Prologue

The quiet click of a door opening echoed through the room of a modest house. Slowly, so as not to wake the room’s occupant, a golden-haired girl peeked in and looked toward the figure on the bed.

“…Hmm. Akito is still Schlafen [asleep]…. Gut, [good boy, good boy]…”

With striking features unusual for a Japanese person, loosely wavy blonde hair that reached her shoulders, and beautiful blue eyes, it was clear from her fluent German that she wasn’t Japanese.

Yet here she was, in Japan, and the black-haired boy sound asleep in front of her was unmistakably Japanese.

After covering her mouth to stifle a quiet laugh, she opened the door further, revealing her figure dressed in an apron over her school uniform.

Her name was Emily Tatekawa—a true German.

“Guten Morgen [good morning], Lieb Bruder [my beloved big brother]… If you don’t hurry, breakfast will get cold.”

“Mmph…”

Emily whispered into the boy’s ear almost like a lover, and in her mind’s eye, she imagined the bubble of sleep popping at his nose.

Moments later, the alarm clock on his phone went off, playing a trendy song. Emily quickly stopped the alarm.

“Mmph… Morning—no, Guten Morgen. Emily.”

“Ja [yes], good morning, Akito.”

The boy—Akito Tatekawa—turned his gaze to Emily.

“By the way, Emily, I’ve told you to stop whispering in my ear, haven’t I?”

“Nein [no way]. I’ll never stop.”

Akito and Emily were siblings, though only in a step-sibling sense.

Despite this, the distance between them was far closer than one would expect of siblings of the same age. To some, this morning scene might even have looked like something from a couple’s life.

“Hurry and get up. Don’t even think about skipping my breakfast.”

“Yeah, give me a sec. I’ll come down after I change.”

“Okay, I’ll wait downstairs—oh, but first…”

Emily leaned close to Akito’s still-reclining face and pressed a brief kiss to his cheek.

“…Gut [good]. Hurry down, Akito.”

After the sudden kiss on his cheek, Akito watched as Emily, her cheeks slightly flushed, left the room. He slowly got out of bed.

“Mm… haaah…”

He stretched deeply, letting out a satisfied sigh. Then he opened the curtains, followed by the window, letting the fresh morning breeze wash over him.

“Man… her affection is as intense as ever.”

(TL: 死ね)