The World Becomes a World Where Chastity Is Reversed?! - 25-26

Chapter 25: Presenting Marriage Conditions to Nee-san

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“N–N-First love…? Y-You mean… You liked me, Haru-kun!?”

Narumi-neesan’s face turned bright red as she started getting terribly flustered. Watching her panic like that, I kept going.

“Yeah, that’s right. Wait, you didn’t know, Narumi-neesan? Didn’t I say something like that to you when I was in elementary school?”

“Eh? Ah, n-now that you mention it… I think you did say something like ‘Let’s get married when we grow up’ back when you were in elementary school…”

When I said that, Narumi-neesan suddenly looked startled as she remembered the past.

“See? I did say that when I was a kid, right? I mean, Narumi-neesan, did you seriously forget my confession?”

“N-No, because… That was something from when you were a little kid, and normally anyone would think it was just a joke…”

“Haha, well yeah, I was an elementary schooler, so of course you’d think it was a joke. So, since I don’t want you thinking it was a lie, I’ll say it again properly for the first time in almost ten years. As long as you’re okay with it… Narumi-neesan, let’s get married.”

“Eh? Ah… n-no, but… W-we’re relatives, right? S-So that kind of thing isn’t possible…”

“Huh? No, we are relatives, but we’re distant cousins, so legally we can get married just fine.”

“Eh? R-Really!? I-I see, so even relatives can get married… N-No no no! But we’re pretty far apart in age, aren’t we!? H-Haru-kun, if you’re going to get married, someone younger your own age would be better than someone like me, right? S-So you should be doing that kind of thing with a girl from your own generation…”

“No way, Narumi-neesan, you’re only 23. The age gap is just six or seven years, right? These days, couples with that age difference dating or getting married aren’t unusual at all.”

“Ugh… Th-that’s… Well, maybe that’s true…”

“Haha, right? So there’s nothing bad about it for you, is there? So… As long as you’re okay with it, let’s get married.”

I countered each of Narumi-neesan’s worries one by one, gently but firmly, and then asked her once more. Her face turned bright red again…

“Uh… ah, um… u-uhh! Th-then! L-Let’s start as friends first, Haru-kun!”

“…Huh? Friends?”

“Y-Yes, yes! I mean, you’re a boy I’ve always gotten along with since long ago, and hearing you say something like that makes me really happy. I love you a lot too, Haru-kun…”

“I-I see. Yeah, hearing you say that makes me happy too.”

Her face was still bright red as she told me she loved me. It made me feel sort of warm inside.

“Y-Yeah. But look, I’ve been busy with work and for the past few years I haven’t been able to properly spend time with you, right? And you don’t really know what I’m like nowadays either, right?”

“Well, yeah, that’s true.”

“R-Right! So neither of us knows each other’s current hobbies or what we like anymore, right? S-So… In order to properly learn those things again, let’s start by being friends! A-And then we can hang out and go eat together! A-And also…”

Her face bright red, she spoke quickly, then paused to catch her breath before finishing quietly.

“A-And… If I suddenly said I’d marry you just like this, I feel like your mom would beat me into next week…S-so going with the ‘friends first’ route would really help me out, you know…”

She looked away from me as she said that. Well, yeah—back in my original world, if a guy who was quitting work said he was marrying his cousin who was a JK, the parents would definitely blow up.

“…Pff, haha, yeah, you’ve got a point. Okay, got it. Then let’s start as friends, Narumi-neesan.”

“Y-Yeah. S-So as friends, let’s get along well. A-And then… If we get to know everything about each other properly… W-we can think about what comes after that…”

“Yeah, of course. Oh, right. But I’m telling you now. There’s a condition for marrying you! If you don’t follow it properly, I won’t marry you, okay?”

“Eh… W-wait, what!? A c-condition!? I-Is it that…? Do you want money or something? W-Well, of course… There’s no way a useless woman like me could date a high school boy for free…”

When I tried to tell her the condition, she suddenly sank into gloom. It seemed she thought I was going to demand money.

“No no, what are you even talking about, Narumi-neesan? Why would I ask for money? My condition is… From now on, go to bed early, get up early, and make sure to get proper sunlight every morning! Sleeping well every day is the best thing for your health!”

