After the banquet ended, all participants left the venue, leaving Rio and the others behind.
「Thank you for the hard work, onii-chan.」
Latifa cheerfully spoke as she clung to Rio’s right arm.
「Whoops…. Ah, back to you, Latifa.」
Rio was slightly surprised by her move, but soon he smiled and pet Latifa’s head with his left hand fondly.
「Ehehe.」
At that, Latifa happily rubbed her cheeks on Rio’s arm and laughed sweetly. Meanwhile, Sara, Orphia, Alma, the three elders, Gouki, Komomo, and the others from Yagumo started to gather around Rio as they began to gently tease him.
「Hohoho, she has been holding back during the banquet to give others a chance to talk to Rio-dono. That’s why she attached herself to you now that you’re free.」
Ursula said, smiling as she looked at Latifa with warm eyes.
「Is that so?」
「Yup!」
Rio looked down at Latifa when he heard Ursula’s words and saw Latifa nodding vigorously in agreement as she smiled widely in elation.
「Well, just let Latifa get her fill of her oniichan for today.」
「Alright. Even so… we can’t stay together until late at night, right?」
Rio replied, slightly embarrassed as he was unable to hide his feelings from Ursula’s keen eyes.
「E~! NOOO, we’re going to stay up late with Komomo-chan and everyone else~!」
Latifa whined, pouting adorably as she puffed her cheek.
「No, that will trouble them. After all, surely everyone wants to go back to take a rest at their home.」
Rio tried to admonish Latifa so she wouldn’t be so capricious. Alas, it went in one ear and out the other.
「Well, don’t worry about that matter. Coz everyone will stay with us at grandma’s place tonight.」
Latifa looked at him triumphantly when she told him that.
「………. EH? 」
Rio exclaimed, shocked at this revelation. That was the first time he had heard about this matter. As such, he immediately looked questioningly towards Ursula, silently asking her.
「It won’t even be a problem if Aisia-sama and Rio-dono were to live in the same house starting today. So, how about it, Rio-dono?」
Ursula nonchalantly dropped that bomb on an unsuspecting Rio.
「Yes, well……」
Rio unconsciously nodded his head when he recalled that Ursula’s house did have too many unused rooms. Even so, he was still reluctant to just agree without at least a token of protest.
「It’s decided then.」
「No, I think I still need a lot of convincing and explanation about this matter.」
Rio unintentionally retorted back, puzzled on how they suddenly decided he would stay in Ursula’s house.
「In short, it’s THAT. Latifa ain’t the only one who missed Rio.」
Dominique added suddenly joining the conversation emitting a mischievous aura, wiggling his eyebrow at the same time.
「Yes, that’s the gist of the situation. Do you have a problem with that? 」
「Of …」
‘Course I have a problem with it.’ was what he wanted to say. However, he swallowed back his words. After all, he figured with Elder Ursula there; she wouldn’t allow them to stay in the same room. It wasn’t like she won’t be feel free from the worry of letting young men and women stay under the same roof, right? Right?
「… Alright then. I have no problem with it as long as everyone else agrees to it too.」
In the end, Rio acquiesced with the plan as he looked at Komomo, Sara and the other girls with a helpless expression.
「Then, it’s decided! Let’s sleep over in the same room! After all, we’ve a lot of things to talk about!」
Latifa excitedly exclaimed, tightening her hold on Rio’s arm.
「Hey. Sleeping in the same room is off-limits you know.」
「E~h, why~? 」
「Unmarried young men and women shouldn’t sleep in the same room. You should already understand this, shouldn’t you?」
Rio sighed as he explained.
「Muu…….」
Hearing that, Latifa puffed her cheek in a really cute manner, inviting a desire to pinch her cheek in everyone who saw it.
「Fumu, I hear that they’re sworn siblings, but looking at them like that makes one feel that they’re full-blooded siblings. They’re very close to each others.」
Gouki commented out loud, looking at Latifa and Rio with an interested expression.
「Yes, they are, aren’t they?」
He watched as Rio smiled and gently brusheding Latifa’s hairead with gentle movement.
