Kaito then looked at the green-haired girl beside him, "What about you, Little Mutsumi?"
Mutsumi came back to her senses and softly said, "Whatever Onii-chan makes is fine."
Having a clear idea, Kaito nodded slightly, asked Kirara to accompany the two girls for a while, and then went alone to the kitchen.
With spiritual power assisting him, he cooked quickly, and the flavor was impeccable.
Full and satisfied, Raana curled lazily on the sofa, Kirara lying at her feet. The TV in the living room was playing an animation about a cat and a mouse. The indoor temperature was the most comfortable 26®C, and even Little Mutsumi sat with knees hugged to the side, quietly staring at the screen in a daze.
"Don't stay up too late. Just a bit more TV and then go to bed."
With a single cleaning spell, the dishes and utensils in the kitchen were all cleaned. Returning to the living room, Kaito casually reminded the two little girls, then prepared to go soak in the bath and rest in his room.
Raana, who had just been lying on the sofa not wanting to move, suddenly jumped up like she'd heard a keyword.
"Bath!"
Those beautiful heterochromatic eyes were now glowing brightly, "I want to too."
"...No," Kaito rubbed his forehead, "Raana, you've grown up. You need to know about avoiding suspicion."
"But...", The cat pouted, visibly disappointed, "But last time it was okay."
'Last time?'
From not far away, Little Mutsumi, who had been quietly watching the cartoon, silently looked over.
"Onii-chan," She tilted her head, light green hair brushing past her petite shoulder and softly falling.
"Last time... what happened?"
[T/N: Mfker Dense MC]
[ Shoutout to LN & RikuDreamEater for joining patreon. Thank you very much.]
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Chapter 171: On How the Bottom Line Gets Slowly Broken
Last time when the cat secretly sneaked into the bathroom and took a bath together with Kaito, Wakaba Mutsumi had already gone back to her room to rest.
She was a true anti-staying-up-late advocate, her routine extremely regular. Except for a few exceptions when she waited for her brother to return home late, most of the time she went to bed early and woke up early.
Therefore, she knew nothing about what happened in the bathroom that night.
"Last time, when I was taking a bath, Raana barged in and wanted to join me," Kaito paused for a moment and still simply explained the cause and effect of the matter.
He thought Little Cucumber would become Sour Cucumber after hearing it but unexpectedly, the green-haired girl's entire expression was calm, not even a tremble in her eyelashes, as if she didn't care about this matter at all.
'Could it be that in Japan, young males and females bathing together is actually quite common?'
As if seeing through his thoughts, Wakaba Mutsumi slightly lowered her gaze, then after two seconds raised her head, and asked with a voice as ethereal as wind chimes under the eaves, "Onii-chan, do you think I would get angry?"
Kaito shook his head.
Of course, he wouldn't think so, after all, Mutsumi's overall personality leaned more toward the silent and inward type, with not much emotional fluctuation in daily life.
But she still possessed some girlish tempers, so under this kind of situation, even feeling a little jealous would be quite normal.
It's just that Mutsumi's current reaction was excessively calm.
Generally speaking, in this kind of situation, there are only two possibilities.
Either she doesn't care, so whatever you do has nothing to do with me.
Or she cares too much, thus able to endure every bitterness and sourness.
"I will never get angry with Onii-chan," The girl's voice was still as clear and cold as wind chimes at the eaves, but those golden eyes shimmered with tiny ripples, telling Kaito through actions that she belonged to the latter.
"And also...", Tucking her falling hair behind her ear, Wakaba Mutsumi lowered her head and lightly said, "In Japan, communal bathing is very common, especially among family members."
"That's how it is."
Beside them, Raana also nodded earnestly in agreement, "At my home, I often bathe with Grandma too."
Wakaba Mutsumi ignored this interrupting cat, and after hesitating a little, said softly, "I used to... think Onii-chan would be very opposed to this kind of thing."
"So I never brought it up."
She raised that doll-like delicate face, and in her eyes clear like glass shimmered a barely noticeable trace of hope, "Since Raana can, then... can I too?"
Kaito: "..."
People don't mind having little, but they mind unfairness. If he had never bathed with the cat, he could firmly refuse Mutsumi's request now.
