"Exactly~ I already said, no need to go to all the trouble of coming so early to find Senpai~"
Though she didn't open her mouth, a familiar, lazily complaining voice was heard from Kanade's side.
Yuu was surprised, then saw a head slowly emerge from the girl's shoulder. Short, linen-colored shoulder-length hair clung dispassionately to her cute and pretty small face. With teary eyes and thick drowsiness, she yawned towards Yuu.
"Hauu~ Morning, Senpai. Two cute juniors deliberately woke up early to pick you up for school. You should be so moved to tears by now, right?"
Despite looking lazy from just waking up, Iroha still giggled mischievously twice. Every word she spoke sounded like she was flirting, adding a little sugar-like sweetness to the morning air.
"Actually, it's shedding tears, not three streams of tears." Yuu sighed, patting his forehead. "By the way, Iroha, you came along too..."
"Huh?"
Her brown eyes opened wide. The blurry drowsiness completely vanished. Iroha gave him a smile as warm as spring, but the voice that came out of her mouth felt like the arrival of winter.
"What do you mean? Kanade-chan can come, but I can't? That's not it, is it, Senpai? Are you playing favorites? Iroha-chan misjudged you! Your words from before, that we're both equally cute in your eyes, were a lie! A man's mouth is a lying devil!"
"Wait, wait, when did I ever say that..." Yuu instinctively grumbled, then realized that it might be the setting of this world.
Because, in the real world, even though his relationship with them was good and he often invited them to play games with his sister, he had never uttered such irresponsible flirtatious remarks.
"You never did say it."
Iroha nodded. Her voice returned to normal, but her lips pouted, and her round eyes glared at him angrily.
As if she would pounce and bite if Yuu didn't comfort her immediately.
"You're messing with me."
Yuu rolled his eyes and explained with a slight astonishment: "I mean, you can wake up this early... Kanade must have had a lot of trouble."
"What do you mean!"
Kanade shook her head and said very seriously: "It's not troublesome, just a little tiring."
"Kanade-chan, that last sentence wasn't necessary!"
Iroha shrieked sulkily, then immediately cleared her throat twice, defending herself with a valid reason: "It can't be helped! Senpai, you've heard of Monday Syndrome and May Sickness, right? Yesterday was still a holiday, but today you have to wake up before dawn. Do you understand the feeling of wanting to die in bed? It's impossible for any human to do something so unnatural!"
Kanade blinked: "But, I'm also human."
"You're different, Kanade-chan. You're an angel in this world; I'm just an ordinary human!"
Iroha said firmly. In front of Yuu, she hugged Kanade's slender waist and began to sway her left and right: "Hmph, if I could be this pretty without needing makeup when going out, waking up early would be easy for me!"
"Don't make excuses. I can do light makeup like that in ten minutes. You just can't wake up early."
Relying on his expert makeup skills, Yuu mercilessly dismantled her excuse, then added fairly: "Though it's true there's no need to wake up this early. While you're young, it's better to sleep more, otherwise..."
(Lack of sleep, the body won't grow big.)
Yuu resisted the urge to utter this sentence as he glanced at the chests of both girls. He changed his words as if nothing had happened: "Later, when you become a company employee, even a good night's sleep will be difficult."
But, thinking about it, for a girl as pure and cute as Kanade, a tiny and small body was the most perfect condition. If she were any bigger, it wouldn't suit her.
As for Iroha, when they played games at his house before, she had worn lighter clothes. At that time, it was clear that even though she was slender and appeared delicate, her armor level was at least above C, truly surpassing Kanade, who was a good girl who woke up early and grew up healthy.
So, that sentence should not be spoken, neither emotionally nor rationally. Yuu praised his own intelligence.
"Why are we suddenly talking about something so realistic!" Iroha released Kanade, put her hands on her hips and snorted twice, "Anyway, I won't be a company employee in the future—my goal is to become a secretary and also the wife of a big company CEO!"
"Oh, oh, oh, how wonderful." Yuu clapped haphazardly twice. "Not only seeking a rich husband, but also wanting the identity of a secretary to prove that you're not just a flower vase to be kept, but a career woman worthy of accompanying a CEO. It's rare to find someone with such high ambitions."
"Oh, Senpai, you understand me so well~" Iroha giggled, her face full of joy at being acknowledged.
Yuu also gave her a warm smile.