“…Eh? Going to bed early? Getting early sunlight? T-That’s the condition? I really don’t get how that leads to marriage…”

“Haha, yeah, it’s a weird marriage condition. But if I’m going to marry you then I want you to stay healthy and live a long life. So don’t go dying alone in loneliness… Let’s live long, happy, healthy lives until we’re grandpa and grandma, okay?”

“Eh? Ah, Haru-kun… I see. Yeah, you’re right… If we’re going to get married, we need to live long and healthy…Hehe, okay. I promise.”

Understanding what I meant, Narumi-neesan gave me a gentle smile as she agreed.

“Then great. Let’s stay healthy and live long together. It’s a promise.”

“Yeah, okay. Hehe, then starting tomorrow, I’ll do my best to sleep early, wake up early, and get sunlight every day! Haru-kun!”

“Yeah, I’m cheering for you, Narumi-neesan!”

And just like that, Narumi-neesan, who had been depressed for so long, finally regained her old energy. Seeing her lively and cheerful again for the first time in forever made me feel genuinely happy. Yeah, after all… Narumi-neesan was always best when she was bright and full of energy.

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Chapter 26: I Will Live in This World

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“Yeah, that’s good then. Oh, right! And make sure to take proper care of your appearance too! A Nee-san with messy hair or wrinkled clothes isn’t cool at all. You’re seriously beautiful, so it’d be a waste to look like that, you know?”

“…Eh? F-Fweh!? B-Beautiful!? M-Me? I’m beautiful? R-Really? Haru-kun?”

“Ahaha, of course you are. Why would I lie to you, Nee-san?”

“U… Ah, r-right, right… I’m beautiful, huh… fu-fhehe…”

When I said that, Nee-san’s face turned red again as she smiled happily.

“Uh, um, N-Nee-san, are you okay? You’ve been grinning nonstop.”

“Fhehe… Wait—eh!? Ah, y-yeah, I’m fine! Th-thank you, Haru-kun. From now on, for your sake too, I’ll try to take better care of myself.”

“Yeah, that’s good. Oh, and also—Nee-san, while we’re starting as friends, you’re still the Nee-san I love a lot. That won’t ever change. So from now on, whenever things get tough, tell me, okay? I really hate seeing you look like you’re suffering.”

“Ah… H-Haru-kun…”

“So I’ll always listen to your complaints, I’ll hang out with you, and I’ll cook for you anytime. So from now on, rely on me whenever you need to, okay? I’ll always be on your side, Nee-san!”

“…Yeah. Thank you, Haru-kun… I’m really glad someone who’d say that is this close to me. So… Once again… From here on too, please take care of me… Haru-kun…”

“Yeah, same here. From here on, let’s keep getting along, Nee-san.”

We smiled at each other as we said that. It really felt good to finally see her gentle smile again after such a long time. And that was how I ended up becoming friends with Narumi-neesan, on the premise that we’d get married someday. Well, I wasn’t sure if going from “sister” to “friend” counted as a promotion or a demotion, but if she stayed as just my sister, we wouldn’t have been able to start dating anyway, so this was still one step forward.

Yeah, and besides… Nee-san really looked much better smiling than wearing that pained expression. I didn’t want to see the people I cared about looking hurt or sad. I wanted the people close to me to spend their time smiling and happy. And that was why seeing Narumi-neesan’s gentle smile again made me feel genuinely happy.

Ah, but… Now that I think about it…

At that moment, I remembered something. In this reversed-chastity world, there were three girls I had gotten close to. My classmate Amagi-san, my junior Ayase, and the white gyaru, Kirizaki-senpai. There were many moments when each of them had looked hurt or sad. Yeah… Since I had gotten close to them, I wanted them to be able to smile too. That was how I felt. Since I had grown closer to them in this reversed-chastity world, I wanted them to live happily as well.

And because this was a reversed-chastity world, and because I was a “man,” there were things I could help with. From now on, if any of them were in trouble, I wanted to help them anytime. Well, and also… I needed to make sure I enjoyed this reversed-chastity world myself! Plenty of my friends were struggling or dealing with hardships, but I was someone tossed into another world out of nowhere. I had my own problems too. So I was in the same boat as Amagi-san and the others, but I figured it was better to accept that the isekai thing happened rather than get stuck brooding about it. There was no point dwelling on it. Life was better lived optimistically.

Alright, then… Once again…. It’s time to live life to the fullest in this reversed-chastity world!

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