5. A Little Sister's All I Need (2)

I woke up by six the next day and raided my room. Sera snored in her sleep. It was the first time I woke up early. I'm uncomfortable sleeping on the couch. I'm not like that who does it frequently.

Ignoring her, I sat down in my chair and opened my computer for the news. Another bunch of emails flooded it again. My irritation made me send replies to them containing the word 'Motherfucker,' leaving no unread emails.

I refreshed Mimirin's homepage nonstop, waiting for her new updates. The blue switch of my keyboard echoed in my room. Sera sleeptalked with a smile.

"Annietta… I'm a high-elf now… the elders won't treat me a kid again…"

High-elf? Elder? She roleplayed even in her sleep. This was a high-level imitation only professionals could do!

I was still curious about her ears. It seemed made of highly elastic rubber with paint matching her milky skin. I tempted myself not to touch it, but since she was asleep… Hehe!

I heavily stepped and approached her, leaning towards her ear. I pinched it slowly and caressed it from top to bottom. With squeezed eyes and a compressed face, she moaned.

What the heck!? Don't girls have sensitivity settings built inside them? I'm one step closer to becoming a pervert… even if it's just ears.

I continued stroking it, but I didn't feel any mechanisms that could detach the extended part. There was no way a person had very long ears that weren't detachable.

My devil hand stretched the longer part of her ear and pulled it. I was expecting that I was stealthy enough to disconnect her fake ears, but… she squealed.

She opened her eyes with her clenched jaws. The first thing she saw was me. With her reddened face, she gasped and yelped like an ambulance coming from the distance.

I screamed and flinched back, waving my hands, showing that I had no ill intentions. She jerked back until she reached the corner and hid under my comforter.

"Y—You… You're a real elf! What the fuck!?" I stuttered, confused about what I should feel. Should I be amazed? Should I worry? I could only express a downcast expression.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She shouted. "DAMN YOU, DIRTY HUMANS! IMBECILE! PERVERT!"

"H—Hey! Don't shout like a Haneoma High School student with a period! I'm verifying those unnatural ears—"

"And what would you do… knowing that I'm an elf? Are you going to kill me? Are you going to torture me to death!?"

"Kill, my ass! Where in my face it looked like I was sadistic!? Can you stop judging people's appearances? That was MagnusK's job."

Bang!

The smiling scary Mom, holding a dustpan, swung the door open. "What's happening… Oh? If you two are getting closer, you should have informed me—"

Sera and I shouted in sync. "WE AREN'T!"

"Ara…" Mom covered her lips and giggled. "Kou-kun, you act like a kind older brother."

"Mom… You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Do you want to know what happened last night, Sera-chan?"

Last night? That means… Did she see it!? I remember! I forgot to close the door! I bit my lip as my face flushed.

Sera tilted her head and asked. "Sera… chan?"

"Oh, Sera-chan, you're so innocent. You slept on the floor, freezing in the cold. If Kou-kun didn't come, you wouldn't be in bed covered in a blanket. "

"Did he…" Instead of continuing, Sera's face reddened. Her eyes spun in circles. I thought she just bit her lip.

"Mom, did you plan this all? You're a demon in…" Seeing Mom's smile made me stutter and stop. "I—I'm not saying anything!"

"By the way, Kou-kun, Takeshi came home earlier at midnight. When she saw you sleeping on the couch, he decided to sleep back at his workplace."

"Dad came here? You should have awakened me up. I could sleep on the floor with my mattress."

Mom clicked her tongue three times. "No, no, no… He only came here to deliver the documents for my daughter."

I sighed. "Can you sometimes not hate Dad… Wait… Daughter!?" My eyes bulged to the point that it didn't blink.

I thought her question last night was a joke. Was it that serious!? Mom wouldn't rush a decision like that, except… she, in her lifetime, longed for a daughter.

"That's right!" Mom exclaimed, showing me a birth certificate hidden behind her clothes. "Sera Sugiyama is now officially a member of the Sugiyama family! Welcome to the family, my dear Sera-chan!"

Not only my eyes widened but Sera's too. Too stunned to speak, she sucked a quick breath she couldn't exhale. She doesn't have control of the decision or even a hint on it.

"M—Mom, don't you think that was a bit hasty? You should have consulted her first! I could never let this rando take over my room!"

"Kou-kun… That was your concern?"

"N—No… You misheard…" I couldn't fight back from her threatening stare.

Mom shifted towards Sera. "Sera-chan, from now on, you should call me Mom too. You're lucky to have a mother as sweet as me!"

"I could never tell when you're serious or not," I muttered.

