Upon being ushered into the house, a silver-haired girl greeted me at the entrance.
She offered a silent, uncertain smile, her expression tinged with anxiety.
She appeared to be the same age as me, or perhaps slightly younger, but her smile somehow struck me as childlike.
Her short bob, cut straight at ear level, only added to this impression of her trying to appear older than she was.
「This is my elder sister, Sistina.」
Carlo introduced the girl to me.
[Sistina, this is Nanba Kazu, who will be staying with us from today onwards.]
The latter half of his introduction was spoken in Italian.
So she was the older sister. She looked more like his younger sister to me.
「I apologize. My sister doesn’t speak English.」
I see, then
[It’s nice to meet you, Sistina-san.]
I greeted her in Italian.
Sistina’s face lit up.
[Nice to meet you too, Kazu.]
When I took her offered hand, I was surprised by the strength of her grip.
Hmm, she still looks like a child to me.
[Your pronunciation is quite fluent.]
Carlo spoke in Italian as well, perhaps testing my level of proficiency.
[I’ve studied a little bit. I wanted to be able to talk to Sistina-san, so I don’t mind if we speak in Italian.]
[That’s a relief. But even so, you must have studied quite a bit.]
[Well, it’s only been about a week.]
[Hahaha, you’re a mysterious guy. I guess that’s what’s popular these days.]
While Carlo seemed to take it as a joke, it was no lie.
I had found the time to fly to Italy and converse with the locals.
I also watched Italian movies with Yui and the others.
Thanks to that, Yui seemed to have learned a little Italian as well.
[Your sister has beautiful silver hair as well.]
[It’s not a wig.]
[I wasn’t asking that, though.]
It was something that had caught my attention, though.
[What are you saying, Carlo?]
See, she glared at me.
Sistina had prepared dinner for us, and while it wasn’t the most visually appealing, it tasted warm and comforting.
Perhaps that’s what you call home cooking.
-0-
We talked about our respective countries and schools until the night fell.
[I’m going to sleep now……]
After confirming that Sistina, rubbing her eyes sleepily, had stood up and left the room, I turned back to Carlo.
「What’s going on?」
I switched to English from here on.
Just in case Sistina overheard us.
「What do you mean?」
「About Sistina.」
I stared straight at Carlo, and his gentle smile gradually turned serious.
「You noticed, huh?」
「Of course. What’s wrong with her body? She’s not a Variant…… is she?」
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