Chapter 5: Dinner

…In the evening, Ishikawa Hayato returned home, carrying a meter-long instrument bag in his left hand and a box in his right.

Protecting his brand-new equipment, which costed nearly a million yen, he pushed open the front door and walked inside.

As he reached the entrance, Ishikawa Hibiki, hearing the movement at the door, came out.

"Big Brother, you're home really late today..."

But when she noticed what Ishikawa Hayato was holding, she blinked blankly, then stomped her white-socked foot in anger.

"Don't bring a corpse into the house!"

Here, Ishikawa Hayato himself would confirm that his family was very ordinary, not some clan of assassins.

What was this stupid sister thinking?

After his sister's voice faded, there was a commotion in the kitchen.

"Eh eh eh eh eh!?"

Accompanied by clattering sounds and hurried footsteps, their mother rushed out, looking at Ishikawa Hayato worriedly.

She nervously scrutinized the item in Ishikawa Hayato's hand.

"I believe Hayato is definitely not a bad child."

Mom, when you say you believe him, can you not be so nervous?

Ishikawa Hayato was a little curious about what kind of image he had in his mother's heart.

"It's an instrument, you idiot!"

Ishikawa Hayato took off his shoes, changed into his house slippers, walked over to his sister who was still staring at the item in his hand, and gave his foolish sister a headbutt.

His mother also breathed a sigh of relief, looked back at the kitchen, let out a gasp, and hurried back.

Ishikawa Hayato also poked his head into the kitchen, and seeing that there was nothing that needed help, he completed the words he hadn't said when he returned.

"Good evening, Mom."

He turned to look at his sister, who was clutching her head and preparing to go back to the living room to watch TV.

"And my foolish sister."

"Hmph."

He received a cold snort from his sister, and a welcome from his mother.

Just as Ishikawa Hayato was about to carry the synthesizer and speakers back to his room, he looked at his sister, who was lazily watching TV in the living room with her legs tucked up, and felt it was his duty to give this idle person something to do, so he walked in.

"Hmm?"

Ishikawa Hibiki watched as her Big Brother approached, carrying a person's head (an amplifier) and a headless corpse (a keyboard), and immediately showed a wary expression, shrinking into the sofa, her small feet pressed together.

"What are you going to do?!"

Ishikawa Hayato completely disregarded the increased weight, directly put his arm around his sister's head, and pulled her out.

"Eh eh eh eh!? Mom, help me! Big Brother is going to kill me! If you keep cooking, there'll be one less person to eat tonight!"

"Dinner will be ready soon."

Their mother completely ignored Hibiki's shouts and reminded them.

"Okay, we'll be down in a bit."

Ishikawa Hayato, carrying large and small bags and his sister, replied.

Hibiki, whose neck was being held, saw her plea for help ignored, and her gaze immediately became mournful and powerless, like a dead fish, as Ishikawa Hayato embraced her and walked to her room.

Then, she watched blankly as Ishikawa Hayato calmly opened the room door, as if he were returning to his own room.

"This is my room!"

"My sister's room is my room, and my room is still my room."

Ishikawa Hayato nodded confidently.

"What kind of brother are you?! A normal brother wouldn't do this to his own sister!"

Ishikawa Hibiki, unable to contain her anger, began to struggle.

"Sister, you say?"

Ishikawa Hayato released his sister and feigned a clueless expression.

“Hm, isn’t there just a keyboard, a speaker, and an idiot here?”

"I won't teach you then."

Hibiki, released, walked into the room, turned to face Ishikawa Hayato, and said coldly with her arms crossed.

It seemed she wasn't that foolish. She had clearly guessed her big brother's intention, and for a moment, she held the upper hand, putting on a stern face.

"Oh~" Ishikawa Hayato nodded. "Wait for me."

He said, then turned and left the room. Hibiki curiously poked her head out to watch him go down the stairs.

A moment later.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at his sister, who was sitting angrily on the light blue bedsheet, still in her school uniform, and extending a hand.

In his hand was a freshly bought box of pudding.

"Here, pudding."

He had a fawning smile on his face.

"What do you take me for...? I won't be tricked into doing hard labor for a little food."

Hibiki sighed and pouted.

Tch, she's usually so stupid, but she turns smart at crucial moments. I'll have to pay a hefty price.

Ishikawa Hayato grumbled inwardly, but the fawning expression on his face remained unchanged. He extended another hand, with several slips of paper in his palm.

And it truly was his ultimate weapon. Hibiki's gaze swept over it, then lingered casually on his hand, her small head nodding as if counting the slips, before a barely concealed smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Well... teaching you isn't impossible."

She took the slips of paper with deceptive speed, not forgetting to lay down a threat.

"Let me tell you first, if you're too stupid to learn, I won't be responsible, okay?"