"W—Why…" Sera stuttered, looking down with her watery eyes. "Why would you… humans… consider me as… a part of your family? I'm not… human… A family is… blood-related… pride… rules…"

Mom approached her and embraced her stooped head. "Blood? Pride? Rules? The ones who gave you the definition of family like that were assholes. You're a person. You had a heart."

"M—Mom…" Sera said.

Mom breathed deeply before speaking with a soothing voice. "I'm once lost like you. I know what you've felt. I, too, longed for a family once. I never found my family… until I met Takeshi, my husband.

"If I didn't meet him, I wouldn't know what a family really meant. I might be looking for my parents by now, and Kou-kun wouldn't be here. But he taught me that a family… a family isn't something you long for…

"Family is something you create."

Sera flinched in periods, holding back her tears. When Mom stroked her hair and rubbed her back, Sera sniveled, shedding tears on my comforter. "M—Mom… Mom!"

Sera's crying continued. Overwhelmed by emotions, my shoulders dropped. I turned away from them. I couldn't resist the familial love they emitted.

My goal distanced itself further away from me. My sanctuary had now a spoiled beast inside it. Worse, it was a permanent decision. I didn't want to get kicked out of my room for a lifetime!

Sigh! What a dramatic morning.

I went downstairs. The cooked meal sat on the plates on the table. I served and ate my breakfast in preparation for school. Halfway through my meal, Mom stepped downstairs.

"Kou-kun, can you bring Sera her serving?"

"She'll spoil the food again. Why don't she eat here downstairs? She wasn't Eromanga-sensei. Unlike me, she had two working feet."

"Kou-kun!"

"Y—YES! As you wish!" I wouldn't have bothered, but if Mom's strength was involved, even a prayer couldn't save me.

I put my blank plate on the dishwasher and prepared another tray for Sera's serving. I climbed upstairs and knocked on my door, but this time, I wouldn't let her spoil the food.

"Sera? I'm coming in." I entered my room and placed the tray on my bed before her. "I won't let you waste the food. Don't you know that here in Japan, eating was a sacred practice?"

"Ja…pan?" Sera tilted her head and squinted her eyes.

"It was the country you're in. By the way… where did you come from? What does your world look like? Do you have that thing called Magic?" I leaned at her with a suspicious grin.

"W—What do you want from me!? Are you targeting my Ether too? I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"Calm your tits, duh! Sigh… Figures. I'm dumb to expect something from you." But Ether? It sounds familiar to magic. "Moreover, eat your food while it's still hot."

"I'm not a fool! Humans in my world poisoned elves through their food—"

"Blah, blah, blah! Stop pulling those generic opinions out of your mouth. And never ever compare this peaceful world to your fucked up world. That's it! You can die of hunger if you want, but you should know that your stomach crumbled like crazy last night."

Flustered, her long ears turned red. Her chin dipped down and her chest caved in. She cringed while I prepared my school uniform and bag.

Before I got out, I followed, "Oh, and by the way… I won't let you solo this room. I'm staying here too, and you can't do anything about it. I could never let a shut-in like you overcome my status!"

I opened the knob when she said, "Y—You're weird. I don't understand a thing you're saying…"

Before exiting, I muttered, "That's the last thing I would like to hear from an alien."

***

The door closed. The scent of bread, fried eggs, and hotdogs invaded Sera's nostrils. Resisting to eat, she stared at the food, licked her lips, and swallowed. She held her temptations until her stomach twisted in knots.

"I—I couldn't resist it! I'm sorry, my elders… I broke the taboo…"

Her hands slowly reached the tray. Her lips parted within an inch. She took the food near her. Her fingers twitched when she pinched the hotdog.

"It was soft… juicy…"

Her shaking hand slowly put the hotdog in her open mouth. She bit, chewed, and swallowed it. She expected poison, but instead…

Sera's eyes watered and glimmered, unable to blink. She flattened her back and was astonished for seconds. She chewed the remaining hotdog and shoved the eggs in her mouth after.

This chewiness… the spices… the saltiness… they all contrast! Even the bread had crisps! They're not just aromatically pleasing… They're tasty as well! I never had this luscious food in my entire life!

Sera gulped the last bite and muttered, "I want more."

For somehow, I feel lucky to be alive.

***

I passed through the menacing stares of the students from the gates and reached my high school building. I opened my shoe locker to replace my shoe, and I saw an envelope inside it.

A love letter? Impossible! Who would like a proclaimed member of the art club… and by art, they mean making children.

I opened the letter and sighed in relief, realizing that it wasn't a love letter. But instead, it was a vibrant ticket that mentioned the upcoming Akiba's Elven CosCon.

From what I recall, this wasn't the ticket given to the audience of the CosCon. Also, Mimirin's name was carved in the participant section. Don't tell me…

I widened my eyes, jerked back, and shouted, "A contestant's ticket!?"

Why was it here!?