Believing She Has Been Reincarnated into a Baseball Game, My Little Sister Is Aiming for the Koshien, While I Give It My All to Keep Her from Finding out That It’s Actually an Ntr Game - Chapter 49

We won.

In the third round, Nomo pitched a complete game and we won 6-2. In today’s quarterfinal, I pitched a shutout, and we won 3-0.

In other words, our Netora Academy baseball team has advanced to the semifinals. Two more wins and we’re at Koshien.

The moment to fulfill my promise to Maika and Riko is just four days away.

On the living room sofa after dinner. While watching footage of Bundai Fuzoku Academy’s game—our next semifinal opponent—on my laptop, Maika spoke.

“Yeah, their batters won’t be able to handle a 140-kilometer-per-hour fastball high and inside. If you pitch like usual, Kyugo, you’ll shut them down the day after tomorrow.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

I nodded beside Maika.

In the quarterfinals, I was able to conserve some energy while pitching. Since we scored three runs early, I could ease up against the bottom of their lineup.

Even so, I threw 110 pitches. Starting again after only a day of rest, I’ll probably need to throw a similar number of pitches. And then, after another day of rest, I’ll start and pitch a complete game in the final.

Normally, Maika wouldn’t allow me to overwork my shoulder and elbow like this, but just this once, she’s letting it slide. Both of us are resolved. No matter what happens, I will pitch us all the way to Koshien.

“But don’t push yourself too hard, Kyugo.”

Maika, my wife, said as she gently squeezed my right hand.

“Don’t worry. I’m not the kind of weak guy who’ll break from this. After all, I’m your husband.”

“Yeah… that’s true. After all, you’re my husband.”

“Maika…”

And then, without either of us saying anything, we kissed for the 131st time.

“I saw that, I saw it! ♪ My foolish little sister’s bath was a fake ♪…”

“Eek!?”

I screamed.

Silky black hair brushed my cheek. A drooping mane hung down, and a very pretty face peered at me from above. When I looked up, I made eye contact at an extremely close distance. Her bloodshot eyes stared intensely at me. Blood dripped from her mouth as she sang a creepy children’s song. She bent over from the back of the sofa, leaning over me, shoving her face right in mine. It was my genius little sister. My super-cute sister, Riko, who was supposed to be taking a bath. Yikes…

“R-Riko, what are you doing…?”

“Surveillance! ♪ I thought I’d do a surprise inspection to see if Nii-san and Maika-chan were up to no good.”

She’s too sharp and adorable.

Since standing on the back of the sofa is dangerous, I gently caught her and sat her down on my lap. Once seated, Riko beamed with a contented “Nii-san…♪” expression. Thank goodness, her scary face was gone. Now she looked completely happy.

“Hey, dumb little sister, don’t put unnecessary strain on Kyugo’s body. You’ve got some extra pudge on your tummy anyway.”

Maika moved to pull Riko off of me, but there was no need. Still smiling, Riko snapped and launched herself at Maika with a “Hissss!” like a cat. Guess calling her chubby is a taboo, even for Riko… but I like her soft and squishy belly.

“I’m not squishy! Unlike you, Maika-chan, Riko is firm and soft!”

“Just so you know, I still don’t fully understand what you mean by firm and soft!”

“That’s because you’re not firm and soft, Maika-chan! You’re plump and extra plump!”

Maika and Riko started whacking each other with cushions. Sisters bonded by blood in both past and present lives. The peaceful, unchanging daily life of our family. It really warms my heart.

“Enough already! Cut it out!”

Maika cried out, tears welling in her eyes.

Now that I think about it, Maika is actually the weaker one when it comes to their sisterly squabbles. Riko never shows any weakness when arguing with Maika, but Maika usually cries pretty quickly. In the past, Riko would even fake cry, clinging to me and saying, “Maika-chan bullied me.” That would always make Maika cry for real, which was the usual pattern.

“Why does Riko always interfere when Kyugo and I are together!? You already know, don’t you? There’s no place for you to come between me and Kyugo in this world!”

“Hey, Maika, that’s going too far…”

It’s not even about her coming between us. We’re a family, all three of us.

But if you say something like that, even Riko would be hurt by it.

“Riko, don’t worry about it. You’re just as important to me—”

But to my surprise, Riko smiled gently.

“Riko…?”

“It’s okay, Nii-san. Maika-chan, too. Riko doesn’t intend to get in the way of you two.”

At Riko’s words, Maika froze, her grip on the cushion stopping mid-motion, her eyes wide. Even she could tell that Riko wasn’t lying.

“It frustrates me, but I’ve accepted that in this world, Nii-san and Maika-chan are meant to be together. Oh, but you’ll still follow the rule, right? No naughty stuff until after Koshien… or actually, let’s make it until the tournament is completely over, just to be safe!”

Riko sat between Maika and me, joking as she spoke. Then, with a slightly serious expression, she added:

“But it’s not like I’m trying to interfere. Just for now, until then, can’t we spend some time together? Before you and Maika-chan are officially together, I think it’s okay for me to be with you two, too.”

“Riko? What are you saying?”

There are still things I haven’t been able to ask Riko.

Despite knowing that we aren’t blood-related, why did she suddenly accept it so easily over the past few months? And what were her reasons for giving our names to these game characters?

I don’t mistrust Riko just because she’s keeping secrets, but I do feel a little sad.

I don’t expect her to share every single feeling with me, but… I can’t help but feel uneasy. Something feels off.

“Why don’t the three of us sleep together tonight?”

“Huh?” “What?”

Riko, mustering a bit of courage, smiled as if to hide her own anxiety.

“Koshien. We’re so close to making our long-time dream come true. Nii-san is going to fulfill his promise to me. That’s why, until our spot in Koshien is secured, I think it’s important for us to spend more time together as a family.”

“Riko…”

Honestly, the way she said “that’s why” feels a bit forced. It sounds like once the dream comes true, everything will end.

But I get it. For Riko, the idea of me going to Koshien and being with Maika might carry a heavier meaning.

In reality, though, even after I marry Maika, my feelings for Riko won’t change. After Koshien, I’ll keep playing baseball, go pro, and make enough money to ensure not just Maika, but Riko too, has a happy life.

But for now, that’s not something that matters to Riko. She’s afraid of losing her beloved brother to Maika.

I do feel bad about that… but my soft, sweet little sister is just too cute. She’s a squishy angel.

“Is that… okay?”

“Nope.”
“Of course it’s okay, Riko. Let’s sleep together, all three of us.”

“Nii-san…”

I pulled the wide-eyed Riko and the sulking Maika into a hug, gently patting both of their heads.

Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if we kept sleeping together like this every night from now on, not just until Koshien. Though, if we do that, I’ll never get a chance to have kids with Maika… Hmm, I’ll have to think about that…

“Don’t think you can trick me just by hugging me! I’m not that easy to please, you know.”

“Oh, come on, Maika. Look at it this way—before we’ve even made it to Koshien, you’re already getting to sleep with me! No more sleeping alone in the living room!”

“Yay!”

Too easy. My wife is adorably easy.

I came up with a great haiku for that.