Hmm, hmm♪ Noow then, shall I give it my all as well, today!
Entering the kitchen, I began the cooking preparation. Because of various disturbances recently, I haven't been able to concentrate on cooking. It's about time that I really get into it, hey?
Today I'm planning on making harusame soup. It was a dish that was everywhere in my old life, but it took a lot of effort to reproduce it in this world. For the soup I'm using sesame and shiitake, as well as chopped egg and chopped spring onions. For the noodles, I'm going to boil ijizukisoh, which is similar to the texture of harusame.
I immediately jumped straight into the recipe. The movements were already set in my mind. All I need to do later is check the temperature, humidity, whether or not the ingredients are still okay, and flavour it based on that.
And then fifteen minutes after I began cooking…
It's finished. Yup. The vapour from the sesame and shiitake really whets your appetite. Seems good. After this, Dad just needs to prepare for the main dishes and today's preparations are done, but Dad still hadn't come to the kitchen yet.
That's weird. Even though Dad's always silently working here before more…
I stopped the fire on the soup, and headed to my parents' room to call Dad. Their room is just at the end of the hallway, when you leave the kitchen. Our house isn't particularly big, so I immediately arrived. When I opened the door, I called out to Dad.
"Dad? If we don't hurry up and prepare…"
"Tilea, huh. Give me a moment."
Mn? It's not only Dad here, but Mum too. Mum was sitting on a chair with her head hanging.
What's wrong?
Mum always has a cheerful and kind smile on, but right now she looks so sad. Mum's hands and legs were trembling, and she was pale.
"Mum, did something happen?"
"…It's nothing."
Although Mum said that, something definitely happened. The tone of her voice wasn't normal. It was like she was in terror from being cornered by a devil or something.
I walked to her side, and peered in on her face.
"Really, what happened? Is there something you're worried about? If there's anything I can do, just tell me. When I see you hurting like this, it hurts me too, Mum."
"Tilea… Mum is sorry for worrying you. You really are such a good girl."
Moved to tears, Mum gently patted me on the head.
It's my first time seeing her like this. I want to help her. But no matter how many times I asked about what was going on, Mum would only say "It's okay." and wouldn't tell me why she was down. What do I do to help her…
I turned my gaze to Dad to have him explain.
"Tilea, there's nothing to worry about. Sera's just a little tired."
"What do you mean?"
"Sera, you're worrying Tilea too. I'll explain what's going on. It's not big deal, Sera, it's just a misunderstanding. So don't look so serious."
"Y-, You're right. Thinking about it carefully, we have to tell Tilea too, don't we."
Mum fixed her sitting posture and looked at me with grave eyes. Seeing her expression… Yeah, it seems like something incredibly heavy. I gulped, and waited for Mum to start.
"I-, Is Timu out?"
"Mn, she's out. Apparently she's playing with Niel."
"I-, I see."
When Mum realised that Timu wasn't here, she let out a long sigh and looked relieved. Uh, she seems kind of vigilant against Timu.
Why…?
"Mum, did something happen with Timu?"
"…Hasn't that girl been strange recently?"
"Aahh. So that's what it is. Mum, don't worry about it so much. Timu is in a kind of rebellious phase right now."
I see. So Mum's been worried about Timu's behaviour lately. Chuuni syndrome is like a kind of disease that affects people in puberty. As long you don't aggravate it, it isn't a problem. I'll be watching over Timu in that respect, so it's all good.
Phew~ Mum was making such a serious face that I got a little scared. I'm a pro when it comes to chuunibyou, so leave it to me.
"Right, right? So you think so too, Tilea. Sera's just worrying too much. A bigger problem is that weird clothing you wore the other day!"
"Uu, give that baaack, Dad. It looked so good too…"
"Idiot! You think I'll let my young daughter wear such a shameless outfit! Honestly, you're too defenceless. If some strange guy started flirting with you…"
Dad mumbled in complaint. It seems that it's true that fathers dote on their daughters. Even though Dad is a complete cooking nut and usually never meddles with us.
Huhu, Daddy. Are you a tsundere? It's true that the two of us are exceptionally cute. In particular, Timu is like an angel when she puts on the maid outfit. I super understand Dad's feelings.
Dad, don't worry. I feel the same way. If any strange bugs start making moves on Timu, I'll punish them with my iron fists. After that, Dad and I continued to noisily argue about what would be good if not a maid outfit.
*imouto*
"It's not something AS SIMPLE AS A REBELLIOUS PHASEEEEE!"
"M-, Mum?"
While Dad and I were talking about silly things, Mum suddenly screamed in grief. Her expression was just as heartbroken as before. Even though I explained Timu's situation, it looks like she wouldn't understand.
