Vol 1 Chapter 16 – Change, Part 2: First Half【Vol 1 — A Happy Childhood】

To summarize what Sophia’s father—Fullo-san—told me:

The engagement between Sophia and Regen Blum was apparently a proposal that came from the Blum family’s side.

When I first heard it, I could hardly believe my ears. But it was apparently the truth.

As for what the Blum family’s goal was—that part wasn’t entirely clear.

The one critical thing I did learn, however, was this: the person who held the actual authority as head of the Blum household was Regen…Blum himself.
His father, Bennett Alal Blum, had grown weak with age, and nearly all practical power had already been delegated to his son, Regen.

In other words, that obviously dim-witted, smug, affected dandy held dominion over a major city like the Medical City of Medisia—making him its de facto lord.
All kinds of concerns came to mind, but he only held the practical authority; he certainly wasn’t governing alone, and he himself would have far more knowledge of statecraft than I did.
It wasn’t my place to worry about that.

But given that, there was one conclusion that followed naturally.

The person who wanted to marry Sophia was none other than Regen Blum himself.

◯

To be honest, the engagement between Sophia and Regen Blum hadn’t been officially decided.
However, in the discussions between both sides, the side with the debt—obviously Sophia’s family—couldn’t exactly push back hard, so it was effectively a done deal.

Still, it apparently wasn’t too late to reverse things.

I lay on my back on my bed and drifted through what Fullo-san had told me.

“This is ridiculous…”

I felt helpless. There was shockingly little I could do.

Right now, Sophia and Fullo-san were having a private talk alone in a room.
Sophia hadn’t gone to school today not because she was hiding away—it was to meet with her father face to face. I’d jumped to conclusions.

I wonder what they’re talking about.

“Haah…”

A sigh escaped me.

What does Sophia think about all of this?

Come to think of it, up until today, I had almost never wrestled with a problem that truly troubled me.
Since being born into this world, I’d been living a cozy, easygoing life.

The one and only time I’d faced something serious—found myself thrown into an extraordinary situation—was four years ago, when Aria and I got stranded.

And now, it was Sophia.

And this time, there was nothing I could do.

“…This is ridiculous.”

That’s when I remembered I’d barely gotten any sleep the night before.

The moment I recalled that, a crushing wave of drowsiness hit me.

And before I knew it, I had sunk into a deep sleep.

◯

I woke to a clammy, uncomfortable heat—and when I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness.

Apparently, while lying in bed turning things over in my mind, I had actually fallen into a real sleep.

Still, my body was oddly warm.
It was because sweat had plastered itself across my skin.

“…Will…kun.”
“—Ah!”

Someone called my name out of nowhere and I jolted.

Paying closer attention, I realized I was wrapped in something soft, and from somewhere nearby came the sound of quiet sobbing.

The voice belonged to—

“Sophia…neesan?”
“…Ah, Will…Will-kun…? You’re awake…?”
“Um…”

My understanding couldn’t keep up.
What is going on right now.

Sophia’s face was right in front of mine.
Close enough that if either of us shifted even a few centimeters, our lips would touch.

“…H-hey, Sophia-neesan—”
“…”

I instinctively tried to pull away, but Sophia had me held firmly in place. There was no getting free.

Soft. Soft. Soft.

So this is what a girl’s body feels like.

Sophia’s body—still developing, still growing—had nonetheless grown more than enough. She had something I, as a boy, simply didn’t.

The arms wrapped around my back tightened.

A chest far fuller than any thirteen-year-old had any right to have pressed gently, but firmly, against me.

Calm down calm down calm down calm down calm down calm down calm down calm down.

The tightness in my breathing didn’t bother me at all.

But my face was definitely burning red right now.

What on earth is going on.

“U-um, Sophia-neesan, this is…”
“I’m sorry, Will-kun… I’m so sorry…”

Sophia made no effort to answer my question—she just kept repeating “I’m sorry.”

Then, without warning, the grip holding me tightened even further, and something soft and warm pressed against my lips.

“…Mm…mm.”

Wait wait wait.

