Chapter 121 – Announcement
Shortly after, Chloe went down the stairs to get something to drink. On her way back from the kitchen, she saw Olivia in Benjamin's arms and exclaimed.
"Ah! That's unfair! Me too!"
Benjamin put a finger in front of his lips to indicate her to be quiet.
"Shhh. She's sleeping."
Chloe pouted but his warning wasn't enough to stop her. She came to sit next to him and glued herself to his torso from the other side while looking up at him, clearly demanding the same treatment as her sister. Helpless, he could only indulge her and began to pat her head too. She smiled and closed her eyes in contentment, burying herself deeper in his warmth. Soon after, she fell asleep too and Benjamin was now stuck in between the two girls in their dreams, unable to move anymore.
His mother came down later on and grinned when she saw them like this.
"You three look cute like that."
The next one to come down was Nova and she smiled meanly when seeing the scene. She approached the two sleepers and pinched their noses while closing their mouths. They told her to leave them alone but she didn't listen, arguing that he was spoiling them rotten. The two eventually woke up with a startle due to the lack of air, looking around to try to understand what was happening. They saw Nova's mocking grin and understood the situation, Olivia sighing in regret to have been woken up from such a perfect nap and Chloe immediately starting a fight with her.
"I won't forgive you today! No holding back anymore!"
"Ahah, what a joke! What can a pipsqueak like you even do? You're a million years too early to go against me!"
Free to move again, Benjamin used the opportunity to go to the kitchen and start preparing dinner, leaving the girls to enjoy their childish confrontation. It didn't take long before Chloe came to him for some comfort after losing the fight badly. While soothing her, he explained.
"You're still too small to fight her one on one. You would have a better chance to win if you allied yourself with someone else and attacked her with the power of numbers."
Nova immediately reacted to his comment, faking anger.
"Hey, Ben! What are you teaching her? Whose side are you on?"
"Of course, I'm on my family's side."
His mother liked the comment, laughing.
"Ahah, that's right. My son loves his family the best."
However, that comment caused the girls to realize that its meaning was hitting a bit too close to home and they all blushed, each remembering some particular happening with him. Their grandmother, who had come down in the meanwhile to check what the fuss was all about, gave a knowing smile but didn't comment on the situation.
Benjamin focused back on his cooking and finished preparing dinner after some time. The whole family sat at the table to enjoy the meal and Grace, who had come down last, began the discussion.
"You look like you're feeling much better now, Olivia. Did you manage to fix your problem?"
"Yes. Ben helped me and everything is resolved now."
"That's great. Do you still not want to tell us what it was about?"
"No... It's a secret."
They continued to chat about random things until their mother pushed the discussion toward a specific topic.
"I talked to Halle today and she said she would be delighted to have you come to her place during school vacation. Who wants to go?"
Halle was their aunt, from their father's side. She was a sweet and warm woman who had a lot in common with their mother and the two of them had a close relationship. She had two children, twins of different gender, who were the same age as Olivia. Even though he didn't know if anything changed about them in this world, Benjamin liked them a lot back in the previous world. They were a cheerful duo, always uplifting the mood of everyone around them. He had seen them during summer vacation but he already missed them and would definitely go to visit them if he had the opportunity. While he was in his thoughts, his sisters had already started to give their opinions, Grace going first.
"I don't even have any vacation in the first place."
College breaks didn't follow primary school vacations and her remark made sense. Nova followed after that.
"I have plans with the student council for the vacation so I won't go."
Chloe and Olivia were hesitating so Benjamin went next.
"I will go."
His choice seemed to convince his two younger sisters to follow.
"Me too."
Everyone seemed surprised when Olivia said she would go.
"Oh, you will go, Olivia?"
"Yes."
"That's good."
Finally, Chloe gave her opinion.
"I will go too."
"Alright."
In the end, their mother agreed to send only the three of them. The vacation would start on the weekend after the next, leaving some time for them to prepare. They already knew how to get there anyway so there wasn't much to worry about.
Since the mood was good, they decided to watch a movie after dinner. It was an action movie, something that could have come out from his previous world film industry, except that most of the characters participating in the action were female. This was also a normal channel broadcast and ads were cutting the movie halfway through. The ads in this world were a little different from those he was used to. The most classical way to sell a product here was to use males, usually handsome and popular ones. They would either smile charmingly during the advertisement or be on various levels of nudity for no good reason. Judging by his sisters' reactions, especially the younger ones, this was indeed very effective. Every time a man showed a little bit of skin, they focused intensely on it as if fascinated by what they were seeing.
The ads ended quickly and they finished watching the movie. When they were done, they chatted some more to exchange their feelings about it before everyone separated to head to their rooms for the night.