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n

n

nRin finished drinking her coffee and went to pour another cup. As she did, she looked over at Alphy and said, “Meggie is too tsun to be Onee-chan though.”

nAsako hummed and said, “That’s right.” She looked at Alphy and said, “Your little sister’s pretty sharp to everyone but her family.” She frowned and said, “Still can’t believe I got called out by a tween for being single…”

nAlphy sipped on her orange juice and smiled. “Don’t worry, Asako. Meggie’s just dishonest with her feelings.”

nRin nodded. “Yep! That’s her form of gap moe. Just like how Eldest Sister is calm but gets super cute and flustered. And how Onee-chan seems like she’d be really mean and cool, but she’s actually super adorable!”

nAlphy blushed and fiddled with her cup. “I-I’m not that adorable. Though…” She frowned and said, “Everyone keeps saying I have gap moe. I still don’t get it…”

nAsako nodded. “That’s why you have it.”

n“Eh?”

nRin laughed and said, “Don’t worry about it, Onee-chan. You’re cute because you’re cute. It’s better to not think about it too much.”

nAlphy huffed and said, “Fine. Though… I think our new kouhais are going to be pretty cute too.” She sipped her juice and said, “I can’t wait to watch their debuts.”

nAsako snorted and set her cup of coffee to the side. “Cute… Well, Suzume and Shu, yeah. Maybe Chihiro… though she seems a bit weird. But Yuri?” She laughed and said, “That girl’s even more of a tsundere than Meggie is. Someone like that streaming…”

nAlphy shook her head. “That’s not true!” She paused. “Well, not true anymore. Yuri-chan was really rude and impolite when I first met her, but she seems to have calmed down a lot these days.”

nRin nodded. “That’s right.” She frowned and said, “I remember her being really easily upset back in the cafe when I first saw her. But she didn’t seem that bad at the party, right?”

nAsako leaned back and said, “Mm… I’ll believe it when I see it. Though she does still act a bit weird around John…”

nRin laughed and said, “Another girl falling for Mister John, huh?”

n“Huh?” Alphy blinked and shook her head. “That’s not true. While you and Asako had crushes on Papa-“

n“I-I don’t!”

n“L-Like hell I do!”

n“…Yuri-chan seems to look up to Papa instead.” Alphy paused and said, “Well, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. But it’s not romantic affection or desire at least.”

nAsako crossed her arms. “Oh yeah? How do you know that?”

nAlphy gave Asako a blank stare.

nAsako blinked and said, “Oh yeah. Handsome, rich, powerful guy who’s super kind and compassionate. Probably had droves of women all over him before he got married.”

nAlphy finished her orange juice and said, “Even after he got married. That was a big problem for a little while until Mama put her foot down.”

nAsako whistled. “Even after a cutie like her married John girls were still coming onto him? They must have been pretty brave…”

n“Brave is one way to put it…”

nAsako hummed. “But for Yuri to look up to John… Oh yeah. I think her dad was a blonde foreigner too. Maybe it’s a subconscious thing?”

n“Ooh.” Rin nodded and said, “Mister John does emit a big ‘Papa’ vibe.”

nAlphy let out a proud smile and raised her head a bit. “That’s because Papa is the best. No other man even compares to him when it comes to strength, being kind, or helping people out.”

nAsako raised an eyebrow. “You know, Alphy. With how much you praise your ‘Papa’, people might misunderstand, you know?”

nRin blushed and said, “Aneue!”

n“What?”

nAlphy blinked and the tilted her head. “…But it’s true, isn’t it?” She set her cup aside and then held up her right hand while counting off. “One, Papa is handsome with a perfectly trained body and flawless skin. Two, he’s kind and listens carefully to people’s problems, sometimes to his own detriment. Three, he is the richest man in existence. Four, he is a heaven-defying talent in everything you could imagine. And five… his only major flaw is that he isn’t used to raising a proper family. But even now Papa’s doing his best to fix that.”

nAsako blinked. “Well, when you put it that way…” She furrowed her brow and said, “Huh. I kind of got used to it recently, but John really is pretty incredible. Isn’t that guy like the perfect example of a Shoujo Male love interest brought to life?”

nRin laughed and said, “Well, we’re lucky we met him then. People like that usually don’t bother with girls like us, right?”

