“—- Welcome back, Nee-sama!”
“Thanks for waiting, Koma♡”
I had to spend a lot of time complaining to the teacher, as if I was trying to settle a daily grudge, and her asking unnecessary questions about my grades and career path, but I managed to finish my interview without a problem.
When I left the classroom with Aunty, feeling good with a sense of freedom after the troublesome interview, my pretty sister Koma greeted me with an excited welcome, as if my dog were wagging its tail to welcome it’s owner home.
“I’m sorry, did I make you wait long? My interview took a lot of time.”
“Not at all. You didn’t make me wait for you at all, not even one bit, Nee-sama. I stood and listened in the corridor till the interview ende—- *Cough*, I was reading in the corridor so you didn’t make me wait.”
I intended to end in about 5 minutes but I made Koma wait for over 15 minutes for nothing. Koma with an innocent smile says there was no need for concern. Haa… What is with my little sis? My little sis is really a good girl, I like her, I love her. I fell in love… I’m sorry, I misspoke, I didn’t fall in love, I’ve been in love with you…
“I see, then it’s fine. Then, let’s go back home together today, Koma!”
“Yes. Together, just the two of us, Nee-sama♪”
Unusually, today there is not a single request or job addressed to the Seijokai. There’s nothing to stay at school for, so I’ll just go home with Koma and use the time to flirt with each other, as we promised earlier.
Thinking about this, I reach out my hand to Koma, and she happily takes my hand and squeezes it gently. It’s comforting to feel the slight warmth that transmits from Koma’s hands to mine. It’s really nice, just the two of us, going home together, holding hands.
“… I keep telling you girls. Will you stop forgetting so naturally that I exist again? Include me in it today too, the three of us will go back… I’ll cry, you know? Right now?”
I think I heard something behind me and Koma, but it was probably the voice of a fairy or something.
“Leaving aside the jokes. Koma, also Aunty. What do you want to eat today for dinner?”
“Sake.”
“Oi, that drunkard there, I asked you what you wanted to eat, not what you wanted to drink…Forgetting about the alcoholic maniac, Koma what about you?”
“Eetoo… Let me see. It’s getting very cold, how about a classic hotpot, Nee-sama?”
“Ooh! Nice idea, Koma. Okay, it’s a hotpot. It’s easy to make and wash, and above all, it warms you to the core. Then, let’s have a hotpot like Koma suggested. Is Aunty fine with it too?”
“Fumufumu, a hotpot? Then it’s time to bring out hot sake, which warms you to the core, just like a hot pot, right, Mako?”
“… Is there nothing else but drinking in your head?”
“… Ehm. Aunt-sama, I thought today was supposed to be a rest day from it…?”
I was having such a conversation with Koma and Aunty, and before we knew it, we had reached the entrance.
“I’ll go and get my loafers. Aunty, wait for me at the door.”
“Yeah, yeah. Quickly come here, you two.”
“I got it. Koma, once you’ve changed your shoes and loafers, wait for me at the entrance too. Onee-chan will come soon.”
“Yes, Nee-sama. I’ll go and get them.”
Aside from Aunty, who keeps her shoes in a shoe bag, Koma and I are in different classes, so naturally our shoe boxes are in different places. So I have to leave Koma for a bit and go to my own shoebox.
“Hmm… It’s good that we’ve decided on a hotpot, but what kind of hotpot shall we have today? Mizudake, yosenabe, mizurenabe, kakinabe, motsunabe, tomatonabe, yaminabe… No, wait, yaminabe is not good for a lot of reasons… Anyway, I can’t say for sure until I get home and consult the contents of the fridge— Hn?”
I open my shoebox while mumbling about what kind of hotpot I’ll make today. When I opened it. There’s something else in it besides my loafers.
“… What is this?”
There was a single envelope in the shoebox, which was not there when I saw it this morning, and it was placed so that it was propped up against my loafers. Oh, oh? This is my shoebox, isn’t it…? I close the shoebox, and check the name tag on the shoebox.
