"Oh!!! It's a child who looks even younger than Ren-chan!" Koshigaya Natsumi exclaimed as she looked in surprise at Kanna, who was hiding behind Sato.
"This is Kanna. She's a bit younger than Ren-chan and hasn't started elementary school yet."
Sato gave a brief introduction to everyone.
"So you're Kanna-chan!"
Fujimiya Konomi crouched in front of Kanna and looked at her curiously. "Kanna-chan's eyes are really beautiful. They look just like a deep blue ocean."
"Eh? You're right!"
Koshigaya Natsumi and Koshigaya Komari also leaned in behind Fujimiya Konomi, observing Kanna with curiosity.
"Don't scare her!"
Miyauchi Hikage walked up from behind with a helpless expression, pulling the others back. Then she herself eagerly widened her eyes and examined Kanna.
"They're really beautiful!"
"Hey! Hikage-nee, that's too sly!"
"Hehe! All's fair in love and war!"
"In that case… take my invisible kick!"
"Hah! I dodged!"
Watching the group instantly break into playful chaos, Sato felt a headache coming on. As expected of these two, they really were cut from the same cloth.
He shot them an annoyed look. "Can't you behave a little?"
"Sorry! I can't!"
"Sorry! I also can't!"
Koshigaya Natsumi and Miyauchi Hikage glanced back at Sato, then continued messing around without a care.
Forget it…
Sato turned to Kanna by his side, crouched down, and pointed at the group. "Kanna, you can just call all of them 'Onee-chan.'"
"Onee-chan? Me too?"
Suddenly, Miyauchi Renge, who had been quietly watching Kanna, widened her eyes and looked at Sato with anticipation.
"Mm… of course!"
"Onee-chan! I'm a Onee-chan too!"
Miyauchi Renge froze for a moment, then happily cried out, her eyes shining as she looked at Kanna.
Kanna stared at her with a blank, innocent expression and softly said, "Onee-chan!"
"I… I'll take you to the car. There's… there's lots of snacks we just bought!"
Miyauchi Renge's face turned slightly red as she spoke to Kanna, her words a little jumbled.
Hearing that there was food in the car, Kanna's eyes lit up slightly, and she turned to look at Sato.
"Mm."
After receiving Sato's nod of approval, Miyauchi Renge excitedly grabbed Kanna's hand and ran toward the car.
Watching their backs, Miyauchi Kazuho's usually closed eyes opened into a thin slit as she said with a hint of emotion, "Looks like Ren-chan is really happy."
Fujimiya Konomi smiled. "After all, Ren-chan is the youngest here. No one has ever called her 'Onee-chan' before."
"Alright, let's go too."
…
Miyauchi Kazuho drove the car along the winding mountain road. It was about two kilometers from the station.
The breeze in the mountains was cool, completely lacking the stifling heat of the city.
The car had three rows of seats. Koshigaya Komari sat in the passenger seat, Fujimiya Konomi and Koshigaya Natsumi sat in the two individual seats in the second row, while Sato and Miyauchi Hikage sat by the window in the last row. The two little ones sat between them.
"Ah, the countryside is still the best. Tokyo has been getting hotter and hotter these days," Miyauchi Hikage said comfortably as she leaned by the window, enjoying the wind with her eyes half-closed.
"Oh right, how's it over there for you, Sato?"
She suddenly turned to ask him.
"It's not bad where we are. You can see the sea right from the classroom, and there's often a sea breeze."
"So amazing! You can actually see the ocean! If I'd known, I would've gone to Chiba with you!"
Miyauchi Hikage widened her eyes, her face full of envy.
"Give me a break. With your grades, you couldn't get into a private mixed high school."
Sato couldn't help but tease, "You really have no sense of your own limits."
"Hey, who are you looking down on?!"
Miyauchi Hikage bared her teeth and glared fiercely at Sato.
"Of course it's you. If you disagree, please list one, two, three reasons to refute me."
"I…"
Miyauchi Hikage racked her brain.
"Well, Hikage, don't embarrass yourself," Miyauchi Kazuho said from the driver's seat.
"Hey, Kazuho-nee, how can you say that? Why didn't you tutor me properly back in middle school?!"
Miyauchi Hikage complained to her sister.
"Well…"
Miyauchi Kazuho paused, then said leisurely, "Because you're Miyauchi Hikage."
"What does that even mean?"
Miyauchi Hikage looked confused.
"It means you're hopeless, like mud that can't be shaped," Sato said calmly.
"Haha! Hopeless like mud! Hikage-nee, you're really that bad?!"
Koshigaya Natsumi turned around from the front seat, pointing at Miyauchi Hikage and laughing loudly.
"Before you say that, Natsumi, maybe you should take a look at yourself," Koshigaya Komari couldn't help but remark.
Koshigaya Natsumi: "…"
The car suddenly fell silent, leaving only Koshigaya Natsumi muttering with hollow eyes, "Yeah… I'm even worse than Hikage-nee…"
"It's over! My life has no hope!" Koshigaya Natsumi suddenly grabbed her head and shouted.
Don't go defining your whole life like that on your own!
Everyone in the car looked at her speechlessly. If she were really the type to be crushed by something like this, that would be the surprising part.
"Huh? Why is everyone so quiet?"
Sure enough, when no one paid attention to her, Koshigaya Natsumi quickly calmed down and looked at the others in confusion.
Fujimiya Konomi said helplessly, "Because everyone already knows what kind of person you are, Natsumi."
"Well, we're almost there. Let's quiet down a bit," Miyauchi Kazuho said from the driver's seat, then turned to Sato.
"Oh right, Sato. In a week, there'll be a festival at the Miyamizu Shrine by Lake Itomori. Do you want to go together?"
"In a week?"
Sato thought for a moment, then replied, "I should go. But some friends from my club and I already planned to come here for a training camp in a few days. I'll probably bring them along to see it."
"Hm?"
Fujimiya Konomi suddenly frowned, sharply catching a word from what Sato had just said that bothered her.
She looked at him, narrowed her eyes, and asked, "You mean… them?"