I Reincarnated as a Mob Character in a Romcom Manga—After I Kept Comforting the Third “Fanservice” Heroine When She Got Dumped and Cried, I Feel Like She’s Started Directing Some Seriously Heavy Feelings at Me - Chapter 10: My Little Sister Is Way Too Angelic

Chapter 10: My Little Sister Is Way Too Angelic

“Onii-sama, welcome home.”

The moment I opened the front door, I heard the patapata sound of someone running toward me in slippers.

When I looked up, standing there was an incredibly cute girl—so angelic it was hard to believe she was related to Reiji Jeromiya’s plain face at all. She wore her school uniform with an apron over it, an outfit combination that felt almost unfair, as she warmly welcomed me home.

“Yo, I’m back, Eru.”

“Onii-sama, is something the matter? You seem… cheerful today.”

“Oh? Do I? Is that what my face looks like?”

“It is. Ever since around the day before yesterday, your mood and the way you talk haven’t really felt like the usual you…”

“Well, I guess that’s true. Eru, actually… your big brother remembered some memories from his past life.”

“Eh? Past-life memories?”

“Yeah. In that past life, I was really sick. I had a serious defect in my heart—a very ill patient.”

As I stepped up into the entryway and gently patted Eru’s head, she naturally leaned into it, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“In my past life, I didn’t have a cute little sister like you. I was always stuck in the hospital, so I didn’t even have friends. When I remember those lonely, unrewarded memories, of course living like this now starts to feel fun, right?”

When I rubbed my palm over her head, pressing the warmth in as I ruffled her hair, Eru let out a small “mmu~,” narrowing her eyes and squirming a little.

The way she reacted was just like a cat’s—and that overwhelming cuteness made it impossible not to smile.

Her name was Eru Jeromiya.

She was a second-year middle schooler in the junior division of Seiran Private Academy—the very stage of Schrödinger’s Love—and she was Reiji Jeromiya’s, and now my, little sister.

Big, round eyes like a puppy’s, chestnut-colored hair flowing down her back, a small frame compared to others her age, and a polite way of speaking that felt oddly detached from everyday life—

I honestly wanted to tilt my head and ask why a mob character like me ended up with a little sister at this level, but Eru Jeromiya was so cute that “beautiful girl” was the only way to describe her.

Reiji Jeromiya apparently had a very low-key presence and a completely introverted personality, but I remembered that he absolutely adored his little sister. So now that I had my past-life memories back, I decided I’d spoil this adorable little sister without holding back.

When I finished patting her head, Eru looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

“Past-life memories, you say… Well, since someone as boring as you, Onii-sama, couldn’t possibly come up with such an interesting lie, I suppose it must be true.”

“That’s right. And besides, your big brother would never keep secrets from you of all people. You know that, right?”

“But that’s not all. There has to be another reason why you suddenly started refusing the lunch money I used to give you. Am I wrong?”

Hearing that, I scratched my head and sighed.

“Man, you’re sharp… Alright, little sister. The truth is—I made a friend.”

“F-Friend—!? You mean… you, Onii-sama!?”

With a completely shocked shout, Eru’s eyes flew wide open—those massive, jewel-like eyes resembling a twenty-thousand-carat piece of amber displayed in the deepest hall of a grand Western museum.

“N-No way…! Someone like you—who hates people, is lazy, and has zero social skills—actually pulled off something that bold!?”

“Yeah, yeah, I thought so too. And to add to that—it’s a girl. A female friend. She even makes my bento.”

“Hyaa—! A-A woman!? A female friend!! And she makes you lunch too!? Tomorrow it won’t just be spears raining down—it’ll be halberds!”

“Mm-hmm, Eru. I trust and appreciate the way you sound like you adore your brother while mercilessly roasting him at the same time.”

“S-So then! That woman who’s more than a friend but not quite a girlfriend yet—what kind of person is she!? Is she a braided, glasses-wearing library committee girl!? Or a quiet, straight-bangs, kokeshi-type beauty!?”

“Well, about that…”

Knowing this would probably cause an uproar once I said it, I gave a wry smile.

“Actually, um… it’s Chloe Mitsushima. You know her, right?”

The instant I said the name Chloe Mitsushima, it was as if all of Eru’s excitement had been flash-frozen. Her face went completely blank.

“Onii-sama.”

“Yeah?”

“Onii-sama… are you perhaps a CIA agent?”

“Huh. Being called CIA twice in one day is a first for me. And what’s your reasoning?”

“A honey trap.”

Eru didn’t even try to hide the disgust on her adorable face.

“Chloe Mitsushima is a very famous girl even in the middle school division. Flashy looks, a shamelessly lewd body, and rumors that she freely uses it to seduce men…”

“O-Oh. So she’s got that kind of reputation even in middle school, huh. I mean, it’s not exactly wrong, but that’s still kind of sad…”

“How exactly does a gloomy, unremarkable man like you become friends with such a flashy woman? The only explanation is that you possess some top-secret information capable of shaking international politics, and she’s a female spy sent to steal it.”

