"I... It looks weird on me."
"Shut up. You shouldn't just cut your hair despite what your sister says."
"You haven't met Yuki-nee, so what do you know? She's scary at times."
I told Yumeko.
"Oi, you look good this way, so shut up."
"But tying up my hair is a bit..."
Yumeko had come to visit me in the afternoon. It was when I returned to my room, she was waiting for me.
"This is your punishment for not answering my calls. You'll sport that ponytail proudly."
Yumeko chuckled.
Honestly, it was too short to call a ponytail. It changed the way I looked completely. If it wasn't for my masculine face, someone would mistake me for a girl, which I don't like.
I would remove this and get a haircut but...
"If you cut your hair, I'll insult you for the rest of your life."
I'd rather not risk it. I mean, it can't hurt, right? I know it will hurt if I don't keep it.
"Say, you know Aden-Lada, right?"
"Yeah, she was like my supervisor for most of my life. She'd often beat the shit out of me, though."
I understand but hearing her swear is a bit weird. Especially after she was training with Akane to be a servant.
"What're you trying to get at, anyway? Get to the point."
"Have you met any other Mortal Sins?"
"Yeah, all of them."
The toneless reply surprised me. She said it as if it was an everyday thing.
"T-then what was the Mortal Sin of Pride like when you met him?"
"Pride? If I'm correct that was..."
Yumeko was trapped in her thoughts. A second later, something seemed to snap in her head.
"Pride. I remember him. Apparently, he's the strongest Mortal Sin."
"Really? What was he like?"
"Well, for one, I thought he'd look like an old man but he didn't look older than 25. He had a prideful aura about him. His speech was somewhat regal and... I think he liked me."
"He liked you?"
"Well, Aden-Lada said that he takes interest in people who he sees potential with. One of his eyes, the Celestial Dragon, can see a user's full potential."
Well, anyway, it seems like talking to the Mortal Sin of Pride will be impossible. Not that I never knew that already. I just thought that knowing how the Mortal Sin of Pride acts would help me but I guess not.
It's making me even more reluctant.
"How do you know, Aden-Lada?"
"Huh?"
"I ask you how you know her since I don't remember telling you about her."
"Oh, she's the Emperor that I fought."
"Surprised she let you go but makes sense, I guess. Her mood is ever-changing."
No, there's always something on her mind, fighting. That's her seemingly single mood.
"Oh, yeah, why did you come to see me?"
"Ah, I wanted to tell you why Akane isn't at school."
"Isn't it for family business?"
"Oh, yeah. How did you know that?"
"Emika told me."
Yumeko looked at me, suspiciously.
"Well, anyway, she has to go there privately on family business. It has to do with her older sibling. Her older sister is getting married."
"That's good for her, I guess."
"You know, I was expecting more from my master's boyfriend and my brother. I thought you'd be more expressive."
Gah, I can't say it's because my other lover is in some sort of difficult situation. I feel like Yumeko would worry too much. She'd worry about me.
"It means that you're dealing with something troublesome, am I right?"
"You're good, you know that?"
I conceded when she surmised that much.
"After being a good pawn for most of my life, I instantly know when people are hiding something from me. Reading people's emotions is easy, especially yours."
I forgot that she hasn't exactly led a normal life until a little while ago. I don't even know if you can call being a servant 'normal.'
"Though, there is one person I can't read."
"Who's that?"
"My roommate, Kei Sasaki."
Ah, that's ironic since her Singularity is to read emotions. Well, I'm not going to act like I don't know how Yumeko feels. Kei is pretty hard to read, however, after coming to Altheria, I feel like she's showing more emotions.
I internally chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
Yumeko grimaced, annoyed by me. Her cheeks turned slightly red.
"It's ironic since her Singularity is to read emotions."
"Speaking of which, you mentioned her the last time. Do you know her?"
"Do you two get along?"
"Not particularly. She nags a lot about so many typical things and when I tell her to sleep early, she begins to shout at me."
Typically.
I took my phone out and texted Kei.
"Now, answer my previous question. Do you know her?"
Since Kei didn't answer my text, I called her.
"Yeah, I do. She's my sister."
Yumeko froze in shock.
"I thought you only had one stepsister."
"Nope, Kei is the younger of the two."
Kei picked up.
[What do you want now, we met earlier?]
"Come to my room. I want you to meet someone."
[The way you're saying it is like you met a new girl. If it's a girl, I'll kill you, understand?]
"U-uh, well..."
I couldn't answer. When I couldn't, Kei lost her temper.
[You idiot! Stop getting close to girls! All of them will want to be your girlfriend eventually.]
"Yes, yes."
Yumeko was silently nodding along behind me.
I stared at her with an idiotic expression.
"Don't worry, don't worry. This girl is someone who can't become my girlfriend."
I said to reassure her. In the first place, I never thought any of the girls I know would want to date me of all people. There are better people... I'm not talking about Alexander though. I'm way better than him.
[Hm? What does that mean?]
"Just come to my room. You'll be surprised."
[Fine...]
Kei resigned over the phone and cut the line.
"It's time that you sisters get acquainted."