Vol 2 Chapter 3 – Big Sister【Vol 2 — Youth in the Midst of Calamity】

“So… Elena, where exactly did you want to go?”

“Huh? Um, well…”

After being dragged by Elena through winding back alleys and questionable passages that barely even counted as paths, I ended up right back in the center of the village. The two of us were slightly out of breath, and passersby watched us with puzzled looks.

I still couldn’t figure out what Elena had actually wanted to do. I tried to convey that through my gaze alone, but Elena just let her eyes wander, looking flustered.

“Elena…?”

“…Ugh.”

The longer I stared, the more she seemed to crack, her gaze dropping to the ground.

“Onii-chan…”

“…Look, uh, I just can’t stop wondering what your plan was back there.”

I said it without any particular edge, and Elena flinched. She slowly looked up at my face, then spoke softly.

“It’s just… Aria-chan…”

“Huh? Aria?”

I hadn’t expected Aria to come up here at all, so I found myself asking back without thinking. What does she have to do with this?

“I sensed Aria-chan’s presence… and before I knew it, I just…”

“You ran away because Aria was coming?”

I guessed the rest and asked. Elena gave a small nod.

Elena ran away because Aria was coming? Once I accepted that, it wasn’t hard to connect the dots.

It was because lately, the way Elena looked at Aria had seemed different from before. Something vaguely unsettling about it. If I had to guess the reason —

“You two got into a fight or something, didn’t you?”

“…”

When I asked, Elena kept her head down and said nothing, but she didn’t deny it either.

Ah. So that’s what this is.

Now that I thought about it, sensing presences like that is genuinely freaky. My little sister — what kind of superhuman is she?

But well, everything else about her is age-appropriate. Probably…

I rested a hand lightly on Elena’s head.

“Don’t sweat it too much. That kind of thing happens. But what matters is being honest about how you really feel, and properly apologizing for the parts that were your fault.”

“Onii… chan?”

“Not saying you have to do it right this second, either. Take your time until you’re ready — but when you do it, make sure you do it properly and head-on. And if you can’t get there on your own, ask someone for help. Doesn’t have to be me — just someone you can lean on.”

I said that with a smile, and Elena slowly raised her face.

And just then,

“Ahh, Will-kun is being a big brother~!”

I turned toward the teasing voice, and there was Sophia, her slender figure the very picture of womanly elegance, laughing with obvious delight.

“Good to see you and Elena-chan getting along so well.”

“Ah, Onee-chan!”

“Sophia-nee-san…”

○

The story goes back about seven years, to when Sophia was still thirteen and I was seven. It was around the time of Sophia’s betrothal incident.

Sophia’s father, Fullo-san, is the lord governing the territory that includes this village. Before I was even born, he had been struggling to deal with a plague epidemic that had broken out in his domain — in other words, he had no breathing room. For that reason, Sophia had been placed in our care and spent her early years in our home.

As a result of that betrothal incident, the lingering shadow of the plague that had weighed on Fullo-san largely faded away, and Sophia was finally able to return to her family home. But to Sophia, this village where she had spent her childhood was her true home, and she refused to go back.

The look of shock on Fullo-san’s face at that moment was utterly indescribable, but since he himself had been the one to send Sophia here as a child — even if he’d had his reasons — I don’t think I felt all that sorry for him.

Regardless, Sophia refused to return to her family home and wanted to stay with us. But in the end she was still a girl under her parents’ protection, and she was brought back anyway.

There was quite the scene of Sophia resisting with everything she had, but I’ll skip over that here.

Anyway, Sophia’s return settled things down for a while — but only for a little over a year. At fifteen — the age generally considered adulthood — Sophia moved back to our village on her own and set up her own home.

I’ll also skip over the tangled noble politics swirling around all of that.

Long story short: even though she lives in her own place, Sophia Onee-chan still lives nearby and plays the role of big sister to both me and Elena.

○

Sophia’s house.

In front of Sophia, who carried herself with a fully grown woman’s beauty, Elena and I were sipping tea. When I set my cup down with a soft clink, ripples spread across the clear orange liquid.

