Nyanta & Pomeko

Chapter 4: False confessions aren't a game

"Makoto, what are you going to do about college?　You could have entered a higher education school, but you went to the trouble of entering a low-level high school. ...... You don't have to worry about money."

　My stepsister and stepmother are sitting around the table eating breakfast.

　My stepsister, with a sleepy look on her face, bit into a piece of bread.

　I was already thinking about changing into my uniform and going to school.

　I never eat breakfast with my family.

　It's just silence and a heavy atmosphere.

"...... No, as you said before, I'm leaving home after graduation. I can't bother you any more."

　Stepmother made a bitter face again.

　I still remember it.

'It's hard to pay for school with two kids. ......, and one of them is always getting into trouble.'

'A boy who is violent to a girl is not my boy!'

'You, you molester, ......, yeah, why......mou...... I want you to get out of here.'

　This is what I was told as a child.

　The words stung my heart. They become thorns that cannot be removed and rot from the core.

　My stepmother looked at me bitterly.

"T-That's a metaphor for scolding. ...... You are my child, so be firm and set a good example for Haruka. You're her big brother——-."

　–You're her big brother.

　I don't know how much these words have broken my heart.

　...... It's okay. I don't feel anything right now.

"...... Yes, I understand."

　My sleepy stepsister muttered as she spilled bread crumbs.

" Ugh, I can't remember anything from last night......I forgot about it when I went to bed......I'm so sleepy....... Onii-chan, you're leaving...... home, are you going on a trip somewhere?"

　Step-mother wiped my step-sister's mouth with a drawn out look.

　It is a gesture like taking care of a child. It's as if she's not treating them as high school students.

"You don't have to worry about it. Come on, you're going to be late, get ready."

"Fu ~a ̄i......, O-Onii-chan don't go ahead ......."

　I grabbed my bag and left the living room.

　I didn't dislike the school day.

　There are a lot of students there, so the chances of seeing someone I know is slim. No one would talk to me.

　There was no one around me.

　Even though a lot of students are walking to the same school.

　There are times when I get a strange feeling.

　What would happen——– if I could go to another world?

　So I started writing my novel.

　This morning, I felt a little different than usual.

　I don't usually look at my phone, but I found myself irresistibly curious about my page on the novel site.

　It's not that I'm expecting anything. It's a novel that I like to write.

　I found myself checking my page.

　–No notifications, huh.

　Messages don't come that often. But Pomeko's message last night calmed me down.