A sudden kiss.
What was clearly deliberate—Sophia’s tongue slipped into my mouth.

Her face was right there.

Even in the dark, I could tell her face was flushed, her eyes closed.

The kiss continued.

A sound—wet and strangely sweet—filled the darkness as Sophia moved through my mouth without restraint.

About five minutes, in terms of how it felt.

Maybe a little shorter.

But after what felt like an eternity, I was finally released.

“…Hah…hah…”

Sophia’s ragged breathing was loud in my ears.
I could see her throat move as she swallowed.

I was lying flat on my back, and Sophia was straddling above me.

Aren’t the genders supposed to be reversed here…?
For some reason, that was the utterly irrelevant thought that drifted into my head.

“Will-kuun…”

A voice—sweet, needy, feverish.

Ahh, Sophia really is quite…
As I retreated into that thought to escape reality, Sophia placed both hands on either side of my head, boxing me in.

“Why…”

I asked without meaning to.

Looking up at Sophia’s eyes, I found them glistening—tears had already spilled over.

“Will-kun…”
“…”
“Onee-chan is going to marry that person.”

In other words—

“…That…”
“No, it’s something I decided properly. I thought about a lot of things, and I made my choice.”

Sophia’s eyes were steady as she said it.
But no matter how I looked at them, sadness was mixed in there.
I couldn’t see it any other way.

“But,”

The distance between us closed.

Before I realized it, I was being held by Sophia, face to face.

“I realized some things.”

Sophia squeezed the arms holding me with painful strength one more time.

“I always wanted a little brother, more than anything. So when Will-kun was born, I was so happy.”

I know.
Even before I was born into this world, Sophia had been looked after by Alicia and Lucas.

By the time I was aware of anything, Sophia was always by my side, doting on me more than I ever could have asked for.
Honestly, enough to be a little overwhelming at times.

In fact, at first, I had honestly thought Sophia was my real sister.

“I thought of Will-kun just like a real little brother. A cheeky, always-trying-to-act-older little brother I couldn’t help but find adorable.”

Sophia spoke close to my ear, as though reminiscing.

“I thought I still felt that way, but…”
“…Hm?”

Silence wrapped around the two of us.
In the pitch-black dark, Sophia was close enough for every expression to show—and all of a sudden, her face broke into something that looked like a tearful smile.

“—I think I love you, Will-kun.”

…Okay.

“Ah! Don’t get the wrong idea. I’ve loved Will-kun since before—since the day you were born, okay? But the ‘love’ I just said… hmm, let me think…”

Going from solemn to sudden flustered panic, Sophia’s cheeks turned red.
She closed her eyes, thought for a moment, and then let go of the arms holding me.

I watched with vague bewilderment, wondering what she was about to do—and Sophia started taking her clothes off.

She began removing her thin nightgown, layer by layer.

“H-hey, wait!? Sophia-neesan!?”

I lurched to stop her—and that’s when an immense, crushing pressure enveloped my entire body. The unmistakable feeling of magic.

I couldn’t move at all.

Working only my neck and above—the only parts I could still control—I searched for the source of the pressure.

I found it almost immediately.

“I’m sorry, Will-kun… Will you indulge Onee-chan’s last selfish wish? …If you can, I’d be happy if you didn’t end up hating me.”

Sophia—who had already finished removing everything she’d been wearing—smiled, fragile as glass.

That strange, somehow otherworldly atmosphere left me speechless, and any attempt to resist had been sealed away.

“I think I love you, Will-kun. You understand by now… right?”

Sophia reached, unhurried, toward the clothes I was wearing.

“Hey—! Sophia-neesan, wait!”

Something was very wrong here.
She was skipping over way too many steps.

My mind hadn’t fully processed what was happening.

“…Is Will-kun really that opposed to it?”

Sophia’s expression twisted with deep sorrow.

This is bad.
I thought it without any logical basis.

“…Sophia-neesan, what’s gotten into you?”

Straightforward. Simple. I asked what I wanted to ask.

As I looked at her with serious eyes, something flickered across that beautiful face.

“…Ah, I’m really sorry, Will-kun. Onee-chan was getting way too ahead of herself.”

