Chapter 11 – March 11, Sakurazaka Yae.

March 11, Sakurazaka, Yae.

“Funuguuooo!”

“Come on, you can do it!”

From outside, I can hear the groans of a woman and the encouraging voice of my younger brother in a light tone.

Although it’s daytime, the curtains are tightly closed, but I shift them a bit to peek through the gap below.

I can see my brother effortlessly lifting two piles of boxes placed in front of the entrance… and a struggling woman.

She’s trying to lift a big cardboard box, but it seems heavier than she expected. With her feet planted, she’s shouting out with a loud voice, “Toyaahh!” “Doryaaahh!”

“That outfit…”

She’s wearing a long-sleeved shirt with pants that have lots of pockets. The size seems to fit her skin tightly, and it’s cute, but it’s frustrating that it suits her so well.

Despite having a slender figure, she has an unnecessarily large chest, and her face isn’t bad either. In fact, she’s quite beautiful.

“Jin-chan seems to be getting too friendly with her! But… she looks happy.”

It’s the first time I’ve seen her in person, but I know who she is. I looked her up on the internet and watched a few videos on the day we were introduced.

She’s energetic, cheerful, and her voice is loud and clear… it was dazzling.

It’s the complete opposite of me now. However, she reminds me of myself a little bit from the past. I was confident, fearless, and innocent back then.

Now, I don’t have any of that left.

It’s only natural to be attracted to someone like her rather than a useless, reclusive, and gloomy girl like me.

“…”

I feel down for some reason…

If, if my brother ends up liking her and they start dating, I should support them as an older sister, even if I don’t know what kind of person she is.

“Hey, Jin! Don’t you think you should help me out since I’m a fragile and cute girl in trouble?”

“Fragile? Cute? I’m not really sure.”

My brother is shrugged off while being glared at.

“Ugaahh!”

She’s still biting her teeth while holding onto the box.

She may be trying to intimidate, but she looks more like a playful puppy.

I quietly close the curtains and turn my back to the window.

If I keep watching, I’ll just become more jealous.

“What are you going to do?”

So far, she hasn’t told Diya-san anything about her dream.

She’s having our house reinforced without knowing anything about the disaster that will happen in April.

I’m paying for it, but I don’t know anything about the catastrophic event that will occur in less than a month. If I knew in advance, I would want to do various things.

I would want to warn my family and friends about the danger…

When I opened the door, I was greeted by a slightly chilly breeze and warm sunshine.

Normally, it would feel nice, but for me, an indoor person, it was a bit too stimulating.

“It’s a perfect day for sunbathing, but I’ll have to resist today.”

I noticed the camping chairs placed on the rooftop, but I ignored them and reached for the lid of the storage box next to the door.

When I opened it, I found everything I needed for home gardening, such as a shovel, fertilizer, and plant seeds.

“Now, where should I start?”

Several round and large planters were lined up on the rooftop. They were arranged for growing vegetables that can be eaten, but there was one corner of the rooftop that had no planters. Instead, there was a flower bed-like area enclosed by bricks.

“It’s already completed. He’s quick at his work, as expected.”

My younger brother had made this area himself, declaring, “Planters won’t be enough!” It had already been decided what would be planted here.

“I wonder what kind of passion he has for sweet potatoes.”

He wanted to grow a lot of sweet potatoes, his favorite food, so he made a dedicated space for them.

…I don’t mind them either, so it’s fine.

“Well then, let’s start by choosing some easy-to-grow vegetables recommended for this season.”

I looked up vegetables to grow from the book I had brought.

“There are quite a few that can be grown. Let’s see, maybe cabbage, spinach, and tomatoes?”

There were other candidates, but I thought these would be more versatile.

Despite struggling, I managed to finish planting the seeds and watering them. Since there were some things I didn’t quite understand from the books, I looked it up in agricultural videos and tried my best. It was smoother than I thought it would be, but I don’t mind that it took longer than expected.

As I stretched my back and looked around from the rooftop, I noticed it was getting a bit darker compared to the daytime. The wind felt chilly too.

“Oh, it’s already evening.”

I couldn’t remember the last time I had concentrated and moved my body for such a long time, maybe months or even years.

Quietly moving to the edge of the rooftop, I peeked into the garden, but my brother and Diya were nowhere to be seen. I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear any voices.

“Where are they and what are they doing… surely they aren’t doing anything, right?”

I hurriedly examined the surroundings of the house, but there was no sign of them.

I opened the door to the rooftop and ran down to the second floor, but my legs stopped as I was about to head down to the first floor. Even though I was filled with jealousy and worry, the fear of meeting someone else made my feet sluggish.

