"Haah… survived another day…"
The backpack on her shoulder was so heavy that pressed down, it left Soyo unable even to catch her breath.
Lately, Nagasaki Soyo hadn't been looking in the mirror much.
Because the moment she saw her own face, she couldn't help feeling disgust.
That face inside the mirror… really did look so insufferably high-and-mighty.
Sickening.
"Soyo? Are you all right?"
Wakaba Mutsumi, bag in hand, stood obediently at Soyo's side.
Don't go by that expressionless face of hers — for all she looked like some old Daoist contemplating 'the cloud in the blue sky, the water in the bottle' — the eyebrow she'd lifted by just the tiniest fraction had already given away the unrest inside Wakaba Mutsumi.
[I'd assumed Soyo would ask about Sakiko's business — and yet she hasn't brought it up at all?]
You see, in the few days before the new term started, Nagasaki Soyo had still been pestering Wakaba Mutsumi with messages off and on.
Asking her to pass on a word to Sakiko, asking after Sakiko's situation lately, or else wanting to set up a meeting with Sakiko in person.
But the situation had suddenly shifted a few days ago — within a single day Soyo had turned into a different person, no longer even logging on to read messages.
For a while this had thrown Mutsumi into a panic — she'd even worried the other girl might do something rash.
But going by how she looked now, surely nothing had happened, right?
At this thought, Mutsumi let out an imperceptible sigh.
At the very least, Soyo looked… a bit better?
"Haah…"
Listening to Soyo's sigh, Mutsumi dismissed that thought.
She seemed, if anything, even worse off.
"Our paths split from here. See you tomorrow… Mutsumi."
Soyo looked utterly worn out — her back was a little bent, and her hair was dry and lifeless.
"Mm, okay, see you tomorrow."
Wakaba Mutsumi kept standing at the intersection, all the way until Nagasaki Soyo had vanished from her line of sight.
A glimmer of some unnamable emotion shone in those golden eyes; in her heart, Wakaba Mutsumi silently offered up a blessing for Soyo.
Hoping that that girl Nagasaki Soyo could be happy.
"Takamatsu Tomori, Shiina Taki… mm, the only one left whom I haven't bumped into is Nagasaki Soyo."
My adorable little Soyo, how are you holding up these days?
Are you eating on time? How's the balance of meat and vegetables on your plate? With no one urging you on with your studies, is everything still going smoothly?
In the dead of night, do you feel lonely?
I hope you can be happy, my child.
Your mother will always be looking after you from places you can't see — whether it's the false me, or the real Ms. Nagasaki.
"Big sis? Big sis, big sis!"
Kyoumoto, cradled in Chiose's arms, gave a little headbutt against Chiose's chest — her own unique way of waking up a spaced-out Chiose.
"Little sis! Little sis, little sis! What's the matter?"
Mussing Kyoumoto's little head about until she'd thoroughly ruined the other girl's hairstyle, only then did Yoshiiro Chiose feel deeply satisfied.
She'd been busy all day! All she'd been waiting for was the chance to scrub at this little dimwit fishy's head come nighttime!
"It feels like big sis has had something weighing on her mind lately — do you need to talk to me about it? Saying it out loud… makes you feel a bit better!"
"No need, haha — Little Kyoumoto really is growing up. Now you know how to be considerate of big sis."
"Big sis, work's been really tough on you lately, hasn't it… you've got school, and on top of that the part-time job… am I being a burden?"
Night and early morning were Haizuka Kyoumoto's favorite stretches of the day.
Because in these stretches of time, big sis was there with her.
They didn't necessarily talk a great deal, but just having her there was enough to make Kyoumoto very happy.
And big sis never once treated her like a disabled person.
Sometimes big sis was so busy her head was muddled and reeling, and on autopilot she'd grab the promotional sunglasses being handed out on the roadside and bring them home as a present for her—
Such a goof! She had no use for them at all!
"You're absolutely not a burden, you dummy."
Chiose was reaching the conclusion that her own little sister and Tomori and Taki were all the same type.
Sensitive, starved for love, and so very fragile — at the first sign of any problem, the first thing they considered was whether they themselves had done something wrong.
