4. A Little Sister's All I Need (1)

I never expected that I would be bringing a tray of food in front of my room's door. A master NEET holed up in my room and had overtaken me.

I placed the food on the floor and knocked. "Sera? I'll place your food here. Eat it while it's hot. Also, don't let it spoil. Mom hated it the most."

I didn't expect a response. I left the corridor and went downstairs. I spotted Mom sitting on the dining chair, calling someone on the phone.

"I told you… Things are currently urgent… Also, the documents, don't forget it… And don't forget the clothes… I hugged her. She's medium-sized… You have the power to do that, right? RIGHT? Are you going home tomorrow? It's best if you don't… Bye…"

She hung up the phone and put it back in her pocket. The person she was calling was probably Dad. She threatened him again.

Mom's eyes widened after seeing me. "Oh, Kou-kun! Do you like to have a little sis—"

"ARGH! MY EARS! IT WAS RINGING! A NUCLEAR BOMB EXPLODES!" I shouted, covering my ears. I mumbled until I reached the refrigerator and gulped a yogurt drink.

"Kou-kun, if you're outside, you would end up getting beaten already. Never mention about bomb jokes again."

"I'm a shut-in, Mom. I wouldn't go out if it's unnecessary." Still, that woman in my room was more of a shut-in than I was. "Will Sera stay in my room forever?"

"We only have two rooms, yours and ours. I already called your dad to renovate our house. If you're lucky, ask your Dad to add anything you want. A playground? A casino? You're advantageous today, Kou-kun. Just a simple thanks will do."

"Thanks, but I believe we shouldn't change the topic. It wasn't like you to adopt someone so suddenly. You hated stray cats the most, right? What if she's just acting? A conman? A thief?"

"Sera isn't a stray cat! Would a girl that gorgeous become a criminal?"

"Have you heard of Senjougahara Hitagi? Yuno Gasai? Rem from Re:Zero?"

"Who's Rem? And how would a girl who doesn't know how to rotate a doorknob become a murderer? Enlighten me, Kou-kun."

Mom was right. Sera was dumber than she looked. If she was acting, she wouldn't have to lock herself in my room. Also, if she was an actress, she would never forget wearing her panties.

Then, what was she? Where did she come from?

"Kou-kun, I'm sad that you suck at reading the mood. Sera was hurt. Look at the floor. Could an actress excrete that many tears?"

I gazed at the floor containing droplets of water. "Why didn't you clean it yet, Mom? It wasn't a souvenir."

"Sera doesn't have a place to stay. Sera doesn't have a home. She had one, but she lost it. I only created a place possible for her to call home."

"For some reason, you're acting more like her mother than mine."

"Both of you were children. It's the mother's intuition to understand what the child doesn't say."

Though I wanted to claim my room back, I couldn't argue more. I lay on the couch where I would sleep tonight. I took my phone and scanned at Chitter again.

I hated trouble overlapping my current problems. Sera's existence was never a matter on my watch. For now, there was a matter threatening my future career.

Mimirin announced her withdrawal from the cosplay industry. Since I promised her that I would become the perfect manager for her, where would I end up now?

What worth would MagnusK hold if his existence were a mirage? For what reason did I destroy other's sanity if the perfect critic had no place in the industry? Why did I invest in a career that would soon meet its downfall?

Like Sera, I'm lost. I lost my destination. My path was cut off. I'm stuck at the edge of the world. The only thing I could do was to turn back or to jump and fall. I could only move forward if the path connects again.

I don't know a pinch of Mimirin's personal details. I couldn't depend on her to help since it was her decision. Only I could turn the tables. If I failed…

MagnusK was no more.

***

Sera sat on the edge of the room and leaned against the wall. She hid her eyes on her arms that rested on his knees. Kou knocked on the door from the outside and spoke.

"Sera? I'll place your food here. Eat it while it's hot. Also, don't let it spoil. Mom hated it the most."

