Chapter 90 - Magical Words
Chapter 90 - Magical Words
...
Some minutes ago.
While Carene was waiting for Celesta's decision regarding the riding arrangement matter, Jorah pulled Celesta away and stealthily spoke to her,
"Hey, hey Big Sis. Things haven't been going so well between you and Big Sister Carene, right?"
Celesta stared at her younger sister in shock as she flinched greatly and asked,
"W-What?! How could you say that, Jorah? We... are both in a dating relationship, you know?"
Jorah didn't look too impressed with Celesta's attempts at her own defense, as she directly enquired,
"Then, why don't the two of you act lovey-dovey at all? I tell you, Big Sis. Please be more aggressive! Otherwise, some other woman might steal Big Sister Carene away from you~!"
The high tension exuded by the younger girl's voice began to affect Celesta as a dreadful vision of her own sad fate flashed within her mind.
"I-Is that so..? No, that surely won't happen. Definitely. But, still... what am I supposed to do?"
Seeing how unsure her older sister was, Jorah knew that she had correctly judged the state of the two's relationship as she quickly replied,
"Hehe. Leave it all to your little sister here. The first thing we have to do is to raise your confidence, Big Sis!"
Upon hearing Jorah say that, Celesta tilted her head in confusion as she asked with an unsure tone,
"Confidence? But, I don't think that I lack in that anyway?"
Jorah didn't fall back from the look given by her sister, as she directly pointed her finger at Celesta and spoke full of confidence,
"That's where you were wrong, Big Sis! Your approach towards love is too passive already! Even as an outsider and a spectator, I feel too ashamed to see you two still acting so shy around each other. Heck, I haven't even seen you two kiss each other yet!"
That was what Jorah had found so strange about them. Although she was in an all-girls school, she still knew a thing or two about the adult world.
Especially in regards to dating and relationships which were the hottest topic of discussion amongst young girls.
Often she had seen and heard of how within a week of the start of a relationship, a couple ends up kissing each other, whereas things end up going all the way by the end of the month after a period of proper courting.
However with her own dearest fellows, it had been two months, and yet she hadn't even seen them holding hands, not to mention kissing and the more advanced stuff.
Being a younger sister, Jorah knew how shy Celesta was towards these matters. Hence before it started to affect their relationship in a negative way, Jorah decided to provide a helping hand with her own free love consultation service.
"Jorah! No swearing, alright? A lady must always mind her manners."
Unfortunately for the worrying little sister, her elder sister was more interested in bringing up an upright and capable younger sister than in her own love affairs.
Seeing that for herself, Jorah felt like slapping her own forehead in agony, yet knowing the critical state of things, she acted more responsibly and tactfully apologized to her sulking elder sister.
"Uh... sorry, Big Sis. I got a little carried away. But! You must listen to me on this matter. Raise your confidence, Big Sis. And for that, you have to hear how much Big Sister Carene likes you~!"
Getting a topic like that out of nowhere, Celesta became absolutely stunned as her eyes opened wide, while her mouth kept on trembling as she tried to fully decipher the intent of her younger sister.
"W-What?!! What are you saying, Jorah? Carene... s-she is too shy already. And... our relationship isn't like what you imagine it to be..."
Only Celesta knew how she had been secretly beating herself up for lying about her own self to her dear family members. And on top of that, with how awkward things had become with Carene and her fake relationship, she was totally clueless on how to solve things and head them in a new direction.
Thankfully for her though, she had a priceless existence called a younger sister to help her sail through such difficulties.
"Hm Hm! That's what I was talking about! That's your lack of confidence, Big Sis. Leave the confession part to your adorable and cute little sister. Just remember, you have to keep riding your bicycle behind us all the time. And when I give you a signal, stealthily move closer to us. I will let you hear Big Sister Carene's thoughts directly from her mouth!"
Hearing how confident Jorah was regarding her claims, Celesta became half doubtful yet half hopeful as she too hoped for that to be true. However, she knew that she had yet not taken any concrete actions to win Carene's affection and worried about accidentally pushing Carene even further away.
She dreaded what happened when she disappeared the last time and certainly didn't want a repeat of such an incident ever again.
"A-Are you serious, Jorah? Carene... would she, really..?"
Still, the half-hopeful thoughts along with her trust in Jorah made Celesta look forward to what her younger sister had planned.
Seeing how her elder sister had taken the bait, Jorah smiled cheerfully as she raised a thumbs up towards her and confidently replied,
"Ehehe, believe in your little sister's womanly intuition!"
Struggling with her own emotions, Celesta decided to first see what Jorah had planned to do, while secretly preparing herself to intervene if things somehow went too far.
"O-Okay..."
...
"I... have actually liked her since we were kids. And, that likeness has only grown stronger since then. By now... if there is someone I am most afraid of losing in my life, then that would be Celesta..."
Carene... she... she really..?!!!
"Then, you like Big Sister Celesta so much that you cannot imagine living without her? You wish to stay by her side forever?"
"Ah... y-yes, but, don't tell your eldest sister I spoke all this, alright?! Promise me, Jorah."
Aaaaaahhhhhh!!! Carene, MY Carene really, REALLY likes ME!!!
Dying... I am dying of happiness already~~!!
Kyaaaaaaaa~~~!!!! W-What do I do? What should I do?!!
Here I was thinking that Carene just wasn't interested in me that way. And that I had forcefully bound her to me with our fake relationship.
BUT!! Carene really likes me~~??
