67 Chapter 66. (1/2)

(POV Shina)

This place is so strange. Was everything really built just because of the whims of a little five year old girl?

What's even stranger is the person little Han calls ”venerable master.”

I really feel a strange connection to him that I can't quite explain. I even mistook him for my little brother when I first saw him. Although, when I looked closer I realized he wasn't my little brother though. It was really uncanny how similar they looked, but they still had slight differences.

My little brother had deep pitch black eyes, but this person had silver eyes. When I got closer to him during our first meeting, I inspected his eyes closely to see if there was any sign of colored contacts, but there really were none.

Little brother also had a birthmark on his neck, but this person didn't.

He wore the same strangely styled white robes little brother wore when he first showed up at home, but rather than white like little brother's and little Han's, his was black instead. I noticed the robes were slightly differently designed as well when I examined them closer. From far away I really thought they were identical.

My eyes must have been playing tricks on me when I thought they were white when I first saw him back in the truck.

However, although I initially blew it off as all just a coincidence and my eyes playing tricks on me, it was still really strange and over time I only grew more suspicious.

His expressions were all the same. His voice although it was a different pitch, he had the same speech habits.

As I followed behind him through the maze I realized even his antics and quirks were very similar to my little brother's.

For some reason I couldn't keep my eyes off of him.

This strange feeling of closeness was really too bizarre.

He answered a few childish questions that I naturally knew the answers to as well while we proceeded through the maze. When we reached to the final room, a bunch of people started fighting against some rip off robot. They were eventually forced back by the suicidal threat of detonation.

That so called venerable master was completely unfazed though and he casually walked over to the rip off robot and waved a hand before lighting struck down as he casually turned away from it.

When I looked directly into his eyes I felt my heart skip a beat. No no no. That definitely did not happen. That was just my imagination. Definitely.

I definitely do not have a brother complex like Aoi said. Besides, he may look like my little brother, but he isn't, right?

When I realized my own thoughts, a crack momentarily appeared on my expressionless face. I felt a slightly hot sensation from my cheeks and I knew I was definitely blushing at that moment as I stared directly at this person who looked like my little brother.

Ugh. I'm not the stereotypical girl who will fall for a guy acting cool by not looking at explosions. I'm really not. It's just because of the strange sense of familiarity with him, that was all it was.

After a short moment I regained my composure and my face returned to its usual expressionless state.

Although I appeared back to normal on the outside, my mind was in chaos and it continually wandered about to random stray thoughts. I even had delusions of what it would be like to dominate over him and have him call me big sister with a pitiable expression.

Yes, that's right, it's safe. He just looks like little brother, we're not related by blood or anything.

Isn't it fine if I develop a thing for him then?

No no no. Stop with the crazy delusions.

Those were some of the idiotic thoughts that ran through my mind when he caught me in his arms.

My heart definitely wasn't fluttering about in chaos right now.

It's not! It's absolutely not!

When he let me down and turned away he didn't even spare a second glance towards me though, like what he did was something insignificant.

His eyes were just locked on the door in front of us.

It seems he didn't even notice the dazed expression on my face when I stared at his back as he was about to walk forward and leave me behind.

I felt a slight emptiness and I unconsciously reached out and shyly grabbed the back of his robe while I said the only thing I could think of.

”Thank you.”

I didn't know what else to say to him.

I've never been the type to chase after a guy after all.

I could tell my own eyes showed nothing but utter confusion right now, but I wanted to follow behind him for some inexplicable reason.

This was a big difference between my little brother and this person. It was always me dragging little brother around behind me everywhere. Right now I felt my role was somewhat reversed, but it didn't feel too bad following behind him.

When I looked at his back I somehow felt safe.

Really?! What's with me right now?! This makes no sense!

Am I some stupid heroine in a novel that easily falls for a main protagonist that looks like my little brother?!

I shook my head and let go of the back of his robe. When I did let go he thought I didn't notice since my eyes were lowered, but I did notice him take a sneak peek in my direction to confirm I wasn't hurt before he turned away.

I heard him mumble under his breath.

”It's good as long as you're not hurt.”

Thump. Thuthump. Thuthump.

After I heard his mumble he didn't spare me another glance and walked away towards the door in front of us.

The only thing I heard after that was the beating of my heart.

There's no way I can fall for my little brother look alike so easily, right?

I honestly felt like that would be a decent story title if I ever wrote one.

(POV Megumi)

I think I just saw something I wasn't supposed to see.

Could it really be that way?

”Husband, did you get me to disguise you only from your big sister so you could flirt with her openly?”

”What?! Are you crazy?! I have no interest in such forbidden things, nor am I a masochist! I am a refined man with morals as high as the sky, how can you besmirch your husband's name like this?”

