The Guy Who Doesn't Want to Be Found vs. The Girls Who Want to Know Who He Is - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Dream and Awakening

“…”

It was a dream. A dream that I used to have almost every day as a child.

Now, I can’t remember anything about it.

“…”

A man sat alone in a nearby cave, dressed in tattered clothes. His thin body peeked through the tears in his clothes, and his hair, which was originally black, had turned white, perhaps due to stress.

“…”

In front of him stretched an endless burnt field. In contrast, the sky was clear and blue.

“…”

A nostalgic sight. It was unclear what the man was thinking as he looked at the scene before him. He would probably forget having this dream as well.

But his eyes…

“…”

“Uh, hmm? Huh?”

When I woke up, I noticed my body felt heavier than usual. Ah, that’s right. I slept with Lucina last night, didn’t I?

Lucina was sleeping next to me, breathing softly. But what should I do? She’s crawled under my clothes, and I’d have to wake her up.

“Can’t move… Well, it can’t be helped.”

Feeling it would be cruel to wake her, I decided to just stare at the ceiling until she woke up.

“Mmm. Huh? Good morning, Big Brother.”

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“I did.”

“That’s good. But I’d appreciate it if you could move away now. I can’t move like this.”

As I said this, Lucina started wriggling. After a while, she crawled out from under my clothes and stretched out.

Looking at my clothes after Lucina crawled out, I could see they were all stretched out. Ah, they’ve definitely stretched.

“Big Brother, shall we go downstairs?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon, you go ahead.”

“…Can we go together?”

Lucina was holding onto my shirt, cutely pleading. Could she really bear to be away from her brother (me)?

It was worrying.

“Alright, alright. At least let me change my shirt first.”

“Okay! Got it!”

I took off my shirt and pulled out a new one from the closet while Lucina watched me intently. I didn’t think I looked much different, but maybe I had changed without realizing it.

“Hey, Lucina. Do you think I’ve gotten fatter?”

“E-Eh? No way. Your abs are still defined, and you have a nice body.”

While saying this, Lucina touched my stomach. Her fingers were cool and tickled a bit.

“Really? That’s good to know.”

Relieved, I put on the new shirt. I thought I might have gained weight living in the city, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

“Shall we go downstairs then?”

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

“Hey, hey. It’s hard to go down if you cling too much.”

Lucina hugged my arm. She had grown enough that I could clearly feel her chest against me, which wasn’t the case before.

“It’s fine! We’re siblings, right?”

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s okay.”

“Ehehe!”

I stroked her head with my free hand, and Lucina was clearly delighted. Before, her face used to reach my waist, but now it was up to the base of my neck.

She really has grown a lot.

“Good morning, Mom.”

“Good morning… Oh? Lucina, you’re up early today too.”

“Yeah! I woke up early because I slept with Big Brother last night!”

“Oh dear, you two are close.”

Mom was cooking in the kitchen and just smiled when she saw Lucina clinging to my arm.

“Is Dad still sleeping?”

“Yes. Could you wake him up for me, please?”

“Got it.”

I was asked to wake up Dad just like yesterday. Today, there are no pets around. Probably they were tired from playing all day yesterday and are sleeping.

“I’ll wait here then.”

“Okay.”

Lucina decided to wait in the living room. I went alone to where Dad was sleeping.

“Dad, it’s morning. Time to wake up.”

“Mmm. Another hour.”

I shook Dad’s body, but he showed no signs of waking up. Nearby, Kue was sleeping, and Kuu was also sleeping on Dad’s stomach.

“…”

“Zzz, Zzz… Mmph!”

With no other choice, I silently lifted Kuu and placed him over Dad’s face. That’s the only way he’d wake up; otherwise, he’d keep sleeping.

“…Buhah!”

“Okay, you’re up now. Breakfast is ready, and Mom says to come down quickly because she’s getting angry.”

“Eh? I better hurry then!”

I lied about Mom being angry, and Dad quickly put Kuu aside and rushed downstairs. Kuu and Kue were still sleeping.

I carefully lifted the two pets and went downstairs without waking them up.

“Glenn! She’s not mad at all!”

“Well, if I don’t say that, Dad would just go back to sleep, right?”

“Ugh! Well, maybe that’s true.”

Dad looked a bit grumpy at first, but then his face turned sheepish. He’s the type who might go back to sleep even after being woken up, so this is the quickest way.

“Come on, both of you. Eat up before it gets cold.”

“Yes!”

Lucina had already started eating, so we began as well. Today’s breakfast was bread with a sunny-side-up egg on top. When I took a bite, the runny yolk oozed out. The bread and egg are really tasty.

“Ah, I’m going back to the city around noon today.”

“That’s quite early to return.”

“…No!!”

Dad stopped eating at my sudden announcement. Mom seemed usual, but Dad looked shocked and froze.

“Isn’t that too soon?”

“Well, it does feel a bit early.”

“Couldn’t you stay a bit longer?”

Dad was really pushing for it. But I have things I want to get back to.

“Hmm, but I need to go back soon since I didn’t tell my friends I was visiting here.”

“But, still!”

“It’s okay. I’ll come back soon again.”

“…Alright.”

Dad agreed, albeit reluctantly. After that, we started eating again.