“Whoa!? Look, Kento! It’s ‘The Lone Flower’!”

Lunch break───as I was heading to the school cafeteria with my fellow baseball club member, Kamiari Shouta, Shouta suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a beautiful girl with flowing blonde hair and an elegant aura walking down the path.

It was Frost-san, who had become a celebrity known throughout the school just a month after enrolling.

I heard she was incredibly cute, but her attitude was very cold.

Because she was always alone, she was given the nickname “The Lone Flower.”

“Calling her that feels a bit rude…”

“Huh? Don’t you think it sounds cool?”

When I voiced my thoughts, Shouta tilted his head in confusion.

Although he was a cheerful and good-natured guy, his flaw was that he was a bit thoughtless.

But that could also be seen as his strength, making him hard to describe in a single word.

“I don’t think people gave her that nickname purely out of goodwill, you know.”

“Hmm～? More than that, because we're in different school buildings, it’s hard to get a chance to meet her. Why don’t we take this opportunity to invite her to lunch!”

“……Are you sure?”

Even if he didn't understand the nuance of the nickname, Shouta should have heard the rumors about Frost-san.

Even so, he was still determined to invite her; I really wondered what was going on in his head.

“Well, she’s so cute, it can’t hurt to try hitting on her!”

“Uh～ the problem is, she’ll definitely refuse───Hey, wait…!”

Shouta didn't wait for me to finish speaking and just went straight towards Frost-san.

He's hopeless.

I guess I’ll just watch from a distance.

The reason being, I really didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

“Frost-san, hello! If you don't mind, would you like to have lunch with me───”

“Who are you? Don’t talk to me so casually.”

“Ah, I’m Kamiari Shouta───”

“Never heard of you. And your behavior is unpleasant. Please don’t approach me again in the future.”

“…………”

It seems the rumors were all true.

Her attitude was indeed very cold.

Honestly, it was understandable why she was given the nickname “The Lone Flower.”

“───Kento……”

“Oh, oh～ tough luck…”

Facing my teary-eyed friend returning, I offered some words of comfort for now.

After all, the person in question had already been harshly rejected, and I really couldn’t bring myself to add insult to injury with any honest opinions.

“So she really is scary…”

“Well, people are easily attracted to her appearance, so she's probably very wary of strange men.”

Among the vast majority of Japanese people with black or brown hair, Frost-san's blonde hair was too conspicuous.

On top of that, her skin was whiter than average, and her looks were so cute that even idol singers would pale in comparison.

When normal men encounter such a heavenly beautiful girl, they naturally want to get closer.

Just like now, Shouta approached her as soon as he saw her.

It's understandable that she would be impatient with strangers suddenly approaching her all the time.

“It’s a shame, considering how cute she is～……”

“It’s her prerogative to do as she pleases. Anyway, the tournament is about to start, so don’t cause any trouble, okay?”

“Got it, like I’d do something stupid.”

“Good to know. Maybe she just prefers to be alone in the first place.”

……Even so, I didn't think that was the only reason she kept people at arm's length.

She probably had some very unpleasant experiences in the past.

But I was a stranger to her, not even a classmate, so naturally, I wouldn’t know the inside story, and I wouldn’t get involved with her in the future.

So, I shouldn’t think too much about it.

───That’s what I thought at this moment…

◆

Three months had passed since then───and now, unbelievably, I was going to become step-siblings with Frost-san.

I was really shocked when I heard that name from my dad.

But for some reason, she was extremely hostile towards me…

“Um… did you just say something?”

Since her gaze was directed at me, that earlier whisper must have been directed at me.

When I asked back───

“Hmph…!”

Frost-san huffily turned her face away.

Why?

Why was she so angry?

It had only been a minute or two since she arrived at my house.

At that time, Frost-san seemed so cheerful that you couldn't connect her to the school rumors at all.

But the moment she saw me clearly, the expression on her face collapsed.

Did she not know beforehand that her mother’s remarriage partner had a son?

“Ah～ well, Kento, why don’t you start by introducing yourself.”

Dad also seemed to have not anticipated Frost-san's attitude.

He pushed me from behind, looking slightly embarrassed.

Although I really didn't understand, I couldn't let the atmosphere become even more awkward.

So I turned my back to Dad and forced a smile on my face.

At times like this, first impressions are very important.

“Hello, I’m in my father’s care, I’m his son, Kento. I’m a first-year high school student, and I’m in the baseball club.”

“Nice to meet you, Kento-kun.”

After I finished my self-introduction, Frost-san's mother, Jessica-san, smiled at me.

Actually, I had met Jessica-san a few times before. Now she was Dad’s new wife and would be living with us from today onwards.

I heard that she used to work as an interpreter when she first came to Japan, and now she is an English teacher.

