For a moment, the bedroom echoed with the trembling voice of the gal game's heroine, who was far too emotionally "excited":
Heroine: [Y-You did something like that to me, you wicked girl... You have to take responsibility!]
The volume was deafening.
Kotomi Izumi was almost grateful that Aimi was using a laptop rather than a desktop computer. When she had first assembled her computer, Kotomi had wanted a more immersive gaming experience, so she had spent several times the usual price on an absurdly expensive sound system whose specifications looked incredibly impressive.
Although Kotomi Izumi could not actually tell how different it was from an ordinary sound system, she had at least come to understand one thing: speakers, headphones, and cameras were all bottomless money pits.
Returning to the matter at hand, although Kotomi could not hear much of a difference, the expensive sound system certainly produced an overwhelming impact whenever it played anything. It was enough to make her wonder whether the bedroom walls were truly soundproof.
Imagine if Aimi had been playing an R18 gal game on the desktop computer just now. Once the story reached an HCG scene, the "powerful" sounds from the speakers might have been clearly audible even downstairs.
Had Mom heard it...
Kotomi Izumi could not imagine how she would have explained it on Aimi's behalf.
"O-Onee-chan?! When did you get home? A-And Iroha, why are you here too?"
Nervousness had completely taken over Aimi Izumi's mind, making her stumble over her words. She stared blankly at Kotomi and Iroha while her small hand continued struggling to silence the laptop.
After an arduous struggle, she finally managed to mute it.
However, by that point, whether she muted it or not hardly seemed to make any difference.
"I... I found out yesterday that Senpai was coming home today, so I went to the station to meet her. Then I came home with her and bought you some canned lychees along the way. Ahem, Aimi, has your fever gone down? Does your throat still hurt?"
Iroha Isshiki shook the plastic bag containing the canned lychees and spoke somewhat awkwardly. Although she knew that Aimi enjoyed playing gal games, this was the first time she had discovered that the games Aimi liked were so intense!
With Aimi's grades and personality, she was regarded at school as the perfect honor student. Many of her classmates imagined that at home, she must be an elegant young lady who slowly savored black tea while reading classic literature. Little did they know that Aimi had no interest whatsoever in literary classics and preferred playing gal games instead.
R18 ones, at that.
Of course, Iroha Isshiki did not know that Aimi's favorite activity was not playing R18 gal games, but sneaking into Kotomi's room at night to become an audacious little sister who made advances on her older sister.
Only then did Aimi remember that when Iroha Isshiki had visited her earlier, she had mentioned wanting canned lychees.
Had the embarrassing incident of secretly playing a gal game and being caught by both her sister and her best friend not happened just now, Aimi would undoubtedly have been deeply touched and delighted.
Her beloved older sister had returned.
Her best friend had bought her favorite canned lychees and come to visit her.
Two wonderful things had happened at the same time. They should have created an even more wonderful feeling, so why—
Why did she feel nothing but unbearable embarrassment?!
Why did I have to play a gal game right now?! Wouldn't it have been better to lie obediently in bed, look weak and sick, ask Onee-chan to hug me, and complain about that hateful Megumi Kato while I was at it?
Damn it!!!
This is all Megumi Kato's fault!!!
After being caught secretly playing an R18 gal game by her sister and best friend, Aimi Izumi's thoughts descended into chaos. In the end, she screamed inwardly, This is all Megumi Kato's fault!
"Th-Then I'll go to the kitchen and open the canned lychees for you. It's very cold outside, so the chilly wind during the walk home from the convenience store was probably enough to cool the can down."
Iroha Isshiki spoke with a smile. Then she winked at Kotomi with those expressive eyes of hers, turned around, and headed downstairs.
A short while later, Kotomi Izumi's phone vibrated. When she took it out and checked, she discovered that Iroha Isshiki had sent her a message.
Iroha Isshiki: [Senpai, I'm going to the kitchen to find a knife and open the can. I'll move slowly so you and Aimi can have more time alone together.]
