So as not to disappoint his sister's good intentions, after dinner, Yuu asked Sora to do something for him—a lap pillow.
"Why does it have to be a lap pillow…?"
Suppressing her flushed face that betrayed her delight, Sora muttered a complaint. As soon as she finished eating, she promptly sat at the corner of the sofa, eagerly waiting for him.
"It just popped into my head. I gave you one this afternoon too, even if it was only for a few seconds."
Completely unbothered by the idea of his sister giving him a lap pillow, Yuu lay down naturally. His legs dangled off the sofa, his face turned toward the TV, and his head rested on his sister's slender, soft thighs. A milky scent wafted over.
Not much flesh, but very elastic.
He didn't use much force, just gently leaning back, like resting his head on a cool jelly pillow.
"Sora, it feels like this is the first time you've given me a lap pillow." Yuu said with mixed emotions.
"Yeah, that's why it feels weird."
Sora slightly pursed her pink lips. Her pale eyes looked down, gently gazing at the side of his face.
Her delicate white fingertips brushed his bangs, then slipped into his hair, softly combing through the short strands.
"Yuu, who's always strong and confident, since when did you start acting spoiled?"
"Not allowed?"
"I didn't say it's not allowed. I just want to know why." Sora-chan was a bit annoyed. She scratched his scalp with her nails. Her cold voice was clearly tinged with emotion. "Don't change the subject again. Even if you don't want to answer, I'll still ask—What happened while you were in Kyoto?"
"…"
Yuu, unable to lie to Sora, fell silent for a moment.
He felt the warmth of his sister's thighs against the side of his face. The heat from her fingertips seeped into his brain. There wasn't the slightest hint of romance—just an irreplaceable warmth enveloping his heart.
Like a ship entering a safe harbor, shedding its battle-worn armor.
For a moment, he couldn't even remember why he was trying so hard.
"The more I regret the beauty of life that's about to be lost, the more cruelly beautiful this world becomes… That's why I'm starting to fear the future."
As if giving up, Yuu spoke. His voice was so soft it seemed it could vanish into the air at any moment.
His gaze focused on the infinite void ahead. He muttered to himself, uncaring whether his sister understood:
"Can I really hold on until the end? How much more of me can be stripped away? And… how many more choices will I have to make that hurt others?"
In front of Yuigahama, Yuu would never say such things. Even overly depressive thoughts wouldn't surface.
He didn't even know if this was the effect of his perfect acting skills or not.
It felt like there were many real versions of him. None were lying, but none showed his complete self. His sincerity was becoming increasingly fragmented.
One person could have a thousand faces.
Perhaps, as Sora just said, the current him was just a Yuu who wanted to be spoiled. That's why he suddenly wanted a lap pillow and asked confusing questions that wouldn't get answers.
"…I'm just feeling a bit mixed up. Don't worry."
This state lasted only a few seconds. Yuu closed his eyes and flashed a relaxed, cheerful smile again.
"As for what happened, do you really want to know?"
"If I didn't, why would I ask?"
Her cool, soft fingers pinched his cheek, not letting him force that fake smile.
With her pinky, she brushed aside the silver hair covering her face. Sora said very seriously, "If even I can't hear your story, then no one in this world deserves to, Yuu."
Yuu looked up, meeting his sister's resolute gaze.
"Over and over, saying goodbye to the happy times we once had—it's more painful than I imagined."
"…"
"If it weren't, why would I ask?"
Mid-sentence, Sora pinched his cheek and frowned slightly. "Why are you sweating cold? Are you feeling unwell?"
"…A little. Let me lie here quietly."
Yuu gave a resigned smile. He let his sister carefully wipe the cold sweat from his forehead with her sleeve. He closed his eyes wearily.
Yes, indeed, no one in this world deserved to hear his story—not Sora, not Yuigahama, no matter how important they were to him.
Unless he defeated that damn system, which still managed to squeeze his heart even while updating.
"Indeed, only I can save myself."
The armor he'd taken off shone again. Yuu believed in that.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
After that brief warmth, they both returned to their rooms.
Sora went to play games, while Yuu had more important things to do.
Tenkuji Network was still in its early stages. Even with the system's help, he had to expend a lot of energy managing the business and making it a stable source of income—in the future, if the system was gone, he'd rely on this to make money while relaxing.
Yuu was a man with dreams. His biggest dream was lying on his family's lap, playing games, and still earning money.
"Oh, right, Sora."
Suddenly remembering something, he stopped and called out to Sora, who was heading back to her room.
"Sooner or later, I'll get a girlfriend. Maybe next month, maybe tomorrow. I hope you can prepare yourself starting now."
Before the tasks began, he decided to discuss the girlfriend issue with Sora, as he had in the previous task.
Though it was a bit sudden, since he'd have to say it eventually and this wasn't his first time facing such a situation, Yuu didn't plan to give much preamble.
He just didn't know what kind of boyfriend identity he'd be given this time… First a rental boyfriend, then an online boyfriend, then a fake boyfriend—what next?
An inflatable boyfriend… Uh, no, a tool boyfriend?
"What do you mean? Are you really planning to go after that dango dummy?"
Sora widened her eyes in confusion, staring at him in surprise. "Even though her chest is big and she's liked you for so long, I'm not afraid she'll change her mind… But she's terrible at games. Aren't you worried you'll end up breaking up with her from frustration?"
"Show some respect to your senpai, even if everything you said is true…" Sighing resignedly, Yuu really didn't know who his sister learned such rude speech from. "The point is, I'm good at games. I don't have high standards for a girlfriend. If needed, I can teach her to be a great gamer."
"Hmph, you're really patient." Sora puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction. However, she didn't show strong rejection.
Too lazy to explain that Yui was outside the girlfriend category, Yuu asked curiously, "You don't care? Your brother's going to be taken by another girl, you know?"
Honestly, compared to previous times, her indifferent reaction was very strange. It made him instinctively use a probing question, worried she didn't fully grasp his meaning.
Was it because he brought Yuigahama home before asking?
Was it because he got a break, making Sora seem so relaxed?
"I'm not as weak as you think."
Pulling the bunny plushie's ears to both sides, as if straddling its legs, Sora glanced sideways at the floor. She pursed her lips and said in a slightly odd tone:
"For some reason, I feel like I've asked you this before. You said you already knew in your heart… I find it strange myself, that I can accept you getting a girlfriend so calmly."
Yuu looked at her with a complicated expression.
(The efforts accumulated in the past weren't in vain. After comforting her three times, has my sister, who's overly attached to her brother, finally become a bit normal?)
For some reason, though it was a good thing, his feelings were strange.
"Most importantly, I, who'll turn sixteen in a few months, am not a narrow-minded woman!"
As if to prove herself, Sora puffed out her flat chest. Acting like an adult, she flipped her silver hair and squinted casually.
"You can have many girlfriends, but you only have one little sister… As long as you don't date an evil woman who wants to monopolize you, even if it's a dango dummy like Yuigahama, I can turn a blind eye."
"Of course, it'd be better if you didn't have a girlfriend. Whatever Yuu wants… I can fulfill it."
After saying that, she turned and closed the door as if escaping. Her silver hair showed a captivating hint of red.
In the past, she wouldn't have been this shy saying such things…
Yuu gave a wry smile. Looking at the closed door, with an odd sense of relief, he returned to his own room.