Sera's face remained hidden. She trembled as her lost tears gave her hiccups. She muttered a name in a cycle.

"Annietta… Annietta… Annietta…"

My chest hurts… It's too painful… Annietta… Why did you leave me? You promised me… You'll always stay by my side.

Sera wrapped her body tighter with her arms, compressing the heat circulating in her. "It's… too… cold…"

The breeze wrapped her skin, giving her goosebumps. She ground her teeth unconsciously. The chill amplified for every minute.

I'm punished again. There's no way anyone would save me. I will only root myself in the ground, waiting for my death… Then finally… I can meet you again… Annietta.

You're my only home… the only person who cared for me. I might break my promise to you too. Like the colorless tiger, I would die without seeing how lively the world was.

I would never see the vibrancy of joy, the vivacity of smiles. I couldn't see myself getting happy doing other things. I could only feel pain nonetheless.

I'm leaving the world unsaturated.

I couldn't meet my Van Dough.

"I'm sorry… Annietta…"

I couldn't hold myself more to live in this world full of suffering. I couldn't pretend to lie to myself that I trusted humans.

I would only die interacting with humans… And it was better than selling my soul to them. Living with them and waiting to die… It was never different from before.

Can someone… anyone… fetch me…

I want to go home…

Sera's shallow breathing turned slower. Her vision blurred as she hyperventilated. Her wet and reddened eyes closed unconsciously.

Her limbs weakened. She pushed her head on her arms as she maintained her sitting position. She was so tired that she didn't notice that she had fallen asleep.

***

An hour later, Shizu-sama exclaimed in my Smitch! "Congratulations! You successfully defended the land of elves!"

I groaned like I finished warming up, but it was supposed to be the time that I'd sleep. Still bothered about my room, I stood up and climbed the stairs.

The smell of rotten soup entered my nose.

"Oh my God! No one said that she's a picky eater," I exclaimed after seeing the untouched bubbly soup.

My eyebrows were drawn. I knocked on the door to check her status. "Sera? Are you awake? Why didn't you eat the food? You're lucky; Mom didn't scold you. Sera? Are you still in there?"

Perhaps she escaped out of the windows? There's no way that she could open it. I also couldn't open it… Never in my life.

"Excuse me," I muttered, rotating the knob and opening the door. Sera sat on the floor, beside the computer, and hid her face. As I entered my room, the air chilled my skin.

"Where in the Atlantic am I!?" I forgot to adjust the temperature in my air conditioner! Moreover, Sera wore a thin sleeping dress which couldn't resist coldness. "Sera? Are you still awake?"

Sera didn't utter back. I could see her body expanding and retracting. Maybe she's awake and she hated replying to me because I mocked her prank? I'm wrong. She was sleeping.

I approached her and carried her like a princess. Her dry tears marked lines from her closed eyes. I bit my tongue and tensed my muscles, realizing how heavy she was.

She froze like I touched a convenience store beer. I wouldn't expect that I would do a princess carry in my room. But leaving the air conditioner on was my fault.

I put her lying in bed and covered her with the thick comforter. I took the remote and turned the air conditioner off. Before I left the room, I stared back at her.

"Honestly, how dunderheaded can you be? First, you had no panties, and now, you're showering yourself in a pool of fresh breath. The only thing you gave me was worry."

Her closed eyes met peace. Her glowing lips hung partly open as she breathed. Unlike earlier, there's no touch of chaos lingering within her. I think I also met my peace.

Now, I started to ask myself. Why would she go this far for me if she was really an actress? If she was a cosplayer, why doesn't she know me, MagnusK? How did she enter my room?

Since she had no home to stay, and her depression ate her humanity, I could only think of one illogical, unrealistic cause.

I couldn't believe in the reality of fantasy worlds yet, but… what if she's an elf from another world?

Mom's question earlier came back to my mind.

'Do you like to have a little sister?'

At first, I thought that I was no brother material. But… Before I turned off the lights, I muttered with a smile…

"A little sister might be all I need."