[Although Aimi told me before that she liked playing gal games, today was the first time I learned that she likes R18 gal games... Anyway, after what just happened, Aimi would definitely feel even more embarrassed if I continued standing outside the bedroom as her friend, right?]
[So I'll use opening the can as an excuse to leave for a little while. Senpai, make good use of this time to comfort Aimi and stop her from feeling too embarrassed.]
This little devil can be surprisingly considerate sometimes... After reading Iroha Isshiki's messages, Kotomi Izumi could not help smiling as she thought to herself.
Kotomi then put away her phone and entered the bedroom.
She glanced at Aimi, who was blushing, hanging her head, and hesitating over whether to shut down the laptop. Kotomi did not hurry to say anything. Instead, she took off her coat and placed it on the floor, intending to put it into the washing machine later.
Only after finishing all of that did Kotomi Izumi leisurely sit down beside the bed and ask Aimi,
"Do you still have a fever?"
"I took my temperature this morning. It was 37.5 degrees, so I still have a slight fever, but I'm much better than I was a few days ago. My throat is still a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't feel like I'm swallowing razor blades anymore."
Aimi Izumi spoke quietly with a flushed face. Although Kotomi had been the first person to learn that she enjoyed playing R18 gal games, Aimi had always played them alone and in secret.
Now, however, her sister and Iroha had caught her playing one together...
At that moment, Aimi's greatest wish was to find a crack in the floor and crawl into the ground.
"It seems your fever has gone down a little. No wonder you have enough energy to start playing gal games again~" Kotomi Izumi teased with a smile.
"Onee-chan!"
Aimi called out with a flushed face and a hint of displeasure, expressing her embarrassment.
"It's mortifying. I always play gal games alone in secret, and whenever I reach an HCG scene, I deliberately put on headphones... But my headphones are in my bedroom, and I didn't have the strength to go get them, so I thought I would try playing without them.
"The gal game I was playing just came out last week. I haven't read any spoilers or guides. On my first playthrough of a gal game, I like choosing options based on instinct. How was I supposed to know the first HCG scene would appear so quickly? And by sheer coincidence, the instant it started, you and Iroha appeared at the door."
Aimi Izumi muttered quietly with a flushed face, her cheeks growing redder with every word.
"There's a pair of headphones right on my desk. Why didn't you just use mine?"
Kotomi Izumi pointed toward the headphones on her desk, a pair of Bluetooth headphones she had replaced only recently.
"Yours are Bluetooth headphones, Onee-chan. I-I don't know how to use Bluetooth..."
Aimi Izumi smiled sheepishly. Although she knew how to use a computer, her knowledge was limited to a few basic functions.
Connecting headphones to a computer through Bluetooth technically counted as a basic computer operation, but it was already beyond the range of basic operations Aimi had mastered.
Kotomi Izumi sighed helplessly. "That's my fault. When I learned you didn't know how to use Bluetooth, I should have taught you how to connect Bluetooth devices."
At that point, Kotomi Izumi seemed to remember something. The corner of her mouth twitched before she gave an awkward smile.
"Still, if you're going to wear headphones while playing gal games, wired ones are probably more suitable for you. Bluetooth headphones don't restrict you with a cable, but if you aren't careful, they can trigger a uniquely humiliating social disaster."
"What kind?" Aimi Izumi asked curiously.
"Whether it's Bluetooth headphones, a Bluetooth keyboard, or a Bluetooth mouse, interference or a weak signal can cause the connection between the device and the computer to break. When the headphones disconnect from the computer, the computer's speakers automatically begin playing the sound instead.
"Imagine that you're wearing Bluetooth headphones while playing a gal game. As you're playing, the headphones suddenly disconnect from the computer, and the computer automatically switches to playing the sound through the speakers. But because the volume is loud and you're already immersed in the images and story, you don't notice that the audio is now playing out loud.
"At that exact moment, Mom calls you downstairs for dinner. After calling several times without receiving an answer, she comes upstairs. Then, by perfect coincidence, the gal game you're playing enters an HCG scene..."
