Vol 3 Chapter 8 (1/2)
13th of May, Monday
Responsibility Liberation First Step Starting from Minus
I didn't see any dream
On Monday , I woke up all alone in my room
The little sisters disappeared without a trace The living roo roo my empty heart
I prepared myself and as usual, went to the school
In the classroo homeroom, Mariko called out to me worried
”It's nothing”
Like that, I dodged it
While usually I looked forward to when lessons are over, noished they were prolonged even if just for a little longer I was scared of going back
After school, half hen going back home I separated from Mariko, sat down on a bench in children's park and was at a loss
I couldn't enter one I already quit being onii-chan When I looked at the ground below me, a procession of ants headed to its nest
I was envious of theo back to
Froo back I wonder Faced with this realistic problem, I was at a loss
”what are you doing in a place like this?”
Suddenly called out to, I flinched
It was a girl's voice Lacking intonation and clear like fresh water, it was familiar However, I didn't feel any presence of so fast
No, it can't be Today is Monday, a weekday, it's difficult to even i here
Possibly, it was just er knohat to do and finally, I started to hear voices of people who aren't here
When I raiseda brand-new unifor in her hand she dazedly looked down at my face
The voice I heard was no hallucination, the figure that stood in front of me was no illusion
”Selene hey, is it really you, Selene?! That appearance, no way”
”I went to school”
Selene, who only ever lazed around, stretched her back Her appearance in the unifornified
”is beside you, okay?”
”Y-yeah It's fine”
She sat down next to me Her face didn't turn in my direction, she just stared forward
”What happened Even going to school”
While squinting as if she stared in the distance, Selene spoke matter-of-factly
”I can no longer rely on Ex-onii-chan, so I' real friends at school While certain so still, I shall pull ahead”
I recalled a certain phrase that was in the period dra
I stopped and Selene started to walk Or rather, I didn't stop but actually moved backwards
Now, even withouton her own feet
She no longer needs me
”Ex huh So you will no longer call me 'onii-chan' will you”
”indeed”
”Why are you here Selene?”
”the park is a public place Rather than that, why are you here?”
So referred to as ”you”, I once again realized we have becoers
In the first place ere soers, but when I was called ”onii-chan”, there was always some familiarity between Selene and me
”I'er onii-chan, I thought just entering freely into your rooood”
”refraining?”
”It's consideration Rather, talking like this too, is a little aard”
”is that so?”
”It is! Yesterday, so like that happened”
”sibling quarrels, aren't so unusual”
”That's wasn't a sibling quarrel, was it Somehow my onii-chan pretence was peeled off And everyone was disillusioned In the first place, wasn't it Selene who said 'stop being brother' wasn't it”
My way of speaking ended up being harsh Why would you forced your unstable emotions on Selene, really me
”I said it's fine to quit, that's all If Onii-chan wishes for it, it's fine not to quit”
After saying so, Selene opened her eyes wide and shook her head lightly
”just now et that”
”Y-yeah um that's”
Momentarily, Selene's face turned red Because of her fair coe As I remained silent, unable to endure the silence, Selene h
”as I thought it's impossible”
Her shoulders trehtly
”school is scary, school is super scary I don't think I'll make any friends I'll die rather, please kill me, ease my pain”
”A-are you okay, Selene?!”
Just what happened? The refreshi+ng Selene turned into someone else or more like, she turned back, she stooped like back when I first met her
”you are a to school every day”
”Rather than a, isn't that normal?”
”it's not normal There's lots of unknown people, they're those class welco with people I don't know It's impossible”
Ever since Selene enrolled in the middle school, she was holed up in her rooo to the entrance ceremony
”Classmates usually don't know each other froers to each other from the start aren't they?”
”it ht be so but isn't”
Soht have fallen into a situation like that of an out-of-season transfer student
”W-well I see You had a late start by aand suchfor a newcomer to enter one of those”
Me of noas also si similar to tumour in the class
”my mind suffers Full-Body Co”
”That's severe”
”everyone was staring at me”
”By everyone, you irls?”
”yes I got nervous fro stared at I'm not a freak show”
”That's everyone is curious about you Don't they want to get along with you?”
Selene made a distant expression and tilted her head
”I don't think so”
”You weren't bullied or treated badly by someone were you?”
”I wasn't”
”Did you feel like you're being ignored?”
”I wanted to be left alone, but they were glancing atto me”
”For exa about to you?”
