Chapter 21: Night of the Second Day

After nearly opening a door in the bath area that I absolutely shouldn’t have, I found myself soaking in the tub with Yuna.

Our bathtub isn’t exactly made for two, so I had to squeeze in between Yuna’s knees. I was sitting in that typical tucked-knees pose, with the lower half of my face submerged in the hot water.

We both had our hair wrapped in towels to keep it out of the bath, so unlike yesterday, we didn’t look like horror movie ghosts.

『Hey, Alicia… Is there a spell to erase memories?』

『Memory manipulation? I believe there’s a type of dark magic that can do that… However, since you don’t have an affinity for dark magic, I think it’d be difficult for you to use. If you poured in soul energy converted into mana, maybe…』

『Soul energy, huh…』

“You two are having a pretty grim conversation, you know… I get that what just happened was embarrassing, but don’t go offering up your soul over it… Come on, snap out of it already.”

Yuna spoke with exasperation, reclining openly in the bath as she relaxed.

Remembering the awkward scene from earlier made me want to sink into the water and disappear. Hugging my knees even tighter, I tried to make myself smaller.

“Besides, we’re family. We’ve already seen plenty of each other’s embarrassing sides, haven’t we? One more doesn’t make much difference.”

Then her arms wrapped around me from behind, and I reflexively stiffened.

“Hyauh…!?”

Softness engulfed me. Especially the two mounds pressing against the back of my head—those were impossible to ignore, the sensation coming through all too clearly against my skin.

“You’ve been a boy until now, Alice, so of course there are going to be things you don’t understand, or moments where you mess up. But only the family knows you just became a girl. There’ll be things you can’t talk to our parents about, so I want you to feel like you can talk to me without holding back.”

“…Yuna.”

“Anything’s okay to talk about. Even love stuff! I can totally handle that! …Whether it’s a girl or a boy… yeah. Ah, but just be careful not to get tricked by some weirdo guy, okay? Guys are wolves, you know? Most of them just come sniffing around for your body.”

“…I mean, I was a guy until just recently, so I probably understand how men look at women better than you do, actually…”

Most guys probably do talk to girls hoping they’ll become their girlfriend. So if anything, there might not be that many who’re only after sex… Then again, for most high school boys, that’s probably the number one thing they’re after, so it’s not exactly wrong, which is kinda depressing…

“You’ve always protected me up until now, big bro. But from now on, I’m your big sister—so I’ll be the one protecting you, Alice.”

Yuna’s arms tightened around me.

“…So please, don’t disappear on me again.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

I couldn’t see what kind of expression she was making behind me.

…Thinking back, I realize now—Yuna was always a daddy’s girl. Or maybe more of a big brother’s girl.

How much pain have I put her through over this past year?

Maybe the reason she’s going overboard acting like a big sister and doting on me so much now is because she’s trying to make up for that.

If that’s the case, then—

I let the tension drain from my body and leaned back into her.

“…Alright. I promise… Onee-chan.”

Accepting Yuna’s kindness without resistance, I decided to become her little sister.

Big brother Ikuto is going on hiatus—for now, until the day comes when I really need to protect Yuna again.

Afterward, Yuna washed her hair, and before the two of us left the bath, we washed our faces. When I used the "Dry Clean" technique Alicia had taught me to instantly blow away any excess moisture—since Yuna said drying her hair after a bath was a pain—she pouted and called it unfair again. When I asked, “Aren’t you going to use it too, Yuna?” she responded just like last time: “Of course I am.”

When we got out of the bath, dinner was already prepared. Tonight’s meal was a yakiniku party using a hot plate.

It seemed they had splurged a little and bought some premium wagyu. The tender, juicy meat was absolutely divine. Alicia, in particular, was overwhelmed with joy when we ate the meat slathered in yakiniku sauce together with rice. Her impressed sighs kept echoing in my mind through our telepathic link, and the whole family watched over me with warm smiles as it happened.

After dinner, I returned to my room and laid down on the bed. So much had happened again today. It was hard to believe it was only the second day since returning from the other world.

I disconnected the shared link and began speaking privately with Alicia.

『Alicia… mind if we talk for a bit?』

『Of course not, but… your tone sounds like Ikuto again, you know?』

『Cut me some slack. Just when I’m talking to you—when it’s just the two of us—I want to be Ikuto, not Alice.』

『Understood. So, is there something you needed?』

『Not really something urgent… it’s just that I made a lot of decisions without consulting you. I was wondering if you were truly okay with all of that.』

『I’ve told you again and again, haven’t I? This body belongs to you now, Ikuto. There’s no need to worry about me anymore…』

『Still, though…』

『Rather than that, we should focus on studying tomorrow. There’s a lot you have to learn, isn’t there?』

『Ugh, just thinking about it is depressing. After all the hard work I put into studying and finally getting into school, I have to start over again…』

『I’ll study with you, so let’s work hard to pass the tests together!』

『…Yeah. I’ll do my best.』

Well, at least it’ll be easier than defeating the Demon Lord. And if I mess up, I won’t lose my life over it.

As I thought about the calm, peaceful school life ahead, I gradually gave in to the gentle waves of sleepiness that were beginning to wash over me.