Ding-dong. The doorbell rang.
"Yukino, open up! It's me!"
Basking in the summer sun, Eriri, dressed in a cute lace dress and wearing a sunhat, stood at the door. Her exquisite face, even without makeup, was strikingly beautiful. A faint sheen of perspiration dotted her nose. Even though it was still morning, Eriri had woken up very early to get ready.
[Yukino, today you'll witness this lady's feminine charm!]
Selecting her outfit while psyching herself up internally, for Eriri, this shopping trip with Yukino was an unprecedented experience.
At least Yukino had Ryuya and Haruno, but heavens knew Eriri had been a lone wolf since childhood. Having never experienced anything like this, she was exceptionally looking forward to today.
Thud!
A loud sound of the door opening.
"Eriri, why are you here so early?"
"Huh?"
Looking at Yukino's unfriendly gaze, Eriri inwardly marveled at the girl's strong grip.
"Early? I even brought you breakfast!"
Holding up the bag of food, Eriri spoke while peeking at the doorway behind Yukino, "By the way, aren't you going to invite me in? Ryuya should be home too, right?"
Hearing Eriri's words, Yukino's eyes grew even colder.
She gently took the breakfast Eriri was waving in front of her and gave her a very 'polite' smile before turning around, going back inside, and closing the door.
"Sorry, and you are...?"
"?????"
"Yukinoshita Yukino!"
Staring at the firmly shut door, Eriri was furious!
'I, Yukinoshita Yukino, have said that Ryuya is a very good brother to me.'
'I have also said that if possible, Eriri could be a very good friend to me.'
'But I never said that my brother would fall in love with Eriri!'
Recalling the countless girls at school who wanted to date Ryuya, who coveted her brother, all thwarted by her various methods... The reason the rumor about Ryuya and Yukino dating spread in the academy wasn't entirely a misunderstanding, because a certain young lady was quite happy to create that false impression.
And handling Ryuya's love letters, disposing of Valentine's chocolates... Yukino felt she had held on for so long, she absolutely could not fail here!
Having even used aliases like 'fiancée', 'childhood friend', 'best friend', etc., to 'help' Ryuya gently reject countless girls' hearts, Yukino believed the sturdy fortress she had built over all this time… how could it possibly be breached by a mere doujinshi artist? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Instantly imagining various cruel methods to deal with Eriri, like dismemberment, quartering, destroying the evidence, Yukino ate her breakfast filled with rage.
Meanwhile, she watched Eriri and Ryuya chat about some topics related to manga.
'This hateful person!' She was about to bite her chopsticks in half!
"Sawamura, to be honest, I'm not an expert on manga. A lot of my advice is just talk. The path that truly belongs to you is one you have to find yourself."
Looking at the artwork Eriri showed him on her phone, Ryuya spoke while keeping an eye on Yukino's expression this time.
Sure enough, his sister, while appearing nonchalant on the surface, was probably seething with rage internally. That was Ryuya's assessment.
Because he knew Yukino too well.
With this in mind, he sighed, planning to have a good talk with his sister after the shopping trip with Eriri today.
But before that...
"Yukino, Sawamura, let's head out early after breakfast. The weather forecast says it might rain this evening."
Regardless of the devastating impact of Ryuya's earlier 'if I find a girlfriend in the future' remark due to her early wake-up, Yukino, who wasn't good at staying angry with her brother, soon returned to her usual self after a short while.
Having also dressed up meticulously, the three of them headed towards the largest shopping street near Shuchi'in Academy.
On the way.
Although he had lived in this city for eighteen years, Ryuya, having experienced long periods in the simulator, felt a strange sense of returning to a hometown after a long absence.
Looking at the forest of steel and concrete, the flowing crowds, the occasionally appearing quaint traditional buildings... The trio of Ryuya, Yukino, and Eriri were a combination of handsome men and beautiful women to begin with, and Ryuya himself possessed exceptionally high charm...
Even with the Class Skill 'Nonexistent in this World' suppressing his presence, they still attracted a lot of attention. Several talent scouts even approached them on the street, asking if they wanted to join the entertainment industry.
Politely declining the onlookers, Ryuya began considering whether to cast a subtle magecraft suggestion in the surroundings to make the three of them less conspicuous.
However...
Looking at Yukino, who was holding his arm and humming a tune beside him, Ryuya could sense that the girl was enjoying the attention. She was basking in the envious and admiring glances, especially since everyone could see her closeness with Ryuya.
Some people were even whispering things like, 'What a well-matched couple,' and 'Who's the blonde failure next to them?'.
After a moment's thought, Ryuya abandoned the idea. So what if they got noticed? It was rare to see Yukino this happy, he shouldn't spoil his precious little sister's mood.
Meanwhile, Eriri, walking a step behind Ryuya and Yukino, was beginning to ponder.
'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?'
The classic trio of questions left the inexperienced Eriri feeling lost, 'Wasn't this supposed to be a group shopping trip? So why did I feel so... full?'
'Why did I feel so stuffed? And why did she I like she had already lost?'
'Strange. Really, really strange.'
Following weakly behind the pair, a teary-eyed Eriri resembled an abandoned puppy.
Muttering a few whimpering sounds to herself, Eriri suddenly straightened up. She felt that even if she had to play the whining hero, she couldn't be the failure! She needed to fight back, to rise up!
And so...
"I'll go buy the paints and paper I need first. You two look around. I'll find you later."
Having reached the shopping street, Eriri made her escape.