Okaeri Saotome-san Chapter 19

Saotome-san wants become an elder sister

「Mio-san are you fine with a café au lait?」

「Yes, please」

I continue forward without being able to get used to her elder sister mode. Fighting spirit, is it?

「Murasaki… ah, you drink black tea right?」

「Senpai, you remembered」

「Murasaki-san, you can’t drink coffee?」

「Yes, various things happened and…..」

She dodged Mio-san’s question. She is looking around and avoiding her eyes. Looks like it is a difficult memory even for the person herself.

However, it was a common topic back at the company.

「Murasaki, you know, overdid it by drinking a lot of black coffee when she entered the company」

「Senpai」

「Because of that she was unable to sleep at night. Then due to lack of sleep she collapsed in the office」

「Senpai!」

「And after that she just stopped drinking any sort of coffee」

「Matsutomo senpai!!!」

「What’s the matter, I can you hear you even if you call me just once」

「Ara ara」

Ara ara…, Mio-san, this is the first time I am hearing you laugh like this.

Loading a mode that is 300% unfamiliar to me and roaring out loudly like this, how in the world are you so composed?

「Uuu….」

「Matsutomo-san, I too would like to have milk tea, if that is fine. Did you already make it?」

「Yes, it’s fine」

「Matsutomo-san is also really good at making black tea too, let’s have it together, Murasaki-san」

「Saotome-san…..!!」

Deeply moved, Murasaki was looking at Mio-san. Is it fine like this Murasaki?

Like this the younger sister conversion process is advancing steadily. If she remains like this, I am worried that she will be hoodwinked by some religious group.

「Coming in—」

I place the milk and the sugar on the table and pour the tea onto the cup through the strainer in the teapot. I can understand why this liquid which is written as red tea would be called black tea in English. The dark liquid has now filled the cup to the brim.

The best flavour can only be extracted with having this strong decoction and then adding milk or hot water according to one’s preferences…. Is what I read online, but having tried it out, it didn’t taste much different from normal, so I am just continuing.

Nevertheless, I am thankful that there was a teapot that could hold enough tea for three people. It was there from before my appearance into her life, looks like Mio-san too has dreamt of such a gathering.

「What a nice smell!…. This tea has great flavor, which one is this?」

「FuFu, Asham!」

Fumbled. Since I am talking about unfamiliar things.

「Assam!」

I corrected myself quick enough but, my face is burning up and selling me out.

Well, it’s just Murasaki so it should be fine.

「Saotome-san is surprisingly a mischievous person. I really admire lovely women like you…」

「Haha, no, that is」

「I was always told that I lacked any womanly charm…..」

「Murasaki-san is really cute, honestly」

If she takes to a person, then she will wholeheartedly like them, that’s the sort of person Murasaki is. Since she is already seeing Mio-san through coloured glasses, a few, no, quite a lot of mistakes have become a plus.

Mio-san, being herself, is looking at it through a weird filter (little sister filter) so the situation feels like a banter between two sisters.

「Now then, the beverages are also ready. Why don’t we start?」

「That’s right, it’s the perfect time」

「We are talking about that right?」

As if answering her queries, I quietly placed a box with a logo on it on top of the table.

「It’s this (UNO)」

「Why are you putting on such a solemn atmosphere…..」

「You will get to know soon」

Clearing out space on the table, I started dealing the cards. Since we’ve been playing with only the two of us so far, just dealing for three people in itself feels fresh.

「There is nothing wrong with the number of cards right?」

「Yes」

「O, Okay」

「Now, let’s begin the game!」

I began the game with that announcement.

Games should naturally be fair to all the players. But here’s the problem, I had an overwhelming advantage over them.

「Mio-san do you recognize this?」

I asked Mio-san who was happily smiling as she drew a card and it became my turn to play.

