Afterwards, unexpectedly, she did not kneel and sit down as was her habit. Instead, like Aiden, she sat cross-legged beside her sister.
She used her hand to smooth down the kimono skirt, the lower part of which used much more fabric than the upper part, completely covering her own legs.
Then, small movements began under the skirt.
Then, Aiden felt someone kicking him with their foot.
Puzzled, he looked up at Maki, who was kneeling seated opposite him. Her head was still bowed as she silently ate from her bowl.
Besides, given her kneeling-seated posture, unless she had grown a third leg, the foot kicking him could only be...
So, Aiden looked at Chizuru.
It was just that Chizuru was eating her food with a calm face. Her expression suggested she wasn't doing anything, but clearly, this was just an appearance.
Speaking of which, the dining table they were using, though it was the common Japanese low-legged style, had quite a lot of space underneath.
There was definitely enough room for a person to lie down, let alone make some small movements.
Thinking of this, Aiden shook his head slightly. Such a childish trick.
However, this also seemed like the start of a certain kind of welcome plot development.
He glanced at Maki. The shrine maiden was still with her head down, her attention only on her own bowl.
So, he picked up his wine cup with his left hand, took a sip, and then, while placing the cup back on the table, he reached under the table and grabbed the small foot that was kicking his leg.
"Mmph!"
The color that had just returned to Chizuru's face immediately turned red again. A place that had never been touched by a man was grabbed by Aiden like this, and she almost cried out.
But she immediately pressed her lips together, forcing the sound back.
Although living in the modern era, the family's traditions and education meant both sisters belonged to the very conservative type of women.
At this moment, Chizuru absolutely dared not let her sister know what was happening under the table.
She exerted a little force to pull her leg back, wanting to retrieve her foot, but this was simply impossible unless she wanted to overturn the table.
So Chizuru could only look at Aiden pitifully, hoping he would let go.
But, how could that be possible?
'You kicked me, and I'm not even allowed to take a little interest? Wouldn't I be at a huge loss then?'
While thinking this, Aiden glanced lightly at Chizuru again.
Then, Chizuru felt the sensation on her foot change from having her ankle held by a hand to having her entire foot enveloped by a warm palm.
"I hope you don't have athlete's foot."
Taking advantage of the fact that Maki hadn't looked up yet, Aiden silently mouthed the words to Chizuru.
"You're the one with athlete's foot! Let go." Chizuru also mouthed silently, an angry expression on her face. How could a beautiful girl possibly have athlete's foot?
Although it might be more fitting to call her an older sister, a beautiful older sister definitely couldn't have athlete's foot.
But the response she got was Aiden's smiling face, a smile that made her find him detestable.
But she couldn't speak now, let alone make any sound. Since she couldn't get her foot back, she could only let Aiden have his way.
Besides, she brought this upon herself.
And now, feeling the warmth transmitted from her foot, Chizuru also felt her body beginning to grow hot, accompanied by a penetrating, bone-deep tingling numbness. This caused her body to tremble lightly a few times.
Then, she felt the hand that was enveloping her foot change its movement. It seemed a finger was gently stroking the sole of her foot.
Without any calluses or dead skin, the smooth skin, clearly transmitted that tickling sensation throughout her body.
At this moment, she completely failed to notice that Aiden's action actually meant he had essentially released her foot. But she just bit her lip hard, not letting any sound of discomfort escape.
As she endured without making a sound, the movements of Aiden's hand became increasingly varied.
But his actions were like handling an exquisite piece of jade, very gentle. However, this only made Chizuru feel even more ticklish.
And, it was very uncomfortable. So uncomfortable that she couldn't help but want to...
'No, this feels so strange...'
But a person's endurance has its limits. The proud second daughter of the Kagura family went from slight trembling of her whole body to movements with amplitude. Her rosy lips were bitten until a deep tooth mark appeared.
Finally, Chizuru, who couldn't bear it any longer, let out a muffled sound. Although she desperately covered her mouth, the muffled groan, different from one caused by pain, still attracted Maki's attention.
"Chizuru, what's wrong?"
"Your face... you look a bit strange."
Having finished the wagyu in her bowl, Maki lifted her head and looked sideways at her younger sister, whose skin had taken on a strange flush.
In front of her younger sister, she had returned to normal.
"It's... it's nothing. Just... just had a bit too much to drink." Chizuru suppressed her voice, trying not to let the sob in it become too obvious, then pointed at the wine cup in front of her.
