Chapter 23: Curious Taishi

Kawasaki Saki sat quietly in the living room, waiting. In front of her, Keika and her younger brother, who was younger than her, were sitting at the table eating cake. It was her decision to cut the cake without permission before Hikigaya Hachiman came downstairs. Because Hikigaya Hachiman might make some strange noises while doing the exorcism upstairs on the second floor. Having the cake attract the attention of her younger siblings meant that even if something really happened, she could easily cover it up. "I'm back!" Suddenly, the voice of her younger brother, Kawasaki Taishi, who was in middle school, came from the entrance. "Huh? Are there guests at home?" Kawasaki Taishi looked curiously up into the room, noticing a pair of men's leather shoes on the shoe rack that he had never seen before. Did his sister bring someone home? This was really a rare first time... However, Kawasaki Taishi didn't dislike it. After all, Kawasaki Saki had sacrificed a lot to take care of the three of them... "Ah, welcome back..." At that moment, Kawasaki Saki opened the living room door and came out to greet him. "Are there guests at home?" Seeing his sister, Kawasaki Taishi asked. "Yes." Kawasaki Saki lightly nodded. She glanced somewhat awkwardly in the direction of the stairs. Right now, she was very afraid that Hikigaya Hachiman would suddenly come down with a weapon while she was chatting with Taishi. If that happened, it would be really hard to keep the matter of the evil spirit a secret! Dun dun dun... Just as they say, what you fear is what comes. While Kawasaki Saki was silently praying that Hikigaya Hachiman wouldn't come down immediately, footsteps sounded from the stairs. Her heart immediately jumped into her throat. As the sound grew closer, Hikigaya Hachiman's figure gradually appeared in front of them. Phew... When she saw that Hikigaya Hachiman was not holding anything in his hands, Kawasaki Saki let out a breath that only she could hear. She had almost been scared to death just now! Thinking this, Kawasaki Saki gave Hikigaya Hachiman a resentful look. ? Hikigaya Hachiman looked at Kawasaki Saki's resentful expression and scratched his head in confusion. He had just gone upstairs to do an exorcism, so why was she looking at him like that? Could it be that Kawasaki Saki had discovered the crack in the bathroom wall? "Hello, my name is Kawasaki Taishi." At this time, Kawasaki Taishi took the initiative to greet Hikigaya Hachiman. Hikigaya Hachiman politely responded with his name. "So, big brother, are you my sister's boyfriend?" After the polite greetings, Kawasaki Taishi's face immediately showed a curious expression. Cough cough cough... Hearing what her brother said, Kawasaki Saki suddenly started coughing violently. Before Hikigaya Hachiman could answer, she apologized to him and pulled Kawasaki Taishi into the living room by the collar. Bang! With a loud noise, the wooden door to the living room was shut again. Hikigaya Hachiman stared blankly at the wooden door in front of him. Why was he mistaken by Kawasaki Saki's brother to be her boyfriend? While Hikigaya Hachiman was puzzled, noisy sounds came from behind the wooden door, mixed with several screams from Kawasaki Taishi. When the noise gradually subsided, the wooden door in front of Hikigaya Hachiman was opened again by Kawasaki Saki. "Come in..." Seeing Hikigaya Hachiman standing outside foolishly without knowing where to sit, Kawasaki Saki felt a bit embarrassed. Even though she had asked him to help, after he finished, she not only didn't thank him promptly but left him standing outside... But Kawasaki Saki also knew she was bad at expressing herself and couldn't say something nice. Especially with her younger siblings behind her, to maintain the dignity of the eldest sister, she couldn't apologize to Hikigaya Hachiman in public. Therefore, when Kawasaki Saki spoke to Hikigaya Hachiman, she kept a cold face but softened her tone a lot. "Sorry, it was my misunderstanding before..." Just as Hikigaya Hachiman sat down in the living room, Kawasaki Taishi, sitting opposite him and holding his sore backside, bowed his head and apologized. "No problem, but are you okay?" Seeing that, Hikigaya Hachiman quickly waved his hand and looked at Taishi's backside with concern. Judging from the noise just now, Kawasaki Saki's attack was quite harsh. Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, Kawasaki Taishi's face twitched painfully, looking at him with a resentful expression. He had just barely managed to shift his attention, but now his backside hurt again... "Sorry..." Seeing Kawasaki Taishi's expression, Hikigaya Hachiman knew he had reminded him of some unpleasant memories. He turned his head, deliberately avoiding eye contact with Kawasaki Taishi, and inwardly urged Kawasaki Saki to come out of the kitchen soon. "Big brother, do you want some cake?" Suddenly, a fork with a piece of cake appeared in front of Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes. Following the hand holding the fork, Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the little girl, Kawasaki Keika. The little girl had cream all over her mouth and was looking at him earnestly, holding up the cake. With a gentle smile on her face, Hikigaya Hachiman shook his head to refuse her feeding: "Thank you, but I'm not hungry right now. You can eat the cake yourself." "Okay!" Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, the little girl nodded and then turned around, sitting right in his lap. "Huh?" Feeling the sudden weight in his arms, Hikigaya Hachiman's body stiffened, then relaxed. Looking at Kawasaki Keika sitting in his lap, Hikigaya Hachiman felt an unreal sensation. Besides Komachi, there was another girl willing to be so close to him... "Keika, don't just sit on guests like that; it will make him uncomfortable!" Kawasaki Saki came out of the kitchen holding freshly brewed tea, and when she entered the living room, she saw her sister sitting on Hikigaya Hachiman's lap eating cake. A helpless expression appeared on her face immediately. "It's okay, I don't mind..." Hikigaya Hachiman quickly waved his hand to show that he didn't mind Keika sitting on him. He was more than happy about this, so how could he feel uncomfortable? "..." Hearing Hikigaya Hachiman's words, Kawasaki Saki's look toward him instantly changed. Could it be that this guy was a lolicon? If so, she would have to keep her sister away from him. "Oh, right, big brother, is there something you came here for?" After quietly finishing his piece of cake and taking a sip of tea, Kawasaki Taishi suddenly became curious about Hikigaya Hachiman's purpose for visiting. "Ah, well..." The expressions of Hikigaya Hachiman and Kawasaki Saki instantly stiffened.