Chapter 20: Illusions are always shattered in an instant

it was a tidy room.

Despite being left empty for quite a while, there was hardly any dust, as if someone had been consistently maintaining it until recently.

“Hmm.”

Sitting in the chair of that room, wearing a headset and staring at the computer, was a woman.

Her long, jet-black hair, tied in a ponytail, contrasted sharply with her cold, deep brown eyes.

With her tall and toned figure, it would be completely understandable for someone seeing her for the first time to ask if she was a model.

In fact, she was a reader model for a famous magazine, so if someone had that assumption, it could only be called fate disguised as coincidence.

This woman, Kaya no Yuki, was looking at the computer that displayed a video on Ontube.

On the broadcast screen, set in a school background, stood the avatar of a girl.

With jet-black hair that reached just below her shoulders, resembling Yuki, and piercing red eyes that left a strong impression. She wore a slightly tilted cap and had a silver gem choker around her neck.

Her slight smile and prominently protruding canine teeth made it clear that this girl was lively.

And from Yuki’s headset, a calm yet somewhat frightened voice flowed out as she watched the avatar.

[Ro, thank you for the red hyper chat. …Do you have any fun stories about your family?]

At those words, Yuki quietly swallowed.

Kaino Izumi.

No, she knew that Mina could never say anything nice.

How could someone who saw her at most twice a year possibly think well of her?

As an older sister, all she could give were the occasional gifts sent her way.

Yuki wanted nothing more than to turn off the broadcast right then.

If Mina were to say she disliked her sister, she knew she would definitely run out of the house crying.

But Yuki also understood that this was her own karma.

“…I shouldn’t run away.”

[Oh, my sister who was living alone came home to rest for a bit yesterday.]

As her story naturally came up, Yuki bit her lip quietly and closed her eyes.

[Hmm. Lately, it feels a bit, uh, awkward.]

At those words from Mina, Yuki thought she wanted to turn off the sound immediately and bury herself in bed to cry.

But.

[Ah. I don’t dislike my sister. In fact, I like her. But maybe because of the age difference, there are some awkward parts. …I’m more worried that my sister might dislike me.]

“…Huh?”

At the continuation of Mina’s words, Yuki’s mind came to a halt.

She couldn’t quite catch the latter part.

However.

[Ah. I don’t dislike my sister. In fact, I like her.]

[I like her.]

[I like her.]

Those parts were already firmly engraved in Yuki’s mind.

[No, that’s not true! We’re super beautiful, cute sisters!]

“…Hehe.”

When Mina praised her as beautiful, Yuki let out a silly smile that proved they were sisters, resembling Mina. Yuki felt happier than she had in a long time.

“I should just drink…”

Of course, Yuki did not dislike Mina at all. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she treasured and loved her very much.

The thought of “disliking Mina” was utterly impossible for Yuki. How could she dislike such a cute and lovely little sister?

Mina had hair that was softer and more beautiful than silk, a light brown that shimmered.

Her slightly drooping eyes gave her a dreamy look, enhanced by her blue irises.

Even without any makeup, her skin was smooth, moist, and soft, just as it had been in childhood.

Plus, her slightly timid demeanor added a glow to her appearance.

To Yuki, Mina was like a doll. No, even cuter than a doll, and with a nine-year age difference, Mina’s actions were all adorable to Yuki.

As proof, Yuki’s wallet was a gift from Mina four years ago on her birthday.

The background of her phone was a picture of Mina sleeping.

Mina’s virtual avatar, Kaino Izumi, had jet-black hair that Yuki had directly requested from their mother.

If it weren’t for the company, Yuki would surely still be living at home.

No, honestly, Yuki wanted to quit her job right away.

‘Ah, I know! The survival story of the dark uncle!’

But knowing that Mina enjoyed watching the animations she had written, Yuki couldn’t bring herself to do it.

If she heard that the next work was boring to Mina, then she would quit…

With that thought, she had been writing scripts for five years now, but whether by misfortune or luck, all of Yuki’s scripts matched Mina’s taste perfectly.

Yuki dreamed of quickly quitting being a scriptwriter and returning home to surprise Mina by saying,

‘The anime and game scripts that you enjoyed were written by your sister!’

But that dream was still a long way off from being realized.

“…But still, I dislike feeling awkward.”

In front of Mina, Yuki somehow got nervous and fell silent, while Mina, with her low self-esteem, was inherently negative.

Given that they were two such people, misunderstandings naturally arose.

Yuki wanted to clear up that misunderstanding as quickly as possible, but since they were sisters who didn’t talk much, it was definitely not an easy task.

“How should I handle this…?”

As the night deepened, cans of beer piled up on Yuki’s desk.

“…Maybe I should go to bed.”

After finishing a game and chatting for a full 15 minutes, fatigue was making her eyelids heavy.

Looking at the lower right corner of her computer, the time was 10:30 PM.

Hawawa, for a healthy high school girl, it was time for a good night’s sleep…

Still, she returned to the main screen of Ontube for now.

As far as she remembered, there was no live broadcast from Nacchan at this hour, but sometimes she would do guerrilla streams.

Fortunately, there was no live broadcast indication on Nacchan’s channel.

Phew. Now she could sleep without worry.

