Uneasy daily life

Bai Ying exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Why would anyone describe happiness with such torment! It seems this kind of protagonist is destined for a tragic end, paying the price for all the happiness he experienced before!"

I don't quite understand the author's dilemma.

Sakuta Azusagawa remarked: "However, in the case of light novels, the other end of the chain of commercial works is the reader. The author is less about depicting the protagonist's happiness and more about depicting the reader's happiness, which makes it quite fair and reasonable from that perspective."

“Indeed.” Bai Ying calmed down. “Then I let the happiness wither and fade away in the ending, deriving happiness from the readers’ sadness and melancholy, completing a cycle of happiness…”

Sakuta Azusagawa: [No, there's something wrong with that.]

"Hehehe! Only tragedy has the power to pierce the heart! Coldness prevents food from spoiling too quickly, and sorrow prevents joy from fleeting. The deeper the sorrow, the more vibrant life becomes!"

[A tragic ending...] Sakuta Azusagawa paused slightly. [I think the greatest tragedy is the sudden disappearance of a person—perhaps dead, perhaps alive, but making people realize that they will never suddenly reappear, completely vanished, yet the traces of their involvement in the surroundings give people a faint hope that they might reappear.]

"Despair yet still clinging to hope, an answer that is neither definitive nor vaguely certain—that's right! When the protagonist arrives in another world, he inevitably interacts with others, forges connections, experiences various adventures together, writes stories together, and reaches the final moment together. At that moment, the god grants his initial wish, 'I don't want to go to another world,' and the protagonist is sent back to his original world... There's no need for a definitive conclusion from the narrator here; we only need to describe the stories of others, the stories after the protagonist disappears..."

Bai Ying described it passionately, then sighed deeply: "Just as what is terrifying is not death itself, but the prelude and echo of death."

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Ying added, "Ah, I didn't mean to spoil the ending."

Sakuta Azusagawa said, "It's okay, I haven't read your light novel."

"What? As a friend, shouldn't you support me? Go watch 'I Don't Want to Go to Another World' right now!"

As a friend, I should avoid being hurt by you, and...

Sakuta Azusagawa sighed, his tone tinged with worry.

[Bai, it seems you... disappeared in the future.]

"What? Did I start a bizarre hide-and-seek contest, where the first girlfriend to find me gets a marriage certificate valid for a year and gets to experience the entire process from dating to divorce?"

【What? 】

……

……

Time goes back to a while ago.

After the holiday started, I had much more free time and didn't have to wait for the weekend to spend time with Ms. Xiangzi...

Let's just call him Xiao Xiangzi for now.

Sakuta Azusagawa felt he still had some doubts and found it difficult to equate the two.

On one side is a gentle and cheerful older sister, and on the other side is a quiet and melancholic elementary school student. However, many things prove that these two are indeed the same person, but with some extraordinary factors mixed in, which led to her meeting the grown-up Makinohara Shoko and even the reason for her contact with her. Perhaps it is because she donated her heart after she died in the future.

That being said, discussing the future inevitably feels unreal, and wild speculation can easily lead to getting stuck on many conflicting points.

Whether he was suspicious or certain, Sakuta Azusagawa did not hesitate. He tried his best to forge a deeper connection, using every means at his disposal—including, but not limited to, greetings every few days, exchanging phone numbers, coaxing his sister and Shoko to become friends, and inviting them to his home to play with the cat…

"What's your brother thinking? He has such a strange expression on his face."

Sakuta Azusagawa snapped out of his reverie and watched Kaede Azusagawa and Shoko Makinohara teasing the cat. He smiled slightly and said, "I'm wondering whether it's the person teasing the cat, or the cat teasing the person."

If Xiao Xiangzi = Miss Xiangzi, then when I go in, should I shout something like, "I didn't commit a crime, she's just not grown up yet"?

Fortunately, that kind of thing won't happen.

After this spring break, Xiao Xiangzi will be a junior high school student.

"strange……"

Azusagawa Kaede stroked the cat's forehead, muttered something to herself, glanced at Makinohara Shoko who was quietly petting the cat, and couldn't help but steal a glance back at her older brother's expression.

That's really strange, isn't it!

After the older brother's friend left after staying for a few days, I thought the intruder had disappeared. But then Makinohara Shoko appeared, and she's still an elementary school student. The older brother even asked me to be friends with her... Although it makes sense logically, I always feel like the older brother has other motives.

Especially after the holidays!

Kaede Azusagawa searched through the common sense in her mind.

From very close male friends to very close elementary school students...

Kaede Azusagawa is under immense pressure.

My brother is definitely mutating! He keeps veering off course down the wrong path!

Is Chapter Forty-Two about that kind of service?

【Maple's diary】

[My brother has probably changed. He's become cold and distant, and his care for his sister is declining rapidly. I think it's because I'm growing up and can already be a junior high student. After all, in another year I'll be a high school student like my brother. Compared to him, Xiangzi has only graduated from elementary school and has a much bigger future ahead of her...]

[Conclusion: The older brother has become a lolicon!!!]

My older brother is acting strangely.

It's not the kind of sudden, extreme sadness or joy that's wrong, but rather a latent, hidden, and natural unease!