But...
Maki looked at her sister's cup, which was almost untouched, and found it even stranger. Although the sisters usually didn't like drinking alcohol, it shouldn't be possible to get drunk on so little, right? Besides, the alcohol content of sake isn't high.
Thinking it was strange, Maki then noticed her sister's sitting posture was different from usual, and her legs, covered by the skirt, trembled slightly a few times.
So she looked down, and even prepared to reach out and touch them to see what was going on.
However, just at that moment, Aiden suddenly let go. The liberated Chizuru didn't have time to cast a grateful look at Aiden; she hurriedly pulled back the leg she had stretched out to kick him. But this large movement made Maki frown.
Regardless of Aiden watching from opposite, she lifted her sister's skirt. Then she saw her sister's legs crossed tightly over each other, and with considerable force, as if hiding something.
"Elder Sister, what are you doing? He... he's still here!" Chizuru quickly covered her skirt and then put on a fierce face, shouting at Aiden, "Turn your head away!"
Aiden shrugged at her, picked up his wine cup, and drank by himself. But his peripheral glance still went over there. Unfortunately, the dishes on the table blocked the view, and he saw nothing.
At this time, Maki, who couldn't see anything wrong, looked up at Chizuru and said with some annoyance, "If you sit, sit properly. I won't say anything about you sitting like this, but don't move around. It's very rude in front of Aiden."
'But I'm like this because of him...'
Chizuru certainly couldn't say that. Otherwise, her sister would surely ask what happened.
If her sister found out what had just happened under the table between her and Aiden, she probably wouldn't be able to hold her head up in front of her sister for the rest of her life.
So she said obediently, "I won't do it again next time."
Though it wasn't clear if this statement was meant for her sister or for Aiden.
To be fair, as long as her younger sister showed good attitude in admitting her mistake, Maki would never hold it against her. She sighed helplessly.
Just as Maki was about to let go of the skirt corner, her nostrils twitched slightly, as if she caught a faint scent of sweat, but it seemed somewhat different.
Maki immediately looked up at her sister with confusion, thinking, 'We took a bath together just yesterday, and today we just drank tea for most of the day. We haven't practiced martial arts, nor done any other strenuous exercise...'
'Could it be that she sweat a little because we were in a hurry when coming back from grocery shopping?'
'It should be that...'
But Maki knew the scent of her sister's sweat. This was a bit off. But she really couldn't figure it out.
"Elder Sister, can you let go of my skirt now? Aiden is still watching!"
Seeing the thoughtful expression on her sister's face, Chizuru was afraid she might have noticed something. Earlier, she really couldn't bear the tickling anymore, so...
'Mmph! If sister really finds out, I'll have no face left to see anyone.'
Chizuru felt like crying but had no tears. Then she glared fiercely at Aiden again.
The touch she felt when Aiden gave her a gift earlier was instantly thrown to the back of her mind.
Hearing the words "Aiden," Maki came back to her senses, realizing her current action was very improper. She quickly let go of the skirt and bowed her head in embarrassment.
"Sorry, Aiden, I've made a fool of myself," Maki said softly.
Aiden shook his head, "Actually, I didn't see anything."
This was the truth, but what he said and what Maki meant were completely different things.
Thus, both sisters, who understood the meaning of his words, blushed simultaneously... In fact, their faces had never returned to normal color, remaining flushed almost the entire time.
"Ahem... Aiden, let's eat first!"
Maki didn't dare to continue this topic anymore. She straightened her slender waist, picked up some food with her chopsticks, leaned over the table to put it into Aiden's bowl, and then told Chizuru to pour wine for Aiden.
Though very reluctant, Chizuru still stood up. However, her posture was a bit strange, as if she didn't dare to stride too freely.
Having managed to move to Aiden's side, while pouring wine for him, Chizuru cursed in a voice only she and Aiden could hear, "You bastard, pervert!"
"You asked for it," Aiden retorted without courtesy.
But he didn't understand the meaning behind Chizuru's curse.
Although she didn't hear their conversation, Maki's attention had been on the two of them all along, and she frowned, "Chizuru, what are you saying to Aiden?"
"Nothing, Chizuru was just asking me if today's dishes suit my taste," Aiden said to Maki with a smile.
"Then what does Aiden think?" Maki asked.
Aiden smiled and nodded, "Chizuru will make a good wife in the future. Women who can cook are usually more liked by men."
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