"Chizuru…"
A gentle but slightly dignified voice rang out, and Chizuru's movements instantly froze.
"What are you doing! You..."
Maki hadn't even finished speaking before she froze for a moment.
Her younger sister still somewhat listened to her words, but this movement…
"Still not putting your leg down." Maki reminded her sister.
At this moment, Chizuru finally noticed, her leg was still lifted up. The motion of raising her leg had completely lifted her short skirt, leaving not a single bit of spring scenery wasted, all fully seen by Aiden.
"Damn it, you're still looking…" Chizuru pressed her lips tightly together, her face burning red hot, then angrily shouted.
"Can I say, I'm innocent here?" Aiden spread out his hands.
The way he was sitting didn't require him to tilt his head up at all, just looking straight ahead, he could see everything clearly.
"Who knew the wind would suddenly blow, besides, Chizuru, it was you who lifted your leg." At this time, Aiden's brain spun quickly, completely washing himself clean.
Besides, he hadn't done anything, he had only thought about it, and thinking wasn't against the law.
Although furious, what he said really made sense…
Chizuru couldn't refute it, so she could only unhappily look toward her sister, "Big sister, why did you suddenly open the door?"
"Uh…" Maki also felt a little helpless. Just as she was about to say something, another gust of wind rushed in from outside the door.
The hem of the skirt flew up again.
Chizuru clutched her skirt, shouting, "Sister, close the door quickly… and you, you hateful guy, close your eyes."
"Fine, I'll close them. Anyway, I already saw everything."
Of course, those words could only be held back in his heart, Aiden didn't dare say them out loud.
In a fluster, Maki shut the door and let out a long breath. Looking at Chizuru, who was clutching her skirt and kneeling on a cushion, she slightly shook her head.
Maybe only in this kind of situation would her little sister actually feel like a woman… What normal woman likes drag racing anyway.
After going over to comfort her sister a little, Maki turned to Aiden, holding out the small box in her hands with both hands.
"Aiden, please use this with peace of mind, the phone bill has already been topped up inside."
"Thanks, Maki."
"I already told you, don't be so polite." Maki deliberately put on a dissatisfied expression.
"Alright then, I won't be polite." Aiden nodded, took the box, then suppressed his curiosity and put it to the side.
Truthfully speaking, when he owned his very first phone, it was already the era of smartphones. A phone like this one, which could only make calls and send texts but nothing else, naturally piqued his curiosity.
"Not going to open it and take a look?" Seeing Aiden casually set the box aside, Maki felt a little disappointed. She had already saved her own number and her sister's number in the phone.
"Looking at it later is the same. Let's eat first." Aiden shook his head and picked up his chopsticks.
"Fine then!" Maki thought about it and figured it made sense. Whether he opened it now or later, it was the same.
Maybe later, when he returned to his bedroom and opened it, he would discover her number and her sister's number saved inside, and maybe he would even feel pleasantly surprised.
But still…
She really hoped Aiden's very first call would be to her, since her number was listed first…
That's what Maki thought.
'But what if he didn't notice?'
Maki began to worry again.
———
What Aiden found strange was that tonight, after dinner, neither of the Kagura sisters escorted him back to his room.
Chizuru was understandable, a shy girl, she ran off right after eating. But Maki, with that look of wanting to say something but holding back, clearly had words she wanted to tell him.
But since they didn't send him off, so be it. He didn't mind, and carried the box back to his room.
As soon as he returned to his bedroom, Aiden's curiosity finally couldn't be suppressed. He opened the box containing the phone, and what entered his sight was an old-fashioned straight-bar phone. The huge antenna at the top stood out especially clearly.
After turning on the phone, the glowing blue screen made Aiden feel a little uncomfortable. Having gotten used to modern phones with high-definition, eye-friendly screens, this kind of blue-screen phone was really hard to look at.
But this was Maki's thoughtfulness, and he had no complaints.
After fiddling with the phone in his hands for a while, Aiden thought about whether he should give Mai Shiranui a call.
But because he wasn't familiar with how to operate a bar phone, he instinctively entered the dial page, just pressing the button with the little telephone symbol on it.
And then, he saw that two contact numbers had already been saved in the phonebook.
'So, that's what Maki wanted to tell me earlier, huh?'
Remembering Maki's expression when he left, wanting to say something but stopping, Aiden couldn't help but shake his head and laugh. Then he dialed Maki's number.
"Aiden!"
The very moment the call connected, Maki's surprised and delighted voice came through.
———
At this moment, inside the Kagura sisters' bedroom, Maki was facing away from Chizuru.
She glanced back at her younger sister, who was completely absorbed in watching anime, while clutching the phone with one hand and covering the mouthpiece with the other, her face carrying an expression of joy.