Her hair color was a deeper, richer gold than Frost-san’s.

Although she also had blue eyes like Frost-san, the feeling she gave off was completely different. She seemed both gentle and kind.

The key point was that a certain feminine part of her body was different from Frost-san's, looking very voluptuous.

If Frost-san’s size was suitable for wearing a kimono, Jessica-san was voluptuous enough to be a gravure idol───she seemed like she’d look great in a swimsuit.

“…………”

“Eh!? Killing intent!?”

As I was looking at Jessica-san, Frost-san glared at me with murderous intent.

Strange, it wasn’t even winter yet, but it was freezing cold in here.

I didn't expect that there really was a girl who could turn the surrounding environment into absolute zero.

“Sophia, you introduce yourself too.”

Whether Jessica-san didn't notice our exchange of glances, or she did notice but didn't care, she reminded Frost-san with a smile.

“My name is Sophia, that’s it.”

“Oh my, oh my, you’re introducing yourself so casually.”

Jessica-san couldn't help but smile wryly at this overly concise self-introduction.

“I’m sorry, Kento-kun. As I said earlier, my daughter Sophia attends Seijo High School just like you. Although she’s also a first-year, her department seems to be different, right?”

“No, we’re both in the general studies department, but she’s in the special advanced class, and I’m in the sports excellence class, so we’ve never spoken to each other until now.”

Even though we were both in the general studies department, there was a world of difference in reality.

Her class focused on academics and was for the few elites selected and nurtured by the school.

Among them, Frost-san had entered as the top student, always ranked first in every exam, and there were even rumors that she was a genius.

On the other hand, my class, as the name suggests, focused on sports, so to be honest, my exam scores weren't great.

Because of this, the course content for the two classes was different, and even the school buildings were in separate buildings.

In addition, there was also the so-called general class in the general studies department. Since ordinary students were usually categorized here, it was the largest of the three classes.

By the way, this was a private high school.

“Why do you know which class I’m in…? Are you perhaps a stalker…?”

“No, no, no, it’s just that you’re very famous in school! So don’t look at me with such hostility!”

Frost-san looked like she was backing away, her expression quite displeased, so I quickly explained.

Didn’t she know how famous she was!?

“Sophia, if you keep messing around like this, I’m going to get angry, you know?”

“───!”

I didn’t know what happened.

Frost-san, who had been very assertive, immediately calmed down after being told off by Jessica-san.

Jessica-san was still smiling and her tone was very gentle, not at all strict…

Looking closely, Frost-san even broke out in a cold sweat.

……Could it be that Jessica-san is actually quite scary?

“…………”

As I was wondering, suddenly a wave of unspoken pressure rushed towards me.

The source was naturally Frost-san.

To avoid being noticed by Jessica-san, she retreated slightly behind Jessica-san and just silently glared at me.

She was probably blaming me for getting her scolded.

Judging from this, Frost-san was indeed as difficult as rumored.

───Because of our parents’ remarriage, we became siblings from today onwards, but no matter how I looked at it, the future seemed fraught with difficulties, so I couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the days ahead.

◆

“───Where were you?”

After nightfall, when I returned home after finishing my daily training, I bumped into Frost-san in the entrance hall.

I remembered she had tutoring, but thinking about it, it was about time for her to return home.

“I was just playing outside for a bit.”

“Playing until this late? And still wearing your tracksuit?”

Frost-san narrowed her eyes and looked at me suspiciously.

It was past nine o'clock at night.

Since there were only a few days left until the end of summer vacation, there should be quite a few students returning home at this hour…

“Is there a problem?”

“Hmph, you look just like some delinquent.”

I tentatively asked back, but was met with a sneer.

This girl really had a nasty personality.

“Frost-san too, shouldn’t you be at tutoring today, at least?”

After all, today was the first day we became family, maybe we would go out for dinner together.

But she immediately rushed off to tutoring, so that didn't happen.

Damn it, and I was looking forward to eating a big meal out…!

“You’re one to talk, weren’t you at club activities since morning?”

Frost-san, being criticized by me, seemed very dissatisfied and retorted with a sullen face.

“But I took a break from afternoon practice, okay?”

Even though it was a crucial time to participate in the tournament, I prioritized family and paused training.

So it was not her place to criticize me.

“I also went to tutoring halfway through the course.”

It seemed she wanted to argue that she had taken a break from tutoring in the morning.

“Then you should have taken a break in the afternoon instead…”

“Because the afternoon classes are longer, it’s more efficient to choose that way. Shouldn’t you have canceled your morning practice instead?”

Judging by the length of time, Frost-san’s point was more reasonable.

But───

“No, if you judge by the timing before and after the families met, the break has different meanings, you know?”

I went to club activities before the families met.

Although doing so slightly delayed the meeting time, after meeting and becoming family, I wanted to spend time with my new family.

