Translator: LynneSuzuran——

  When the decoration of the entrance was about to end, I returned to my room once before having dinner. Ha-, it’s been awhile since I became tired after doing various things, so I thought, but perhaps my stamina has considerably decreased than when I was still a man. I also don’t do any manual labor.

  Well, it can’t be helped that I became tired, so I decided to just decorate my room tomorrow. And today, after eating dinner, I want to fold more origami for the decoration. When I tried to teach Oriza-san and Minoa-san some, the two of them digested the information quite fast and they quickly remembered it. Then, they diligently folded some—they looked like they were having fun. There were mainly lots of papercranes, but surely it was because they saw the papercrane form first.

  [I shall remain here a bit longer. As expected, the tree from earlier worried me.]

  …Mikoto-san said that as she left me. She said that if something were to happen, I’d quickly know, though. Yu-p.

  Well, if we don’t show any kind of opening, then they won’t appear, though. I can say it because it’s been the pattern up until now. It’s a bit scary to make myself become a lure, though. However, if I don’t do that, it might make us be at a disadvantageous position instead.

  I know that my way of thinking is perhaps strange in some sense. I’m quick to escape from the reality, and it seems like I don’t really think things thorough even though it’s about myself. But well, it’s quite impossible to change my way of thinking this late in game. Yup.

  “Ah. Saryuu-sama has arrived-, what are you going to do?”


  “Today, too? It’s fine, let him in.”


  In exchange for Minoa-san who was struggling at blowing the paper balloon, Oriza-san went out to receive Saryuu. Saryuu visited while bringing shortbread this time while saying, “Ehehe, I’m coming to visit today, too. Ah, this is something from Kaa-sama.” This is something that I ate for the first time upon coming here.

  Yosh, let’s have a tea party today, too. Let’s force a suitable pretext such as this being a tea party after decorating the entrance hall.

  “Thanks for your hard work, Saryuu.”


  “Nee-sama, too, thanks for your hard work decorating. Whoa, what’s that?”


  Ah, the papercrane that was folded midway, huh? I see, for people who didn’t know about it, seeing it in the middle of folding, they’d surely think, ‘What is it?’. Especially this over here, it didn’t look like an origami.

  “Aah, this is some kind of a thing that we do to have fun in the world where I was raised in. It’s called origami, something that’s relatively made just to be seen. This is still in progress, so try to see this.”


  When I hurriedly folded the papercrane in front of Saryuu, as expected, he stared in wonder. As expected, this kind of thing was quite surprising.

  “Hee, it’s just like magic, huh?”


  “Once you get used to it, it will be easy. How if I teach you and your maids the way to do it?”


  “Is that fine, Seiren-sama?”


  “Yup.”


  I could tell that Tokino-san smiled happily. That reminded me, today, all of Saryuu’s three maids were present. As for me, Alica-san was still under medical care, or something like that, after all.

  While Oriza-san was teaching how to do origami, Minoa-san brewed some tea. Ah, the paper balloons seemed to be slightly postponed. I’ll teach her the proper way to blow some air to it. Yup.

  “Thanks for the shortbread. This is the first thing that I ate after coming here. It deeply impressed me and I like it.”


  “I heard it when I received the bread from Kaa-sama. Then, I was wondering if you’d be happy receiving it.”


  “Yup, I’m very happy. Really, thank you, I’m glad that I have a good younger brother.”


  “…Yes.”


  We continued to drink the tea and eat the snacks while mutually smiling. We just ate dinner, right? I wonder if it’d be all right, mainly the size of our bodies. Nah, Saryuu was still in the middle of his growing period, so it’d be fine, but me…


  “Ah, speaking of which, Taiga-san’s letter has arrived. He won’t be able to show up here for a little while, but he also wished for you to be doing well.”


  “…Eeh, is that so? I will work hard, for the sake of Ane-sama, as well.”


  Eh, eh? Usually, Saryuu would reply in high spirits when talking about Taiga-san, or so I feel. As expected, he was also tired from decorating, huh? It might be better for him to quickly return to his own room.

  “…Ane-sama.”


  “What is it?”


  “Why is it Nii-sama? Even though I’m much closer to Nee-sama?”


  “…Yes?”


  Wai—a second, Saryuu! Why are you moving closer to me? I lightly raised my foot in a panic and changed my position to be closer to Minoa-san who was behind the sofa. Hey, little brother, don’t stare over there!

  “Nee-sama, did you know? The gardener store in which I brought the tree was next to the pharmacy. The shop assistants were also on good terms.”


  What? By pharmacy,………is it the drug store where Kaya-san obtained the narcotic drugs? Eh?

  Uh-m, could it be that this time, it’s Saryuu? Eh, but Mikoto-san said that it was fine, right?

  Or rather, Mikoto-sam, come over here. You couldn’t have not noticed it, right? Eh-?

  “Saryuu-sama, that’s rude. Please get away.”


  “Eh-, what are you doing, Saryuu-sama? Wait, Maki, let go-!”


