Holding hands with Itsuki, Yoshida arrived at the apartment building where the Nakano family lived. Standing in front of it, he looked up at its height once more.
"It's so tall. The very top floor is where Rena-san and the others live now..."
Seeing it like this drove home the difference between their worlds. He could feel just how incredible Rena's husband must be, and a wave of inferiority washed over him.
"Onii-chan, aren't we going?"
Itsuki, noticing he'd stopped, spoke to him with a puzzled look.
"Ah... No, I was just thinking again how tall it is. Everyone must be happy, living in such a nice place..."
As he spoke like that, Itsuki suddenly hugged him tightly.
"Wh... what's wrong, Itsuki?"
"I'd be fine living in your apartment as long as I'm with you, Onii-chan. I think the two of us could make a warm home there. The location doesn't matter at all."
"I see... Thanks, Itsuki. Mmm..."
"Kiss... slurrp..."
Yoshida gave her a grateful kiss for her kindness, and Itsuki accepted it.
Afterwards, they took the elevator to the top floor, and Itsuki opened the front door.
"Here, come on in♪."
"Alright, thanks for having me..."
'Whoa...! Just the entrance hall is enough to tell how huge this place is. So this is where Rena-san and the others live...'
As he was admiring it...
Pat pat pat pat...
"Hiro-nii!"
"Hirokazu Onii-chan!"
"We missed you so muuuch~♪."
From further inside, Ichika and Nino came running and hugged Yoshida.
"W-whoa, careful there?"
"Hmph! It's because you haven't been paying attention to me!"
Ichika, who complained like that, had cut her hair short into a bob.
"That's right! We've been so lonely!"
Nino, who also complained, hadn't changed her hair length but had cut her bangs short and wore two black ribbons tied like butterflies on either side of her head.
She had also started calling him 'Hiro-nii' a while back.
"Well, I've been busy, but you guys have also been busy with friends and part-time jobs, right?"
"That won't do, Hirokazu Onii-chan~!! You have to work around a girl's schedule~!!"
"That's right!! Ahh... this feeling, it's been a while."
While complaining, the two hugged him proactively, pressing their chests against him, which was a problem.
"Muuu... You're both bothering Onii-chan. You should let go soon!"
"Ehhh~... Onii-chan, you don't like us hugging you?"
When Itsuki, looking like she'd reached her limit, told Ichika and Nino to let go, Ichika looked up at him with teary, puppy-dog eyes.
'Way too obvious...'
"N-no, it's not a bother or anything..."
"See♪ I knew Hiro-nii loved us the most♪."
"Ugh! Onii-chan!"
Just as Itsuki complained about him not refusing, Rena appeared from further inside.
"Honestly... what are you all doing in the entrance? Let go of him now. You're making it so Hirokazu-san can't move."
"Yesss~!!"
With Rena's single remark, Ichika and Nino released him.
"Sorry, causing trouble right after arriving..."
"N-no, it's not that I mind them liking me."
"Hehehe... Please don't spoil those girls too much. Now, please come in."
Urged by Rena, he stepped forward into the living room.
'Incredible! How is it this big! Huh!? There are stairs inside the apartment!? Wow! That TV is easily more than twice the size of mine!'
Overwhelmed by the sheer luxury of the place, Yoshida felt a soft impact as someone hugged him from behind.
"Hehehe... Welcome, Onii-chan~!!"
"Miku... I'll be in your care starting today."
"Yeah..."
Patting the head of Miku, who was hugging him, he remembered the reason he'd come today.
After he and Itsuki had overslept, he'd contacted Rena by phone, and she had suggested he stay at the Nakano house starting today. Apparently, it was a combination of her husband being away on a long business trip and the quintuplets wanting to see him.
"Booo... Isn't there a difference in how you treat Miku compared to us?"
"That's right! You didn't pat our heads!"
'That's what you're focused on? Sigh... Fine.'
Yoshida gently separated from Miku and approached Ichika and Nino, patting their heads.
"I'll be in your care too, you two."
"Ehehe..."
The two of them then showed satisfied expressions.
Thud thud thud thud...
Hasty footsteps approached from inside.