On the other hand, Frost-san preferred to spend time on tutoring rather than family.

The implications of this were completely different.

“No matter what, you still went out to play.”

“That’s because you went to tutoring first…!!”

“Please don’t always shift the blame onto others.”

I wasn’t shifting blame. It was because Frost-san went to tutoring that I prioritized my own time.

After all, if I continued to stay at home, I would most likely be a third wheel to Dad and Jessica-san.

If Frost-san was also home, I wouldn't have to worry about that, but when there were only three of us, I would at least be mindful of the atmosphere.

Even though Dad and Jessica-san were remarried, they were still newlyweds.

I wasn't so insensitive that I couldn't understand the implication.

“Anyway, there’s one thing I’m certain of.”

Frost-san continued speaking when she saw I didn’t retort.

“For me, academics are much more important than you.”

She dropped such a harsh statement.

I could understand what she wanted to express.

Compared to a stranger she had absolutely no contact with until today, she would naturally value her studies more.

But would a normal person say such things to someone's face?

“───Hey, where are you going?”

When I came to my senses, I realized Frost-san had already turned around.

She probably wanted to express that the conversation was over.

“None of your business.”

The direction she walked towards was───the bathroom.

Damn it, I was just about to go take a shower…!

Actually, I was doing self-training just now, I just lied about playing outside.

Although I knew I shouldn't lie like that, there are surprisingly many people who can't stand seeing others put in effort.

For example, when I was in middle school, I often stayed behind alone to practice baseball, never going out to play, but focusing on training. As a result, club members and classmates would tease me, and this happened more than once or twice.

Since then, I decided not to let people see me working hard.

Especially someone like Frost-san who likes to look down on people, I absolutely didn't want to expose my hardworking side.

Fortunately, the sweat on my body had already dried after jogging and going to the batting cages… if I barged into the bathroom now and Frost-san happened to be halfway undressed, I would definitely suffer social death on the spot. For now, I could only obediently give up.

◆

About thirty minutes after the little argument with Frost-san───

“I have something to talk to you about.”

While I was watching videos in my room, there was a sudden knock on the door, followed by a displeased voice.

There was only one person who would speak in such a tone.

I didn't expect Frost-san to initiate contact with me…

“What is it?”

“Is it okay if I come into your room?”

“…………”

I glanced around my bedroom.

The bookshelf was filled with baseball magazines, related training books, and videos of professional baseball and Koshien games.

The key point was that the walls were covered with posters of a certain foreign professional baseball player I used to admire.

All things I didn't really want people to see.

“Wait a minute, I’ll come out.”

With that, I cautiously opened the door and stepped into the hallway, trying to prevent anyone from peeking inside the room.

“Judging by your reaction, it seems there’s something in your room that you’re ashamed of?”

Facing my suspicious behavior, the sharp-eyed Frost-san naturally questioned me immediately.

“Boys in puberty naturally have many things they don’t want girls to see.”

“Eh!?”

I didn't know how she understood my answer.

Her fair skin instantly flushed red.

This reaction was quite unexpected.

『Beast…!』

Frost-san, with her face completely red, glared at me resentfully.

Hmm, it seems she's quite innocent.

Even I, at least, could understand that the English word just now meant “beast.”

“Sorry, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“…………”

I tried apologizing first, but Frost-san just stared at me silently.

Since Frost-san initiated contact, it meant she had something to say to me, so I remained silent and waited for her to speak.

Then she suddenly took a deep breath and looked at me directly with a stern face.

“As you can see, I just finished showering. It would be troublesome if I caught a cold chatting in the hallway, so can I come into the room?”

Frost-san was wearing a pink pajamas set, and her hair was still damp.

Judging from the time, she probably came to find me right after finishing her shower.

Honestly, I didn't care whether she had just showered or not, but perhaps she saw that I wanted to hide my room and deliberately wanted to find an excuse to come in…

“What? Are you interested in my room?”

『N-no, that’s not it…! I… I just…!』

Perhaps because she was too flustered, Frost-san started speaking English again.

I guess when she and Jessica-san lived together, they always spoke English at home, so when she got nervous, she might habitually speak English.

The reason why these kinds of rumors didn’t surface at school was purely because no one had seen her flustered.

Although I couldn't quite understand what she was trying to express, I could at least tell she was vehemently denying it.

“Since you’re so insistent on coming in, it means you’re interested, right?”

『～～! I, I’m not interested…! And I have absolutely no interest, could you please not be so conceited…!?』

Frost-san probably wasn't used to dealing with this kind of topic. She spoke in a torrent of words like a machine gun.

Unfortunately, my English was originally poor, and on top of that, she was speaking so fast, I didn't understand a single word.

“Um～ could you please speak Japanese instead of English?”

