Episode 10 – The Tale of My Friend’s Little Sister Waiting in Seiza

Today’s job was a five-hour shift from 12:00 to 17:00.

It was the first time I was given this shift, thinking I could work during the summer vacation, but I didn’t expect it to be so hard at lunchtime…

We, students, are lazing around during the summer vacation, but the working people are working hard in the hot weather. It makes me feel humbled.

While thinking about it, I went home.

“Welcome home, senpai.”

Akari-chan was waiting for me at the entrance, sitting on her knees. (TN: seiza position.)

“A-Akari-chan…?”

That reminds me, she was here– And it would be better if I didn’t mention that I had forgotten about her existence during my part-time job.

The current Akari-chan was so scary that my defensive instincts kicked in immediately.

Even though she was smiling, something like an aura of anger seemed to be leaking out of her..!

“A-are you mad about something…?”

“Senpai, didn’t you forget the first thing you should say when you get home?”

“Eh, ah… I’m home?”

“…that’s right. Let’s do it once more.”

Akari-chan’s expression relaxed a bit as she seemed to have gotten the correct answer.

She said, ‘Welcome back’ again, and this time I quickly replied, ‘I’m home’.

“Fufu, it’s like we’re newlyweds, isn’t it?”

“I wonder…”

I’m not quite sure what to say now, because I think anyone could say ‘welcome home’ or ‘I’m home’.

….I was more concerned about the fact that she was sitting in front of the doorway and I couldn’t take off my shoes at all.

“Akari-chan?”

“What is it, senpai?”

“Um, why are you sitting there?”

“Because I was waiting for you, of course.”

Akari-chan puffed up her cheeks and glared at me sulkily.

“When I woke up, you were gone… I was so shocked because I thought you might have abandoned me.”

“To say you were abandoned… but I left a note, didn’t I?”

“Yes, I saw that. By the way, can I assume that you meant for me to get that?”

“Eh?　Yes, of course.”

“I see… ehehe, I really feel like a wife…”

“Akari-chan?”

“Kohon~ Kohon~!”

She looked down for some reason, but when I called out to her, she looked up and gave a deliberate cough.

“I’m not giving it back, okay? It’ll always be mine.”

“…?　Yeah, go ahead.”

I think it should be fine to throw away the note I left behind. …Maybe she’s planning to show it to Subaru as proof that she’s doing well under me?

It feels a little messy to call it proof of your hard work though…

“But more importantly, Akari-chan, how long have you been sitting there?”

“I woke up, was shocked to find that senpai wasn’t here, took in the situation from the note, changed my clothes… let’s see, that would be about two hours.”

“T-two hours?”

“Yes. I mean, I didn’t know when senpai would be back.”

Akari-chan scratched her head, looking a little embarrassed.

“Senpai worked really hard for the job… Shouldn’t I at least welcome you properly?”

“…Somehow, I’m sorry.”

“No, I did it because I wanted to.”

Akari-chan smiled, but it seemed to be hard for her to sit on the floor all the time, and she was sweating slightly.

It was thoughtless of me not to wake her up, I thought to myself as I held out my hand to her.

“Can you stand up for now?　It’s weird that we’re talking in the doorway all the time.”

“Ah, yes…! Ah, Kya!?”

For some reason, Akari-chan swallowed her saliva, took my hand, and stood up – but perhaps she was numb from sitting on the floor for so long, and her stance wavered.

But then, she wobbled.

“Are you okay?”

Somehow, I was able to catch her in my arms.

“~~!!?”

“Don’t strain yourself too much, okay?”

“Ye-yes…”

I don’t think even newlyweds would sit on their knees and wait for someone to come home. If something were to happen to her, I won’t be able to face Subaru either…

“Uh, um, senpai… I have a small, unsolicited favor to ask you…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Um… Could I ask you to support me for a little while longer…?”

“Eh… Ah, of course.”

I don’t think you can get rid of numbness that easily, and I gladly accepted the wish.

In fact, I feel rather guilty that she is forced to hug someone like me…

Akari-chan grabbed me by the side in a reserved manner while putting her weight on me. It probably hurt more than I thought, and her breathing was a little ragged.

“A-are you okay?”

“…Fue~! A-ai, am fainu!!　Sankyu~!” (TN: She’s saying ‘I’m fine, thank you’ in English.)

“W-why English?　I mean, Am I perhaps stinky…?　I’m sorry, I just got off work, so…”

“I-it s-s-s-smells really good!　To the point, I want to smell it every day… Ah, no, I mean…”

“Ahaha, that’s a lie, isn’t it…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the excessive follow-up.

I’m not sure if she was embarrassed by this response, but she squeezed her face against my chest so that I couldn’t see her expression.

On the contrary, when this happened, Should I say I became conscious of Akari-chan’s scent… Or rather a strange girlish scent tickled my nostrils and made me feel strangely embarrassed.

And then–

“Akari-chan, are you okay now?”

“No, it’s going to take a while.”

“A-Akari-chan? As expected…”

“No, I think it is happening again. So a little more.”

“…Akari-chan, I think you should lie down instead of standing up.”

“Ah, the numbness has worn off. It’s oka… Ah ah… It’s numb again when I loosened up… I’m going to need a little more time to get rid of the numbness. But it’s probably not serious. So if you could hold me up for a while longer, that would be great.”

What to say, this time, the numbness in Akari-chan’s legs lasted so long that I became numb from standing still.