It's a Chastity-Reversed World, But It's Different From What I Imagined? - 21

Chapter 21: Little Sister’s POV: Doubt

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

【Tsuki Kurose】

After the entrance ceremony, I began to feel embarrassed facing my brother. Why couldn’t I suppress my own desires? It was all my brother’s fault for being so cool.

Back in middle school, if I just called him gross, my brother would clam up and retreat into his shell. That way, he wouldn’t go to other girls, and I believed he would stay as my brother alone.

But before even entering high school, my brother had slowly started to change. It seemed like he had been fixing his appearance and his way of speaking as if he were someone else entirely.

His appearance focused on simple clothing and hairstyles that emphasized cleanliness. His speech was no longer stuttering and hesitant—he could speak properly, even if he had to take a deep breath first.

I noticed all this on the day of the high school entrance ceremony. When I saw how my brother had changed, I couldn’t move. I felt embarrassed toward him, and at the same time, I grew anxious about what he thought of the way I had treated him until then.

And just like that, a month passed. By Golden Week, the third-years in the student council were busy with making documents for club budget allocations and preparations for school events. One day, when I returned from school, I found my brother in high spirits, cooking.

“Onii-san, I’m home.”

It had been a while since I had spoken to him. We hadn’t really had a proper conversation since the night of the entrance ceremony when we ate dinner together.

“Welcome home, Tsuki.”

While cooking, my brother greeted me with “welcome home.” If my brother and I got married, this would be everyday life. But if my brother married another woman, this sight might be stolen from me.

Thinking that way, I realized how foolish it had been not to talk to him. Why hadn’t I acted in a way that would make him like me more? Seeing my brother in such a good mood, I felt a sense of crisis.

“Hey, Onii-san. You look like you’re in a good mood—did something happen?”

For about three months now, I hadn’t called my brother “gross.” Because on graduation day, when he patted my head, it had signaled the end of my defense line strategy to protect him. And after what happened on the day of the high school entrance ceremony, I just couldn’t call him gross anymore.

“Hm? Really? It’s the same as always.”

Normally, he would never hum happily while cooking. But there he was, humming as he prepared food. If that wasn’t being in a good mood, then what was?

“Really? Did you go somewhere today?”

If he wouldn’t tell me directly, I would just have to change the subject and draw it out of him.

“Yeah. I went shopping for clothes today.”

Clothes? Now that he mentioned it, he really was wearing something that gave off a different impression than usual. Recently, I’d often seen him in outfits recommended by a certain famous clothing chain. But now, he was wearing something from a slightly pricier brand. The clothes looked stylish and it suited him well.

“That’s a pretty expensive place, isn’t it? Onii-san, I didn’t know you shopped at stores like that.”

“Hm? Oh. A kind person told me about it.”

-!!!

I was certain of it. That “kind person” ＝ a woman.

“Did Yuu-nee tell you?”

“No. Yuuna’s busy with her club activities.”

Not Yuu-nee. This was a critical situation. I had to investigate immediately. But what should I look into? Just then, I noticed my brother’s smartphone sitting beside him as he cooked.

“Hey, Onii-san. My phone’s out of battery. Can I borrow yours for a bit?”

“Hm? Sure. What for?”

“Just need to look something up.”

“Here.”

Being a careless person, my brother hadn’t even set a lock on his phone. I immediately opened his Main messaging app. Until now, only four people had been registered: our mother, me, Yuu-nee, and Yuu-nee’s mother. But now, two new names were listed: 【Seiya Shirogane】,【Ran Souma】.

Damn it! There were names I didn’t recognize registered on my brother’s phone. Which one was the woman trying to lure him? Seiya Shirogane sounded like a male name, but I couldn’t say for sure. Ran Souma seemed more suspicious. If I could just read the messages—

“Dinner’s almost ready. Help me carry the dishes. You’ll eat with me, right?”

My brother had made pasta, salad, and soup. I wavered between the temptation to check the messages and the meal he had cooked for me. In the end, I chose to prioritize my brother’s cooking.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Did you finish what you were looking up?”

“Not yet. I’ll do it after I charge my own phone.”

“I see.”

We talked like normal and my brother looked happy. But I continued eating while carrying the unbearable suspicion in my heart. I waited for the right moment.

When my brother went to take a bath, I sneaked into the changing room. At first, I searched his room, but since the phone wasn’t there, I had no other choice left but to check in the changing room. 

Inside the changing room, his discarded clothes were lying there. Without hesitation, I buried my face in them. My brother’s scent. Happiness overflowed here.

“Fuun, fuun, fuun~”

His humming from the bath pulled me back to reality. Unfortunately, it seemed my brother had taken his smartphone into the bathroom, so I couldn’t check it. I settled for taking one of his unwashed shirts back to my room. For today, that would be my “harvest.”

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー