Chapter 173

…She wouldn’t actually find out how things went until the following day. Shiro had no memory of anything past the moment when her brain shut down. All she could remember—and just barely at that—was what her brother had said to her. It played over and over again in her mind in an endless loop. “I’ve been romantically attracted to you,” he said……… Day Ten—Morning. Two days had passed since the end of the summer festival event. Sora left his room with the grimmest of expressions as he lamented to himself. The summer festival game was a complete flop… Yes… In just two hours, the gang had managed to raise up to 1,400,000,000 in tips. Per Foeniculum—the channel’s subscribers had increased phenomenally, just as Sora had intended. More than nine hundred and seventy thousand viewers had tuned in to the last stream, and the amount they spent on the program went up with these numbers. Even during their highlight reel shown the night before, the group managed to make another two hundred million. Sora checked his smartphone—the current number of points shown was over 1,600,000,000… The five billion soul points that seemed so far away—the amount they needed to buy a key—was within reach. Just as Sora planned—nay, this was above and beyond. …But those unexpected results came with an equally unexpected price… To start off, the results of the summer festival game caught Sora by surprise. Namely—the number of outs each player racked up. Sora: 1 Shiro: 1 Steph: 32 Jibril: 18 Emir-Eins: 18 The worst player came as no surprise. But Sora had no way of knowing Jibril and Emir-Eins would tie for second. In other words, to fulfill the rules of the wager, the two players who felt the most sparks turned into three. Therefore, two couples were born from this game. And they were: Steph × Jibril and Steph × Emir-Eins. …Steph was two-timing the both of them… The following day was—and this is putting it as lightly as possible—a living hell. Jibril and Emir-Eins soon discovered that Steph, of all people, had been cheating on both of them, thus trapping all three in a love triangle… Sora—who retreated to his room with Shiro and spent the rest of the day trembling beneath his covers and weeping—never learned the exact details of what happened between the three sides of that triangle. He did, however, notice the suffocating hostility in the air, so palpable that it seeped through his bedroom door. Were it not for the Ten Covenants, the human race might have perished in the aftermath of this romantic tryst of epic proportions. Sora only learned of the fallout the next morning. He didn’t even need to ask. What he saw that morning told him more than enough to get the gist of what transpired. “Hee-hee, hey, Stephanie. There’s something on my mind. Care to lend me an ear?” …Steph was speaking to a reflection of herself in a mirror. “When Jibril and Emir-Eins asked you who you really liked…you went and told them that you liked them both… Oh, I know, I know. You were forced to have those feelings. No need to think about it too much—yes, that’s right. But look at yourself—you look like a girl in love.” She then slammed her fist into the mirror. “That’s why I’m telling you to wipe that stupid look off your face!! Don’t give me that Oh, but there’s no logic to love crap!! You’re failing to think critically!! Thanks but no thanks!! Stephanie, do you mean to tell me you’re a trashy woman?!” Even though a day had gone by, and she was back to her usual self, Steph couldn’t get past what she’d felt while under the influence of Fairy magic. She was at her wit’s end, fighting with her own reflection in the mirror. Meanwhile… “Then, how about we play a game where we wager each other’s lives?” “Concern: Irregular Number is Master’s property. Estimating Irregular Number will not be able to wager her life without Master’s permission. Whatever shall we do?” “…That does pose an issue. Oh, Master. Perfect timing. We’d like to play a little game where we bet the right to kill one another. Do you mind giving me permission to participate? ” “Apology: This unit’s victory will result in destruction of Master’s property. Please forgive me. But do not worry. Both parties have agreed to administer a quick and painless death… It won’t hurt, I promise.” Murderous intent is, by definition, the intent to kill. Death was the premise of their wager—it was their nonchalant premise—it was no longer a matter of intent. The two living weapons calmly made the appropriate motions to hold an all-out death match. Sora reconfirmed his diagnosis: The summer festival game was an utter flop. It had thrown the group into more chaos than he could have imagined… Even this, however, was nothing more than unforeseen repercussions. This shouldn’t have been too much of an issue, considering the game’s results were similarly unexpected. The game’s second failure—this was something he couldn’t get over. It was why he maintained