“Mr. Kent, you were with Elnet earlier, weren’t you?”
“Huh?”
Caro said to Kent on their way to school.
“If they heard such loud noises… others might have noticed too. I don’t mind what you do, but it’s during business hours, so you should be more mindful of your surroundings next time, okay?”
“I’m sorry…”
Fortunately, Caro spoke in a volume that Rachel and Patty, walking ahead, couldn’t hear, so they seemed oblivious to Caro’s words.
“No, I’m not angry?”
“Who’s angry?”
“Heh, it’s just our conversation.”
“Ehh. It’s unfair that you two are whispering secrets.”
Rachel joined the conversation, but she didn’t seem to have heard the previous content. Caro smoothly changed the subject.
“Well then, excuse me… it’s almost time.”
“See you later.”
“Good morning, you work hard every morning.”
“Hang in there!”
As they approached the school, Patty said, and soon a crowd of male students gathered around her, and she was led away.
“It must be tough every morning.”
“Yeah.”
“I agree.”
Kent and the others watched Patty off as she was swallowed by a mass of male students.
“Speaking of which, I need to report yesterday’s talk to Prim.”
After parting ways with Caro and her companions, Kent entered the classroom and remembered that he needed to tell Prim about his discussion last night with Baron Frederick, Caro’s father.
“Come to think of it, I don’t know Prim’s classroom.”
“Huh? What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”
“What? That’s rude. So, what’s up?”
“Well, you see…”
Kent told Bobby that he didn’t know Prim’s classroom.
“What? Is that all? Then leave it to me.”
So saying, Bobby took Kent and guided him to Prim’s classroom.
“Hey there, Prim. Can I have a moment?”
“What is it, Bobby? It’s unusual for you to come at this hour.”
After not seeing each other for a few days, the two had become strangely friendly.
“Well, Kent has something he wants to tell you.”
“Ah, Mr. Kent. Good morning.”
“Good morning. Prim, you and Bobby seem to be getting along quite well?”
“Um… that’s…”
Prim blushed and glanced at Bobby.
“Well, the thing is. We’ve decided to start dating.”
“What!”
Kent exclaimed in surprise at the sudden announcement.
“Bobby kept coming every day after we went to the school cafeteria together to court me. I thought I might not be wrong, so I said yes.”
“She’s more than I could ever ask for. It was worth the effort.”
“I see. Congratulations to both of you.”
“Thank you.”
Kent sincerely congratulated them. Bobby and Prim looked at each other, appearing very happy.
“Ah, right. So, Mr. Kent, what was it you needed?”
Prim asked Kent, as if she had just remembered.
“Um…”
Kent explained his conversation with Baron Frederick yesterday.
“I understand. I wanted to procure them exclusively, but it can’t be helped given the Baron’s wishes. If the discussion is moving towards fair procurement opportunities, then I have nothing more to say.”
“Though the harvest season is approaching, I think the yield will be higher than last time, so I don’t think there will be a scramble among merchants.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that.”
Prim said with relief.
After that, school life and his part-time job went smoothly. He returned to Caro’s house, ate dinner, and then Kent took a bath with some of the women. Afterward, he returned to his room and began preparing for bed.
“Now, I wonder who will visit tonight.”
It had become a nightly ritual, so Kent looked forward to seeing who would come.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
He opened the door, filled with anticipation, to see who it was.
“What? It’s you.”
“How rude! This cute little sister came to sleep with you, and you speak to me like that.”
“Sorry, sorry. Then, how about a switch?”
Rachel had entered the room.
“Hmph. No changes allowed. That’s the rule.”
Rachel pouted and said grumpily.
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
As she said that, Rachel reached for her clothes and started to take them off.
“Hey, wait.”
“What are you doing?”
He hurriedly stopped Rachel, but she seemed quite determined.
“Oh, it’s just a joke. You won’t get excited even if you see mine, right?”
“W-well, that’s true. I wouldn’t get excited seeing yours.”
Rachel said, adjusting her slightly disheveled clothes. In reality, Kent’s heart was pounding, but he took great care not to let it show.
“Oh, big brother, you’re such an idiot!”
“Huh? Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Rachel mumbled quietly, and when Kent asked her to repeat herself, she changed the subject.
“I’m thinking of going to sleep soon, what do you say?”
“Of course, I’m going to sleep. Then, I’ll be intruding.”
Saying that, Rachel snuggled into Kent’s bed. A faint, sweet scent wafted into Kent’s nose.
(Come to think of it, it smells nice when I smell it again.)
“Big brother, you smell my scent, don’t you?”
“No, I was just thinking it smells nice… what are you making me say?”
“Uwah, big brother is blushing.”
Rachel noticed Kent smelling her and said so.
“It’s okay. Smell as much as you want. I’ll smell your scent too.”
With that, Rachel hugged Kent, who was lying down, and started sniffing him.
“We’re always together, but this feels fresh. Thank you for everything, big brother.”
“What’s this all of a sudden?”
Rachel said, burying her face in Kent’s chest.
“If you weren’t here, I don’t know what would have happened… Sorry, forget I said that. I just wanted to thank you.”
“I see.”
“Yes!”
Rachel, who was about to say something, suddenly fell silent.
“Huh? What’s wrong? Uwah, when did this happen?”
They had been talking just moments ago, but Rachel was already fast asleep, breathing softly.
“Thank you too, for everything. Thanks to you, Akane, I feel very reassured. Good night.”
Kent gently stroked the hair of Rachel, who was sleeping with her head on his chest and breathing soundly, and whispered. Then, Kent too drifted off to sleep, breathing in Rachel’s sweet scent.
“Oh no, I fell asleep. I was planning to do this and that with big brother when we were supposed to sleep together.”
“Mmm? Is it morning already?”
Morning came, and Rachel’s loud voice woke Kent up.
“Big brother! It somehow became morning.”
“You slept well, didn’t you? Good morning, Rachel.”
“It’s not a good morning!”
For some reason, Rachel was in a bad mood.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ugh… It’s my fault for falling asleep… I guess it can’t be helped. I was hoping to talk about various things since we were sleeping together.”
“Well, we can always talk. I’ll make time to listen again.”
“Really? You promise?”
“Yeah, I promise.”
After getting ready, Rachel returned to her own room.
“Mr. Kent, it’s morning. Ah, you’re awake today. Good morning. …No one’s here today.”
“Ah, good morning, Clara.”
Clara entered the room, but since Kent was already awake, she looked around the room and said regretfully.