“Hey, Onee-chan! Onii-chan is amazing, you know. Just the other day, Elena was home reading a book and —”

“Oh wow, as expected of Will-kun. He really is a great big brother, isn’t he.”

“Yeah!”

“But Elena-chan, you’ve told me that story before.”

“Huh?”

Heartwarming. Just… peaceful.

That was the feeling I got watching the two of them in front of me.

Not to brag, but if I looked at things objectively, the person Elena feels closest to is me. Right after me, though, it would be our mother — Alicia — or Sophia.

The expression in Elena’s eyes when she looked at Sophia was far calmer than usual, and she seemed genuinely happy. The way Elena looked at Aria was… I don’t know how to put it, kind of scary. Hard to put into words…

So watching Elena and Sophia chat away like this put me at ease too.

Being the adult she was, Sophia knew where the lines were, and she often let Elena take the lead. That was reassuring. Elena probably hadn’t noticed that, though.

I was gazing absentmindedly at Sophia when our eyes suddenly met, and she smiled softly at me, still resting her chin on her hand. A grown woman’s smile. The quiet confidence of a twenty-year-old.

My heart gave a little jump.

Damn it, my mental age should have the edge here — so why does it feel like I’m losing?!

Watching Elena and Sophia enjoy their conversation, I got up from my seat.

“Ah, Will-kun, bathroom?”

“Uh, w-well, yeah.”

Sophia looked over at me the instant I stood up. She was exactly right — but how did she know…?

“Want Onee-chan to come with you?”

“Only if Onee-chan wants to be permanently known as the village’s biggest pervert.”

“Gosh, Will-kun is so mean. I was obviously joking.”

Chuckling at Sophia’s pouty expression, I left the room. Right at the doorway, just for a moment, my eyes met Elena’s.

○

“H-hey, Onee-chan, there’s something I want to talk to you about. If possible, while Onii-chan isn’t here — like now.”

After Will left the room, Elena worked up her courage and said that to Sophia. Sophia’s eyes went a little wide at Elena’s sudden shift in mood, but she gave an exaggerated nod.

“Will-kun will be back soon, though. But if that’s okay with you, I’ll hear whatever you want to say. For a cute little sister, Onee-chan will listen to anything.”

Hearing that warm reply, Elena’s face relaxed with visible relief. She took a breath and opened her mouth.

“Elena… Elena loves Onii-chan.”

“Yeah, I can tell just from watching you two. Will-kun really is cool, after all. And of course, I love both Will-kun and Elena-chan.”

Sophia smiled calmly, still resting her chin on her hand.

“So, what’s going on?”

She nudged Elena to continue.

“Yeah, um, and so Elena wants to marry Onii-chan.”

“Oh, you’re really going for it, Elena-chan.”

Without showing a hint of surprise at Elena’s words, Sophia gave a nod. Seeing that, Elena went on.

“Elena loves Onii-chan so much, and she wants to be with him forever. So Elena wants Onii-chan to love Elena just as much… but…”

“But?”

“Elena has never kissed Onii-chan.”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm.”

“But, Onee-chan… Aria-chan and Onii-chan, they… they’ve kissed before.”

“Wait, really?!”

Sophia made a show of surprise at Elena’s words. But the emotion behind it was thin — as if she’d known everything from the start, she barely seemed shaken at all. Elena didn’t notice.

“Onii-chan… does he love Aria-chan the most?”

“Hmm, I don’t think so.”

“…You think?”

“Yeah, because I’m the one who knows Will-kun best.”

Sophia said that with complete confidence, not shifting from her chin-in-hand pose for a second.

She smiled gently at Elena.

“What do you want, Elena-chan?”

“I want Onii-chan to say he loves me the most.”

“Then you’re going to have to work for it, aren’t you.”

At Sophia’s encouraging words, Elena’s head shot up and she gave a big nod.

“Y-yeah! You’re right, I’ll give it my shot!”

Sophia smiled softly, watching her cute little sister muster her resolve.

“…Not that it’ll ever happen.”

Elena didn’t catch Sophia’s quiet murmur.