the entire thing was a massive failure as opposed to just a regular one. Namely… “…H-hey, Shiro… D-do you think you can help me calm these two down?” Sora turned to his room and called out for his sister. Her head could be seen poking out from the doorway. “…?!” However, she gave a small jolt and retreated to her room, visibly frightened. That’s right: Ever since the end of the summer festival, Sora and Shiro had yet to exchange even a single word. This was a gargantuan problem—so much that it made everything else seem trivial. The reason it was happening was all too obvious… During the game, Sora told Shiro that he was romantically attracted to her—and sexually attracted, too. Immediately afterward, she was thrown into a stupor that continued even after the game had ended, and she’d shut herself away in her room. Not only that, she and her brother were no longer sleeping in the same bed. Sora had spent the past two nights sleeping on the floor. And of course she felt that way. All this time, the person who’d treated her like a sister actually saw her in a lewd, sexual light. The notion was more than shocking; it was straight-up psychological horror material. It didn’t help that Sora was so pathetically disgusting. Traumatized failed to do whatever Shiro was feeling justice. It should have been plainly obvious that the Fairies made him say all that—and that there was no truth behind it. And yet no matter how many times Sora told himself this, he would ask: How can I be sure? He knew he couldn’t lie to Shiro. He wouldn’t allow himself to do that. So he needed to be absolutely sure that he’d never seen Shiro that way. Then why the hell did she set off your spark sensor?! Thus, a conflicted Sora determined that the summer festival game was a complete and utter failure. But still—!! He gritted his teeth and looked up. He needed to find a way to soldier through this conflict before it broke him. This was his failure; he had done all the planning for the summer festival. His oversight was the direct cause for the entire group’s distress. His failure was why Shiro was so traumatized—he couldn’t afford to let himself fold to the pressure while she suffered! First, he needed to apologize. They’d talk it out once things calmed down. Even if he failed to earn her forgiveness, and it cost him everything, he couldn’t bear for things to continue like this!! “Listen, Shiro. We need to talk. I—” His mind made up, prepared for the worst, a stone-faced Sora approached his little sister to apologize. Her shoulders twitched, her cheeks flushed bright red, and tears filled her eyes—then she screamed at the top of her lungs. “?! N-no… Stop… Don’t come, any closer…!!” ………… “Mornin’, folks!! The love-triangle stream was a hit!! We’ll hit five billion soul points in no time flat at this rate, gweh-heh-heh-hehhh… So!! For tonight’s stream, I wanna hear whatcha think about— Wait, Sora, you’re not actually feeling down about the whole summer fest thing, are ya?” An enthusiastic Foeniculum poofed into the house, only to find Sora lying on the floor like a corpse. “…N-no… Brother… That’s not, what…I meant…!” A teary eyed Shiro said from afar; she couldn’t bring herself to get near Sora. “I know—I’ll just swear on the Ten Covenants to never love again!!” Steph announced. “It doesn’t matter what the game is—I’ll lose no matter what we play!! That will rid me of these evil thoughts!!” “What’s this…? Did little Dora just come up with a brilliant idea?” “Affirmative: Mental destruction over physical destruction. Irregular Number can also wager her consciousness. Wow.” At last, the three ladies slowly devised a fruitful method for self-sabotage, then spiraled further into mayhem. “Sooo…about the game for the, uh, tenth day. You guys think you can swing it—? Yeahhh… That looks like a hard no,” Foeniculum said quietly as she eyed the group, to which Sora responded with corpse-like silence. STFU. IDGAF about this game anymore…… He’d lost his bond with Shiro. In a life that amounted to a long chain of failures, this was the one thing he never wanted to lose. I can’t recover from this. Why should I? I don’t even want to open my eyes… My own breathing and heartbeat are starting to annoy me, too. Why are they still functioning? They’re just wasting this planet’s precious oxygen… Stupid organs… Where do they get off, thinking they’re competent enough to keep me going? Ugh—I just wanna curl up and die. At least I’ll serve a purpose providing nutrients for the soil… In spite of Sora’s doom and gloom… “…Righto! I guess we’re takin’ the day off!! Have a good one!” …Foeniculum offered a cheery comment and appeared to shoot Shiro a grin. “Won’t be much of a stream if the participants have a nervous breakdown. Luckily, we’ve made a ton of tips these past two days. Go ahead and buy something nice for yourselves. You guys deserve it. Maybe some good food. Let’s recharge and get back in the