Chapter 24: Holy Crap, You Can Actually Do It?
"Sss-hah... Sss-hah..." Yuki gasped, fanning her mouth with one hand while relentlessly stuffing more food into it with the other.
"Don't force yourself if you can't eat anymore," Rovel said, a long-suffering sigh escaping him. He couldn't decide if he was more annoyed or amused.
"Gulp, gulp... Sss-hah..." Yuki chugged a drink meant to soothe the spice, but her tongue still felt like a scorched battlefield. Even so, through the tears welling in her eyes, she stubbornly insisted, "S'not... spicy at all!"
Rovel rubbed his forehead. For some reason, every single person who claimed to love spicy food shared this bizarre, unyielding obsession with proving their tolerance. It was like a sacred national border, a line that could never, ever be crossed.
"How come you're totally fine, Brother?" Yuki glared at him, her face flushed and beaded with sweat. She was a complete mess, yet Rovel, who had eaten just as much as she had, looked perfectly composed.
"You dare challenge a Gold Saint without even knowing the gap in our power?" Rovel shot back, a smug look gracing his features. In truth, this level of spice was pushing his own limits, but at least he wasn't hissing and panting like a broken steam engine.
"Hoh?" Yuki's eyes sharpened. She leaned forward, deliberately deepening her voice into a theatrical tone that dripped with the energy of DIO confronting Jotaro.
Rovel braced himself for some kind of epic comeback, a declaration of war. Instead, she did the complete opposite.
"In that case, I'll leave the rest to you, Brother! I'm going to the restroom!"
Without a shred of hesitation, Yuki shoved the remaining dishes in front of Rovel, spun on her heel, and bolted for the back of the restaurant without a single glance back.
"...Yare yare daze."
The invincible phrase slipped from Rovel's lips as he stared at the mountain of food, feeling a deep sense of helplessness at her tactical retreat.
By the time Yuki returned, she seemed to have composed herself, though her lips were still visibly swollen and red.
"A blunder, a blunder," she lamented, fanning her face. "To think I would show such an unladylike side in front of you, Brother."
She seemed genuinely concerned about her earlier, sweat-drenched appearance. Hearing this, Rovel shot her a look of pure disbelief, as if he needed to check if his ears were working correctly.
"A... ladylike side?"
"What?" Yuki tilted her head, feigning perfect innocence.
"I don't even know where to begin with that one." Rovel's lip twitched. The sheer audacity was staggering.
Leaving the restaurant, Yuki produced a small, leather-bound notebook and dramatically checked off a box next to the words 'Hellfire Hot Pot.' It seemed her grand plan was to drag him to every super-spicy restaurant in the city.
"Next destination!" Yuki suddenly shouted, pointing a finger with theatrical flair.
"Can you even eat anymore?" Rovel asked, his gaze following her finger with deep suspicion. His eyes landed on a brightly lit sign.
"LOVE HOTEL"
"Why in the world would we go to a place like that?!" Rovel exclaimed, pinching both of Yuki's cheeks and pulling them outwards.
"Brother, you're so behind the times." Yuki slapped his hands away with surprising seriousness, then declared with the solemnity of a preacher, "After eating hot pot, that's obviously the next destination!"
"That's for six-yuan spicy street food! And isn't that meme, like, a decade old?! Who's the one that's behind the times here?!" Rovel shot back, pinching her cheeks again.
"Hot pot is just a modern adaptation to follow the trends..." Yuki mumbled, trying to defend her flawed logic.
"That's one adaptation you can keep to yourself!"
...
"Are you sure it's okay for you not to go back tonight?" Rovel asked curiously as he watched Yuki follow him into his apartment, making herself right at home.
"Hehe, I have Teacher Raven to thank for that," she chirped. "My level and skill proficiency are already top-tier! I'm Level 6, and I've got two skills at Mastery proficiency!"
She puffed out her chest, planting her hands on her hips. "Plus, Teacher Raven gave me an Excellent-grade sniper rifle. I can even take down a Death Soldier all by myself now!"
"Wow, Yuki, you're so amazing!" Rovel pitched his voice higher, doing his best impression of an adoring fanboy.
"Right? Right!" she preened, playing along perfectly.
"But what does any of that have to do with my question?" Rovel tilted his head.
"Stupid Brother! The family is taking this game very seriously now. Since I've achieved such great results, the restrictions on me have naturally loosened up a bit!" Yuki explained.
