'Go on a date with me?'
Kaito smiled slightly.
He didn't take it seriously, only assumed it was the childish words of a little kid. After all, with Mortis not even a full month old, she truly was an immature child.
"Dating is something that only people of the opposite sex who like each other can do. Mortis, do you understand?"
Mortis shook her head very innocently, looking at him with a face full of confusion.
"But, I'm a girl, and Onii-chan is a boy. I really like Onii-chan too… Could it be that Onii-chan doesn't like me?"
"Of the opposite sex who like each other", since the condition of "opposite sex", was already met, then the problem could only lie in the, "like each other" part.
A girl's face is like the rainy season in late spring, changing at a moment's notice.
Though Mortis was just a newborn baby, she instinctively knew this skill without a teacher. Her small mouth quivered, and tears started welling up, giving off a vibe like "if you say you don't like me, I'll cry right now."
"Of course I really like Mortis. I also really like Mutsumi. But this kind of like is different from the like between the opposite sex," Kaito cleared his throat. Explaining knowledge about relationships between the sexes to a daughter going through puberty might be every father's greatest headache.
Normally, this kind of job was done by the mother, but currently, in this home, there was clearly no female figure suitable to serve as a "mother." He couldn't possibly ask Mori Minami, right?
Even if he truly had that idea, it wouldn't be timely. Being a famous actress, she was often flying all over the world, and there was no guarantee she was even in Japan right now.
"What's different about it?", Mortis tilted her head, half-kneeling on the sofa, her small body leaning forward slightly, showing a look of thirst for knowledge like an eager student.
"The like between the opposite sex has many characteristics. For example. Seeing them makes you feel happy, you work hard to make them happy, you don't want to see them get hurt, and most importantly, you want to be with them forever."
Kaito's view of love was relatively simple and basically aligned with the general public's definition of "liking" as a feeling.
"So… does Onii-chan feel unhappy when looking at me?", Mortis looked a bit disappointed, like a frostbitten little egg.
"…Of course not."
"Then that means you feel happy, right?"
The little girl who just looked completely disheartened suddenly lifted her head, her bright golden eyes practically glowing.
Kaito was silent for two seconds but still subtly nodded.
"Yes."
Mortis pushed her advantage, "Then, after looking at me, does Onii-chan want to make me happy? Would you want me to get hurt?"
These two questions were clearly answered, he couldn't possibly say, "No," or "I would."
Moreover, deep down, he truly did wish for Mortis and Mutsumi to be happy every day and was willing to protect them from the harms of the outside world.
"Then… here comes the last question!"
The light in Mortis's pupils grew even brighter. She held up two slender pale index fingers, crossing them at her chest, and said very seriously, "Onii-chan, will you get tired of me in the future and plan to leave me?"
This was a very tactful question, containing a bit of the girl's small scheming.
She didn't ask, "Does Onii-chan want to be with me forever?" but rather, "Will you get tired of me?"
Facing those bright sparkling eyes, the slender and graceful girl resembled a tsundere matcha-colored Scottish Fold cat. One that wouldn't let others touch her even when tempted with a dried fish snack, but only showed her soft, white belly to you.
Who could possibly answer "get tired of you" to that?
This time, Kaito's silence lasted even longer, seemingly long enough for white hair to grow.
But Mortis showed no impatience at all. Just looked at him with wide eyes, waiting expectantly for an answer.
For some reason, Little Mutsumi didn't try to stop it like she usually would, only quietly sat to the side, head lowered, making her expression unreadable.
After a long silence, Kaito gently shook his head, "If you and Little Mutsumi are willing… you can stay here forever."
He didn't like to lie, especially not to the ones closest to him.
"So, Onii-chan really still likes me… mm, and Little Mutsumi too, right?", The girl in the green dinosaur pajamas finally showed a big smile. The tail behind her swayed with her movements, making people want to grab it.
But her words left Kaito speechless.
'Is that right?'
He had a vague feeling he had been pulled into a trap, but due to his poor way with words, he didn't know how to explain.
Being bad with words was his greatest weakness, though not exactly a flaw.
If it were an outsider, he could easily take a "I can't be bothered to explain to you; you're not worth it" attitude and use his iron fist to correct any mismatched views, achieving cognitive agreement. That method always worked without fail.
But with close ones, it was hard to apply Newtonian mechanics.
In his past three lifetimes, the people he was close to were pitifully few. In his last life, he could count them on one hand.
Only his master would often use this weakness to trick him into signing unfair contracts.
For example, making him wash her feet, and even calling it "a disciple showing filial piety."
Clearly that old lady was already beyond the dust of the world, and her bare feet would still be food-safe even without wearing shoes.
In the end, it was probably just to mess with him.
Mortis, just like that master, gave Kaito a rare feeling of headache.
And just then, the usually-observing-on-the-side Mutsumi finally looked up, gently biting her cherry-pink lip, eyes filled with hope.
"Onii-chan… is that really true?"
"It is true, but… forget it," He sighed and gave up explaining in the end.
In the end, it was just a little girl using an excuse to act spoiled with her brother, why be so serious?
"Yay!", Mortis cheered and tightly hugged his arm, her big eyes sparkling like stars, "Date! Date! Date!"
Wakaba Mutsumi hesitated, then hugged his other arm and softly said, "I want… to go out and play with Onii-chan too."
Once you give in, the world opens up.
Besides, ever since he started dating three girlfriends, the attention he gave his younger sisters had definitely been spread thinner. Spending time with them was only right.
Kaito nodded, "Alright. Any place you want to go?"
"Amusement park!"
"Aquarium!"
The two voices rang out at the same time, but their content couldn't have been more different.
Mortis was stunned for a moment, but then widened her eyes, "Mutsumi, what are you talking about?"
'It's such a rare chance. Shouldn't we go ride the Ferris wheel together with Onii-chan?'
'We can have ten full minutes of private time at the top, and ten minutes is enough for a girl to move even a giant tortoise to tears.'
'Compared to that, what fun was there in an aquarium?'
'Watch a sea lion slap its belly? Or see an orca spray water?'
'Surely not just to watch penguins pick up rocks, right?'
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