Chapter 973 - 11/23
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◇Close Siblings Talk Room◇
【Ri-na】: Onii-san
【Ri-na】: Onii-san
【Ri-na】: Hey
【Haru】: What is it, what's up?
【Haru】: Morning
【Haru】: You changed the room name to something ridiculous again
【Ri-na】: Morning
【Ri-na】: Praise me?
【Haru】: So random
【Ri-na】: You watched it, right?
【Haru】: Well, yeah
【Haru】: I watched it
【Haru】: Or rather, I had the pleasure of viewing it
【Ri-na】: Praise me
【Ri-na】: I worked hard, you know
【Haru】: You did great work
【Ri-na】: That's appreciating the effort
【Ri-na】: Praise. Me.
【Haru】: It was amazing
【Haru】: First time I've watched an idol concert in real time
【Haru】: It was just... incredible
【Haru】: If it was that intense just watching online, I can't imagine how insane it would be in person
【Ri-na】: Are you... praising me?
【Haru】: Of course I'm praising you
【Haru】: It made me want to watch again
【Ri-na】: Yay
【Ri-na】: There are still a few more shows
【Ri-na】: If you feel like coming to the venue, just let me know
【Ri-na】: I'll always save one ticket for you
【Haru】: How exactly do you plan on giving it to me...?
【Ri-na】: Next year, both Miina and I will have a lot more free time
【Ri-na】: We're going on the Princess's summer trip, too, you know?
【Ri-na】: Which means, meeting in real life is only a matter of when
【Ri-na】: Just give up, okay?
【Haru】: By the way, that last new song was great
【Ri-na】: I love how you're not even trying to be subtle with that topic change. It's so desperate.
【Haru】: The new song was great!! What was it called, that Hi-fi something!!!
【Ri-na】: Hi-fi-Ri*gel
【Ri-na】: It's an important song, so remember it properly, okay?
【Haru】: All your songs are like that, aren't they? They've all got an 'M' or an 'R' in the name.
【Haru】: I like that kind of consistency
【Ri-na】: Because that's what Miina likes
【Ri-na】: It just ended up that way after taking her requests
【Haru】: I looked it up once and was shocked, but
【Haru】: Is it true that Riina-san writes and composes basically all of Minalina's songs?
【Ri-na】: Yes
【Haru】: That's insane
【Haru】: I never knew you were so amazing...
【Ri-na】: And that amazing person is your little sister, you know. You should be happy.
【Haru】: Though her tendency to say crazy things lately is a bit of a flaw.
【Ri-na】: You can brag about me if you want
【Haru】: That would cause a massive internet firestorm, you know...
【Ri-na】: The new song
【Ri-na】: What part did you like about it?
【Haru】: Hmm?
【Haru】: Ah
【Haru】: It felt... refreshing? Or rather
【Haru】: like, bright and clear. Something like that?
【Haru】: It felt fresh, like it was a rare style for one of your main songs
【Ri-na】: Like a Nagisa Umizakai song
【Haru】: Huh
【Haru】: Is this a trick question?
【Ri-na】: It's fine. You're right, that was a conscious influence.
【Ri-na】: It's not like I copied her, though.
【Ri-na】: I just used the theme of her music as a reference.
【Ri-na】: I've always loved Nagi-chan's music, so... it's a sign of respect.
【Haru】: Nagi-chan
【Ri-na】: Hehe
【Haru】: Ah, uh, so, why the sudden reference?
【Haru】: Ah, wait, maybe it wasn't so sudden.
【Haru】: Just something you'd been thinking about for a while.
【Ri-na】: I wrote it in three days, one week before the concert.
【Haru】: What?
【Ri-na】: I didn't have enough time to prepare, so the instrumentals had to be a recording, but
【Ri-na】: I sang my heart out. So I'm glad you liked it.
【Haru】: Hi-fi-Ri*gel
【Haru】: You know...
【Haru】: No, it's nothing.
【Haru】: It's nothing. I don't know anything.
【Ri-na】: Hehe
【Haru】: Please, seriously, don't say anything else───
'Hey, siscon.'
"Whoa..."
Clack, clack. Clunk, clunk.
It wasn't the faint vibrations traveling through my body that startled me, but the words thrust right in front of my face.
My gaze shifted from the phone in my hands, where I had been frantically typing, to the phone in front of me. And beyond that, the pair of green eyes staring daggers at me—a textbook half-lidded glare—pulled me back to the present.
Peeking through the train window was the color of mountains. It was a familiar sight for someone like me who grew up inland, a scene where the best course of action was to just gaze out vaguely without trying to identify any particular spot.
...I don't remember it, of course, but six months ago...
This was the path that had carried me to a new land as I embarked on a life of my own for college.
And now, that very same path────
'How long are you going to keep flirting with your self-proclaimed little sister? Are you two that close?'
"Well, I mean..."
'"I mean"! You don't have to deny it, but still!!!'
"What am I supposed to do..."
────I was currently traveling in reverse.
November 23rd. The day after the Minalina birthday concert, where my 'sister,' who was at this very moment spamming me with messages demanding attention after I suddenly went quiet, was also present.
In other words, approximately two weeks after the previous events.
'Seriously, you? You're surrounded by all these beautiful girls right now, and you're still getting chummy with another one from a distance?'
"Could you please stop teasing me about that? It actually kind of hurts..."
'Then pay more attention to me! Don't think you can shut me up with a bento box!!!'
"You were actually super quiet for like thirty minutes, though."
'It was delicious!!!'
"Well, I'm glad to hear it..."
And so went the very energetic Nia-chan from the seat across from me.
Or rather, Liliania Vroobel, whose fairy-like foreign beauty was hidden behind sunglasses and a bucket hat (which arguably made her stand out even more). She was joined by...
""────........................""
Next to me, and next to Nia.
The other half of the four-person box seat was occupied by two girls sitting by the windows in silence... a silence so profound it made me feel bad for the commotion next to me.
With a miniature toy shogi board between them, Sora Yotsuya and Alicia 'Ashe' White were engaged in a battle so fierce it made me shudder, as if I were watching a professional title match.
From the sidelines, I couldn't make heads or tails of their high-level plays... but this was probably it, the reason Nia had started pestering me.
A little while ago, the three of them had been chatting and playing peacefully, but while I was busy dealing with my self-proclaimed sister, the two competitive players must have gotten heated────
And so, this was it... the journey home.
A vibration signaled an incoming message. I glanced back down at my phone, but the notification wasn't from my pestering sister.
────Mom: Your arrival time is still the same as planned, right?
It was from my family, whom I would be seeing face-to-face for the first time in six months.
"...?"
""..................""
My eyes met Nia's, who seemed bored after being left out of the game. Then I glanced at the profiles of Sora and Ashe, lost in their match.
"..................Haaah..."
'Hey, that was super rude. Sighing right after we make eye contact is extremely rude, and I demand a penalty.'
"A penalty?"
'Lap pillow.'
"Impossible in these seats. Go ask Ashe."
Excitement, half. Nostalgia, half. And an anxiety that easily enveloped and swallowed everything else.
As I carefully held onto all those feelings, not letting a single one drop...
────On schedule. We should be there in about two more hours.
Clack, clunk.
...Compared to my other self, to Haru, my pace was decidedly more relaxed.
The train moved on without stopping, steadily carrying us forward.
Incidentally...
"──────... Checkmate...!!"
"...────, ..................I concede."
The heated battle between the angel and the princess was won by the former.