For Some Reason, A Gal In My Class Became Friends With My Step-sister. - V1 Ch-2 part 4【New Daily Life】

Translator: AJ1703

Editor: Matsu

 

◆４【We Were Just Going to Buy a New Phone】

 

　There seems to be something wrong regarding Tsumugi’s phone.

　The phone is very important for Tsumugi, who commutes to school every day by train. If she were to get caught up in an incident while it was still malfunctioning, she would be in deep trouble.

　On Saturday, I decided to take Tsumugi to some phone store in town.

　For some reason, Takarai also came along with us.

“Why don’t you get a new phone, Tsumugi-chan?”

　She made an unnecessary suggestion that might cost a lot of money.

“Then I’ll get the same one as Yua-san.”

“Hey now Tsumugi. Don’t be fooled by Takarai-san. If you change the model of your phone, you won’t have the same one as me anymore.”

“But if it’s still the same color as Shin-nii’s, it won’t be cute at all.”

　Tsumugi complained.

　It’s true that a cheap cell phone in the same gray color as mine would not be an interesting design for a girl.

　I’m in charge of the family finances from my parents, and my dad makes enough money to buy us a high-end phone, but I’ve been trying to avoid buying anything unnecessarily expensive so that Tsumugi wouldn’t have to learn to live in luxury.

　However, unlike my phone, which is dead as a communication tool, Tsumugi’s phone is an important device to keep in touch with her friends, and it seems that Tsumugi and I have different values when it comes to phones. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to buy her a high-end model.

“I don’t know how Takarai-san can afford to buy such an expensive phone when she lives alone.”

　I’m sure Takarai-san has a lot of money to spend since she’s a full-fledged gal.

“I’m sure she’s got a very good part-time job…”

“Are you imagining something weird?”

“That’s what people would say when you dress like that.”

“Eh? Is there something wrong with my outfit?”

　Takarai said that, but I was having trouble looking at her.

　On this day, Takarai was wearing plain clothes.

　Her long, chestnut-red hair was still intact, and underneath her red shirt was a black T-shirt that clearly showed the rise and fall of her breasts.

　Doesn’t this person care what people think of her? Even though it’s getting close to summer season and the temperature is quite high, isn’t she showing too much skin? This isn’t the ocean, you know? Also, I’m worried about her phone popping out of her ass pocket because of her plump ass, isn’t her crisis management skills too low? Thanks to this, all I can think about is Takarai’s ass. How are you going to take responsibility for this?

“Could it be that Nagumo-kun is thrilled to see my private clothes?”

　She seemed to have read my gaze. She’s stirring up trouble.

“The more skin I show, the more interested in me you become, Nagumo-kun.”

　Takarai begins to grin like a fox playing a trick.

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at. The only person I’m interested in is Tsumugi, and even if Takarai-san starts streaking, I’m only interested in Tsumugi.” [TLN: Just search the slang term “streaking” and you’d know ^_~]

　I grabbed Tsumugi by the shoulders as if to hold on to her.

　Tsumugi is wearing a white one-piece dress that symbolizes a “Seiso” person [TLN: Seiso = pure and neat]. She looks a bit young for a middle school student, but that’s okay. If you prefer, you can put a straw hat on her and have her wait at a bus stop in the countryside. [TLN: Check TL afterword, that’s the closest thing one could ever imagine.]

“Well then, Nagumo-kun, let’s go to the pool next time. I know a good place near here.”

“Why should I go to a place that charges money just to take a dip in the water?”

“Nagumo-kun doesn’t care if I’m showing skin, right? Just to prove it.”

“How much do you want me to see your naked body? You’re too perverted.”

“Wow, that’s harsh, I’m the only one in our class who knows about that kind of thing in Nagumo-kun.”

　For some reason, Takarai seemed to be happy. There’s nothing valuable or unusual about me. It’s just that there’s no demand for it.

　Recently, I’ve been able to have normal conversations with the very popular gal, Yua Takarai.

　I don’t think it’s because my communication skills have improved or because I’ve gotten used to the opposite sex.

　It was Takarai’s own ability.

　It’s because she can create a comfortable atmosphere for people like me to talk to her.

　Although she seems to be aggressive, she never crosses the line that makes me uncomfortable, and when I talk to her, she looks at me with interest and listens carefully. She doesn’t interrupt me to prioritize her own conversation.

　I guess that’s what they call communication skills.

　That’s why I didn’t want to go to the pool with Takarai.

　Because if I did, I might be pulled in by Takarai’s comfortable nature and start to think about her more and more.

　If that happens, there’s no guarantee that I won’t end up putting Takarai before Tsumugi.

　Even though Tsumugi was mentally stronger than I had imagined, I still wanted to keep an eye on her.

