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With the nonsensical photoshoot finished, we headed to Kotori’s room. She was reluctant to show it, but due to the Shimotsuki sisters’ insistence, she gave in. Meanwhile, I’m mentally and spiritually exhausted.

“I feel like I really lost a lot today.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“It can’t be helped, Sister Kotone. After all, you were undoubtedly the main star of the photoshoot.”
“Recalling it is making my nose bleed.”

Kotori really bled a lot back then. The cause was naturally me. I mean, I was wearing that s̲l̲u̲t̲t̲y outfit. I was so worried about my breasts spilling out, I couldn’t walk straight. I was so preoccupied finding anything or anyone to hide behind during the photoshoot.

“Who could have imagined that you’d stumble when leaving the stage and show a nip slip.”
“Don’t make me remember.”

I don’t know if it was a fitting problem or if it was made to do that. Moreover, the photo team took pictures of that exact moment. Before I could negotiate to delete it, we got too busy taking care of Kotori’s nosebleed.

“This is my room.”

As Kotori opened the door, the three of us first took a peek inside. It’s because there might be some weird things inside. Other than the adorable interior and trinkets, there’s nothing particularly strange about it. There is one thing that caught my attention, though.

“It’s surprisingly normal. If you ignore this.”
“Honestly, it falls short of our expectations in a good way. If you ignore this.”
“I agree with that. If you just ignore this plushie.”

There is what’s undoubtedly a super deformed cutesy plushie of me sitting beside her bed. I don’t think Kotori made it herself, so it’s likely order made. It’s so well-made, even I can tell it’s supposed to be me.

“Kotone, I have a request. Please sit here and hug this plushie!”
“Like this?”

It’s not that big of a favour, so I took the plushie from her hands, held it close to my chest, and sat down on the floor. After that, Kotori acted fast. She aimed her smartphone’s camera and started taking pictures of me from various different angles.

“Double Kotone, huh. Hm, she’s wearing a better expression than earlier.”
“She’s just staring absentmindedly, sis.”
“Kotone looks best when acting naturally after all.”

This doesn’t really embarrass me, after all. Examining the plushie in my arms, I don’t see much wear and tear. It tells me that she takes really good care of it, but why did she even have this made?

“Well then, let’s look over the pictures we took.”
“I was told that the photo data has been transferred to this tablet.”

The tablet in Rin’s hand has the data of the pictures the servants took saved in it. This was given to us so we can check the photos and transfer the images to our smartphones if necessary. It’s already getting late, so I really want to end this quickly.

“The smartphone I have is a borrowed one, so I guess I don’t need the data.”
“I’ll send everything to Kotone’s phone later.”

They took a lot of photos, so I’m sure there’s a lot to transfer. Aya also told me that she’ll give me a disc with the safe to share portions of yesterday’s concert footage at a later time. A full coverage of that concert would definitely sell for a premium price.

“Well then, first up is the problem outfit. If this was worn during the school festival, the disciplinary committee would have flown to the scene.”
“Would have been closed down immediately.”
“Absolutely no one would have worn it.”

Had we served customers in that attire, there would have definitely been trouble. It wouldn’t be just a small blunder. If we were forced to wear it, the person who suggested it would have been beaten up by the whole class. I’d be the one inciting them, though.

“Thanks to Kotone, we got some good testing results.”
“I completely felt like some sacrificial lamb. In a sense, I guess it showed how comfortable I am with this group.”
“There’s one who took critical damage, though.”

Recalling that moment, Kotori is blocking her nose. That was the very last part, too. The image shows the four of us wearing the same outfit. The Fumidzuki family servants made adjustments on the clothes. Seriously, what the hell are those people?

“It was really amazing how they managed to readjust the outfit for each of us so quickly.”
“They even managed to keep it well-balanced for everyone. I guess that’s what you call a veteran’s craft.”
“They’re elites even among the elite.”

Is that really a necessary skill for a servant? I feel like it’s just a display of how willing they are to meet any and every one of Kotori’s wishes. The father was weird enough, but these servants seem to have Kotori as the centre of their world, as well.