「Matsutomo-san, recognize what?」

「You have never played UNO with anyone else other than me, so you don’t know the true value of this card」

Giving a sideward glance at Mio-san who is tilting her head in doubt, I choose a yellow card and place it upside down.

Removing my hand from it.

「『Reverse』Card OPEN!!」

「EH」

I could hear the sound of Mio-san getting flustered and breathing louder.

「This card, which didn’t really have much of a role when it was only two of us, will lead to menacing situations quite often, since now there are at least three people in the game.」

『Reverse』is a card that changes the order of turns, from clockwise to anti-clockwise or vice versa. According to the game rules, when there are only two players it functions just like the skip card. But according to Saotome house rules, it doesn’t have any function and is a useless cad.

Therefore this will be the first time that Mio-san has come to experience the effects of this card. Consequently, now it is again Mio-san’s turn to play. On her previous turn she ended it by drawing a card, as she had nothing suitable to play.

Now when I use a reverse without changing the colour from yellow she will have to draw cards again, thereby increasing the number of cards she has. There is a high probability that Mio-san might lose the first game because of this.

「Now, what are you going to do Mio-san?」

「….. Murasaki-san」

「Wh, what is it Saotome-san?」

「I am sorry for doing this when you have only two cards at your hand, but if you have to hate someone then hate Matsutomo-san」

「Hoho, you are going to play a card?」

Saotome-san searches for a card, picks it up and puts it down.

It feels like she just put it down carelessly but the card lands perfectly on top of the card pile.

「『Yellow Draw 2』」

「Tch, were you saving it?」

According to the Saotome house rules you can stack draw twos and draw fours on top of each other, so you are forced to play one more than the other person does (it’s okay to stack a draw four on top of a draw two, but it is forbidden to stack a draw two on a draw four).

Therefore, if someone plays this card, then it is an invitation for an all out war with either side exhausting all their strategic weapons, just like Pearl Harbour.

「I was wondering if I should show Matsutomo-san some special consideration since I am always under his care, but if you are going to play this way, then I will gladly respond in kind」

Ah! Just as I thought, if you are going to expose your thoughts openly like this then I will feel troubled.

I didn’t really mean it like that and Mio-san realises it as well. But still, it has become like this because she is unable to ease her discomfort.

「If you are able to have the leisure to be considerate then I am surprised. I always go at full power」

「As expected from Matsutomo-san. Now, it’s your turn Murasaki-san」

「Eh, ah, yes. Red dr, draw two!」

「I have this urge to say something that fit’s the ambience, but for some reason I am not able to think of anything. Anyways, Murasaki, did you try calling out loud now?」

「Nothing like that senpai. Now, now, it’s your turn hurry up」

「Fuuumu」

Looking at my cards after teasing her, I find three cards on my hand. I am close to finishing the game but that also means that my war potential is very low.

「Ara, you look quite worried. It’s okay even if you don’t give yourself a handicap you know. My draw has not come to an end yet」

Ufufu, Mio-san is laughing in a weird way that I have never heard before.

「Then, I will go with a draw four」

「Ue?」

「As for the colour… Make it blue」

I was saving it for such a situation. My trump card, draw four.

「Uee….」

Mio-san lost at the draw war that she herself started and drew 8 cards.

「Ah, it’s my turn right. There, blue!」

Murasaki happily placed a blue 4 on top of the pile.

「Murasaki, did you know?」

「Yes?」

「Four is number that invites misfortune」

This apartment building also avoids the cursed number, there are no rooms ending in 4. My room is 603 and then it is Mio-san at 605.

「And, what does that have to do here…..?」

「Murasaki-san, did you say UNO?」

「……」

Murasaki silently drew two cards.

「Did you get Murasaki? Creating a trap and making people get caught up in the conversation preventing them from saying UNO is an adult’s way of doing things.」

「Isn’t that just a make-shift off the board tactic….! Fine! I will also get serious and play no holds barred」

「Fufu, is that worship towards my skill that I am sensing?」