So I tried asking Frost-san to speak Japanese.

It was only at this moment that she realized she was speaking English. Then she cleared her throat affectedly and looked at me calmly.

But her face was still very flushed.

“O-okay! Then I won’t argue with you, I’ll just stand here and say it!”

Although I didn't understand why the whole conversation led to this conclusion, it was probably because she knew she was in the wrong.

Because I was also planning to ruthlessly retort as soon as she showed any weakness, her backing down was a wise move.

……According to rumors, Frost-san was a cold girl who never showed any weaknesses, but I felt she wasn't as unapproachable as the rumors suggested.

Even though she always liked to act high and mighty and arrogant, and her attitude towards people was quite assertive, occasionally showing this kind of innocent reaction made me feel a little more kinship.

“So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about?”

Since Frost-san was no longer so aggressive, I naturally wouldn't continue to pick a fight.

If she had something to say, I would just listen to her and end the conversation quickly.

“I’m sorry for calling you a delinquent earlier…”

“……Eh?”

I originally thought Frost-san wanted to make things difficult for me.

So I had braced myself, but unexpectedly, she was apologizing to me.

“So, I’m sorry for insulting you like that earlier…”

Frost-san probably misunderstood that I hadn't heard clearly.

So she turned her face away in a sulk and apologized to me again.

So she’s someone who knows how to apologize…

Although it’s a bit rude to say, I was genuinely very surprised.

“Are you feeling alright…?”

“Could you please not look at me with that ghostly expression? I just felt that I shouldn’t have said those kinds of things.”

Did she make Jessica-san angry?

Speaking of which, her apologizing to me so honestly… it really felt strange.

“It’s okay, as long as the misunderstanding is cleared up…”

To be honest, this version of her was so different that it made me a little scared.

Is it going to rain heavily tomorrow?

“But wandering around outside until so late still needs to be reviewed.”

It seemed the topic hadn't ended yet.

This was probably just the prelude.

She was still quite critical of me after all.

───Even so, her attitude was no longer as cold as when we first met.

“Although it’s not really appropriate to restrict each other as soon as we become family, night outings are ultimately very dangerous, so I hope you won’t do it anymore.”

Frost-san crossed her arms with a displeased expression, making a request without fully making eye contact with me.

Her personality was indeed slightly different from my imagination.

If she were as rumored, she would definitely have just issued a ban without any explanation. Now, she unexpectedly took this approach of making a request.

Also, she specifically waited for me to come out of my room, indicating that she probably wasn’t a truly mean-spirited girl.

───No, her personality is still quite bad.

“Is that so? Well, I’m sorry to hear that, but you can rest assured, I haven’t gone astray.”

“Hmm, I know you haven’t gone astray, you’re just naturally frivolous.”

“…………”

Eh! What’s going on now!? Why is this girl so naturally picking a fight!?

What was that apology just now!?

It’s true that this wasn’t the first time I’d been told I had a frivolous attitude.

But I had never flirted with women. To be honest, I haven't been in love since birth.

I was just careful with my words and actions, tried to avoid making enemies, and paid attention to my appearance. I didn't intend to be a frivolous man.

“Ah, ahaha, that’s quite a harsh critique.”

I chose to respond with a laugh, suppressing the frustration in my heart.

Although I really wanted to speak my mind, I hadn’t figured out Frost-san’s temperament yet.

If she was truly not a bad person, and considering we had become siblings, naturally I hoped to get along with her.

In that case, it was best to avoid unnecessary arguments with her.

“So, are you willing to not go out at night anymore from now on?”

Ugh, why did she have to bring up such a tricky question at this time…!

“I’ll consider it.”

After all, I didn't intend to stop my self-training in the future.

Even if I pretended to agree to avoid an argument, if she found out I was going out at night, it would only worsen our relationship.

So, I could only vaguely gloss over it───

“Does that mean you’re not willing to agree to my request?”

My answer was果然 (yappari - as expected) unable to get past her.

This was becoming difficult.

Now that things had come to this, admitting that I was doing self-training───Frost-san probably wouldn't believe me.

The point was that I didn't want people to know about the effort I put in.

“Don’t glare at me like that, even though I can’t do it right away, I’ll gradually reduce the frequency in the future.”

“What exactly do you do when you go out at night?”

“That’s none of Frost-san’s business, is it?”

“Oh my, are you really going to say that? As your younger sister, I should at least check if my dear older brother is going astray, don’t you think? Onii-chan.”

It seemed I had inadvertently shown a weakness and was turned around by her.

Even though she shouldn’t have acknowledged this sibling relationship yet, she cleverly used it to counterattack.

Although that provocative and malicious gaze, for someone with certain fetishes, would be a reward and full of charm.

The problem was, I wasn't that kind of person at all.

