Chapter 1 – March 1,Sakurazaka Jin.

When I woke up, I could see the ceiling.

“Phew, it’s cold today.”

Before getting out of bed, I stopped the alarm clock that had been ringing at my bedside.

It was 6:25 in the morning, just like any other day.

With five minutes to spare, I got up without rushing and did some light stretching for about three minutes to loosen up and warm up my body.

Then, I left the room and went downstairs.

I arrived at my usual spot a little before 6:30.

In front of me was a TV on a desk. On the desk were a notepad, a pen, a laptop, and the TV remote, which I had prepared in advance.

First, I write down the contents of the dream I had earlier in my notepad. I note down the situation, the words I spoke, and my actions in detail.

Since I’m still groggy from just waking up, I can’t quite grasp the reality of that dream, which felt so real.

Once I finish writing, I check the news on TV since it’s already time.

There’s nothing particularly noteworthy. At one point, they mention some celebrity’s affair that was uncovered by a weekly magazine, but I don’t care about other people’s love affairs and can’t understand why it’s even being talked about.

After switching to a different channel, I found that the news was just as unchanging. I quickly turned away from the TV and powered on my laptop, which was ready to use in an instant. Since time was of the essence, I realized that investing in a high-performance computer with a faster startup time was a wise decision.

First, I checked the stock prices, FX, and pitcoins, taking notes on the volatile stocks. Then, I looked for high payout ratios in horse racing, bicycle racing, boat racing, and other events.

Suddenly realizing the time, I checked and saw that quite a bit of time had passed and it was already 7:20.

Only ten minutes left.

I skimmed through news sites, social media, and video sharing sites.

Satisfied with what I saw, I looked at the time and saw that it was already past 7:30.

“Phew, now I can relax.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and stretched my body.

As usual, there was an hour’s worth of tasks to do after waking up, so I couldn’t let my guard down.

“Oh, right. I guess I don’t need this anymore…”

If that were to become reality, there would be no need to do such a thing. But ingrained habits are scary.

“Oh, I’m hungry. Should I make breakfast? I think I had some eggs and milk. How about bread?”

Even though there was no one around, the monologue continued.

Since I hadn’t spoken a word until now, it was a reaction.

I continued cooking leisurely since there was no need to rush, and just as it was about to be finished, I heard the sound of slippers flapping down the stairs.

“Mmm, it smells good. I’m so grateful that you’ve prepared warm food for your big sister again today, Yae!”

As the delighted voice resounded, an arm wrapped around my neck and two modest, springy masses were pressed against my back.

“”Hey, Yaenee-chan. Did you just wake up or are you planning to go to sleep now?”

“That’s a secret.”

My sister put her chin on my shoulder and grinned at me with a relaxed expression.

Her black hair was tousled in places and messy. Even though her makeup-free profile was fair and well-proportioned when seen up close, everything seemed to be a waste.

Her outfit was matched with mine, with no sex appeal or cuteness. It was a slightly oversized mouse-colored sweatshirt—wait a minute.

“You’re wearing my clothes again without permission.”

“But, it’s easier to wear something big!”

She moved away from me and put her hand to her mouth, wriggling her body.

“Yae-nee, what kind of character are you? Don’t you know you should act your age?”

“How rude! I’m still a cool young woman!”

“Are we back in the Showa era or what?”

My older sister, who is two years older than me, always acts like this when she’s around me. She’s young in both spirit and appearance, if you want to put it in a positive way. On the other hand, you could say she’s lazy, sloppy, and indulgent if you want to be negative.

I am mostly responsible for the housework, as well as the utility bills and household expenses.

As for my sister, she is a shut-in who spends her days immersed in games and the internet. In other words, she’s a NEET.

She used to be smart and active during her school days, but now there’s not even a trace of that left.

The TV was showing a wedding special, and I absentmindedly blurted out:

“Are you not interested in getting married, Yae-neechan?”

As soon as I said it, I regretted it, but it was too late to take it back.

I checked my sister’s expression calmly, trying not to show any signs of my own agitation.

“Currently undergoing bride training. If you want, Jin-chan can take care of me for the rest of my life.”

My sister looked at me with a smug expression and a creepy, cat-like voice.

“That’s okay.”

“Marriage?”

