Volume 13 Chapter 1 (1/2)
”What? My archaic dictionary?”
She turned around, feeling his gaze
”Ah, yeah … no”
His inarticulate response matched the tedious expression on his face
”Which is it?”
”Yeah” and ”No” were complete opposites, like plus and minus Well, it could make sense if the ”no” was a correction of the earlier ”yeah” Realizing this, Yumi reached for the archaic dictionary that he'd removed from between the bookends on her desk, but contrary to her expectations, Yuuki said, ”Thank-you,” and turned around So then where was he going with that ”no” at the end of his sentence?
”Yuuki”
Yulet that alking away Having just returned froer brother's skin was bronzed like he'd been to the beach Supposedly, the camp was to prepare for their school festival, but it looked as though he'd had plenty of time to run around
”Was there anything else you wanted to borrow?”
”No”
Well geez Here's another ”no” But as he acting so indecisive? So Yumi waited for what he was about to say next, and, after his eyes seemed to swim for a while he said:
”Um, can I turn down the temperature on the air-con?”
”No way”
Naturally, Yumi rejected this instantly
”The room's too hot”
”It's perfect It's not good for you to have the temperature too low”
Men are typically said to be more sensitive to heat, and this statistic applied exactly to the fukuzawa household Her father and Yuuki were both sensitive to the heat and suffered in summer Her mother and Yumi were both sensitive to the cold, so winter was harsh for them
”So being too hot's good for the body then?”
Not giving up, Yuuki grabbed the front of his athletic singlet and fanned himself with it
”I didn't say that But if you lowered the temperature, then I'd be cold”
”Couldn't you put so on?”
”This isoff?”
”What else could I take off?”
Indeed
Short running pants He was already bordering on being an intrusion in a young lady's roo so off probably wouldn't cool him down all that much
”You could go back to your own room”
Yumi said, a bit cruelly
”I' My room's unbelievably bad”
”A burning hell?”
”Yeah I'd get heatstroke in 15 minutes”
So heher to let hi, ”There there” Then, for her cute little brother's sake, she lowered the teree A warrior's compassion
Beep
The truth was that the air-con in her brother's room was currently broken
No-one kne long it had been playing up But apparently it had been ht when he got back frole loud noise and wouldn't start, no matter what he tried
According to Yuuki, ”That was probably the air-con's death rattle” But it wasn't necessarily dead yet There was a chance it could be repaired
They'd called an electrician to repair it, but he seemed quite busy and couldn't co a corner of Yu his suo to the library if he wanted somewhere more comfortable, but so far it hadn't come to that
He apparently preferred the sha out on his bicycle in this heat
(Huh? But)
After Yu her chair back to her desk, she suddenly realized that it shouldn't have been that hard for him to ask her to lower the air-con temperature
What just happened … right, it was like there was soht, which hat the ”no” was referring to
Spin, spin, spin
She thought as her chair swung
She left it alone for a while, but it nagged at her, so she turned to her younger brother as leafing through the dictionary at her low, glass-topped table and called to him
” … Yuuki?”
Then Yuuki raised his head and said loudly:
”Say, Yumi!”
”Wh-what?”
They weren't bloodshot, but there was strength in his eyes Seeing his resolve, Yuuard
”Well”
”Y-yes?”
She didn't knohat he was going to say, but she would listen with dignity and e difference e the fact that she was the older sister
”Will the Lillian's student council help out at the Hanadera school festival again this year?”
” … That's all you wanted to ask?”
So apparently the school festival was the topic for the conversation But she still couldn't see the root of the problem
”The second seyet”
”Oh, really?”
Yumi didn't really know the details, but Rei-sama was supposed to be their primary contact
”And so, while we're just talking, would it be possible to have an introductory ”
”Wha - !?”
Yumi's voice instinctively rose when she heard this unexpected request Yuuki responded by hastily waving both his hands and saying:
”No, it's not like that It's just that there are so a bit earlier than that would be a huge help to us … that's all I meant”
Muibly
”Frankly, to finalize our planning, we need to kno far the Lillian's assistants are prepared to go, you know … so like that”
She'd been listening silently, and Yuuki looked at her with upturned eyes and said, ”So it's no good after all” So then, h to be turned down
”Is that all?”
