Chapter 146
"Well, if there's a chance."
"But are you sure it's okay? What if our identities are exposed?"
"Well..." He hesitated, unsure how to begin, because he hadn't thought of anything himself. His face fell. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time."
"For an older brother who is usually so perfect, this is quite an irresponsible statement," said Sakurakoji Ashiri, slightly surprised.
"Yes! I, Kuyachiyo, think so too!" Yamabuki Kuyachiyo clasped her Hands in front of her chest. "Talent Young Master is a born king! Moreover, he has always been perfect since childhood. This is the first time I have ever seen him in such a state!"
"This just goes to show how troublesome things have been lately." He propped his head up with his arm, recalling his "fulfilling" life over the past few weeks, and sighed deeply.
"It seems like it's really not easy... I hope I can help you, Namo Namo."
"You've done very well. Nanami and Mashiro were also part of my plan, and you assisted them very well. You truly are my proud little sister!" He stroked the soft, clean hair on her head.
"Really?! That's wonderful!" She accepted the reward with delight and joy.
Yamabuki Kuyachiyo looked at her master with envy, her eyes filled with longing yet restraint.
"Alright, everything should be fine now, right? I'll head back now." He patted his clothes and stood up. "It's getting late, you should all wash up and get some rest."
"Ah, let me see you off."
"No need, it's just a few steps, why would I offer to escort you? Do you want to follow me to my room?" he joked.
"Hehe, that's not impossible!" Ashiri chuckled cutely, it was hard to tell if she was joking.
"... Please spare me, Nanami and Mashiro were just in my room, I don't know if they've left yet."
"Huh?!" Kuyachiyo exclaimed first.
"Huh? It's so late, are they still in my brother's room? Miss Nanami is one thing, Mashiro too?" Ashiri glanced at her out of the corner of her eye and asked for the reason.
"Well, it wasn't too late for me," Sakurakoji Talent glanced at the time; it was almost his usual time to leave work. "Besides, I've been working on a project with Mashiro and the others recently, and she came to discuss it with me."
"I see." Ashiri said, indicating that he understood. Kuyachiyo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the explanation.
But when she heard her next sentence, she immediately tensed up.
"But I heard from Miss Nanami that all the people involved in that project seem to be very pretty girls, right?" Ashiri stared at her brother questioningly.
"Besides, it's an all-girls school, and my god-sister is a very cute girl."
"Although I don't know much about part-time jobs and other places, there are Miss Yōkadō and Miss Est in the apartment who are very interested in you. Rumin, let's not talk about her for now."
"... Brother, you seem to have quite a few girls around you lately, and almost all of them are quite beautiful."
He opened his mouth, unsure how to explain.
Could it be that you guessed correctly, and that he actually had several full-fledged Girl Band and other acquaintances and friends around him? Is this his treatment method—the more people around him, the faster he recovers?
If that's really the case, even his own sister would probably think he's a pervert—no, an even more extreme perverted lewd maniac!
"While I'm happy for you that you've made so many friends, I also hope you're aware of your own charm," Ashiri continued, shielding his face with his sleeve.
"You might not think that way, but I believe there aren't many girls who wouldn't fall for you."
"While I do really look forward to having a real 'older sister,' having too many candidates can be quite a headache."
"I don't think you'd want the Sakurakoji Family to descend into chaos, with everyone getting together and fighting over a girl, would you?"
"Or are you planning to turn the Ten no Yashiro into your own personal Crystal Palace?"
"Ah, so you're also trying to earn money because of that adopted sister of Shiina Mahiru... No, it's nothing."
At this point, she sensed something was amiss and temporarily ended her attack.
Ugh~ This child is usually so cute, but her comments at times like this are so harsh!
But what she said was true, so he had nothing to say.
I admit what you said makes a lot of sense, but I was Imouto foolish, brother, I'm already at a dead end.
"... I'm sorry, I'll be more careful." So all he could do was answer without arguing, apologizing profusely.
"No, I went too far just now, I'm very sorry." Ashiri bowed politely.
In a somewhat unusual atmosphere, the two tacitly ended the conversation.
Image: "You know the scene", Location: "Images/1760964762-100446961-113993650. jpg"
P. S.: If you want to see my sister, go play the game! Do you want me to write it? (fuming. jpg) Just kidding, if I write it, the book will explode immediately.
Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 187 The Past of Sakurakoji Talent (Part 1)
"Then I'll head back now. See you at the next Sky Tea Party." This time, he truly meant to take his leave.
"Hi~ See you next time, elder brother. I wish you great success in your martial arts endeavors! May you overcome all difficulties soon!"
"Thank you. Please take care of yourself and don't catch a cold."
"Kuyachiyo, go and see your elder brother off."