”about family, where I live, what sharoup, I was so nervous I couldn't speak up”
I ended up letting out a sigh of relief in my mind
Selene's appearance had soility in it, she was a , but that difference alsohere
Anyway, because she's a beautiful girl, it can't helped her classmates were curious about her
I confirmed with Selene, who faced doards
”Speaking of which, what about the reason for leave of absence for entire month?”
”Murasaki-san written an application saying I was sick”
”I see So she et motivated”
”it's impossible Surrounded by so many people I'll die Fro hikikomori”
”It's too early to declare retireht”
”it's not all right Onii-ch you're no longer with me”
”You're a completely different person froo to school and was able to go there What I did, was to help you a littlepoint You are the one who did your best”
”u-uu”
”Also, who cares about twenty or thirty classmates Compared to Cicada-san's nu”
Selene suddenly opened her eyes wide
”is that so?”
”Indeed Isn't it fine to think of it as of having the number of your followers increase by thirty?”
She slowly nodded
Before I realized, I once again started the consultation with Selene on her life Not as her brother this ti afloat the class let's make it that
”as I thought, it's impossible without Onii-chan I want to rely on you but”
Burying her face in htly
Yesterday I declared that I quit, but my hand
By itself headed towards Selene's head and
〈Pat her〉
I ended up patting her head I can't stop I gently hugged Selene back
”You did well, Selene”
With her head still stuck in htly to the sides
”no such thing Onii-chan was there so”
”I'ood human that isn't qualified to be called 'onii-chan'”
She slowly raised her head
”I'”
”Aren't you angry? I quit being onii-chan and threw it all away you know?”
Selene shook her head sideways again
”I still don't ood human too, I can sos a little I don't want to be a burden to Onii-chan That's why, if it's hard on Onii-chan, I thought it's fine to quit it's not that I hate Onii-chan”
”Itonii-chan and chose Mariko? I' onii-chan”
As a result, it ended up like that, but rather than my little sisters, I picked Mariko
”Onii-chan chose that while thinking of hi to respect that While Onii-chan said the reason for that choice was self-defence and coht and distressed over it, then splendidly made your choice”
Not the reasons, but the decision itself is important is what she means
She downcast her eyes and continued
”after that, when Onii-chan locked himself in his room, Tomomi-chan was in terrible state”
”Tomomi was?”
”She was very depressed, and said this”
Instead of Tomomi herself, Selene repeated her words
”I felt like finally asking Nii-chan for his real feelings He always seeht that if I get hi hione too far to back out I'm an idiot”
I should have known Tomomi had that kind of personality Rather, it wascalled an ”idiot” I'm such an idiot!
”Onii-chan I don't think anyone started hating Onii-chan But, that's just ht be the last time, but I think it's better to talk with them properly”
”So, you're saying I should go to everyone's roo from tomorrow?”
”yes”
”I don't knohat should I talk about More than that, I have no confidence we can reconcile”
”there's no need to reconcile At the tily to how you feel and just honestly say what's on your , he thinks too much”
”So without fearing the result, just go and do it, huh”
”if you think that it won't get any worse, even if you hurt theht be your last chance to say what's really on your mind”
It sounded extreer any need to restrain the part of o that far to be honest, I'm pathetic even if I say so myself
”Yeah It's just as you say”
She nodded, then stood up fro towards me, she quietly reached out with her hand
”Onii-chan There's soo Please come with me”
”Right now?”
”yes”
Not confir, I took Selene's hand and stood up
Pulled by hand by Selene we rode a bus, then arrived at the nearest station
The sewing store that was in one of the station's buildings seeo”
Lined up on the wide and bright floor were several large rolls of cloth
There was also a corner with sewingsupplies Even for an untrained eye, it was quite the line-up
Compared to the size of this floor, there was very few people in here While I thought that's bad for the store owners, for Selene who felt better outside the crowds, it was good that it was quite deserted
”Selene, is there anything you want to buy?”
”not in particular”
”You ca any?”
””
Selene fell silent It feels kind of aard
As I looked around us, I found so
”O-oh Look, there's corner with fittings A they even sell parts for purses Also, there are belt buckles in there If you use it with chosen cloth or leather you can make whatever belt you like”
”de-deen Onii-chan out”
Indifferently, Selene declared
”What on earth is that 'de-deen'”
”it's Do Not Laugh Series”
Ahh, certainly, every year when the end of the year corah hearing set-up story, their butt get slapped with slapstick
plap!
And so, my butt was slapped by Selene