My Stepmom is Too Pretty, and It’s Troubling Me – Chapter 122

I had originally planned to bring Rize along this weekend, but since she declined, I ended up going to the meeting by myself.

It’s unfortunate that Rize and I haven’t played together lately, but if she says she doesn’t want to go, there’s nothing I can do about it.

Because of that, I decided to take Rize out somewhere just the two of us next time.

“I wonder when they’ll arrive…”

I got to the fountain on campus ten minutes before our meeting time, but the Roseaki Sisters were nowhere in sight.

“Hmm…”

I decided to just sit at the fountain and wait for now.

The weather was warm, and the scenery on campus was quite nice, so it wasn’t hard to waste some time sitting there.

Since coming to the Academy, I had often spent time just exploring the campus like this.

So, I just sat there, resting my chin on my hand and watching people go by.

Maybe I seemed strange sitting alone at the fountain because there were some passersby who glanced at me, but I didn’t really mind.

“……..”

I was dressed normally and wasn’t doing anything weird, so I didn’t understand why I was getting so many looks.

Is it strange to sit alone at a fountain on the weekend?

“Camellia…!”

“Did you come?”

“Did you wait long…?”

“I just arrived a moment ago. Hello, Grace.”

“…Hey.”

Anyway, after about ten minutes of waiting, the Roseaki Sisters finally arrived at the fountain.

Grace looked pretty much the same as always, but for some reason, Karen had her hair tied up today.

“Karen, it’s been a while since you wore your hair up.”

“Oh, ah! Grace suggested it before we went out… so I tried tying it up.”

“It really suits you.”

“Really…? Really?!”

“Yeah, Grace made a good suggestion.”

I just gave her a pure compliment. Karen looked a bit more outgoing than usual with her hair tied up.

Of course, her signature long bangs were still there, but tying her hair back made her look less stifled, which I thought was nice.

“Hmm… you and Grace have the same hairstyle today?”

“Is that so…? I have long bangs, so I don’t think it looks that similar…”

“Oh come on, this is definitely close enough.”

“I guess it is…”

Looking at Grace’s expression right now, I figured she had planned this all along.

Normally, Karen’s hair was a bit messy, always covering one eye… but Grace had just tied hers back.

It’s not like Karen, who had never cared much about her appearance, would suddenly want to tie her hair up without Grace suggesting it.

Honestly, the way Karen looked now… felt a bit like a couple’s hairstyle, which might have been Grace’s plan.

“Shall we get going? Sitting here and wasting time isn’t great.”

In the end, everyone gathered at the appointed time, so we decided to set off right away.

We already had a few places planned to visit aside from the Room Cafe. Although, most were cafes or something similar?

*

“Grace…! Look at this! Isn’t it super cute…?”

“Yeah, it’s really cute. Should we get a pet rabbit after we graduate?”

“Should we…?”

“Honestly, I want to keep other animals too, and it might be nice to take care of them together after we graduate, right?”

“If our parents allow it… it should be fine…?”

I was just sitting on a chair, watching those two.

This wasn’t really a place to do much anyway, and guests had very limited things to do.

-Peep!

“…It is cute, I’ll give it that.”

A rabbit hopped up onto my lap.

I think it was the first time I’d been to a rabbit cafe, but I was quite enjoying this.

Of course, it wouldn’t be great for people with fur allergies or those who dislike animals.

“Hmm…”

-Peep peep!

Originally, I had only intended to write a report for a dessert cafe, but somehow, I ventured into various types and found myself in a place like this.

There were cats and such too, but a rabbit cafe felt pretty fresh and new, so I specifically chose this one.

Knowing that Karen really loved cute things played a huge part in why we came here.

In fact, even now…

“G-Grace! This one keeps coming closer!”

“Maybe it likes you?”

“R-Really…? Ahhh…”

She was clearly enjoying it.

I simply watched their reactions while petting the rabbit on my lap.

Though the three of us were here, one person clearly didn’t like me much, and even if it was me, I didn’t wish to be too harsh on Grace in front of Karen.

“Hmm… I think we should ensure better ventilation… Rabbits are cute, but compared to dogs or cats…”

Honestly, ever since I wrapped up my business before entering the Academy… I had completely stopped coming up with ideas or plans, so I often found myself bored.

Starting work related to that at ages eight or nine because of William, I’d been doing it for quite a while and had seen good results… but suddenly stopping was strange.

Was that the reason?

Even though it was just a club I formed to mess around, writing a report once a month was actually quite enjoyable.

Even now, just sitting quietly and noting down the pros and cons of the rabbit cafe was entertaining enough.

