Chapter 4: My Little Sister, Her Little Sister, and My Wallet’s Funeral

It was a good Sunday morning—perfect time to grind for the 5-star weapon for my waifu—until I got rudely interrupted by my little sister.

"Hey, Onii-chan, can you come with me for a walk in the park?"

"Why don’t you ask Mom?"

"Mom said she was tired after work yesterday."

"Uhh, sorry, I don’t think I can. I have to grind for my waifu. Sorry, my cute imouto." I tried to close the door, only to be stopped by her surprisingly strong grip.

"Accompany me, or I tell Mom you’re watching hentai."

"Hehe, you wouldn’t dare... right, my cute imouto?"

"Mooom! Onii-chan is watching—"

"OKAY, okay! I’ll come with you!"

I quickly shut the door and changed into my running outfit—just a basic t-shirt and my training pants.

I opened the door again. "Alright, I’m ready."

"Let’s go!"

"Eh, okay..."

We walked outside and started jogging toward the park.

"So, why’d you suddenly want to run, Kaede? Planning to audition for an idol group? Hehe."

"Idol?" She sounded annoyed.

"Why not? You’re pretty cute, Kaede."

"Baka, Onii-chan!" she shouted and punched my shoulder.

"Ow, that actually hurt!"

"Serves you right for teasing your cute imouto!"

"So you admit you’re cute, huh?" I grinned and patted her head.

"Ugh, stop it, Onii-chan! I’m too old for head pats." She pouted.

"Really? My little sister is never too old for me~ Hehe."

"Ugh, I should’ve just gone by myself."

Kaede started running faster.

"Wait, Kaede! Don’t go too fast—ahh, why is this week full of running?!"

I tried my best to keep up, barely managing to catch up.

"Kaede, slow down! My legs can’t take this!"

"That’s what you get for always skipping leg day, Mr. Loner!"

Ouch. That loner part stung more than it should’ve. But wait—I’m not a loner anymore. I do have a friend. Maybe even... a potential girlfriend?

"Hey, I’ll have you know I’m not alone anymore! I kinda... have a potential girlfriend."

"Really? Then tell me her name, Onii-chan." Kaede slowed down, clearly curious.

"Her name’s Emilia—I mean, Emi! See? She even lets me call her by her nickname!" I smirked proudly.

"Just because she lets you doesn’t mean you’re her boyfriend or anything."

"Well, we kinda had a café date yesterday. Remember that latte I gave you?"

"No way... that latte I drank was from—?"

"Hehe~ Looks like your onii-chan's luck might be chan—"

Slip!

"Awh, damn!"

"Are you okay, Onii-chan?" Kaede rushed over.

"Yeah, I’m fine. Just slipped. Maybe you should slow down a bit." I smiled, trying to play it off.

"Fine. Let’s run for another 10 minutes."

I stood up, pretending nothing happened—even though I scraped my knee. I didn’t want to ruin the moment.

As we ran, I saw a blonde girl nearby. She reminded me of Emi’s little sister... Nah, it couldn’t be her.

Then Kaede accidentally bumped into the blonde girl.

"Ah, sorry! Are you okay?" Kaede asked.

The girl smiled. "Hehe, I’m fine. Just be careful when you’re running, okay?"

Then she looked at me.

"Oh, Onee-san's boyfriend!"

"Huh—boyfriend?" Kaede looked shocked.

"Ehh, hehe... hoping so. Uh, sorry, I forgot your name..."

"Don’t apologize. My onee-san never properly introduced you. I’m Amelie Laurent. And what’s your name, Onee-san’s boyfriend?"

"I’m Mamoru Fujimoto, and this is my sister, Kaede Fujimoto. Nice to meet you." I offered her a handshake.

"Nice to meet you too!" She shook my hand.

I noticed Kaede giving me a jealous glance.

"Eh, is Emi here?"

"Hehe~ Already looking for my sister and ignoring me and your cute little sister?"

Kaede still looked curious—and slightly annoyed.

"Ah, sorry! I was just curious!" I blushed a little.

"Well, Onee-san isn’t here. She’s hanging out with our dad—the one who looks like a military commander."

"Uh, yeah... I remember."

"Don’t worry. He’s actually kind once you get to know him."

"Eh... I’ll believe it when I see it."

"Anyway, I’ll get going now. See you!"

As Amelie walked away—

"Onii-chan! Did she just call you her Onee-san’s boyfriend?! Explain. Now."

"Eh, maybe later~ Let’s keep running. I’ll tell you if you beat me!"

I bolted ahead.

"Wait, Onii-chaaaan!"

Hehe. Now she knows how it feels to be left behind.

But before I could think of a good one-liner like “Eat dust, sis,” she sped past me with a smug grin.

Guess that’s what I get for skipping leg day.

"Hehe~ Your cute imouto won!"

"Yeah, yeah. Good job, Kaede." I patted her head.

"Ah—why did I let you do that? I’m way too old for head pats!" She shooed my hand away.

"Hehe~ Sorry. Old habits. Remember when we were kids and I’d pat your head every time you cried?"