"The most important thing is, your school grades aren't even in the top fifty, but you dare to say something like that. I truly have to admire how high your ambitions are."
"Senpai! Senpai!"
Iroha, who had been helplessly angry, now had glowing eyes. She gritted her teeth, ready to pounce and bite him.
"Kanade-chan, don't hold me back! I'll make this annoying, arrogant Senpai know the serious consequences of making a cute junior angry!"
"I'm not holding you back..." Kanade stood still, blinking innocently.
Yuu spread his hands, as if he didn't care: "Junior is junior, why add 'cute' in front of it... I truly don't know who she learned such shamelessness from."
"Who else but you!"
"Alright, aren't you two tired of standing and chatting?" Yuu turned back into the house. "Come in and rest. Have you had breakfast? If not, I'll make some for you too."
Girls are creatures whose changes are faster than flipping a book, and as a very cute junior with high girl power, Iroha was certainly no exception.
"Great! I really like Senpai!" She immediately smiled broadly, pulling Kanade to happily follow her in. Her voice was as sweet as honey: "I rushed out today, only ate a piece of toast, so I can definitely finish Senpai's luxurious breakfast~ Oh, could you make it low-calorie?"
Yuu walked towards the kitchen and said casually: "You're not fat. Just eat a lot and then exercise to burn it off. I'll cook as usual."
"Ooh~ Senpai's answer is good, fifty points added!" While taking off her shoes, Iroha said casually, "If Senpai can become the CEO of a big company, another fifty points can be added, you know~"
"Even if I become a CEO, I wouldn't hire you as my secretary."
"Hmph! In that case, cut a hundred points!"
Before entering, Kanade still bowed slightly very politely: "Thank you, Yuu-senpai. Sorry to bother you."
Yuu turned, giving her a gentle smile completely different from when he faced Iroha: "No problem. But no Mapo Tofu this morning; it takes too much time to make."
"..." Kanade paused for a moment. Her expression was still flat, but her gaze was a little sad.
"Yuu-senpai, even I'm not that fanatical to eat Mapo Tofu for breakfast."
"Then if there were Mapo sandwich..."
"I would eat it," Kanade replied without hesitation.
"Too bad it's not here."
Yuu shrugged, ignoring her wide-eyed, seemingly struck gaze, and walked into the kitchen with a joyful smile.
The consequence of teasing his junior was that, for the next period, Kanade truly didn't speak to him.
She just stared at him calmly, like an intimidated little daughter-in-law, expressing her grievances silently.
After finishing breakfast, Yuu also went upstairs to wake Sora, but his himono (dried fish girl) sister seemed to have stayed up all night playing games again. She merely waved her hand in bed, saying she would eat after waking up.
A usual development. Yuu said nothing, closed the door slowly, and went downstairs. He then indirectly asked his two juniors about the uniform hanging on the wall of Sora's room.
After all, in the real world, although Sora said she would return to school after the winter break, she hadn't even taken the entrance exam yet, and the transfer procedures would only be handled in a few days, let alone a suitable Sōbu High uniform.
However, in this test, a uniform hung in her room—neatly ironed, looking never worn. Her calm demeanor of continuing to sleep also didn't seem like a student who had to go to school today.
This might be a clue.
So, after breakfast was over, their appetites were satisfied, and Yuu's curiosity was also appeased.
His two juniors, completely unsuspecting, like gal high school girls who didn't care if their skirts blew up. Through his clever questioning, all secrets were revealed.
Not only Sora's uniform, but also their current relationship, and other important information, all were now known to Yuu.
It felt like a puzzle game finally getting its backstory. He was no longer in an awkward situation where he knew nothing about the current situation or where to start exploring from.
First, it was currently his third year of high school, and the second year for his two juniors. They had agreed during spring break to gather at Yuu's house on the first day of school—which was today—to clean the student council room.
That's right, a new student council had been formed, and Yuu was one of its members.
Although there were currently only three people in power, they were more beloved than the previous student council. Their achievements even made the teachers express admiration.
Student Council President, Tachibana Kanade—With her pure and innocent image and angelic appearance, she became the spiritual symbol of Sōbu High. But she was not just a flower vase to be looked at. She had an efficient and fair working method, perfectly utilizing her intelligence as the top student in her class. She managed school affairs in an orderly manner, and her approval rating reached 99.99%.