「Ehehe…」
At that, Latifa’s entire face brightened as she smiled happily. Meanwhile, Komomo was secretly looking at Latifa with an envious expression, wishing that it was her being pet like that by Rio.
「Komomo also misses you very much, Rio-sama. So, please take her along with Sayo.」
Gouki said as he pushed Komomo’s back.
「Yes! Best regards, Rio-sama!」
Komomo hastily said as she raised and clenched her small fist in front of Rio, looking straight at Rio’s eyes. And since Komomo was one year younger than Latifa, her eyes looked incredibly pure and innocent.
「Likewise.」
When Rio saw thoseat eyes, he unintentionally let out a smile when he replied to her.
◇ ◇ ◇
Aisia, Latifa, and Rio then went together towards Ursula’s house. Meanwhile Sara, Komomo and co went back to their own home or lodging for the time being to prepare for the pajama party.
When the trio arrived at Ursula’s house, they decided to take a bath first before anything else. After some back and forth discussion, it was decided that Aisia and Latifa would take the first turn before Rio took his.
「Let me rinse your back.」
Latifa suddenly said when they entered the bathroom. And because they didn’t have enough chances to talk to each other, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward. So, when they talked to each other, their speech ended up rather formal and stiff.
「Okay. Let me rinse your back in return.」
Aisia spoke with her usual monotonous voice.
「Uh, well, then I’ll… 」
Latifa stuttered. And perhaps because she was too nervous, when she whipped the soap on the towel and started to scrub Aisia’s back, her movements were awkward and hesitant.
「Do tell me if I’m not scrubbing hard enough.」
「Um.」
「Does it feel itchy?」
「It doesn’t.」
In the end, the conversation between the two felt stilted despite Latifa’s effort to shorten the distance by asking questions from time to time. Then again, that was mostly due to Aisia’s taciturn nature and not for lack of effort on Latifa’s part.
Uhm, should I call her ‘Aisia-onee-san’ or should I call her ‘Aisia-onee-chan’? Mmm, never mind that. More importantly, I wonder what kind of person she is? She feels like a calm and collected onee-san from next door…
Latifa thought absentmindedly as she moved her hands with a certain rhythm. She was guessing whether Aisia’s personality was due to her contract with Rio.
She’s also extremely beautiful… I wonder, what feelings she holds about onii-chan?
Latifa’s mind suddenly jumped to the matter about Aisia’s and Rio’s relationship as she looked at Aisia’s supple-baby-like skin――、
「Latifa.」 Latifa was jolted out of her musing by Asia’s call, and she stammered a reply, body twitching in shock.
「AH! Ye-Yes! Um, what’s the matter?」
「It’s okay, no need to be that tense in front of me.」
Aisia said, looking at Latifa over her shoulder with gentle eyes.
「Ye-yes……. 」
「I don’t mind if you don’t use formal speech to talk to me.」
「E-Uhm… Yes? Or rather, okay. Like this?」
「Yup, that’s enough.」
Aisia replied with her usual monotonous tone as she looked straight forward once again. Despite her tone though, the stilted atmosphere around them had eased up slightly.
「… U-Uhm.」
And after being dumbfounded for a few seconds, Latifa’s expression brightened a lot. Then, she suddenly hesitated as she made unsure noises as if she wanted to ask something but she was uncertain of her reception.
「What is it?」
「Can I call you, Aisia-onee-chan?」
Latifa asked with a timid voice.
「Sure.」
Aisia nodded in agreement as a light smile graced her lips at Latifa’s cuteness.
「I did it. Ehehe…」
Latifa smiled happily when she heard Aisia’s agreement.
「Ah, come to think of it! There’s something I wanted to ask you, Aisia-onee-chan.」
Then, something suddenly flitted through her mind, so she asked Aisia, expression curious.
「What could it be？」
Aisia asked, tilting her head as she wondered out loud.
「Uhm, if I’m not wrong, you refer onii-chan as ‘Haruto’, right?」
「Un.」
「Do you normally use that name when you call or refer to him?」
「Un.」
「Why… are you calling him ‘Haruto’?」
Latifa was simply curious about that. There were no other motives behind her question, and Aisia sensed this. So, she didn’t mind satisfying her curiosity.