This bunch — they had to be properly cherished and protected!
Cherishing the beautiful young girls of Tokyo — Yoshiiro Chiose accepted the charge without a second thought!
"Just leave everything to me, Little Kyou."
Chiose's breath was as fragrant as orchids and her speaking tone soothing to the heart; she went on:
"No need to worry about me, all right? After all — I'm your big sister."
Big sister and little sister: the most intimately bound pair of people in the whole world; after all, the mystery flowing through the blood in their veins would always guide them to walk forward hand in hand.
This was one of Yoshiiro Chiose's greatest sources of happiness.
Having soothed the little one and tidied up the room, Yoshiiro Chiose held Kyoumoto in her arms and got ready to fall asleep.
Before sleep, sending a 'good night' message to Shiina Taki and Takamatsu Tomori on her phone — that was a habit she'd newly added.
The instant the desk lamp went out, the window — its curtains never having been drawn — let in all the moonlight from outside in a single tumbling rush.
Without the lamplight, the moonlight grew all the more conspicuous.
Chiose closed her eyes, weighed it over again and again, and in the end still began summoning the System.
She needed — more lifespan!
"System, I want to Simulate!"
[This System will provide assistance prior to the Simulation. The assistance is as follows:]
[Please select your family background]
[Daughter of a Zaibatsu: fifty years]
[Daughter of the Upper Class: twenty years]
[Daughter of the Middle Class: ten years]
[Daughter of the Lower Class: one year]
[Daughter of a Vagrant: zero years]
[Birth Mystery Box: two months]
"Mystery Box, you sneaky thing — your price tag's gone up again, hasn't it!"
Yoshiiro Chiose shut her eyes and, without thinking it over even once, picked the Mystery Box.
Still — she'd had such good luck so many times now; surely she wouldn't actually wind up randomly rolling a vagrant start, would she?
That would be far too rotten — she might as well just pick the zero-month start outright.
[Please select your innate talents (three talents will be randomly rolled and made available for selection each time)]
[Expansion: Strengthens finger force; can be brought back into reality. Lifespan cost: one month]
[Discernment: Strengthens endurance; you may not have to use it, but you cannot be without it. Laying the groundwork for your happy life! Can be brought back into reality. Lifespan cost: one month]
[Rise and Fall: From this moment on you shall become weak and sickly; from this moment on you shall savor the wonders of running a fever five times in three days… At such times, rather than seeking medical treatment, you may be better off offering up prayers to Grandfather Nurgle. Lifespan cost: one month]
"Oh-ho, brand-new items on the shelves today, are there — and they can be brought back into reality, no less, not too shabby."
Sure, in reality she could just trade lifespan directly to enhance her personal physical attributes, but you couldn't argue with how cheap the talents were.
She might not necessarily use them, but she couldn't be without them! Besides, she just might genuinely wind up needing them down the line.
With the System's projected screen of white light refusing to dim there in front of her, Yoshiiro Chiose deliberated again and again before settling her decision.
She — was taking them all! It wasn't like she couldn't afford it!
[Please confirm once again whether your assistance selections are: Birth Mystery Box + Expansion, Discernment, Rise and Fall]
Confirm!
The screen of light snapped abruptly out.
Before her consciousness sank into a haze, Yoshiiro Chiose pressed one last soft kiss to the top of Kyoumoto's head.
Warm and toasty — she loved it beyond words.
When her eyes opened again——
Chiose discovered that it was still the dead of night.
"Where is this?"
She looked left, looked right, and discovered she was on a street.
"Eh? You can't be serious——"
She bent over to look down at herself and discovered that her chest had gotten smaller! Gotten really tiny! Completely undeveloped!
And what's more, she didn't look like she had any clothes on either — she was curled up inside a swaddling cloth.
"For crying out loud! System! What kind of identity did you go and roll for me?!"
Without warning, the System's electronic voice drifted in at her ear.
"Congratulations to the Host! Stroke of luck after stroke of luck! You are now — a little vagrant! Hehe!"
"How can this be?!"
She'd lost out! She'd lost out big!
She'd lost out two months!
Yoshiiro Chiose felt her heart was dripping blood!
____
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