About thirty minutes after a light argument with Frost-san—
"Can I talk to you?"
While I was watching a video in my room, there was a sudden knock on the door, followed by a gruff voice.
There is only one person who can make such a voice.
I didn't even imagine that Frost-san would approach me herself...
"What's up?"
"May I come into your room?"
I look around the room.
The bookshelves are lined with baseball magazines, baseball and training books, as well as old videos of professional baseball and Koshien Stadium.
Above all, there are many posters of a certain foreign player on the wall, whom I have admired for a long time.
I don't want other people to see them.
"No, I'm coming out. Give me a second."
I said so and went out into the corridor, being extra cautious so no one could see inside the room.
"You're behaving as if you don't want me to see inside your room."
Naturally, Frost-san, who has a keen eye, would have pointed this out if I made such a suspicious move.
"I'm a guy with the same age as you, I have a lot of things I don't want girls to see."
"What?"
How did she interpret my words?
Her white face instantly turned bright red.
It's an unexpected reaction.
"You beast."
Frost-san glared at me reproachfully with a reddened face.
I see, she's quite reserved with stuff like this, isn't she?
The last thing she said was in English, but as you'd expect, I know at least what "beast" means.
"My bad. So, what did you want to talk about?"
I tried to apologize, but Frost-san kept staring at me and wouldn't say anything.
Since she came to me, she was the one who wanted to talk to me, so I kept quiet and waited for her to cut to the chase.
Then she suddenly took a deep breath and looked at me with a stormy expression.
"I've just had a bath, as you can see. I don't want to catch a cold talking in the corridor, so could you let me into your room?"
She is currently dressed in peach-colored pajamas and her hair is slightly damp.
Time-wise, she probably came straight to my room after leaving the bath.
I honestly don't care if she has just had a bath or not, but she is deliberately trying to get into my room, probably because I'm trying to hide my room from her...
"Why should I? Are you interested in what's in my room?"
"T-That's not it! I'm just..."
Perhaps because she was flustered, she started speaking in English again.
When she lived alone with Jessica-san, she would have spoken English at home, and perhaps she has a habit of speaking English when she's flustered.
The reason this isn't a rumor at school is simply because no one has ever seen her when she gets flustered.
I don't exactly understand what she's saying, but I know she's in denial anyway.
"The fact that you want to go in means you're interested, right?"
"I'm not interested... I'm not interested at all, so could you please stop saying nonsense?"
Perhaps she's not comfortable with this kind of talk, and she started speaking very quickly.
However, I'm not very good at English to begin with, so if she speaks quickly like this, I can't understand what she's saying at all.
"Hey, talk to me in Japanese, not English."
So I asked her to speak in Japanese.
Frost-san, realizing that she was speaking in English, made a deliberate coughing sound, then looked at me with a sharp expression.
But her face was still red.
"O-Okay, fine, whatever! I'll talk to you here then."
I don't know how she came to this conclusion from the flow of the conversation earlier, but she probably thought it was a bad idea.
It was a wise decision from her to withdraw at this point, as I was planning to poke fun at her without hesitation now that I had found a weakness in her.
Well, I heard rumors that she was a very cold girl with no mercy at all, but I don't have the impression that she's as difficult to get hold of as the rumors say.
She could be bossy, pompous, or overbearing, but she could also be approachable if she showed this initial reaction.
"So again, what were you trying to tell me?"
I wasn't going to poke around in a bad way, since she had already accepted the situation.
If someone has something to say to you, you should quickly ask them what they want and end the conversation.
"I'm sorry I called you a delinquent earlier..."
Eh?
What kind of unreasonable demands is she going to impose on me?
I was bracing myself for this, but Frost-san apologized to me.
"Like I said, I'm sorry for what I said earlier..."
She must have thought I was asking back.
She grimly turned her face away and said the same thing again.
I didn't know she was capable of apologizing...
I feel bad for saying this, but it was very unexpected.
"What made you become like this...?"
"Don't look at me like you're looking at something you don't understand. I just thought I was wrong."
Did Jessica-san get angry with her in some way?
Even so... it's so weird to see her apologize so honestly.
"Well, I hope you realized it was just a misunderstanding..."
To be honest, it's a bit scary because she seems like a different person.
"Will there be a heavy downpour tomorrow?"
But that doesn't mean you should hang out late at night, though."
Apparently, the conversation isn't over yet.
Perhaps the main subject is this one.
In the end, it seems that she came to complain.
Though I say that, it's not as cold as when we first met.
We've just become a family, and I don't know if it's right to say things that might force you to, but it's dangerous to go out and play late at night, so please stop.
Frost-san slightly took her gaze off me and asked me for a favor, crossing her arms in disapproval.
After all, it was a little different from the image I had envisioned.
If it was her, I would have expected her to order me to do things without question and without thinking, but surprisingly, she took the method of a request.
She even waited for me to come out of my room, so she's probably not a bad girl.
-Nah, I still think she has a terrible personality.
"I see, I'm sorry. Well, I'm not a delinquent, so don't worry about that."
"Yeah, I don't think you're a delinquent. You seem to be more frivolous though."
What? Why are you naturally picking a fight with me like this?
What was that apology you just made?
It's true that I've been called a frivolous guy more than once or twice.
But I've never been a man who goes around preying on girls, and not to mention, I've never been in a relationship before. [TIN: Same bro.]
I'm not trying to be frivolous, I'm just being careful about my appearance and behavior to avoid making enemies as much as possible.
"Ahaha, that's harsh."
I responded with a fake smile, even though I was a bit confused.
In reality, I would like to say something back, but to be honest, I'm having a hard time grasping Frost-san's character.
If she's really not a bad person, then we've become brother and stepsister, and I want us to get along.
If that's the case, I definitely should avoid unnecessary conflict.
"Are you going to stop going out at night?"
Ah really, just as I was thinking that, she asked a troublesome question..!
"I'll think about it."
I'm not going to stop training in the future.
I nodded my head because I didn't want to create a conflict, but if I was found out going out at night, it would make things even more complicated.
Which is why I said it like that, however—
"So you don't want to listen to me, do you?"
As expected, she won't be fooled by this much, will she?
It's a bit of a mess right now.
If I told her now that I'm out training, she wouldn't believe me.
Above all, I don't want other people to know that I'm working hard.
"Don't be so blind. It's not going to happen any time soon, but hey, I'll stop."
"What on earth are you doing out there so late at night?"
"It's got nothing to do with Frost-san, right?"
"Oh, is that so? As your little sister, I need to make sure my brother isn't doing anything strange. Don't you think so, too, Onii-chan?"
Apparently, I had given her the opportunity to take advantage of me.
I thought she didn't approve of the brother-sister relationship, but she's clever enough to take advantage of it.
The teasing looks that are pointed at me are so attractive that they are almost a reward for those who like that kind of thing.
I hate to say it, but I don't have the slightest inclination toward it. [1LN: Nah bro, you mentioned it already, so stop with the cope.]
"Just because we're a family doesn't mean we have to tell each other everything, does it?"
"Of course it doesn't. But even so, a normal family wouldn't allow their family member to go out so late at night."
Now, I'm in trouble.
She's right about what she's saying, so she won't back down until I tell her.
The reason she came all the way to my room was probably because she thought our parents would stop her if she talked in the living room.
I don't know how I'm going to cover it up.
"Just because
I'm not your real brother doesn't mean I'll let you boss me around."