”Husband, you're not very convincing when you have that stupid smile on your face.”

”This is the smile of having protected one's family member from hurting themselves.”

”Hmmm. Really?”

”Then if your sister came onto you aggressively in the future, you would be able to turn her down without a hint of regret?”

”Come onto me? That would never happen.”

Husband suddenly turned dead serious. There was not a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

”My big sister definitely has no such feeling towards me.”

Is my husband actually really dense when it comes to his sister?

No matter how I look at it, maiden flags have been raised left and right for a while now, right?

With how many times that expressionless mask has cracked I really couldn't understand how my husband hadn't noticed yet.

She only blushed for a few seconds, but it was still pretty noticeable, right? Am I really the only one that noticed it?

Didn't my husband want to hook his sister up with that stupid crown prince though?

”Husband, what makes you think your sister doesn't have such feelings towards you?”

”There are countless reasons.”

”Like what?”

”Do I really have to say?”

”Of course.”

”Well, after extensive research, that was the conclusion I came to after years of investigating.”

”Research? How did you research that?”

”Anime, manga and light novels.”

”... husband, really?”

”Yes.”

Husband, can you please differentiate between reality and fiction?

When he saw my doubtful expression, he went on to explain.

”For example, when I was young, one day, mysteriously, my computer had a folder with sadistic big sister themed anime, manga and light novels. It was later on in life through researching this mysterious folder, that must have appeared thanks to a virus, that I came to the realization she definitely did not like me.”

My husband is apparently a dense idiot. ”Mysteriously appeared? Rather than a virus, are you sure your big sister didn't just plant that herself?”

”Absolutely not! My computer is always locked and the password is definitely something nobody in the world could have ever cracked back then. It was truly an ingenious password.”

”Was it password?”

”Hah! You think I'd pick such an obvious password?” He said that and gave me a disdainful look like I said something stupid.

Of course my face twitched thanks to his blatant overconfidence, but I quickly covered it up and asked, ”then what was it?”

”Well, since you're my wife, I suppose I can tell you. Do you really want to know? Hmmm? Do you? Do you?”

I was just about to slap that smug look off his face when he answered, ”it was drowssapdrowssapdrowssap321.”

”Husband, are you kidding me?”

”I'm dead serious. Owowow! Little wife can you stop pinching and stretching my cheeks like that? I have an appearance to maintain.”

”Don't worry, no matter how much I bully you, to other people, it looks like you're just walking normally.”

”So, you thought you were clever with such a stupid password?”

”Of course. No one would ever think that was the password, right?”

”I'm sure someone could have if they understood the type of person you were well enough.”

”So, what of that research you spoke of?”

”Well, in the content on that forbidden folder there were a lot of clues.”

”Like?”

”If my big sister really liked me, then she would definitely step on me every day like in those stories, right? She only stepped on me two or three times a week though.”

No, husband, isn't something wrong there to begin with?

A normal sister doesn't step on you at all, even if she was sadistic. Are you really putting your faith into nonsensical things like what you saw in stories?

”A normal sadistic sister with a brother complex should stalk you without your knowledge, and turn scarily sadistic when you're with another girl, right? Not my big sister, she would openly drag me around everywhere. When I talked to another girl she would just stick closer to me, she didn't show her sadistic side at all when I talked to other girls in front of her and she even got friendly with them instead.”

”She actually got the girl's phone numbers and befriended them.”

”Husband, you mentioned there was a time when she was a lesbian, right?”

”Oh, now that you mention it, she did date some of the girls from back then.”

”Are you sure she didn't just date those girls to prevent you from getting closer to them?”

”No way. That would never happen. My big sister would never take an interest in me.”

”Husband, are you sure she got friendly with them and it wasn't just her training those girls to keep away from you?”

”By the way husband, do you have any ex girlfriends?”

”Me? Now that you mention it, I don't have any. I've never really thought about it, but it was either my big sister was always dragging me off somewhere, I was busy 'studying', or I was occupying myself with my hobbies. I never put any time towards getting into a relationship.”

Phew. No past lovers. That's a relief. I'm not the only one without experience with the opposite sex.

I've only learned theory from master with those of the opposite sex. I've practiced with master before, but we were both women! Ugh. Stop remembering it.

My legs still tremble when I think about how vigorously skilled master was with her tongue.

This is really troubling though, my sister in law may be a real problem after all. Should I stop disguising husband?

”Oh right, back on track. My wife, another reason I'm certain my big sister doesn't like me is because of the following.”

”When we were young we'd bathe together all the time. According to manga, when two siblings grow up, if the sister likes the brother she will still drag the little brother to take baths together. A sadistic big sister who likes their little brother will perform a drowning play though. My big sister on the other hand never enacted such a play when we grew up.”

”Wait. You still take baths together?”