Chapter Seventy-Nine: That Night, Saori Amamiya Grew Up

Evening.

In the bedroom, the three of them sat across from each other on the soft, spacious bed, tension hanging in the air.

After a long silence, Anhe suddenly spoke.

“Have you made up your minds? Who’s going first?”

At his words, the Amamiya sisters exchanged glances. Saori was the first to speak.

“Why don’t you go first, Sis? You’re more experienced.”

Said, Sawu blinked, an odd smile curving her lips. Her voice was gentle. “But eventually it will be your turn, little sister. You can’t keep running away forever~”

Despite her sister’s words, Saori still hesitated.

“But brother-in-law is really good at it, I definitely can’t manage on my own.”

...

“Hey, do you two even realize what you’re saying?” Anhe threw the cards he was holding onto the bedding, exasperated as he watched the sisters’ increasingly outrageous conversation.

Boredom had led him to buy a deck of cards to teach them how to play Landlord, and this round, Saori was the Landlord.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Saori blinked, a little at a loss. Sawu, however, wore a mischievous smile.

Anhe shot her a glare. Ever since Saori arrived, Sawu wouldn’t allow Anhe to touch her anymore, claiming she didn’t want to sully her sister’s world with unhealthy influences. Yet, perversely, she kept making suggestive jokes, leaving Anhe both frustrated and helpless.

“Are we still playing?” Saori asked tentatively.

She’d never played this kind of card game before, so it felt especially novel.

Anhe waved her off, getting up from the bed.

“No, it’s boring. I’m going to write.”

With that, he walked toward the door.

Once he’d left, Saori glanced at Sawu, who, seeing her gaze, blinked and put down her cards as well.

“I’m done too, I need to do the laundry.”

With those words, Sawu left the bedroom.

Now alone, Saori looked at her hand—both Jokers, four Ks, four As, four 2s—and felt a pang of disappointment.

“I thought I’d win this round.”

She pouted, gathered the cards from the bedding, tucked them into the bedside drawer, then got up and left the room.

The bathroom door was wide open, and Sawu was inside sorting dirty laundry.

Saori had never washed clothes before, so she quickly abandoned the idea of helping and headed to the living room.

In the corner, Anhe was sitting at the desk where Sawu had once bumped her head, writing earnestly.

Saori watched him for a while but soon grew bored and settled onto the sofa.

She grabbed a bag of chips on the table, munching as she picked up the remote and switched on the TV.

After more than a week here, she’d gotten used to the strange picture quality of Anhe’s oversized television, but the content was less appealing.

She flipped through several channels, all of which featured outdated dramas with terrible acting and awkward plots. After a short while, she lost interest.

Just then, she noticed the DVD player beneath the signal box and called out to Anhe behind her, “Brother-in-law, do you have any discs here?”

“Yeah,” came Anhe’s reply without looking up. “They’re in the cabinet next to the DVD player. Lots of discs—find whatever you want.”

“Really!” Saori’s eyes lit up, and she hurried to the DVD player.

Opening the cabinet, she found a row of DVDs.

She eagerly picked them up, flipping through one by one, occasionally asking Anhe about any that caught her eye.

“Brother-in-law, what’s ‘The Grudge’?”

“Horror film.”

“Ah? No, not watching that. What about ‘Ring’?”

“That’s horror too.”

“And this one, ‘Hell’?”

“That one,” Anhe looked up, his expression oddly lecherous as he smiled, “stars Mieko Harada. It’s another horror film.”

“Why are they all horror films?”

Saori shivered, not knowing who Mieko Harada was. But soon, one disc drew her attention.

“‘Family Showdown’—is this a variety show?”

She blinked, intrigued by the cover featuring red, green, and blue teams of family members, and decided to put it in the DVD player.

After some fiddling, the disc began to spin and Saori excitedly settled back onto the sofa.

Soon, the screen lit up. An 18+ opening sequence played, followed by a host on screen.

“Welcome to this episode of Family Showdown. Our guests tonight are three families from Chiba, Osaka, and Hokkaido. Let’s give them a warm applause!”

“This looks interesting,” Saori said, grabbing more chips as she watched the three families appear on screen.

But as the so-called show began in earnest, Saori’s chip-eating slowed, her cheeks flushed red, and her breathing grew more rapid.

...

[It seems your sister-in-law has opened the door to a new world. Why not seize the opportunity tonight? Surely, Saori will give you a unique experience. But before that, you might have to deal with Sawu. You vaguely recall her medicine bottle is still in the bookshelf. Perhaps when she comes for water later, you could slip it in. Tonight, you might just have a double delight...]

What the hell?

The sudden narration startled Anhe. Just then, a series of blush-inducing sounds erupted from behind him.

He whipped around and saw the TV screen filled with a group of naked people on the floor...

“Holy shit!”

Anhe was shocked.

Meanwhile, Sawu, hearing the commotion, came out of the bathroom.

“What happened?” she asked, her gaze falling on the TV. As she realized what was on screen, she froze in place, her cheeks turning visibly crimson.

A few minutes later.

The TV was off, and the disc labeled “Family Showdown” had been forcibly snapped in two and tossed to the floor by Sawu.

Anhe felt a pang of regret but forced a stern expression, frowning as he coldly questioned the kneeling Saori, “Where did you find that thing?”

Saori, her face red with embarrassment, covered her face with one hand and pointed to the cabinet under the TV with the other.

Seeing this, Sawu immediately turned her glare on Anhe, her eyes conveying: This is all your fault!

“Cough, cough...”

Anhe pretended not to notice, cleared his throat, got up from the sofa, and went to the DVD player. After rummaging, he grabbed a third of the discs and silently headed back to the bedroom.

Once he left, Sawu looked at her kneeling sister, sighed, and gently pulled her up, speaking earnestly:

“These things aren’t for kids like you. Understand?”

“I understand!” Saori nodded obediently, though her legs instinctively pressed together.

Sawu didn’t notice her odd reaction. Seeing it was about time, she returned to the bathroom to finish the laundry.

By the time she finished, Saori had fallen asleep on the bedroom bed, while Anhe was still writing in the living room.

“How much longer?” Sawu placed a cup of hot milk in front of Anhe. He replied without lifting his head, “Almost done. If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep.”

“Alright.”

Sawu nodded, turned to leave, then paused at the doorway, hesitated, and spoke softly.

“I’ll leave the door open for you tonight... But you have to sleep on the side. I’ll sleep in the middle. And you have to behave yourself.”

(End of chapter)