Hehe.
Glance, glance.
I sat at the kitchen table, shoving cold chicken into my mouth while stealing glances at Chris.
I didn’t heat it up in the microwave, but surprisingly, it wasn’t bad. Cold chicken doesn’t lose much flavor, as long as it hasn’t been sitting in the fridge too long.
Chris’s expression across the table was still far from pleasant. With a face all wilted, she mechanically chewed on her chicken.
Crunch, crunch.
“Gah.”
I jumped, startled.
Why does it sound like that when she chews chicken?
Looking closely at Chris’s face, I noticed she was crunching down on the bones of the drumstick.
Does Sister Chris like bone chicken?
Mealtime felt as uncomfortable as sitting on a bed of nails.
It was too awkward.
Why had a peaceful mealtime turned into this?
Why was Sister Chris so wilted?
I knew it was all my fault. Chris had come home early for the first time in a while, and instead of hanging out with her, I left her to her own devices while I played alone.
I might be complaining about double standards, but for some reason, I felt a bit angry.
Truth be told, I had nothing to be ashamed of.
Whatever I did with my time was none of Chris’s business.
What’s she to me? My guardian or something?
“Hmm….”
Thinking about it, I guess she is my guardian.
No matter how much of an adult I am, with this body, I have many inconveniences that require Chris’s help.
Munch munch.
She was still chewing chicken with that wilted expression.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem angry. Still, I felt the need to lighten her mood.
“Uh….”
I finished eating my chicken and turned my puffed-up cheeks in thought.
What could I do to cheer Chris up?
First off, I should honestly tell her what I’d been up to.
“I hung out with another girl all day. We petted each other, held hands, and hugged.”
“Gah.”
I broke into a sweat.
It just felt wrong saying it like that.
Okay, Lee Seulbi. Calm down and analyze Chris’s personality first.
It’s been almost a year since we started dating.
Sister Chris really likes me.
She always wants me close, but she doesn’t interfere with what I do.
But then, what exactly is our relationship?
Best friends or siblings?
Actually, it feels slightly different.
Chris wanted to monopolize me. She was extremely wary of any contact I had with others, male or female.
Thinking back, when I was performing the hero duties, it was pretty much the same. All the girls around me had similar reactions to Chris. Saintess Elena, Melissa… Of course, Igrim was a bit different, but still.
We’re not just best friends or siblings.
Then, I guess we’re just really, really close siblings.
I nodded to myself in understanding.
The way Chris looks at me is probably similar to how I look at Nagi.
While hanging out with Nagi lately, I remembered the things she used to do for me.
Running over all bright and smiling, twisting her body cutely.
There was a word that described all of that.
“Cutie.”
I opened my mouth in shock.
If I act cute, will Sister Chris’s mood improve?
But how do I even act cute in the first place?
Looking back at my life, I don’t think I’ve ever acted cute. Well, maybe?
With Raine’s body, I feel younger. It could be possible then, but to do such a thing with Lee Seulbi, who has the mindset of a normal adult woman?
Chris, who had her face buried in her meal, looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
“…Raine, what are you doing?”
“Ah!”
Chris’s question snapped me back to reality.
I had been thinking way too long.
Nodding my head to myself, sweating bullets, and gaping my mouth open. I must have looked completely absurd.
“C-cough. It’s nothing.”
Seems like my mind had returned for a proper conversation.
I wasn’t sure, but I should do something that Sister Chris likes.
Zipping.
I set down my chicken, wiped my hands with a wet tissue, and maneuvered my wheelchair over to Chris’s side.
Smack.
Then, I pressed against her side.
“……?”
A bunch of question marks seemed to float around Chris’s face. Although her wilted expression didn’t change drastically, something shifted as her body tensed up, indicating she had reacted.
“Sister.”
I pressed my body against Chris and looked up at her face.
Filled with apology and affection.
“Gah…!”
Chris swallowed hard.
Oh, she’s reacting a bit.
That’s a sound she makes when she’s usually in a good mood.
Recalling what Nagi used to do, I twisted my body a little side to side, my voice filled with apologies.
“I’m sorry for not hanging out with you today when you got off work early.”