“Kotone keeps hiding behind me.”
“I can’t help it, it’s embarrassing to wear.”
“Looking at it again, Sister Kotone’s outfit is unbelievable. If I was a man, seeing it would probably feel like being clubbed in the head.”
“I absolutely won’t allow men to see this!”

Rather, I would have never changed if there was a man. Going full stupid was still fine and all, but who could have expected that sort of trouble to occur? Like anyone would expect their breasts to spill out of their own clothes.

“Rin and Kotori lean mainly on ‘cute’ rather than ‘sexy’. Kotone definitely feels like the sexiest among us, but I didn’t expect her embarrassment to give her cute points as well.”
“An outstanding talent indeed.”
“Stop explaining with so much detail. You’re embarrassing me.”

As I embraced the plushie tighter, Kotori’s picture-taking got even faster. Is this kid really alright? The grins on the Shimotsuki sisters faces is slightly pissing me off.

“What?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking of how adorable you were.”
“I was thinking about how precious these opportunities are.”
“Opportunities?”
“You and I have the freedom to do as we want, but the others who are duty-bound like Rin and Kotori can’t really play and mess around this much.”
“I learned from sis to not judge people by their appearance, but I didn’t realize the others had their own quirks as well.”

I know from Kotone that people can have two faces. I even know people like that from my old acquaintances. However, that doesn’t mean that other people would know about it as well. In the end, it all depends on how much time you spend with other people.

“Aya and I are a bit special, but it’s true that everyone has their different quirks.”
“People who are full of quirks like Kotone are amazing. I don’t believe we’ve seen everything you have to offer, though.”
“A lady shines brighter when she has some secrets. With sis, things only get more troublesome when she’s exposed.”

With all my secrets, do I really shine brightly? If I were to pass my current relations onto Kotone, there’s still a lot of things to resolve. She’ll need the courage to go and ride the flow, but I’m sure she wouldn’t like that. The sudden headache I’m feeling is probably Kotone showing a negative response.

“Playing around, deepening friendships; I just want to provide you with these normal student experiences while I’m still around.”
“Is that your way of atoning as my sister?”
“It isn’t. Simply offering what should be the norm shouldn’t have to be one.”

That’s true. Still, I’m sure part of it is pure simple concern for her little sister. Perhaps Aya is worried that her caring little sister Rin can’t have many normal student experiences. Still, that doesn’t excuse you constantly messing around.

“Sis. If you really think that way, then could you please act a bit more behaved?”
“Ahaha, not possible.”
“This sister of mine…”

I wonder how long the Shimotsuki sisters have been like this? I’m sure they hang out with their own friends, but they spend a lot more time being with each other. Perhaps it’s how they forged an unbreakable bond. Tempered mostly by the younger one overcoming many hardships.

“Rin, I feel for you.”
“I’m really glad that we still have the ultimate weapon Ms. Kaoru on our side.”

Aya and Kishita’s relationship is, in rogue’s den terms, similar to that of Ayaka and Ran. A friendship where one manages the other with an occasional sigh. As long as both of them enjoy it, there’s no need to worry about their relationship fracturing.

“I really should’ve strung Kaoru along for this.”
“True, I would’ve loved to see Kishita wearing gothic lolita fashion.”
“Sister Kotone. Ms. Kaoru will definitely hold a grudge for that.”

Though I know that, I really want to see it. Calm and understated clothing suits Kishita the best. Because of that, I want to see her in clothes that probably won’t suit her. We’re just having fun and messing around, so I obviously have to go for the funny choice.

“It would definitely come back to bite you, Sister Kotone.”
“We’ll both get mental damage, so it’s a fair share of pain. Unlike this senior over here who’s unfazed, so I just eat all the damage.”
“No no, this was genuinely embarrassing for me, too.”

Incidentally, the servants reacted so strongly when Kotori changed into a gothic lolita outfit. There were all those blinding flashes and some of them even fainted. I was there next to her looking like a soulless corpse, though.

“Looking at it again, it really doesn’t suit me. Kotori looks absolutely cute though.”
“You’re so tall, it makes you look like a doll. And Kotori is just indescribably adorable.”
“Yeah, uncontestable.”
“Ehehe~”

The bashful laugh is nice and all, but could you stop taking pictures with your phone already?