game!!” No one was in any place to notice the slight chuckle Foeniculum let slip… And with that—the game approached its tenth day. It was the first day the group had to themselves, and they decided to spend it on their own terms. Sora took Shiro back to their room, where he wrapped himself up in his blanket and parked himself in a corner by the door. “Sob… Sh-Shirooo, please… Forgive your big brotherrr…” Voice quavering, Sora repeatedly apologized to Shiro from beneath his blanket. Shiro, on the other hand— “……” —didn’t answer him or even move. She just froze. She stood on the opposite side of the room, by the window—where she frantically thought in silence… Calm down… Logical thinking is your greatest asset… You spent two days mulling over what’s happened to you, and you’ve got nothing to show for it. But if you calmly and logically lay out the events, you should be able to figure something out. That’s right; everything is going according to plan. This is all a part of the plan!! As planned, she’d successfully made her brother see her as a lover. As planned, he was now unable to shake his confusion. Then what Shiro had to do next was not stand in place, trembling! She needed to follow through with the plan: act like a lover and not a sister! That was all that’s left for them to become a couple—it’s how Shiro would bring Sora into checkmate!! Ah…isn’t logic incredible? 1 + 1 is always 2. It’ll never be 3 or 4, no matter what your emotions try to tell you. Logic never betrays you. It’s always objective and points you in the right direction…! “Sob… Shirooo, please, don’t hate your big brother…” Therefore—logically speaking—it was clear what she needed to tell her weeping brother. Me? Hate you, Brother? Inconceivable. That inconceivable misjudgment is what’s causing you so much pain. I need to tell you how I really feel in order to clear up your ridiculous misunderstanding. I love you more than anyone else in the world—I love you as a member of the opposite sex! Guided by her logic, Shiro finally spoke. “…Brother, you’re…wrong. I’d never…hate you… I…” However… Shiro’s throat tightened up; she couldn’t get any more words out past that. …What’s going on? Why can’t I say any more than this?! “Wahhh, I knew it! I knewww you hated me! Dammiiiit, just kill me nowww!!” “…N-no— Brother, that’s not… A-ah—!” Noticing that his sister couldn’t physically bring herself to say she loved him, Sora finally asked to put an end to things. He began slamming his head against the wall, but Shiro still couldn’t find it in her to speak to him or approach him. She frantically racked her confused brain to figure out what was going on with herself. Indeed, you can always count on reason to remain truthful. The only problem is: Reason can’t possibly produce a correct answer without a correct premise. What’s happening to me? No longer able to put this problem off, Shiro once again turned to logic for an answer: What is happening to me, why is it happening, and when did it start? First: When did this start? The answer was obvious. The moment Sora was forced to say he saw Shiro as a girlfriend—and as an object of sexual desire. So—what happened then? Also obvious. Her heart rate and body temperature increased. She struggled to breathe, and her body started trembling. From there, her thoughts came to a hard stop—so much that she couldn’t remember anything that happened from that moment on. So—why did this happen? I…don’t know. Everything had gone according to plan—or so she’d thought. But the fact of the matter was: Shiro’s symptoms started the instant her brother confessed to her, and they weren’t getting any better. Rather, they were getting worse—and quickly. She couldn’t even look at her brother anymore. Her heart was pounding like a hammer on a nail. Her face felt hot. Her breathing was ragged. But she still managed to sleep that night. Not in the same bed as her brother, but all that exhaustion made her pass out cold. She hoped that she’d be over these feelings come morning. But when she awoke, the first thing that met her eye was the same thing as always. The same sight as every morning for the past eight years—but there was something clearly different about it this time. It was her brother’s face. The moment she saw him, she almost lost consciousness again. She stopped breathing. Even now, when he tried coming closer, her body temperature skyrocketed, and she wanted to run away. Just being in the same room as him felt like a knife was being held to her throat. She was frozen in place and trembling. She couldn’t move. So back to the top—what was going on with her body? I have…no…clue…! This was a problem that logic and reason couldn’t help her solve. Unable to figure out anything, Shiro started crying—and conversely, Sora’s sobbing stopped on a dime. “Shiro, I’m sorry. But I—” A determined Sora stood up and approached his sister, his expression utterly serious. “…Eep?! N-no… Brother… Stay