Date Preparations
A date.
Before heading to school, Luna pulled out her phone and searched for what a date actually was.
Date (from English: date) — when lovers, or people who share mutual affection, meet to spend time alone together. It may also include other expressions of affection.
Luna's gaze locked onto a single word in that short sentence: lovers.
Without looking away, she casually asked Rina, who was about to take a sip of water beside her.
"Are Elysia and I lovers?"
The instant the words left her mouth, Rina sprayed the water she'd been drinking in an exaggerated pffft! and stared at her older sister with a look of pure disbelief.
"Unnie… have you lost your mind?"
"Huh? Why…?"
"Have you ever confessed to Elysia-unnie and asked her out?"
"No."
"Then has Elysia-unnie ever confessed to you? She hasn't, right?"
"Yeah…."
"Then how are you lovers?!"
"I see…."
Watching Luna mumble with a strangely dejected air, Rina hesitated, about to offer some comfort — but Luna spoke again first.
"Then what kind of relationship is one where people have affection for each other?"
"…Out of nowhere?"
"Mm. It says here, 'A date is when lovers or people with mutual affection meet to spend time alone together.'"
"Uh… um. It probably means people who love each other, or people who get along really well?"
"Then Elysia and I are people who love each other?"
"…How did you get there?"
"Because Elysia asked me out on a date."
"Uh……."
Rina groaned, scrambling for any answer that might even slightly dampen Luna's feelings for Elysia — until a brilliant idea struck her and her eyes lit up.
"Th-that isn't necessarily it, right? You and I go on dates all the time, don't we?"
"I love you too, though?"
"…Huh?"
"Don't you love your unnie?"
"……Of course I dooo…."
Still not taking her eyes off her phone, Luna gently pulled Rina into a hug. Small even for a girl, Luna nestled perfectly into the arms of her sister, whose build could rival most boys.
A brief silence passed before Luna spoke again.
"But Rina."
"Yeess?"
"It says a date is time spent just the two of you. There are three of us, though."
"……."
In that instant, a thousand thoughts raced through Rina's mind.
As far as she knew, Elysia believed today's date was meant to be just the two of them — her and Luna. And Luna, who had never properly made friends before, had invited Rina along without realizing that bringing someone else without permission was rude.
Of course, it would have been a little strange for Rina — who had deliberately inserted herself even knowing that — to lecture anyone about manners. And Elysia, who would probably brush the whole thing off without a care even if she found out, was an even stranger person altogether.
But if Luna learned right now that inviting a third person was rude… wouldn't she leave Rina behind and go keep her promise with Elysia alone?
The moment that thought hit her, Rina's mind kicked into overdrive, spinning at a speed that shattered every previous limit as she hunted for the perfect answer — faster even than when she handled Mors Family business as Luna's secretary.
But Rina, just like Luna, had never truly made real friends either, so she was clumsy in this territory. The conclusion she landed on was:
"Th-these days, I think people just call it a date when close friends hang out together?"
"Huum… really?"
"Yeah! Elysia-unnie probably meant it that way too, right?"
"Is that sooo…."
Luna seemed a little downcast somehow, but Rina had at least scraped through the crisis, and she cheered silently to herself.
Wanting to hold onto that happy feeling a little longer, she loosened the arms that had been hugging Luna, lifted a hand, and started squishing her sister's cheek.
For two sisters closer than ordinary siblings, pinching cheeks was the most ordinary physical contact in the world — and Luna's cheeks were soft and pleasantly squishy. But for Rina, the act carried meaning beyond that.
Who would dare casually knead the cheeks of the Mors Family boss?
This was something only she — Luna's beloved little sister, the one who had grown up beside her since childhood — was allowed to do. The privilege belonged to Rina alone. Everyone who had ever touched Luna's cheeks was dead.
…Not that they'd been killed for touching her cheeks. It just so happened that, one way or another, every person besides Rina who had ever done so had ended up breathing their last.
In any case, among all the living people in the world, Rina was the only one who had touched Luna's cheeks and was still alive.
She went on tidying the uniform of Luna, who was leaning against her comfortably and staring blankly at her phone — and then, suddenly, Elysia-unnie floated into her mind.
…It's still just me, right?
Somehow I feel like that girl has already touched Luna's cheeks and then some….
……But she's never tidied her uniform for her! That much is certain!
Deciding to stay positive, Rina neatened Luna's uniform even more carefully. She straightened the crooked wine-colored bow tie, properly settled the slightly oversized jacket that kept slipping off her shoulders, and smoothed out the faintly wrinkled skirt. Done.
