Vol 0 Chapter 0 – Prologue: That Night

Clatter.

The wind tapped against the window.

I jerked my attention away, wondering if she was approaching, and shuddered violently. An indescribable cold terror crept up my spine.

But when I turned my gaze toward the sound, all I found was a beautiful hazy moon. Outside the window in the corridor, that moon floating dimly in the darkness of night looked no different from what I’d seen when I was Japanese.

That’s right.

I used to be Japanese.

I was born in Japan, a peaceful country on Earth, and lived a comfortable life without any hardships.

Until that day.

Perhaps it was inevitable that I would end up this way—from the moment a truck hit me and my new life began.

Nearly fifteen years have passed since I reincarnated into this sword-and-magic otherworld with my memories intact. In this world, men can marry from age fifteen, women from age ten.

Marriage.

I suddenly realize that this word, once counted among life’s greatest blessings, has become nothing but an object of terror.

That’s when it happened.

The thick clouds swallowed the moon—the only light—and the mansion was enveloped in deep darkness.

For some reason, a chill ran through me.

I have a bad feeling. I have a bad feeling. I have a bad feeling. I have a bad feeling. A B A D F E E L I N G.

I have to get out of this house. Fast.

Who could have predicted that I, who in my previous life prided myself on being completely cut off from the opposite sex, would one day cower in fear of girls who love me too much?

I want to punch my past self who used to declare with such fervor that I’d aim for a harem.

————Then,

“Aha, what are you doing here, onii-chan…? I went to the trouble of setting up a restraint barrier so you could sleep soundly… You’re really hopeless, aren’t you?”

“…E-Elena?”

From behind me,

“Yeah, …it’s Elena. The girl who loves onii-chan more than anyone else in the world, his number one sister.”

Elena embraced me.

Slowly, she held me—as if cherishing me, as if comforting me, as if wrapping around a fragile object that would shatter at the slightest touch.

There was a time when that contact brought me considerable happiness.

But now, that embrace—so gentle yet heavy as lead—

“I love you, I love you so much, …onii-chan. …I’ll never let you go.”

◯

“*Hah… hah… cough“

My breathing is ragged.

My lungs ache.

My mana is nearly depleted too.

Having somehow shaken off Elena, I lunged for the nearest door, tumbling inside.

Forcing my labored breathing to calm, I gradually quieted my breath. Then I suppressed my presence too, curling into a ball in the corner of the small room with my knees drawn up.

What do I do? What should I do?

This is definitely my fault.

Should I just give up? Accept my fate?

No.

If I do that, I definitely won’t get out of this unharmed.

My body grows cold. Terror swirls.

…I heard the sound of the window opening.

With a clatter, the window opened, and night air slipped inside. Cold air rushed up from my feet, coiling around me.

“Ah, Will! I knew you’d be here.”

With a soft tap, someone landed on the floor. I didn’t even need to look—I recognized the voice.

It was Aria, my childhood friend.

“Come on, hurry up and come with me? I understand, you know? Will was being threatened by Elena-chan, weren’t you? I had a feeling.”

“…”

“But it’ll be okay if you’re with me. …Because I’ll protect you properly. …So, okay? Okay?”

Unable to move a single muscle, as if caught in sleep paralysis, she held me gently from the front—a smile of maternal kindness and boundless acceptance on her lips.

I felt Aria lick the scrape on my forehead that I’d suffered while fleeing from Elena, as if tending to it.

A shudder ran through me.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay… Because I understand you the most. Because I can love you the most. …I love you, Will.”

“Hey, Aria.”

“Mmm? What is it?”

“…What’s this?”

Before I knew it, my right wrist and Aria’s left wrist were bound by a shining silver chain. When I twisted my right hand, the clink-clink of metal scraping against metal caressed my ear.

Her next words, delivered without a hint of hesitation, made me tremble.

“Yep, Will—we’ll be together forever, okay?”

◯

“This is bad… this is bad… this is bad…”

Dragging the silver chain still attached to my right hand, I was walking outside the mansion.

I no longer had the stamina to run.

Yet still—farther, just a little farther. Farther. F A R T H E R.

My head hurts. My brain aches, grinds. My body is hot.

My pulse is racing.

As I stumbled along, walking through a village at the dim, brightening dawn where no one was around, I suddenly spotted someone’s figure.

For a moment, anxiety and chill simultaneously engulfed my heart—had they caught up to me already?

But the woman showing a bewildered expression before my eyes was,

“S-Sophia-neesan? You’re already back?”

“Wh-what’s wrong, Will-kun. You look so battered…”

Seeing her flustered at my clearly abnormal state brought immense relief.

So without thinking, I asked her for help.

If I’d been calm enough to consider the situation until now, I might have been able to stop myself.

But at that moment, I was exhausted.

Until I explained everything, Sophia said nothing—just nodded.

Then, with a solemn expression…

“Well… I can’t really say much here. Anyway, come to my place. Then I can hide you.”

“…Okay.”

Once inside Sophia’s house, I sat in a chair across the table from her in the dining room.

I slowly sipped the tea Sophia had made for me. It was so warm. To my chilled body, it seemed to soak in.

“How is it? My homemade tea is delicious, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it really warms me up.”

“…I’m glad.”

Sophia, resting her chin in her hand as she gazed at me gently, broke into a sun-like smile at those words.

I’m being healed.

I could feel my turbulent heart gradually calming.

“I was wondering what I’d do if you said it tasted bad. Because… no, never mind.”

“…Sophia, neesan?”

Was it my imagination, or did her smile darken for just a moment…?

An indescribable panic flitted through my chest.

That’s when the abnormality struck my body.

My extremities went numb, my senses dulled, and I dropped the teacup I was holding onto the floor.

Crash—the sharp sound of shattering pottery rang out, and reddish-orange liquid spread across the floor. Meanwhile, the paralysis assaulting me spread, eating through my entire body.

The legs that supported me became useless, and I collapsed ingloriously onto the floor.

This is strange… this is strange, something is wrong.

Then, at that moment, the true nature of that wrongness became clear.

Sophia wasn’t panicking at my abnormality. She just maintained a calm smile.

Why? Why?

There was only one answer.

The one who caused this abnormal situation was—

“I’m sorry, Will-kun. But I think this is what’s best for you. Because I love you the most, because I love you so much, because I love you. …So, okay? Understand…”

My thoughts won’t clear.

I can understand what she’s saying, but I can’t understand what she means by it.

My body and head are numb.

Someone is straddling my body. Soft. Who is it? Who?

But the last thing to reach my ears was…

“Let’s be happy together with Sophia-oneechan, okay? I love you, Will-kun. I love you————————