My beautiful sister-in-law who is only attached to me, and my childhood friend who just made her high school debut, barged into my house?

Shota rode his bicycle all the way to the Koriyama Mall, instead of the station where the supermarket was located. He did this in order to cool down.

He went to the laundry section of the 100-yen store, which he usually did not go to, and there he found the laundry net he was looking for. There were so many of them.

Not only did they come in different colours, but they even had character motifs, so it was understandable that he was at a loss as to which one to buy.

I put my hand on my chin and thought for a moment. The heat returned to my cheeks for a moment as I pondered about which to buy, but then I decided that anything was fine as long as I could use it, so I chose a plain one of appropriate size and purchased it. Since I had come all the way to the Koriyama Mall, I stopped by a bookstore and bought some manga magazines, which I occasionally read, and left.

When Shota came home, he found Mio hanging the sheets he had just thrown into the washing machine in the garden. When she noticed him, she waved her hand greeted him.

“Welcome back.”

“Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

While smiling wryly at my childhood friend who seemed was acting like a housewife, I threw the laundry net I bought from the entrance, with Mio catching it as naturally as breathing. Mio then entered the house through the sweeping window of the living room and headed in the direction of the washroom.

Shota, not wanting to repeat his earlier mistake, went straight to his own room.

“……ah”

“Erika…?”

He opened the door without thinking and somehow Erika was there.

She was sitting flat in front of the bookshelf, holding a manga in her hand with a pile of manga next to her.

Shota looked around to confirm that it was his room, and as he gazed at her with a blank stare, Erika, having just been discovered, blushed slightly and spun an excuse while covering her mouth with the manga.

“Mii-chan said this is interesting.”

“Oh, that.”

It was a series that Mio had taken out of Shota’s room yesterday without permission. She must have blabbered about it to Erika.

“I was curious about the beginning of the series…”

“I’m sure you’ll find it interesting. Feel free to continue reading it.”

“Thanks.”

Erika nodded happily and returned her attention to the manga. It seems she intends to stay here and read the manga.

Erika’s enthusiasm for the manga put a smile on my face, making me pleased to see that she liked my favourite work.

On one hand, I’m still a little uncomfortable with this situation of having a beautiful girl in her room, even though she is my sister on paper.

On the other hand, I feel like I’m being too conscious, even though it’s my own room.

And I am afraid to go back to the living room, thinking about the things that are being washed right now.

So I decided to sit on my bed and read the manga magazine I had bought, trying to act as normal as possible.

At first I was a little nervous, but as soon as I started reading, I was drawn into the world of the manga and didn’t mind at all. Erika seemed to be the same way, concentrating on her reading, and the only sound in the room was the sound of pages turning.

But still, when something outside of your awareness touches you, you can’t help but look up to see what’s going on.

“Huh!?”

And if you look up to see the face of a beauty right up against your own, with whom you aren’t related to by blood, you couldn’t help but be caught off guard. The distance was too close for comfort, inclining Shota to hunch up his shoulders in surprise.

“…Brother?”

“Eh, no, since when have you been here?”

“A long time ago?”

“Well, how was the manga?”

“I finished reading. I was asking you where the rest was but you weren’t responding.”

Erika appeared to be a little sullen, prompting me to raise my eyebrows in guilt.

It seems that I was so absorbed in reading that I didn’t pick up on her words at all.

But that’s it.

“Ah- that’s all there is for that manga.”

“How disappointing.”

“S-so Erika, Aren’t you too close?”

“Hmm? Is it too hard to read with me in the way?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“We used to read together just like this.”

“…”

Erika’s bright smile, overlapping with the one from the past, rendered Shota speechless.

“It really is nostalgic”

“Yes.”

It was a smile that exuded innocence, so he felt strangely impure because of how conscious he was being.

They looked at each other shyly and resumed reading on good terms.

Shoulder to shoulder, they read the manga at an intimate distance from each other.

Though, Shota could no longer just immerse himself in the world of manga without any evil thoughts or distractions.

(It’s so close, so soft, she smells GOOOOOD…)

The slender but soft body of a girl was placed in close proximity to me, and the head on my shoulder tickled my nostrils with a sweet fragrance that appealed to my instincts. It’s difficult to remain calm as my whole body is heated by the hand that is placed on my lap.

I concentrated on the manga, trying not to think of anything else, but my mind was completely blank.

As for Erika, she is probably just acting spoiled like she used to be.

But everything is different from those days.

I was in agony, biting my lips tightly to endure as the kind of feelings I shouldn’t be having for my sister were swirling around in my chest. I was like a monk in asceticism.

Then, Erika suddenly shook her shoulder.

Shota’s shoulders trembled involuntarily, as Erika looked at my face.

They stared at each other for awhile.

Before long, Erika loosened her cheeks a little and whispered.

“It’s interesting.”

“Oh, yes, it is.”

It was a devilish smile. For a moment, I mistakenly thought she was making fun of me, but realised she was referring to the manga and gave her an awkward smile. The air was itchy.

“……Who are you flirting with?”

“M-Mio!?” “Mi-chan”

Then we were greeted by Mio’s fed up voice.

Mio, who was at the entrance of the room before they knew it, caught Shota and Erika in the act.

“Really, when I called you guys many times to come eat lunch, but no one came… I knew something was fishy. I’m sorry for intruding into your own little worlds… Ah, could it be that I’m in the way?”

“No, you’re misunderstanding something! We were just reading the manga together! Right, Erika?”

“Hmm, yes.”

“… Hmm~?”

I spun excuses on the fly, but Mio answered vaguely as if she didn’t believe us.

Erika was tilting her head, wondering about the unusualness of the exchange between her brother and her childhood friend.

Seeing this, Mio smiles dryly, letting out a sigh.

“Well, it’s good that you two siblings are getting along well. It’s going to get cold, so come eat it quickly.”

“Oh.”

“Okay.”