Reincarnated as the Heroine’s Big Sister, but My Little Sister Fell for Me Instead - Chapter 5

It was a rainy day.

With nothing else to do, I spent the whole day reading in my room. It had been raining steadily since morning, so I couldn’t go out into the garden. I couldn’t practice magic either. Left with no choice, I was reading some literature, but the monotonous sound of the rain made me a little sleepy.

There was a knock at the door. I thought it was Lian. Lately, that sound had become Lian’s sound.

“Come in.”

The door opened. Lian peeked her face in. On rainy days, her hair frizzes up a bit. It was the same today.

“Can I stay here again today?”

She asked with those dewy, upturned eyes.

Ah, she’s cute, I thought.

Back when my memories of my past life were still fresh, I think there was an event in the game that made Lian make this kind of face. I thought the same thing then, too. But now she wasn’t on the other side of a screen; she was standing at the door to my room.

“Of course.”

I said it in a tone that wouldn’t sound too cold. It was a difficult balance. If I made it too soft, it wouldn’t feel like me, but if I was too stiff, Lian might get scared.

Lian’s face brightened instantly. “Thank you.”

She came in and sat in her usual chair. The small chair by the window had become Lian’s regular spot ever since she started visiting. I hadn’t prepared it for her. Lian had naturally chosen it herself.

Her eyes wandered to the bookshelf, and she pulled out a volume. It was a botanical encyclopedia. A different volume from the one I’d given her before. Since Lian liked looking at pictures, I’d chosen another book with lots of illustrations. I held it out, and she took it.

For a while, we both read.

There was only the sound of the rain.

Suddenly, Lian stood up. She went to the bookshelf and looked at the spines one by one, as if checking them. She seemed hesitant. After some deliberation, she pulled one out.

It was my book on magical theory.

The foundational research texts I kept here had almost no illustrations. It wasn’t just a matter of being too early for a child; it was far beyond that.

“Will you read it to me?”

Lian said.

I thought she seemed to be testing something. As if gauging how far her older sister would indulge her. But when I looked into her eyes, that didn’t seem to be the case. She just had a purely interested look on her face.

“Alright, but I think that book is still too difficult for you, Lian.”

“Even so, I want that one.”

I thought for a moment. Her stubbornness, insisting even when told it was difficult, was also cute, I thought.

“Bring it here.”

Lian pulled her chair closer. She placed it right next to my chair and sat down. It was close. But I didn’t say anything.

I opened the book.

“‘Magical power is a force derived from the practitioner’s life force, and attributes refer to the manner in which that power resonates with the various elements of the natural world—'”

I started reading and immediately thought this was hopeless.

But Lian listened quietly. It was doubtful whether she understood the meaning, but she listened. She was listening to my voice.

“‘Interference magic refers to the interaction that occurs when multiple magical powers come into contact. Between the same attributes, amplification occurs; between different attributes…'”

I glanced sideways.

Lian’s eyes were half-closed.

They weren’t completely shut yet. They looked like they were trying not to close, but unable to resist—that kind of look.

I lowered my voice a little. I slowed my reading pace, too.

“‘…It is said that the attenuation of magical power is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, but when resonance occurs between practitioners—'”

Lian’s head tilted slightly.

It touched my shoulder.

I stopped.

I lifted my eyes from the book. I looked at Lian. Her eyes were closed. I could hear her sleeping breaths.

For a moment, I wondered if I should wake her.

I only wondered; I didn’t move.

Instead, I gently stroked that small head. Carefully, as if handling something fragile.

The sound of the rain continued. The window was fogged white. Lian’s weight was on my shoulder. It was light. Is this child really this light? I thought vaguely.

I closed the book.

I placed it on my lap and just watched the rain.

Lately, I’d been thinking a lot about the word “doting.” I had thought this feeling shouldn’t be something so exaggerated. I thought it was just that I was worried about my little sister, just an extension of liking Lian from my past life.

But now, I didn’t wake her. I felt an indescribable emotion sprouting within me.

After a while, Lian stirred slightly. Her eyes opened and looked at me. Then, seeming to realize she had fallen asleep, her face took on a startled expression.

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re not angry?”

“I’m not angry.”

Lian looked relieved. Then, looking at the area around my shoulder again, she asked, “Was I leaning on you?”

“A little.”

Lian flushed slightly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said. After saying it, I added a little more. “You weren’t heavy.”

Lian looked at me again.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked out the window.

“The rain is still falling, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Can I stay a little longer?”

“Do as you like.”

Lian nodded. Without moving her chair back to its original position, she opened her book again. It was the botanical encyclopedia I’d given her earlier.

I opened my book, too.

I continued reading the magical theory book as I was. I didn’t read it aloud. Even without reading aloud, Lian didn’t fall asleep again. Occasionally, she showed me a picture from the encyclopedia and asked, “What’s this?” I answered.

The rain stopped in the evening.

Lian went home. After the door closed, I checked for the sensation that remained on my shoulder.

It was already gone.

But in the quiet night, I felt that proof that Lian had indeed been there still remained.