“On behalf of the moon, I’ll punish you!
Mwah!
⌯>ᴗo⌯”
On the TV, a 90s magical girl transformation anime was playing, its cheerful OP starting up.
This was also dinnertime at the Kousaka household.
At the dining table, a blonde girl stared unblinkingly at the TV, her eyes seeming to sparkle with stars, utterly captivated.
That rare focus made Kousaka Kyousuke glance at her a couple more times.
“What’s with that look?
So gross.”
The blonde girl keenly sensed his gaze.
Those eyes, pure just a second ago, suddenly turned sharp as she swept her glare over him.
“Tch.”
The corner of Kousaka Kyousuke’s mouth stiffened slightly, then he averted his gaze and focused on shoveling down his food.
Ever since the families merged, he had more or less gotten used to the disgust and wariness from his stepsister.
“Kirino, how can you speak to your elder brother like that?”
Kousaka Daisuke’s authoritative voice rang out, and the atmosphere at the dinner table instantly dropped to a freezing point.
“What’s the deal, Dad?
Is it my fault?”
Kousaka Kirino raised her voice.
“He was clearly the one who looked at me first!”
“What’s wrong with a brother paying attention to his little sister?
Did I not teach you what respect means when you were little?”
Kousaka Daisuke said sternly.
“He’s not my brother, just some outsider…”
Kousaka Kirino’s voice gradually faded, because she saw her father’s stern face slowly turn rather frightening.
“Alright, Daisuke, don’t be too hard on the child.
They’ll gradually learn to get along well.”
Seeing the mood turn sour, Kousaka Mieko, who was beside them, hurriedly poured a glass of sake for the head of the family.
“Since we’re living together now, we need to be considerate of each other.
That’s how life gets comfortable.
Kyousuke is a good kid.
I hope you two can get along peacefully.”
Daisuke put down his sake cup and spoke seriously.
Hearing this, Kyousuke sighed inwardly.
This stepfather was indeed on his side, but if this family was to become harmonious in the future, this way of handling things wouldn’t work.
He wanted to speak up and ease the tension, but he was a step too late.
Kirino, looking thoroughly displeased, put down her chopsticks directly.
“I’m done eating!”
The girl pushed her chair back, jogged upstairs, and a door slam echoed down.
“That child!” Kousaka Daisuke showed a helpless expression and looked at the son who was working hard at his meal.
“Sorry, Kyousuke, I might have spoiled her too much in the past.”
“Don’t worry, Father.
We’ll learn to get along eventually.”
Kyousuke smiled and continued eating his meal.
…..
The second Kousaka family dinner table meeting concluded, ending on a sour note.
Kyousuke returned to his room and sat down at his desk.
Ever since the night of his twelfth birthday, when the memories of his past life came flooding back, he had become a most sensible child in the eyes of adults.
Excellent grades, obedient and not rebellious.
Aside from his relatively poor PE grades, he was so flawless that one could hardly find any fault with him.
Actually, in the very beginning, Kyousuke was in considerable inner pain.
The extra memories in his mind created an intense sense of fragmentation.
Because this world was similar to, yet different from, the one he remembered living in.
The overlapping impressions of history and culture tormented his psyche for a very long time.
For instance, the magical girl anime that his own sister Kousaka Kirino adored.
Its artistic expression and plot progression were practically identical to “Sailor Moon,” which he had watched at the orphanage in his previous life, yet at the same time, it had considerable differences.
Kyousuke’s mind was filled with the splendor of that other world, but he could never be sure it was real.
This situation improved somewhat after he entered high school.
Through continuous study, learning history, and re-understanding the current world, he alleviated the symptoms.
However, when he was 14, his parents divorced.
It was a heavy blow for him.
Two years passed, and his mother formed a new family with Kousaka Daisuke, giving him an extra little sister, the current Kousaka Kirino.
It was precisely around the time the families merged that Kyousuke managed to separate the memories in his mind, successfully avoiding further influence from the surplus memories.
He was fairly satisfied with his current situation.
No worries about food or money, his mother had found a man worthy of relying on, and no longer had to work hard just to support herself and her teenage son.
And he himself was no longer tormented by the memory confusion.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
As for gaining an extra little sister?