"Based on how they think, shouldn't they be even stricter with you?" Rovel still wasn't convinced. He knew those people all too well; he couldn't imagine them easing up on Yuki for any reason. If anything, they'd just demand more.
"In the Honkai World, having a good teacher is crucial. It saves a massive amount of time grinding skill proficiency; otherwise, your progress just grinds to a halt," she elaborated. "But Teacher Raven isn't online twenty-four-seven. During the times she's away, I'm naturally free!"
"And since I can kill Death Soldiers on my own, I don't need the family to arrange a party to help me, so their control has loosened. A little. I still have to be online for at least twelve hours a day, though..." Yuki's shoulders slumped slightly at the end.
"You've worked hard," Rovel said softly, patting her head.
Yuki leaned into his touch, a blissful expression spreading across her face. "Getting a head pat from you makes it all worth it, Brother!"
"Is my hand enchanted with some kind of 'Ice' magic?" Rovel teased, gently pinching her nose. He then turned and headed for the guest room. It had been a while since she'd last stayed over, and the room needed some tidying.
"Your whole being is 'Ice' magic to me, Brother!" Yuki called out, following him in. She immediately went to the closet, rummaging through it to find her spare pajamas, a bra, and a pair of panties she kept there.
She held up the panties, staring at them as if lost in deep thought. Then, to Rovel's utter astonishment, she lifted them to her nose and took a deep sniff.
"What kind of bizarre fetish is that?" Rovel was completely stunned by the scene.
"I'm checking to see if there's any special scent... There isn't one?!" Yuki feigned a look of deep shock.
"Why on earth would you think there'd be a special scent on them?" Rovel rolled his eyes, utterly exasperated.
"Well, since I'm rarely here, who knows if Brother might have taken my panties and..." A sly, teasing smile bloomed on her face.
"You're overthinking things. Now get lost and take a shower," Rovel grumbled, grabbing a clean towel and tossing it directly at her face.
Soon, the sound of splashing water echoed from the bathroom, accompanied by Yuki's cheerful, off-key singing.
Rovel pulled a fresh quilt from the cabinet and, after a bit of wrestling, finally managed to make the bed for her. The layout of his apartment was a straight line—guest room, bathroom, master bedroom—and as he walked past, he noticed the bathroom's sliding door had been left wide open.
With a calm, practiced motion, Rovel reached out and slid the door shut, his gaze fixed straight ahead, never once wavering. He could guess with his toes what would happen if he so much as glanced inside.
Not even a second after he closed it, the door was yanked open again. A slender, wet hand shot out, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and pulled him back.
After ensuring his eyes were locked on her, Yuki shyly turned around, hugging her dripping body with her arms. She then let out a piercing, theatrical scream that echoed through the apartment.
"Ah! Brother, you pervert!"
"Is this some kind of forced-flag story event?" Rovel was so exasperated he was on the verge of laughter.
"You saw through my act?" Yuki's voice instantly returned to normal.
"It's a little hard not to when you physically dragged me back here to watch," Rovel sighed, turning to head back to his room.
But just as he turned, his collar was seized once more.
"Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you curious why I did that?" Yuki's voice was a playful whisper right next to his ear, her warm breath tickling the back of his neck.
"Not in the slightest. More, put some clothes on," Rovel said flatly.
"Don't be like that. Just listen to me, Fang Ruobai," Yuki purred, finally letting go of his shirt. The rustling sound of clothes followed from behind him. "I just discovered something huge."
"Something huge?" Despite himself, Rovel's curiosity was piqued.
Yuki had finished putting on her pajamas, though her hands were slowly, deliberately fastening the buttons one by one. Seeing Rovel turn around, she paused, leaving the top three undone and generously offering a glimpse of the scenery within.
"That's right... and that is... we've never actually had a 'walking in on your sister changing' event!" she announced, as if she'd just solved the mysteries of the universe.
"How is that remotely a 'huge thing'? And couldn't you have come up with a more convincing reason?" Rovel was utterly defeated by her logic.
"Every brother in the world wants to walk in on his sister changing, right?!" Yuki declared with baseless confidence.
"That's only in the 2D world! And you owe an apology to every brother in the world, you idiot with a head full of otaku nonsense! Now button up your pajamas! And why did you even bring a bra if you weren't going to wear it?!" Rovel finally roared.
"Oh? Is your heart racing?" Yuki remained completely unfazed, countering his outburst with a sly question.
Rovel just gave her a look one might reserve for the mentally deficient.