“It’s fine! What happened? Were you working on some resource-gathering content? If you’re low on gold, just tell your sister. …No, you don’t have to report every little thing to me, right? Hehe!”
Chris’s mood seemed to lift right up. She grinned widely, a hint of pink coloring her cheeks.
I tilted my head, confused.
What’s going on?
I stared at Chris’s side where my body was pressed against hers.
Does my body being close make her calm down quickly?
I pressed myself closer against her.
Smack.
“Gah…!”
Chris stared blankly.
Come to think of it, when I was sick before, I slept beside Chris in the same bed. She seemed completely happy that morning.
If I sleep together today, Chris’s mood might clear up entirely.
I whispered softly in her ear.
“Let’s sleep together in your room tonight.”
“Ah… ah….”
Chris let out a moan.
“…Pink?”
After washing up and stepping into Chris’s room, I saw that a pink blanket was spread across the bed. I let out a chuckle at that.
The choice of color is completely girly. Sister Chris has some surprisingly cute sides.
“Ahem.”
Chris looked like she had also washed up. Wearing her pajamas, she coughed with her gaze awkwardly shifted elsewhere.
Gently.
Chris lifted me from my wheelchair and laid me on her bed. Then she lay down beside me.
I stared intently at Chris’s face as she lay next to me.
Under the soft light of Astria, Chris’s face looked a bit flushed.
Chris silently gazed at my face for a while before bursting into laughter.
“Hahaha! What was I even thinking?”
“……?”
After shaking her head vigorously, Chris pulled the blanket over to my neck and patted me gently.
“I’m sorry if my expression scared you earlier.”
“Uh, um. A little.”
Honestly, it scared me a lot. In some ways, even more than when facing off against a powerful demon race.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been paying attention to you lately. I’m raising a new recruit right now.”
“A new recruit?”
“Oops.”
I covered my mouth slightly at Chris’s question.
I just spilled that one out without thinking.
When it comes to keeping my thoughts hidden, it seems I’m not good at that either. Well, I didn’t use to talk much with people, so there wasn’t anything to hide.
But there really isn’t a need to hide anything. I might as well confess it now.
“Yes. The new version of Astria Online is rated for ages 12 and up, right? So, I ended up in a situation where I couldn’t hunt the last time….”
I started telling Chris about my adventures with the sword girl, Nagi, as we lay together on the bed.
Pat, pat.
When Chris heard about the Safety Guard incident where monsters dropped milk, she burst out laughing. She gulped when I recounted the story of Nagi facing off against the Black Wyvern solo. She reacted in many ways while listening to my story. Meanwhile, one hand continued to pat my back.
Having a chat with Chris was incredibly enjoyable.
I hardly ever had a moment to share like this with Sister Chris before going to bed. I was too busy with my Astria Online grind every day. I should have made more time for moments like this in reality. No, I can still make time for them in the future.
“I see. You should have told me sooner.”
“Uh, um. Well…”
How do I express, “I thought you wouldn’t take it well if I said I was spending time with another girl instead of you”?
For some reason, it felt like I was doing something bad to Chris.
“It’s fine. You just played with a younger girl because she was cute, right? It’s probably admirable that you wanted to tackle dungeons all by yourself.”
“Yes, that’s right. It reminded me of myself from back then.”
Nagi’s amazing. What other newbie would think of attempting to solo a four-person elite dungeon besides me?
“…And you said the girl Nagi has quite a high synchronization rate. That’s what she asked me about last time.”
“Yes. I was curious after watching Nagi.”
“Hmm….”
Chris fell into thought. I wondered what she was thinking. She’s a virtual reality expert, so she probably had some analysis going on in her mind.
I stared at her face.
Cherries for lips. Sharp eyes with a hint of green. Flowing red hair that I loved, sprawled like a thread on the pink blanket. I liked the way she looked lost in thought — like a beautiful researcher battling against the forces of evil across time.
Looking at beautiful Chris’s face calms my heart. And it makes me feel good.
She’s such a wonderful person; I’ve been really neglectful lately.
Tomorrow, I should go on an adventure with Sister Chris in Erin’s Canyon.
As I kept gazing at Chris’s face, I gradually felt my eyelids growing heavy.
So sleepy.
As I felt Chris’s gentle hands patting my back, I slipped into a deep slumber.
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