That was just a minor matter.
….
Kyousuke exhaled a breath of stale air and took a stack of manuscript paper from his desk drawer.
It was densely packed with text.
The title on the first page was legible: Kino’s Journey, Volume 3.
This was a light novel that existed in his memory.
Born in Japan in the year 2000, from the pen of an author named Sigsawa Keiichi.
A parable-like light novel written in an episodic format.
The story’s protagonist, Kino, after fleeing her home country and learning the necessary skills for travel from her master, journeys through various nations with Hermes, a talking motorcycle.
In his memory, the series’ cumulative sales surpassed 8 million copies; it was a long-standing classic.
Kyousuke had been writing this book for half a year.
Although he had predictably worked hard to study liberal arts knowledge and perused the classics, when he actually put pen to paper, achieving a perfect replication was still quite difficult.
Choosing it was, in truth, a test of the waters for him.
The era he was living in, upon identification, was roughly equivalent to the 90s of his previous life.
The ACG culture in Japan was beginning to flourish, but Kyousuke came from nearly thirty years in the future.
It was hard for him to be sure if people of this time could accept works with the kind of advanced mindset seen in later generations.
The writing style and content of Kino’s Journey fit better.
Actually, if one wanted the most suitable works, there were also things like “Slayers” or “Record of Lodoss War.”
But unfortunately, he only knew them by name; he hadn’t had the chance to read them completely.
However, a few days ago, he received a reply from ASCII Media Works.
It seemed the first two volumes of “Kino’s Journey” had broken through the ranks in a newcomer award.
At first, Kyousuke was rather unfamiliar with this publisher’s company name, but upon closer investigation, he discovered that wasn’t quite right.
ASCII Media Works, also known as Dengeki Bunko.
This was currently one of the top few publishing labels in Tokyo.
The reply letter invited him to Tokyo to discuss publication.
Kousaka Kyousuke took out a kraft envelope and carefully placed the manuscript inside.
‘Just in time for winter break, I can finalize the publishing matters, and meet an online friend along the way.’
He thought to himself, ready to turn in early.
Knock knock knock—
A knock came at the door.
His mother, Mieko, asked from outside, “Kyousuke, you’re still up?
Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Kyousuke responded.
Mieko pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind her.
“Don’t dwell on what happened at dinner.
Kirino is still young, and since you’re older than her, please be a bit more lenient with her.”
Mieko pulled Kyousuke to sit down on the edge of the bed, her gentle gaze mixed with a hint of heartache.
“I understand, Mom.”
Kyousuke shrugged.
Knowing his mother, she wouldn’t come to his room at this hour just to comfort him.
“Whatever is on your mind, just say it directly.”
“You…
as expected of my son.”
Mieko paused, then a smile bloomed on her face.
“There’s indeed something I need to ask of you.”
“You know Daisuke works at the public safety office.
Kirino’s state has been a bit off lately.
He’s been keeping an eye on it, and just now…”
“Kirino told her father she’s going to Tokyo with friends tomorrow to have some fun.”
Kyousuke tilted his head.
“Is he worried about her?
But it’s not her first time going to Tokyo.”
Their house was in Chiba Prefecture, just over 30 kilometers from Shibuya.
Even by train, it was only about an hour trip one-way.
And from Kyousuke’s observations of Kirino, that fashionably dressed girl ran off there every holiday.
She should be much more familiar with it than him.
“The key point is, if I go with her, she won’t agree to it, right?”
This was what worried Kyousuke the most.
Their relationship was already bad.
If he tagged along as their parents’ eyes and ears, wouldn’t her affection points turn directly into the negatives?
“Actually, Daisuke understands that too.
It’s just Kirino’s recent situation…”
Mieko trailed off, making Kousaka Kyousuke frown.
“Did she get mixed up with the yakuza or borrow from loan sharks?”
He couldn’t help but make the worst guess.
Mieko hurriedly waved her hands.
“Don’t let your imagination run wild.
Kirino is a good girl.”
“So?”
“It’s because when I was tidying her room, I found a large box of cash under her bed.
I didn’t count it carefully, but estimating roughly…”
“It’s at least over a million yen.”
…..