Rimu listened to the lessons halfheartedly. Yesterday, she had planned to leave early to meet Kisara but unfortunately the circumstances didn't let her do so.

The rain outside was still pouring heavily and the wind was blowing hard. An umbrella wouldn't have been enough to prevent the drenching her clothes.

If Rimu left now, she would only have become a wet cat!

'Oh well, it's not an urgent matter anyway. I can meet her tomorrow. Kisara won't go anywhere. My body isn't as strong as Riku’s. I can't let myself get sick from the rain.' Rimu shook her head.

After school, Rimu attended Karate Club practice. Since she hasn't received her karate uniform, she changed her clothes to her sports uniform. When she arrived at the Sports Building, she looked around but unexpectedly Kyoko wasn't there. Instead, she found Fumino and approached her.

"Where is Kyoko...?" asked Rimu.

"Kyoko?" hearing Rimu's question, Fumino was bewildered.

For a moment, she didn't recognize the name, but after a moment she remembered yesterday's events.

"Kayoko-shihan? This morning she said she wouldn’t be coming today, but she didn't tell a reason."

"I see..." Rimu shrugged.

'I guess I can't ask her to drive me to Kisara's place... Too bad, but it seems I only can meet her tomorrow.'

Fumino wondered as she looked at Rimu's dejected face.

'To think this girl dared to call [Demonic Instructor Kayoko] with a nickname... What is their relationship?'

In her mind appeared various scenarios and hypothesizes.

'Don't tell me... Nekomiya Rimu is her illegitimate child?’
No... no... that's impossible because I know she is Nekomiya Riku's twin sister... I had personally investigated her this morning!

Or perhaps... is it the opposite!? Kayoko-shihan IS the illegitimate child of one of their parents, and she an older sister?
Nay! The math doesn't add up... She is more likely to be an aunt. But... Ahhh, whatever!'

Suppressing her thoughts, Fumino decided to focus her efforts on her training and forgot about the mysteries shrouding Nekomiya Rimu. But whatever Rimu's identity was, her relationship with Kitagawa Kayoko was the real deal. If that was so, she must be cautious of avoiding confrontation with this loli.

Nekomiyas can't be underestimated!

Not only was the older twin is dangerous, but his twin sister also had powerful connections.

♠♠♠

 

The training went on as usual like yesterday. The rain stopped and Rimu returned home after she got her workout. Her mood was unusually bright. The skies seemed to reflect her happiness when the sun shone through the clouds. She hummed as her shoes stepped on a puddle of rainwater, splashing around the water.

By her father’s estimation, her smartphone should have arrived by now. The reason why she chose to ask for a smartphone was not because she wanted to communicate with her friends.

In the first place, the children who owned a smartphone were still rare in her school. The reasons were not that their families were poor or unable to buy it, but because the school restricted the use of smartphones on school grounds.

This was to prevent the students from indulging in games or social media and forget about their studies. As well as to prevent cheating during exams. Anyone who was found carrying a smartphone would have it taken away and only have it returned if their parents personally went to the faculty room.

As such, no one bother to bring a smartphone to the school.

Rimu asked for it for a certain feature. 'At least! With a smartphone, I can turn it into a portable hotspot by activating the tethering feature. With this, I can connect my PC by using the WiFi!' thinking this, Rimu smiled happily.

A moment later, she arrived in front of her house.

"I'm home~!"

"I was waiting for you, my daughter! Your goods have arrived."

"Really?! Yaay! Let me open it... let me open it..."

Sitting on the sofa, Seigo greeted Rimu as he pointed at the small package on the table. At its side there was a bigger package which had been opened already. It should have been Riku's PC and he was probably busy in their room right now, playing with his new toy.

Rimu jumped up energetically and she opened the package and examined what was inside.

There was a pink smartphone, 2 earphones, 1 cable adaptor, 2 spare batteries and 1 USB cable.

It wasn’t bad for the technology at the time. However, for Rimu, this kind of technology was outdated. In fifteen years, there was the VS-Watch, a smartwatch with a virtual screen and a solar powered battery. It could do all what a smartphone could with a more compact size and there was no need to recharge the battery. But for her, this smartphone was more than enough.

"Do you like it, Rimu?" Seigo asked.

