Yesterday was a hectic day, but thankfully, the school ended early due to the chaos in the cafeteria.
As I lay on my bed, trying to relax, Irana hugged her body pillow and suddenly spoke up.
"Onee-chan? Do you want to head back home this weekend?" she asked, her voice soft.
"Hmm… probably… I miss Yuji already. Even though it's only been two days."
Irana frowned at the mention of our little brother. Seriously, what did Yuji ever do to her? I couldn't even remember the last time they got along.
"You guys are heading back for the weekend?" Viola chimed in from her bed. "I guess I'll have this room all to myself, then."
"You're not going home, Viola?" I asked.
"Nope. I can't really concentrate if I'm at home."
Ah, right. She mentioned before that her little sister is too annoying for her to focus on anything.
"By the way," Viola continued, "I heard from Kotori that after yesterday's incident, Yuya has been acting weird."
Huh?
"Wait, when did you talk to Kotori? We've been together in this room the whole time since that incident."
"She sent it in the group chat."
"…What group chat?"
"For goodness' sake, Aria, check your phone."
I blinked, confused, and quickly opened my messaging app.
A new group chat notification popped up.
Chatter Queens.
I stared at the name.
"…What is this name?"
As I stared at the ridiculous name, I hesitated before tapping on it. The moment I opened the chat, I was bombarded with over a hundred unread messages.
"What the hell is this...?" I muttered, scrolling through the message.
Kotori:Anyway, Yuya has been acting really weird after yesterday incident. He barely says a word, and he looks distracted all the time.
Viola:Maybe he's just tired?
Kotori:No, this is different. He's never like this, even when he's exhausted. Something's definitely wrong.
Irana:Maybe he's in love? (¬‿¬)
Kotori:I doubt it.
Viola:Or maybe he realized he's been serving a princess for too long and wants to quit?
Kotori:VIOLA THAT'S NOT FUNNY.
Did I hit him to hard yesterday? Well, maybe I am just see it for myself later. Well, he is a delusional piece of shit… I guess I knock some sense into him?
Later, I met Yuya, and he seemed to be becoming a different person. He also seemed to keep looking at me in a weird way. Don't tell me, did he fall for me? Well, there's no way. Anyway… the schooldays after that were really boring, and nothing much happened. We studied, we hung out, and we sometimes played board games in our room. The brats didn't bother me much, because they got hospitalised full-on after because of the excessive security force.
I don't know whether it was because of the massive brawl or the fact that the security guards actually broke students' bones, but seriously—why did the school allow them to hit students in the first place? Were they not afraid of the consequences? Did they think they were running some kind of underground fight club?
And where the hell was the child protection commission? Was it just for decoration?
Frustrated, I spent the night after the incident searching the internet, reading everything I could about human rights and child protection laws. At this point, I could probably start my own legal advocacy group. I mean, I wouldn't, but still—hahaha, I'm practically an expert now!
Anyway, let's talk about something more amusing. Out of all the members of Violetta—Yes that I would call them from now on—Arthur was the only one who didn't end up in the hospital. Curious as to why? Yeah, I was too. So, I asked one of the surviving members.
And the answer I got?
No one even tried to fight Arthur.
Not because he was terrifying.
Not because he was the strongest.
No.
It was because he looked too damn young.
Apparently, during the chaos, people mistook him for the cafeteria lady's kid and didn't have the heart to hit him. I nearly died laughing when I heard that.
Arthur, being the smug little gremlin he is, told me, "It's not that they didn't fight me. It's just that anyone who tried was too weak to even touch me."
Ah, as expected from Arthur. His shota aura is simply too strong.
I think there's something noteworthy that I need to mention, too. Was it noteworthy, though? I feel like I need to include it here because it's interesting.
During break time, I've started spending most of my time in the library.
Why the library, you ask?
Believe it or not, this place has an impressive collection of popular novels. You can borrow almost anything, from classic literature to the latest bestsellers. It's honestly amazing.
Truly, an elite school library. Everything is so complete.
…There's even a porn magazine.
At first, I thought it was just a misplaced book, but no—it turns out it belongs to the library supervisor.
Yeah. Let that sink in.
But that's not what's important right now. Those were just my usual, uneventful days. What matters is what's happening now—
Irana and I have then returned home in the weekend as planed.