Sure enough, Aiden's very first call had been to her.
However, as Chizuru's big sister, Maki also carried a slightly tsundere trait, so she asked, "Aiden, calling me right now, is there something you need?"
She would never tell anyone just how much she had been looking forward to this call.
But on the other end, Aiden was confused, wasn't he just following her unspoken request?
Thinking about it, Aiden said, "I just wanted to test the call quality. Mm, the voice comes through very clearly. Sorry to make you spend money, Maki."
"As long as Aiden likes it." Maki smiled as she spoke.
At this moment, if Aiden were here, he would notice that Maki's phone was the same model as his… She and her sister had always used the same kind of phone, though she hadn't thrown away her old one either.
But after saying this, Aiden fell into a long silence on the other end, not responding for quite a while.
The truth was, Aiden didn't know what else to say. If he had something to say, he would've said it at the dinner table already. And with the way their relationship was right now, other words didn't seem very suitable.
So, after racking his brain for a while, Aiden finally said, "Uh, what are you two doing?"
"Mm, Chizuru and I just finished bathing. Now Chizuru's watching anime, and I'm on the phone with you." Maki straightforwardly said something completely mundane.
"Uh… Chizuru really has the personality of a little kid, huh!" Aiden paused a moment, then continued.
Maki sighed, "Yes, it's like she'll never grow up. Ah, really a headache. In the future, how will she ever get married off… no, I mean, how will she ever find a suitable husband."
Then, in a quieter voice, she asked, "By the way, Aiden, do you have a girlfriend?"
'I have lots…' Of course he couldn't say that, so Aiden tactfully replied, "Here, no, I don't."
'No…' Maki only heard those two words, and her eyes instantly narrowed. But just then, her sister's voice came from behind her.
"Big sis, come quick, it's the final battle in the finale!"
"Wait a minute, Chizuru, I'm on the phone." Maki covered the phone's mouthpiece, not turning her head.
"Oh! Then hurry up, or else we'll have to watch the rerun tomorrow. Hmph, forget it, later when we go to bed, I'll just spoil it for you anyway."
"How can you be like this…"
"Hehehe, I'm kidding, big sis…"
Letting out a somewhat helpless sigh, Maki returned to the earlier topic in a soft voice, "Aiden, what do you think of Chizuru?"
Hearing this, Aiden thought for a moment before replying, "Chizuru? She's a very cute girl, and her looks and figure are really good too."
"It's just her personality, it's a little childish. But that's also quite endearing. Still, compared to you, the big sister, you're more likable."
Say what suits the person, especially when speaking to women.
"Aiden… n-no, don't joke like that." Maki no longer knew what to say.
She just felt her cheeks burning hot, yet the smile in her eyes and the curve of her lips couldn't be hidden.
"I can't…" Maki started to say, but halfway through she fell silent.
After another barely audible sigh, Maki muttered, "Aiden, let's stop here for now, Chizuru needs me for something."
"Alright!" Aiden nodded. After Maki hung up, he lowered the phone from his ear.
Looking at the call log, Aiden also muttered, "The Kagura family's mission, huh? But, just a small problem."
After ending the call with Maki, Aiden went to his wardrobe, took out clean clothes, and headed off to bathe.
There were many maids in the shrine. He didn't have to do things himself, naturally, someone would wash his used clothes and fold them neatly before returning them.
So no matter which world he ended up in, he could always live a life where food and clothing were brought to him.
Carrying his clothes out of his room, Aiden was just heading toward the bath when suddenly he sensed a gaze watching him from the shrine's back mountain. At once, he turned in that direction.
And then, just like the last time he was peeped on, a panicked figure fled in a hurry. Only this time, the woman was even more disheveled, she fell out of a tree, scrambled back up, and then ran away.
"Could the Kagura family's so-called evil spirit actually be some kind of female pervert? But then again, this shrine is basically full of women, if the back mountain really does have a female ghost, she'd be holding it in till she broke…"
Thinking such malicious thoughts, Aiden smirked wickedly and headed toward the bath.
———
In the days that followed, Aiden's life settled into a routine, during the day, he went to Mai Shiranui's dojo and even had lunch and dinner there; at night, he returned to the shrine to sleep and had dinner again.
Luckily his digestive system was strong, otherwise, his stomach and intestines would've long since had problems.
And during these days, Aiden didn't do anything especially out of line.
He didn't flirt with the three women, nor did he take liberties during his martial training with Mai Shiranui. Instead, he followed the rules of being a student.
Only, while he didn't cross any lines, others did. In those few days training with Mai Shiranui, the girl had basically touched him all over under the pretense of "checking his body."
But how could her little intentions escape Aiden's eyes? Still, he happily enjoyed it.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.