「… Because Haruto is Haruto.」
Aisia’s expression softened when she said that. However, Latifa couldn’t see that since she stood behind her. Even so, Aisia’s tone when she spoke piqued Latifa’s curiosity and she was unable to hold herself back from asking Aisia.
「… How much do you know onii-chan, Aisia-onee-chan?」
「I know everything about Haruto since I’ve always been watching over him. I even know the fact that you were also inside that bus in your previous life.」
Aisia spoke with her usual monotonous voice.
「… I see.」
Latifa’s eyes were wide open in surprise as she murmured those words.
「Yeah. That’s why I also know that Haruto really cherishes Latifa.」
「……!!!」
The moment Latifa heard that, her face brightened with a smile as bright as the sun.
「Do you cherish Haruto too, Latifa?」
「OF COURSE!」
Latifa replied vigorously, unconsciously bending forward when she spoke.
「In that case, please show Haruto more of your affection.」
Aisia said with a mild tone. After receiving this encouragement, Latifa was adamant in sleeping beside Rio. However, that is for another time. For now――、
「Yes! Of course I will!」
Latifa was feeling extremely elated at this moment since she received Aisia’s encouragement. Then, Aisia suddenly stood up and went around to sit behind Latifa as she spoke.
「Well, now it’s my turn to scrub Latifa’s back.」
「Ehehe, please take care of me then, Aisia-onee-chan.」
Latifa said, nodding her head obediently.
「Uhm.」
Aisia didn’t waste her time. She immediately whipped some soap on the towel after nodding to Latifa, rinsing it once in the hot water before scrubbing Latifa’s back with it. After that, they went to the bathtub and conversed with each other.
They didn’t chatter their ears off, only talking intermittently with each other. However, that didn’t prevent them from becoming closer with each other. Thus, after dipping for a long time in the bathtub, Aisia’s expression had loosened up. The situation was just like that time, a few years ago, when Latifa bathed together with Sara and the others for the first time. Latifa also became closer with them after bathing together.
When both of them finished their bath, Sara, Komomo, and the others arrived. And once Rio took his bath, they gathered together and talked to each other until late at night.
After the banquet ended, all participants left the venue, leaving Rio and the others behind.
「Thank you for the hard work, onii-chan.」
Latifa cheerfully spoke as she clung to Rio’s right arm.
「Whoops…. Ah, back to you, Latifa.」
Rio was slightly surprised by her move, but soon he smiled and pet Latifa’s head with his left hand fondly.
「Ehehe.」
At that, Latifa happily rubbed her cheeks on Rio’s arm and laughed sweetly. Meanwhile, Sara, Orphia, Alma, the three elders, Gouki, Komomo, and the others from Yagumo started to gather around Rio as they began to gently tease him.
「Hohoho, she has been holding back during the banquet to give others a chance to talk to Rio-dono. That’s why she attached herself to you now that you’re free.」
Ursula said, smiling as she looked at Latifa with warm eyes.
「Is that so?」
「Yup!」
Rio looked down at Latifa when he heard Ursula’s words and saw Latifa nodding vigorously in agreement as she smiled widely in elation.
「Well, just let Latifa get her fill of her oniichan for today.」
「Alright. Even so… we can’t stay together until late at night, right?」
Rio replied, slightly embarrassed as he was unable to hide his feelings from Ursula’s keen eyes.
「E~! NOOO, we’re going to stay up late with Komomo-chan and everyone else~!」
Latifa whined, pouting adorably as she puffed her cheek.
「No, that will trouble them. After all, surely everyone wants to go back to take a rest at their home.」
Rio tried to admonish Latifa so she wouldn’t be so capricious. Alas, it went in one ear and out the other.
「Well, don’t worry about that matter. Coz everyone will stay with us at grandma’s place tonight.」
Latifa looked at him triumphantly when she told him that.
「………. EH? 」
Rio exclaimed, shocked at this revelation. That was the first time he had heard about this matter. As such, he immediately looked questioningly towards Ursula, silently asking her.
「It won’t even be a problem if Aisia-sama and Rio-dono were to live in the same house starting today. So, how about it, Rio-dono?」
Ursula nonchalantly dropped that bomb on an unsuspecting Rio.