‘Tachibana Mako’
Umusu, it’s mine…. Then why is this envelope in my shoebox? Did someone mistook their shoebox for my shoebox?
“…. No, that doesn’t seem like it… This is a envelope hand-written for me…”
“”…!?””
On the front of the envelope, which I don’t remember, ‘Dear Mako Tachibana’ is written in very beautiful handwriting. In other words, it’s a genuine envelope addressed to me.
… But, what is it about? What suddenly pops into mind is a request for the Seijokai… Or at least a threatening envelope to me by the unofficial Koma fan club, but…
“An envelope for Nee-sama!?”
“Whaat!? Envelope addressed to Mako!?”
“Uouh!?’
Whenever tilting my head without opening the envelope, Koma and Aunty, who were behind me, speak loudly. They surprised me… Aunty, and Koma, why have your expressions changed so much…?
“N-N-Nee… Nee-sama!? Envelope!? Envelope addressed to Nee-sama… What is the meaning of this!?”
“Huh? No, I don’t get it either… I don’t know much but this envelope was in my shoebox before I knew it. It has my name on the address and was probably directed at me…”
“Hou…! Hohouhou! Somehow it has the smell of a bittersweet rom-com! So? So? What are you going to do, Mako? What does it say? Look, look! Don’t hesitate to talk to your Auntie!”
“Who is the envelope from!? Read it immediately! What’s written in it!? What is Nee-sama going to reply!?”
“I don’t know… I haven’t read it yet, so…”
“Then, read it! Read it right now! Read it in front of us now, Mako!”
“I would like you to do the same Nee-sama! Who on earth is my riva— No, as Nee-sama’s little sister, I need to find out who sent Nee-sama such a envelope!”
Koma is looking pale and shaking terribly, and Aunty, with an even more amused glint in her eyes than during my interview earlier, both urge me to read the envelope that was sent to me. Ehm, both of you…? Why does it seem like the two of you are more interested in the envelope than I am, the person who received it?
“I got it… I got it, okay! I’ll read it, but for now, Koma and Aunty need to calm down…”
Koma and Aunty’s terrific looks pressured me, so to quiet them down I checked out what was inside. I carefully peel off the sealed heart-shaped sticker so as not to break it, and open the envelope to see what is inside. Inside is… Apparently, there’s just one letter in it.
… I’m saved. It seems it’s not like the old shoujo manga type of bullying where razor blades come out of the envelope.
“Then, I’m going to read it.”
“Please, Nee-sama…”
“Ou! I’m all ears, Mako.”
Once I know that, all that’s left to do is to check what’s written in the letter. I take the letter out of the envelope and read it under the mixed curious and anxious stares of Koma and Aunty.
“Dear Tachibana Mako. I’m sorry for the sudden letter. I wrote this letter because I really wanted to convey something to you. If it’s possible for you, could you come to the roof tomorrow after school? I’m one-sidedly calling you to come, and if you think it’s weird, you don’t have to come. In that case, I’d just give up obediently… But, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow from the bottom of my heart. I’ll be waiting for you a long time…”
That was written in the letter in a very beautiful handwriting.
“It’s good, it’s good, isn’t it! It’s just like youth! Coming to the interview was the right thing! I never thought I’d be mesmerized by something like this at the end of the interview!”
When I read the letter, Aunty became as excited as if she had been drinking…
“…. (*Snap*)”
Koma, for some reason, has the most frightening expression I’ve ever seen on her face, and she just stares at the letter without saying a word.
“…. Fumufumu. I see, OK, I understand.”
And then I came to a certain conclusion when I received the letter. I understood a lot when I read the letter. Basically, this letter is—
“… This letter, is a letter of challenge…!” (TN: There has to be a limit to how shortsighted she is.)
“”…. Eh?””
◇ ◇ ◇
“—- So, Nee-sama? About that challenge letter…. Do you not know who sent this letter to you?”
“Un… Unfortunately, I don’t know. Because, this challenge letter doesn’t have the name of the sender.”
“….”
After coming back home. I answer to Koma in the living room while cooking in the kitchen, as I always do.