"Is it true Hirokazu Onii-chan is here!? Ah, it is Onii-chaaan!!!"
And then, she immediately hugged him from behind, clinging to his back.
While the feeling of her chest pressing against him was the same as with Ichika and Nino, it felt somehow... more raw.
"Yotsuba! What indecent attire! Put on some clothes... I mean, at least some underwear!"
'Gaaaah! So Yotsuba is hugging me while naked!?'
"Ehhh~... It's fine if it's Onii-chan seeing me~..."
"That's not the point! Go get dressed this instant!"
"Yesss~!"
Scolded by Rena, Yotsuba detached herself from him and left.
Incidentally, Yotsuba was the only one whose hairstyle and ribbon accessories hadn't changed since elementary school.
So, it felt like the girl from back then had just... grown up considerably.
"Now, let's have dinner. Everyone, take your seats."
"Yesss, hey hey Hiro-nii, can I sit next to you?"
"Hmm? Sure, I don't mind."
"Yay♪"
"Ah! That's not fair, Nino! I want to sit next to Onii-chan, too!"
"Ehhh, Itsuki-chan, you were with Onii-chan until just now, right? You should yield to your older sisters here."
"Muuuuuuuu..."
Itsuki wore a face that wanted to complain, but since it was true, she gave in.
In the end, Nino sat on his left. Ichika on his right. Miku across from him. Yotsuba diagonally to the left. Itsuki diagonally to the right. And Rena sat near Itsuki and Ichika, settling the arrangement.
"Now then, let's eat."
"Let's eat!"
At Rena's signal, everyone gave thanks, and dinner began. Tonight's dinner was beef stew.
"How is it? Does it suit your taste, Hirokazu-san?"
"Yes! It's very delicious. You're still as skilled at cooking as ever."
When Yoshida praised the food, Rena began to chuckle.
"Nino made tonight's dinner."
"Eh! Really, Nino?"
When Yoshida confirmed with Nino on his left, she nodded shyly.
"That's amazing! Well done."
Praising her and patting her head, she happily leaned her head towards him.
"This means I can be Hiro-nii's bride anytime now, right?"
"Ahaha..."
Nino made that declaration with a bright smile. Any normal guy would probably be hugging her with joy, but making such a statement here would...
"Wrong! I'm going to be Onii-chan's bride!"
Itsuki was the first to object.
"Ehhh~, Onii-chan is going to make me his bride, right?"
Then, Ichika, on his right, entwined her arm with his and said with an upward glance.
"Wrong...! I'm going to be Onii-chan's bride...!"
Even Miku, across from him, joined the objection. It was the usual pattern.
"Ugh... here we go again..."
Yotsuba, who supposedly had a boy she liked, didn't participate in this debate. Though she did act sweet when they were alone, so who knows what she really thought.
Clap clap...
"We are eating! Eat quietly!"
"Yes..."
Under Rena's sharp glare, the four fell silent and resumed eating.
"Honestly... I'm so sorry, truly..."
"No, it's a blessing for any man. Ahaha..."
For Yoshida, who truly loved Rena, it was a troublesome problem...
And so, the rest of dinner passed without incident, and he was offered the use of the bath.
"Towels are in the changing room, please use whichever you like."
"Thank you very much."
Just as he was about to head to the bath, Ichika raised her hand and made a declaration.
"Yes! I want to take a bath with Onii-chan!"
Haaaaaah!?
"Then I want in too!"
"M-me too...!"
"I want that too!"
"Yotsuba, you already bathed earlier! This is my turn!"
"Sigh... You girls never learn, do you?"
A so-called discussion among the quintuplets, which was really a declaration contest, began.
"First of all, the option of me bathing alone is..."
"DENIED!!"
They're perfectly in sync on that, huh...
"Haaaah... Having all five of you at once is out of the question, and yet the flow has made it impossible for Hirokazu-san to go alone. Very well. Decide it with rock-paper-scissors."
'Rena-san, you could oppose this a little more, you know?'
And so, under Rena's instruction, the five decided who would enter with Yoshida via rock-paper-scissors.
...
Read early at ko-fi.com/ereh_kun with pictures.
Advanced 8 chapters available at: https://ko-fi.com/ereh_kun