“Even if we become family, it doesn’t mean we have to be completely honest about everything, right?”

“Naturally, that’s true, but regarding night outings, family members would generally try to dissuade you, right?”

This was really becoming a headache.

After all, what she said was more reasonable, and it seemed I couldn't escape until I honestly explained.

The reason she specifically came to my room was probably because she thought that if we discussed it in the living room or somewhere else, Dad and Jessica-san might step in to mediate.

Because her mind was much sharper than mine, how could I get out of this?

“Isn’t it okay if I explain that what I do at night won’t cause trouble for Frost-san and the others?”

“What if something happens to you?”

“Eh?”

Faced with this unexpected answer, I couldn’t help but stop talking.

『I, I’m just concerned as family, there’s no other meaning, okay…!?』

When Frost-san saw me freeze, her face, which should have returned to normal, immediately flushed red again, and she anxiously added.

But she completely panicked and switched to English, making it gibberish to me.

“W-what did you say…?”

『W-what!? What’s wrong with that!? After all, we’re family now, so I’m still worried…!』

Frost-san misunderstood that I was pretending not to understand, so her cheeks became even redder, and she kept chattering.

“Because my English is poor, could you please speak Japanese?”

I could tell Frost-san was desperately trying to express something, but unfortunately, I didn't understand a single word.

When I asked her to switch to Japanese as before, she finally came to her senses.

She really was speaking English subconsciously.

“Ahem, ahem…”

Frost-san once again affectedly cleared her throat, then looked at me seriously.

Strange, now I actually felt that this version of her was quite endearing…

This version of her was less like being aloof and cold, and more like a clumsy little airhead…?

As I pondered this, she averted her gaze.

Then—

“Worrying about family is only natural, isn’t it…?”

She tossed out those words, a blush creeping onto her cheeks, fidgeting awkwardly.

What was this? Was she playing the tsundere card?

“Uh, um… so you were worried about me…”

Could it be that Sophia was just being difficult because she was embarrassed, hence her forceful attitude?

Well, um… I couldn’t help but find her kind of cute…

“W-what!? Got a problem with that!? Now that we’re family, it’s only natural to worry a little…!”

Even if we were family, we were still strangers until yesterday. How many people would genuinely worry about someone else in that situation?

Frankly, even considering her family was difficult.

At least in my mind, I was still in the process of trying to see Sophia and Jessica-san as family. Right now, the feeling of them being outsiders was still strong.

But Sophia, on the other hand—

‘—Sophia, you mustn’t quarrel with people, okay?’

Just as Sophia was shouting, her face flushed red, Jessica-san, sensing something amiss, came upstairs towards us.

Speaking that loudly in the hallway, it would definitely be heard downstairs.

Even so, Jessica-san was also speaking in English, not Japanese.

This meant that even though she appeared calm, she was probably quite flustered inside.

…Of course, she’d be nervous if her daughter and new son were having a spat.

It seemed they really did usually converse in English.

‘We’re not quarreling…’

‘And you mustn’t lose your temper either, okay?’

‘I said it’s not like that…’

Sophia retorted, then glared at me with resentment in her eyes.

Even with my rudimentary English, I couldn’t understand what they were talking about, but I could tell from her expression what she wanted to convey.

She probably wanted to blame me.

—Wait, was this even my fault…?

‘Anyway, let’s talk in your room. Kento-kun, I’m sorry about this.’

‘Ah, wait, Mom…!’

Jessica-san gave a wry smile and gently pushed Sophia’s back to move her forward.

Then, the two of them went into Sophia’s room.

She probably took Sophia away immediately to prevent our relationship from deteriorating further.

However—

“Sophia is definitely going to hold this against me…”

Judging from their conversation, Sophia was being treated as the one in the wrong.

Because Jessica-san was so kind, I believed she wouldn’t really get angry… but I had a feeling she would nag.

…No, judging from her reaction at lunchtime, Sophia seemed quite angry.

In that case, her hostility towards me would probably escalate even further—

“Is life from now on really going to be okay…?”

This made me feel uneasy.

◆

‘You were so looking forward to having an older brother… why did it turn into a quarrel?’

After Mom pushed me into the room, she looked at me with a sad expression.

I understood that Mom would be upset to see her daughter and son having a spat… but we weren’t actually quarreling.

We were just communicating a little loudly.

The reason was the irritation I felt towards him.

I suddenly recalled a month ago—a scorching hot day under the blazing sun.

I was wearing a black wig, sunglasses, and a mask, perfectly disguised as I arrived at the baseball stadium.

Our school’s baseball team was playing in the prefectural tournament semi-finals there.

Influenced by my father, I had loved baseball since I was little, so I had taken a day off from cram school to come and cheer them on in person.

The game turned into a pitching duel.