Oh, GOD! Please wake me up if this is just a dream. I never imagined this could really happen to me in reality too!
Carene... my Carene...
...
It took some time for Jorah and me to locate Celesta as she had suddenly pedaled away too fast for us to be able to react on time.
I really wondered which animal was it that was able to terrify even someone like Celesta so badly. Still, it won't be so good to refresh her bad memories, hence I decided not to ask her about it.
Unlike me though, Jorah didn't seem that worried at all. Actually, there was a weird smile spread across her face that looked vaguely disturbing, making me wonder the reason for that weird meaningful look.
Celesta was so shaken up that she wasn't even willing to talk to me and Jorah was the one who had to talk to her for a long while before Celesta became somewhat normal again.
"Y-You are really fine now, right? You sure you weren't injured by the fall?"
"N-N-No, I-I am fine... r-really."
Celesta flinched a bit as I approached her. Even her response seemed a bit off, but I couldn't really blame her for becoming frightened now, could I?
"I see..."
Jorah suddenly jumped in to squeeze between the two of us as she put her hands on her waist and angrily spoke to us,
"Hmph~! Why are you two having such dull and boring conversations? Big Sister Carene, make my Elder Sister smile! Make her happy! That's your responsibility, alright~?"
Ah! Jorah... she is surely talking about the thing from before. Although she is not saying it directly as promised, it still makes me somewhat nervous as now someone other than me knows my true feelings as well.
"E-Eh..? Then... um, I wonder how Isla... no, Aunt Isla is doing nowadays. Her health de-stabilized just recently and she has gone back to pulling all-nighters again."
Celesta's scarlet red face began to turn back to a healthy rosy complexion again as I turned our topic to Isla. Since Celesta had been worried about Isla too, she too became very interested in the conversation and replied cheerfully,
"Actually, her absence at her day work created big trouble and she has been busy sorting that out. She had quit the night job already. She told me that she would soon have a lighter work schedule. Actually, her boss has even proposed a vacation to her with all expenses paid by the company."
Eh? So, Isla was actually that amazing at work? How surprising, considering her usual sloppy behavior... along with her lustful antics in bed. She really is a complete woman all around.
How I wish I could have her become a woman completely exclusive to me...
Well, I do desire Celesta as my eventual partner, but I can't really start to ignore my lustful heart toward either Isla or Sis Lin. Although I hardly could bear to ignore others, these two are very dear to me in all aspects, even if they somewhat pale in comparison to Celesta's position within my heart.
While dealing with such complex emotions, I tried my best to act normal as I replied to Celesta,
"Oh..! That's amazing... She usually acts so casually that I often forget that she has been a hard-working member of this society for years now... She must be awesome at her work."
Hearing her mother being praised, Celesta became extremely happy as she shyly covered her cheeks and spoke with delight,
"Hehehe, she sure is. Hmm... I wonder where she would choose to go for the vacation. I-I personally prefer the mountains..."
Eh? Wait, what did she just say??
"M-Mountains?? Why?"
Celesta didn't seem to have found anything strange as she replied back with full enthusiasm,
"That... going trekking with the whole family... is a small dream of mine..."
Celesta, I don't know about you, but I don't think anyone else would find such a strenuous activity enjoyable for a vacation. Most of them might actually collapse midway on the journey itself.
"O-Oh... What about Jorah?"
Being suddenly turned from a listener to an active participant in our conversation, Jorah looked a little surprised before her eyes turned to look somewhere far away.
"Mnnn... I am fine with anything, but... I would love to see the Ocean once again."
Ocean, huh? Now that's a good spot to visit. Beach, bikinis, seafood... all good stuff indeed.
"Oh? You have been somewhere like that before?"
Jorah's voice lost a lot of her vigor as she replied dispiritedly,
"Yes, with Father... we had..."
Oh no... how careless of me. I shouldn't have...
"Ah, s-sorry. I didn't mean to..."
Hearing me about to apologize further, Jorah turned to look back at us as she shook her head softly and spoke to me,
"No, it's fine. I am here now with both Big Sis and Big Sister Carene. I... am already happy..."
Seeing Jorah's lonely figure, Celesta wordlessly stood up brought Jorah close to herself, and gave her a strong hug. Jorah's small figure quivered for a little while before she recovered her vibe and declared.
"Mnnh unh! Spend more time with Big Sister Carene right now, Big Sis! It's your... *whisper*..."
Although I couldn't hear what Jorah spoke to Celesta at the end, from Celesta's reaction, it didn't seem to be a bad thing.
I never wanted to intrude into their privacy anyway. As long as they are both happy, I'm good too.
"Ah... no, you naughty girl. Haven't you messed around too much for today? Although I am thankful for your help, but... I am not comfortable doing anything more today."
Wait, did she say something naughty? Now I kind of wanna know about it too...
"Oh~~, so... you plan to take your own time, huh? Slow and steady... hmmm. Okay then, but if you need my help... Jorah is always ready to support~!"
Celesta smiled happily as she patted Jorah's head lovingly and spoke with a voice filled to the brim with sweetness.
"Hehe, thanks... little sis."
Seeing Jorah like that, I was somehow reminded of a similarly lonely girl, Nihara. Although she would have been discharged by now, I think she still needs help and support to be able to come out of her addictions.
I wonder if I could invite Nihara to Isla's future vacation. Although, I am sure most of them would reject my thoughts outright... but I just want to do something for that poor girl.
...
A/N: Anyone here likes Summer?