Chapter 172: Hikigaya, Don't Tell Me You're a Siscon!
Annie sat on a chair in the hands-on cat area with her knees together. An orange cat lay sprawled across her lap while she gently stroked its adorable face with one finger.
For some reason, Annie herself possessed that same cool yet cute feline air, but cats rarely stayed interested in her for long.
Aside from occasionally rubbing against her calves, only this lazy orange cat seemed willing to remain still and let Annie pet it however she pleased.
Across from the cat section was the dog interaction area.
Luke pressed down on the head of a puppy Mikasa was holding, stopping it from repeatedly licking his hand.
Whoever said dogs were better behaved?
Absolute nonsense.
Luke looked down at the cluster of puppies surrounding his legs.
Some leaned against his pants, while others tugged at his shoes and trouser legs.
He wordlessly nudged the boundary-less little dogs away with his foot.
"You're as popular with animals as ever."
Mikasa easily restrained the puppy in her hands as it kept trying to lunge toward Luke, gently scratching its fur with her fingers.
"That's not necessarily a good thing. I'm going to have to wash my clothes again when we get home."
Still, the sensation of soft, fluffy little balls rolling around his feet was admittedly not bad.
"Should we buy one?" Mikasa asked.
"A dog?"
"Either is fine. Though Annie seems to prefer cats."
"If you two want to buy one and take care of it yourselves, I don't mind."
Luke could summon Mimi whenever he wanted and pet her, but Mimi was still technically a combat unit and had a cooldown.
Because of that, Luke rarely summoned her casually.
Considering unexpected situations could occur, getting an ordinary pet was not necessarily a bad idea.
He just had absolutely no desire to take care of one himself.
Mikasa, sitting between them, suddenly turned toward Katou Megumi.
"Megumi, have you ever owned a pet?"
Megumi thought for a moment.
"Mm. I had goldfish when I was little."
Goldfish were mostly decorative creatures with almost no interaction.
They did not seem particularly suitable for children.
"Goldfish… are basically just for looking at, right?"
Luke asked, "They're probably not ideal for someone who wants a pet to help them relax."
"Mm. That's true."
Mikasa became curious.
"What was it like raising them?"
"It was pretty fun. Then the goldfish died."
'Yeah.'
'Definitely not ideal for children.'
Watching an animal you had personally raised and cared for die could be genuinely devastating for a child.
Especially if parents raised livestock as household animals.
You absolutely should not let children become attached to them unless you wanted to create the horrifying memory of a kid throwing a tantrum before eventually being forced to eat the meat anyway.
"I remember there's also a section selling ornamental fish here," Mikasa said after thinking. "Want to go take a look?"
"Sure."
"Okay."
Mikasa glanced at Luke, whose legs were still surrounded by puppies, then stood up.
"I'll go get Annie. Wait here."
Megumi nodded.
"Okay… haaah~~~"
"You're sleepy?"
"It's rare for friends to invite me out, so I only slept four hours. Haaah~"
Looking at her same perfectly calm expression, Luke honestly could not tell.
After thinking for a moment, he took the initiative to ask,
"Would you mind telling me what Mikasa and Annie are like at school? Mostly their relationships with other people."
He smiled awkwardly.
"To be honest, I was pretty surprised when I heard they'd actually made a friend."
"Hmm?"
Megumi tilted her head in confusion.
Luke continued, "With their personalities, I honestly wouldn't find it strange if all three years of high school passed without either of them making a single friend."
Megumi immediately denied it.
"Ah, no. Annie-san and Mikasa-san are actually pretty popular at school."
"Because they're attractive?"
"That's part of it."
Megumi explained, "Among girls, Mikasa-san's sense of security is really appealing too."
Luke smiled.
That made sense.
"And Annie-san has a look that's different from most people. Her skin is so pale and smooth that people sometimes wonder if she bathes in milk every day."
Luke shook his head.
Hmph.
As if.
That would be far too extravagant for a mere maid.
"How did you three meet?"
"Ah, Mikasa-san helped me once. I brought her some snacks during lunch to thank her, then she invited me to eat with them. After that, we gradually got to know each other."
"I see."
Luke smiled.
"Still, thanks for becoming friends with them."
"Hmm? Why do you sound like their elderly father?"
"Uh… I don't think it's that extreme."
The main issue was that people became strange if they stayed isolated from society for too long.
Besides someone as unbelievably easygoing as Megumi, Luke could not imagine many ordinary high school girls willingly approaching the absolute cold zones surrounding Annie and Mikasa.
"Don't worry."
Megumi said calmly, "Annie-san and Mikasa-san are very friendly at school. Everyone likes being around them."
She paused.
"And if I ever lose my source of income in the future… maybe I can take advantage of this connection and sell myself to your house as a maid."
Luke froze.
He blinked at the girl whose expression remained almost completely unchanged.
After a moment, he could just barely tell that she was joking.
"…Have you ever considered becoming a deadpan comedian?"
"Ah. Even I'd get angry if you described me like that."
"Hmm~"
Megumi puffed her cheeks slightly and shifted her gaze away.
Finally.
An actual emotional reaction.
Seeing an expressionless girl suddenly show a tiny bit of emotion really was unexpectedly cute.
"Heh. Fine, then. If you ever want to come, I'll save you a position."
Luke stood up and looked toward Annie as she approached.
"Is the water still cold?"
"It's room temperature now."
Annie touched the plastic bottle inside her bag.
"Then I'll go buy some drinks. Katou, want anything?"
"Ah, anything is fine."
As the exhibition continued, more and more people entered the hall.
Even getting through the crowd to buy drinks had become difficult.
"Wah~~ So cute~~ I really want to step on it~~"
"You can't do that."
"Hm?"
Luke vaguely heard a familiar voice.
He turned toward the small-animal area.
There stood Hikigaya Hachiman and his younger sister.
Luke pushed his glasses up.
"Hikigaya? And… Hikigaya's little sister. Uh, Komachi, right? You came too?"
"…Yeah. My sister and I come every year."
The usually expressionless Hikigaya was startled by Luke's sudden appearance.
After a moment, he pulled one hand out of his pocket and pointed toward Komachi inside the interaction area.
"Oh! It's one of Onii-chan's friends!"
Hikigaya Komachi came running over while holding a rabbit that was chewing on something unknown.
"We've met before."
"Komachi remembers! You're Luke-nii! You helped Taishi with his problem."
Komachi flashed her little fang and grinned proudly, like she had just pulled off a successful prank.
"Hehe. Did that line earn Komachi some points?"
Luke could not help smiling at the energetic girl.
"Of course. Ten points!"
"…Where did that scoring standard come from?"
Hikigaya asked helplessly.
"Huh? Standard?"
Luke blinked.
"Oh. I made it up on the spot."
"Then what's the maximum score?" Komachi quickly asked.
"Ten."
"Yay!"
(＾－＾)V
Komachi flashed a victory sign, then raised her palm toward him.
Luke obediently gave her a high five.
"Komachi really is cute."
Sometimes Luke thought having a younger sister might actually be nice.
Especially at moments like this, when he was being infected by the energy and cuteness of a middle school girl.
"Of course. She's my little sister."
"Hm?"
Luke stared at Hikigaya's openly proud expression and froze.
For some reason, it reminded him of a certain maid with a very long ponytail.
Whenever similar topics came up, Kawasaki either looked worried sick or radiated pure pride.
So—
"Um… Hikigaya."
Luke hesitated.
"Don't tell me you're a siscon?"
Just like Kawasaki.
…
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