Of course, the fielders’ brilliant defense was also impressive, but both teams’ ace pitchers were performing almost flawlessly, keeping the score at zero until the seventh inning.

Then, in the top of the eighth inning—when the opponent was on offense, the deadlock was finally broken.

The opposing school didn’t miss a minor error made by our outfielder, and they scored the first run.

In the bottom of the ninth inning—just when our team was about to lose by a single run, a miracle happened.

《—Hey, hey, hey, sending in a first-year as a pinch hitter at a time like this!? Is the coach crazy!?》

It was two outs, with a runner on second base.

Our team was actually sending in a freshman, a first-year like me, as a pinch hitter at this crucial moment.

—And this person was the boy Mom had told me would become my older brother in a few days.

When the announcer finished announcing the pinch hitter’s name, a middle-aged man who looked like a student’s parent in the stands angrily complained loudly, causing unease and dissatisfaction to gradually spread around.

Precisely because they wanted our team to win, sending in a first-year at such a critical moment naturally made the parents and cheering students angry.

However—he silenced everyone in the stadium with just one swing, accompanied by a crisp sound.

He watched the pitcher’s first pitch go by, and then the next pitch—

He clearly didn’t miss this fastball that was slightly high due to a mistake, precisely catching the incoming ball with the sweet spot of his bat.

The moment he hit it, the stadium fell silent, everyone holding their breath, watching the ball’s trajectory.

When the ball landed in the stands—everyone in our cheering section jumped up from their seats, erupting in deafening cheers.

The way he silenced everyone who had underestimated him with his skill and led the team to victory was so cool in my eyes.

After returning home, I even recorded the TV broadcast and rewatched it several times.

His expression when he stepped into the batter’s box—was so serious…!

But the actual him was so carefree and grinning, looking like a total playboy at first glance, which was completely unexpected…!

The emotion I felt from the moment Mom told me, the feeling that ‘this is destiny…!’ I wanted to take that feeling back right now…!

‘Sophia?’

As I was reminiscing about the semi-finals and what had just happened, Mom peered at my face.

Oops, I got a little too worked up in my complaints.

But I was just muttering to myself, not causing trouble for anyone.

‘Because I don’t like frivolous people.’

I immediately changed my mood and forced a fake smile to gloss over it.

But these were also my true feelings.

It wasn’t so much that I disliked them, but rather that they were the type I hated most. I hated people who were frivolous and loved to stir up trouble.

Due to my father’s work, I came to Japan when I was five years old.

I still vividly remember that I couldn’t speak Japanese at the time, and there was a language barrier between me and the other children.

Not only that, but because my appearance was different from others, and I couldn’t understand their language, children often teased me.

Although I couldn’t understand their words—

I could at least tell from their expressions that they were mocking me.

This continued until elementary school, and even in middle school, there were boys who made fun of my appearance.

These people were definitely the type who loved to stir up trouble, were noisy, and had frivolous personalities.

So, I hated those kinds of people.

However, since I treated these people coldly, no one teased me anymore.

Instead, I had been lonely my whole life.

‘…?’

Perhaps it was because I had fallen into thought again, Mom tilted her head, looking slightly puzzled at me.

Although Mom was scarier than a demon when she lost her temper, she was generally very gentle, even a bit airheaded.

I believed that besides my two dads, many men had fallen for her charm.

‘Kento-kun isn’t a bad kid, so don’t quarrel with him. If you have something to say, of course you can say it, but if you speak without thinking about how to express yourself first, you’ll be the one in trouble when you enter society, you know?’

In Mom’s eyes, everyone was a good kid.

So, Mom’s judgment of people was completely unreliable.

But—saying it would only make Mom furious, so naturally, I couldn’t say it.

‘I’ll try to handle it properly.’

‘Yes, that’s good for now. I believe that once you live together, you’ll understand that Kento-kun is a very wonderful and good kid.’

Was that really so?

I didn’t think so at all.

I only felt that continuing to live together would only make me dislike him more and more.

‘Anyway, I understand what Mom means, and I’ll try to avoid arguing with him.’

After all, I didn’t want to make Mom angry, so naturally, I had to avoid getting into conflicts with him.

Since I felt like complaining to him as soon as I saw him… then I just needed to avoid getting involved with him.

‘Okay, that’s settled then. I’ll go back to the living room first. Sophia, are you going to study more?’

After the conversation ended, Mom smiled and got up from her seat.

Luckily, I didn’t get scolded in the end.

I breathed a sigh of relief and replied with a smile:

‘Yes, I can’t let my grades slip.’

I had entered the school as a scholarship student, with full tuition exemption provided by the school.

For that reason, I couldn’t let my grades drop, and I had to study hard every day.

‘Remember not to push yourself too hard. If there’s anything you want to do, you can try it. You don’t always have to study, you know.’

