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A crescent moon hung low in the sky.
The air felt especially fresh after the rain.
From Yamada Elf's place to Mahiru Shiina's front door was only a few dozen steps—close enough to get there in the blink of an eye.
"I'll just leave the ladder here at the entrance."
Blake set the folding ladder down and made no move to go inside. He turned to look at the "angel" beside him.
"I stepped on it earlier, so it's a bit dirty. You should probably wipe it down before putting it away."
"I know." Shiina Mahiru gave a soft nod, her voice as gentle as ever. "Thank you, Blake."
A light evening breeze passed by.
Her maid outfit fluttered along with her hair, creating a dreamlike, heart-stirring scene. Even dressed like that, she still looked like the perfect, elegant angel.
Too bad Blake knew better. That "angel" persona was just a mask. Only when she slipped up now and then would her real personality peek through.
Blake looked away and waved goodbye.
"See you tomorrow, Shiina."
Mahiru pressed her lips together slightly and replied in a soft voice,
"…See you tomorrow."
He quietly pushed the door open and stepped back into his house. Seeing the living room shrouded in darkness, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Good… Sagiri's probably still holed up in her room…"
For some reason, just the thought of getting caught by Sagiri made him feel a little guilty.
"First, a shower… then toss the clothes into the washing machine…"
He set down the half-price bento, turned on the light, and headed for the bathroom.
But the next second, a faint, ghostlike voice echoed out—
"Blake… why are you back so late?"
Blake froze, then instinctively turned toward the sofa.
"Sagiri?"
A silver-haired little girl rubbed her eyes and sat up from behind the couch. Then she let out a startled, embarrassed cry—
"Blake, you pervert! You're not wearing clothes!"
Hey, don't say things like that! He was still wearing shorts, okay? Nothing was showing!
"Then where are your pants? Did you run into some kind of weirdo?"
Sagiri walked over, her face red as she covered it with her hands, worry in her eyes.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about it…"
Blake had no intention of explaining. He just wanted to brush it off.
After all, if you weren't there, who would believe stuff like invisibility or time-stopping?
Sagiri frowned, her delicate brows knitting together as she leaned closer.
"Did you run into some bad woman?"
"No." Blake denied it immediately. "Don't make wild guesses. Just a little accident. It's already taken care of."
Whether it was Mahiru Shiina or the shameless Yamada Elf, neither of them counted as "bad women."
"Sniff, sniff—"
Sagiri tiptoed closer and started sniffing his coat like a drug detection dog at an airport.
"Besides Blake's smell, there's another girl's scent on you… Blake, you're not pure anymore!"
Even if he did smell like someone else, "not pure" was going a bit far!
Blake quickly changed the subject.
"You've never smelled my clothes before. What do you mean 'my scent'?"
"I-I just know…"
Sagiri's gaze darted away, her cheeks quietly turning red.
It was true she hadn't smelled them yet—but in the future, she'd done it all the time. His scent was already etched deep into her soul.
She puffed up her cheeks, looking like a tiny angry pufferfish.
"Blake, did you sneak out to go on a date with another girl behind my back?"
"I did not." Blake shot back confidently, not the least bit guilty. "I went out to buy half-price bento."
Sagiri knew he had the habit of going out at night for discounted meals. That's why she'd been waiting on the couch. She just didn't expect him to come back looking so disheveled.
"Then… does that mean you've already met those bad women?"
The thought made her tense up instantly.
In her previous life, she'd stayed locked in her room for so long that she didn't even know when Blake first met those women.
She had thought that now, starting over, she could get ahead and protect her brother's innocence.
But it looked like even with a second chance, things weren't safe.
"Blake, you're not allowed to date bad women for the rest of your life!"
She grabbed his sleeve tightly, looking up at him with determination.
"That's a bit extreme, don't you think?" Blake said flatly.
"No! It has to be for life!"
"Why?"
"Because… because…" Sagiri averted her eyes shyly. It was too early in this second life to say too much—she might scare him off. "Because I'm worried about you… You always see stories online about people getting tricked by bad women—body and heart."
"And if Blake gets tricked, you'll definitely fall into despair and start drinking your sorrows away, right?"
"Then one winter night, you'll pass out drunk on the street and freeze to death in the snow."
"… "
Blake stared at her expressionlessly, unable to hold back his complaint.
"I'm your brother, you know. Could you not give me such a tragic ending?"
"Anyway, girls outside are all liars. Don't trust them." Sagiri clenched her small fists, looking at him anxiously. "From now on, you have to report to me whenever you go out."
"I refuse." Blake shook his head without hesitation. "I've heard of reporting to your wife, not your little sister."
"W-wife…?"
Sagiri seemed to imagine something, and her face flushed bright red as she grew dizzy.
"By the way, how did you even know I went out?"
Blake decided to turn the tables.
"Have you been secretly watching me?"
"N-no! I wasn't spying on you!" Sagiri shook her head quickly, her voice tinged with guilt. "I was just resting by the window and happened to see you leave."
A lie.
She hadn't seen him at all. It was just that in her previous life, Blake had always gone out at a fixed time to buy discounted bento—and he'd often bring her snacks, too.
Too bad this time, he'd only brought the bento.
"I'm going to take a shower. If you're hungry, eat the bento. If not, go back to your room and rest."
Blake tried to slip away toward the bathroom.
"Don't run, Blake!" Sagiri quickly grabbed the hem of his shirt. "You still haven't explained why you came back like that!"
Blake sighed. "It's a long story…"
"Then make it short."
Looks like he couldn't dodge this one.
After a brief hesitation, Blake gave a simplified version of what happened—leaving out the parts about time-stopping and invisibility. He just said it involved neighbors, that he'd helped out, and his clothes had gotten muddy, so someone helped wash them.
Sagiri never went outside anyway. There was no way she'd find out the truth.
"Yamada Elf…" Sagiri murmured after listening carefully, gently biting her lower lip. "So she moved in this early, huh…"
"....."