"I see."
After changing his shoes in the entryway, Sakurakoji Talent turned around to face the petite and adorable maid.
"That's enough. It's just going up and down stairs, no need to see me off. Thank you for the Ashiri."
"That's not true, it's my duty!" Yamabuki Kuyachiyo raised her hand to her chest, shook her head, and then hesitated, "Um... Young Master, you should do your best too!"
"I, Yamabuki, will always be watching over you from afar, praying for you!"
"Yes, I will." His eyes flickered slightly, and he took a step forward, closing the distance between them, and placed his hand on the top of her head.
"Ah~" she exclaimed softly.
"Kuyachiyo has grown up a lot, and she's become much more mature and adorable." After patting her head, his hand slid down to touch the smooth, soft skin on her face.
After pinching her soft cheek, he moved down and lifted her delicate chin, making her restless emerald eyes meet his.
In an instant, she quickly closed her eyes, then, as if realizing something, opened them again, but kept focusing on her surroundings, not daring to meet her gaze. Her eyelashes and pupils fluttered like butterflies, so adorable that one wanted to kiss them.
Sakurakoji Talent, radiating talent and charisma, pouted and squinted, sporting a mischievous expression.
"Young... Master, no..." Kuyachiyo murmured, her face flushed crimson.
"What's wrong?" He whispered close to her ear, like a devil, his breath hitting her round, blood-red earlobe, sending a shiver through her body.
"Um, Miss Ashiri is still waiting for me," she said, her voice barely audible, managing to squeeze out a few words.
"If possible, let's reschedule for another time..."
Having thoroughly enjoyed her predicament, Sakurakoji Talent withdrew his large hand with satisfaction, took two steps back, and then launched his final attack with a light laugh.
"I just wanted to check if you let your guard down at night and if you paid attention to facial hygiene. Why do you need to do it next time?"
"Huh? Eh!!" Yamabuki Kuyachiyo panicked, recalling her embarrassing moment, wishing she could disappear into the floor.
"Is that so? I was so rude just now!"
Regardless of whether what he said made sense or not, the master's orders were absolute; whatever he said was law! She had no room for rebuttal.
And even if he was deliberately teasing and flirting with her, why didn't he flirt with others? Isn't it because he has feelings for her...?
Maid Yamabuki —no, simp Yamabuki— made this justification in her mind.
"Stay here for a while before going in. Look at you, you're blushing like this after just a little check. Looks like you still need some training." Sakurakoji Talent left with these words, then casually closed the door and left.
"Hi..." Watching him disappear completely, Yamabuki Kuyachiyo took two steps to the left and pressed herself against the wall, then slowly slumped down on the spot.
That was so exciting! Her heart was pounding even harder than after a long day of work. The heat made her feel all wet, so she needed to clean herself properly when she took a shower later.
But after taking a shower, will I really be able to return to normal?
The image and aura of the beautiful woman kept replaying in her mind, telling her that this might be a little difficult, and that it would be great if she could fall asleep before 2 a. m.
However, this Talent Young Master wasn't like this before. This is the first time he's joked with me like this. Should this be considered a good thing or...?
She recalled the first time she saw him as a child; his outstanding appearance and temperament amazed her. She never imagined that there could be such a good-looking person in the world. "The rich and handsome older brother next door" was not enough to describe him; he was more like a fairy tale character from a picture book.
If I had to find a single word to describe him, it would be "Prince," just like Prince in a fairy tale, glittering with gold...
But at that time, he seemed indifferent to everyone, his fiery red eyes filled with a temperature colder than ice, which even affected the air around him.
She always has a slightly unhappy look on her face, and she's very prone to getting dissatisfied and sulking—although she's difficult to please, she doesn't easily vent her resentment on others... Kawaii.
There are only a handful of people in the whole world, like the master, mistress, and young lady, who can make him change his attitude briefly, but only slightly.
He acts independently and never pays attention to other people's opinions. He leaves midway through a meal, goes to the yard to admire the moon while sleeping, climbs onto the roof alone late at night, making everyone anxious, and goes to the next room to play a loud Piano piece during his studies... These are all common occurrences.
I heard that even when the master wanted to cheer him up by taking him to a dinner party at Sakurakoji's hometown, he beat up several of the noisy kids next to him because he was annoyed by their chatter (Sakurakoji Talent: punching a kid three times).
Even the adults who rushed over to mediate were disdainfully splashed with Drinks and thrown glasses by him before he swaggered away.
From then on, the master and mistress, as well as the other members of the Okura Family, never took him to any more gatherings.
Speaking of which, it seems like it was around that time that Miss Sakuri started to fall for the Talent Young Master, right?
