Chapter 49

My younger sister has been acting strange lately.

The other day, I thought she had gone out during her day off, but as soon as she came back, she started clinging to me. While it's normal for my sister to be affectionate with me, this time it felt different. She clung to my arm and lowered her head, so I couldn't see her expression, but she seemed very down. After a while, my clothes started to feel cold. My sister had been crying. I wanted to ask what had happened, but my sister can be quite stubborn. I pretended not to notice and offered her my arm.

Lately, I've been busy and come home late, so I haven't spent much time with my sister. She must have been very sad to cry like that, but she wouldn't tell me why. Maybe she felt lonely. I decided to try to make more time and come home earlier. The weight on my arm increased, and when I looked, my sister had fallen asleep from crying. I didn't want to wake her, so I fetched a blanket and covered her. Her stomach was growling, and she was mumbling. ...She must be hungry. I went to get some light snacks so she could eat them when she woke up.

Since then, my sister has started saying preachy things to my father. Things like "The net of heaven is vast, yet nothing slips through," "Evil deeds travel a thousand miles," and "Heaven knows, earth knows, I know, you know." She would whisper these things in his ear. Actually, my sister has been saying such things to my father from time to time, but the frequency has increased. She would say, "Father, I trust you," with a serious face, but it was clear she didn't believe it at all. My father, who wasn't trusted by his own daughter, was quite depressed.

My sister also came to me and said, "Big brother, you're my only hope. Please help Father reform." My sister, Father is right behind you... It seems that in my sister's mind, Father is a terrible criminal. "Is it just a rebellious phase?" I heard Father mutter. ...It's pitiful.

But recently, her strange behavior has taken a different turn.

One moment she would sigh heavily, and the next, she would suddenly clutch her chest and look in pain. I panicked, thinking she was sick or having a seizure, but she said, "This is a maiden's illness." I was worried she might really be sick, but she ate her meals just fine, so I figured she was okay. Father, trying to improve his standing with my sister, frequently bought rare and famous pastries and fruits to offer her. She ate them all. At least she seemed to be in good health.

Sometimes, she would tear flowers apart one by one, sighing each time. After destroying several flowers, she would sigh deeply and look into the distance. Then, she would silently clean up the scattered remains of the flowers. She must be under a lot of stress.

Recently, while she was doing her homework, I pointed out a mistake and tried to help her erase it with an eraser from her pencil case. She screamed, "Aaaah!" as if the world was ending, and quickly snatched the eraser from my hand, her shoulders slumping. I wondered what was wrong with the eraser. She left the room with her homework, saying, "Big brother, you're so mean..." What was that about? And, sister, are you okay with leaving your homework with the wrong answers?

"Wasn't that a flower fortune-telling?"

I told my friend, Iware, about my sister's behavior. The last time Iware came over, my sister was consulting him about something. When I asked what it was, he wouldn't tell me, saying, "It's nothing." ...Not very interesting.

"Flower fortune-telling?"

"Never heard of it? It's common. You know, the one where you pull petals and say 'love' or 'hate.' Girls used to do it when they were kids."

"Oh, I've heard of it before."

Flower fortune-telling.

I never thought of it when I saw my sister tearing apart the flowers so fiercely. I thought she might have a grudge against the flowers.

But flower fortune-telling.

Isn't it a love fortune?

Love?

"...Iware, what did my sister consult you about?"

"Ah, nothing much."

"Iware."

"Ah, well, I made a promise to my sister."

"Iware."

"Besides, you have your own secrets with my sister too, right? Gwoh!"

Shut up, fool.

I gave him another warning, but Iware, coughing, refused to speak.

I sighed.

"Professor Kumisuke's wife. The night of the conference."

"Ew! Why did you say that?!"

"What did my sister consult you about?"

"...As you might guess."

Hmph.

"Who is the person?"

"I don't know. I tried to find out, but she wouldn't tell me. But she mentioned someone named Romeo."

"Romeo?"

Is it a real person?

Or is it a fictional lover in her imagination? That's possible with my sister. Maybe she has a boyfriend from a foreign country that only she can see.

"She also said she was going to give homemade cookies as a gift, so I told her it might be better not to."

"Cookies?"

Ah! I remember!

A while ago, my sister made cookies and gave them to my father and me. My mother doesn't eat sweets at night for beauty reasons. They were a bit burnt and bitter, but otherwise sweet, so maybe her cooking skills are improving. My father's plate had even more burnt cookies than mine. He said, "Oh, chocolate chip cookies?" which made my sister angry. Father, those cookies are completely black and plain butter cookies, not chocolate chip. Father silently washed them down with tea.

"Is that it?"

"Do you have any idea?"

"Sort of."

My sister, did you use me as a guinea pig to make cookies for your crush? Burnt things are bad for you. Father's complaints are justified.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Huh? I thought you'd try to interfere."

"No way."

I'll check if the person is a weirdo or not. I'd be worried if someone was planning to do something bad to the daughter of the Kishikawate family. Otherwise, it's fine.

"Because"

When I think about it, I can't imagine my eccentric sister's love actually working out. Besides, I'm not even sure if it's a real person. She said she wants to go to a zoo in Hokkaido. I'll take her there after she's done.

But, sister, if you're really in love, maybe you should be a bit more careful about taking Father's offerings. You're starting to look a bit round.