"W-, When I look at that girl, I shudder. It's like somebody else switched place with my daughter… T-, That definitely isn't my child."
"Sera, that's not something that you should say!"
"You're right, Mum. I'll feel bad for Timu."
"You and Tilea don't understand a thing. You two are cooking idiots, and I mean that in a good way, so you haven't realised it."
Mum spoke with a sigh. It's true that when Dad and I get passionate about cooking, we start to lose sight of things. But not when it comes to Timu. She's my precious family after all.
"Mum, it's fine, honest. Timu's behaviour is just something temporary."
"What the heck do you mean 'cooking idiot'. I'm the head of this household. Of course I know what's going on with my family. You're tired, Sera."
"…Hu, hu, then tell me. Do you know what that girl said to me? Do you know what that girl really is?"
"Cut it out already! Timu is our daughter, and Tilea's younger sister. She's a precious member of our family!"
"It's just like Dad says. Mum, what's wrong? Timu is our precious family. Didn't you adore Timu as well, Mum!"
"Tilea, listen to me. That girl is a demon. THE REAL TIMU'S BEEN KILLED BY THE DEMONS! WAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Tears started falling from her face as she sobbed.
By 'demon'…
Oh crap. Seems like Mum heard Timu's chuuni talk.
"Mum, you're wrong. You see, Timu, right now she's playing pretend, and acting like she's a chosen one, a demon. That's all it is!"
"Hic-, hic-, and you know what else? What do you think that girl said to me? When I called her by her name, she said "I'll kill you." you know. Hic-, she said that only special beings were allowed to call her by that name!"
"Wha-!? Wha-!? Wha-!?"
"And you know? Hic-, hii-, t-, that girl told me "Call me Camilla." and that she would be leaving the house soon, and until then she could play the part of my family. Hic-, hii-, a-, and SHE WOULDN'T TAKEE MY LIFE UNTIL THEEEEEEN!"
"WHAAAAAAT!?"
To think that Timu said such outrageous things to Mum…
It felt my heart was going to break from the reality of all this. Timu is a chuunibyou, so it can't be helped that she pretends to be the demon Camilla. As one of the few people who knows about chuunibyou, I thought I needed to be understanding of her…
I was naive. Timu's been using chuunibyou to act violently towards her family. Not with physical violence this time, but verbal violence. I thought Timu reflected when I spanked her that day.
But I was wrong. Because Timu was afraid of being spanked, she just changed her target from me to Mum.
Oh my god…
It's a shock. And I now have a reason to spank her again.
"Mum, leave Timu to me."
"You can't! Tilea, you'll be killed!"
Heh? Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mum, what are you saying?
I was stunned by Mum's words. Was that some joke? ――Doesn't look like it. Mum was completely serious when she was talking about a little sister killing her older sister. From Mum's expression, I was keenly aware of how serious she was being.
Eh!? Serious!?
Mum's feeling really cornered then. I see. I get it now. There's no such word as chuunibyou in this world. There isn't any news or counseling either. It's not surprising that Mum thought Timu was like another person after having such cruel words spat at her.
Aah, when my chuunibyou was really bad in my last life, my parents must have thought of me the same way, huh? After all, my parents went to counseling and the hospital. My parents from my last life might have thought I was a different person as well.
My old Mum and Dad. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't realise. There's no parents who don't love their children.
After having that kind of thing said to her, Mum must have come to that conclusion after lot's and lot's of agonising in order to make sense of it all. Timu was a good girl before she came down with chuunibyou, so it must have worried Mum even more.
"Mum, Dad, leave this to me. I'll definitely, definitely fix this. For now, I'll try having a talk with Timu after she comes back from playing with Niel."
"Tilea, that man is dangerous too! You can't go near him!"
S-, Sorry? Pervert(Nielsen) is dangerous? Well, I guess in a certain sense, perverts are dangerous, but…
Hah-!? It can't be!
"Mum, it can't be that Niel said something too?"
"H-, He said that if I was rude, he would kill me."
Okay. He's dead. Even though I've been paying him so much attention, that bastard!
Pervert(Nielsen)'s death penalty is already set, but what do I do about Timu? No, there's no time to worry about this. Even while I'm standing here, Mum's love for Timu is disappearing. That would be a tragic end for both Mum and Timu.
Timu, this is for your sake. This time I'm going all out with your spanking. I can't always be the kind older sister. In order to discipline my cute little sister, I've decided to put on the mask of a hannya.
It should really be Sarah, but in this world filled with so many weird made-up names, it felt a little odd to have such a super average name in there. And well, Sera is basically the same name anyway, so no worries I guess.