Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World-Chapter 250: The Two Aunts Are Also Very Popular

After Ren finished speaking, the hot spring fell into a long silence.

The person in question looked around at the silent group in confusion, blinking innocently with nothing but clear puzzlement in his eyes.

"What's wrong? Did I say something weird?"

"No, nothing's wrong."

Nagi quickly interrupted, stopping Ren from overthinking. She lightly patted her cheeks. Maybe the hot spring was too hot—her face felt unusually warm.

Does he really not realize how much that sounded like a confession?

Thinking about his personality, Nagi sighed silently.

Sigh... He probably doesn't even realize the kind of feelings those words stir up in people. He likely just meant he liked the characters in the story.

Her thoughts now somewhat sorted, Nagi still found her face growing warm.

It's such a strange feeling to be suddenly praised like that.

Especially when he set up an atmosphere so similar to a confession, any girl would feel like they were just confessed to.

She glanced around at the others present. Yeah, pretty much everyone was the same.

But this also helped Nagi realize something important.

It seems that Maria, Isumi, and Sakuya all have a crush on Ren.

Only when a boy they like confesses to them would a girl suddenly get emotional. And only when the body releases a lot of dopamine would such emotions be triggered.

Take Isumi, for example. Nagi had never seen Tachibana Wataru do anything to cause that kind of reaction in her.

"Ren, aside from us, are there any other characters in the story who are very popular and well-received?"

Nagi's question prompted Ren to recall quite a few people.

"There are definitely quite a few."

This response instantly calmed down all the girls who had been emotionally affected earlier, and now their gossip-loving instincts were fully reignited.

"I know there are a lot of popular characters. Among them, there are many from Sonoko and Ran's story."

"For example: Kudo Yukiko, Kisaki Eri, Sato Miwako, Absinthe, Miyano Akemi, and Miyano Shiho."

Hearing those names, Sonoko and Ran were stunned.

Sonoko couldn't help but ask:

"Ren, why are Aunt Yukiko and Aunt Eri on that list?"

Those two are the very definition of 'aunties' in this world. At 37, they definitely qualify.

So why are they so popular?

"Um... how should I put it? I think they're popular because they look young, mature, intelligent, and attractive in the story. It's hard for people not to like them."

Though a little embarrassed, Ren still gave a sincere answer.

"Plus, character portrayals in stories aren't the same as in real life. There's a filter. So the signs of aging on their faces are practically nonexistent. In that sense, there's a big difference between fiction and reality."

A filter, huh. Animation versus reality does have a thick filter. With that kind of filter, it's easy to see why many people like elegant-looking older women in stories.

"Filter... yeah, that makes sense." freёnovelkiss.com

Sonoko nodded. She agreed with the idea. After all, stories are stories, reality is reality. The two shouldn't be confused.

"I've seen Aunt Yukiko in person. She takes good care of herself, but you can still tell her skin is a bit loose."

"Yeah. People do gossip about her, and it's true that her skin has gotten looser."

Ran couldn't help but agree. She saw Aunt Yukiko more often than Sonoko and more recently too, so she noticed the traces of time more clearly.

"And my mom too. Because of her work, she often stays up late reviewing documents and checking case files. That's why her eye bags are heavy, and she has crow's feet at the corners of her eyes."

"Also, her irregular schedule. When I moved in with her, I realized she had a bit of a belly."

Age and work have clearly left marks on her mother.

Ran was certain that her mom today was quite different from how she was ten years ago. While she was still charming, she couldn't be compared to the younger generation anymore.

As a middle-aged woman, Kisaki Eri was still a strong and hardworking professional. Naturally, it was harder for her to maintain her figure.

Being a lawyer wasn't exactly easy.

Working constantly on the front lines, Eri's physical condition understandably declined a little.

Just some effects from staying up late and a bit of belly fat due to irregular living habits—those were already very mild symptoms.

Ren thought that was perfectly normal. Many people are born beautiful, but only a few can maintain that beauty over time.

"Sato Miwako, she's the police officer we met on Tsukikage Island."

Ren's reminder made the girls remember the policewoman who came to protect them.

In terms of looks and figure, they recalled she was indeed top-tier.

"Miyano Akemi and Miyano Shiho are sisters. Ran, remember what I told you? Your role in the story was reduced because another character entered the plot. That character was Shiho Miyano, who took the same drug as Kudo."

"Her sister has long black hair. And she herself... actually looks a lot like Sonoko when Sonoko doesn't wear her headband and styles her hair in soft waves."

"Huh?"

Sonoko blinked in surprise, and the other girls turned their attention to her. In their minds, they imagined her with wavy hair and no headband. Then they all nodded slightly.

They could picture what Shiho Miyano looked like now.

"Shiho Miyano's personality is also very different from Sonoko's. She's more like Hayasaka during her work mode—she shows little emotion and is a very young scientist. She inherited her parents' talent and developed the drug that shrank Kudo based on their research."

Thanks to Ren's explanation, the girls now had a better understanding of Shiho Miyano.

A genius girl.

But most of the girls present didn't think much of the "genius" title.

Because they were the same.

(To be continued.)