“I don’t have the money to waste on a pool─”

“Pool with Yua-san!”

　It was Tsumugi who interrupted me with a shout of delight.

“Yua-san’s swimsuit. Swimming with Yua-san. On our way home, I’m going to take a shower with Yua-san.”

“Tsumugi, aren’t you being too faithful to your desires?”

　I was mildly worried that she might have somehow been replaced by some reincarnated old man.

“Hey. Let’s go next time. I’m looking forward to it.”

　Takarai quickly separated her fingers from Tsumugi.

“What about my intentions?”

“Shin-nii, you’ll come with us, right?”

　Tsumugi looked up at me, holding my hand.

　Going to the pool meant that Tsumugi would also be in a swimsuit.

　I need someone to protect Tsumugi, whose defenses have dropped to the lowest level.

“Of course.”

　I’m the only one who can do that.

“Thanks, Shin-nii.”

　It was not Tsumugi, but Takarai who held my arm.

　I didn’t need to hear her voice or see her face, but I could tell just by the feel of her chest against my arm.

　I don’t care how close Takarai is to my chest, I’m not so naive that I’m going to keep a cool face when I’m dealing with someone who’s trying to trick me into thinking she’s Tsumugi.

[ Don’t cheat on Tsumugi… you’ll be punished. ]

　─Is what I said in my mind, although trying to put up a smile upfront.

“You, st-stop. Don’t do that…”

　In fact, I was so agitated that I couldn’t hold back my tongue from speaking.

　I’m not afraid to say I’m not a virgin, even if I’ve never been in a relationship before, as long as I don’t have to worry about being made to feel her breasts while she smells so good. I’m not ashamed of it.

“Why? It’s just skinship.”

　From Takarai’s point of view, it’s just light communication, but from my point of view, when I’m in close contact with a girl, it’s a semi-sexual act. Be more vigilant, because such a gap in perception can lead to a chain of crimes. Or rather, she’s insane enough to shove her boobs on me and call it communication.

“I’m going to have some skinship with Shin-nii too~”

　Tsumugi attacked from the opposite direction.

　It’s a small touch, different from Takarai’s, and compared to Tsumugi, Takarai’s touch is even more vulgar.

“I’ll buy you any phone you want, Tsumugi.”

　I was in the mode where my mind was completely purified and I would do anything.

“Nagumo-kun is being physically caged and tangled by his little sister…”

　Don’t be a bad listener. There are some things that can be understood through contact with human skin.

　Thus, with a beautiful woman and a beautiful girl attached to my arms, we headed to the phone store.

★

　In the end, we decided to change the model of Tsumugi’s phone instead of repairing it.

　It seems that the damage to the phone was more serious than we thought, and replacing it would have been less troublesome.

　Tsumugi’s phone has been used ever since she was in elementary school, so it must have been more than three years old.

　The problem was that she had been using it since her mother, Ayaka-san, was still alive, so she must have been very attached to the phone.

“Was it good, Tsumugi?”

　I asked coyly after we had bought the new phone.

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

　Tsumugi held up the phone in a cover designed to resemble cat ears.

“It’s a memorable phone that we all bought together.”

　I was so relieved.

　Little by little, I think Tsumugi is getting over the grief of losing her mother.

　The more good memories I can make for her, the more I can keep her away from the grief.

　So I guess I should continue to go out with her more and more.

　We were on a bench in a park-like plaza near the station.

　It was a type of bench that could fit three people, and Takarai and I were sitting on it with Tsumugi between us.

　Tsumugi looked at me and Takarai, who were sitting on either side of her, in turn.

“I want to take a picture of Yua-san and Shin-nii together.”

　Apparently, she wants to make that photo the wallpaper of her home screen.

“That’s great, let’s take it!”

　At Tsumugi’s suggestion, Takarai was eager to take out her own phone, but there was something that didn’t sit well with me.

“Tsumugi, it’s “Shin-nii and Yua-san,” right? The order is reversed.”

“That’s fine! Don’t sweat the small details.”

“It’s not just a small detail. It’s important.”

　I’m sorry, but I can’t let some random person like Takarai take my place.

“You two are so quick to fight, aren’t you?”

　Tsumugi chuckles and holds up her phone for a selfie.

“But like they say the more you fight, the better you get along.”

“That’s true.”

“But it doesn’t apply to me and Takarai-san.”

　Takarai’s and my responses were contrasting. Takarai and Tsumugi were on good terms with each other. Not me.

“So Shin-nii doesn’t get along with Yua-san?”

　If Tsumugi looked at me like that, it would be a different story.

“…Of course I’m on good terms with her.”

　I swore not to make Tsumugi sad, but I nearly made Tsumugi sad. I’ll at least pretend to be close to her.

