Chapter 2037: Pure-hearted?

With Chisato-nee-san's daring declaration, I could only shake my head, appease my girls who were starting to get worked up, and pry her off of me.

When she noticed how I was squirming away from her, her pretty eyebrows clashed, glaring at me as though she was offended for not accepting the closeness she was conveying.

"Come on, Ruki. It's been years since I've seen you. The best you can do is give your older sister a hug. You won't mind it, right, girls?"

Sounding she was still in the right, the girl hurriedly chased after me, her grip tightening around my body. She then looked at the three girls one by one, soliciting their agreement.

Yue and Yua didn't answer her.

As for Miho, her eyebrows twitched as she forced a smile before saying, "Sure. There's nothing wrong with it, Nee-san. Help yourself with Ruki."

So, she said. But the tone of her voice was as emotionless as it gets. One would probably feel the chill from their spine if they heard it.

Unfortunately, Chisato-nee-san either had a thick skin or was just too clueless to notice something wrong with her answer.

Her lips stretched from side to side as she widely grinned with her blinding white teeth on display. She then lifted my arm and draped it around her shoulder. "See? They don't mind, Ruki. Mhm... you've also grown a lot. Your chest is now this sturdy."

Chisato-nee-san rubbed her cheek on my chest as she continued to close in on me.

Faced with the pressure of my girls watching this scene, I let out a stiff chuckle before pinching my frivolous cousin's exposed cheek.

"Don't rub your face there. They'll get jealous of you."

"Eh? Why will they? I'm your cousin. Shouldn't I have this privilege?"

She innocently blinked a few times but she ultimately didn't move away. Instead, Chisato-nee-san rubbed her other cheek next as though she was trying to warm herself up with my body.

"Who told you that?"

"Mom did."

Ah.

So that's why, huh? It was her mom's fault why she became like this... As if!

She's supposed to be someone with a lot of life experience by now. If I wasn't wrong, she's been in this city for close to two years already. She wouldn't be that sheltered here, right? She's surely getting invitations from men who want to woo her.

... Haa. Is this innocence and obliviousness limited to me, her precious cousin?

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

Sensing that I went silent, the woman looked up with an inquiring gaze.

"No. I just feel like it's pointless to argue anymore. Here. I'll hug you, Chisato-nee-san. You'll be satisfied with this, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about... But yes! Give me a hug, Ruki!"

I shook my head inwardly and silently apologized to my girls. Shortly after, my hand on her shoulder slid down to her arm and gently pulled her over, enclosing her within my arms.

If earlier only her head was leaning against my chest, it now changed to her whole upper body.

Likewise, Chisato-nee-san wrapped her arm to my back, her hands gripping my shoulders tightly.

"Ruki, you're always this soft to the girls you favored. Chisato-nee must've known this side of you for so long. It might be the reason why she felt so close to you."

I heard Yue whisper at my side.

While Chisato-nee-san was enjoying my embrace, I glanced at the other girls and they were also conveying the same message as Yue.

They could also see it.

At this point, it's already easy for them to figure out the girls that would come close to me. And through my words, they could also figure out if I wasn't that fond of someone. Hence, Akane and the others would always be right with their assumption when it comes to the new girls around me.

"Yeah. You're right." I replied in agreement to her which made my girl giggle softly.

Shortly after this, Chisato-nee-san, who was finally satisfied by my embrace, straightened her back again and sat properly on my side. A hint of pink could be seen on her cheeks.

"Ehem. I'm not going to get carried away here." Chisato-nee- san faked a cough as though she was trying to regain her composure. However, her expression didn't return to normal. There's an evident glee dancing on her face as it's probably not going to subside anytime soon.

Upon seeing that, my girls shook their heads and teased her.

"Nee-san can get carried away. We don't mind." Yua mischievously said as she winked at her.

"That's right. We also tend to get carried away when hugged by Ruki. It's simply addicting." Yue then added as she nudged my shoulder, pushing me close to Chisato-nee-san. Because of how sudden it was, my arm reflexively held onto her waist, preventing both of us from tumbling to the side.

Miho narrowed her gaze again as she let out an unamused grunt, "Hmph. If you two can't get jealous, I'm different. Ruki, I also want a hug."

"Sure. Come here." I naturally didn't reject that. A moment later, she immediately stood up and went over to our side.

Yue didn't say anything and let her squeeze in between us. Then, as though she was trying to one-up what Chisato-nee experienced, my girl sat on my lap. She squirmed a little until she comfortably settled on the middle before taking my arm to enclose them around her.

"... Miho-chan, is that right? I made you jealous?"

Somehow, Chisato-nee-san sounded remorseful there. She probably didn't expect that it would result in this.

But Miho didn't stand on ceremony and answered swiftly.

"Yes..."

Upon hearing that, Chisato-nee-san looked at me, her glee was replaced with an apologetic look. She pursed her lips as though she was preventing her lips from curving downwards.

Why do I sense an indescribable purity from her? No. It's not just me, Miho and the other girls who were staring at her could also sense it.

A moment later, her eyes trembled as the corner of them started to get watery.

Is she about to cry?

... Unbelievable.

Before I could say something, Miho opened her mouth again, "No worries, Nee-san. No matter how jealous I may be. This guy can whisk it away effortlessly.

Yep. She's also feeling bad about it.

"Really?"

"Yes. Aren't I in his lap now?"

"That... That's great!"

Chisato-nee-san cheerfully exclaimed as her lips stretched out into a beautiful smile again. Although her eyes remained watery, the tears that would spill out later would embody her joy rather than her sadness.

"... I'm happy. Since I finally found you... My goal in coming to this city is already half-fulfilled. And knowing that you girls love him a lot and he's also the same, this older sister is relieved."

"Why is that, Chisato-nee-san? Are you worried I'm just playing around here?"

"Kinda. I always thought you'd only be with Akane. When I found out you're dating all of them, I got worried you're walking down the wrong path."

"I'm still walking a different path than the others though. You're not worried about that?"

"No. I know how sincere you are, Ruki. Remember that one time I get scolded by my mom for coming home late at night? You ran to my rescue, explaining to them that I'm with you." She paused for a moment to cup my cheeks and press her forehead against mine. She then giggled softly as she continued, "There are more instances that will be too long to say right now. But I know that if it's you, you won't make anyone unhappy because of that sincerity."

Huh? That... indeed happened. The reason she went home late at night was because we got so engrossed in playing hide and seek in the park. She's the 'it' and she took more than an hour to find me. Perhaps if I didn't give up my hiding spot there or let Akane get caught by her, we would be there for a lot longer.

I see... So there's a basis to why she's this good to me...

As I was still lost in the new surge of memories regarding this cousin of mine, she let go of my head and turned to my girls.

What she said next made all of them speechless, including Akane who should still be showering.

"Oh. Before I forget... Can I crash here with all of you? I like to cuddle with Ruki. I haven't had the chance years ago."