My Wife Alya Sometimes Teases Me in Russian

CH-05

CHAPTER 5
Where There's A Little Sister, There's Bound To Be Trouble, But As The Older Brother, I'll Manage It

Masachika and Hikaru eventually reached the storeroom, where they deftly began setting down the boxes and carefully placing them on the shelves. Once their work was finished, Masachika, who was fearing that other people might walk in on them, went to inspect the door and locked it before turning his attention to their 'companion'. He then instructed them to kneel on the floor.

"Well? Care to enlighten me as to thy presence in mine modest workplace, O sister of mine?"

"H-hear me out, O brother of mine. If thou wilt pretend that thou never saw me, I shall lend thee my latest volume of MahoAko from my collection shelf."

"Stop bribing me with one of your erotic collections and answer my question."

"..."

The person they encountered, whom they realized was Suou Yuki, let out a whimper before taking something out that was kept underneath her shirt. It was attached to a lanyard, so she took it off her neck and presented it to Masachika as if she were offering a tribute to a great ruler.

Masachika took what she gave them, and both he and Hikaru examined it.

"What's this?"

"Isn't that an identification pass exclusive to visitors?"

"Apparently so... but why is Ayano's name printed here instead of yours?"

"Oh, that was Ayano's idea. She figured that people might recognize me, so I've been roleplaying as her."

""...""

The two gentlemen gazed at Yuki with scorn before glancing toward each other.

"Well, what should we do about this?"

"Huh?! You're asking me??"

"I think I'm too biased to be lenient with her, so I can only count on you to pass a fair judgment."

"Mua-ha-ha-ha! As expected, my brother's affinity is sitting at max points—he can't possibly bring himself to punish me!"

"Yeah, yeah. So, what's the verdict, Hikaru?"

"Um..." Even if you ask me, I'm also...

This was the first time in weeks that Hikaru and Yuki had seen each other in person. He had almost given up trying to reach her by phone call, but now, as if a hand of fate was at work, she was right in front of him—in the flesh! Whatever he had planned to say to her had vanished from his mind, so letting him pass judgment on his fiancé at the very moment was a task too insurmountable, even for a calm and collected person like himself.

However, he knew that if he ran away now, he might not get the chance to talk to her in person again, possibly for days. So with that in mind, he slapped himself in the face—in his imagination—and made up his mind.

"Ms. Yu— For starters, she shouldn't keep prostrating herself like this. Here, take my hand, Ms. Suou."

For a moment, Yuki was slightly taken aback, but she managed to shake herself out of bewilderment and accept Hikaru's hand. Once she was on her feet, she covered her mouth with her hand and cleared her throat with a small cough.

"My apologies for the shameless display, Sir Kiyomiya. Thank you for helping me up."

"Ah, oh... it's fine, really. No need to thank me."

"Ehe-he."

"..."

For some reason, the air was suddenly filled with formalities, which was a little unbearable for Masachika in a way. As a result, he couldn't help but doubtfully watch the two.