Chapter 72: Eavesdropping

At this point, no one had much of an appetite.

The family of four hastily filled their stomachs and then went to take their showers.

Ephnel prepared the bed for her parents in their room.

This apartment wasn’t small; like their old place, it had a three-bedroom, one-living-room layout.

The large room was reserved for her parents.

It was already furnished with simple furniture, a bed, and a wardrobe.

It was usually unoccupied, and Ephnel would occasionally go in to clean it to prevent dust from settling, so it was ready to be used now.

The other two smaller rooms were Ephnel’s and Yukina’s bedrooms.

Although the total area was a bit smaller than their previous large house, it was still more than enough for four people to live in.

The time was nine o’clock.

The city was already beginning to quiet down.

The sky outside the window, illuminated by the city lights, was growing darker.

In this era of scarce resources, the electricity rates at night were higher than during the day, so many people chose to go to bed early.

Yukina simply tied up her damp hair, held her change of clothes in one arm, and, wearing soft cloth slippers, prepared to go to the balcony to put her dirty clothes in the washing machine.

Just as she reached the living room, she saw figures on the balcony.

It was her sister, Ephnel, and her aunt, Yanase Kaoru.

“So… your colleagues don’t know about you?”

“They all think I’m a girl disguised as a boy, and I’ve also made up excuses, so no one has suspected anything yet.”

“Besides, not many people would believe what happened to me, right?”

“That’s true…”

“But, don’t tell anyone else about this from now on.”

“Mm, I’ll be careful…”

“…”

The mother and daughter seemed to be talking about something.

Yukina could roughly hear them.

She paused, and a sudden curiosity arose.

She carefully sidled over, hiding behind the blackout curtain which perfectly concealed her figure, and pricked up her ears.

Due to the abnormal changes in Yukina’s body, she could hear the conversation on the balcony very clearly.

Just then, Yanase Kaoru changed the subject.

“Naoto, Mom suddenly remembered something.”

“Don’t think I’m being nosy.”

“What is it?”

“Now that you’ve become a girl, well… is there any boy you like?”

“Moooom!~~~~~~~”

A coquettish cry from Ephnel came from the balcony.

Yukina, her heart pounding, peeked out with half her head and saw Yanase Kaoru with a teasing expression, while Ephnel looked strange, her face flushed.

Yukina swallowed gently, watching the scene with some nervousness.

That coquettish cry from Ephnel almost killed Yukina.

“Mom, how could you…”

Ephnel’s voice continued to drift into Yukina’s ears, a charming and bone-melting sound that almost carried Yukina’s soul away.

‘This is bad, this is bad, this is bad…’

‘So this is how intoxicating her sister is when she acts spoiled.’

Yukina was no longer calm.

“Well, is there or isn’t there…”

Yanase Kaoru continued to press, once again capturing Yukina’s attention.

To be honest, she had wanted to ask “if her sister liked any boys” for a long time, but had never been able to.

She liked Ephnel.

But what if her sister liked someone else?

Afraid, uneasy, yet filled with some indescribable longing and expectation, the answer she hoped for was hidden deep in her heart.

“Sorry, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Mom was just curious for a moment,” Yanase Kaoru said, but she didn’t seem to have any intention of letting Ephnel off the hook.

“Anyway, no one else knows, so just tell your mom quietly~”

“No!”

Ephnel said decisively.

“Really not?”

“Of course not!”

“I used to be a boy, you know!”

“I would absolutely, absolutely not like a man, okay!”

Ephnel explained embarrassedly.

Hearing this, Yukina’s heart settled down, but then something stirred within her, like a mischievous imp starting to act up, tugging at her hopeful heart.

Then, as if she knew what was on Yukina’s mind, Yanase Kaoru asked the same question that was in Yukina’s heart.

“Is that so?”

“So that means… Naoto, you still like girls?”

But Ephnel’s answer disappointed both of them.

“No!”

“I haven’t even considered the problem of love… so don’t ask me!”

‘So that’s how it is…’

Yukina’s slightly sparkling eyes dimmed once again.

…

The night was silent.

The family chat time surrounding Ephnel was over.

The weary Yanase couple had gone to bed early.

Or rather, they had gone to their room early.

The fact that Ephnel had become a girl was a considerable shock to them.

Even though they didn’t show it out of consideration for Ephnel’s feelings, their small actions were all seen by Yukina.

“Phew—”

After saying goodnight to her sister, Yukina returned to her room and flopped onto her soft bed.

The light was soft and lazy, but it didn’t make her feel sleepy.

It wasn’t as effective as the bright fluorescent light in her sister’s bedroom.

Yukina’s bedroom was filled with various merchandise and posters of Magical Girl Ephnel.

Magazines, books—almost everything was related to Ephnel.

The feeling of being surrounded by the person she liked was intoxicating to Yukina, but this intoxication had unknowingly changed its flavor after she learned Ephnel’s identity.

‘In the end, what had changed, and what had remained the same…’

Yukina chewed on the thoughts in her heart.

She turned over, clamped the life-sized body pillow printed with Magical Girl Ephnel between her legs, hugged it to her chest, and sniffed it hard.

—A faint, fresh scent of laundry detergent.

It was strange.

Even though her things and her sister’s clothes were always washed together, the smell of the clothes was somewhat different from the real Ephnel’s scent.

If she had to say, Ephnel herself smelled noticeably better, mixed with a certain scent that attracted Yukina.

It was very special, not as pure as a flower, but even more fragrant, intoxicating and captivating.

Was that what they called a body scent?

She wondered if she had any scent on her.

Yukina lifted the cuff of her sleeve and sniffed.

Besides the laundry detergent, there was also the scent of shower gel.

There was no unpleasant smell, but definitely no scent that could attract anyone.

Then again, she wouldn’t be able to smell it on herself.

Yukina lay down on the pillow again.

“I can’t sleep…”

Muttering softly, Yukina began to recall the events of the day.

The sound of insects and the wind came from outside the window.

Yukina frowned, finding the sounds exceptionally annoying.

The changes brought about by the changes in her body were multifaceted.

Having overly keen hearing was not entirely a good thing.

She hugged the life-sized body pillow and stared at the motionless portrait of Ephnel.

Time stood still for a while.

She slowly buried her face, inch by inch, and at the same time, slowly closed her eyes, her lips gently pressing against the lips of the portrait, which had been misshapen by her kneading.

…