「Yes, well……」
Rio unconsciously nodded his head when he recalled that Ursula’s house did have too many unused rooms. Even so, he was still reluctant to just agree without at least a token of protest.
「It’s decided then.」
「No, I think I still need a lot of convincing and explanation about this matter.」
Rio unintentionally retorted back, puzzled on how they suddenly decided he would stay in Ursula’s house.
「In short, it’s THAT. Latifa ain’t the only one who missed Rio.」
Dominique added suddenly joining the conversation emitting a mischievous aura, wiggling his eyebrow at the same time.
「Yes, that’s the gist of the situation. Do you have a problem with that? 」
「Of …」
‘Course I have a problem with it.’ was what he wanted to say. However, he swallowed back his words. After all, he figured with Elder Ursula there; she wouldn’t allow them to stay in the same room. It wasn’t like she won’t be feel free from the worry of letting young men and women stay under the same roof, right? Right?
「… Alright then. I have no problem with it as long as everyone else agrees to it too.」
In the end, Rio acquiesced with the plan as he looked at Komomo, Sara and the other girls with a helpless expression.
「Then, it’s decided! Let’s sleep over in the same room! After all, we’ve a lot of things to talk about!」
Latifa excitedly exclaimed, tightening her hold on Rio’s arm.
「Hey. Sleeping in the same room is off-limits you know.」
「E~h, why~? 」
「Unmarried young men and women shouldn’t sleep in the same room. You should already understand this, shouldn’t you?」
Rio sighed as he explained.
「Muu…….」
Hearing that, Latifa puffed her cheek in a really cute manner, inviting a desire to pinch her cheek in everyone who saw it.
「Fumu, I hear that they’re sworn siblings, but looking at them like that makes one feel that they’re full-blooded siblings. They’re very close to each others.」
Gouki commented out loud, looking at Latifa and Rio with an interested expression.
「Yes, they are, aren’t they?」
He watched as Rio smiled and gently brusheding Latifa’s hairead with gentle movement.
「Ehehe…」
At that, Latifa’s entire face brightened as she smiled happily. Meanwhile, Komomo was secretly looking at Latifa with an envious expression, wishing that it was her being pet like that by Rio.
「Komomo also misses you very much, Rio-sama. So, please take her along with Sayo.」
Gouki said as he pushed Komomo’s back.
「Yes! Best regards, Rio-sama!」
Komomo hastily said as she raised and clenched her small fist in front of Rio, looking straight at Rio’s eyes. And since Komomo was one year younger than Latifa, her eyes looked incredibly pure and innocent.
「Likewise.」
When Rio saw thoseat eyes, he unintentionally let out a smile when he replied to her.
◇ ◇ ◇
Aisia, Latifa, and Rio then went together towards Ursula’s house. Meanwhile Sara, Komomo and co went back to their own home or lodging for the time being to prepare for the pajama party.
When the trio arrived at Ursula’s house, they decided to take a bath first before anything else. After some back and forth discussion, it was decided that Aisia and Latifa would take the first turn before Rio took his.
「Let me rinse your back.」
Latifa suddenly said when they entered the bathroom. And because they didn’t have enough chances to talk to each other, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward. So, when they talked to each other, their speech ended up rather formal and stiff.
「Okay. Let me rinse your back in return.」
Aisia spoke with her usual monotonous voice.
「Uh, well, then I’ll… 」
Latifa stuttered. And perhaps because she was too nervous, when she whipped the soap on the towel and started to scrub Aisia’s back, her movements were awkward and hesitant.
「Do tell me if I’m not scrubbing hard enough.」
「Um.」
「Does it feel itchy?」
「It doesn’t.」
In the end, the conversation between the two felt stilted despite Latifa’s effort to shorten the distance by asking questions from time to time. Then again, that was mostly due to Aisia’s taciturn nature and not for lack of effort on Latifa’s part.
Uhm, should I call her ‘Aisia-onee-san’ or should I call her ‘Aisia-onee-chan’? Mmm, never mind that. More importantly, I wonder what kind of person she is? She feels like a calm and collected onee-san from next door…
Latifa thought absentmindedly as she moved her hands with a certain rhythm. She was guessing whether Aisia’s personality was due to her contract with Rio.