"Yes, Dad!" Rimu nodded her head.

"Then, quickly change your clothes and go to the car, prepare for a trip," said Seigo as he patted his daughter's head.

"Huh, where to?" Rimu tilted her head, confused.

Seigo stood up and grabbed his car keys. He then grabbed a bottle of cold water from the fridge and took a gulp. He shifted his glance to Rimu and answered her,

"Of course you need to complete your mobile contract, have you forgotten?"

♣♣♣

 

After some travel, they stopped in front of a building which was about 10 km from their home. From outside, the building had 20 floors and a spacious entrance with a big nameplate that read "Sakura Mobile". It was the main branch of Sakura Mobile inside Kusanagi City.

'Why Dad bring me here? If we want to make a mobile contract isn’t the phone store near our district? It would only take less than 10 minutes to go there.' Rimu questioned in her mind.

Seigo parked his car nearby and brought Rimu around the inside of the building. As if aware of Rimu's thoughts, he explained to her.

"I could have taken you to the phone store and bought your smartphone there, then complete the mobile contract, but the employee would either be a trainee or a money grubber. Completely untrustworthy. But here, there is no such thing. No pesky scum, no confusing terms, and no illegal deals."

Rimu nodded as her knowledge increased. In her previous life she had ignored these details. She bought her smartphone in a store and completed her mobile contract there. She had signed a 2-year mobile contract with a huge number of clauses and restrictions. For only the SIM card, she was charged ¥2.700, which only allowed for voice calls and did not include messaging or voicemail. If she wanted the option to use the internet, it would cost an extra ¥2.900 for 1GB per month.

And there were also cancellation fees. Cancellation fees were among the most nefarious hidden expenses. If you signed a 2-year contract you might think that any cancellation fees would be waived after the 2 years are up. Unfortunately, this was not always the case.

The amount you head to pay for cancellation fees usually equaled the number of months left in your contract, but there were sometimes charges for not renewing a contract. When it came time to move on it may well come as a surprise that you have incurred additional fees for no reason.

A few moments later, they arrived at the receptionist desk and were forwarded to another desk. Seigo took care of all the negotiations using terms and phrases she couldn't understand. Bored because she was left without anything else to do, Rimu glanced at the contracts and silently surprised at the differences.

There was no two-year contract. She only paid by the month, so switching between plans was easy. If she found herself using more or less data than her expected, she could change the plan quickly and easily.

Monthly plans started from ¥2.980, which included 3GB of data and 30 minutes of calls. The one-time activation fee of ¥5.000 covered all costs and charges no matter how long she used their services. She did not have to worry about sudden changes in her bill. Another highlight of their service was that there were no cancellation fees.

The next step would be to sign both of their names on the contract. Rimu read the contract for the last time before signing her name. The contract she signed was different from the ones she made in her previous life.

'A mobile contract for children? I didn't know it existed...' she thought completely baffled.

Seigo took out a bank card from his pocket and proceed to pay the starting fees along with the first month. For a month, Rimu don't have to worry about the money, but starting from the next month, she had to pay with her allowance.

She could have asked her father to pay her monthly bills and he most likely would have given her the money but she wasn't planning to do that.

'There are many ways for creating money. As long as I can access the internet, the rest will be easy. I will be a good girl and won't trouble my dad anymore.'

Seigo put the SIM card into the pink smartphone and tinkered with the configuration as well as put his number on the contact list. He gave the smartphone to Rimu.

"Ok, we're done. Remember this number and don't lose your smartphone."

"Yes, Dad! Thank you!"

Rimu hugged the smartphone to her chest and smiled happily. It was a genuine smile without any kinds of deception. From her point of view, it has been a long time since she received any kindness, without hidden meanings.

This was a fatherly love. A father who thought of nothing except of his children’s well-being.

This was a familial love, one that cared for her unconditionally.

'This smartphone, I'll make it into my heirloom!'

Looking at Rimu’s innocent smile, Seigo's mind was refreshed. It was a sweet, angelic smile, as if she descended from the heavens.

She reminded him of Mikoto from their childhood. He remembered when he had gifted Mikoto his clumsily made statue at her 11th birthday. Mikoto's smile was the same at that time as Rimu's smile now.

"Mii... our beloved daughter has grown up..."