57 [57] Detective Komachi

"Uh, well, you see..." Unexpectedly, even her younger sister noticed this, and Kotonoha was at a loss for words.

"It's because my umbrella got blown away by the wind, and I had no choice but to ask Hachiman to bring me back," she hurriedly explained.

"Then,Onee-chan, why didn't you just take a taxi back? You have money for a taxi, right?" Sharp-minded Kokoro spotted a flaw in her reasoning.

Click.

Hearing this, Kotonoha froze as if struck by lightning.

Indeed, why didn't she take a taxi back at the time?

Could it be... Could it be that deep down, she wanted Hachiman to be the one to bring her back?

"Hey, what's the real reason, Onee-chan?" Kokoro's mischievous voice echoed softly in her ear.

"That's because... it was raining at that time, and we couldn't find a taxi immediately, so Hachiman suggested to bring me back."

"Is it really just that? I thought that big brother looked quite handsome. Could it be that Onee-chan has no other intentions?" Kokoro's voice was like a cat's paw, tickling the girl's heart.

"N-No way! Hachiman and I are just friends."

"If you spout nonsense, I won't make you dinner tonight." At the end of her words, Kotonoha reluctantly invoked her authority as an older sister.

"Alright."

Hearing her words, Kokoro secretly rolled her eyes, but for the sake of her dinner, she dared not say anything more.

However, she cunningly devised a plan in her mind.

In the future, Kokoro was determined to find an opportunity to invite that Hachiman guy over to their house.

She wanted to watch over her silly older sister and ensure she wasn't fooled by some scoundrel.

"Alright, I'll go make dinner now." Seeing her sister finally stop asking questions, Kotonoha sighed in relief, adjusted her clothes, and headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

On the other side, after escorting Kotonoha home, Hachiman quickly returned to his own house.

"I'm back."

"Oh, Onii-chan, why are you back so early today? Didn't you have kendo practice?" Glancing at the wall clock, it was only 4:30 PM, and Komachi found it unusual.

"It rained today, so practice was canceled." Hachiman explained as he took off his coat.

"I see." Komachi nodded, but she noticed that her brother's shirt was soaked while his coat seemed fine. "Onii-chan, why is your shirt all wet? And your coat doesn't look wet."

Hachiman glanced at his shirt and noticed that the left shoulder was completely soaked.

After all, his umbrella was only a single-person one, incapable of fully covering two people.

In order to shield Kotonoha from the rain, he had sacrificed himself.

"Oh, this happened because a classmate lost their umbrella, so the two of us had to share one."

"The umbrella wasn't big enough, so I got a little wet," Hachiman admitted truthfully.

However, Komachi, being the clever little imp she was, immediately figured out the situation.

"I bet this friend of yours is a girl, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't make such a big sacrifice."

"Moreover, judging from the fact that only your shirt is wet and your coat isn't, it seems you lent your coat to her."

"Am I right, Onii-chan?"

Hearing her accurate deduction, Hachiman couldn't help but be surprised by her perceptiveness.

Since when did his clumsy little sister possess the qualities of a great detective?

"Close enough," Hachiman shrugged.

"I'm going to take a shower; this stickiness on my body is uncomfortable."

He took out a fresh set of clothes and headed into the bathroom.

Early the next morning, Kotonoha walked out of her house as usual.

As she passed an intersection with traffic lights not far ahead, she spotted a familiar figure.

"Hachiman-kun." She jogged up to Hachiman and greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, it's you, Kotonoha. What a coincidence."

Seeing the lovely face of a beautiful girl early in the morning improved Hachiman's mood.

"Yeah, quite a coincidence. Does Hachiman-kun live around here?"

"That's right. My house is at the end of this street." Hachiman extended his finger to indicate the direction of his home, smiling.

"I see, it's here then?" The girl's gaze twinkled slightly.

"Since we've run into each other, let's go to school together," Hachiman suggested, looking at the girl.

"Sure." Kotonoha had no objections and walked with him towards the school.

Just as they were nearing the school, Hachiman also spotted a familiar figure.

Wearing the spring school uniform with her pink hair styled in the familiar twin-tails, it was the same girl who had brought him lunch yesterday.

"Yui."

Hearing the voice from behind, Yui turned around and saw the familiar face of Hachiman, her face lighting up with a bright smile.

"Good morning, Hikki!"

"Yeah, good morning, Yui." Coming up to the girl, Hachiman greeted her with a smile.

"Hikki, who's this?"

Seeing another girl next to Hachiman, and not recognizing her, Yui couldn't help but feel a bit curious.

"Yui, let me introduce. This is Kotonoha Katsura, a member of my club."

"Kotonoha, this is my friend, Yui Yuigahama."

Hachiman introduced the two of them to each other.

"Hello, Yuigahama-san. I'm Katsura Kotonoha. Nice to meet you." Upon hearing Hachiman's introduction, Kotonoha initiated the greeting.

"Hello, I'm Yuigahaima Yui. Nice to meet you too." Seeing Kotonoha's graceful demeanor, Yui felt a bit reserved.

"Haha, no need to be formal, you two. In the future, you'll have plenty of chances to get to know each other better."

Seeing their reactions, Hachiman chuckled.

In his eyes, both girls had many similarities: they were gentle in nature, had a pair of big boobs, and genuinely cared for others.

He believed they would quickly become friends.

Hearing his words, the two girls smiled and nodded.

Since she's Hachiman's friend...

Since she's Hikki's friend...

I should be able to befriend her too.

The two girls exchanged glances, sharing the same thought in their hearts.

"Yui, let's go to school together," Hachiman suggested since they had met.

"Sure, Hikki." Yui readily agreed.

Walking down the road, with Hachiman in the middle and a beautiful girl on each side, he now had a hint of the feeling of a "normie" or someone leading a fulfilling life.

As Kotonoha looked at Hachiman beside her, a lovely smile graced her lips.

Even though there was one more person now, the girl's expectations were not high.

She was content just being by his side.

However, one sentence from the boy caused ripples in her heart.

"Yui, the bento you made yesterday was really delicious. Please thank your mom for me."

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Chapter 58: Kotonoha's Self-Doubt

Chapter 59: The Girls in Action