  While I was thinking that something was wrong, Saryuu slowly approached me. Minoa-san guarded me with her arms, but Oriza-san was caught by Maki-san and the others and she couldn’t move. For some reason, this seemed to be bad.

  “Ever since you returned to the Shiiya mansion, I’ve always watched Ane-sama. You know about it, don’t you? We also see each other every morning.”


  “But isn’t that just your morning training?”


  “But I kept doing it below Nee-sama’s room on purpose. I think that you’d at least understand the significance of it.”


  …Could it be that he was trying to appeal to me? Eh, that can’t happen. It’s quite pitiful, though.

  “Did you think that Seiren-sama would notice such a roundabout appeal, Saryuu-sama?”


  “That’s right. Since Taiga-sama tried to make his approaches in a very obvious way, even the dense Seiren-sama ended up noticing him.”


  “You guys are calling me a dense person for no reason, aren’t you?”


  [Yes, obviously.]

  Regardless of the situation, all the voices collected were affirmative. Nah, certainly, I admit being a dense person, I admit it, though.

  Or rather, Saryuu’s maids who captured Oriza-san hadn’t spoken at all since earlier, though. What’s up with them? It’s scary.

  “Although I’m happy that Ane-sama will be Nii-sama’s wife, when I think about it, I was originally not your little brother. I was just adopted, after all.”


  “That’s true, though, but why?”


  “Saryuu-sama!”


  No, well, that may be true, but don’t look at someone’s face as if you’re peeking them. Also, what’s with that whole-face smile?

  “If that’s the case, I might be able to do something as long as I could create an established fact.”


  “Don’t be stupid!”


  I inserted my comment even earlier than Minoa-san’s reaching hands, or rather, her strong and hard fist that was taken down. “Guh!” Saryuu let out that voice that seemed as if he was being crushed and then he fell prostrated on the sofa.

  When I tried to stand up and get away from him by taking advantage of that opening, I fell with all of my strength. That bastard Saryuu, to think that he grabbed on my dress so tightly.

  “Seiren-sama!”


  “Maki, Kanna, Tokino.”


  “Yes.”


  At Saryuu’s order, the maids who were focused on Oriza-san staggeringly moved.

  Maki-san continued to cling to Oriza-san in order to stop her movement, and Tokino-san took out her punch that Minoa-san blocked with her arms.

  Then Kanna-san dragged me from the sofa and pressed me down on the floor. Ah- damn it, I was pushed in a strange way and my back was twisted.

  “It hurts! Wai-, hey, Kanna-san!”


  “…-sama’s order, just as ordered.”


  Ah-, these seemed to be the so-called hypnothized eyes. Perhaps Maki-san and Tokino-san were also under the same condition. The perverted expression and laugh like Alica-san’s were also scary, but this kind of expresionless face was also scary in another way.

  Or rather, what did Kanna-san just say? It was certainly not Saryuu’s name, though.

  “Anyone who disturbs …-sama can’t be forgiven.”


  “The same goes for me. Anyone who disturbs Seiren-sama can’t be forgiven!”


  Tokino-san and Minoa-san entered into a one-on-one match. The sounds of fists and kicks hitting hard against each other could clearly be heard. When those two began to act violently, I won’t be able to stop them, so I would just cheer for Minoa-san, so that she would win.

  “Seiren-sama will be …-sama’s…”


  “Don’t continue to sleep-talk, just go to sleep-! Seiren-sama will be Taiga-sama’s wife after all!”


  Oriza-san threw herself on the floor together with Maki-san who was clinging to her. With that, her arms were lightly loosened, but it was quickly… uh-m, it felt like Oriza-san was pinning her down. Sorry, you asked for it.

  …Whoa, for our opponents to be brainwashed people, it was an unthinkable development. Wait, as usual, it’s not the right time and place to be running away from the reality, me.

  If things stay as they are, I won’t be able to tell in what direction will they develop. Or rather, let me go, Kanna-san! In this case, it would be considered as a legitimate self-defense if I were to kick her, right? So I thought as I raised my foot.

  “You can’t, Ane-sama.”


  Saryuu voiced his lines in a monotonous tone as he grabbed both of my ankles. In the meantime, Kanna-san rode on top of my belly and grabbed onto my chest tightly.

  Hey you, no matter how much you made me lie with my face up, I couldn’t win against gravity after all, and my chest wasn’t that big in the first place, okay? That’s why, it won’t feel good to be grabbed, wait, no, that’s wrong!

  “Ane-sama, please be mine right here, right now.”


  “Shut the hell up, did you think I’d just nod at those words?!”


  “You’re not allowed to retort to …-sama.”


  Guh, my mouth was pinned down. Or rather, she mentioned that incomprehensible name again.

  They were acting in accordance to someone else’s orders and not Saryuu, huh? In other words, is it the evil spirit?

  Then, a voice that didn’t belong to Saryuu came out of Saryuu’s mouth.

  [Shiiya Seiren. The maiden with no mark, come down to our place.]