But since Raana had already gone before, rejecting Mutsumi now would inevitably seem like double standards, and might make her sad, even make her suspect whether Onii-chan had a problem with her?
Otherwise, why would he be willing to bathe with a stray cat from outside, but not with her?
His own little cucumber seedling had just started to show some vitality and was working hard to grow toward the sun. Kaito didn't want to dampen her for such a reason.
But... agreeing to the communal bath request just like that felt a little weird.
If Mutsumi were younger, or like the cat with a nave and innocent personality, then bathing together wouldn't be a big deal, just playing with a child.
But she was already a mature young lady, with a slender figure that had developed elegant curves, each bit of her skin and features vividly beautiful.
Her mindset was far more mature than the cat's. Although she didn't speak much normally, she understood all the things she needed to.
Kaito had a hard time treating her as a clueless little kid.
"If... Onii-chan feels troubled...", Still not getting a response after a long time, those golden eyes dimmed, like a candle about to go out.
Wakaba Mutsumi slightly lifted the corner of her lips, trying to show a light smile, "It's fine if you refuse. It's already late, so I'll go rest first. Onii-chan, good night."
A well-behaved and understanding little sister always evokes extra affection.
Not to mention, Mutsumi already carried a fragile and delicate vibe, which made her aura even more powerful when she looked disappointed, especially effective on her big brother.
"What are you rushing for," Kaito sighed. He could come up with ten thousand excuses to refuse, but in front of those eyes full of himself, he still compromised deep inside, "I didn't say no."
"Then...", The candlelight that was about to extinguish suddenly glowed again. Wakaba Mutsumi bit her lip, seeming a bit hesitant, "Onii-chan, you agreed?"
Kaito nodded slightly.
There was no need to trouble oneself where trouble didn't exist. As long as his conscience was clear and he stuck to his bottom line, there was no need to worry about these trivial details.
As long as he kept his bathrobe tightly on, actually, it wasn't a big deal... right?
"I'm sorry."
In the depths where no one knew, the doll-like beautiful girl silently apologized in her heart.
'Onii-chan is a very good brother, like a sun, with warmth and gentleness in his light.'
'But he also has flaws.'
'For example... he always softens toward those close to him.'
Wakaba Mutsumi understood that using Kaito's concern for her, intentionally showing disappointment, retreating to advance, this kind of behavior could not be called upright.
So, she would slowly make up for it.
Starting with becoming Kaito's most perfect wife. [T/N: Perfectly reasonable]
"Can we bathe together now?", Raana tilted her head, pounced into Kaito's arms, and looked up with her sparkling heterochromatic eyes, "Then I want to too!"
"Don't worry, I'll bring you along," Kaito rubbed her little head and didn't refuse.
Since he had already agreed to Mutsumi, adding one more cat wasn't a big deal anyway. The bathtub was big enough to hold three people without a problem.
However, laying down the ground rules in advance was still necessary.
For example, no random touching.
Last time the cat had tried to touch a certain unmentionable place out of curiosity. Although Kaito had stopped her in time, he couldn't guarantee she had given up and wouldn't try again.
"...Fine," Raana puffed her cheeks. Though very unwilling, she still obediently agreed to these terms.
But deep inside, she became even more curious, 'Just what is that place that Onii-chan-chan never let me touch... hiding?'
[Ten Minutes Later]
Steam gradually blurred the mirror, painting the reflected girl's body with a charm like spring mountains.
The cat draped in a bathrobe stretched out a little toe, gently touched the water surface, and quickly retracted it.
"So hot!"
Beside her, Wakaba Mutsumi was also wrapped in a pure white bathrobe. Her makeup-free face flushed with a light cherry pink. Her long hair was coiled up, revealing a fair and slender swan neck. Pale blue veins faintly visible in the mist, like newly grown vines winding around a jade column.
Water mist condensed into fine droplets on her eyelashes. The girl stared unblinking at her brother in front of her.
From the smooth lines of his shoulders and neck, to the junction of ribs and muscles, to the well-shaped but not exaggerated abs, clear and distinct, evoking the image of bamboo polished by mountain spring water.
