On the day of the cooking event:
“Good morning, Eiji-san.”
“Good morning. I mean, you didn’t have to call me; you could have just used the intercom.”
“I thought I might surprise Suzuna-chan if I did that.”
“Is Suzuna a small animal…? No, actually, that’s thoughtful of you. Thanks for being considerate.”
I welcome Wakana, who even brought ingredients with her. By the way, my parents aren’t home—they went out, clearly being considerate of my plans today. “If Wakana-chan’s here, then we’re relieved,” they’d said. They really trust her, and honestly, so do I.
“Where’s Suzuna-chan?”
“In the living room.”
Earlier, Suzuna had even changed into her outside clothes and was sitting at the table, not touching her phone or anything. That’s probably her version of getting ready for battle.
“I’ll carry the ingredients. Sorry for making you bring them over.”
“It’s fine, thank you.”
“Right, and I’ll pay you back. How much did it cost?”
“Oh, let’s talk about that after we’re done, okay?”
“Oh… yeah, fair enough.”
I’m just as nervous as she is. I’ve ventured into Kanazaki Suzuna’s main event—cooking—using my game knowledge. I don’t know how much it means to her right now, but thinking about diving into this makes me unnecessarily tense.
“Don’t worry. I’m here with you.”
Wakana doesn’t know exactly how I feel but seems to sense my nervousness and pats me on the back. She’s really attentive. I nod to her and lead us into the living room.
“Suzuna, my friend’s here. I’ll introduce you.”
Suzuna stands up in surprise and looks over at us.
“E-Eh! Amamiya-senpai!?”
She looks at Wakana behind me with wide eyes.
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by Suzuna’s reaction, I turn around. Wakana, whose name was just called, gives a small, awkward smile.
“Hello, Kanazaki-san. So, you’re Eiji-san’s little sister.”
“E-Eh!?”
Wakana replies as if this is perfectly normal. Did they already know each other, without my knowledge?
To my knowledge, Suzuna and Wakana had no connection. The last time I saw Suzuna was a long time ago at family gatherings or when my aunt and uncle came over. Wakana wasn’t around back then. Did one of my parents introduce them? No, that wouldn’t make sense—Wakana’s acting like she just found out Suzuna’s my sister.
My friend, Wakana, and my little sister, Suzuna. This is definitely the first time they’re meeting each other like this.
(Wait a minute… Oh!)
—“She doesn’t seem to fit in with her class. I’ve never seen her talking to anyone, and she even cleans by herself.”
That day, when she gave me a pep talk, Wakana had said that. Thinking back, she was strangely knowledgeable about Suzuna’s school life. Saying she’d never seen Suzuna talk to anyone isn’t something you’d know by chance—you’d have to see her a few times.
(Now I get it.)
Wakana isn’t just considerate; it’s almost like she’s got some special talent for it. She must have noticed Suzuna from before and kept an eye on her out of concern. They might not be friends yet, given the age gap between a freshman and a junior, but she’s been caring for her in a big-sisterly way.
“A-Ahaha.”
Noticing my gaze, Wakana awkwardly looks away. I’m not mad at her; it’s more that she’s a bit embarrassed to have been found out or that she feels guilty for connecting with Suzuna without telling me.
“Suzuna, you already knew Wakana?”
“Y-Yes. But, Eiji-san, calling her Wakana…”
“She’s my childhood friend. I’ve known her for a long time.”
“Eh!”
“She lives right next door.”
“W-What!?”
Suzuna’s eyes go wide in surprise. To think that her familiar senpai is also my childhood friend and neighbor—that’s a lot to take in.
“Actually, Eiji-san told me he had a little sister now. He even asked me how he could get closer to her.”
“Hey!”
“But I never realized that it was Suzuna-chan. The surname Kanazaki is pretty common, and I haven’t seen you around here, so I thought it was just a coincidence.”
She must have been on high alert to avoid running into us by accident. A pretty bold lie, but she says it with a perfectly innocent smile, adding another layer of smoothness.
“Oh, I see…”
“But with such a cute little sister, of course I’d want to get closer to you. I’d love to be better friends with you, too, Suzuna-chan.”
As she says this, Wakana suddenly pulls Suzuna into a hug!
“!? ”
Suzuna’s face turns bright red from the hug, and even though I’m not the one being hugged, I find myself frozen in place, unable to look away from this artful scene.
What should I do? What do you even do in moments like this!?
“By the way, you can call me ‘Wakana-oneechan’ if you like.”
Wakana isn’t just leaning in—she’s diving in! Is she trying to keep up this charade by getting as close as possible to Suzuna?
She’s usually the quiet type, always considerate but never pushy. Suzuna’s probably seen that side of her.
Under Wakana’s sudden, intense push, Suzuna stays flustered.
“N-No, it’s fine! Senpai is senpai; calling you ‘onee…’ would be too familiar!”
Blushing deeply, Suzuna manages to break free from Wakana’s hug and rejects the offer.
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
Wakana pulls back, smiling brightly as if unfazed. Though, she’s probably thinking, “I went too far,” inside.
“Ahem.”
Having nearly faded into the background, I seize the opportunity to insert myself back into the conversation.
“Well then, now that we’re done talking, how about we start cooking?”
“Sounds good. Hehe, I can’t wait to cook with Suzuna-chan.”
“Y-Yes, thank you, Amamiya-senpai.”
Although I’ve managed to keep the conversation flowing, the two of them seem entirely focused on each other, with not a glance my way…
(Am I just a background character here?)
I think to myself, silently shedding a tear in my heart.
