The Last Straw – A Sister’s New Reality

The messages from my parents were almost the final straw that broke me.

If even my parents had accepted this reality, what more could I do?

Upon careful reflection, perhaps becoming a girl wasn’t so bad after all. It was just a monthly bout of bad temper, and a single ‘thing’ less. Nothing major…

Nothing major…

My heart, it seemed, had gone numb. Yet, my collection was crying out!

My meticulously curated cloud drives and the dozens of terabytes stored in my disk array cabinet were now utterly useless.

To those elegant, virtuous female teachers, and those anime characters with their alluringly flushed faces—forgive me. I longed to love you all once more, but I simply couldn’t!

Sob, sob. Having lost my ‘little brother,’ how could I generate love anymore?

Damn it, were there truly no forms of entertainment for girls?

Wait, hold on. Even if I’m a girl, it’s not like I can’t…

No, absolutely not. No good!

That would make me feel like such a depraved pervert!

The mere thought filled me with shame.

But what exactly was the difference in pleasure experienced by girls versus boys?

Perhaps, in the spirit of scientific inquiry, I should take some time to investigate?

“Sister, I know you’re an otaku, but I never imagined your desires would be so overwhelming. Can’t you think of something healthy and harmless now that you’ve become a girl?”

I retorted, “As the ancients said: ‘Food and s*x are human nature!’ Eating and drinking, men and women, these are humanity’s great desires! How can you call that overwhelming desire? I’m merely expressing my true self.”

“Sister, your ability to distort classics is so remarkable, it’s a pity you’re not a classical scholar. But Sister, you’ve only just become a girl. They say the pleasure experienced by girls is a hundred times that of boys. If you try the forbidden fruit too soon, your brain will crash on the spot.”

“Only a ghost would believe your nonsense! Practice is the best way to test the truth!”

I tapped open a certain pink app on my phone and found what I considered the best doujinshi. Indeed, the plot and art style were as excellent as ever.

Soon, I found myself immersed. Just as my heart swelled with excitement, it suddenly plummeted.

This is bad!

This sudden sensation… Oh my heavens!

“Sister, I told you so, didn’t I? Look how tormented your expression is right now!”

“Shut up!”

A jolt of electric stimulation coursed through my body, making me tremble involuntarily. Yet, my muscle memory clashed violently with my physiological state. I could clearly feel the presence of my ‘little brother,’ but I couldn’t touch it.

This phantom limb pain!

It was unbearable!

I futilely reached out, wanting to grasp a certain now-empty part of my lower body. Because I habitually slept naked, the area suddenly felt chillingly cold after losing that warm organ.

Just like my own desolate heart.

Can I cry?

“Sister, a tissue.”

I took the tissue the golden-haired boy silently offered, wiped away my tears, then slumped onto the bed, gave up the struggle, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Haha.

Hahahahaha.

Hahahahahahaha.

So that was it.

There was truly no going back.

In that moment, as a history buff, I thought of many figures: Narses, Zheng He, Wei Zhongxian, Li Lianying. Their spirits in heaven were smiling down at me.

To lose one’s male identity was truly agonizing. I had misjudged you all; to have lived such brilliant lives under those circumstances, you were truly remarkable!

“Um, Sister, you’re a girl now, not a eunuch.”

“Who says? Didn’t the novels I wrote before get ‘eunuch-ed’? Is this the punishment for abandoning my work?”

“I wanted to criticize Sister for her peculiar way of thinking, but surprisingly, I find your words make sense. Tell me, why did you stop updating your previous novels?”

I covered my face. Abandoning my work was a decision I’d made after much deliberation, yet I still felt ashamed.

“I’m only in my first year of high school! My writing was terrible, utterly devoid of literary skill. I felt embarrassed for my own readers. Why should they waste their time on such self-indulgent works?”

“Hmph, is that the real reason? Who starts out with amazing writing skills?”

“Many prominent authors debuted quite early. I even know a certain big-breasted JK light novelist who’s my age and already earning over ten thousand a month.”

“Hmm… but that shouldn’t be a reason to stop updating!”

I said self-deprecatingly, “I’m just a fool with a three-minute passion. Writing light novels was actually just a whim. I saw how degenerate the industry had become, with light novels full of ‘isekai Dragon Emperor’ tropes, and I thought, ‘I can do that too.’ But I was wrong. Do you think writing tropes is easy? Even if you gave me the tropes, I couldn’t write anything readable!”

The golden-haired boy was speechless. He sighed.

“As your younger brother, my mission is to transform you, Sister, from a shut-in otaku into a popular, perfect character. A three-minute passion won’t do, you know. Sister, do you remember what you so confidently declared before?”

“I’ve made many vows. Which one are you referring to?”

“The most recent one!”

I answered honestly, “I wanted to join a fan translation group so I could see doujinshi early…”

“And what happened? Didn’t you give up before even memorizing the fifty-sound kana chart? And painting! You said you’d make everyone who called you a ‘terrible artist’… well, you know. But after buying a drawing tablet, you only drew a few anatomical sketches before letting it gather dust. Am I wrong?”

I felt my cheeks flush. I was too useless, even I couldn’t stand myself.

“Are you a mind-reader? Enough! I’m a good-for-nothing, alright? Don’t make me face reality!”

I sniffled and fiddled with my phone, opening a certain penguin app. Seeing the message my goddess sent last night, telling me not to stay up late, I chuckled happily.

The goddess was my spiritual pillar. Even if I couldn’t marry her, as long as she remembered me, I was content. She was my only harbor in this dark world!

Escapism was shameful, but effective!

The golden-haired boy snatched my phone away, placing his hands on his hips and saying sternly, “It’s precisely because of Sister’s personality that the gods made me human to help you. Besides, you always said simping was pathetic, didn’t you?”

“What’s wrong with being a simp? If I could have a sweet romance, would I be one? Give me back my phone!”

I tried to snatch my phone back, but the golden-haired boy firmly pressed one hand on my head, making it impossible for me, sitting down, to reach his raised hand. He was treating me like a naughty child.

I whined, “Big brother and little sister, physical transformation, muscles, training… there are too many tropes.”

He shook my phone, looking down at me, “Is this really the time for witty remarks? If Sister keeps avoiding reality, I’m going to send your goddess some self-incriminating messages.”

“I’m sorry.”

Damn it, this demon had found my weakness so quickly.

He squatted down, his eyes meeting mine, filled with a gentle smile.

“From now on, we are truly brother and sister, both by blood and by law. My dearest Sister, Ling Jiu!”

I pouted in protest, “No, that’s disgusting. I don’t want my ‘little brother’ to call me ‘sister’; that relationship is too messed up. If another bizarre thing like this happened, what would my new ‘little sister’ call me?”

“…”

“Sister’s imagination is truly vast.”