She said it in a calmer voice, and I finally let out a breath of relief.

◯

Sophia, who had stripped off everything she was wearing, was now wrapped in a blanket instead, leaning close to me.

The room was still pitch black and quiet.

After a long silence, Sophia began to speak softly.

“…That Regen Blum person is the son of the lord of the really big city next door, and apparently he helped my father a lot when he was in trouble.”

The story Sophia told, word by word, was almost the same as what Fullo-san had told me.
Only she broke it down into simpler pieces, so that even young me could follow along.

I listened without saying anything.

But eventually, Sophia’s story began to venture into parts I didn’t know.

“Dad told me that if I didn’t want to, I didn’t have to go through with the engagement. But if I refused, it seems like some of Dad’s work would be taken over by the Blum family.”
“…”
“And I was told that if I turned down the marriage with that person, Will-kun’s dad would lose his work too. That in the worst case, Will-kun’s family might not be able to live in this village anymore… I don’t understand how it would come to that, but once I heard that, I felt like I had no choice.”

What does that even mean…

It was true that Lucas received work from Fullo-san, Sophia’s father, but…

Come to think of it, the de facto head of the Blum household was that smug piece of work.

If all he wanted was to marry Sophia…
Using things she’d hate—other than the marriage itself—as leverage to pressure her would be well within his reach.

“I love you, Will-kun…”

Coming from a Sophia who normally barreled forward without any hesitation, it was said with unusual shyness.

Seeing Sophia like that—so uncharacteristically meek—made me embarrassed too, and I turned my face away slightly.

Sophia noticed, and smiled with a hint of delight.

“So I’m going to accept the engagement.”
“Huh? But…”
“Because I want the Will-kun I love to live happily. And if that happens, I’ll be happy too.”

She said it with a smile.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that an immeasurable sadness was woven into it.

“But,” Sophia prefaced, and pulled away the blanket that had been wrapped around her.

Her bare form was revealed—and a sensuality no thirteen-year-old should possess made me avert my eyes again.

Sophia’s satisfied exhale reached my ears.

“I want you to have my first time, Will-kun… I feel like if you do, I’ll finally be able to let go. This is Onee-chan’s last selfish wish, okay?”

Her “first time” obviously meant—

“…What!? Wait—!”

I was pushed back onto my back.

Sophia’s face came within centimeters of mine.

“Sorry for kissing you out of nowhere earlier. I just couldn’t hold back.”

Sophia’s face was faintly flushed as she leaned even closer.

Those soft, pale pink lips filled my vision.

I shut my eyes on reflex—and in the next instant, felt something soft press against the center of my forehead.

Surprised by where I’d felt it—not where I’d expected—I opened my eyes to find Sophia smiling gently.

“But,”
“Sophia…neesan…?”
“I don’t want to do things Will-kun hates, as much as I can help it.”

Easy for you to say…
All this time, she’d been doting on me however she pleased.
There were parts that got a little excessive, sure.
But Sophia had always looked after me all the same.

I’d be lying if I said there weren’t moments I found it smothering. But the time I spent with her was fun.
That much, I could say without any doubt.

Alright, let’s take stock of the situation.
Calmly. Objectively.

First: Sophia was willing to sacrifice herself to save others.
And apparently, I was among the people she was trying to save.

Second: Sophia had said she loved me.
And because of that, she had asked me for her first time—so she could finally let go of everything.

Just that. Only that.

By the time I’d thought that far, I felt my face burning as if it were on fire.

My previous life—so removed from girls that my purity had never once been in any danger—felt like a distant lie.

But that was a past life. Right now, I was here.

Let me ask myself a question.
If I were to do what Sophia wanted right now—would I be okay with that?

No. I wouldn’t.

I was certain I would regret it.

As I recalled, I had set a goal for myself when I was reborn into this world.
To build a harem.

Lately, I had even forgotten about that, drifting through one ordinary, happy day after another.
That had been enough for me, after all.

But now, that was being threatened.

My adorable older sister Sophia was about to be claimed by some creep I couldn’t stand.