Yumi asked, arms folded
”What do you mean, ”Is that all?””
”You're not having any ihts about it?”
”I-impure !? What's impure?”
This tier up and said:
”For example, say you wanted to kneel at the feet of the true princess Sachiko-sa shi+mako-san Or perhaps you wanted to cross swords with the Takazura top-talent Rei-sama”
Yumi enthusiastically described the three beautiful Roses of Lillian's Girls Acade fun at his older sister's speech
”Setting aside the first two, I wonder about that third one”
”Those are just examples I told you that”
”Well, if it's an example”
With that confirmed, Yuuki's serious expression returned
”I's don't exist The Lillian's girls are an unknoorld to the boys, so of course they're going to be interested … but I'll tell you right now no-one's going to confess their love or anything”
An unknoorld The boys Interested Just hearing it was enough to make her dizzy These were the sort of phrases thatSachiko-sama
”You're asking an awful lot, you know”
”Yeah You're right Sorry”
Yuuki looked a bit despondent Poor boy He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, between his school friends and his older sister
”So you're the gofer for your seniors? Just what kind of person is this year's Hanadera student council president?”
”You'll find out soon enough”
”I guess”
No ht he had to be better than the Yuuki-ogling Kashi+wagi-san But if they were rude and worked him relentlessly, then that would also be a problem
”You know, Yumi, this isn't an official request, so you can say no”
Yuuki was still acting so indecisive
”Yeah”
Even as she was nodding, Yumi wondered whether it would be okay to deny the request based on her own judgment
Certainly, it wasn't an official offer
She'd only heard it because she and her brother lived under the same roof and both happened to have been thrust into their respective school's student councils
But, as that? For so hi her to hold on a minute
Telling her to wait a minute and think about it
”Hmm”
”Thinking about it, the only way to have it during su too ht from the start”
”Be quiet for a while, Yuuki”
Scolding her gruenerally under-utilized gray matter at full speed for a while, so she can do without the interruption
(If we do that, it'll turn out like so But if we use this well, then maybe - )
Yuuki atching her expression, but she ignored that and clapped her hands
”Okay, I've got it!”
”Um … Yumi?”
”Let's put this on hold for now”
”Huh?”
”Can't you hear? Put it on hold I'll have to consult with the other members”
”Huh!?”
For so, Yuuki was co her
”Yu-yu-yu-yumi When did you become such a power player?”
”Don't be silly I told you, I have to consult with the until I've talked to Rosa Foetida, Rei-sama”
Strike while the iron is hot Yumi retrieved her student notebook from the drawer and checked the phone number
”Rei-sama? Oh, not Sachiko-san?”
Yuuki looked confused as he fetched the phone handset for her, and Yumi nodded
”Yeah Well”
There was no way she could discuss what to do about Sachiko-sama with Sachiko-sama herself, was there?
” - Well, I suppose”
Yuhed
”I should have known that Yoshi+no-san would also come if I called Rei-sama”
”What's this? You s”
Yoshi+no-san pouted as she poked her straw at the vanilla ice-crea next to her, Rei-sama stirred her strawberry shake, smiled wryly and declared:
”Huh? It doesn't just ”sound like” it, it's exactly what you are, Yoshi+no When you saw ered ?” and ”Who are youYuh it were completely natural”
”Ho somewhere with you, Rei-chan I just wanted to see Yumi-san”
Her sulking figure looked oldfish Yoshi+no-san didn't find it funny that her ”beloved Rei-chan” had hit the nail on the head
”Alright, alright If that's what you say it is”
”Such an insufferable tone of voice”
Yoshi+no-san thuainst Rei-sama's sturdy upper arm Um, please don't take this sort of lovers' quarrel outside of your house Especially not nohen all of japan is sweltering
”If Yoshi+no-sas does that make me?”
Noriko-chan ument
In a bad mood, Yoshi+no-san's response was somewhat prickly
”At best, s?”
”Ah, so then I'm the rice fish?”
shi+mako-san asked, with an expression that was part annoyed but still part pleased If Noriko-chan was rice fish droppings, then shi+mako-san was automatically rice fish
”Hey, hey, do the droppings cling to rice fish when they swim too?”
”Ah”