, you know.”
Akari was right. Rusia, who had been like a doll before, was gaining more and more human emotions through her interactions with Okaya.
She had been forced to act as Hidaka’s woman. She had killed off her self, disciplined herself, and lived that way.
Because of that… the Rusia from back then was practically a corpse. The current her is more human. “Akari…” “Hm? What?”
“What time does your part-time job end? I’d like you to keep me company for a bit.”