"Ah, Onee-chan, stop! Just imagining it makes me want to flee the galaxy. Bluetooth headphones are terrifying! I am absolutely never using them!"
Merely imagining that socially devastating scene made Aimi Izumi's small body tremble.
Kotomi Izumi smiled knowingly. She had described an even more humiliating situation. Although Aimi still felt mortified by what had just happened, compared with that far more catastrophic scenario, her embarrassment had already faded considerably.
After all, being caught by her sister and best friend while playing an R18 gal game was the sort of humiliation that could keep Aimi tossing and turning sleeplessly even two and a half years later whenever the memory suddenly resurfaced. Kotomi felt that she had to help her overcome it.
"Well, you don't need to be so embarrassed. Your sister has been through the same thing. I also went through the stage of being new to gal games. Back when I first started playing the first R18 gal game of my life, my face turned bright red and I felt unbelievably embarrassed. I couldn't bear to close it, yet at the same time, I was worried that Mom and Dad might discover me.
"That was also how I trained myself to switch from a gal game to the desktop in an instant.
"That's why, on several occasions, whenever Mom and Dad saw me using the computer, they would ask in confusion, 'Sweetheart, why are you always staring at the desktop whenever we see you sitting at the computer? Is your wallpaper really that interesting?'"
"Pfft—now that you mention it, Mom and Dad really did wonder about that several times. When I heard them, I thought you were just spacing out stupidly while staring at the desktop. I never imagined it was to avoid social death."
Aimi Izumi could not help laughing upon hearing that. The shame and awkwardness that had filled her after being caught secretly playing an R18 gal game by her sister and Iroha had now been almost completely diluted by Kotomi.
"Once your fever is completely gone, I'll pass down my proud technique of switching back to the desktop in one second. It's one of the essential skills every gal game player must master. Once you start working, it will also become a timeless and indispensable skill for slacking off at the office."
After finishing her boast, Kotomi Izumi abruptly changed the subject, and her tone became serious.
"All right, that's enough joking around. Now I need to give you a proper lecture."
"Huh?"
Aimi Izumi instinctively shrank back, uncertain what her sister intended to lecture her about.
Could it be that Onee-chan had learned every nasty thing she had secretly said about Megumi Kato?!
At that thought, Aimi Izumi could not resist screaming inwardly once again, Damn you, Megumi Kato!
"You really are considerate of me, aren't you, little brat? You knew I was away on a hot spring trip, so not only did you hide your illness while speaking to me on the phone, but you also forbade Mom and Dad from telling me. Had I not figured it out while chatting with you yesterday, wouldn't I have learned that you were sick only after coming home today?!"
Kotomi Izumi spoke in a stern tone, though she did not forget to alter the truth slightly. Kotomi had learned about Aimi's fever from Iroha Isshiki, but while lecturing Aimi, she naturally would not say that Iroha had revealed the secret. Instead, she told a small lie and claimed she had figured it out herself.
That not only made her appear remarkably perceptive and allowed her to show off a little, but also prevented any conflict from arising between Aimi and Iroha because of it.
"It's mainly because you rarely get to go on hot spring trips, Onee-chan. I think the last time you went was three years ago. I didn't want my illness to ruin one of your rare hot spring vacations..."
Aimi Izumi quietly revealed her true feelings. Her reasoning had been simple. She was afraid that her illness would affect her sister's enjoyment of the trip.
After listening to Aimi speak softly, Kotomi Izumi let out a gentle sigh, as though she had decided at that moment to finally say certain things to her.
The instant she made that decision, Kotomi Izumi's reason snapped, and she pulled Aimi into her arms.
She could smell the fragrance of Aimi's hair, feel her breath, and sense the warmth of the body beneath her pajamas.
Shattered glass could never be restored, just like the 'glass barrier' between Kotomi and Aimi that Kotomi was now preparing to break.
Kotomi Izumi pressed her lips against Aimi's.
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