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 64

Anyway, we had to make Riko accept this. I needed her to understand.

“You didn’t want to let Maika’s baby die, did you? You didn’t want to make the baby unhappy, right? You couldn’t use that as a means to an end.”

“…”

Riko remained silent. There were no words she could say in response.

She had no choices left.

She must have realized that the theory I mentioned earlier, about “simple suicide equaling NTR for Yogi Souta,” was baseless. Given that this world is an eroge, it’s hard to believe that anything other than an erotic situation would qualify as NTR and trigger the game’s ending.

But once the possibility was brought up, Riko couldn’t risk it anymore. She couldn’t take actions that might endanger the baby and Maika’s body, even if only slightly.

“Hey, Riko.”

I knelt down and cupped her soft, mochimochi cheeks in my hands, lifting her face. Looking into her big, tear-filled eyes, I spoke slowly and gently.

“You didn’t cross that final line of endangering Maika and our baby just because of that, right? It’s more than that, isn’t it? You want to live alongside our child too, don’t you?”

“…Th-that’s… such a stretch…”

“Yeah, I know it’s a leap, but can you deny it? Don’t you want to meet our child? Don’t you want to watch this baby grow up right beside you?”

“Th-that’s…”

As Riko tried desperately to avert her gaze, I wouldn’t let her. I wouldn’t let her run away from this. There was something I wanted—needed her to say.

“The baby will be mochimochi too, for sure.”

“I’m way more mochimochi! Even against a baby, I won’t lose in terms of mochimochi!”

Yes, that’s what I wanted to hear. As expected of Mochimochi Riko, proud of her softness. Though it wasn’t exactly the answer I was looking for, it was still important.

“Speaking of which, being mochimochi isn’t just a means to an end, is it?”

“Of course not! This mochimochi that big brother called cute is my identity! Being mochimochi isn’t just a means to be big brother’s number one! In other words, making ‘mochimochi = big brother’s number one’ is my life’s purpose!”

“But ghosts aren’t mochimochi, are they?”

“—!! T-that’s… true… but…!”

“At the very least, I wouldn’t be able to feel the mochimochi. I’m sorry, but if Riko stayed by my side as a ghost, I wouldn’t even know she was there. I wouldn’t be able to touch Riko’s mochimochi—at all!!”

“…! Th-that… can’t be…”

Well, honestly, even if Riko lost her mochimochi over time due to aging, my feelings for her wouldn’t change. She’d still be mochimochi on the inside forever! In fact, the older she gets, the more she’ll be mochimochi on the inside! There’s a kind of charm in having wrinkles on the outside but being soft and squishy on the inside—it’s a poetic aesthetic! I’m really looking forward to the future!

“Why can you even say ‘…! Th-that… can’t be…’ in a conversation like this?”

“Shut up, chunky pregnant woman!”

“Please rest, chunky pregnant woman. Forever.”

“I won’t shut up! I have things to say to this foolish little sister too.”

Maika stepped forward and crouched down in front of Riko. Her expression was filled with anger, and the sharpness in her eyes made even Riko falter and stutter.

“W-what is it, Maika-chan? S-sure, trying to end the world despite having a baby in your belly is unforgivable, but breaking the mochimochi rule was your—”

“That’s not what this is about.”

“Ow!”

Maika’s hands clamped down on Riko’s cheeks with a quick, firm squeeze.

“You said something like, ‘You must have wanted me to die,’ didn’t you?”

“…W-well, of course… it must have been like that…”

“Idiot. That’s not true at all. I’ve always thought I was losing to you. That’s why I was determined to turn the tables. Our battle isn’t even past the second inning yet. And then you try to run away with the lead? That’s not a fair game. You’ve got to play until the ninth inning.”

“Maika-chan… did you not hate me?”

“I feel the same way about you as you do about me.”

“So you absolutely hate me.”

“Yeah, that’s why I absolutely have to beat you. I want to see you miserable, alive.”

Well, of course, that’s how she feels.

Unlike me or Dad, Maika tried to live her life properly, no matter how tough things got. Her strength often made me forget, but it was Maika who cried the hardest when Riko died—not me, not Dad. She probably hid it to support me, but during those two years, I’m sure she cried deep inside the whole time.

There was no way Maika would allow Riko to attempt suicide again.

“Maika-chan…”

Maika smiled warmly at her embarrassed and slightly awkward-looking sister.

“Become this child’s big sister, Riko. This is your new family.”

She took Riko’s hand and gently guided it to her own stomach. Riko hesitantly reached out and softly stroked her sister’s belly with a loving touch, quietly murmuring.

“Here… my nephew and niece… my family…”

What a touching scene. Why is she assuming they’re fraternal twins, too?

And yet, what’s really in there is just Maika’s squishy pudge. She’s not pregnant at all. But Maika, with her overflowing maternal smile, is so convincing that even I think she’s actually expecting. It’s like she genuinely believes she is pregnant now.

