Living Normally In An Abnormal World

Chapter 27: Before the Sports Festival

What is the school event that usually takes place around summer?

It’s the Sports Festival.

However, since I’m the only guy, just my presence boosts the morale of the girls on my team, so I decided to take the day off and not participate.

It feels like I’m missing out on a few pages of my youth.

While it tends to become a hassle in high school, it’s not the case in elementary school. The kids who love events are all eager to participate.

And then,

“Nii-cha, I’ll show you my best, so look forward to it!”

My little sister is no exception.

“I’m looking forward to it! Make sure to practice and be in top shape for the Sports Festival!”

My little sister is participating, so this time, I’ll be on the sidelines as a guardian.

My state-of-the-art video camera, bought with my allowance, will be put to good use!

What? You think I shouldn’t participate because my presence boosts their morale? Nonsense, a brother who doesn’t watch his sister’s performance is not a brother, just a blood relative.

“Fufu, I’ll do my best!”

For now, I pat Yuuna’s head gently.

“Ehehe.”

After patting her head a few times, I give her a little tap twice.

“It’s a good luck charm in my own way, so you can do your best!”

“Thank you! Oh, I have to go now, Nii-cha! See you back in class~!”

Saying so, Yuuna leaves the classroom.

I had been feeling the stares from the people around us, and then I realized, oh right, this is my class.

“Nii-cha, don’t be sad when I’m not here, okay?!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

The girls around us thought, “He’s being a dad again.”

During the break,

“Nii-cha, help me!”

Yuuna rushed into my class with Sanae-chan. Yuuna was in casual clothes, while Sanae-chan wore her gym uniform.

“What’s wrong, Yuuna? You look flustered. Good afternoon, Sanae-chan.”

“Yes! It’s nice to see you’re doing well, big brother.”

Sanae-chan gave me a cute smile.

But my attention was on Yuuna. What happened to her?

“I forgot to attach my number cloth to my gym uniform!”

Ah, right, the 10cm square cloth that needs to be sewn onto the chest area of the gym uniform before you can participate in practice.

“Yuuna, you should have told me about this yesterday. I always tell you to do things early while it’s still on your mind.”

“Uuu, I’m sorry.”

“For now, lend me your gym uniform so I can attach the number cloth.”

“Okay.”

I took the gym uniform from Yuuna and retrieved a needle and thread from the sewing kit hanging on the side of my desk.

Fufu, I can do all sorts of household chores. With practiced ease, I threaded the needle in one go and began sewing the number cloth at regular intervals.

In just a few minutes, I finished attaching the number cloth.

“Here, be more careful from now on, okay?”

I handed the gym uniform back to Yuuna.

“Thank you, Nii-cha!!!”

She took the gym uniform and hugged me.

“Haha, it’s no big deal.”

Just then,

BUUCCCHHIII!!!

We heard the sound of something tearing.

The source of the sound was Sanae-chan, who was now holding the number cloth that had been neatly sewn onto her gym uniform in her clenched fist.

She must have pulled it off with all her might. But now, Sanae-chan couldn’t participate in practice without her number cloth.

So,

“Leave it to me.”

I agreed to help.

Sanae-chan took off her gym uniform right there, and I turned away, not wanting to look at her.

“Please, big brother.”

Sanae-chan handed me her gym uniform. I placed it on top of my desk and turned away, taking off my jacket to give to her.

“It’s not good for a girl your age to be half-naked or to catch a cold, so you can wear my jacket if you like.”

“Eh? Really?!”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you so much!”

Sanae-chan took my jacket.

I took out her gym uniform and began sewing the number cloth.

“Ehehe, it’s warm!”

I was glad to hear that.

After finishing the sewing, I handed the gym uniform back to Sanae-chan. At the same time,

“Don’t touch your own number cloth.”

As if they had been waiting for me to finish, several girls reached for their number cloths. “But why not?” they asked, staring intently at me. One person was fine, but when there were dozens of them… it was too much. “I can’t handle that many, so it’s a no,” I conveyed with my eyes.

They seemed to understand, as most of the girls took their hands off their number cloths.

I breathed a sigh of relief internally.

As for Sanae-chan,

“Big brother, your jacket smells nice.”

She was sniffing my jacket.

“It’s a bit embarrassing, so can I have it back?”

Well, I’ve seen this kind of scene in anime, but it’s complicated when it happens to me.

“Okay, I understand.”

Sanae-chan’s expression said, “I want to keep wearing it a little longer.”

While it’s no big deal to lend her my jacket, this is a school, a public place. As a guy, I’m already the target of everyone’s stares, and it’s inevitable that someone is always watching me. It’s fine if it’s my sister, Yuuna, but if I give Sanae-chan special treatment, she might get bullied when I’m not around, and that must be avoided at all costs.

“Thank you very much!”

Sanae-chan returned my jacket. That’s right, a sweet and honest girl like her shouldn’t be subjected to jealousy-induced bullying.

“Yeah, don’t do that from now on, okay?”

However, I had to set some boundaries. If she wanted to act spoiled around me, it would have to be when no one else was around.

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry.”

She seemed to understand that she was at fault.

“The break is almost over. You should head back soon.”

“Yes! Then we’ll go back! Let’s go, Yuuna-chan.”

“Aww, but I want more Nii-cha Nii-um…”

“Yuuna, don’t be stubborn. You can recharge at home.”

“Okay! Nii-cha, don’t run away~”

“When have I ever run away?”