Arc-2 Ep-24

On the 28th, the sixth generation finished their lessons for the year.

The six days until the 3rd of next year were a rare long holiday. That said, now that I had become an idol and was known to the public, going on a trip and being noticed by fans seemed troublesome.

My father and older brothers wanted to take me somewhere to play, but basically, I spent time at home. I helped with the year-end cleaning at home, and on New Year’s Eve, I watched Rina-san singing and dancing on TV, along with Chimi-san and Erika-san.

At the start of the new year, we gathered at my father’s parents’ house about an hour away by car, receiving New Year’s gifts from relatives and being treated like an idol.

Apparently, thanks in part to my presence, the gathering was larger than in recent years. I ended up writing autographs endlessly for cousins and second cousins of the same age, piling up extra fatigue, but I told myself that this was also part of the job.

Still, I decided that next year I would refrain from this—it became my first resolution of the new year.

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“Papa, Mama, this is Mikuri Kayanuma, who Chie is indebted to.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mikuri Kayanuma, and I’m friendly with Chie-chan.”

“I am Chie’s father, Tomoyuki. I hear a lot about you from Chie.”

“Yes, she said you’re a reliable senior… Ah, this is mother, Sae. Welcome.”

Around the time it started to get dark on January 3rd, I was visiting Chie-chan’s home. At first, I had intended to have a sleepover at my house. However, her father raised an objection. He said, what about letting his beloved daughter stay over in a house with three young men?

My household consisted of my parents and three older brothers, a total of six members. We had expanded the original house and even built a separate annex, so there was no problem with the number of rooms.

Because of this, my brothers, who didn’t want to be apart from their adorable youngest sibling, stayed at home even after entering university or starting jobs. I am partly responsible for this.

Because I used my brothers in acting experiments to enhance my appeal as an attractive girl, the three of them became completely captivated.

As a result, even if they got a girlfriend, the relationship wouldn’t last long. They inevitably compared the girl to me and ended up quarreling with her. I worried whether the Kayanuma family line would continue, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

And as for me, I would never allow myself to get into such a relationship with a man. Well, that’s why I visited the Sekiguchi household with a gift in hand. Chie-chan is an only child, and her parents are still young.

Her father, Tomoyuki, is in his late thirties. My father is in his fifties, so it’s a completely different family. Today, at Chie-chan’s house, we were having a sleepover.

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“Please, Mikuri-san.”

“Wow~ This is Chie-chan’s room~”

First, she guided me to her room. Unlike Nozomi-chan, Chie-chan’s room in a normal household was about the same size as my room. It had a study desk that seemed to have been used since elementary school, bookshelves and storage furniture, and a single bed.

All of it was decorated cutely, as befits a middle school girl.

“It’s small, but…”

“My room’s about the same size.”

She smiled as she said this, and she seemed happy as well. If I had a little sister like this, I would probably spoil her. I wondered if my three older brothers felt the same way.

“Please sit here and wait. I’ll bring tea.”

“Got it, Chie-chan.”

She placed a small folding table in the space, which wasn’t particularly large, in front of a cushion. I placed my belongings in front of the bookshelf, sat on the cushion, and she left the room.

“Hmmm…”

I looked around the space, confirming Chiei-chan’s sweet, milky scent. Unlike Nozomi-chan’s room, there was no TV or fridge, making it feel normal.

(It really feels like a girl’s room.)

As I let my gaze wander thinking this, there was a knock, and Chie-chan came back in.

“Thank you for waiting.”

“No, no problem.”

She sat across from me and moved the teacup from the tray onto the folding table.

“It’s tea, right?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

When we were together during the Sistema Solare, she often drank tea from a PET bottle, so it seemed Chie-chan knew my preferences. She placed a steaming white liquid in a mug in front of herself and set a basket of sweets on the table.

“Is that hot milk?”

“Yes. I want to grow a little taller.”

“Your height, huh… You want to be around 150 cm?”

It had been nearly a year since I first met Chiei-chan at the production, and she had grown a bit, but she was still the shortest of the sixth generation.

“Yes… but looking at my mom, I think it’s unlikely.”

The first time I met her parents was at the festival when she debuted as an idol. They were a beautiful couple, resembling Chie-chan.

Tomoyuki-san is about mid-170s in height, but her mother, Sae-san, is barely 150 cm.

So if she inherits her mother’s height, Chiei-chan might not grow much taller. She probably drinks milk and makes an effort on her own. By comparison, my father is just over 170 cm, my mother in the low 160s.

As for their faces, I think my father is slightly below average and my mother slightly above average. My three brothers have said similar things, so it’s not a strange judgment. I could say that only I am the odd one out in the family.

Of course, my rare beauty isn’t due to genetics, but thanks to a divine cheat.

“But for a little sister role, being not too tall might actually be better.”

“That’s true… but I heard from Taneyama-san that an incredibly cute girl joined the training school recently.”

“Really? Do you get information from the training school connections?”

“No, I asked Taneyama-san, but apparently she’s a rare talent as a little sister type, and the upper management doesn’t want to let her go.”

“Hmm… I haven’t heard of her, but maybe it affects you, Chiei-chan?”

If that’s the case, she might be an extremely beautiful girl. Still, since she joined at this time, she would probably appear earliest as part of the eighth generation. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely she will interact much with me.