“That’s right! I’m really glad that I’m on good terms with Nagumo-kun.”

　Takarai held her mouth with both hands and moistened her eyes, and began to cry.

　This person… she thought I’d be quiet in front of Tsumugi…

“I’ll take a picture, both of you.”

　As Tsumugi begins to adjust the position of her phone, I move my face away from her so that I can’t be seen.

　On the other side, Takarai was pressing her cheek against Tsumugi’s head.

　D*mn it, I can’t lose, I thought to myself as I fought back against Takarai.

　In the midst of this face-wrestling with Tsumugi at the center, the shutter sounded in Tsumugi’s hand.

　Tsumugi sends the image to me and Takarai’s phones.

　Seeing Tsumugi immediately set it as the wallpaper of her phone, I was determined to at least have a matching home screen with Tsumugi, but a strong feeling of anxiety crossed my mind.

　Of course, I bring my phone to school with me. I’m always studying, but there are times when I fiddle with my phone.

　What would happen if my classmates saw the wallpaper of me and Takarai together?

　They would be very suspicious of my relationship with Takarai.

　This image could be the spark that causes trouble… but I feel that it would be a shame to just save the image that I took with Tsumugi.

“…Oh yeah, I could crop it and cut off the excess.”

“Hey now, Nagumo-kun, are you trying to erase my existence?”

　Takarai peeked at my hand and made a sullen face.

“…But Takarai-san won’t be using that image as wallpaper anyway, will you?”

“Eh? I would, though?”

　What are you talking about? I gave her such a look.

“Well, I already set it up though.”

“Yeah, you’ve already trimmed me─”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What are you thinking? What do you think will happen if our classmates see us?”

　Takarai is a popular girl, she’s always surrounded by people, so the risk of her screen being seen must be much higher than mine. Isn’t she a bit too defenseless?

“If someone sees you, it’s okay, right?”

“You’re not aware of the risks. What would they do if they think I’m involved?”

“You’re involved after all, so why not? I’m not very good at hiding things from people anyways.”

　Takarai placed her chin on Tsumugi’s head as she hugged her from behind.

Takarai put his chin on Tsumugi’s head as she hugged her from behind.

“Nagumo-kun is that kind of a man, aren’t you? You don’t like it when people think you’re that close to me?”

　Takarai gives me a furtive look.

　It’s the other way around.

　It’s not that I don’t want to be friends with Takarai.

　Regardless of my intentions, I’m just wary that the people around us won’t allow it.

　If I lived a life unrelated to school, I would happily walk around the streets showing off my phone with a picture of Takarai as my wallpaper.

“Fuun~. Huh. I do care about my friend’s brother, though.”

　Despite all the problems, Takarai is a friend of Tsumugi’s, and Tsumugi is very fond of Takarai. It’s not that I want to treat her badly. But rather, there are some things that are difficult to bring to light regardless of my intentions.

“What do you think of Nagumo-kun and me, Tsumugi-chan?”

“I think you two are a perfect match.”

　I thought Takarai was making me say that. The timing of the conversation was such that I was tempted to take a cynical view of it, but the look in Tsumugi’s eyes told me that she meant what she had said.

“But please make sure I’m included in that.”

“There’s no way I’m leaving Tsumugi out of the trim.”

　I said, catching Tsumugi in a tight hug.

“Then don’t leave Yua-san out, either.”

“Eh? You’re not going to coincide with me…?”

　The suddenness of Tsumugi’s words confused me.

“Isn’t it strange that Yua-san is not allowed to use the wallpaper while Shin-nii and I do?”

　Tsumugi’s straightforward eyes, which do not tolerate injustice, reflected mine.

“Tsumugi-chan is a good girl~.”

　Behind her, Takarai was impressed by Tsumugi’s behavior.

　When Tsumugi said this to me, I couldn’t take any more abuse.

“…Just make sure that our classmates don’t see it.”

　I finally raised the white flag.

　Takarai was in a good mood and showed the screen of her phone to Tsumugi.

“Look, look, Tsumugi-chan, we’re together now!”

“I’m so happy to be with you too, Yua-san.”

　The three of us made the same image on our wallpaper.

　From now on, I’ll be watching Takarai’s movements with trepidation at school.

　After returning home, I opened my phone in my room before going to bed.

　The image of three people who are unlikely to get along with each other, a shady guy, my sister-in-law and a gal, looks unexpectedly sparkling.

“Maybe this isn’t so bad after all…”

　I couldn’t help muttering to myself.

 

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Translator’s Afterword: When MC thought of that, I instantly remembered v4 of “Otonari no Tenshi” LN Cover which is this one. Doesn’t it look fitting?