Tale of Discovery

Chapter 256: Introduction ; Similar

Entering the house alongside Mana, we directly make our way to the living room.

Once we enter the room, Kotori proceeds to pull out a lollipop in her mouth before glaring at me.

"You're not going to welcome me home?" I ask with a teasing smile on my lips.

"Welcome you home?" Kotori repeats in a baffled tone before her expression takes a turn for the worse as she says, "You're going to explain to me what happened right now!"

"I refuse."

Having said that, I reach my arm out to the confused Mana's hand before pulling her along as I make my way to a sofa near the one Kotori is sitting on.

"What do you mean you refuse? You idio-"

Before Kotori can finish what she has to say, I use Eye of Judgement to shut her up.

"Listen," I say, "If we're going to be having a discussion, I expect you to act civil and refrain from using a harsh tone. Only then you will have any hope of obtaining proper answers from me."

Kotori seems to have not expected this as she is more than taken back by the turn of events.

A few seconds pass and I notice her previously strong and commanding expression disappears as a slightly pained one appears in its stead.

"Good," I say, deciding against comforting her just yet as I turn my head to face Mana and say, "Introduce yourself, will you?"

Nodding her head once, Mana gets up from the sofa and bows politely while saying, "Hello. My name is Mana Takamiya. Thank you for taking care of my brother for the past years."

Upon hearing her words, Kotori's mood suddenly shifts as her eyes widen, and she repeats, "Brother?"

As a response to this, Mana nods her head once before talking about a different story from what I was expecting, which isn't surprising. She must've assumed that I'm working in that field while keeping it a secret from my family, so she came up with a false story of her coincidentally meeting while going for a run in the park.

Now, I can tell off of Kotori's expression and her slightly narrowed eyes that she knows Mana is a part of the AST or something like that.

Nevertheless, I won't be the first to mention the matter, as it's quite amusing to witness Mana come up with a rather convincing story on the spot, ignoring the absurdity of certain parts of it, that is.

Against my expectations, Kotori doesn't question the validity of her story but only asks, "So, why have you come here? Do you want to take Shido away?"

"No," Mana directly responds, "There isn't a need for that."

Suddenly, realization seems to dawn upon Mana as she squints her eyes and inspects Kotori for a few seconds before inquiring, "I forgot to ask this before, but who are you?"

As if she had been waiting for this question, Kotori's expression turns into a slightly smug one as she grins and says, "You finally asked. My name is Kotori, and I'm also Shido's little sister."

It seems like Kotori's mood has somewhat recovered from the state she was in a few moments ago. However, I am sure that there is a lot she wants to ask me but simply can't do so right now.

Hearing her words, a stunned look appears on Mana's face before she hurriedly says, "Meaning... Don't tell me... you are my big sister?!"

"Of course, not!" Kotori responds in an irritated tone, "It's just that Shido got adopted into the Itsuka household long ago. We're not blood-related."

"I see. So that's your relationship, huh?" Mana mutters while glancing at me from the corner of her eyes.

At this moment, I feel an odd sensation as Yoshino's figure appears in my head.

Finding it odd, I use Clairvoyance to check on her in my room, only to find her seated at the edge of the bed, rubbing her drowsy eyes.

A smile forms on my lips as I get up from the sofa, which attracts Kotori's attention and causes her to ask, "Where are you going?"

"To my room," I simply respond before doing so.

--

"Are you sure you don't want to change out of your pajamas?" I ask Yoshino while seated beside her on the bed.

As a response to my query, she simply nods her head once before saying, "It's fine."

"If you say so," I say with a smile before moving a little closer and lowering my head to give her a quick peck on her left cheek.

Expectedly, this causes a red hue to creep up her face, but her expression remains relatively unchanged as she proceeds to get off the bed and look around the room.

A few seconds later, she spots the thing she was looking for, which just so happens to be her rabbit puppet, Yoshinon.

"Yoshino," I call out, "We have a guest over today."

Hearing my words, Yoshino flinches before looking over at me and meekly asking, "Who?"

"My little sister," I respond.

Following my response, a confused expression appears on Yoshino's face as she looks at me with eyes demanding more information.

Understanding why she would be confused, I explain, "While I was outside this morning, I met a girl who turned out to be my long-lost sister."

Now that I think about it, this situation is rather unusual. Why were we separated? Why can't Mana remember much of her past? How did she wind up as a member of the AST?

I'll need to investigate this matter soon, as it could become rather troublesome if I don't do so.

Letting out a small sigh, I get up from the bed as well and make my way over to Yoshino who just put on the puppet on her left hand. After patting her head for a few seconds, I offer her my hand, which she takes before we both leave the room.

Shortly, we arrive in the living room, but as soon as we take a step inside, Kotori's voice reverberates within the room, "A real sister can't get married to her brother!"

Surprised, I stop in my tracks along with Yoshino as we gaze at Kotori who is currently standing on her feet with her arms crossed.

In front of her, Mana is also standing, but compared to her, she has a much tamer expression.

"What?" a befuddled voice escapes Mana's lips.

Seeming to have just realized what she uttered, Kotori's face gets flushed red as she opens her mouth to make an excuse, only to stop as she notices me and Yoshino.

Heh~ So she has such thoughts, huh?

"Kotori," I say while trying to sound moved, "I didn't expect your love for me to be so deep. Truly, it's astonishing."

Hearing my words, the blush on her face reddens even further as Kotori raises her hand and is about to rebuke me but ultimately doesn't do so.

"Big brother!" Mana suddenly exclaims before running over and embracing me tightly.

After a short while, she loosens her arms as she steps back and looks into my eyes before asking, "Which one is better; a foster-sister or a real sister?"

Ah, so this is what they were fighting over, huh? Despite being a stupid argument, it's cute to see two little sisters fighting over their brother's affection, even if one of them just can't be honest with herself.

Perhaps, I should change the punishment I had in mind for Kotori. There are more beneficial and effective ones after all, now that I know of her feelings.

With such thoughts in mind, I peer into Mana's eyes and say, "What's the difference?"

Seemingly not expecting such an answer, a baffled expression forms on Mana's face as her lips separate and an "eh?" escapes from them.

"To me, there is no difference between the two, so I'd say this question is pointless," I continue to say before shrugging my shoulders and walking past her and over to a sofa while still holding Yoshino's hand.

Once Yoshino and I are seated, both sisters seem to break out of their short stupor as they look over at me with an odd glint in their eyes.