‘What I want to do is study hard.’

After all, I had come to this high school based on my own selfishness, so I couldn’t add any extra burden to Mom.

If I could get tuition exemption just by maintaining good grades, even if it was tough, I wouldn’t allow my grades to drop.

‘…As a child, you can rely on your parents more, you know.’

For some reason, Mom looked quite lonely and gently stroked my head.

Mom sometimes showed this kind of expression.

I really didn’t understand—why Mom looked at me like that.

Did Mom not want to see me work hard…?

As I watched Mom leave the room, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy.

◆

“Sophia, do you have a moment?”

After taking a shower, I went straight to Sophia’s room.

Since Jessica-san was in the living room, it meant their conversation had ended.

After all, it was a rare honeymoon for my parents, and to avoid making them worry about our issues, I wanted to get along with Sophia.

…Because she was definitely holding a grudge against me for what happened earlier, I hoped to appease her before her resentment grew with each passing day.

However—

“I have nothing to say to you.”

I only received such a cold reply.

It seemed she was still angry.

“Um, I’m sorry for causing Jessica-san to misunderstand earlier. Could you please spare some time to chat with me?”

Sophia was probably still brooding over being unfairly blamed.

So, she might not be willing to come out of her room.

“I’m not angry.”

“If that’s the case, could you please come out for a bit?”

“Talking to you is just a waste of time.”

Sophia completely shut me out.

Clearly, she didn’t want to get involved with me at all.

Hmm~ Could it be that she also minded me being evasive about the night walk?

Based on her reaction, it seemed she was deliberately trying to make me dislike her.

If I disliked her, I wouldn’t approach her anymore.

Looking back now, her current attitude was exactly the same as the rumors and her behavior at school.

It seemed she was using this method to force men who wanted to get close to her to back off.

“This is troublesome~…”

I scratched my head.

At this rate, I couldn’t even talk to her.

I really didn’t expect her to lock herself in her room and refuse to come out.

Hiding away because she was angry—it was just like Amaterasu Omikami hiding in the Ama-no-Iwato cave, refusing to see anyone.

But just in terms of appearance, Sophia was indeed as beautiful as an angel.

And it was rumored that some students were very devoted to her.

—Jokes aside, it would be great if I could show her something that would pique her interest, but unfortunately, I had nothing to offer except baseball.

So, what should I do now…?

Should I ask Jessica-san to help?

—No, that would only backfire.

“By the way, I like ramen. What does Sophia like?”

Let’s try asking a question for now.

Perhaps Sophia really didn’t like interacting with people, which was why she was rumored to always put on a cold, unapproachable attitude at school, and had no close friends.

In other words, waiting for her to approach me first was impossible.

The only way to get along with someone like this was to keep approaching them even if they found it annoying.

The reason was that being annoyed was better than being ignored.

If I kept at it, maybe I could find a breakthrough.

“After all, I’ve suffered enough from interpersonal relationships in the past… so now I’m actually quite good at dealing with people.”

I wasn’t trying to say it to anyone, just talking to myself.

My previous question went unanswered.

Sophia probably wanted to use this to express that she had no intention of talking.

But I wouldn’t give up so easily over such a small thing.

I sat down on the floor, leaning my back against the door, and spoke again:

“I’m not good at studying, even though my dad is a math teacher, my grades in middle school were barely average. I heard Sophia, you’re a good student, is it because you study really hard?”

“……”

“What subjects are you good at? I’m good at sports, although that doesn’t really count as a subject.”

“……”

“Ah, Sophia, do you like anime? If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.”

“……”

Yeah, still ignoring me.

What a stubborn girl.

No matter, this was all within my expectations.

I had no intention of giving up yet.

—And so, I kept chatting and asking questions.

As for the result—

“Heh, hehe, I see…! No matter what, you’re just going to treat me like the wind, huh…!”

No matter how I asked, Sophia didn’t respond.

I didn’t think she was already asleep… if that was the case, her personality was really quite twisted, wasn’t it?

Because I had asked quite a few things, I was almost running out of topics…

Speaking of things we hadn’t talked about yet—

“As I said before, I like playing baseball. What kind of sports does Sophia like?”

Because she was so aloof, I reflexively couldn’t associate her with sports, so I had avoided this question until now.

But now I couldn’t think of any other topics, so I could only ask her about this.

If this didn’t work either, I would have to give up for today—

“Hey, why do you keep persisting?”

“—!”

Sophia wasn’t answering the question I just asked.

But after an hour and a half, she finally responded.

She probably couldn’t stand my harassment anymore.

“If I said I wanted to get along with you—is that reason not good enough?”

“I’ve been so cold to you, even ignoring you for so long—why do you still want to get along with me? Are you some kind of super masochist?”