At the rabbit cafe, other than petting one rabbit occasionally, I was mainly just writing notes.

“Camellia, do you want to try petting this one…? Its fur is super soft…!”

“Should I?”

Of course, I wasn’t so into the notes to ignore Karen’s invitation to play.

The rabbit really did seem exceptionally cute.

Since I was sitting in a chair, I only had one on my lap, but there were so many gathered around Karen and Grace, who were sitting on the floor.

Especially around Karen, it seemed like four or five rabbits were continuously surrounding her.

Hmm… Was it that the rabbits found it amusing to see Karen shaking with fright at the size of the little animals?

Just a rabbit, a mere small creature, yet seeing her tremble made me think the rabbits were enjoying themselves as well.

“Grace.”

“…What?”

“There’s hay over there; could you share some with the ones next to you?”

I asked Grace, who was smiling next to Karen.

True, the hay I’d received upon entering had been given to me, but with just that one rabbit on my lap, it was hard to share.

“Since there are so many rabbits around Karen, would you help her out and share a bit?”

“…I’m only doing it because you asked.”

“Thanks a lot!”

Even though she huffed in irritation, it was nice that she did it.

Following my suggestion, I watched as Grace took the hay and distracted the attention of the rabbits gathered around Karen. I wondered if they thought they could get some hay by just sticking around her.

Hmm… No way would Karen feel looked down upon by such little creatures, right?

*

After spending a surprisingly enjoyable time at the rabbit cafe and wandering through several other cafes, we finally arrived at the Room Cafe.

After walking around all day, I was feeling a bit tired… and I’d planned to come here from the start.

“This is super comfortable…”

Karen relaxedly sat on the soft floor of the Room Cafe.

We had walked a lot, plus the floor was cushy, so I figured she’d be that way.

I chilled out too, enjoying a cool drink and sitting comfortably.

“It really is comfortable.”

“I think it’s the most comfortable out of all the places we’ve been to today… we can even lie down like this…?”

“That’s true. Other cafes definitely didn’t have the layouts for lying down comfortably.”

“Hehe…”

Room cafes really did have that soft floor vibe.

Not to mention the rooms were quite spacious, allowing all three of us to sit and lie without any trouble.

When I sold my business, I felt I did well by advising not to cut costs on room size.

“Hey, isn’t it a bit inappropriate to lie like that?”

“Huh?”

“Considering it’s still the floor? They might not have cleaned it… it could be dirty…”

“Ah, that can’t be true. The place said they magically tidy everything up, right? I don’t think you need to worry too much…!”

“No, but still…”

Grace looked at Karen with a worried expression.

Honestly, putting aside the fact that it was a floor, it seemed she didn’t like the idea of Karen lying down next to me.

“Do you need a blanket, sis? I heard there’s one in the cabinet, should I get it?”

“No…! I’m not really cold, so it’s fine!”

“Well, that’s good to know.”

I continued to relax on the floor with Karen, chatting while passing some time.

Though Grace was still sitting and glaring at me, I let it slide.

“Ah, sis, your hair looks really good today. How about tying it like this more often? You look super pretty.”

“R-Really?”

“Honestly, I think you should try tying it up sometimes.”

“Is that so…? I don’t do this often, so I’m not sure…”

“Hehe, that’s understandable.”

Karen usually hid one of her eyes with her bangs, which might have given her a gloomy impression.

With her hair tied up like today, I thought it might uplift her Academy life a bit.

After all… graduation was coming soon, and having no friends would be concerning for various reasons.

“You’re really pretty but keep hiding it with your hair. Just saying.”

“…Yeah.”

“I honestly think not tying your hair is cute as well.”

I said that while smiling.

Because truthfully, that look was adorable.

Karen’s timid, introverted, and quiet persona suited her hairstyle well, so I didn’t see it negatively.

Since I had gotten to know her face quite well since we met, wasn’t it true?

Compared to younger Grace, Karen had a softer impression overall, and while their figures were notably different, I personally found no flaws in Grace’s looks.

I thought it might be better if she showed off how pretty she was instead of hiding it… but I also found it somewhat preferable this way.

“Shall we go shopping with Ella next time? It feels like it’s been ages since we shopped together.”

“Should we…? Definitely… it feels like it’s been such a long time since we all went shopping… it sounds fun…!”

“Hehe, I’ll have to check with Ella next time.”

While I often hung out with Karen and Ella before, the frequency had shrunk since Karen started at the Academy.

It was good that during our time at the Academy, we could still hang out whenever we wanted.

“…Tch.”

Of course, Grace, who adored her older sister, was probably feeling jealous about me having this conversation with Karen.