Children are so innocent. They fall in love at first sight simply because someone is good-looking and seems carefree and doesn't care about adults' opinions or inhibitions. Is this just a simple appreciation of beauty, or is it admiration or longing for that behavior?
As a child, she never understood why she had so much dissatisfaction, even though she had always enjoyed the best food, clothing, housing, education, and entertainment in the world, and her family's love was never lacking.
The table was laden with delicacies that would make her mouth water just by smelling them, so why was she so unhappy while eating, and even sighed and left after only eating half of it?
So although she initially thought he was very handsome, she didn't have much affection for him; instead, she felt resentful that he was ungrateful for his good fortune.
But what she couldn't understand even more was the attitude of the master and mistress. Apart from constantly apologizing to those affected by the Young Master's troubles, they seemed never to have blamed him. Was that reasonable?
Even if you spoil your child, there should be a limit, right?
However, every time the Young Master made a mistake, their eyes would show heartache, and their expressions would be very sad. Sometimes, when the Young Master was not around, they would hug each other and blame and comfort one another.
Later she learned that it was because the Young Master had contracted a very rare and Strange Illness. His body seemed to be suffering from pain every moment, and it would erupt in waves every now and then, which was why he became irritable and unstable.
She couldn't know what kind of pain it was, nor could she imagine what kind of will it would take to coexist with it peacefully. She only knew that it was a disease that even the Sakurakoji Family couldn't cure, something that money and manpower couldn't solve.
One day, at the master's instruction, she went to his room to call for him and happened to witness his miserable state during a symptom episode. The young girl was immediately stunned and stood there in fright.
After everything was over, she finally came to her senses and rushed forward, crying anxiously as she asked him what was wrong. All she got in return was a surprised smile and the words "It's alright." Instead of comforting him, she was the one who was comforted by him.
After that, he returned to his usual attitude.
From then on, her heart was filled with his strong and dazzling spirit, and her eyes unconsciously began to follow him. Before she knew it, her vision was filled with his figure.
Because of the resemblance between the Young Master and the madam, everyone initially assumed that he also suffered from the same illness as the madam. It is said that when the Young Master was born, the master and madam were saddened for a long time and were also criticized by the people from Sakurakoji's hometown.
Therefore, the young Young Master was forbidden from being in bright light and sunlight and could only stay in the mansion.
Even the adorable and well-behaved Miss Ashiri suspected that she had stolen too much of God's favor, which led to her brother becoming like this. As a result, she took it upon herself to assist the Young Master.
She never failed to do anything the Young Master wanted her to do—even though the Young Master never seemed to ask anything of her.
But that's not the case; the turning point came with the America baseball league that year.
When Miss Ashiri was 10 years old, the Young Master really wanted to watch the MLB All-Star Game finals live. So he first bought tickets online, then disguised himself and sneaked out without telling anyone.
The maids, who discovered the Young Master was missing during the day, quickly informed the master and mistress, causing chaos throughout the mansion. Upon realizing he was truly not there, everyone despaired.
It was July, the sun was blazing, and the ultraviolet rays in the air were incredibly strong. Whether he went there voluntarily or was abducted, it would definitely cause great damage to his eyes and skin.
Just as the master had contacted all the connections at his disposal and searched the entire city for him... the Young Master swaggered back from the doorway.
That was the only time in her memory that the master and mistress were truly angry with him. After learning his motives, they unusually punished him physically and gave him a stern lecture. However, when they went to the hospital for a check-up later, they found that the Young Master had not been harmed at all.
This discovery stunned everyone, except for the Young Master himself, who showed no surprise whatsoever.
According to him, he had known for a long time that he was immune to light and ultraviolet rays, but he just hadn't thought to say it. The reason he had been staying at home was simply because he was too lazy to go out...
It should be said that this was only natural, after he explained it this way, the master and mistress, while happy and pleased, also smiled and gave him a good beating...
Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 188 The Story of Sakurakoji Talent (Part 2)
Later, although the master and mistress wanted him to go out more, make friends, and socialize, he reverted to his old self as a recluse. He would hardly step out of the mansion unless absolutely necessary.
This was completely unexpected for the patriarchs, who, supposedly due to their own childhood experiences, did not want their child to become a caged bird confined to the mansion, just like them.
But the Young Master, following his own will, ultimately lived a childhood similar to theirs...
According to him, the mansion itself is already big enough; walking around it would be tiring, so there's no need to go out for a stroll. He also said that he could learn all the necessary knowledge through books and the internet.
So unless Miss Ashiri makes a big request to go shopping and sightseeing with him, or it's a kind offer from elders that he can't refuse, he will reluctantly do so.
However, his activity area will absolutely not exceed a few kilometers around, and the time will not exceed one day. If it is not like this, he will refuse.