“Super—!?”

Did this girl only know how to insult people the moment she opened her mouth!?

Although I really wanted to retort, I chose to endure it.

After all, she had finally agreed to talk to me, and if I got angry, it would all be for naught.

“No matter what, I’m not a super masochist, and I certainly don’t have a masochistic fetish.”

After adding an explanation, I continued to speak.

“If I said it’s because we’re already family—that might sound too sentimental, but basically, it’s to avoid making Jessica-san and my dad worry.”

“……”

When I honestly stated my answer, Sophia fell silent.

Maybe it would have been a better choice to flatter her and say it was because Sophia was charming.

But I had a vague feeling… that giving that answer would only widen the gap between us.

That’s why I decided to speak from the heart.

“So, you want me to pretend to be friendly with you? To avoid making Mom and Dad worry, we should act like we’re getting along.”

“It’s not like that. If I could really get along with you, I would naturally welcome it. After all, getting along is always better than being hostile, right?”

“…I didn’t expect you to be able to say something so serious.”

Huh~ How bad was my image in this girl’s mind…?

Had I done anything to damage my image after meeting her?

I felt completely lost.

The impression she gave me was less about not knowing what she was thinking, and more about being incomprehensible in many ways.

But I had at least figured out one thing.

That was when she lost her patience, she didn’t get angry, but chose to talk to me.

It meant she wasn’t really a cold person after all.

If she were truly a cold person, when her patience ran out, she would have angrily retorted with something like, “Shut up!”

“In your eyes, Sophia, what kind of person am I?”

‘…Frivolous man.’

“Huh? Sorry, I don’t understand the meaning of that English word. What are you trying to say?”

Because Sophia suddenly spoke in English, I didn’t understand what she meant.

I didn’t feel like I had said anything that would make her nervous…?

Her tone sounded calm too.

“Never mind.”

“Since you want to gloss over it, does that English word have a negative meaning?”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t need to deliberately brush it aside.

“It depends on the person. For some people, it might be considered a compliment?”

“What exactly does that English word mean…”

At least for Sophia, that English word didn’t have a complimentary meaning.

After this back-and-forth, I suddenly found it quite interesting.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“You completely ignored my questions just now, but now you’re asking questions instead?”

Seeing that the atmosphere had softened considerably, I tried to retort with a smile.

But I quickly realized that this was a terrible move that would anger her.

Just as I was about to quickly change my words—

“If you honestly answer, I’ll answer your question too.”

I received this rather unexpected reply.

“Okay, what do you want to ask?”

I couldn’t easily let go of this great opportunity.

Unless the question was too personal, I was basically willing to answer truthfully.

“What is baseball to you?”

“Huh…?”

“Why do you want to play baseball?”

Why did she want me to answer this question…?

I couldn’t understand her intention at all.

After all, her relationship with baseball was completely unrelated. If she wanted to understand me, there should be other more suitable questions.

Yet, she specifically asked me how I viewed baseball… what was she trying to do?

“You’re not going to answer?”

As I was thinking repeatedly, Sophia urged me.

In short, she really wanted to know the answer to this question.

Although I couldn’t understand her intention, this wasn’t an unanswerable question.

If answering the question could slightly narrow the distance between us, then there was only one action I should take.

“It’s the meaning of life.”

“The meaning of life…?”

“I like watching people play baseball, and I also like participating myself, and I have a goal I want to achieve. I even think I was born into this world to play baseball.”

These words were absolutely without any falsehood or exaggeration.

They were my heartfelt words.

If baseball was taken away from me, I would truly feel lost about the future.

“What’s your goal? To go to Koshien?”

“If you’re talking about the goal I want to achieve in high school, it’s naturally to conquer Koshien.”

Of course, I wanted to go to Koshien.

But I didn’t just want to participate.

If I could participate, I naturally wanted to win the championship.

“Conquer… Koshien…”

Would she laugh at me?

After all, our school hadn’t made it to Koshien this summer.

Ultimately, we fell just short, suffering a bitter defeat in the prefectural tournament finals.

Wait until you actually make it to Koshien before bragging like that—I figured that’s what she’d retort.

However—

“That’s a wonderful goal.”

Sophia once again gave a response that exceeded my expectations.

Because of the door between us, I couldn’t see her expression.

But judging from her tone, she seemed to be smiling.

Not the kind of smile that mocked people, but a genuine smile of happiness.

It seemed that I, and the entire school, had completely misunderstood her.

—After that, Sophia kept her word and answered every question I asked.

That being said, since it was already late, we didn’t talk for very long.

If you asked me if I had gotten along with her, honestly, I couldn’t say for sure.

The reason being that we were talking through a door the entire time.

However, I did think I had successfully narrowed the distance between us.

The important thing was—after this, my impression of Sophia completely changed.