The thin, snow-white thighs peeking between the skirt and knee-high socks tempted her mercilessly — but she was not the kind of person to fall for something so simple. She had over ten years of experience looking after Luna. If little things like that could sway her so easily, their relationship would have been different in one way or another by now.
"…Rina. That tickles."
"Huh?"
Rina, who had been nodding in satisfaction, suddenly realized she had been gently stroking Luna's thigh without noticing and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Ah. Sorry."
"Mm. It's fine."
Then, whispering, "Then I get to do it too," Luna playfully poked Rina's thigh with her fingertip. It was a mischievous side of her she rarely showed anyone else.
Did the sun rise in the west today?
For some reason, Luna walked into the classroom in the middle of morning classes. Good grief! Considering she usually either didn't show up at all or only dropped by for a few minutes right before everything ended, this was a monumental event.
Even Cecilia looked fairly surprised, as if she hadn't expected Luna to arrive this early either….
But every single one of our classmates gave zero reaction. Not so much as a casual glance — eyes fixed rigidly on the blackboard, trembling as if the whole class had caught a cold at once.
"Huum."
I didn't like that one bit.
No, seriously — Luna came in looking this cute and nobody cares? Sure, all she'd done was put on her uniform properly… but wasn't a mafia boss showing up at the Academy in a neatly worn uniform already a charm point in itself?
She was dressed even more carefully than usual, and I nearly drooled just looking at her. The most striking change was her ash-gray hair, pulled up tight into a high ponytail instead of the usual style. It made her look far cleaner and brought out a more mature allure.
And above all — those eye-catching thighs visible between her skirt and black knee-high socks…!
How was anyone supposed to look away from that?!
If we hadn't been in the middle of class, I would have been spouting exclamations and smacking my forehead in pure admiration. Those snow-white, slender thighs peeking just above the socks highlighted cuteness and seductiveness at the same time. In short: she was devastatingly adorable.
Had she gone all out dressing up because today was our date? Imagining Luna pestering Rina to help her get ready made a smile slip out on its own.
Ever since she'd entered the classroom, she'd been staring blankly at me with sleepy eyes. She must have forced herself to finish work early for our plans today and was exhausted because of it.
When I gave a little wave, Luna — still staring blankly — came scampering over like a little kid… and instead of sitting in her own chair beside mine, she hopped right up onto my lap.
A bright grapefruit scent I'd never caught on her before washed over me. Her body, startlingly light, settled onto mine, and my chest started fluttering wildly.
Picture it. A cute little puppy, all cleaned up differently from usual, blinking sleepy eyes at you from the doorway — you wave, and it comes bouncing over and nestles right into your arms.
Wasn't this lethal cuteness Luna's true terror?
If I hadn't already been tempered by all kinds of beautiful girls, my heart would have stopped or exploded and killed me for sure. And then she climbed onto my legs like a little princess and looked up at me with that vacant expression….
Ah… even I was starting to feel a strain on my heart….
I liked her so much I felt like I might cough up blood.
While I was groaning under the weight of Luna's cuteness, I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere and looked toward the hallway she'd come from. Behind the door stood Rina, staring at me with golden eyes just a shade lighter than Luna's.
She kept sending some unreadable look my way for a few more seconds, then shut the door with a sharp tak! and vanished.
"Haha…."
I gave a slightly awkward laugh and turned back — only to find Luna already asleep.
She looked tired, so I'd just let her sleep like this. I'd gotten stronger training with Cecilia, so holding someone as light as Luna for a while was no problem at all.
…Absolutely, positively not because I wanted to hold her!
It was just that she smelled nice, and the light weight and soft feel of her on my legs felt good. That I could stroke her soft hair or nuzzle my face against her squishy cheeks. That nobody was looking this way anyway, so I could freely touch her all over while she slept.
It was definitely not because of any of that! I was only holding her so that tired Luna could sleep a little more comfortably!
…First, she looked warm, so I'd loosen that cute bow tie a little like always… and ease the jacket back just a bit….
I was only doing it because she looked hot. Not a speck of ulterior motive.
I'd done the motion so many times that I could manage it easily with one hand. I always had to keep one arm supporting her back, so the other hand had to do all the work.
I saw Cecilia give a little shudder from the teacher's desk, but I decided to ignore it.
I gently stroked the cheek of the soundly sleeping Luna. Once she was out, she almost never woke up — so I just had to put everything back the way it was before she got up.