“Can you at least consider a slightly more reasonable possibility?”

“No. I cannot.”

It seemed this cute little sister of mine was strangely stubborn about certain things.

Letting out a sigh, I began explaining.

“First of all, Eru. You’ve got a pretty serious misunderstanding. I get why she has that kind of image—looking at what she’s done up till now, it’s not totally unfair. But the real Chloe Mitsushima isn’t anything like people make her out to be.”

“No way…! You’re already completely ensnared, body and soul! Onii-sama, please come back to us!”

“Just listen for a second. To put it bluntly—she got dumped.”

“…Huh?”

Eru’s eyes widened.

“She spent a whole year hopelessly in love with one guy, and he rejected her pretty badly. All those so-called slutty moves were just her trying to get him to look her way. I happened to see her breaking down and crying, so I comforted her. If anything, I was the one taking advantage of someone when they were vulnerable—not the other way around.”

As I explained this while laughing lightly, Eru’s massive, jewel-like eyes—like twenty-thousand-carat amber displayed in the deepest hall of some grand Western museum—drifted off in opposite directions, one toward London and the other toward Paris.

After a few seconds, her gaze slowly returned to center.

Then, with a look and tone that clearly said I can’t believe this, Eru let out a stunned groan.

“I can’t believe it… You, Onii-sama, comforting someone. A man who shouldn’t possess even a fragment of manly reliability or kindness…!”

“That’s rude. I’ve got at least a fragment. That fragment is exactly why I comforted her. I even offered her a handkerchief, you know? Pretty gentlemanly, right?”

“Well, there’s no way someone as… intellectually challenged as you could come up with such a clever lie, so I suppose it must be true. Even so, why did it have to be that woman…!”

“I guess it was just a matter of timing. After that, I’ve been comforting Chloe every day while she sulks and cries about getting dumped, in exchange for bento. So it’s not some shady relationship or anything.”

When I said that with a wry smile, Eru nodded, apparently satisfied—for now, at least.

“If that’s the case, then I understand. Let me confirm one more time—this isn’t a honey trap, correct?”

“I don’t even have any important secrets worth trapping me for.”

“Honestly… don’t scare me like that. The moment I heard you’d made a female friend, I already came up with about ten different ways to erase that homewrecker from existence.”

“Don’t. Absolutely don’t.”

Seriously—this sister of mine had a mouth far sharper than her cute looks suggested. As I was feeling exhausted by it all, my phone chimed with a notification.

When I picked it up, just as expected, it was a LINE message from Chloe Mitsushima.

《Heyyy~ thanks for today! What do you want in tomorrow’s bento?》

Hmm…

I had karaage today, so maybe a cheese-stuffed hamburger steak tomorrow…?

As I grinned to myself while thinking that, I suddenly felt an intensely icy gaze right up close.

“Hm?” I looked up—

And Eru was staring straight at me with eyes and an expression as cold as a Siberian blizzard in the dead of winter.

“Onii-sama… to be honest, you’re creepy.”

“Wha—!?”

“You say you’ve made a friend, but just one LINE message and you’re already all soft and droopy. That means you’re clearly seeing Chloe-san not just as a friend, but very much as a woman.”

“T-That’s not it! The only thing I was getting excited about was the bento menu, okay…!?”

“This is bad. Very bad… At this rate, before long, Onii-sama will be completely dried out—mind and body—by Chloe-san… Wait—that’s it!”

Resting her hand under her chin, Eru thought for a moment—then suddenly looked up, as if an idea had struck her.

“Tomorrow, I will act as your bodyguard, Onii-sama!”

“Huh?”

“If I stay close to you, Chloe-san won’t be able to make a move so easily! Onii-sama, let’s go to school together tomorrow!”

“W-Wait, that’s a bit… Given my usual image, walking to school with such a cute little sister is kind of…”

“Precisely because I’m cute, it’s perfect! If that homewrecker realizes that a girl just as cute as her—or even cuter—is right by your side, she’ll think twice before laying a hand on you!”

“B-But…”

“Enough—just listen to me! If you refuse to walk to school with me tomorrow, I’m never buying you pudding again!”

“Whaaat…!? T-That’s just cruel…!!”

Pudding.

Back when I was alive before, everything I ate tasted like sand. Now, pudding was the sweet treat I was completely addicted to.

With my greatest weakness taken hostage, I had no choice but to nod in silence.

And so, the next day, I ended up doing something absolutely unthinkable for a gloomy mob character in a romcom manga—walking to school alongside my unbelievably cute little sister, pulling off a move worthy of the protagonist himself.