She’s also extremely beautiful… I wonder, what feelings she holds about onii-chan?
Latifa’s mind suddenly jumped to the matter about Aisia’s and Rio’s relationship as she looked at Aisia’s supple-baby-like skin――、
「Latifa.」 Latifa was jolted out of her musing by Asia’s call, and she stammered a reply, body twitching in shock.
「AH! Ye-Yes! Um, what’s the matter?」
「It’s okay, no need to be that tense in front of me.」
Aisia said, looking at Latifa over her shoulder with gentle eyes.
「Ye-yes……. 」
「I don’t mind if you don’t use formal speech to talk to me.」
「E-Uhm… Yes? Or rather, okay. Like this?」
「Yup, that’s enough.」
Aisia replied with her usual monotonous tone as she looked straight forward once again. Despite her tone though, the stilted atmosphere around them had eased up slightly.
「… U-Uhm.」
And after being dumbfounded for a few seconds, Latifa’s expression brightened a lot. Then, she suddenly hesitated as she made unsure noises as if she wanted to ask something but she was uncertain of her reception.
「What is it?」
「Can I call you, Aisia-onee-chan?」
Latifa asked with a timid voice.
「Sure.」
Aisia nodded in agreement as a light smile graced her lips at Latifa’s cuteness.
「I did it. Ehehe…」
Latifa smiled happily when she heard Aisia’s agreement.
「Ah, come to think of it! There’s something I wanted to ask you, Aisia-onee-chan.」
Then, something suddenly flitted through her mind, so she asked Aisia, expression curious.
「What could it be？」
Aisia asked, tilting her head as she wondered out loud.
「Uhm, if I’m not wrong, you refer onii-chan as ‘Haruto’, right?」
「Un.」
「Do you normally use that name when you call or refer to him?」
「Un.」
「Why… are you calling him ‘Haruto’?」
Latifa was simply curious about that. There were no other motives behind her question, and Aisia sensed this. So, she didn’t mind satisfying her curiosity.
「… Because Haruto is Haruto.」
Aisia’s expression softened when she said that. However, Latifa couldn’t see that since she stood behind her. Even so, Aisia’s tone when she spoke piqued Latifa’s curiosity and she was unable to hold herself back from asking Aisia.
「… How much do you know onii-chan, Aisia-onee-chan?」
「I know everything about Haruto since I’ve always been watching over him. I even know the fact that you were also inside that bus in your previous life.」
Aisia spoke with her usual monotonous voice.
「… I see.」
Latifa’s eyes were wide open in surprise as she murmured those words.
「Yeah. That’s why I also know that Haruto really cherishes Latifa.」
「……!!!」
The moment Latifa heard that, her face brightened with a smile as bright as the sun.
「Do you cherish Haruto too, Latifa?」
「OF COURSE!」
Latifa replied vigorously, unconsciously bending forward when she spoke.
「In that case, please show Haruto more of your affection.」
Aisia said with a mild tone. After receiving this encouragement, Latifa was adamant in sleeping beside Rio. However, that is for another time. For now――、
「Yes! Of course I will!」
Latifa was feeling extremely elated at this moment since she received Aisia’s encouragement. Then, Aisia suddenly stood up and went around to sit behind Latifa as she spoke.
「Well, now it’s my turn to scrub Latifa’s back.」
「Ehehe, please take care of me then, Aisia-onee-chan.」
Latifa said, nodding her head obediently.
「Uhm.」
Aisia didn’t waste her time. She immediately whipped some soap on the towel after nodding to Latifa, rinsing it once in the hot water before scrubbing Latifa’s back with it. After that, they went to the bathtub and conversed with each other.
They didn’t chatter their ears off, only talking intermittently with each other. However, that didn’t prevent them from becoming closer with each other. Thus, after dipping for a long time in the bathtub, Aisia’s expression had loosened up. The situation was just like that time, a few years ago, when Latifa bathed together with Sara and the others for the first time. Latifa also became closer with them after bathing together.
When both of them finished their bath, Sara, Komomo, and the others arrived. And once Rio took his bath, they gathered together and talked to each other until late at night.