"What? Cat got your tongue? You must have a guilty conscience! Even though you were acting all cool just now, I know you. You've already seen everything, from head to toe, haven't you!" Yuki's expression was that of a detective who had just cracked the case wide open.
Hearing this, Rovel sighed softly, his expression turning unexpectedly solemn. "Yuki, while we're on the subject, there's something I have to tell you..."
The playful smirk on Yuki's face froze, then morphed into a look of incomparable shock and joy. 'Could it be... he's finally going to confess?!'
"A glimpse is what makes it special," Rovel said, his voice laced with the wisdom of a sage. "Seeing everything at once just ruins the flavor."
"Wha... What?!" Yuki collapsed to her knees, her hands on the floor and her head bowed in a perfect picture of digital despair.
But she recovered almost instantly.
"I see. That truly is a blind spot in my thinking!" she admitted, nodding sagely.
"Exactly." Rovel turned like a victorious general, striding toward his room.
For the third time, his collar was grabbed from behind.
"Hey, you, wait a second. I won't be fooled," Yuki's voice was a low growl. "You... you saw, didn't you? You saw everything, clear as day, from head to toe."
She leveled another soul-searching question at him.
Rovel paused, then asked with a hint of uncertainty, "Do you... have a habit of using a razor?"
"Of course I do~ You're exposed, you pervert brother!"
"Shut up, you nympho!"
...
Later, Yuki was drying her hair with a hairdryer while Rovel browsed the forums for posts about the Honkai World.
"By the way, how are you doing in the game, Brother? I haven't really asked yet," Yuki inquired, her voice muffled by the drone of the dryer.
"I'm already Level 7, and one of my skills has reached 'Minor Accomplishment'!" Rovel announced, standing up and mimicking her earlier proud pose with his hands on his hips.
"Ah! As expected of my brother!" Yuki played along with perfect, cooperative praise.
"I was kind of hoping for a little more surprise and doubt from you," Rovel chuckled. He hadn't seen a single post about a Level 7 player on the forums yet, let alone someone who had pushed a skill to the Minor Accomplishment stage. He knew that very few players had even reached Mastery.
"Because you're my brother," Yuki said, turning off the hairdryer and offering him a gentle smile. "Even if you told me you were an esper, I would believe you one hundred percent."
"In that case, I must reveal a secret I've hidden for many years... Actually... I'm a Stand User!" Rovel declared, striking a dramatic JOJO pose.
"That's just ridiculous," Yuki waved her hand dismissively, not believing him for a second.
"Hey!" Rovel shouted, indignant. "What happened to believing me one hundred percent?!"
"Alright, alright, Stand User Rovel," Yuki sighed, a helpless look on her face. Her expression clearly said, 'What did I do to deserve such a chuunibyou brother?' "Show me your ability, then."
"Looks like I'll have to show you a little trick." Rovel got on his hands and knees, crawling under the bed. After a moment of rummaging, he emerged with a tiny toy sword. He couldn't even remember when he'd bought it. It was barely ten centimeters long with an even shorter hilt; it was a struggle just to pinch it between two fingers.
But it was enough.
Rovel pinched the hilt, holding the miniature blade before his chest. He stood straight, his posture mimicking that of a knight holding a rapier.
Yuki let out a deliberate yawn, propping her head on her hand as she lazily watched his performance.
Rovel held his breath, his mind focusing to a single point. The next second...
"Silver Chariot!"
He suddenly shouted, swinging the tiny sword toward the opposite wall.
A nearly invisible blade of energy sliced through the air. It wasn't a sound, but a feeling—a sharp whiff of displaced air—that crossed the room in an instant and struck the wall, leaving behind a faint, clean score mark in the plaster.
Rovel stood perfectly still, the small sword held steady in his hand, his expression calm and composed. 'Thank goodness,' he thought.
The flex was a success.
He knew from the day before that his game progress had synchronized with reality, but he hadn't been sure to what extent. His Basic Kendo skill should have synchronized as well. Now that it had reached Minor Accomplishment in the game, even if only ten percent of that power manifested in the real world, it was more than enough for him to project sword qi.
Yuki's mouth had fallen open. Her eyes were wide with utter disbelief.
She mechanically turned her head to stare at the mark on the wall, then swiveled back to look at the coolly-posing Rovel.
"Holy crap," she breathed, her worldview shattering into a million pieces. "You can actually do it!"
She scrambled over to the wall, running her fingers over the thin gash, confirming it wasn't some kind of trick.
"My foolish little sister," Rovel said, a triumphant smirk spreading across his face. "Never doubt your brother."
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