Chapter 6

Kasai City in S Prefecture has mountains, rivers, and the sea.

Fishing and camping are possible all year round, so it attracts many tourists.

A few kilometers offshore from the city's coast, Natsuki, dressed in a school uniform, was floating in mid-air, sitting cross-legged and glaring at the water surface.

"So, it was that Kaoruko. I had forgotten about her since it had been a few years."

Natsuki once had a younger sister.

A younger half-sister, not related by blood.

Her name was Ayakawa Kaoruko.

Natsuki doesn't have a father. He had been absent since Natsuki was old enough to remember, so it never bothered him. He never envied his classmates who had fathers.

Even without a father, there was a reliable adult who acted as a father figure for him. Sometimes, he even consulted with this person about things he couldn't discuss with his mother.

However, his mother, who didn't seem to like the absence of a father, told him a few years ago that she had brought a man she met at the kindergarten Natsuki attended and was considering remarriage.

The man, Ayakawa Seiji, was a little older than his mother and seemed to be a kind person.

He had a daughter named Kaoruko, who was a year younger than Natsuki.

Both being single parents, they became close and often helped each other when they needed a man or a woman.

However, as the children grew older and required less attention, their relationship shifted from one of mutual support to friendship, and Seiji began to develop feelings for Natsuki's mother.

It's unclear how his mother felt about Seiji's confession, but she accepted his feelings and decided to remarry.

The Yuragi family became a four-member household: Natsuki's mother, Natsuki, his stepfather, and Kaoruko.

For the first year, despite the unfamiliarity, they had many happy times.

Natsuki and Kaoruko, being young, quickly became close.

The relationship between Seiji and Natsuki, and between Natsuki's mother and Kaoruko, gradually deepened, and by the end of the first year, they felt like a real family.

--- However, this family relationship began to crumble due to the presence of Natsuki's childhood friend, Miyahara Yuto.

It all started when Kaoruko met Yuto.

At the time, Natsuki was already struggling with Yuto, but because their mothers were friends and they were still children, he didn't want to be rude, so he often played with Yuto.

Kaoruko, who was shy but wanted to play with Natsuki, joined in and became close with Yuto.

If they had just become close, it wouldn't have become a big problem later, but Kaoruko began to develop feelings for Yuto.

A few days before meeting Yuto, Kaoruko had said, "I'll marry my big brother!" out of affection, but after that, she changed.

All she talked about was Yuto, Yuto, Yuto.

Natsuki's mother and stepfather found it endearing that their daughter had a crush, though they felt a bit uneasy. But since she was a child, they let it be.

Gradually, Kaoruko changed.

She started comparing Natsuki to Yuto and saying, "I want to replace my big brother." Each time, her stepfather would scold her, saying, "There are things you can say and things you can't," and she would apologize, but it kept happening.

Her tone towards Natsuki became increasingly aggressive, and she began to view the girls around Yuto as enemies.

By this time, Natsuki and Kaoruko hardly had any normal conversations.

There were times when she suddenly shouted at him or threw things in a hysterical manner.

If they were real siblings, Natsuki might have brushed it off, and if it were anyone else, he might have tried to reach out. But Natsuki saw Kaoruko as someone who had been driven crazy by Yuto and thought, "If you don't touch the gods, they won't curse you," and tried to avoid her as much as possible.

It wasn't the first time, though.

Girls who had feelings for Yuto generally went crazy.

There was nothing Natsuki could do about it, and if Yuto didn't get involved, things would be normal. There was no way to deal with it.

Natsuki couldn't find a reason to do something for Kaoruko, who hated him, so he left her alone.

By the time Kaoruko was in the sixth grade, her attitude towards Natsuki, and even her mother, had worsened. She started shouting at her mother, throwing food, and causing trouble more often.

Natsuki's mother and stepfather decided to divorce to prevent the children from being further negatively affected.

After the divorce, Kaoruko seemed to calm down, but whenever Natsuki saw her, she was always around Yuto.

"When we met in middle school, she looked at me with such disdain. I don't understand what Yuto has that makes her so obsessed, and I don't want to understand... If she finds out Yuto has a girlfriend, she won't be calm, I bet."

Yuto's younger brother, Ito, was good friends with both Natsuki and Kaoruko.

He was in Kaoruko's class and probably still in touch with her.

He probably consulted with her about Yuto's girlfriend.

"Whatever, it's not my problem. Do what you want."

Thinking about his half-sister, Natsuki felt no nostalgia or particular emotion.

Perhaps because they had spent so little time together, it felt like someone else's business.

"Whatever. More importantly, magic! It's so useful! My body isn't as strong as it was in my prime, but the future I see is one where I, who has returned from another world, will dominate the Earth with my cheat powers!"

Natsuki couldn't hide his joy at being able to use the various techniques he had learned in the other world, even now that he was back.

At the same time, he was convinced that his days in the other world were not a dream.

---

I think this might be a story about a love triangle.

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