In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 117. Yukata

"Minister Yanagi no Shita... Anyway... I'm very sorry."

"Hmm... It's okay. Kaoru-kun is the kind of person who's very busy, right? Since you have more important things to do... I can't force you to do these things."

Actually... there's nothing more important.

The reason for the refusal is obvious: it is the best option after weighing the pros and cons. If he were to say something like "I'm sorry, I have to break the contract" to others, this body might find it difficult to say it, as such a thing is not easy to do.

However, when facing Minister Yanashita, there are no related problems.

"Thank you, Minister Yanagi no Shinobu. It's so kind of you to understand my difficulties."

"Well then... see you next week, Kaoru-kun."

The call was disconnected.

Xun lowered her head guiltily, tightening her grip on the phone.

It's absolutely rotten.

This is who I am.

He couldn't help but think this way, using his right hand to shield his eyes from the direct light from the fluorescent lamp. Lying in bed, he recalled the smile that Kobayashi had given him.

That incongruous smile, that feeling of "not belonging to her," and Kobayashi's willingness to go to such lengths to achieve her goal—it was unfamiliar and frightening.

"This is such a hassle..."

Let it just stay broken.

Something was changed in the unseen realm.

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Saturday's work ended at 2 p.m.

While Aozora was cleaning with her head down, Kaoru put her last month's salary into an envelope and placed it on the table, telling her, "[Go home after you finish cleaning]." Then she turned and walked up the stairs leading to the second-floor room, the wooden stairs creaking as she walked.

He stopped in front of Rin's room.

Kaoru knocked on the door and heard a voice inside saying, "Come in," so she applied pressure to her right hand that was holding the doorknob.

The doorknob was turned, and the door was opened.

"Rin, I..."

At that moment, it felt as if his throat was blocked. Kaoru stared blankly at the scene before him, completely forgetting what he was about to say.

The scene before my eyes—

Rin raised her hands and, under his gaze, took off the last piece of clothing she was wearing.

From this angle... the girl's smooth armpits were completely exposed to the air, and just by looking at her smooth back skin, one could almost feel the delicate touch of fingertips on it. In addition... due to her well-developed figure, Rin's breasts appeared very firm and full, and her slightly protruding abdomen was also somewhat alluring. Her fleshy legs also looked very healthy. Kaoru swallowed the saliva secreted by his body, and seeing that Rin did not show any shame at his presence, he turned his body away uneasily.

"Rin... what are you doing...? If you're changing clothes, you should have told me..."

"There's no need to do that, brother, come here for a second."

"Huh? Do you want me to come over? What... what do I need to do...?"

"Stop talking nonsense, you idiot."

The atmosphere was developing in a strange direction, and Kaoru's mind unconsciously drifted to the erotic plots that sometimes appear in novels.

This is...this is too strange! This kind of development...

By the time her body realized what had happened, Rin was already in front of her.

She handed over the yukata she had bought. Under Kaoru's confused gaze, Rin, who was only wearing her undergarments, slightly raised her face, reached behind her head, and tied up her nearly black brown hair that was loose on her shoulders.

"Where are you staring at, brother?"

Noticing where Kaoru's gaze lingered, Rin put her hands on her hips and leaned closer, a look of resentment and anger on her face.

"No...it's nowhere!"

"Stop talking big... I only let you in so you could help me put on my yukata. You must have thought of something strange, right? You're hopeless, aren't you?"

When her stepsister says things like "You're hopeless" to her, a feeling of pride wells up in Kaoru's mind: "That's wonderful."

Ah... no...

Realizing what was happening, he shook his head vigorously, trying to banish all those strange thoughts from his mind.

What are you thinking about?! You idiot!

Why do I feel pleasure when my sister scolds me?

"Whatever, my brother is just that kind of awful person anyway, I'm used to it."

Rin looked at Kaoru with a "I'm hopeless" expression. Because of her height advantage, Kaoru's attention couldn't help but wander away from Rin's face.

"I tried to find the tutorial online, but I still couldn't figure it out. If it were my older brother, he should be able to do it easily."

What's with that look of complete trust?!

Don't imagine your brother to be some kind of all-powerful guy!

Without trying to understand the complex thoughts surfacing in Kaoru's mind, Rin calmly looked back at Kaoru's face with an almost indifferent expression.

"You can do it, right, brother?"

Such words possess something incomprehensible to people.

Her body was unaware of what was happening, and it was uncontrollably carrying out the actions she was expected to take. At this moment, Kaoru had only one thought in her mind.

"Yes... I understand."

I couldn't help but agree.

Before this, Kaoru knew very little about yukatas, but in the end it was just putting clothes on, which was much easier than she had imagined.

"Does your brother know how to tie a bow?"

Rin looked behind her and examined the knot that Kaoru had tied.

"No...no, but it should still be possible to learn now. Rin, could you lend me your phone for a moment? Mine is charging in my room."

"No, no need, there's no need to do that."

Rin's tone suddenly turned cold, and her expression changed accordingly, giving off a "keep away" vibe.

All of this changed... in less than a second.

"Okay... then... is there anything else I can do?"

"That's all, brother can go now."

"Get out... Don't think of me as a tool you use and then throw away..."

Kaoru said these words with distress, and then left the room.

The moment the door closed, Rin sighed in resignation, reached behind her, and gently pulled, causing the yukata she was wearing to fall to the floor.

Looking at the yukata discarded on the ground like trash, she sighed, but her body involuntarily savored the feeling of being touched by those incredibly familiar hands.

"You can't even put on a yukata properly... You're such an idiot, brother."

"Well... never mind, I'll handle this myself."