away, from me!!” Shiro was terrified of her heart rate increasing any further. She reached a breaking point, then screamed and tried to escape through the window into the garden. But the moment she put her hand on the window—and pictured herself leaving her brother— “…No… Brother… Don’t leave me…!” “What?! I’d never abandon you! Hold up—what do you even want me to do?!” The mere thought of leaving his side was frightening enough to make her burst into tears. I don’t know anymore. She didn’t know what was happening to her or what she wanted to do. Everything was so hazy. All she could do was cry…until out of nowhere, she noticed her reflection in the window, and a new thought found its way into her head. Who the heck is that? She didn’t recognize her own face reflected back at her. But at the same time, it wasn’t totally unfamiliar—she knew that face pretty well. She’d seen it recently—very recently… Whose face was this? With her photographic memory, Shiro was able to instantaneously produce an answer. Her face looked like Steph’s. Steph, when she was looking in the mirror earlier. She’d called herself a girl in love, and this was the face she’d been making. But that only raised further questions. The face of a girl in love…? How does that change anything? Of course she was in love. She’d always loved her brother. From the moment they met—maybe from the moment she was born—long before that, even. So if that was the case, then who was this person staring back at her in the mirror? No, wait… That’s not it. This was never me. Who was I up until now? Now even more confused, Shiro struggled with further doubts—but the logical part of her brain never stopped working. It was objective, uninterested, and merciless, and soon it delivered a new hypothesis: one that definitively explained what was causing her confusion. And that was—what she felt in that moment was none other than love. Could it be that all this time…I’ve never— been in love before…? “Oooooh, that’s what I like to see!! Things are starting to get spicy!!” Foeniculum, meanwhile, was secretly continuing the stream. She and her viewers watched, their shared excitement reaching its climax. Take a day off? At a time like this?! You’re outta your damn minds!! We only need a few more days until we’re at five billion—heck, if this game really pops off, we might even get there tonight!! I mean, gawd, just look at this delicious turn of events—you bet your ass I’m gonna capture this on camera!! Sorry, you two, but nothing that happens here is private!! That’s right—Foeniculum knew exactly where things were heading the moment she saw Shiro back in the living room. The Fairy licked her chops as she nonchalantly and secretly captured every second of the drama, and thought things over… Shiro figured she’d awaken her brother’s romantic feelings for her. Unfortunately for Shiro, that was way too naive. As the race created by the god of love, the Fairies know everything when it comes to (other people’s) romantic entanglements, and it was as clear as day that Shiro was the one who’d never seen her brother as a potential love interest! …Foeniculum didn’t know their history, obviously. She’d only been acquainted with the pair for a short ten days. Despite this, Foeniculum—along with her viewers—was fully convinced about Shiro. I’m 100 percent certain that while she’s probably toyed with the idea of being more than just siblings— —she’s absolutely, positively, never seen Sora as a lover!! Maybe it was because she was still so young or because of how close they were. Whatever the reason, what Shiro asked her brother during the summer festival game to get him to feel a spark of love—her trump-card question: “…Brother—why can’t you and I…be more, than this…?” That told Foeniculum everything she needed to know. Shiro didn’t say the word “girlfriend”—she couldn’t!! She’d probably never entertained the idea before—maybe never even imagined it. Foeniculum and her viewers picked up on this from Shiro’s single question. Hence, why they had Sora say the lines he did. You see, their goal was to have Sora view Shiro as a potential girlfriend—something they accomplished the moment Sora’s sensor pinged him as out. With that said and done—why toy with him any further? They needed Shiro to view Sora as a potential boyfriend. Why? Because it would make things way more entertaining!! The most exciting part of a romance isn’t when the characters get together in books, movies, or real life. It’s the process of bringing them together—when they feel those first sparks, when their affection wavers, and then when it comes to fruition! Shiro’s feelings were a flame with eight years of buildup—a flame far too large for such a young girl—that was now wavering. Just as Foeniculum and her viewers had intended, Shiro was navigating her first-ever romantic feelings. They’d predicted everything perfectly up until this point; the