Even while asking for help, Ishikawa Hayato still scoffed upon hearing this.

"Heh."

Hibiki immediately bristled, waving her small fists, and glaring at Ishikawa Hayato through gritted teeth.

"How dare you scoff! Just you wait!"

...It was dinner time.

The siblings came downstairs.

One was deep in thought, the other followed her big brother, swaying as if she had lost all hope in life.

"What's wrong with you two?"

Ishikawa Jinpei, the head of the Ishikawa Family, who had just returned, sat at the dining table, took a small sip of sake, and was about to start eating, but he looked up at the abnormal appearance of the siblings.

Ishikawa Hayato snapped back to reality and said,

"Oh, right, I joined a band today. I'll be coming home a little later from now on."

Ishikawa Jinpei nodded, indicating he had no objection, then showed a hint of a smile.

"Are you planning to start a harem as a band member? Not a bad idea."

He said this with a proud expression that suggested, 'You're still too green.'

"No, I can't accept a harem started with such third-rate methods."

Ishikawa Hayato sat in his seat, shaking his head, dismissive of his father's idea. Those were outdated methods.

After his sister sat down, her first words were directed at Ishikawa Jinpei, her father.

"Dad, do you know your son is a pervert?"

Ishikawa Jinpei was startled, blinking in confusion, with an expression of surprise that seemed to say, 'Why are you only finding out now?'

Seeing her father's foolishness again, where all his thoughts were directly shown on his face, Hibiki, annoyed, simply didn't talk to him and instead called out to her mother, who hadn't yet come out of the kitchen, in a spoiled tone.

"Mom~~"

"Coming."

Ishikawa Shizuka wiped her hands and walked out of the kitchen, smiling.

Seeing his wife arrive, Ishikawa Jinpei's expression became slightly serious. He dared not show the sly look he had just shared with his son.

Hibiki asked Ishikawa Shizuka with a serious expression.

"Is big brother really Dad's son?"

Hearing this earth-shattering question, the two men of the Ishikawa Family stared blankly at Hibiki, then at each other, and finally turned to look at Ishikawa Shizuka.

The mistress of the Ishikawa Family, who was about to pick up her chopsticks, froze her smile, then narrowed her eyes.

"Hibiki, don't you want your allowance this month?"

Facing the allowance question, Hibiki immediately regained her intelligence.

She neatly and politely put down her chopsticks, pushed back her chair, walked to the side, and knelt down.

"I'm sorry!"

Watching his sister in this state, Ishikawa Hayato stroked his chin. It seemed his sister also had the potential to become a pervert...

"But it's too exaggerated, why is big brother such a pervert?"

After Hibiki explained, her parents understood the situation.

It was just a matter of going from not being able to play the piano at all to being able to play a piano piece in a few minutes.

They were already used to it.

"That's just a thinking ability infinitely superior to your almond-sized brain. Please call it intelligence. It's not simply being a pervert."

Ishikawa Hayato ate his meal properly. He had his own views on what constituted a pervert, and it wasn't anything strange being called a pervert.

"But big brother, you are a pervert, aren't you?"

Hibiki said with certainty.

After all, this was what her big brother had called himself for over ten years.

"Of course, I am a genuine, upright and honorable pervert."

Ishikawa Hayato replied proudly, never changing his name or his ways.

Seeing her son like this again, Ishikawa Shizuka sighed. She began to worry about her underage son's lifelong prospects.

"Hayato... no girl will like you like this, and you won't even be able to start a harem."

Hearing his mother say this, Ishikawa Hayato boastfully recounted the events of the afternoon.

"Oh, right, speaking of girls, today I met two angels! They stayed with me for over an hour, helped me buy books and a keyboard, it was great~"

He happily swayed from side to side.

Hibiki slowly put down her chopsticks, clasped her hands, and mourned in silence.

"Poor salesladies, I hope they encounter happy things in the future to forget today's tragic experience."

She didn't take her intelligent Pervert Big Brother's words seriously at all.

Ishikawa Hayato turned to look at his parents, and seeing that they also agreed with his sister's opinion, he quickly finished the rest of his meal.

Then he picked up his rice bowl and stood up.

“Within two months, I’ll definitely show you my harem! Also, Hibiki, finish eating and come up quickly.”

“Eh… so even the excellent Pervert-sama needs guidance from my almond-sized brain, huh?”

Hibiki slowly swayed her head, holding her rice bowl, looking as if she had her brother completely under her thumb.

“If you don’t work, give me back the payment.”

Ishikawa Hayato didn’t mind at all. Although it was just the beginning, the hardest part of music is the start.

The rest didn’t need Hibiki.

In other words, his sister’s utility value was gone. She could go sit on the sofa like a puppet and foolishly watch TV.

“I’m coming right away!”

Hibiki immediately sped up her chopstick movements.