As an older brother, it's only natural to act spoiled towards your younger sister.

Umaru Doma looked slightly puzzled, but she still answered truthfully: "The meeting today... it was pretty awkward."

Hearing this, Sogo Doma held up a hand to stop her. Awkward? How could it be awkward? As long as his little sister didn't put on that "dango" look, it was impossible for things to be awkward!

It must have been something Hijikata did. He definitely did something! As expected, that kind of man should be poisoned with mayonnaise and venom; he's a cancer to this world. If he didn't get rid of him, Sogo Doma suspected he might just destroy the world himself. No joke, he was serious!

"Umaru-chan, did that guy Hijikata ask you to do something that made you feel awkward?" While thinking this, Sogo Doma flashed an even more "nuclear-friendly" smile at his good-for-nothing sister.

Seeming to realize something was wrong, Hamster Umaru finally spoke up: "Onii-chan, who do you think is to blame for all this!"

As she spoke, Umaru Doma pointed to her own face.

"When it comes down to it, who was the one who drew all this stuff on me! And why did I have to take a leave of absence to stay home? If I hadn't stayed home, I wouldn't have had the itchy fingers to go and pay-to-win..."

Listening to Hamster Umaru's complaints, Sogo Doma stroked his chin and examined his sister carefully. She had delicate features; even without makeup, she had the aura of a goddess. She had top-tier potential—that was great, she took after him.

Of course.

That was if one ignored the small turtle illustration on her left cheek.

The tic-tac-toe grid on her right cheek.

The large circles over her left eye.

And the square on her forehead, and so on.

Ignoring those doodles, Umaru had really grown into a great beauty!

Come to think of it, who drew those doodles? Sogo Doma fell into deep thought while stroking his chin...

"Onii-chan, the fault of drawing doodles on your dear sister's face and preventing her from going to school..." Hamster Umaru finally caught on.

Ah! So it was me? Sogo Doma slapped his palm with his fist, suddenly enlightened. The evil of this world had been found, but... maybe he should just play dumb? Ehehe?

Wait!

"You foolish little sister, have you forgotten who wanted to challenge the Great Demon King yesterday and ended up losing twenty games in a row? Who was the foolish little sister who said the loser had to have a mark drawn on their face?"

Umaru Doma: "..."

Who knew her brother was so strong? And not only was he strong, but he had just gone ahead and doodled on her face regardless of whether she had class or not. What could she do? She was desperate too!

However, she had won one game. The moment she thought about her brother's self-introduction today, she was filled with joy. Her brother was great at everything, but...

Even though he hadn't been at Totsuki for long, that Erina!!!

Thanks to her brother, Umaru and Erina were good friends, and it was precisely because of that she knew that even though Erina gnashed her teeth whenever his name came up, looking like she wanted revenge for being fooled...

But.

Hamster Umaru knew it wasn't that simple. Erina had deep feelings for her brother; even Secretary knew it, but Erina had been avoiding it the whole time.

Damn it, he was such a useless brother before...

He was such a sadist...

He had clearly said that this time, it was his turn to protect her!

Why did he have to go and provoke other women?

Fortunately, she had the record of Hamster Umaru beating Sogo Doma yesterday, which allowed her to make Onii-chan do as she said. With the opening line she provided, well, let alone girls, she doubted even boys would want to get close to Onii-chan.

Although it was a bit excessive, given her brother's intelligence, he would surely find a way to solve it. Her reasoning was based on what happened the first time Onii-chan went to elementary school after sobering up!

So Umaru felt... she had achieved a great victory!

Coming back to her senses, she looked at Sogo Doma, who was still playing dumb.

Hamster Umaru looked at him with resentment, and then... just as she expected, under the "resentment-limited JPG" expression, her brother caved in once again. The act of playing dumb was gone: "Umaru-chan, please, you must tell me what happened today!"

"Today, huh..." Hamster Umaru fell into her memories.

It was about two hours ago.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong..." The noisy doorbell woke the girl who was sleeping like a dango: "Who, who is it! Can't you see I'm about to clear Devil Sword Dance and I'm only one step away from defeating the King?"

