/
Himeko came home just before 7 p.m., when the sun was about to set.
“I’m home~.”
“Welcome home. Where’s Haruki?”
“She said she was too tired to come over and eat today, so settle down.”
“Haruki’s running out of energy
 What the hell has she been doing
?”
“Just normal shopping?”
Hayato looked at Himeko suspiciously, but her face was somewhat glowing and she looked satisfied.
Himeko sniffed and confirmed what she was having for dinner.
“Curry?”
“Yeah, that includes tomorrow night’s.”
“Hmm~, let me know when it’s ready.”
“Yes, yes.”
Back in her room, Himeko threw her bag on the floor and fell into bed with a thud.
Himeko’s face was grinning as she recalled the day’s events with a lingering smile.
The first time she had gone out to play in the city had been quite a shock to Himeko.
Unlike in Tsukinose, a countryside, there were an inordinate number of train cars and a complicated station building where you could get lost.
When she looked around, she saw a wide variety of cars other than light trucks.
And then there are buildings that stretch out vertically instead of horizontally.
Himeko’s spirits were skyrocketing from this morning as she saw the very city she had always dreamed of.
“Whoaa~, amazing
 where the heck do I even start looking around
?”
“Fufu, you can get there efficiently and without wasting time by laddering up the stores along Chuo-Dori and then going around the perimeter to the department store at the end of the street!”
“Haru-chan, for someone who was so reluctant until yesterday, you’re really determined, aren’t you?”
“Once I decide to do something, I have to do it thoroughly! That way I could surprise Hayato, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
The one who was more excited than Himeko was Haruki.
Haruki’s mischievous smiling face, coupled with her freshly designed tunic and shorts, which gave her an air of innocence, made the gap between her and the rest of the audience a bit of a surprise.
Incidentally, the outfit was made by Himeko, and the tunic was her personal property. Seeing Haruki like this made her think.
(All the best for Onii, huh
)
―Wouldn’t it be great if you dressed up like a girl and made Onii go crazy?
This is what Himeko overheard at Haruki’s house the other day.
It’s true that Himeko was the one who set Haruki on fire. Since the purpose was to torment Hayato, this reaction was natural.
Seeing Haruki like this, Himeko felt a little bit of jealousy welling up in her― she slapped her face to cover it up.
“Oh, you’re really into it, Hime-chan!”
“All right, we’re going to go all out!”
“O-Ohh!!!”
Thus, the two girls, in high tension, went through various stores and examined them. It was fun to see Haruki get sucked into the game store, the yellow submarine store, and the gacha gacha corner.
On the way, they went to a fruit parlor that had a good reputation on the Internet, where they each ate a jumbo fruit parfait as big as their faces, and enjoyed chatting with each other.
Haruki and Himeko went around the stores in an orderly fashion, but the only miscalculation they had was that they kept going back and forth because they wanted to combine various items from different stores.
Haruki, who had been very excited, ran out of energy on the train ride home and ended up resting her head on Himeko’s shoulder.
Himeko felt her cheeks relax at the sight of Haruki in such a defenseless state.
(It was fun
 oh?)
While she was basking in the afterglow of the day, a notification on her phone brought her back to reality. When she looked at the screen, she saw a message from her best friend back from their hometown Tsukinose, Saki.
“What did you do today~? I had too much free time, so I just watched the scenery of trains around the world~.”
“Wow, we’re in the third year, you know? Let’s study for the exam.”
“That’s strange~, I went to my desk to study and that’s what happened~.”
“Well, I’ve been shopping all day today too.”
“I see~, what did you buy~?”
“It’s not like I bought anything, or rather, I picked them out
. Oh yeah, do you remember Haru-chan who used to be with Onii?”
“Eh, yeah
 I think he’s the one who upgraded from a monkey to a gorilla, right?”
“Yes, yes. I went to look at some clothes for Haru-chan
 Wait a minute.”
Himeko then chose a few of the images she had taken today that she particularly liked and attached them to her message.
Some are standard casual, some are feminine with a bit of a sissy look, and some are sweet and girly with a girlish appeal that would be well received by the opposite sex― all of them suits Haruki and Himeko and brings out their charm.
Himeko thought they looked pretty good, and she also wanted to surprise Saki by showing her reunited childhood friend’s transformed beauty.
It was a bit of a surprise, just to give her something to talk about.
“Wha!?”
That’s why it was completely unexpected that she received a call almost as soon as the image was sent.
“Erm, Saki-chan―”
“I wonder who this woman is~?”
“Hmm!? Saki-chan!? That person’s Haru-chan, you know!?”
“I see~
. She’s quite a beautiful girl, isn’t she~?”
“Y-Yeah, she’s quite a beauty, right?”
It was a chilling voice that Himeko could not have imagined from the somewhat timid and laid-back girl she knew. It had a strange power to it― she knew instinctively that she shouldn’t go against her, so she stretched out her back and sat upright on the bed.
“I wonder, did you lie to me Hime-chan~? I heard you said that she was a gorilla though~?”
“Eh, yes, that’s correct, too. She’s still the same person she was when she was a kid, and even when Onii is in front of her, she’s still a loose guard, a crass, gorilla.”
“Mou~, just like the old days~!?”
“S-Saki-chan!?”
Himeko was completely bewildered.
It was the first time she had seen the normally mild-mannered Saki looking so distraught, and she had no idea why.
She could only cringe as she heard tearful voices on the other end of the line saying things like, “What school does he go to~?” “I knew it. I have to go there for summer vacation~.” and “High school boys are wild beasts~
”.
“Oi~ Himeko, it’s ready!”
So that call from Hayato was a godsend for her.
“S-Sorry Saki-chan, I’m called for dinner, so I gotta go now!”
“Oh~, Hime-chan~!”
“Onii, I’m coming!” [TLN: I hate my mind
] [EDN: really man.]
Himeko apologized from the bottom of her heart, but took advantage of the situation and left the room.
She couldn’t figure out why until the end, and tilted her head.