'This is...'
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Chapter 172: It's Time for My Favorite Segment Again
["I-is this something I can see without spending money?"]
Mortis, who had already been mentally shut in like an ostrich for a long time, now was back to full health.
In the consciousness space decorated like a stage theater, the girl in a red and black performance outfit had her pretty face flushed bright red, both hands covering her eyes. But the gaps between her fingers subconsciously widened, staring dead-on at the TV screen in front of her, afraid to miss even a single detail.
Mutsumi: "..."
Little Mutsumi was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, 'Your appearance reminds me of a idiom.'
["Hm? What word?"], Mortis still hadn't looked away.
'Covering your ears while stealing a bell.'
Mortis: "..."
["N-no such thing!"]
After a long silence, Mortis turned red in the face, muttering some hard-to-understand things like, "Sensory enjoyment doesn't count as peeping When it's a matter of a sub-personality, can it be called peeping?" and "It's just critical appreciation," making the air everywhere full of joy.
Mutsumi sighed.
Though evaluating her own sub-personality like this felt somewhat improper
Still, she felt Mortis was really hopeless.
["Eh? Why did it stop below?"]
Mortis, however, couldn't bother with Little Mutsumi's opinion right now, her whole heart was occupied by another matter.
As the camera gradually moved downward, the scene shown on the TV screen also began to change.
However, the content turned out to be a big disappointment.
Where it should have been blushing and heart-pounding, was now blocked by annoying fabric.
Not only covering all the secrets tightly, but also greatly reducing the interest.
It felt like spending half an hour picking study material, finally choosing a concubine, just about to make great effort, only to discover the heroine was actually a trap, instantly losing all interest.
However
Mortis's face suddenly turned red again.
She recalled that night not long ago, the scene she had accidentally seen.
Back then, Soyo looked like she was having a lot of fun.
'Once I have a body of my own'
'Can I also, together with Onii-chan, experience that kind of thing?'
Steam in the bathroom was growing thicker, hazing the view.
But this wasn't a problem for Kaito. Every corner visible to his eyes, even a speck of dust was clearly revealed.
Although he hadn't intentionally used spiritual sense to probe anything, just with his extremely sharp eyesight, he still saw some rather indescribable scenery.
This couldn't be helped.
The bathroom was already not large in area, and though Raana and Little Mutsumi were properly wrapped in bath towels, the effect was still quite limited.
Not to mention Raana, for all her minor curves, she didn't look much different from a certain Chihaya who refused to be named. But considering her young age, one could still say her future looked promising.
It was Little Mutsumi who surprised him.
This doll-like, delicate girl belonged to the petite type. Usually in her Tsukinomori uniform, it wasn't obvious, but now without clothes, even though far from being on par with Soyo or Yumeko, she could rival Kumiko, a size just right to be held in one hand.
Just as he was thinking, suddenly a small hand appeared before him, poking his lower abdomen.
Silver-haired girl, bored and tilting her head from the too-hot water, curiously said, "Onii-chan-chan, this part feels hard."
Kaito snapped back to reality and saw Raana happily feeling him up and down like a cat who'd found her favorite toy. He couldn't help but raise sword fingers and knocked her little head.
"Don't say weird things."
"Hmm?", Raana blinked innocently, a bit confused, "But, it's clearly way harder than me."
As she said it, she lifted her bath towel, revealing a small section of dazzling white abdomen, smooth and soft, as if proving she wasn't lying.
"..."
Facing the girl's innocent heterochromatic eyes, Kaito felt rare guilt.
He actually suspected Raana was making subtle innuendos
A cat who only plays guitar and eats parfait, what bad thoughts could she possibly have? This girl never beat around the bush. She was undoubtedly a frank and pure good child.
"Onii-chan, need help scrubbing your back?", Mutsumi on the side also turned on the shower at this time. Her jewel-like eyes slightly moist in the steamy mist, she raised her bath towel with a face full of obedience and looked over.
In Japan, there's the habit of rinsing off before soaking in the bath to clean away dirt. When family members bathe, it's also common to help scrub each other.
Kaito had heard of such customs, so he didn't find it strange and simply shook his head to indicate no need.