nAsako snorted. “Lucky… That’s one way to put it. But enough talking about him.” She looked over at Alphy and said, “Do you have any plans for Christmas or the holidays, Alphy?”

nAlphy tilted her head. “Christmas?”

nRin gasped and leaned over towards Alphy. “Onee-chan! You don’t know what Christmas is?!”

nAlphy shook her head. “The Alfis have been talking about working hard and for me to take care of myself for Christmas… And I think I read some things about skipping fried chicken and cake this year. But other than that… I don’t know much about it.”

nAsako blinked. “Wait, seriously? What, have you been under a rock your entire life or something?”

nAlphy huffed. “Of course not! I know it’s a holiday of some sort. I’ve just never heard or celebrated it.” She paused. “…Well. On second thought, Papa might have mentioned it once or twice in the past a long time ago… but I don’t remember much about it.”

nRin frowned and said, “You have to at least know about the new year festival, right Onee-chan?”

nAlphy nodded. “Of course!” She smiled and placed her hands over her chest before saying, “That’s the one where we bake moon cakes to celebrate the new lunar year. A-Ah…” She blushed and said, “Though the last time I went to one, I tried to sing and failed miserably…”

nAsako blinked again and then facepalmed. “Right. Forgot you guys are from China. They do things different there…”

nAlphy tilted her head. “China?”

nAsako shook her head and wrapped an arm around Alphy. “Don’t worry, Alphy. We’ll make sure you have a proper Christmas and winter holiday season. And I’ll make extra sure to show you a good time.”

nRin gasped. “Aneue, no!”

n“What?”

n“You can’t! What about Eldest Sister?”

nAsako blinked and then turned a deep red, pulling her arm back from Alphy. “It’s not like that! And what the hell are you even implying?! No, what have you been reading to make your mind jump to that?!”

n“N-N-Nothing! I haven’t been scrolling through Protolewd!”

n“Proto- What?”

n“N-Nothing!”

nAsako narrowed her eyes. “Maybe I should have a chat with Sakura nee-chan. Especially since she’s home on vacation now.”

nRin gasped and said, “No! You can’t!”

n“But I can.” Asako moved away from the counter and then crossed her arms. “It’s about time I exercised my big sister embarrassment rights.”

nRin puffed out her cheeks and pouted. “That’s not nice! Why are you teasing me so much now, Aneue? I liked you better when you were still awkward and shy!”

n“Yeah? Well I liked you better when you were still cute and innocent.” Asako shook her head. “Now look at you? Just what will Sakura nee-chan think now when she finds out just how corrupted her Sweetie has become.”

nRin crossed her arms. “I am not corrupt! And even if I was, you’re worse!” She pointed at Asako and said, “I saw that collection you hid behind your minifridge!”

nAsako’s ears turned red. “T-There’s nothing like that!”

n“Don’t lie!”

n“I-I’m not! And what were you digging around there for anyway?!”

n“I was thirsty!”

n“Seems like it!”

nAlphy looked between Rin and Asako and then laughed.

nThe two sisters froze and then looked away from each other, huffing.

nAlphy smiled and said, “You two get along really well these days.” She looked at Rin and Asako again and said, “It’s almost like you two grew up together.”

nAsako rubbed the back of her head and said, “Well… Considering Rin’s the only family I have left…”

nRin started to nod, but then she gasped. “That’s right! I forgot about that!” She immediately ran up to hug Asako and said, “Remember! We’re family, so no feeling sad, okay? Our house is your house too! And Mama can be your mama too!”

nAsako laughed and said, “It’s a bit awkward calling someone as young as Sakura nee-chan Mom… but thanks, Sis.”

n“You’re welcome! Now… Are you ever going to let me-“

n“No!”

n“B-But you don’t even know what I was going to ask!”

n“I do! And the answer is no! You’re too young!”

n“Y-You don’t know what-“

n“No!”

n“But-“

n“NO!”

nAlphy giggled.

nRin leaned back against the counter and pouted.

nAsako shook her head, an exasperated smile on her face.

nAnd then the elevator chimed.

nThe three girls paused and then looked over.

nThe elevator doors slowly opened. As they did, a crimson haired beauty in stylish clothes walked out. A gray scarf, a turtleneck cashmere sweater, black tights, and a white coat over all of that paired with white fur boots.

nBetty. She was also carrying a paper bag in her arms with some colorful boxes peeking out from inside of them.