After returning home, I carefully examined every inch of the envelope and the letter, but in the end the name of the person who wrote the letter of challenge was nowhere to be found.
“… It’s really unfortunate. To think it doesn’t have the sender’s name written on it… (*Mumble*) If it’s like this, then I won’t be able to deal quietly with the fly before they meet my Nee-sama…”
“Do tell me~ It’s regrettable. This means I won’t know who’s going to challenge me or where until that person shows up tomorrow, and I’m stuck with no way of dealing with it.”
“……”
What if the opponent who comes tomorrow is a person who knows martial arts…? I’m not proud of it, but I’m confident I could lose a fight with a grade school student. I’m going to use whatever dirty tricks (tear gas, stun guns, etc.) I have to use to protect Koma… It would be inelegant to bring such things up in a duel, so I’m troubled…
“… Hey, Mako. You really… What in the world makes you think that letter is a letter of challenge?”
“Huh?”
I’m thinking about what I’m going to do tomorrow, while looking at the simmering pot on the side, and Aunty, who had been silent up until now, suddenly asks me such a question. Why do I think it’s a letter of challenge…?
“No, but no matter how I see it… It had the date, time and place written on it, as well as words like ‘calling’ and ‘I’ll be waiting for you all the way till you come’. It’s a letter of challenge, isn’t it?”
“What kind of brain framework do you have, you hopeless siscon!? Apologize! Apologize to the student who worked so hard on that letter, you hopeless sister!”
Aunty snapped and her angry voice echoed through the house. Eh? It isn’t?
“…. Eetto. Then, this isn’t a letter of challenge, Aunty? I thought, ‘Let’s make a wage for your little sister, Koma-chan, and have a match for her!’—– I believed it was a call for a challenge like that..”
“You’re completely off-marks, you huge idiot! Okay, listen. They sealed it with heart stickers, and they used an insanely pretty letterhead!? And on top of that, the careful writing and the strong feelings for you that come through in the text…This can’t be anything else other than calling you for confessing their lo— (*Thud*) Fughu!?”
I thought she was ranting about something, but suddenly Aunty moaned like a squashed frog. The moaning is matched by a sound from the living room, as if it were a cry of pain.
I’m using the fire a bit right now, and I can’t take my eyes off the pot, so I can’t see what’s going on in the living room with Koma and Aunty… What? Did something happen there?
“Aunty? Are you okay? What’s wrong suddenly? Did you hurt your back?”
“Fufufufu… She’s okay, Nee-sama. I think Aunt-sama got a bit overexcited and banged her little finger on the corner of the cabinet. Her injuries don’t seem to be serious, so please rest assured…. Right, Aunt-sama?”
“Oooh… Yeah, it’s nothing… Mako…”
“Is that so? Then, it’s fine, but… So? What’s this letter about after all, Aunty. You broke mid-way saying it earlier.”
“You were just imagining it, Nee-sama. It’s as Nee-sama says, it’s a letter of challenge…. Right, Aunt-sama?”
“… Koma is correct. Aah… Sorry, Mako… It was just me imagining it… It’s like you say, it is a challenge letter…”
“Ah, is that true? Okay then.”
What, so in the end it was a letter of challenge after all. Good grief, you really gave false hope, Aunty.
“And then? Nee-sama… I ask again but, you really don’t know who sent the letter?”
“Muu… I’m sorry, Koma. Onee-chan has one too many ideas, so I’m a bit lost.”
“Is that… so? Eh? You have too many ideas…?”
It’s unusual nowadays to send a letter of challenge, and the person who sent it is most likely someone who has strong feelings for Koma. If not, it must be someone with a strong personal grudge against me.
Taking that into account…. There are too many people in school who fit that, so I don’t have a clue who could be the sender. My, I truly don’t know.
“… But, this is…”
“But!? But what, Nee-sama!? You have an idea of who it is, after all?”
“Ah, no, sorry. It’s nothing, Koma. It’s probably just my imagination so don’t mind me, Koma.”
