Chapter 7: I Love Their Constantly Changing Expressions. Do You Know What It Takes to See All Those Different Expressions?

I Love Their Constantly Changing Expressions. Do You Know What It Takes to See All Those Different Expressions?

When you've been together since birth, there are things that become a given.

Well, I'm talking about family.

Whether you love them or not, their presence is a given, and that kind of natural relationship influences you more than anything else. That's why I've become a part of Tomohiro-kun's world.

...Eh, what about me?

I won't be influenced by someone like Tomohiro. I think it's shameful for a person to be influenced by snacks.

In Tomohiro's case, I had to get involved, but there are people out there who I don't have to go through all that trouble.

"Welcome back, Onee-chan! Help me with my homework right away!"

Yes, just like this cute creature, Akari, who greets me like a puppy and clings to me the moment I get home from middle school. I spoiled her so much that she became completely dependent on me, and now she's become a complete siscon. It's still a little early to harvest. 

"Okay, but make sure you think it through for yourself. Onee-chan won't tell you the answer."

I smile gently at my adorable, foolish little sister, who seems to think of me as the ultimate being, strong, kind, beautiful, and all-around, encouraging her to develop her ability to think.

I have a sense of family affection, after all. I want my little sister to grow up to be a fine person, unlike that Snack-kun who can only depend on others.

Call me cruel if you want, but go ahead. No matter what anyone says, blood is thicker than water.

....Ehh, please stop talking based on images alone. Water has a higher concentration of hydrogen ions.

Thinking about trivial things, I glance over my little sister's homework and finish my own at the same time. Since I finish most of it during class, I don't have much to do at home. After finishing my math work in front of the teacher, the only math homework that was due to be handed out at the end of class was the one I had to do at home.

I wanted to rile the teacher up by asking, "Aren't you embarrassed to be so worked up over a middle-school kid?" but I refrained because it would ruin my character.

Solving problems that can be solved quickly if you know the formula is key to solidifying it. Carefully writing out intermediate steps that don't need to be written is half a way to kill time. It also serves as quick practice for neat handwriting.

"Big sister, I don't understand this part of the problem. Why?"

When my younger sister, who is excited about attending the same school as me, asked me a question, I prepared a response I'd already had before hearing the question.

This cute girl quickly reconsidered and was able to come up with the correct answer.

Since it's my own sister, and I check her homework every day, I can roughly guess where she'll get stuck, so it's easy to prepare the textbook page before she is asking the question.

With this little technique, I maintain a high respect from my younger sister while also creating a mysterious atmosphere.

From her perspective, her older sister is guiding her with her homework, as if she can read her mind or the future. It's understandable that she might overestimate me.

By the way, admiring me and wanting to go to the same school is the same path my adorable Snack-kun took, but I wonder if that's okay. She's supposed to be watching Tomohiro-kun's gloomy state from the sidelines, but she's ignoring it. She must be blind to that.

"...I did it! Onee-chan, let's play together!"

I seem to be hallucation that my little sister's tail wagging vigorously.

She's such a cute puppy-like girl.

Being a doting Onee-chan, I naturally say yes and ask her what she wants to play.

Normally, if someone asks me if I'm free without even knowing what I'll be doing, I'd answer that I'm busy, but it's a different story when it's my little sister asking.

Of course, this also applies to Mama.

When these two invite me to do something, as long as it's not dangerous drugs or religion, I only have one answer. Of course.

By the way, I refuse drugs because it would ruin the beauty I inherited from Mama, and I refuse religion because I have a firm belief in my heart.

Come to think of it, I haven't been praying much lately, so I join her in playing chess, which my little sister brought with me.

Perhaps it's Dad's hobby, but for some reason, our house is filled with all the famous board games.

In this day and age, where you can play games with anyone, even far away, with just a thin board, he probably thought the real thing would be better. Well, it's not actually Dad's hobby; he just assumed that I, a precocious and intelligent child, would be able to thrive in a world where knowledge is the key to success.

In reality, I'm just using the reincarnated person's privilege, and inside I'm an ordinary person, so there's no way I'd be able to do anything special, but poor Dad has no way of knowing that.

And so, with the chessboard that was naturally there, the battle with my little sister begins. I've been into this kind of thing since before I was reborn, so if we were to play honestly, this girl in front of me would be a piece of cake, but that wouldn't be any fun.

I've also given her a proper handicap.

The handicap is quite simple: I prepare one of my own checkmate lines. It's a move to resolve the selfish dilemma of a child: I hate not being able to win at all, but I also hate losing on purpose. Knowing that I can win before I know it is just the right stimulus, and my little sister's skills are improving rapidly. And my own abilities are improving along with that. Because I'm always a wall for my little sister, I can't stay stagnant either. I owe about 90% of that to the high-spec body I got from Mama, though.

Today, I'm going to play two games that I'm likely to lose, and then I'll beat her completely in the last one. I'm a little worried about whether she's enjoying herself until the end, but I say it's just right to prevent her from getting too cocky.

That's harsh.

She's not bad at thinking, so I'm sure she'll excel. Should I be happy or sad that my younger sister seems to have such brilliant, dazzling talents?

I think I should laugh.

"Hikari, Akari, it's almost time for dinner, so make sure it's ready to eat."

Just as the final game was finishing, my beloved Mama came calling. Once I was out of toddlerhood and had more time to myself, Mama stopped asking me to help out as much.

I'll never forget that day when she told me, "Hikari is still a child, so don't worry about the house—just play." It was a wonderful moment, and I deeply felt that I was loved.

The meal Mama made on a weekday was hamburger steak. It was elaborate. It wasn't pre-made, but made from scratch. Even though Dad probably earns enough to eat out every day, she still cooks homemade meals for us—it's truly the work of love. I'm truly glad to be Mama's daughter. 

"Hamburg steak!... Ugh, carrots..."

Lurked by Mama's words, my little sister rushed out and saw a hamburg steak about to be cooked, and glazed carrots being slowly cooked right next to it. I love its gentle sweetness, but Akari doesn't like carrots. Her emotion gauge, which had gone over the top after the hamburger, plummeted in an instant. I never get bored of watching her constantly changing expressions.

"Akari, if you're picky about what you eat, you'll never grow up to be as big as Onee-chan. It's okay, I'll give you a little bit, so try your best to eat it."　

It was a very convenient and kind older sister-like way of speaking for my younger sister, but of course it was also an appeal to Akari. I had conspired with Mama to form a group to get Akari to eat carrots, so there was no way I would spoil her like that.　

In reality, Mama had set aside a larger portion for my little sister, and then I took less of it, aiming to sneak in the door. Whether she understood it or not, adorable Akari was fooled. I'm also super happy to be able to eat lots of my favorite carrot glace.　

While Mama went to get the sauce for the hamburger steak, I quietly ate the carrot that was handed to me and destroyed the evidence. Her expression of relief as the carrot was gone was adorable. Even if she erased the physical evidence, I was right there as a witness, and Mama hadn't even prepared any sauce for this.

It's so cute to see a child rolling around in the palm of your hand.