15 – You are the Beautiful One

“You’re seriously the worst. Trash. Human garbage. Just die.”

“Ugh…”

This was how my morning began at the dining table in our home, where four people were gathered.

One of them was me. Another was Mari. And the other two were my mother, Asako Nukui, and my younger sister, Reika.

Among them, it was Reika who, glaring at me with a look like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe, spat those venomous words.

The icy tone of her voice was colder than the Antarctic, and it left me speechless. But she wasn’t done yet; she kept piling on the insults.

“Seriously, I can’t believe this. How is it that a pathetic pervert like you is dating someone as amazing as Mari? Have you no shame as a human being?”

“Shame? I mean… this whole thing started because Mari came onto me in the first place—”

“Huh? Don’t talk to me, you pervert. Gross. You’ll spread your filth.”

…Co-Communication is impossible here~

Reika Nukui—my little sister.

She’s a troublesome little sister who basically sees me as the reincarnation of filth and despises me, making her nothing short of an enemy in my eyes.

As I painfully realized once again that effective communication between us was hopeless, my mother, Asako, chimed in from the side, seemingly in agreement.

“But honestly… it really is hard to believe that Mari would date someone like you, Seimu. Mari-chan, are you sure you won’t regret dating this incompetent boy?”

Of course, my mother wasn’t siding with me—she was agreeing with Reika.

“I mean, let’s be real. My son’s not particularly good-looking, he’s not great at academics or sports, and unlike Mari-chan, he doesn’t have any special talents… Oh, but if Mari-chan became my daughter-in-law, I’d have plenty to brag about to the neighbors! Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if she just stayed here instead of you, Seimu.”

“Hey! How is it okay for a mother to subtly suggest kicking out her own son?!”

“What? The only thing remotely valuable about you is that you’re close with Mari-chan.”

“That’s harsh! No, seriously, I must have more value than that! The dissing this morning is way too much!”

The fact that she could calmly declare her own son “worthless” is borderline villainous! Not that I can really argue when you compare the “value” Mari brings to the table against mine—there’s a massive gap!

Asako Nukui—my mother.

She’s incredibly vain and views me as her failure of an embarrassing first child. She, too, is an enemy of mine.

Since my father leaves for work early, he rarely joins us for breakfast. He’s become somewhat of an ATM in our household, but that’s something I’d rather pretend not to notice at my age.

“Forget about dissing, you were trying to pounce on Mari-san first thing in the morning. You’re not just trash—you’re a perverted beast. Maybe we should just neuter you?”

“Hmm, that might be a good idea… We can’t have you causing trouble for others,” my mother chimed in.

“Why not just kick out this trash and adopt Mari-san instead? I’d finally have a nice older sister, and everybody wins, right?”

“Oh, that could work if Seimu can live on his own. I’d be thrilled to have a famous daughter! I’d brag to all my friends about it!” my mother said cheerfully.

Watching my mom and sister chat so casually, I could only sigh in resignation. These two never listen to me. 

It’s impressive how they manage to filter out everything I say while still using it to suit their narrative. And really, could they not try to exploit Mari’s fame just to boost their own egos?

Mari, sitting beside me and eating her breakfast, looked visibly troubled. 

Sorry, Mari… They don’t mean any harm, I swear. They’re just inherently wicked people with no real malice behind it…

On a side note, Mari’s parents are early risers, so she’s often ended up having breakfast at my place. Though they’re harsh toward me, my family is always kind to Mari.

As I mentally apologized to Mari, she seemed to have timed things perfectly and finally spoke up.

“Um… I honestly think Sei-kun is a much more admirable son than someone like me.”

“Oh, Mari-chan, you’re too kind! You really don’t have to force yourself to say nice things about our son, you know,” my mom replied with a laugh.

“No, really… I mean it. Sei-kun is kind, cool, and… um, he’s really beautiful.”

“””Beautiful?””” 

In perfect sync, my sister, my mother, and I all echoed the word back at her. Then the three of us exchanged confused glances and tilted our heads in unison.

“””Beautiful….how?””‘ 

Again, we repeated the same words, almost like we were reading from the same script. 

It’s sad, but moments like these remind me that I share blood with these two cynical people.

Seeing our reaction, Mari blinked in surprise and tilted her head quizzically.

“Wait… What? You really don’t see it? None of you?”

“See what? My brother’s, like, a total ugly duckling.”

“Well, he did take after his father…”

“That’s harsh… Though, I can’t exactly argue,” I muttered, nodding in reluctant agreement.

But Mari just stared at us, her eyes wide with disbelief. 

“Huh? Seriously!?”

“Well, if we’re talking about who’s really beautiful, that’s obviously you, Mari,” I said honestly.

Her face immediately flushed a deep red, almost as if I could hear the sound of a poof. 

“W-Wha… M-Me… b-beautiful!? Uhh, uhuhu, huhu…” She let out an awkward, giddy laugh, clearly trying to suppress a smile.

But then, catching herself, she straightened her expression and clenched her fists determinedly before repeating her earlier assertion.

“A-Anyway! But really, Sei-kun is beautiful! Way more than someone like me… I mean, just incredibly beautiful!”

“Hmm…”  

Mari said this with a deadly serious expression, but I still couldn’t quite see what she meant.

“Well, they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Everyone’s got their own sense of what’s attractive,” I said, trying to wrap up the conversation. This time, even Reika and my mom seemed to agree, with remarks like:

“Mari-san’s art is so stunning, but how could her real-world sense of beauty be so off…?”

Or,

“Some people just have unusual tastes, I guess.”

I mean, honestly, I can’t disagree, but I wish they wouldn’t diss me so blatantly in front of her.

“But still! I really think Sei-kun is the most…”

“Alright, alright, enough of that. We should get going to school if you’re done eating,” I interrupted, trying to steer the conversation away.

Mari seemed a bit unsatisfied but eventually nodded, reluctantly agreeing.

“If… if that’s what Sei-kun says, then okay…”