“I have no interest in a forbidden relationship!”

“And then-“

“No way. It’s getting annoying, so please stop that character.”

While glancing over at me, she declared that she would stick with me for the rest of her life, so I politely declined.

“That’s strange. It was depicted that men like this kind of thing.”

Today, for some reason, they’re coming at me with a higher than usual level of energy and annoying me.

Come to think of it, I saw a cheesy development like this in an old-fashioned romantic comedy before. Wait… I was buying a bunch of old manga in electronic books two days ago, maybe that’s why.

“Jin-chan seems to be in a bad mood, right? What’s wrong? Did you have a bad dream or something?”

I thought I was behaving as usual, but as expected of my only blood relative whom I see every day, she saw through me.

Was my previous playful behavior out of consideration…?

“Well, yeah. It was a bit… no, it was a really terrible dream.”

“Seriously? Huh, big sis is curious. What happened?”

I pushed back against my sister’s pushy face and urged her to bring breakfast.

“We’ll talk in detail while we eat.”

“Got it. Then, let’s hurry up and bring it over~”

Surprisingly, she easily gave in and skillfully arranged the dishes on the table.

After finishing carrying everything, they put their hands together and said “Itadakimasu” in unison.

Ever since they became alone together, they had made it a habit to eat together for breakfast and dinner, as long as there were no other plans. They made sure to consider the nutritional balance of the menu, but they both ate less in the morning.

“Mm, it’s delicious today too. And, aahh… This cola with a strong carbonation is the best!”

“I told you not to drink cola with Japanese food.”

“You’re worried about my health, big sis. Don’t worry, this one is zero calorie.”

“That’s not the point… forget it.”

Even though I know it’s useless because no matter how many times I say it, she won’t stop, we end up having the same exchange every morning.

It has become a daily routine for me since I wake up.

When I fall silent, my sister suddenly puts on a serious expression, leans her elbows on the table, clasps her hands together, and slowly opens her mouth.

“So, you saw that, right? ‘Miracle Once a Month’.”

Her over-the-top expression and strangely good pronunciation annoy me.

“Hey, I’ve told you so many times to stop using that lame name.”

“Eh? But it’s so cool! ‘A miracle once a month.’ It’s perfect for that ability. If you can’t understand that, you have no sense.”

“I’ll give you back the exact same words. Just come up with something like ‘premonition dreams’ or whatever.”

“I don’t sense any originality in that.”

“Fine, whatever.”

The conversation has gone off on a tangent.

Whenever she talks with her sister, it always ends up like this. It’s not like she dislikes this exchange, in fact, she finds it quite pleasant. But for now, she needs to move the conversation forward.

“I’m going to talk seriously now, so let’s save the jokes and questions for later, okay?”

Speaking in a calm and steady voice, she finally seems to realize the severity of the situation and straightens up, waiting for my words.

“The dream I had yesterday was…”

After finishing telling everything, my sister, who already had an unhealthy pale face, became even more bloodless and started to tremble in front of me.

Normally, people would just ignore or respond with a casual nod to stories about dreams. However, my sister takes it more seriously than I do.

“Joke… no, sorry. I shouldn’t make such a tasteless joke. If it’s really… no, if it really comes true. Ugh…”

She can’t seem to find the right words and groans while holding her head.

“Normally, people would just laugh and say it’s a ridiculous story because it’s not like it’s from a manga or a game, but in the first place, Jin’s power is beyond common sense.”

“You know that too, Yae-nee. My premonition dreams… if I don’t do anything unnecessary, they always come true without fail.”

Others might find it hard to believe, but I am what is commonly known as a psychic.

However, it’s not like I have flashy abilities like teleportation or psychokinesis; my ability is just to have premonition dreams.

Furthermore, it’s incredibly inconvenient.

Firstly, it only activates once a month, twelve times a year. And the content of the premonition dream is limited to the first day of each month.

The dream’s content is also limited to a one-hour window from 6:30 to 7:30 in the morning, and it only predicts events that will occur exactly one month later from the day I had the dream.

Additionally, the accuracy of the premonition decreases if I don’t follow the exact same course of action as in the dream. That’s why I take such detailed notes.

It’s a flawed psychic ability.

“I didn’t even realize this power existed back then.”

