Returned from Another World, Earth Turned Out to Be Quite the Fantasy Too. Also, Losing Heroines, Stop Looking This Way. - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: “Do I really need to get involved with my step-sister now?” ②

“Stop joking. Anzu’s Onii-chan isn’t really her big brother.”

“…Anzu? Oh!”

Natsuki recognized the slightly irritated girl. She was his former stepsister whom he had completely forgotten about, not having seen her for six years. 

But for her, it was as if they had met just yesterday. Saying something like “Who might you be?” would undoubtedly be unpleasant for her. 

However, now they were no longer in a brother-sister relationship.

Setting aside her crush on Yuto, it was a fact that she had caused trouble for him and his mother, contributing to their parents’ divorce.

Even if it was a mistake of youth, it was presumptuous for Anzu, now a stranger, to call Natsuki her brother.

“So, what do you want?”

Natsuki’s indifferent reply made Anzu Ayakawa flinch. 

He couldn’t help but tilt his head. 

Anzu had always compared him unfavorably with Yuto and constantly berated him. He couldn’t comprehend why she would suddenly call him her brother now. 

After all, he wasn’t her brother anymore.

“Um, Onii-chan. Anzu was… I was messed up because of him!”

“What?”

Natsuki was puzzled by her sudden outburst. ‘Him’ must refer to Yuto, the one Anzu had been madly in love with.

“It was like I was under a spell, suddenly falling for him! But then, just as quickly, I stopped caring.”

“…Isn’t that just falling in love at first sight and then getting over a heartbreak?”

“No! It’s not like that!”

Anzu’s hysterical response left Natsuki feeling somewhat troubled.

(Until now, Yuto had never made a girlfriend, nor had he publicly declared anyone as his number one. I guess she’s shocked about being rejected, but to say she was manipulated seems like an exaggeration.)

The phrase “suddenly stopped caring” also struck a chord.

Anzu had loved Yuto enough to denigrate her own brother, who she had once been close with, just for a short while. She was so infatuated with Yuto that she would become sullen at the mere presence of other girls around him. She even had a violent outburst against her mother, who had tried to restrain her from obsessively following Yuto.

Considering all that, Natsuki wondered if it was really possible for her to suddenly stop caring about Yuto. 

If her abrupt change was due to the shock of not becoming his girlfriend, he could understand. But if she truly stopped caring, it made him question what all those years of her affection were for.

(Well, I guess it’s none of my business, right?)

Even after they were no longer siblings, there were times when she would talk to him. 

However, those were mostly occasions where she would compare him unfavorably to Yuto or criticize him, sometimes alongside a girl who was supposedly a childhood friend in name only.

On such occasions, Yuto would always respond with a nonsensical apology like, “Hahaha, sorry about them.”

For Natsuki, it was puzzling why they would bother talking to him at all. 

It’s the same now.

Even if Anzu has lost her feelings for Yuto, it has nothing to do with Natsuki. He doesn’t need her reports, nor has he ever cared.

(It’s like there’s a misunderstanding that I’m concerned about her, isn’t it? Should I clear that up?)

While Natsuki was pondering, Anzu continued her monologue. 

Natsuki wasn’t paying much attention, but from the bits and pieces he caught, her summary seemed to be about not really liking or being interested in someone, yet being obsessed with them.

Frankly, it made no sense to him, and he found Anzu’s words rather eerie.

(I’m hungry. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I had a packed lunch. Maybe I’ll eat on the rooftop.)

With an apology in his mind, Natsuki realized he couldn’t muster any more interest in Anzu.

As he noticed her approaching more insistently in response to his lack of reaction, he started climbing the stairs, increasing the distance between them with each step she took towards him.

Whether she took his behavior as rejection or interpreted it as something else, he couldn’t tell. 

Anzu, now looking downcast and frozen in place, suddenly looked up at Natsuki with a determined expression.

“Anzu… you know, I used to like you, Onii-chan.”

“Ah, I see. Well, that’s that then.”

“―Eh?”

Leaving a stunned Anzu behind, Natsuki quickly ascended the stairs towards the rooftop.

(Man, she’s really creepy.)

The words of the girl who had constantly belittled him, hurled insults, and caused his mother sorrow, did not resonate with him at all.

On the contrary, they only evoked his disgust. 

With a feeling of having had enough, Natsuki swiftly left the scene.