"Ugh, Onii-chan, forget that! I only cried because I had small legs back then!"

"Hehe~ So now your legs are—thic—"

Before I could finish, Kaede quickly covered my mouth.

"Just shut up, Onii-chan!" she pouted.

"Aha! You let your guard down!"

Before she could react, I tickled her.

"Surprise tickle~ You forgot about this, didn’t you?"

Kaede couldn’t stop laughing.

"Ahaha—Onii-chan, stop it! Or I’ll... I’ll tell Mom!"

"Hehe, okay, okay. I have a promise to keep anyway."

"You mean your girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah. But first—where do you want to eat breakfast?"

"Ohh! I wanna go to a café!"

Wallet crying intensifies

"Eh, alright, Kaede. Let’s go."

"Hehe~ Let me lead the way, okay?"

We walked until we reached the café Kaede wanted to visit.

“Brewtiful Days.”

“Yeah, it just opened recently. My friend told me it’s really good and affordable!”

Wallet sighs in relief

We opened the door and—to my surprise—saw Amelie sitting alone in the corner.

"Ah, it’s you two again! Hehe~ Must be fate! Come sit with me. I could use some company."

"Eh, Kaede, want to sit with Amelie?"

"Eh... sure." She shyly took the seat beside her.

"Is your sister in the same grade as me? I’m a first-year."

"Yeah, Kaede’s a first-year too." I sat across from them.

"Hehe~ Looks like we’re classmates, Kaede."

"Huh? Oh... yeah, Hehe."

Awkward silence.

Damn, this feels awkward... Think, Mamoru, say something!

"Oh! We haven’t ordered yet."

"Really? Oh, sorry! You should order first, then we can chat more."

"Okay, excuse us, Amelie. Hehe." I stood up.

"Kaede, let’s go order."

As we walked to the counter, I whispered, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I’m just... not good with people I don’t know."

"I get it. But you’ve already met Amelie once. She seems really kind."

"Ehh... fine, Onii-chan. But I’m ordering the special latte—it’s a bit pricey, is that okay?"

"Eh... sure, Kaede." Wallet dies inside again

We ordered and returned to Amelie.

"Ah, you’re back! What did you order?"

"I got an espresso, and Kaede... well..."

"I ordered the special latte." Kaede smiled shyly.

"Ooh~ Kaede-chan has good taste!"

"Hehe~"

"Huh? What’s wrong, Mamoru-san? You look... sad?"

"Eh, nothing." I forced a smile, but it came out awkward.

"Hehe~ Now I get why Onee-san likes you."

"Huh?"

"Don’t worry. Let me treat you both today, okay?"

"Eh—really?! Thank you, Amelie!"

"Don’t call me Amelie—call me what Onee-san calls me!"

"You mean... like how I call Emilia 'Emi'?"

"Yep! You can call me Ame! It’s cute, right?"

"Eh... okay. Ame."

"Perfect! Ame means sweet, like candy! People say I’m sweeter than my Onee-san. She’s more elegant, while I’m cute!"

"Hehe, yeah."

Then Kaede added, "But Ame can also mean rain, you know."

"Huh? Oh... yeah, you’re right, Kaede-chan!"

"You can call me that?"

"Of course, Kaede-chan! Hehe~ I know we’re the same age, but I feel like I just got a little sister."

Ame patted Kaede’s head.

"Ah—hey! Stop it, Ame-chan!"

The two of them chatted for a while and only stopped when our drinks arrived.

"Ah, looks like your order’s here. Enjoy~"

Just then, Ame’s phone rang.

"Ah... I have to go. I’ll pay now. Enjoy your drinks!"

"Ame-chan, wait!" Kaede stood up and grabbed her hand.

"Hm? What’s wrong, Kaede-chan?"

"Can I have your number? I... I want to talk more."

"Hehe~ Sure! Here you go."

Ame paid and waved goodbye as she left the café.

"Hehe~ Looks like you made a new friend."

"Yeah... Ame is really fun."

"Oh, right—want to hear how I met Emi?"

"Yeah! Spill it, Onii-chan!" Kaede grinned.

I told her the whole story.

"So, now you’re partners for this school project, huh?"

"Yeah... So I guess it wasn’t really a date." I sighed.

"Eh, don’t worry, Onii-chan. Maybe next time will be a real date with Emi."

"Yeah... Anyway, you done? I wanna get back home and grind for my 5-star weapon."

"This is why you’re hopeless, Onii-chan. But sure—let’s go home."

We walked back home. Kaede went to her room, and I got a message notification.

It was from Emi.

“Hey, it’s Emi. Did you meet my sister this morning?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. She’s cheerful and energetic,” I replied.

“Oh, really? So you're trying to win over me and my little sister now?”

She sent an angry emoji.

“Eh?! No! She just hung out with my sister and they kinda became friends!”

“Ame’s actually shy, you know. It’s rare for her to bond so quickly.”

“Huh, really? Didn’t seem that way to me.”

“Anyway, I’ll tell you more later. Au revoir~”

I smiled to myself and jumped around in excitement before heading to the shower.

After that... back to grinding.