Remembering the past, he muttered unintentionally.

“I see. When we were little, you would just wake up crying after having a pitch-black dream, saying ‘Big sis, I had a scary dream!’.”

Perhaps recalling that moment, her sister’s face softened just a bit. It may have been a stain on their past, but if since the severity of it had faded away, then it was for the best.

“Since I always used to wake up later than 7:30, my precognitive dreams were always pitch black. Well, it’s a dream that you see with your eyes closed when you’re asleep, so of course it’s black. Until then, I had always thought I only had one black nightmare a month.”

“I was surprised when you suddenly screamed ‘Sis, you can’t die!’ at the hospital. You held onto me and cried. When I asked you what happened, you said that I was about to fall from a high place. You were having a scary dream because of that, so I comforted you. But… a month later, I actually did almost fall from the rooftop.”

“It was so vivid and realistic that I couldn’t even distinguish between dreams and reality at the time. I was really shocked.”

The dream was too realistic to be called just a dream.

As a result of that incident, my sister, who was already awakening to late-onset chuunibyou syndrome, started to doubt, “Could that have been a premonitory dream?”

My sister then asked me for more details and gave me this advice.

“We were able to see it because Jin-chan woke up early that day. So if you think about it…yeah. Starting today, you should wake up early. Wake up at least before 7 o’clock. And make sure to write down the contents of your dream.”

“The Suggestion  was more like a command.

At that time, my sister was assertive and self-centered, so I reluctantly obeyed, understanding that going against her could be scary.

Thanks to my sister’s advice, I am grateful that I was able to recognize the existence of precognitive dreams.

“But, we don’t have time to reminisce about the past. We need to think about the future.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. If we know that things could turn out like a zombie apocalypse movie, shouldn’t we tell everyone and prepare for it?” She asked

Firstly, focusing on helping others before one’s own safety is a sign of a kind-hearted nature. As for me, I only thought about myself and my sister.

“Yae-nee, what would you think if you heard someone spreading rumors that zombies will overrun the town in about a month?”

“I’d probably avoid that person, thinking they’re crazy or something.”

My sister pondered for a moment, furrowed her brow, and muttered under her breath.

“Exactly. No one would believe them normally.”

 “But…should we tell the media about it?”

“No, we shouldn’t.”

My sister understood what I was trying to say, and she either looked angry or frightened as she muttered under her breath, “But…we should tell the people who are important to us, right?”

I lean forward on the table and push back my sister’s face with my palm.

“Our parents died in an accident. We cut ties with all the greedy relatives who came for insurance money. You’re a shut-in with no boyfriend, let alone marriage prospects, and I’ve never even invited a friend over. Who are these important people you’re talking about?”

“Stop stating the facts so calmly!”

My sister, who was crushed by reality, collapsed onto the table.

Since that incident, both my sister and I have avoided interacting with people. As a result, the only people who visit our house are delivery drivers.

“But I have lots of friends online!” my sister exclaimed.

I suddendly thought, I have a friend who I play online games with every night. We’ve never met in person, but we know each other’s voices.

If they’re friends connected only through the internet, then I have  one too…

That may be true, but there are other problems to deal with right now.

The question is how those zombie-like creatures came to be. If it’s related to some organization or event, what would the people involved think if there was someone who foresaw it in advance? Regardless of my own situation, I can’t let my sister engage in any behavior that would put her in danger.

“We’re fortunate that we still have almost a month left. How about we calm down today and separately think about what we should do from tomorrow on and put it all together?” She said

“Y-yeah. It’s a sudden thing, and to be honest, I might need some time to process it.”

Despite trying to appear calm in front of my panicked sister, the truth was that even I couldn’t come up with a good plan yet, as I still hadn’t fully grasped the reality of the situation.

“Alright, then let’s plan to have a serious discussion tomorrow… Hmm. Think of a general strategy beforehand. First, whether to barricade ourselves in this house or to escape. If we decide to barricade, what do we need and what will we do from now on, etc.”

“Got it. I’ll think about it.”

My sister nods seriously several times, which is unusual for her, and gets up to return to her room.

As she leaves, I call out to her in a gentle voice.

“Don’t run away without cleaning up your dishes.”

“Tch, you caught me,” she replies with a wry smile.