After school, having shaken off Achilles's persistent "Help me ask Teacher Scáthach too!" Eiji made his way to the school gate amidst an atmosphere of silent farewell, as if mourning.
Several deep blue school uniform skirts swayed at the entrance, forming an eye-catching scene.
Okita Souji was surrounded by a group of girls, her lively smile never fading.
Mr. Amakusa sat in the security room, making no move to disperse them. His face maintained a warm, patient smile.
"My brother is here. See you later!"
Upon spotting Eiji, she bid farewell to the surrounding girls one by one and hopped toward him cheerfully.
My sister is so cute!
"Made a lot of new friends?"
"Yeah! Though most of them are actually interested in you."
Souji's smile gradually faded, and she let out a deep sigh.
It was fine when her brother was still in junior high, but now that he had moved up to high school, the junior high girls couldn't sit still anymore. They followed her around every day, even after school, just to catch a glimpse of him at the school gate.
"Why not just turn them down?"
"In this world, there are times when you have to accommodate others. That's the rule of society!"
Even though she was only fourteen, she spoke like a little adult.
Souji sighed helplessly, sharing her overly mature perspective.
"I don't really get your troubles."
"…Shut up, brother."
"Oh."
Souji groaned in exhaustion.
Her brother had been extremely popular since childhood. The neighbors adored him, and even rich ladies had approached, wanting to keep him as a boy toy.
His life was like playing on hyper-ultra-super-easy mode—he never had to worry about social interactions. If anything, it seemed like society should cater to him instead.
Fortunately, he had been well-mannered since childhood, and with their mother's protection, he hadn't been spoiled into arrogance. All those rich ladies had been turned away without exception.
Unfortunately, he could talk.
The words that came out of his mouth always had a way of making people instantly furious.
That was the only thing about her brother that truly exhausted her.
What Souji didn't know was that Eiji had rejected those rich ladies simply because they were all middle-aged women. Not a single one was a tall, busty, slender-waisted mature beauty.
If there had been one, he would've accepted immediately.
In the quiet atmosphere, the two walked past several streets, cut through the shopping district, and returned to the residential area.
"What's happening up ahead?"
After turning into an alley, they suddenly heard a commotion.
A few young men with earrings, hands shoved into their pockets, and an overall delinquent vibe were surrounding a woman at the entrance of her home, speaking to her with aggressive expressions.
"Isn't that our next-door neighbor?"
Souji exclaimed upon seeing the two adjacent houses.
"Brother, let's go help!"
She tugged at Eiji's sleeve, pulling him forward in a hurry.
"Aren't you scared? These are delinquents, after all."
"That's our neighbor! We can't just sit back and do nothing."
Souji continued dragging Eiji forward, full of trust. "Besides, with you here, one smile should be enough to solve everything, right?"
You're really treating me like some secret weapon, huh?
Eiji silently retorted in his mind but still followed her to their neighbor's doorstep.
Speaking of their neighbors, Eiji had a rather good impression of them—especially that single mother. She was very… well, on good terms with their family!
"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"
"Huh?"
The three delinquents turned around in unison, scowling fiercely.
"Huh?!"
"Whoa!"
"Ah?"
Upon seeing Eiji, all three of them jumped back in exaggerated shock, retreating more than a step.
"You guys scared of me?"
"N-no, no, no!"
Under Eiji's questioning gaze, the three of them shook their heads frantically, looking visibly intimidated.
"What are you doing here?"
Eiji had no idea why they were so afraid of him.
As a doppelgänger, he wouldn't regain his full strength until his "True Spirit Awakening." Until yesterday, he hadn't possessed the powerful abilities of Level 4, so he had never shown any overt strength.
Of course, his passive abilities still existed, but they weren't as refined as they would be after awakening.
"N-Nothing! We just came to spread some warmth!"
"That's right! We were just asking if this lady needed any help!"
"Me too!"
The three hurriedly spoke over each other, nodding and bowing, terrified of being misunderstood.
"Is that really the case?"
Souji peeked out from behind Eiji, her head barely visible, her ahoge swaying in the breeze.
"Aunt Baa is so charming. You sure you're not here for some dirty reason?"
The woman Souji called "Aunt Baa" stood silently behind them.
She was a striking woman with long, silver-white hair tied into a high ponytail. Though she wore plain loungewear, it did nothing to conceal her flawless beauty. Her gentle facial features exuded an air of warmth and domesticity, the perfect wife material.
Her name was Tomoe Gozen. She was their neighbor from the Minamoto family and a close friend of their mother, Raikou.
Like Raikou, she was also a single mother.
However, unlike their father—a deadbeat who hadn't come home in over a decade—Tomoe Gozen's husband had passed away more than ten years ago, making her a widow. Fortunately, the area was quiet, so there weren't any nasty rumors about her.
"Uh… They really didn't say anything inappropriate."
Tomoe Gozen raised her hand, looking puzzled. "They just said they wanted to help me with something, and I said no, but they insisted. They're quite polite."
"Polite?"
Souji clung to Eiji's arm and let out a cold laugh.
"More like they have ulterior motives."
"H-How could that be?! We're just good-hearted people!"
The three delinquents forced awkward smiles, their voices turning shaky, clearly lacking confidence.
"Scram. Don't ever come around here again."
Eiji gave them a sideways glance.
He didn't even feel like wasting energy on third-rate delinquents like them.
"Y-Yes, yes, yes…"
The three of them bolted away as fast as they could.
"Good thing we didn't see the 'Smile of God,' or we'd be doomed!"
One of the delinquents wiped his nose, relieved to have escaped.
But then, he noticed something strange—the gaze of one of his companions kept drifting toward his backside.
He froze, then his expression turned to one of utter horror.
"You bastard! He didn't even smile at us, and you still turned gay?!"
"N-No! Don't talk nonsense! I-I'd never—"
His companion snapped back to reality and quickly denied it, but the fact that he had been staring at his friend's butt made him inexplicably uncertain.
"Damn it, we're done!"
***
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