nRin gasped and said, “Eldest Sister!”

n“W-What?” Betty blinked and then her eyes flickered, turning red. She started to panic and instinctively stepped back towards the elevator. But before she could, Alphy ran up and hugged her.

n“Betty!”

nBetty blushed and said, “E-Eldest Sister-“

n“NO! Call me Alphy!”

n“I-I… That’s a bit too-“

n“Alphy!”

n“S-Sister-“

n“ALPHY!”

n“…Alphy.”

nAlphy smiled and then stepped back from Betty.

nBetty coughed and walked out, looking at Rin and Asako. “This is embarrassing… I wanted to surprised everyone with some cakes. But it seems I miscalculated how early you all wake up…”

nRin shrugged. “It was an exciting night! Oh! And congratulations on the premier, Eldest Sister!”

nBetty flinched and then said, “Rin. If you want, I am perfectly fine with-“

n“Eldest Sister is Eldest Sister!”

nBetty paused and looked at Alphy.

nAlphy giggled.

nRin laughed.

nBetty sighed. “I see. So this is how Eld-“

n“Alphy!”

n“…Alphy feels when I say it.”

nAlphy nodded. “That’s right! So you should be more relaxed! We’re sisters, you know?”

nBetty walked over to the counter and set down the paper bag. “I am aware. It is just…” She looked at Alphy and looked away, embarrassed. “…I find it hard to be informal to the big sister that I respect so much…”

nAlphy let out a happy squeal and pulled Betty into a hug. “Ooh! I knew it! Betty is super cute too!”

n“S-Stop that! E-Eldest Sister- I mean, Alphy! T-That is quite enough!”

n“No! I want to hug Betty!”

n“B-But… T-The cakes-“

n“Can wait! I want to hug my cute little sister, and I’m going to do that! It’s not fair that Asako’s the only one who can hug her cute sister.”

nAsako blinked. “Wait, don’t rope me into this now!”

nRin laughed. But then her eyes widened. “Wait!” She looked at Asako and said, “Aneue! Aren’t you supposed to be streaming right now?”

nAsako froze. And then she groaned and covered her face. “Those bastards are going to flame me so hard for this… and after I promised that I wouldn’t oversleep again too…”

nBetty finally managed to squirm away from Alphy and then smiled. “Glad to see that my Asako is as cute and clumsy as ever.”

nAsako gave an absent nod and said, “And Betty is as hot as ever.”

nBetty blinked.

nRin gasped.

nAlphy giggled.

nAnd then Asako realized what she said. She blushed and then ran off to the elevator. “I-I’m going!” She pressed the button, opening the doors, and then immediately jumped inside. Smashing the top floor button, she pointed at the other girls and said, “I-I’m streaming in the studio! Don’t bother me until I’m done!”

nBetty gave her a sly smile and said, “But you seem pretty hot and bothered already, Asako.”

nAsako turned a deep red and then started spamming the close doors button.

nEventually, the doors shut and Asako disappeared.

nBetty laughed.

nRin shook her head and said, “You really know how to mess with Aneue, don’t you, Eldest Sister?”

n“…Please call me Betty, Rin. Or Onee-chan. Or Aneki. Anything but ‘Eldest Sister.'”

nRin laughed. “Fine. I’ll call you… Betty nee-chan.”

n“…I will allow it.”

nRin smiled and then said, “But like I was saying… you really know how to mess with Aneue. I’ve been figuring out how to throw her off, but you make it seem so easy!”

nBetty let out a sly smile and winked. “That would be because I know your older sister inside and out.”

nRin gasped. “Y-You mean…?”

nAlphy let out a knowing nod and said, “Betty was the one who healed Asako’s injuries and helped with physical therapy, so of course she would know Asako well enough to throw her off. Though.” She frowned and said, “I know that Asako is your toy, Betty. But could you not break her? I like Asako.”

n“E-Eh!?” Rin turned a deep red and said, “T-Toy?! B-B-Break?!”

nBetty frowned. “You like Asako?”

nAlphy nodded. “She’s nice!”

n“…I thought you two were at odds ever since that race?”

n“We made up! And she’s fun to spend time around, you know?”

n“…But I don’t want to share…”

n“Share?”

nRin grabbed a stack of napkins and started fanning her face. “I-Is it just me, or is it getting a bit hot…?”

n_________

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