I, Kasai Yuuto, am a second-year student attending Karen Gakuen High School. And, by the way, I was a loner. However, even a loner like me had something to look forward to in school life. That was…

“Good morning, Kasai-kun.”

“Yeah, good morning, Saijo-san.”

A casual exchange with Saijo Hina, the school idol and the most popular girl in our grade. We became classmates in our second year, and luckily, I ended up sitting next to her after the seating arrangement changed.

“What’s wrong, Kasai-kun? You seem spaced out.”

++I can’t tell her…++

“Oh, uh, no. I was just thinking about how depressing the pop quiz in class today is going to be.”

++As if I can tell you I was captivated by your beauty.++

“If you properly review and preview the material, it shouldn’t be that difficult.”

She was always kind enough to talk to me, even though I was an isolated, shadowy figure in the class. We weren’t talking about anything special, but I liked these daily interactions.

“++Sigh…++ depressing, huh?”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Saijo-san?”

She suddenly sighed and muttered those words with a gloomy expression.

“Ah, no. I have a heavy personal matter to attend to after school today due to family circumstances… I’m not sure if I can handle it well…”

“I see… well, it’s not really something I should meddle with since it’s a personal matter, but…”

I didn’t know what kind of situation it was, but I didn’t want to see Saijo-san’s gloomy face.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Saijo-san!”

“Really… Do you think so? Thank you, Kasai-kun!”

Saying that, she showed me a bright smile. That smile… I really love that smile of hers.

After school, I finished packing up my things. Unlike me, the loner, Saijo-san was surrounded by many classmates.

“Hey, Saijou-san. We’re all going out to have fun later today.”

“Hey, Saijou-san. We’re all going out to have fun later today.”

“Oh, okay. That’s a shame. Can we invite you another time?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Saijo-san apologized as she declined the invitation, grabbed her bag, and was about to leave the classroom, but…

“Kasai-kun, see you tomorrow.”

She turned around, called out to me, and then left the classroom.

“I’ve been thinking this for a while, but Saijo-san is really nice to Kasai, isn’t she?”

“Maybe she just feels sorry for him because he’s always alone. And they sit next to each other.”

“Damn it! I’m so jealous, Kasai!”

I was happy that Saijo-san cared about me, but the stares from my classmates were painful. Dodging the piercing gazes of my classmates, I walked my way home.

“++Sigh…++ This is depressing.”

On the way home, I muttered to myself on a deserted roadside.

Actually, I also had a family matter to attend to today. It was just last week that my dad suddenly announced he was getting remarried. Today was the day I was supposed to meet my soon-to-be step-mother and her daughter… who would apparently become my stepsister.

++”Yuuto, I’ve… decided to get remarried.”++

++”What? Huh!? Really?”++

++”Yep, so we’ll have a family meeting next week, okay?”++

++”What? It’s fine that you’re getting remarried, but this is so sudden!”++

++”Well, I wanted to surprise you. The other family has a daughter, so she’ll be your sister.”

“A… sister?”++

++”This house has been too big for just the two of us. It’s going to be lively from now on!”++

…That was last week’s conversation, and today was the meeting.

The thought of suddenly becoming family with complete strangers when I barely had any friends weighed heavily on me.

++”Dad, what’s the name of the person you’re marrying?”++

++”Her name is Yuko. It’s a nice name, right?”++

++I wanted to ask her last name too… but oh well.++

She was going to be a Kasai like me anyway. While I was thinking about such things, I arrived home in no time.

“I’m home.”

“Oh, welcome back, Yuuto.”

“Huh, Dad. You’re already home?”

“Of course, today’s an important day for the family meeting. They should be here any minute now.”

“What? They’re coming here? To our house? Not like, meeting at a restaurant or something?”

“What are you talking about? I told you, Yuko-san is cooking dinner tonight.”

“No, you didn’t. And… wait! What are all these boxes!?”

When I entered the living room, there were several cardboard boxes piled up.

“Those are Yuko-san and her daughter’s belongings. They’re going to be living here from now on.”

“Hold on, Dad. You didn’t tell me we’d be meeting at home or that they’d be moving in today!”

“Really? Well, don’t worry about it. More importantly, be nice to their daughter… your new little sister.”

“Huh? Oh, well, I intend to at least do that since we’re becoming family.”

“That’s good. Actually, that girl… she has a bit of a difficult personality.”

“Wait, what’s her name and how old is she? I don’t know anything about he—”

Before I could finish my sentence, the doorbell echoed throughout the house.

“Ah! They’re here, they’re here. Alright!”

“Huh? I’m not mentally prepared yet…”

I was nervous, but my dad excitedly opened the front door.

“Hello, welcome. Come on in.”

“Thank you for having us.”

Two women entered the house.

“You must be Yuuto-kun. My name is Kasai Yuko from now on. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, yes. Nice to meet you too.”

She was a very polite and beautiful woman.

++So this is Yuko-san.++

“Oh, that uniform. You’re a student at Karen Gakuen, aren’t you?”

“Y-yes, sorry. I haven’t had a chance to change since I just got home.”

“That’s perfectly fine. More importantly, my daughter also goes to Karen Gakuen. Come on, say hello.”

The girl who was behind Yuko-san came in front of me. When I saw her face, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

“Hina Saijo… or rather, Hina Kasai now. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The daughter of my dad’s new wife was Saijo-san, the school idol… I was just stunned.

Saijo-san’s casual clothes looked really good on her, and I couldn’t help but be captivated by her appearance.

In contrast to me, she didn’t have the bright expression she usually showed at school.

!next

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