Just to be safe, she also checked the channels of those who often collaborated with Nacchan, but thankfully, her worries were unfounded.

After playing games for five hours and chatting for 15 minutes, she really wanted to sleep quickly.

Her head was spinning…

From now on, if she were to chat, she should limit her gaming to just 30 minutes.

Finally, after doing some light ego-surfing in the community, she turned off the computer and lay down in bed.

“Ugh.”

Slowly, her eyes began to close.

Accepting the drowsiness that washed over her, she quietly shut her eyes.

Having worked hard today, she felt she had the right to sleep comfortably…

Clunk.

Thud, thud.

“…Huh?”

As the door opened, the sound of someone walking in noisily stirred her consciousness from the darkness.

Yuki was quite sensitive while sleeping; even the sound of normal footsteps would wake her up.

But with such blatant noise, there was no way she could keep sleeping.

Of course, her family knew this, and they would always try to be as quiet as possible when she was sleeping.

No, they wouldn’t even come into her room in the first place.

Wait a second.

Could it be… a thief?

“…Mina?”

Fortunately, that ominous thought quickly dissipated thanks to my sister’s awkward yet familiar voice.

After calming my rapidly beating heart, I grabbed my phone to check the time.

It was 2:48 AM—perfectly in the early morning.

What’s going on?

There was no way my sister would come into my room at this hour…

“Mina? Are you awake?”

But there was something strange about her voice.

It wasn’t clear; it sounded muffled and slurred.

“I, I’m awake, sis.”

“Hehe. Mina, you’re awake?”

If I had to describe it, it sounded like a drunken voice.

In fact, it seemed like she really was drunk.

It was obvious, with her smiling like that and her tongue twisting—there was no way she was sober.

But why did she drink so much?

I hadn’t seen her drink to the point of being visibly intoxicated before.

…Could something have happened with her modeling work?

“Umm…”

“Sis?”

Then, she staggered closer to my bed, standing straight in front of me, smiling as she caressed my cheek.

That smile lacked the usual cold atmosphere, looking almost relaxed.

“My precious little sister.”

“…”

Without hesitation, she leaned in closer.

We were close enough that a slight movement would bring our noses to touch.

But there was no malice in her actions, so I simply swallowed nervously and gazed into her deep brown eyes…

“Uh, sis, I think… I can smell alcohol a bit…”

It was impossible to say.

“Ahh, Mina. I had a bit to drink today.”

The smell of alcohol emanating from her was overwhelming enough that I couldn’t even guess how much she had consumed.

At least it seemed like she had been drinking something like fruity beer, as there was a stronger fruit scent mixed in.

Of course, the harsh odor of alcohol blended in with it didn’t make it any better.

“Hehe. Mina, I’m your sis, who can’t hold her liquor. But I really appreciate you loving me so much… I love you a lot too…”

“Uh, uh, sis?!”

Saying that, she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

Wait, the alcohol smell! I just mentioned it!

“Knowing Mom is busy, I should take care of Mina more. Since I’m your sis…”

There was no problem at all!

In fact, I often preferred being home alone!

I was managing just fine!

There was no need for her to feel guilty!

But my thoughts didn’t reach my intoxicated sister.

Instead, she only clung to me more, as if to say she had worked hard to consider me…

After pondering what the solution to this problem might be, I decided to use the fact that it was the early morning.

“Uh, sis, since it’s early morning, I think we should, um, go to sleep soon…”

“Ah… Right.”

Finally seeming to understand, my sister loosened the hug and pulled back slightly while nodding.

“Then let’s sleep!”

…?

Was that the conclusion?

“Uh, sis?!”

Without hesitation, she slipped behind me, into the bed, and flopped down.

I pulled with all my strength, but as someone who hardly ever exercised, I couldn’t budge my drunk sister at all.

“…Are you saying you don’t want to sleep together?”

“Th-th-that’s…”

This was unfair.

With my sister, who had symbolized the ideal woman in my heart, looking up at me with eyes as pitiful as a stray puppy, I couldn’t refuse.

“…It’s fine.”

“G!”

My sister beamed.

She smiled brightly, like a child.

Then, she hugged me tightly from behind.

“Mina’s body is so incredibly soft…” Hehe.

“W-wait, sis…”

Your body is incredibly soft too! Especially in the middle! And there’s a nice scent coming from you!

If I said that, it would be sexual harassment, right?

But based on what I learned from Ms. Tateyama, it might be okay, right? Or not?

Should I unleash my instincts as a man?!

“Hehehe…”

“Eek!”

Even so, touching each other’s bodies was a bit much!

No way. If I didn’t do something…

“Um, maybe we should just sleep in our own rooms…?”

“Silly, it’s hot. Let’s turn on the air conditioner.”

“…That’s true.”

“…Mina. If you love me, give me a kiss.”

So, sleeping in separate rooms is off the table?!

“…

Do you not want to, sis?”

“I do! I really like you!”

“I like you too, Mina.” Hehe.

“Eek?!”

Naturally, my communication skills weren’t enough to persuade my sister,

and I ended up staying awake for a while, finally drifting off around 5 AM after she fell completely asleep.

But it turned out, she didn’t dislike me.

That was a huge relief, but from now on, if I think my sister is drinking, I’ll make sure to lock my door.