I say that so as to not worry Koma… But, the beautiful handwriting in this letter. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere else. And very close too… Let me see? Where have I seen it?
“Well, whoever it is, you’ll know who it is when you go to the roof tomorrow after school… And so. Sorry, Koma. I’m going to go and see the sender of this letter for a bit after school tomorrow. So I think I’m going to take a break from the Seijokai, so please take care.”
“Eeeh!?”
When I earnestly request her that I’ll do so, Koma shakes with a near shriek.
“That… Don’t tell me, Nee-sama, that tomorrow, as the letter says… You intend to go to the roof!?”
“Hm? Un, I’ll go. Whatever it is, if I’m called so politely, I can’t afford not to go, right?”
In any case, it says ‘I’ll wait until you come’, and it would be bad for them if I stood them up.
“No, I don’t want you! No! It’s dangerous, Nee-sama!?”
But she doesn’t seem to somehow accept it, and Koma tries to stop me by raising her voice.
“Ahaha. It’s okay, Koma. Even if it’s a duel it wouldn’t become a life and death one. There’s nothing dangerous about it—”
“It’s dangerous! It’s dangerous for you, Nee-sama!? I-If Nee-sama… If Nee-sama falls(in love) to the person who sent that letter, I wi—–”
“Wait a moment, Koma!? I’ll fall!? Eh… Wait, what!? I’ll be pushed off the roof tomorrow!? You’re saying this is not a letter of challenge, but a murder threat?”
Shocking statements come from Koma. What on earth is Koma imagining…? Don’t tell me she’s worried that the end result of the challenge will be to kill each other?
There aren’t any students in our school who are that bizarrely concerned about Koma and are plotting to get rid of me, or who are plotting to make good on their long-standing grudge against me… There shouldn’t be. It’s not every day that such a suspenseful theater or detective comic tragedy happens… Right? I’m starting to get a bit scared…
“N-No… I’m not saying it’s dangerous that you’ll fall in that meaning…”
“Is that so? I’m glad that’s not it… Hm? What then is in danger of falling, Koma?
“That is… Etto, that’s…”
Koma begins to mumble at my question. This is… that? She really doesn’t want me to go, but Koma couldn’t think of a good persuasion on the spur of the moment, so I guess she just said something weird?
Well, I can understand why she would be worried and want to stop her sister from going all the way, since she’s a weak fighter and her own sister is recklessly trying to go to the battlefield. Really, Koma is such a fine girl…
“You really have nothing to worry about, Koma. I’m certainly going to go up to the rooftop tomorrow, as per the letter of challenge, but… I have no intentions at all to start a fight. First of all, I’ll listen to what that sender has to say… I’m going to manage to keep it to a verbal fight. So there’s no danger at all♪”
“… But, I keep saying it’s not that kind of meaning…”
I say that in a cheerful voice to reassure Koma who is anxious. I am feared and watched by teachers and students alike as a troubled pervert, but I have no intention of doing anything bad or extreme myself, except when confronted by people who want to harm Koma.
Depending on how they respond, I’ll try to keep things civil tomorrow if I can. So there’s nothing for Koma to worry about.
“More importantly, the hotpot will be ready soon. Koma, also Aunty. Please set up the tableware there.”
“Y-Yes…”
“Okay…”
There’s a saying, ‘Tomorrow will take care of itself’, so as far as the letter of challenge is concerned, I can think about it tomorrow. Now let’s just think about getting Koma and Aunty a delicious hotpot. Well, now that the hotpot is getting good, let’s put the finishing touches on it.
“… Uuuu… I didn’t mean it that way…. I’m worried that… Nee-sama will fall, in a different meaning that she thinks…”
“…. Dear me. If you’re so worried about her then why not say that ‘I’m anxious that Mako-nee-sama will fall to her confession’—– (*Thud*) Hoghu!?”
“Aunt-sama? Did you say something?”
“… Nothing at all…”
Tintan 
Thanks for the update and wow love how we’re seeing this slight yandere side to koma think we all know who the letter came from so im looking forward to seeing how this pans out
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