The next day.
As I arrived at the Ousei Academy for the first day of school, everyone greeted me with the same cheerful attitude. As I took my seat after greeting everyone one by one, Ryo and Shingo-kun came over to me.
"Yuuya! Morning!"
"G-good morning, Yuuya-kun."
"Oh, Ryo and Shingo-kun! Good morning you two."
"Long time no see… feels weird, but it's been a while since we hung out at the beach. Are you enjoying your summer vacation?"
"Yeah. How are you two doing?"
"I went to my grandmother's house and went to a relative's party, so I didn't get to hang out much. Well, I'm glad everyone is doing well."
"I-I've been playing games with the members of the game club. Also, there were a lot of anime in the summer…"
"I see; you're both having fun."
In my case, I haven't even met my parents, let alone my relatives, so it's hard to say. I wonder what everyone is doing now? It must be tough, especially with Yota and Sora…
As I was thinking about this while talking with Ryo and the others, Kaede came in cheerfully.
"Good morning! Long time no see, everyone! How have you been?"
"Good morning, Kaede. A lot of things happened after we went to the beach, but I'm fine."
"Huh? I'm a little curious about the "a lot of things" part. Right? Yukine."
"…Morning."
"Ah, Rin-chan! Yukine-chan!"
Then, Rin and Yukine gathered around my seat, and it became somewhat lively.
…I think it's very nice.
I've never had the pleasure of talking to anyone at school like this before, but it's really fun to catch up on what's going on with everyone and have casual conversations like this.
Just when I thought the battle against Evil was over and I could spend my time in peace, I'm now caught up in a space quarrel.
By the way, I've asked Merl-san to stay home today. I really don't want to let her out of my sight too much, but I guess it can't be helped.
Now that I'm trying to bring something from the other world to use as fuel for the spaceship, there shouldn't be any problems in particular.
Besides, there's Night and the others.
As I was thinking about this, Kaori appeared in our classroom.
"…Ah, everyone!"
"Eh? Kaori! Good morning."
"Yes, good morning! I met Yuuya-san by chance yesterday, but it's been a while since I've seen you all."
After Kaori finished greeting everyone, she secretly asked me.
"By the way, um… the woman who was with Yuuya-san yesterday, is she still…?"
"Hmm? Yes, Merl-san is still at my house. I think she'll be staying at my house until her spaceship is fixed… Well, I heard that Ouma-san knows where to find something that could be used as fuel for the spaceship, so I think it won't be long."
"I-is that so? Um… Nothing has happened, has it?"
"Hmm…?"
What is it… that thing that messed up my house? Or is it the alien attack itself?
There are a lot of crazy things happening around my house at the moment…
As I was pondering the meaning of Kaori's question, Kaede noticed what we were doing.
"Hey, hey, what are you two talking about? It seems like you're whispering to each other…"
"Eh?"
"Oyaoya? Maybe you two are dating in secret?"
"Eh? R-really!?"
Rin commented scandalously, and Kaede, who took the words seriously, shouted in shock.
"T-that's not true! I've got an acquaintance staying at my house right now, and Kaori happened to meet this person yesterday, so we were just talking about it."
"T-that's right!"
Kaori also said that, and for some reason, Kaede showed a deep sense of relief.
"I-I'm so glad… I was just──."
"Just?"
"I-it's nothing! Ahahaha."
She seemed a bit distracted, but if Kaede says so, it's probably best not to ask any more questions. In contrast to Kaede, Rin showed a deliberate look of disappointment.
"What? It's boring."
"Even if you say it's boring…"
"…But, who's this person that's staying at your house?"
As Yukine blurted out, Kaede took up the conversation again.
"T-that's right! The person who's staying at the moment, c-could it be… a woman…?"
"Eh? T-that's… Um… How should I say this…?"
"Ah… Yuuya? You can't fake that already, can you?"
"No way!"
"I-I think I can cover it up…"
Ryo and Shingo-kun have a bitter smile on their faces… but I didn't realize that they knew before I tried to fool them…
"Um… Well, she's temporarily at my house now, the same way that Yuti is at my house."
"Oh. You mean that new transfer student everyone's talking about?"
"I-it's amazing, isn't it? She was popular in the middle school on her first day, and now she's popular in the high school as well…"
"Eh, what happened to Yuti?"
"S-so Yuuya-kun who lives with her doesn't even know about it…"
Well, there is a certain air of unworldliness about Yuti, and her physical abilities, as a disciple of the Bow Saint, are excellent in many ways.
These days, Kaori has taught her the common sense of our world, so she no longer acts in an outrageous manner, but even so, the natural parts she shows at a moment's notice makes people feel more comfortable with her.
In any case, I'm glad that everyone seemed to have accepted her.
Once the conversation went off-topic, I quickly asked everyone about it.
"Well, you said earlier that you were meeting with your relatives, but did anyone else visit you or go out with you?"
Kaori then answered my question with a happy expression on her face.
"Oh, my little sister is coming home tomorrow!"
"Eh, your little sister?"
"Kaori, you have a younger sister?"
Not only me but also everyone else seemed to have never heard of it and were surprised by Kaori's words.
"Yes! My little sister has been following my mother overseas for work, and she's currently attending a school overseas…"
"Your mother also works abroad, huh…"
"…The more I hear about it, the more it sounds like an amazing family."
"It's really amazing."
When Kaede and the others sincerely muttered this, Kaori hurriedly continued.
"N-no! My father and mother are indeed remarkable, but I'm not even close! My sister is also working hard overseas, and as an older sister, I can't afford to lose!"
I think it's already amazing that she can think like that, but I guess that's Kaori's strength.
When family members are accomplished, it's natural to think that you're great too. I think it's hard to think of yourself as separate from your family. It's something I'd like to learn from.
Kaori had been cheerfully talking about welcoming her sister back, but her expression suddenly became cloudy.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"No, it's just that… I'm really happy that my little sister is coming home, but recently my father has been receiving a lot of threatening letters."
"Threatening letters?"
We were all surprised at the unexpected contents. Aren't threatening letters too… disturbing?
"Yes. It demanded money… If my father didn't pay it, his daughter's life would be in danger…"
"I-is that all right?"
"It's okay because nothing has happened yet, but… because of that, we've been increasing the number of guards lately."
"Oh, I see…"
No wonder there were so many people guarding Kaori yesterday.
Fortunately, I've given Kaori a crisis ring, which may be difficult to use at school, but if she wears it regularly, she'll be able to transfer to my house in an instant if something goes wrong. In the meantime, she should be careful while she's at school.
"So, to be safe, I don't really want my little sister to come home… but since we can't see each other very often, and since she's more feisty than me… she doesn't want to lose to the threats…"
"S-she's a pretty amazing sister…"
She didn't want to be defeated by the letters. Kaori also has a strong character, but she has never felt particularly strong-willed, which is strange. In terms of personality, is Kaori like Tsukasa-san? They both seem to be calm and composed.
"When my sister is coming back, my father has prepared proper guards at the airport, so as long as nothing happens to her before she arrives at the airport, I think she will be fine…"
Kaori looked somewhat uneasy, but she seemed to be really looking forward to seeing her sister and seemed happy. I hope everything is fine.
While everyone was giving each other updates, the time for homeroom was approaching, so they went back to their respective classrooms and seats to prepare for their assignments.