Chapter 36: CH 36

So she was your sister.

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

So she was your sister.

“Aizawa, you’re here.”

“…For the record, it was just a coincidence. I didn’t know you were going to be here, Mizutani.”

I looked away from Mizutani, who was smiling meaningfully.

Not that I found it erotic or anything, but the sight of her in her pure white dress was too dazzling to look at directly. But I felt it was a shame, so I glanced at her with a sideways glance.

“Hmmm. Well, that’s true. I didn’t tell Aizawa about today either. …But more importantly, who is the pretty girl next to you? Introduce her to me. Ah, I’m Aizawa’s girlfriend, by the way.”

“Mizutani, you…”

She definitely said that just to get me in trouble.

Even though there was no need for her to pretend to be my girlfriend here.

She had a bad character, really.

I had no choice but to look at Mai.

I had thought she had suddenly gone quiet, but as I expected, Mai’s mouth was open.

I wondered how to explain our relationship.

Mai’s eyes kept moving back and forth between me and Mizutani who was confused about this.

“Eh…? Eh? Girlfriend? This fairy? Seriously?”

“Hey, wait a minute, Mai. You’re mistaken about something. Mizutani is—”

“Yes, I’m Aizawa’s girlfriend. And you are?”

“Oi.”

Mizutani’s antics wouldn’t stop.

I knew she was doing it for fun, but it was a bit too much.

When I looked at Mai, I saw that her eyes were gradually beginning to light up.

She looked as if she had found an interesting toy.

I have a bad feeling about this.

“I’m…what kind of relationship do you see me with Aizawa?”

“No, you’re Aizawa too.”

“Eh, this girl has the surname Aizawa too? Don’t tell me you’re…engaged…?”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

I sighed and gave Mizutani a light chop on the head.

Mizutani frowned said “It hurts” and glared at me.

“This is my sister Mai. We share the same last name simply because we are brother and sister.”

“Ah, siblings…”

Mizutani finally cooled down, silently comparing my face with Mai’s several times.

Then she muttered something like,

“You don’t look much like her.”

“I’m sorry. I’m an ugly brother.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

I used to be told that I didn’t look like her since I was born.

It was simply because Mai had a good face and I didn’t.

“But I see. She was your sister. …Heh.”

“What’s that reaction.”

“Nothing.”

Mizutani turned to Mai and bowed to her with the same graceful gesture as when she bowed on stage.

“My name is Mizutani Karin, a classmate of Aizawa’s. Nice to meet you, Mai-san.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Mai Aizawa.”

Mai, who bowed her head in an awkward manner, asked fearfully with a superior look.

“Um, can I call you Karin-san?”

“Yes, it’s fine. Since you are Aizawa’s little sister.”

“Really!? Yay!”

Mai continued with a big smile on her face.

“I have always wanted a beautiful older sister like Karin-san! As you can see, my brother is like this.”

“Hey, what do you mean?”

“I wanted a cute little sister like Mai too. I envy Aizawa.”

“Eehh~ Please stop flattering me about how cute I am!”

Mai wiggled her hand on her cheek as if she was really happy.

Sometimes I wonder if girls were happier to be complimented by a beautiful woman than by a good-looking man.

Mai’s eyes sparkled and she moved even closer to Mizutani.

“Ah, and your performance today was amazing, by the way! I’ve become a fan of yours!”

“R-really?”

“Really! I’m sorry…for mixing up so many emotions! I’m an idiot and my vocabulary is not very good, but anyway, I was struck by your performance!”

“I see…well, I’m glad you felt like that.”

Mizutani turned to me with a troubled smile.

“What did you think, Aizawa?”

“Eh, me?”

“There’s no other Aizawa, right?”

“There is. Right in front of you.”

When I pointed to Mai with my chin, Mizutani hesitantly said.

“…The only person I call Aizawa is you, though.”

“….? Isn’t it a given? If someone calls someone with the last name Sasaki “Aizawa,” that would be scarier.”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Mizutani put her hand on her forehead and sighed, then looked up.

Her face returned to a near-expressionless look.

“What did Aizawa Akito think? What did you think of my performance?”

Why the full name?

But then I thought about it, and I realized that it was hard to call someone by the first name of the opposite sex.

But I guess even Mizutani would think like that, not to mention someone like me.

“It was a good performance”

“Are you sure you mean that?”

“…What do you mean.”

When I asked, Mizutani stared back at me silently.

Her blue eyes were serious. I felt that her eyes spoke eloquently about what piano meant to her.

I felt as if I shouldn’t look away, so I looked back into Mizutani’s eyes.

Something about this made me nervous. She really did have a nice face.

“I definitely meant it. To put it in cliche terms, I was impressed. I was moved.”

“…Thank goodness”

Mizutani breathed a sigh of relief.

Somehow I was happy to see that, and a smile naturally came to my face.

Mai’s voice, “Wow,” brought me back to myself.

I looked at Mai, who was comparing us with a face half admiring and half teasing.

“You two really are a couple~”

“…Huh?”

“Because I didn’t feel like I could join in the conversation at all just now! It was like you guys were in your own little world!”

“…Hear that, Mizutani.”

I was feeling very embarrassed and my face was hot.

I didn’t know what to say back to Mizutani, but she seemed to be confused and tapped me on the shoulder without saying a word. I don’t get it.

It was at that moment that the atmosphere became delicate.

A sharp soprano voice, as if cutting through the air, came from behind Mizutani.

“What are you doing here, Karin!”

A high-pitched *clack, clack, clack* of high-heeled heels.

Immediately after, a tall woman appeared.

She had long black hair that reached down to her back and dark eyes.

Her face was somewhat similar to Mizutani’s, but she looked a little colder than her.

The white skin and the bright red rouge on her lips were a vivid contrast.

“…Mother”

Mizutani turned around and muttered with a stunned look on her face.