But Iori Yagami is Yagami Tsukihime's brother. When a brother looks at his little sister, he's definitely wearing a filter, so Aiden didn't say what he was really thinking… 'In other people's eyes, your sister's first impression is a little delinquent punk, definitely not someone you'd associate with the word "well-behaved."'
And if he actually said that out loud, Iori would definitely fall out with him. What brother doesn't defend his own sister?
So Aiden only said, "No wonder she's upset with you. When Miss Tsukihime got the invitation yesterday, the first person she thought of was you, her big brother. But you, as her brother, didn't think of her at all."
"Mainly because she's a girl. Girls being too violent isn't good, she won't be able to get married in the future," Iori said, having his own reasons.
He was originally someone who hated violence anyway. If Kusanagi Kyo hadn't entered the tournament, he wouldn't have wanted to participate in this kind of competition at all.
Hearing that, Aiden rolled his eyes. 'Your sister's been picking fights all over the place lately, and you, as her brother, seriously don't know anything about it?'
"But personality matters more," Iori looked at Aiden. "Would you marry a woman who likes fighting?"
'Yes…'
But he couldn't say that out loud. Aiden smiled and asked instead, "So that's why you often eat here?"
"Miss Kikuri's personality really is very nice," Yashiro nodded heavily at the side, agreeing.
Seeing the two of them shift the topic back to himself and Kikuri, Iori explained irritably, "I already said it, I don't come here to eat because of her…"
But he stopped halfway through his sentence.
Because at that moment, Kikuri had already appeared in front of them. From the flash of sadness that crossed her face, it was obvious she'd heard what Iori said.
Iori froze for a moment, then stood up. "Kikuri…"
Kikuri only gave him a faint smile, then placed the wine and dishes from the tray in her hands onto the table.
"This is the stir-fried meat my sister made especially for you."
After saying that, Kikuri turned around and left.
"Kikuri… wait… damn it… Were you two deliberately trying to trap me into saying that?" Watching Kikuri walk straight into the kitchen without even turning her head, Iori glared viciously at Aiden and Yashiro.
Aiden and Yashiro shook their heads innocently, while Chris, after tasting the stir-fried horse meat, showed a pleasantly surprised expression. "Yashiro, this dish tastes really good. No wonder Iori likes eating here."
'Very good, Chris. You really are a good "kid."'
Feeling a bit creeped out by Iori's stare, Aiden and Yashiro simultaneously looked at Chris with appreciative eyes. That was said at exactly the right time.
Hearing that, Iori paused for a moment, then sat back down and said gloomily, "Drink!"
———
Alcohol is the best social lubricant. After downing a whole bucket of booze, even Iori no longer minded Yashiro slinging an arm around his shoulders, and even told him the reason he was entering the tournament.
Already pretty drunk, Yashiro wrapped an arm around Iori's neck and shouted, "Iori, I'm telling you, that Kusanagi Kyo is nothing. When we run into him, you won't even need to step in, I alone can knock him flat and show him what a real expert is."
Iori had also drunk quite a bit. The drunken haze on his face looked even heavier than Yashiro's, after all, he'd been drinking with emotions. But when he heard Yashiro's words, he still replied on instinct, "Kusanagi Kyo can only be defeated by me."
Defeating Kusanagi Kyo was his obsession. Even drunk, he still remembered it.
"We're brothers, no need to separate yours and mine…"
"Even real brothers need to settle accounts clearly…"
And then the two of them started arguing…
Aiden watched Iori and Yashiro with some amusement but didn't join their conversation. Talking to drunk people was the most boring thing there was.
Glancing at the Tanima sisters standing by the cashier, both looking over with the same worried expressions, Aiden said to Chris, "Chris, keep an eye on them. I'll go pay the bill."
Even though this meal was technically Iori's treat, judging by the situation, that clearly wasn't going to happen.
"Okay!" Chris nodded.
Aiden then stood up and walked over to the cashier. As he took out his wallet, he asked, "How much is it?"
"This time it should be Iori treating, right? It wouldn't be right for you to pay," the older sister, Tanima Konoe, said. "We'll ask Iori for it tomorrow."
"Will you really ask him for it?" Aiden shook his head and smiled, then pulled out several large-denomination bills and placed them directly on the counter.
"That's too much…" the younger sister, Kikuri, picked up the money and tried to hand it back.
But Aiden didn't take it. He only asked, "Do you know where Iori lives? I'll take him home later."
"We do." The sisters nodded together, then together said Iori Yagami's address.
"Thanks!"
Nodding to the sisters, Aiden returned to the table.
While he was paying, Yashiro and Iori had each downed another big glass of alcohol. Now both of them were slumped over the table, completely drunk!
Aiden looked at them helplessly, then he and Chris each shouldered one person and took them back to the car.
However, Aiden first sent Yashiro and Chris home, and only then took Iori home…
In front of an old-style detached house.
After getting out of the car, Aiden saw a light turn on in a room on the second floor, and then the silhouette of a girl appeared by the window.
Yagami Tsukihime had heard the noise outside.
"It's you? How do you know I live here?"
The red-haired girl opened the window, looked down at Aiden, and asked irritably, "What, are you plotting something against this young lady?"
"You're overthinking it… Kikuri told me," Aiden pointed at his car. "Open the door, your brother drank too much."
"Drank too much?" The red-haired girl frowned, then snorted coldly. "I don't want to see him. Just dump him at the door. When he wakes up, he'll open it himself and go in."
Aiden, "..."
'Is this really how you treat your brother? You really are a good little sister!'
"He is your brother," Aiden said helplessly after a pause.
"Someone who abandoned his own sister to team up with other people isn't my brother," the girl said angrily, still unable to let it go.
But just as Aiden was wondering whether he really should follow Tsukihime's words and dump Iori at the door, the girl's figure disappeared from the window.
Then, the door opened.
"Come in," the girl glanced at Iori inside the car and said to Aiden.
[T/N: There's a monthly discount ongoing on my P@treon page for the next three days. You can get 20% off on your membership. Enjoy~
p@treon. cum/AmbitiousTranslator ]