(MC POV)
Eris soon left after she calmed down, and I did give her a hug which she was quite embarrassed to receive.
Cai Hong had gone back to our house to do her homework with Lian Li watching over her, leaving me to look after the store by myself.
I already assumed that Lian Li really liked the family setting so she's enjoying her time of being a housewife as well, which of course included taking care of 'our' daughter too.
I was busy sweeping up the floor of the shop when the entrance bell chimed again.
Turning towards the entrance, I found a woman dressed in a long overcoat that covered almost every part of her body with a hat that also hid most of her facial features from view. As though that wasn't enough, she even had sunglasses and a facemask on as well.
She shut the door close behind her before taking off the hat and sunglasses, letting her pure white hair free.
"A late afternoon to you, Miss Kiyomi."
She pulled down her mask, "Good day, Master Lin. And please, it's Kiyomi to you."
I chuckled, "Ahaha, of course, of course. Do you want the usual then?"
"If it is not a bother."
I gestured to the seat at the counter while moving behind it to prepare the exact same drink that Manami had ordered earlier today.
She draped her long coat on the coat rack just underneath her hat before making her way towards me and taking a seat.
"Long day at work?" I asked, making polite conversation.
She sighed, "Yes… A big play is coming up soon so we're more busy right now."
I grinned, "I see being a big star also brings its own problems to the table."
"Mmm… Sometimes I wonder if it's better for me to just give up and retire from this life… I never wanted this in the first place… But to become someone my sister could be proud of, I suppose it's worth it."
I couldn't help but smile at her words.
In this World, Kiyomi got really successful in the theatre industry and became a renowned superstar.
It got to the point where everyone recognised her and would swarm her for autographs if they were to know that she was amongst them, that's why she has to dress like that whenever she goes out in public.
This place was her refuge away from that life as neither Lian Li nor myself cared about such things which was something she was grateful for.
Ironically, both sisters are my regular customers even though neither of them knew the other also came here.
Manami works the evening shift as a singer at a bar while Kiyomi works in the day, both of them just missing each other when they come to our shop.
The reason why we've not told either of them about this was because both of them were ready to see each other yet. Manami was sure that Kiyomi would be completely disappointed in her current state while Kiyomi felt that she had not reached a level that Manami would be proud of her for now.
The me of this World had even tried testing the waters by asking what either would do if they met the other sister out on the streets and both told me they would just hide themselves or run away.
Yeah… If these two were to know that the other sister was coming here, I would think they would sooner choose to avoid this place entirely than actually try to meet their sister.
I placed the cup of tea in front of her, "Your Honey lemon black tea, Kiyomi."
She picked up the cup and gave it a sip before sighing out in contentment, "Ahhh… Master Lin's tea is as amazing as always."
"Would you like any cakes to go with it?"
Her lips curled up to the barest hint of a smile, "What does Master Lin recommend?"
"Ohhh~ I recommend Darling's cream pie! They're fresh out of the oven!" Lian Li called out, suddenly appearing out of nowhere.
Kiyomi shifted her gaze to Lian Li in amusement, "Hello sister Lian Li. I was just complimenting your husband's tea."
"Ehehe… Husband… Ahem! I mean… Of course you are~ My Darling makes the best tea, after all~"
"Indeed he does. In that case, allow me to take sister Lian Li's recommendation on the cream pie."
"Ohhh~ That's a good choice!"
Hmm… So in Manami's absence, Lian Li acts as her big sister I see. That's interesting.
Also… What's with her obsession with cream pies? She's doing this on purpose isn't she?
I went ahead to grab Kiyomi a plate of it and placed it in front of her, the white fox cutting a slice of it and placing it into her mouth.
"So… Have you thought about when exactly you would meet your sister?" I probed.
Her hand paused for a moment before resuming its descent to pick up another bite of the pie, "I'm still not ready yet… The me right now is nowhere even near my sister's level when I left the village."
"Hmm… Forgive me for being sceptical but… I believe you are comparing your current fame to your sister's strength, yes? But why would you think that your sister would not accept you for who you are now? Isn't your current level of fame already really impressive?"
"No… If my sister was serious, she could level an entire mountain if she wanted to. So unless I can move enough people to level a mountain like her, I am still nowhere worthy enough to stand by her side."
Ok, first of all… Manami could not do that easily even if she was completely healed back then.
Err… I meant this World's version of Manami, not ours of course. The real Manami could already level planets if she wanted to, so mountains aren't even something impressive to her anymore.
Second of all… That's an odd way of comparing but ok…
"What if she said she missed you and wanted to see you again?" I asked.
"Kukuku… Is there a reason why Master Lin is so oddly concerned about me today?"
"Mmm… I just think that your sister wouldn't really care about you being worthy or not to be with her. From what you told us about her, she seems to much prefer you to just be yourself."
"That is true… But it is also true that I feel inferior when standing beside her. When she shines so brightly like that, it's almost blinding. That's why if I wish to be with her, I need to shine just as brightly as she does."
Hmm… So that's what happens when the two sisters are separated from each other for this long… Manami ended up becoming the 'moon' instead of the 'sun' while Kiyomi would go ahead to become the 'sun'.
But well… Seeing both Manami and Kiyomi like this… I'm not sure how I'm supposed to help them…
Actually… Do I even need to help them?
Ughh… But seeing them separated like this is so weird… I'm already used to seeing the two of them together after all…
What should I do…
