Chapter 241 - Planned Harmony
"Oh, Mizuki-chan...? Kaede, I thought you had lectures all day—"
"Fuka-san, sorry. We've got one more person from yesterday's group with us. We'll just be a minute."
"Oh... okay?"
"Sorry, we're intruding again!"
"Our apologies, it's an emergency evacuation!"
"Toshiki-kun and Shoko-chan, too, welcome...? Uhm... I don't mind, but—"
I was jostled around in the crammed car for a few minutes. Just when I thought I'd been freed from the vehicle sooner than expected, I was promptly ushered into an unfamiliar home—
Well, less a home and more a magnificent building just shy of a mansion. The dignified nameplate was engraved with the characters for 'Shijo,' so I figured that must be the case...
"And, uh, who might you be...?"
An adult woman who greeted us at the entrance turned her gaze to me, still sandwiched between Kaede and Shoko.
Is this her mother, or her older sister? The woman, whom Mizuki, leading the way, had called "Fuka-san," was a beauty with a gentle aura, much like Kaede's.
"Uh, nice to meet you...? My name is Haru Kasuga—"
"Big sis, sorry, we're going to my room."
Just as I, still reeling from the confusion, opened my mouth to introduce myself, Kaede—who had been silent ever since we met—pulled me along.
"Whoa, wait, wait! My shoes, I need to take off my shoes—hey!?"
Stumbling forward, I tried to stop her as the insistent pulling urged me to kick off my sneakers—and in the next instant, I was being hauled away again without a chance to protest.
Passing by the older sister, who now shared a bewildered expression with another woman, I was dragged through the unfamiliar residence by the 'young lady' of the Shijo household.