Fairies had played their god-tier move just as Shiro desired. They were glued to their screens—for even a Fairy couldn’t tell where Shiro’s love would take her. Blissfully unaware of these expectations that had been so fecklessly placed upon her— “…Brother… I just…lost my cool, for a second… I’m fine now…” “Y-yeah… I—I guess you kinda did totally lose it back there…but that’s my fault—” “…I’m…tired… Let’s, take a bath…” “Oh— Oookay!! Never mind that you actually want to take a bath for once—or that stone-cold look on your face; I’m just happy you’re inviting me to do anything!! Let’s go!!” —Shiro was back on her feet. After extending a monotone invitation, she grabbed her brother’s hand and headed to the bath. “Hooo boy… Yeahhh, I probably shouldn’t record them in the bath without their permission…” Foeniculum was conflicted. She was recording the two in secret, which already put her in a moral gray zone. Should she stop the stream? Foeniculum took a moment to think it over, and— “I—I know! I’m gonna switch to audio only from here on out!! If things take a saucy turn in the bath, I’ll halt the stream, barge in, and stop ’em—that should be enough for us to keep going!!” It was a tightrope decision. Should she act a moment too late, a full ban was totally within the realm of possibility. I can’t back out now; my pride as a Fairy is on the line here!! Giving in to her urges—not to mention the tips this would bring—Foeniculum decided to continue her stream. “Aaah!! That hits the spot! Nothing like a bath after ten unwashed days!! Eh, Shiro?!” “…Yeah, I guess…” “We gotta thank Steph later! People need to keep clean, after all!!” “…Yeah, I guess…” Two days earlier—right before the summer festival—Steph had purchased a bath just as she said she would. Shiro could hear her brother through the bath’s partition. He sounded unnaturally enthusiastic as he washed himself off in the shower. Shiro sat in the bath alone, barely paying any attention to her brother as she became lost in thought. Is this love? How ridiculous. This couldn’t possibly be love. It was just—more confusion. True, Shiro needed to figure out the root cause of her inner turmoil. But she could save that for later. First, she had to follow through on her plan—bring her brother into checkmate. That was all. For now, she’d use her powers of reasoning to shut out any disruptive emotions. Plus…she’d already figured out how to force her brother into checkmate. All she needed to do was embrace him while they were naked and say, I love you in a romantic way, Brother. He couldn’t claim that he’d never felt the same before; victory was all but in her sights—!! “…Want to…join me…?” “Huh? No way; you’re the one who’s always saying no underage nudity.” I only say that ’cause I never want to go in the bath… And now she was basically telling him to get his butt in there. Shiro kept her impatience at bay— “…It’s fine. I have, a towel on… You can just…wear one, too…” “Aha. Nothing wrong with that, then. Don’t mind if I do.” —and watched as Sora got up and approached the tub. Needless to say—Shiro wasn’t wearing a towel. That was a giant lie. The steam rising from the hot bath was really thick. What’s more, Shiro was submerged in the water. Her brother wouldn’t be able to notice her lack of a towel until he was sitting right next to her. By the time he figured out she was naked, she’d have hugged and kissed him and told him how she felt. Game, set, and match!! She watched as a figure showed itself from behind the partition. Ba-dum. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she nonetheless waited, her powers of reasoning stifling any unnecessary emotions. With every step her brother took closer to the bath, his silhouette grew clearer and clearer. Shiro felt her temperature rise and her mind begin to go blank, but yet again, her reasoning powers took the reins. She waited some more. Finally, Sora was close enough for Shiro to make out his face—and in that very instant… “A-actually!! Wait!!!!” …Shiro heard the shackles of her reasoning being sundered apart as she jumped out of the bath and covered Sora’s eyes with her hands. “Gaaaah?! What’s going on?! Now what’d I do?!” Nope, nope, nope!! Can’t do it!! Confessing to your crush in the nude?! No way—I could never!! I’d have to be out of my mind—or at the very least, a straight-up pervert to do that!! Shiro’s sense of reason—which was now in shambles—posed a new question to her: Why? Haven’t you been naked around him before? Didn’t you kiss him—albeit under the pretense of air circulation—during your game with Jibril? This is nothing new…so why the hesitation now? Shiro’s emotions, meanwhile, gave her sense of reason a giant middle finger. I…don’t know why, but…I just…can’t!! That was when reality sank in, dealing a fatal blow to her intensifying mental chaos. She’d just pushed her brother onto the ground, buck naked, and had her hands over his eyes.