In the end, I realized that I am the most important person to myself.

As I stood there still, I heard a faint noise coming from downstairs.

“…No…not now…”

Was that Diya’s voice?

Her breathing was rough and her voice sounded oddly sexy.

For a moment, my head started to spin, but I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Hmph, this would be a situation where one would normally misunderstand, but I’m not that stupid.

The sound seems to be coming from the living room. If that’s the case, my little brother doesn’t have the courage to fool around in the living room knowing that I’m home!

“Hey hey, your guard is down. Oops, looks like there’s no escape route left, huh?”

“Stop it! Don’t do dirty things! Wait, what did you just say? Let me go! Don’t use full force!”

Depending on how you hear it, it might sound erotic, but sometimes there are sounds of impact, screams from other people, and shouting of finishing moves.

“See, I knew it was going to be a cheesy ending.”

I’m a little jealous of the two of them who are absorbed in the game, but I turn on my heel and head to my own room.

Even if it was the relationship I imagined, as his older sister, I have no right to criticize my brother’s free love. I like to think that I understand that much.

…But it’s frustrating to think that my dear brother might be taken away from me.

But it’s okay. Even if we end up living together, I can support them properly.

Working together, their distance may shorten in the harsh circumstances where they might be attacked by zombies. They may become intimate due to the suspension bridge effect, and start cuddling every day in this house…

Wait, hold on. Don’t I feel out of place in my own home?

Living every day while watching the couple in extreme conditions…

Am I the only one who’s single?

“This is living hell!?”

It’s frustrating just to watch my dear brother being taken away from me.

“I don’t have a fetish for NTR!”

“Hmm? Did I just hear something? Is that you, big sis?”

I panicked and covered my mouth as I heard Diya-san’s suspicious voice, and quickly ran back to my room.

After calming down for a while, I tried to start playing games in my room, but I couldn’t get motivated knowing that this online game will become inaccessible in just a little over half a month.

“When April really comes…”

There’s no doubt about my brother’s abilities. He would never lie or deceive anyone. I can say that for sure.

If we leave it as it is, many people will die. But if the information leaks out and reaches the root of all evil, my brother could be killed… Thinking about that makes me too scared to act.

“It’s not like we’re the ones who will kill her.”

Just ignoring it and leaving her to die.

Lying face down on the bed, she pressed the pillow against the back of her head and struggled.

Ever since that day, the conflict had continued for what seemed like forever.

My brother seemed to have completely come to terms with it.

He was doing everything he could to save us. She had no intention of expressing any dissatisfaction with that.

“We’re just repeating the same thing.”

She had been troubled by the same thing in the morning, and was still troubled by it now.

“Yae-nee, dinner’s ready… Do you want to eat alone?”

A caring voice came from behind the door.

It was already dinner time.

“I’m sorry. I might not be able to eat with everyone else yet.”

“It’s okay. I’ll bring your portion, Yae-nee.”

“Thank you… Jin-chan.”

Even though they don’t have the courage to meet face-to-face, they still wish to help. They feel like crying at their own hypocrisy.

They need to muster up the courage.

Only I can see whether Diya is really okay.

I want the courage to take a step forward for myself and for my little brother.

As I decide to grab the doorknob, the faces of the media and our relatives come to mind.

They wear a mask of sympathy and hide their filthy desires while approaching.

Just thinking about it makes my whole body tremble and my legs go weak.

“It’s so laughable how emotionally unstable I am…”

My emotions have been fluctuating all day.

“I want to change…”

Late at night, the alarm on my smartphone goes off. I had set it just in case, but I was already awake.

I pick up my phone and quietly open the door to go down to the first floor.

I’ve confirmed that Diya is back in the camping car, but I still feel cautious.

The first floor has a living room, dining room, bathroom, and a guest room. I took out a bottle of tea from the fridge and headed towards the back without returning to my room.

It quickly becomes a dead end, with a toilet and a door to the bathroom on the right. On the left, there is a tall shelf with double doors that are higher than my height, and I open only the right door.

Inside, there are CD cases tightly packed, with no consistency in genres ranging from Western music to Japanese music, jazz, and classical.

I let out a small sigh and reach out my hand.

“This is Father’s hobby, isn’t it?”

Pushing the seventh CD case from the right on the seventh shelf from the bottom, a dull thud was heard.

The bookshelf slid to the left, revealing a hidden staircase leading downstairs.

This overly elaborate system is typical of men’s romance. By the way, my younger brother also likes this gimmick. I have no idea why.

“Well then, shall we relieve some stress today?”

The soundproofed basement is a space where I can shout without hesitation.

Sometimes you need to let off steam, right?