As someone with a harem in mind, I couldn’t allow that.
And to add to that—she had told me she loved me.

I couldn’t let this slip away.

I would do everything I could. That’s what I decided.

I looked over at Sophia and found her wearing an anxious expression.

Seeing that, a small, quiet anger rose in me naturally.

“Sophia-neesan…”
“Wh-wha, yes! W-what is it, Will-kun…”
“Is Sophia-neesan really okay with this?”
“…Hm?”
“You’d do that with me, and after that you’d have made peace with everything—no regrets?”

My voice came out a little harder than I intended. Sophia visibly faltered.

“I’m not okay with it…”
“…—!”
“I want to spend more time with Sophia-neesan. I want to keep laughing with her… Just letting Sophia-neesan belong to someone else, and not being able to stay by her side like we always have—I don’t want that.”

It was selfish.
This wasn’t a problem that could be settled by my feelings alone, but once the words started coming, I couldn’t stop them.

But even so.
I didn’t want to live with regret. My resolve to do what I could—that didn’t waver.
Even if it looked like there was nothing I could do, I’d do what I could.

Sophia, hearing my selfishness, trembled her lips.
Her well-shaped brows furrowed, and tears gathered in those wide, clear eyes.

Sophia pulled me into a tight embrace.

From just beside me, unrestrained crying began.

“That’s—! I don’t want it either! I… I want to be with Will-kun forever too… I finally understood that I truly, really love Will-kun, and yet—but, but—”
“…”
“That’s why—! I don’t want to cause trouble for Will-kun, I don’t want Will-kun to get hurt…! I made up my mind, I had my answer… and then you go and say something like that…!”

Sophia’s crying grew louder and louder, and it tore at me.

I had to say it clearly, right now.

“Sophia-neesan, you have one thing wrong.”
“…Hm?”
“I don’t want Sophia-neesan to get hurt either. And if I have to take a little hurt for that, that’s fine.”

Sophia looked at me with wide, startled eyes.

“Stop deciding things for me. It’s not like someone’s going to die if Sophia-neesan doesn’t sacrifice herself, right?”
“…But, but, if I don’t, Dad, Will-kun’s family, Will-kun himself… everyone will be troubled…”

Hearing Sophia’s weak voice, I finally lost what little patience I had left.

Because this was ridiculous!
It didn’t make sense. Why was Sophia bearing this much on her own?
Her misunderstanding frustrated me to no end.
But then again—Sophia was still only thirteen, wasn’t she…

In Japanese terms, she’d just started middle school.
The environment shapes how fast someone grows up emotionally.
But still. She was thirteen.

Of course she couldn’t look ahead clearly, or see herself and the people around her objectively and make sound judgments.

That’s why I had to say it plainly.

“Even if Sophia-neesan were put in a situation where sacrificing herself could save everyone—Sophia-neesan isn’t obligated to do it.”
“…Hm?”
“Because Sophia-neesan hasn’t done anything wrong. And yet for Sophia-neesan alone to take a loss for everyone’s sake—that’s not how it should be.”
“…”
“Even if Sophia-neesan ran away, there’s no one with the right to blame her for it.”
“But if I did that, I…”

“I’m here.”

The words came out of nowhere, and Sophia’s eyes went wide.

“I can’t promise I’ll make everything work out perfectly. But I will always be on Sophia-neesan’s side. I’ll try everything I can. So Sophia-neesan won’t be alone—don’t worry.”

The tears that had stopped in Sophia’s eyes welled up again.

“Last thing. Just answer me this.”
“…Will…kun.”
“What do you really want, Sophia-neesan…?”

The moment I said those words, my lips were sealed by Sophia’s.

“—!?”
“Mmph…!”

After Sophia’s tongue had made its thorough way through my mouth, she pulled back with a guilty look on her face.

“S-sorry, Will-kun… I couldn’t hold back again…”
“…”

What can I even say…
It seems like I’ll never quite be able to win against Sophia-neesan…

She ran her tongue over her glistening lips, and with an expression still tinged with guilt, Sophia looked straight at me.

“I want to be with Will-kun forever.”