Chapter 271: Invitation
After the items were packed, Kaede took them, paid, and asked, "Yukiho, is Honoka not home today? Did she go out to play?"
"No, big sister is upstairs!"
Yukiho replied and then said, "Kaede-nii, do you want me to call big sister down?"
"Hmm, call her down. It's been a while since I last saw Honoka."
"Okay, just a moment!"
Yukiho responded and then went upstairs.
Then Kaede heard a series of noises, both Yukiho's questioning and Honoka's pleading.
After about two minutes, the sound of footsteps coming downstairs was heard, and Kaede saw Honoka, with a long, bitter face, scurrying towards him.
"Kaede-nii... Yukiho is so mean, she doesn't respect me as her elder sister at all!"
Yukiho, who came down behind her, heard this and said unceremoniously, "Hmph, big sister, how can you even say that? It's bad enough you eat in your room, but you get crumbs everywhere. Don't you know tatami mats are a pain to clean?"
"Sigh~~~ I'll clean it myself!"
"When have you ever cleaned it properly?! In the end, you always get scolded by Mom and then beg me to clean it for you!"
Watching the two sisters about to argue again, Kaede had a helpless smile on his face.
"Alright, alright, Yukiho, don't talk about Honoka for now. Let Honoka do the cleaning herself, and don't help her. Let's see how long she can last."
"Eh! Why are you like this too, Kaede-nii!"
Honoka was dumbfounded, not expecting that even Kaede wouldn't help her this time.
Kaede listened, raised his hand and patted Honoka's head, saying, "You, you're the elder sister, yet you need Yukiho to take care of you in everything. Is this really appropriate? And you'll be going to high school next year, you can't keep being like this."
"Ugh! Why is Kaede-nii lecturing me with such big words as soon as we meet?"
"This is for your own good."
"Ah, saying that makes you sound even more like Mom and Dad!"
Kaede playfully tapped the girl's forehead and said, "Alright, alright, I'm too lazy to say more to you. Just know it in your heart. I asked Yukiho to call you down because I wanted to ask, if you're free today, do you want to come to my place to play? All my classmates are coming for a dinner party today. I told you before that I'd invite you over after I moved, but I never got around to it."
Go visiting?
Honoka and Yukiho exchanged glances, and Honoka quickly raised her hand and said, "I want to go! I want to go! I haven't been to Kaede-nii's new house yet!"
"Big sister, we can't today!"
Although Yukiho also really wanted to go, she still quickly spoke up, "Didn't Mom go grocery shopping? It's getting a bit late, so we probably can't go today."
"Ah, it seems so!"
Honoka's excited mood dropped again: "Ugh... I really wanted to go play..."
Looking at the two girls, Kaede said with a smile, "Alright, don't be too disappointed. It's true that I came a bit late today, I've been working. But if today doesn't work, then how about tomorrow? Also, you haven't met my classmates, so you might be nervous."
Yukiho listened and considered, "Tomorrow, that might actually work."
"Yes, yes, tomorrow, I want to go tomorrow!"
Just then, the curtain in the back kitchen was pulled open, and Honoka and Yukiho's father quietly poked his head out, startling Kaede. He had initially thought that this uncle wasn't around.
Seeing her father come out, Honoka happily said, "Dad, we want to go to Kaede-nii's house to play tomorrow!"
Uncle Kousaka didn't object. He glanced at Kaede, then nodded and said, "I have no problem with it. I'll also talk to your mom about it tonight."
Since Father agreed, Mother, who is usually easier to talk to, naturally wouldn't object.
Honoka jumped up happily: "Yay! Oh, right, Kaede-nii, can we invite Kotori and Umi tomorrow?"
"Sure, if they have time."
Since Kaede had invited Honoka, he naturally wouldn't forget Umi and Kotori, the other two of the trio. He had already planned to mention it, but Honoka brought it up first.
After confirming that these little girls would come tomorrow, Kaede excused himself and left. He had spent extra time outside and figured Eriri must be getting impatient waiting for him.
Sure enough, barely two minutes after leaving Homura, Eriri's call came through.
"Kaede-kun, your work should be finished, right? When are you coming back?"
"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm already on my way back," Kaede said with a smile. "I just took a detour to Homura to buy some wagashi, which took a little extra time. I'm heading home now."
"Hehe, I see. Well, hurry up, everyone is having a lively time!"
Just as Eriri finished speaking, Kaede heard Takasu Ryuji's miserable cry and Aisaka Taiga's delighted laughter on the other end of the line.
It looked like they were genuinely having a lot of fun.
So, Kaede quickly picked up his pace, hailed a taxi, and returned to the apartment.
Turning the key and entering the house, Kaede immediately saw the lively scene in the living room.
They were playing Monopoly! No wonder the noise on the phone was so loud earlier. In the late stages of Monopoly, when properties pile up, a single toll fee can bankrupt a player.
Seeing Kaede return, Eriri, who was watching the game, immediately stood up happily and jogged over to Kaede: "Kaede-kun, welcome back! Thank you for your hard work!"
"Mhm, I'm home." Gently pinching Eriri's cheek, Kaede handed her the box of sweets he was carrying. "Here, snacks from Homura."
Taking the snacks, Eriri asked, "Kaede-kun, did you see Honoka and Yukiho at Homura?"
"I did."
Leading Eriri toward the sofa, Kaede explained, "Yukiho was diligently minding the shop as usual, while Honoka was slacking off upstairs. After the two girls had their little commotion, I invited them to come over tomorrow. I also asked Honoka to call Umi and Kotori, so they should be joining us too."
"That sounds great. I haven't seen them in a while."
Compared to her initial wariness, Eriri had now lowered her guard regarding those girls. Honoka and Yukiho, the two sisters, one was obedient and the other was a goofball, but both treated Kaede like an older brother. As for Umi, although she respected Kaede greatly, she seemed to get very nervous around boys.
And Minami Kotori... in Eriri's eyes, she was the cutest of the girls. She had a pleasant voice, a good figure, and a gentle personality, and it looked like she genuinely held some affection for Kaede.
However, after understanding the dynamics between Kaede and these girls, Eriri felt reassured.
Everyone else also heard their conversation, and a gleam flashed in the President's eyes.
"I have a keen feeling this topic is about cute girls!"
"Smack!" "Ouch!"
Right after he spoke, Usami, who was nearby, hit him with a cushion.