3 - Prologue 3

「Suzumori-kun, Miyashiro-kun, please wait!」

Yumi walks toward me, smiling.

「Sorry to keep you waiting.」

Chisato looks apologetic.

「No problem.」

「Come on, let’s go home.」

The four of us always go home together.

Apparently, everyone except me had been explained the game by Taku.

「You can play games, but you need to finish your assignments, okay?」

「Fufufu, I’m on top of that, I’m getting everything done so I can enjoy my summer vacation.」

「Uwaa, Miyashiro-kun… You were really looking forward to it, what about you, Suzumori-kun?」

「I’m the same as always.」

「Well, Yuki, I’m sure you are.」

Yes, as usual, everything went without a hitch.

The distance from the school to my house is only a few minutes on foot, and we can easily get there if we just keep talking like this.

「See you in the game tomorrow, then.」

「Yeah, see you tomorrow.」

「See you again, Suzumori-kun, Miyashiro-kun.」

「See you tomorrow.」

I waved them off.

I said that Taku and I have known each other since we were children, but that’s because our houses were next door to each other.

The Suzumori’s family’s parents, my parents, are often away from home.

When I was little, my siblings and I were often taken care of by Miyashiro’s parents.

It seems that our parents have been best friends since they were students, and Miyashiro’s parents love us like their own children.

The older sister tends to be shy, but the younger one

「See you tomorrow, Taku.」

I said, and playfully went back to my own house.

「Hey, hey, here, here, I didn’t give you the game.」

It was a little joke.

After Taku gave me the game console, we had a quick chat and I went home.

As soon as I opened the door, my sister came wearing an apron.

「Onie-chan, welcome home.」

「I’m home, Aya.」

My little sister’s name is Saya, by the way my name is Sayuki, and my older sister’s is Sarina.

The Suzumori family has a family motto regarding names. It says that you should use an alias when you tell someone your name. That’s it.

Therefore, my little sister is Aya, I am Yuki, and my older sister is Rina, which is the way we call ourselves outside the house.

"

"

Aya calls me “Onie-chan” because she didn’t know my gender until she was six years old.

Since then, Aya has been calling me “Onie-chan”, a mix of Onii-chan and Onee-chan.

I should add that Aya has a brother complex.

She and I are close in age, her older sister is clumsy, and our parents are always away, all of which have created a reaction in the youngest child.

When I was a child, she used to follow me everywhere I went saying, “Onie-chan, Onie-chan”.

We were famous in the neighborhood as the three beautiful sisters, especially among the aunts.

『Onii-chan? Onee-chan? Hmm……? O…nie-chan? ….Onie-chan!!』

It was probably the aunties in the neighborhood who caused her to call me Onie-chan.

「Would you like to take a bath? Would you like to eat dinner? Or would you–」

「Anyway, did you finish your homework?」

「Fufufu, I’m doing my homework as usual!」

「Let’s have dinner then.」

It’s noon, the sun is shining, and after lunch it’s time for Aya to do her homework.

The lunch was spaghetti, which Aya quickly made while I was getting dressed.

Afterwards, we cleaned up together and it was time to study.

Aya’s grades are excellent, and she doesn’t need to do homework or study with me.

In other words, I leave it to her.

I finished my studies in moderation, soaked in the bathtub, and finished my pre-bedtime stretching before going to sleep.

Of course, my sister and I are in separate rooms.

The next morning, I woke up at the usual time, it’s still dark outside, and even in summer it’s cold at this time of the day.

I woke up Aya, who had naturally fallen asleep, washed my face with cold water, changed into my jersey and went for my morning run.

By the time I finished, the sun was shining brightly, so I took a shower to wash off the sweat, and then Aya and I cooked breakfast together.

The breakfast was a simple meal containing fried eggs, sausage, salad and bread. Aya seemed to like this kind of mundane breakfast.

After that, I studied until noon, had lunch, and it was finally time to play the game.

Aya was invited by a friend to her house.

I’ve locked the door, checked the fire, and everything is in order.

So, let’s see how the world’s first VR game is.

「Open gate.」