Ah, there’s no turning back now.

I should hold back until the final game… but once we win tomorrow and clinch our spot at Koshien, then in the night… gulp…

Lost in my own fantasies, I gulped as Riko shook her head slightly. Though her eyes had regained their sparkle for a moment, she now lowered them again, lacking confidence.

“But I don’t have the right to be their proper big sister… I’m nothing but a foolish little sister… a foolish aunt. Isn’t that right, big brother?”

“Riko… Why would you say that?”

“Because I’m the kind of woman who used the promises you cherished and even Koshien as a means to an end… Now you know the truth. I’m not fit to be part of such a shining family as you, Maika-chan, and these children…”

Riko’s face contorted as if she were lamenting from the depths of her heart.

And it’s my fault for making her feel this way.

So—

“Riko.”

Just as Maika was honest with her feelings, it was now my turn to bare my embarrassing side.

“It’s okay to be that way. Using promises and even Koshien to be my number one—yeah, that’s totally normal.”

“Huh…”

Riko’s eyes widened in shock, but I didn’t think I said anything too surprising. Sure, I was initially taken aback when Riko confessed that to me, but looking back, it was my arrogance that made me react that way.

Upon reflection, it’s only natural.

Because—

“I only cared about baseball, Koshien, and promises as a means to impress you guys!”

“Eh—!?”

Not just Riko, but even Maika looked stunned. Fine, let them be shocked. I’m not ashamed of what I said.

“If you think about it calmly, I’m no different from Riko. And really, it’s the same for all the other baseball players across Japan. If you dig deep enough, the reason they want to go to Koshien so badly is because they want to be popular and admired, isn’t it? To be thought of as cool?”

It’s the same as when we were kids and admired the players from Sendai Ikuei and Nihon Bunri. Today’s high school baseball players are working hard just to be admired by future Koshien players, future lovers, and future brides! Oh, right, “school baseball players,” technically.

“Is that… how it is…”

“She’s actually buying it,” Maika commented.

Stay out of this, future bride. You chunky pregnant woman (in the making).

“So, Riko. I want to hear it from your own mouth.”

“…Big brother…”

“Yeah, that’s right. And tell this baby in my belly too. Teach them, as their big sister, that this world they’ll be born into and live in is the best place to be.”

“…Maika-chan… You sound so smug, and it’s really irritating. And I still haven’t forgiven you both for breaking the mochimochi rule. You’ll be making up for that for the rest of your lives.”

Scary. My little sister is scary.

But she’s right. A promise is a promise, and since we broke it, we have to face the consequences.

We’ll make up for it, no matter how long it takes.

“So, Riko. Watch me until the end, alright? Watch me atone for this.”

“Of course! That’s why… That’s why I…”

Raising her head, Riko’s eyes were brimming with tears, yet she looked straight ahead as she declared,

“I want to live. I want to live in this world, as a family member to you, Maika-chan, and your children… I will live! And I’ll stay mochimochi! I’ll stay mochimochi forever!”

“…Riko…!!”

“Big brother!!”

“Mochimochi!!”

“Mochimochi forever!!”

We embraced each other tightly, Riko and I. She’s still just as mochimochi as ever. She’s mochimochi!!

And once again, I realize just how amazing children are. New life is truly a wonderful thing!

However, we can’t just be celebrating. Harsh realities still exist. We can’t move forward while leaving these unresolved. I have to be honest and address this sincerely.

“Riko, this will be a harsh reality for you…”

“I understand.”

“So, you’re prepared…? You know that if Yogi Souta stays in love with you, you must remain a virgin forever, or the world could end, right?”

“Yes, I’m prepared… Besides, there’s no way I’d ever let anyone other than big brother touch my mochimochi body. Well, I’ll be mochimochi with Rikuto-kun and Rumina-chan, of course.”

Yes!! This means Riko will stay pure forever! Nobody’s allowed to touch her! Well, except Rikuto and Rumina. I’ll be recording all the mochimochi moments, though.

“Besides, if Yogi Souta falls in love with someone else and forgets about Riko, that’s the end of that. It’s just a nonsensical one-sided crush anyway,” Maika chimed in.

Stay out of this, confirmed chunky pregnant woman. We’re having a heartfelt embrace over here, so you join in too. Your constant tsundere attitude is why you’ll never shake that reputation.

But for now, it looks like this is resolved! —Or not.

Well, maybe it’s fine to consider it settled. Even if we leave things as they are, Riko, Maika, I, and our new family could live happily ever after.

But something still doesn’t feel right.

Even if Koshien was just a means to happiness, it’s still the symbol of our family bond.

Tomorrow, I have to win and take these two to Koshien—that’s an absolute certainty. And there’s one more thing I have to do.

I have to confront that Koshien jerk and show him the strength of Riko’s determination and the resilience of human life.