Listening to the cries from Makoto's room that sounded like a mix of laughter and tears from Airi, Marina and Kayoko looked at each other, the air filled with subtle embarrassment.
The mother and daughter both thought: 'That girl Airi... moves so fast?'
Kayoko pressed her lips together, feeling a surge of heat rising from her lower abdomen.
She unconsciously placed her left hand on the softness that had once nursed her two daughters, while her right hand involuntarily reached downward.
Come to think of it, she had only known Kozo for just over a month.
The reason she could accept his marriage proposal so quickly, aside from Kozo's perfect disguise, was also due to her own long-suppressed needs.
Having raised her two daughters alone for so many years, she also longed for a shoulder to lean on.
Moreover, she was at her prime...
Marina's emotions were much more complicated.
Besides a similar restlessness to her mother's, there was more of an indescribable unwillingness, and… a trace of jealousy that she herself was unwilling to admit.
'Clearly... clearly I liked Makoto-kun too.'
'But why, why did my sister always get there first?'
Since childhood, because she was a year older than Makoto, her sister could always legitimately monopolize his time at school.
At home, because Airi was outgoing and proactive, she also occupied more of Makoto's time.
With her gentle nature and love for her younger sister, she would have been willing to step aside.
But now... now that Makoto was about to leave, Airi had still gotten ahead of her.
This made Marina, no matter how gentle, feel a flame of unwillingness burning in her chest.
Driven by this emotion, Marina bit her silver teeth, gently pushed open her door, and tiptoed to the door of Makoto's room.
She pressed her ear against the door panel, her heart pounding like a drum.
As she listened, Marina found her hands also beginning to move uncontrollably.
After about half an hour of torment, she finally couldn't resist placing her hand on the doorknob.
Holding her breath, she gently opened a crack and looked inside—
And then she saw a scene she would never forget.
She saw Makoto grabbing his younger sister's twin ponytails with both hands, like a knight riding a warhorse, galloping back and forth.
The size difference between the two was obvious, and the scene was visually impactful.
Good grief, Starscourge Radahn, right?!
Finally, the warhorse 'Airi' let out a high-pitched neigh, gradually slowing down, clearly unable to fight any longer, her little butt still twitching.
Just as Marina's breathing became more rapid and her face flushed, Makoto inside the room suddenly spoke:
"How much longer are you going to watch, Marina?"
Marina trembled all over, like a startled deer.
Then, she saw Makoto turn his head and crook his finger at her.
The gesture seemed to carry some kind of magic. Marina felt as if under a spell, she pushed open the door, walked into the room step by step, and finally knelt in front of Makoto.
In the next room, Kayoko, who had fainted countless times, slowly woke up.
Hearing her daughter's sounds again, she couldn't help but murmur softly: "That girl Airi... is that powerful?"
But soon, Kayoko noticed something was wrong… the voice wasn't Airi's.
It was Marina's.
Kayoko felt terrible.
'Good grief, you young people... play that hard?'
After another ten-plus minutes, Kayoko heard Airi's voice again.
This time, the voices of her two daughters intertwined, forming a melodious female duet.
'Good grief, really not giving your own mother any peace, right?!'
…
The next day, before the sun had risen above the horizon.
Makoto opened his eyes on time.
Years of morning exercise habits had given him a very precise biological clock.
Golden and chestnut-colored long hair spread across his chest, tickling slightly.
He turned his head to see Marina and Airi, one on his left and one on his right, sleeping soundly with his arms as their pillows.
Makoto couldn't help but sigh: 'This is the kind of life a Transmigrator should have.'
Just as he got up to dress, there was a slight movement behind him.
"Ungh..."
The first to wake up was Marina.
Before Makoto transmigrated, the family relied entirely on the single mother Kayoko to earn money. As the eldest daughter, Marina took care of most of the housework, naturally developing the habit of waking up early.
Even so, Marina felt as if her whole body had fallen apart.
When she swallowed, she even felt a stinging pain like swallowing a razor blade, and her lower abdomen was bloated.
She had eaten too much last night.
Seeing Makoto dressing, Marina's voice was a little hoarse, her eyes full of reluctance: "Makoto... are you leaving?"
Makoto turned back and smiled: "We'll see each other again soon."
Even so, the reluctance in Marina's heart grew stronger.
Recalling the feeling last night when Makoto said he was going to expose Kozo, a feeling that her sister clearly knew something while she was left in the dark, Marina's heart ached.
'No... I couldn't let Airi get ahead again.'
'I had to leave a place for myself alone in Makoto-kun's heart.'
Thinking this, Marina gritted her teeth, forced herself to ignore her exhaustion, and in Makoto's slightly surprised gaze, turned around and raised higher, speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito's:
"U-Use this place..."
It is unknown how long passed before Airi finally woke from her slumber.
Makoto was no longer by her side, and her heart immediately filled with longing.
Turning her head to see her sister still sleeping, looking like she hadn't recovered, a small smile of satisfaction tugged at the corner of Airi's mouth.
'Sure enough, my sister still couldn't compare to her.'
'Only I could satisfy Makoto.'