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"Blake… y-you're finally back…"
Sagiri Izumi tilted her small face up, her sky-blue eyes shimmering with a thin layer of mist.
She had practiced this moment so many times.
She had told herself over and over to stay calm, not to make Blake worry.
But the second she saw him again—the person she loved most—she just couldn't hold it in.
That morning, when she woke up, Sagiri realized something unbelievable.
She had been reborn.
If you put it in game terms, she'd come back from one year in the future and started her life over in New Game+.
In that future, with Blake's encouragement and guidance, she slowly overcame her fears. She could leave her room, and sometimes, late at night when no one was around, she'd even sneak out for quiet walks with him.
But then—
One day, a bad woman showed up looking for Blake.
And then more followed.
Until, in the end… they took him away from her.
No.
Not this time.
No matter what, she would never let those bad women steal her brother again.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Sagiri standing there teary-eyed and silent, Blake's expression sharpened as he glanced around.
"Did someone break in?"
"There's no bad guy…"
Blake let out a small breath of relief. As long as there wasn't an intruder, everything else was manageable.
"Did a moth fly into your room?"
"No moth…"
"Then… did a snake crawl out of the toilet?"
"Eh?!"
Sagiri's face went pale as she instinctively grabbed the hem of his shirt.
"Blake, don't scare me! How could a snake come out of a toilet?!"
"It actually happens." Blake shrugged. "I bookmarked a video on NicoNico—some foreign clip where a snake crawls out of a toilet. Want to see it?"
Sagiri quickly took a step back, covering her chest with both hands.
"No way! I'm not watching your weird, creepy videos!"
Hey, that's not creepy at all. It's interesting!
"If it's not this or that, then why are you crying?" Blake asked curiously.
"I-I'm not crying…"
Sagiri turned her head away shyly. As she calmed down, embarrassment quickly took over.
"Then wipe your nose before you talk," Blake said.
"Eh?!"
She hurriedly raised her hand to her face—only to realize there was nothing there. Her cheeks puffed up instantly, like an angry pufferfish.
"Blake, you idiot! You tricked me!"
She huffed, lightly kicking his shin before mumbling,
"I just… fell asleep this afternoon and had a really, really long dream…"
"Oh, a nightmare." Blake relaxed.
Figures. She's still a kid—getting scared to tears by a dream.
"K-kind of…"
Sagiri hesitated, not daring to reveal her secret.
If she told him she was on her second playthrough of life, there was no way he'd believe her.
"Go eat something sweet and calm down." Blake placed a hand on her head and gently ruffled her hair. "There's dessert in the fridge. Grab some and watch your favorite show—Stellar Witch Meruru."
It was just a nightmare. Food and TV would fix it in no time.
"I've got stuff to do."
He changed into his slippers and turned to head back to his room to grind skills.
"W-wait…"
A small hand suddenly grabbed the corner of his shirt.
"What is it?"
Blake looked back at his little sister.
"Um…"
Sagiri pressed her two index fingers together in front of her chest, poking lightly as she tilted her head up, her voice barely above a whisper.
"O-one more time…"
"Hm? Too quiet, I can't hear you."
"Blake…" She took a small breath, rising onto her toes, her cheeks flushing red. "Pat my head… one more time…"
Blake: "…"
Wow.
Yesterday she was communicating through the floor like a shut-in, and today she's blocking the door asking for head pats?
If dreams could do this, he hoped she'd have more of them.
"Well, alright. Just for a bit."
He raised his hand again and gently placed it on her head, softly stroking her hair.
"Mmm~"
Sagiri's eyes quickly curved into crescent moons. She leaned into his palm, rubbing against it instinctively, wearing the blissful expression of a kitten getting its favorite treat.
After enjoying the head pats for a while, she finally calmed down and took two shy steps back.
"Idiot Blake… how long were you planning to keep going?"
Blake looked at her flushed face, utterly speechless.
"You're the one who asked for it. Why are you getting shy now?"
Sagiri puffed out her cheeks.
"The first time a girl gets touched in such an important place, of course she'd be embarrassed!"
Hey, don't say weird stuff like that. Your head is not that kind of "important place"!
"That's enough for today. I'm going back to my room." Sagiri retreated, her face still red. "…You're only allowed to pat my head. Don't get any pervy ideas, Blake!"
Blake replied flatly, "There's no way I'd have pervy thoughts about my own sister."
"Ugh—!"
Sagiri's cheeks puffed up again like a squirrel stuffing its mouth with chestnuts. She stomped forward barefoot and stepped hard on his foot.
"Blake, you idiot!!!"
"…"
Watching her storm upstairs in a huff, Blake felt completely baffled.
Wait, what? I said I don't have weird thoughts about my sister—why are you mad?
"Girls really are impossible to understand…"
he muttered.
Of course—
His childhood friend Yanami was an exception.
That gluttonous girl only ever had one thing on her mind: food.
Blake sent Yanami a quick message to let her know he was home, then poured himself a glass of water and returned to his room, ready to grind seriously.
"Let's add today's experience points first… Game Design it is."
Without hesitation, he dumped all his EXP into [Game Design].
On the way home, he'd already thought it through. Right now, he had two ways to make money fast: writing light novels or making games.
Writing light novels was easier, sure—but no matter how popular they got, they'd mostly stay within Japan. The ceiling was limited.
Games were different. As long as the gameplay and ideas were interesting enough, players all over the world would pay for them. And with the subtle differences between this world and his last, many famous games from his previous life didn't even exist here.
That gave him a massive advantage.
"If only I could run into a few more 'witches'…"
Looking at the noticeably increased EXP bar, Blake felt extremely satisfied.
After a moment of reflection, he quickly steadied himself and continued grinding.
Work hard.
Wild witches were rare. Self-improvement was the only reliable path.
Half an hour later—
The door quietly opened a crack.
A silver-haired girl peeked in from outside, secretly watching.
"Blake looks so focused…"
"…I remember that in half a year, he wrote a super popular light novel and made a lot of money. I need to find a way to make him write it earlier…"
"If he earns money sooner, he won't have to work so hard, right?"
"…This time, I'll take care of Blake."
"....."