Vol 2 Chapter 0 – The Trigger【Vol 2 — Youth in the Midst of Calamity】

“Hey, Aria-chan.”

“Hmm? What’s up, Elena-chan?”

“Elena… Elena loves Onii-chan.”

“Yeah, I get it. Will is so cool, after all.”

“Yeah, he is. He’s so cool and so kind. That’s why Elena… Elena really wants to marry Onii-chan!”

“…Huh? But, wait. Will is…”

“Yeah… He told Elena before that he didn’t want to marry Elena. …But that’s not because he hates Elena. Ehehe, Onii-chan said he loves Elena. He said he loves me. And then Onii-chan said that what makes him happiest is seeing Elena do whatever Elena wants to do.”

“…Elena-chan?”

“Elena’s still little, so there’s lots I don’t really understand. That’s why I asked Mama and the village ladies lots of questions. And then Elena understood. Marriage is a complicated thing, but if there’s someone you love, getting married to that person is definitely the happiest, best thing. …Onii-chan said he didn’t want to marry Elena, but… I think, I think he probably, definitely said that for Elena’s sake, because Elena doesn’t understand anything about marriage… because Onii-chan is so kind…”

“Elena-chan…”

“What is it, Aria-chan?”

“Sorry, but… I don’t think Will is going to marry you.”

“…Why? Onii-chan said he loves Elena, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but Elena-chan, there are different kinds of love, and not all of them mean wanting to get married.”

“…Onii-chan said that too, but still…”

“Also, Will told me he loves me too.”

“…He told Elena he loves Elena too. That he’d never, ever hate Elena… So that means Onii-chan loves Elena, right?”

“…But Elena-chan, you’ve never… kissed Will or anything, right?”

“…I have.”

“Huh?”

“Before, he kissed my forehead.”

“Your forehead…? Whew… I see… tee-hee.”

“Aria-chan… why are you laughing?”

“Nothing, nothing. Ah, but you know, I have kissed Will————”

Vol 2 Chapter 1 – Childhood Friend【Vol 2 — Youth in the Midst of Calami】

“…So warm.”

The mansion that serves as my home is large and tall, boasting the grandest scale in the entire village. It stands towering at the village’s edge, quite literally keeping the village safe day after day.

On the very crown of that imposing structure, atop the black-tiled roof, I lay sprawled out, basking in the sun.

Radiant sunlight wrapped every inch of my body, its supreme warmth inviting an irresistible drowsiness.

From the roof, I could survey the village extensively and, of course, look down upon the villagers living there. I want to say people looked like trash from up here, but honestly, it wasn’t quite that dramatic. Even as the tallest structure in the village, it wasn’t really that far from the ground. Especially for someone like me who had known the ultra-high-rise districts of Japan, that feeling was even stronger.

Well, even so, the fact that I was at the highest point in this village remained unshakable.

It feels good.

It’s the best.

This spot, the roof of my own home, had become my favorite lately.

Or rather, “lately” — I’d found this place really just now, literally just moments ago. I’d only just decided to make this my personal secret sanctuary starting today.

The reason I’d decided that was, well, because lately it seemed like I rarely had opportunities to be alone. I hadn’t really thought about it much before, but when I paid attention, I realized that Aria, Sophia, or Elena were pretty much always by my side. Having girls constantly around me was the height of luxury, and wanting to be alone despite that — from the perspective of my past life’s self, it was like, “What kind of messed-up thing are you saying, you bastard?”

But still, I did want time to myself.

However,

“—Ah, Will! So you were here!”

Before I knew it, Aria, with her swaying blue hair, stood before me on the roof, and I forced myself not to think too deeply about how she’d found my location so quickly despite it being a blind spot from the ground.

Well, it’s not like I was trying to hide here in the first place, so it’s only natural I’d be found. Yeah.

Thus, my plan to make the rooftop my secret sanctuary collapsed before it could even begin.

○

“Wiiiill!”

Speaking with a bouncy tone, Aria sat down beside me. I pushed myself up from where I’d been lying and sat down on the roof too.

As the village scenery entered my view in a daze, Aria closed the distance between us and leaned her weight against my shoulder.

“What were you doing in a place like this, Will?”

“Huh? N-No, I was just thinking of taking a nap. It’s warm here.”

“Hah, that’s true — it’s all toasty here, and a nap would feel so nice. …But I’m glad, though.”

“…About what?”

“You weren’t in your usual spot, so I got a little worried. I was thinking, what if something happened to Will?”

“C’mon, I’m not a kid anymore…”

“That’s right, tee-hee.”

Rather, I wasn’t a kid even when I was born, but Aria wore a somehow sisterly smile — the kind that said she was happy her younger childhood friend had grown up, yet somehow felt lonely about it too. I didn’t really understand various things about that, but since I was not a child anymore, I decided not to press the point.

However, Aria wasn’t having that, it seemed, as —

“But it’s nostalgic, isn’t it? When we were kids. Will was thiiis tiny.”

She raised her hand to around eye level and narrowed her eyes.

“No, you were small too, Aria.”

“Tee-hee, that’s true. Ah, I want to go back to those days. I remember that time so well, you know?”

“That time?”

“Yeah, when I got lost in the forest after Will taught me magic, and you came to save me.”

She spoke with a faraway tone, looking into empty space as if recalling that moment.

She really remembers that well. Even accounting for my memories from my previous life, the difference is clear — Aria had been only four years old back then. Well, even at four, I suppose she couldn’t forget something so shocking. After all, I had a little sister who remembered a promise we’d made when she was two.

“At that time, Will… forcibly kissed me… didn’t you…?”

“…”

With reddened cheeks and her hand against them, Aria glanced at me repeatedly.

Well, she’s not wrong. Yeah, she’s not wrong, but something feels off.

Glance, glance — my eyes suddenly met Aria’s as she darted looks this way. Aria let out a small “Kyaa!” and squirmed.

What is this reaction? No, I understand the reason behind it, of course. But even if I understand, that doesn’t mean I know what kind of reaction I should give. I’m not some template hero from a shoujo manga, and I don’t even know what that template hero would be like in the first place. At most, I know the template dense protagonist you see in light novels.

And so, since I don’t know what the correct action is here, I can only leave it to the flow of the moment as usual.

In other words, just imitate the template dense light novel protagonist. A template harem protagonist. And I can’t completely deny that I’m hoping this might lead to that faint desire — that harem — in this new life.

The difference between a light novel protagonist and me is whether he notices the heroines’ feelings. In other words, since I do notice their feelings, that makes me scum, but I have no other way to handle this, so it’s troubling. Troubling.

Strange. I haven’t done anything wrong…

While tilting my head at the contradiction of acknowledging myself as scum despite having done nothing wrong, I looked at Aria beside me.

With an “oh my, oh my,” Aria held her hands to her cheeks, shaking her head shyly. Somehow, since she seemed to be enjoying herself on her own, I started to think maybe this was fine for today.

It was the same as always.

○

“At that time, Will… forcibly kissed me… didn’t you…?”

“……”

“…Onii-chan, you’re not denying it…”

However, he didn’t know that an element different from “always” was present there.