Our house is a small, two-story building with a design similar to a suburban Japanese home. It's nothing extravagant, but it's cozy. Even though the villa I lived in during my past life was much bigger, I'd pick this home over that empty, lifeless place any day.
As I pushed open the front door, a blur of movement shot toward me before I could react—
"Welcome back, ONEE-CHAN!!"
A pair of small arms wrapped tightly around me.
That figure clinging to me like a koala was none other than my little brother, Miyazaki Yuuji.
Of course, I hugged him back. Ahhh, he's so cute!
But before I could properly bask in my brother's adorable welcome, a certain someone cleared her throat.
"Ahem… Yuuji… Aren't you forgetting about your other ONEE-CHAN?" Irana spoke, her voice slightly annoyed.
Yuuji instantly let go of me, turned to Irana, and glared at her.
"Ugly people like you deserve to be forgotten forever."
I swear I heard something crack. Maybe it was Irana's patience.
"What did you just say to your sister, you brat?!" Irana yelled, her voice filled with pure rage.
Ah, here we go again. They really can't get along, can they?
I sighed and put on my best "stern Onee-chan" expression.
"Yuuji… You shouldn't say that to your Onee-chan. Aren't you a good boy? A good boy doesn't say mean things to his sister. Irana is your Onee-chan too. Apologize to her, or I'll hate you for the rest of my life."
The moment those words left my mouth, Yuuji's eyes widened, and his lip quivered.
"Eh… don't hate Yuuji… Yuuji will be a good boy," he said, his voice trembling with teary eyes.
Oh.
Oh no.
He's too cute.
I almost felt bad for scolding him.
"Then, apologize to Irana Nee-chan now," I said gently.
Yuuji turned to Irana again, his expression unreadable. For a split second, I swore I saw something flicker in the air—like an electric current sparking between them.
…Why did it suddenly feel colder in here?
"Sorry, Irana Nee-chan…" Yuuji finally muttered.
It was forced. Incredibly forced. But hey, at least it was a step forward in their never-ending sibling war.
Irana smirked, flipping her hair dramatically.
"Okay, I forgive you… Why don't you come and give your Onee-chan a hug too? Come here, let me hug you," she said sweetly.
…And now it felt even colder.
Yuuji hesitated but stepped forward anyway.
Only to immediately struggle against what seemed like an invisible force. It was as if there was a barrier around Irana, stopping him from reaching her.
What the hell?
Without thinking, I gave Yuuji a little push to help him along—
And then something small fell between them.
I blinked and bent down to pick it up.
"What is this?… A diamond?"
I held it up to the light. It was unnaturally clear, yet strangely cold to the touch.
Wait.
Why was it so cold?
It was still sunny outside, and we were standing right by the doorway. This made no sense.
I turned to Yuuji.
"Is this yours?"
Silence.
Then, Irana suddenly narrowed her eyes at Yuuji.
The atmosphere became tense.
"…Yes, it's mine," Yuuji finally answered.
"I see… Take good care of it. This is a valuable item," I said, twirling it in my fingers. "Anyway, who gave you something this expensive? Did Mom give it to you?"
"Papa gave it to me," Yuuji answered simply.
"Papa?" I tilted my head. "Oh, so he's the one who gave you this. Why would he give a diamond to a kid? Did he lose a screw in his head?"
"I don't know," Yuuji shrugged. "Papa just gave it to me. He said it was for self-defence."
I deadpanned.
Self-defence.
How the hell was a diamond supposed to be used for self-defence? Was he supposed to throw it at someone's head?
Before I could ask any more questions, a familiar voice called out from inside.
"Aria, Irana, you're home? It feels like you just moved into the dorm yesterday."
That sweet voice belonged to none other than my mother.
"Yeah, Mom… We're home!" I called back.
"…Then, Aria, can you come here for a moment?"
I glanced between Irana and Yuuji, my gut telling me that leaving them alone might not be the best idea.
But… well. What could go wrong in a few minutes?
I sighed. "Yeah… Wait a second! I have to put my stuff down first!"
Before leaving, I turned to the two troublemakers and gave them a warning look.
"You two… don't fight for your Onee-chan's sake, okay?"
They both nodded.
…For some reason, I didn't feel reassured at all.