Chapter 3: Returning Home

Our house is a ten-year-old detached home in a residential area a bit removed from the city center. I still vividly remember how excited I was when we moved into the newly built house back when I was in first grade.

It's a 4LDK layout. The first floor has the living room and a guest room, while the second floor has my parents’ room, my little sister’s room, and my room.

Living here were my father, Ikuto, my mother, Yukiko, my one-year-younger sister, Yuna, and me—four in total. But since I’ve been off in another world, it should currently be just the three of them.

Though to be fair, Dad was often abroad for work and hardly ever home anyway.

It had been a year since I’d last seen our house, and it was almost exactly how I remembered it.

The most noticeable difference was the faded missing person poster pasted on the block wall. It had my name, photo, distinguishing features, and my mom’s cell number printed on it. Just that alone was enough to make my chest tighten with guilt over how much worry I’d caused my family.

Another change was the intercom—now upgraded with a monitor. I pressed the call button.

…Hopefully someone’s home.

"…Yes? Who is it?"

It was my sister Yuna who answered.

She sounded quite wary.

Given how I look right now, I can’t blame her. Honestly, I should be grateful she didn’t just pretend no one was home.

"I know where your brother is. Would you mind hearing me out?"

"If this is about religion, we're not interested."

As expected, she was completely on guard. I’d heard stories about religious solicitors targeting families that had experienced tragedy. I guess it's a common enough occurrence.

…Fine, guess I’ll have to use my trump card.

"I heard an interesting story from your brother… It was a summer night when you were in sixth grade. You couldn’t sleep because of a sudden thunderstorm and went to your brother’s room. And then, with the thunder booming outside, you couldn’t muster the courage to go to the bathroom, so you…"

As I recounted my sister’s most mortifying secret—one only I could know—I felt the air on the other side of the intercom grow tense, her voice starting to tremble.

"Wha—?! J-Just wait right there!"

I heard hurried footsteps from inside the house, and then the front door burst open. Standing there was Yuna, wearing the high school uniform of the school I had attended.

"…Just come in for now."

She led me into the first-floor living room. Judging by the shoes at the entrance, our parents weren’t home. Letting a total stranger into the house when no one else is around? That’s careless of you, little sis. Still, given how I look now, it’s no surprise she let her guard down.

『So this is Ikuto’s house.』

I heard Alicia’s voice for the first time in a while. Incidentally, things had been awkward between us since that toilet incident, and we hadn’t spoken a word until now.

Still, this place really brings back memories...

The living room layout was almost identical to how it was when I left last year. The biggest difference was probably how much lower everything seemed in my field of vision.

『Yeah. And the girl in front of us is my sister, Yuna.』

The last time I’d seen Yuna, she was in her third year of junior high—still had a bit of a childish air to her. Now, she looked like a completely polished high school girl.

Her black hair, which used to be shoulder-length, had grown down past her waist and was now dyed a slightly lighter shade of brown.

She’d grown nearly ten centimeters taller, and her legs, stretching out from under her uniform skirt, were long and graceful.

Her body had matured in all the right places too. Even as her older brother, I had to admit—she had a great figure.

『So that’s Miss Yuna. She’s younger than me… right?』

In contrast, Alicia—who’s supposed to be a year older than me—has the body of a complete child, the kind even an elementary schooler could relate to. I’m sure that’s bothering her.

『…You’ll grow up eventually, Alicia.』

『Ikuto-san. Just so we’re clear, this is absolutely not just your concern, okay?』

Prompted by Yuna, I sat down at the dining table. The seat was so high that I had to jump to get on, and my feet dangled in the air, unable to touch the floor—making it impossible to settle down.

Yuna sat across from me, eyeing me with suspicion. I must’ve looked totally sketchy in my cosplay-like outfit.

"…So, what exactly do you know?"

"I mean, you were just a kid. Being scared of thunder and wetting yourself—that’s nothing to be ashamed of."

"Why do you know about that…?! You promised you’d never tell anyone, big brother…!"

…Wow, that expression is something else, little sis.

"You told me that if I ever blabbed, you’d kill me and then take your own life too. Did you forget that, big brother…? So tell me—if you said you know where he is, then…"

Yeah, I should probably clear this up before things go really south.

Actually, what exactly were you planning to do once you found out where your brother was!?

"There seems to be a misunderstanding. Your brother didn’t tell anyone your secret."

"…Huh? Then how do you…?"

"Because I’m Ikuto."

Yuna froze at my words.

"…No no no, that’s ridiculous. How in the world could you be my brother? Even phone scammers come up with more believable lies than that."

Can’t blame her.

If our roles were reversed, I’d be just as skeptical.

"Then why don’t you ask me something only your brother would know? If I can answer, you’ll believe me, right?"

"…Fine. What’s my brother’s favorite food?"

"Hamburg steak."

"Then…"

What followed was a rapid-fire series of questions, and I answered them one after another. She even threw in a few trick questions—stuff there’s no way I’d know—to trip me up. I had to sigh at how relentless my sister could be. I mean, how would I know her three sizes?

"…Who did you go with and where for your junior high graduation trip?"

"Souta, Hisui, you, and me. We stayed one night at a hot spring inn run by Souta and Hisui’s relatives. Originally it was supposed to be just the three of us, but you threw a fit, crying and screaming about how it wasn’t fair to leave you out, so we had no choice but to make it a group of four… even though it had nothing to do with your graduation."

"I didn’t cry and scream or anything…"

"Well, whatever. It was fun going together in the end. After that, we never really had the chance to do anything as a group again…"

And then, right after entering high school, during our school trip—I was summoned to another world.

"Are you… really my big brother?"

"Yeah."

"What have you been doing for a whole year? Dad, Mom, and I—we were all so worried about you. And why do you look like that now…?"

"It’s a long story. And honestly, I don’t think it’s something you’d believe easily. You sure you want to hear it?"

"Yeah… Tell me everything."

So I began explaining what happened after I fell off the ferry during the school trip.

About the other world. About Alicia and me.

"I see… So you really are my big brother after all…"

"…You believe me?"

"Well, with you standing right in front of me, I kinda have no choice. Besides, the way you talk, your little habits… they’re exactly like my brother’s."

Looking back on it, it’s such an unbelievable story, even I think it’s absurd.

…Good thing I’d gotten Yuna hooked on fantasy and reincarnation-themed manga and anime.

"In any case… Welcome home, big brother."

At some point, tears had started welling up in Yuna’s eyes.

And as I felt the warmth and familiarity in her gaze—the same kind she’d always directed toward me—I finally, truly felt like I was home again.

"…Yeah. I’m home, Yuna."