Vice President, Tenkuji Yuu—Rejecting the teachers' offer to focus on exams, he used his identity as the most famous all-rounder genius in Sōbu High to step back into the second position. He became the strongest supporter for his angel-like juniors, responsible for handling dirty work that could tarnish the president's perfect image, and also the main decision-maker for the overall direction of the student council.
He once clashed with the Angel Support Group, or SSS Group for short. After hanging several veteran sports club members on small tree branches for several hours, he successfully transformed them into the student council's second-line organization and utilized them. He had a wide network and unrivaled influence, dubbed the Underground Emperor of Sōbu High.
Secretary, Isshiki Iroha—Besides being cute, she was mediocre in everything else. Her grades were only average, making people wonder why she could be paired with the other two and work in the same office, even becoming the Angel President's closest friend.
Of course, those who dared to mock her and let them know, now all became Iroha's blind supporters—no one knew why their attitude changed 180 degrees.
The only commonality, perhaps, was that before that, they had all been met by someone for a talk.
Of course, Yuu didn't just learn these things from his juniors. He also secretly looked at threads on the school forum, and only then did he know other students' evaluations of them.
"I can't believe that in this test, I, Kanade, and Iroha formed the student council..."
Yuu couldn't help but feel emotional, but he wasn't too surprised—after all, even in the real world, if he saw a cute junior who needed help, let alone waiting for them to ask, he would probably have intervened himself because he couldn't bear to see it.
Being just the Vice President of the student council, he wouldn't be too busy to not have time to do such small things.
Moreover, since long ago, Yuu had been very fond of Kanade—even setting aside her status as a junior, purely from the perspective of admiring a work of art and the mentality of protecting a national treasure, he was sincerely willing to be her supporter. He wanted Kanade to lead a carefree school life, undisturbed by unnecessary things.
So, becoming the Vice President, or conquering the SSS Group—the disobedient underground organization—for Kanade, these were indeed things Yuu would do himself.
And, if anyone gossiped in front of him saying "Iroha doesn't deserve to be by their side," he would definitely use hypnosis on those scoundrels who disrespected others without hesitation.
Overall, the background provided by the system was reasonable and almost flawless.
The reason he said almost was because after learning this information, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Yuu's heart—
"Did I really do these things..."
Although he had no related memories, the sense of familiarity, as if he himself had experienced it, was difficult to dismiss as mere background setting.
This might be another clue. Yuu remembered it well. He felt his exploration progress increased slightly.
As for Sora, in this test, she indeed had no intention of returning to school. She only asked Kanade for the uniform for cosplay in front of her siscon brother, satisfying her small desire.
After all, since their parents' accident, Yuu's greatest wish was to see his sister able to wear a uniform and attend school normally.
"Senpai, I've washed the dishes~ Look, do I look virtuous wearing an apron?"
His thoughts stopped. The sound of water in the kitchen also stopped. Iroha, who voluntarily helped wash the dishes, came out with light steps. Her small, white, and clean hands were not yet dry, but she twirled to show off her apron.
Her linen short hair was tied into a small ponytail. Iroha looked naughty, but indeed had a slight maturity of a young wife.
"Yes, yes, yes, very virtuous."
Yuu answered casually, got up from the sofa, put on his uniform jacket, carried his school bag, and called them to turn off the lights and fan before leaving.
"It's almost time. Let's go to the student council room."
"Mmm... Senpai, if you keep being so heartless, sooner or later you'll lose this pitiful junior..." Pouting disappointedly, Iroha turned back into the kitchen to take off her apron.
Kanade, who had already taken off her apron, walked out. She removed her hair tie, put on her cream-colored sweater that she had taken off to avoid getting wet, and walked behind Yuu with her school bag obediently, ready to leave with him.
Suddenly realizing something, she looked up and stared at Yuu. Her calm golden eyes clearly reflected his face.
"Wait."
Yuu also stopped.
Then, her soft, white, and small fingers lightly pinched Yuu's tie, pulled it up to his neck, and then straightened its position.
Kanade withdrew her hand. Her always expressionless face softened slightly. The corners of her lips seemed to smile, and her soft and delicate voice was as warm as the wind:
"As a member of the student council, the uniform should be a standard for all students, my Vice President."
"..."
As if hit by an RPG to the face suddenly, Yuu fell silent. After a while, he suddenly looked up and said to Iroha, who had just come out of the kitchen and was staring at the scene in surprise:
"Look, now this is what you call virtuous."