The girl was still muttering while dreaming of playing games!

"Ding-dong, ding-dong..." The dream talk didn't stop the doorbell; the noise continued.

"Geez, coming, coming. Onii-chan said he didn't tell anyone we moved here..." The girl rubbed her sleepy eyes and walked over to open the door, putting on a smile: "Sorry, we don't need any newspapers or insurance..."

As everyone knows, in Japan, door-to-door sales for newspapers, insurance, and the like are incredibly common.

Umaru Doma could guarantee that this smile of hers was definitely a rejection smile.

However, the reality was...

"U, Umaru?" A certain handsome guy with the charm of a popular idol, Mr. Hijikata, who was chewing on a cigarette, was looking at her in a daze.

"..." Umaru Doma remembered something.

"Hehe, you've got the wrong person, it's not me, who are you looking for?" Hamster Umaru panicked, using her "playing dumb" triple-combo, and accidentally exposed herself in the process. I mean, what did she mean by "it's not me"?

By the time she realized it, she hurriedly tried to close the door.

But...

Toshiro Hijikata was, after all, a powerhouse tempered by long years of training at the Kondo Dojo.

He finally managed to step inside the house.

Toshiro took a deep drag of his cigarette: "Umaru, what is that on your face? Is it bullying? Has school bullying really reached such an excessive level?"

Hamster Umaru twitched her lips with difficulty, thinking to herself: Is it really considered bullying if it's just graffiti drawn on my face after being slaughtered in a game by my own Onii-chan?

"Does that guy Sougo not know about this yet?" Seeing Hamster Umaru remain silent for a long time, Toshiro continued to press, looking quite anxious and angry.

Doma: "..."

He knew. How could he not know? He was the one who drew it on her with his own hands!

Awkward...

Umaru felt the atmosphere in the house had become extremely awkward. If she told the truth, would Brother Toshiro, with his face full of rage, be embarrassed to the point of tears? He would definitely cry, right...

However.

There is always a day for the truth to come out. Sometimes, Umaru could be quite honest, especially when it came to complaining.

And then.

Toshiro stammered, "S-sorry, I really didn't know it was just a bit of fun between you siblings. That whole bullying thing..."

"It is bullying! This is Onii-chan bullying his cute little sister!"

As the two spoke, Toshiro looked at Hamster Umaru once more and tried to make excuses for someone: "Ahem, that guy Sougo can be a bit excessive at times, but strictly speaking in terms of artistry..."

Taking another close look at Hamster Umaru, Toshiro clutched his head and crouched down: "No, I... my conscience won't let me make up..."

At this moment.

Hamster Umaru felt that her brother was right—Toshiro should just drop dead! What was that about his conscience? Creatures like Toshiro! Wouldn't it be better if he just stayed obediently by the Sanzu River?

Ignoring this surge of emotion.

Toshiro straightened his expression: "Ugh, I also just heard that Sougo dropped out of Totsuki. Is there a reason? Even for Totsuki, if it's that guy Sougo..."

"Um, Onii-chan said he doesn't want to talk about things at Totsuki, and moving here was a decision he made after careful consideration. Does Brother Toshiro have a problem with that?" Umaru tilted her head and asked.

Watching the hamster, who looked innocent (if you ignored the smudges), Toshiro took a sip of tea: "Forget it. I originally wanted to warn him to have you be careful, as a few delinquents have appeared in this area recently. But there's no need to worry too much; I will handle it, just like your brother did back in the day—I will bring this area back under the complete jurisdiction of the Kondo Dojo!"

Taking another sip of tea, Toshiro prepared to leave, but after a moment of thought, he left a message.

"When Sougo gets back, let him know: this time, the reputation of the Kondo Dojo will be carried by me—the Demon Vice-Chief Toshiro Hijikata!"

Reaching the doorway, he paused, then turned his head back to say:

"Umaru, tell Sougo that since he's back, he should find some time to visit the Kondo Dojo."