On the staking her dignity as a younger sister, Azusagawa Kaede was absolutely certain of this, and the most obvious example of this was her attitude towards Shoko!

However, my brother is just an ordinary high school boy. On the bright side, he's far from going to jail... a prison reserve? Anyway, something's really off. If I had to give an example...

While absentmindedly petting the cat, Azusagawa Kaede was secretly observing it warily.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

Sakuta Azusagawa sat on the sofa flipping through a magazine and casually asked, "They have cola, milk, juice, and mineral water."

"Huh? Um..." Shoko Makinohara tilted her head and said, "Are there that many kinds?"

"The shop I work at recently received too many drinks, so the manager gave them out as a perk. If we don't finish them soon, they'll just have to be disposed of." Sakuta Azusagawa casually repeated, "What would you like to drink?"

"Then let's have juice."

Usually, we only have milk.

A sharp glint flashed in Azusagawa Kaede's eyes as she lowered her head—Evidence Number 1! She usually only prepares milk for her younger sister at home, and drinks like cola are limited and strictly prohibited from being purchased in large quantities. However, every time Shoko comes to play at home, there are always some strange things in the refrigerator!

"Brother, I saw pudding in the refrigerator last night."

"Let's take care of that together then, everyone can have some."

Sakuta Azusagawa put down his magazine, got up, and went to the kitchen: "Kaede, do you want milk?"

"I want a Coke!"

"Be careful not to end up like Nasuno."

Kaede Azusagawa glanced at her cat, Nasuno, and wondered what was wrong with it. This was the perfect domestic cat.

"Good boy~ Meow meow meow..."

Shoko Makinohara intently stroked the plump, large cat, her focused expression revealing her love for felines.

"Does Shoko really like my cat?" Azusagawa Kaede was about to gather information.

“Nasuno is cute, quite different from the cats in the park,” Makinohara Shoko thought, tilting her head. “Hmm… I like all kinds of small animals, birds that occasionally chirp, cats that like to sunbathe on benches, dogs that play fetch with their owners in the park…”

Azusagawa Kaede asked in confusion, "Don't you have any pets at home?"

"This isn't really appropriate," Makinohara Shoko said quietly, petting the cat with a gentle smile. "My parents work very hard."

“My brother is usually quite busy, whether it’s studying or working, so he sent Nasuno to keep me company,” Azusagawa Kaede tried to imply.

"Azusagawa is amazing."

"Hehe, that's it, that's it..."

During the exchange between a junior high school student who is a shut-in and a junior high school student preparing for military service, Sakuta Azusagawa brought out pudding and drinks and said, "Stop playing with the cat for now, come and eat something."

"Thank you."

Despite having visited many times, Makinohara Shoko always maintained polite language.

"You're welcome."

Sakuta Azusagawa smiled as always and placed the pudding and juice in front of the other person.

Suspicion 2! Even though there are two people here, their attention is always focused on Xiangzi. They don't seem to care much about the other people's initiative to pass things to him, talk to him, or chat with him. What bothers them is that even though they are both there, their brother still unconsciously focuses on Xiangzi...

In short, it's very suspicious.

Azusagawa Kaede ate her pudding and drank her milk while secretly observing.

Unfortunately, there weren't many opportunities to observe. After chatting briefly for a while, Sakuta Azusagawa had to go to the shop where he worked to change shifts: "Shoko, are you leaving already? I'll give you a ride on my way."

Before Makinohara Shoko could reply, Azusagawa Kaede hugged her, saying, "Brother, go and work hard! I still want to play the Ludo game we bought before with Shoko!"

"For someone your age, Ludo is a bit childish. How about Monopoly or Shogi instead?"

Sakuta Azusagawa leaves home after teasing his younger sister.

While she was still trying to figure out how similar Xiao Xiangzi was to Miss Xiangzi, Feng was able to get along with her easily and comfortably. Now she was even starting to favor her new friend and dislike her older brother.

With a slightly paternal feeling, Sakuta Azusagawa prepared to go to work.

With my brother away, the house is my own personal domain!

Azusagawa Kaede decisively took out the panda plushie from the bedroom, casually sat cross-legged on the sofa, leaned back, tilted her body, and raised her hand to beckon. Nasuno instinctively climbed onto Azusagawa Kaede's lap, tucking her limbs under her chubby body, transforming into a cat-themed hand warmer.

Out of habit, I turned on the TV and noticed Makinohara Shoko sitting on the other side of the sofa, looking like a well-behaved girl.

Oh no, I'm so familiar with this routine, I almost forgot someone was home—Xiangzi is so quiet.

"Ahem..." Azusagawa Kaede coughed slightly, and while disassembling the Ludo board game, she changed the subject, "Has Shoko ever thought about getting a pet?"

"I've thought about it, but it's impossible."

Shoko Makinohara shook her head.

"Huh? Is it because Mom and Dad won't allow it? If they're too busy, Xiangzi can raise him himself."

Azusagawa Kaede stood tall and proud, a strange sense of joy in being a teacher filling her with: "Raising a pet is actually very simple! For example, the Nasuno that my brother gave me was originally a cat bought from a pet store, so potty training was quick. At most, I had to clean up the mess for the first few days. It's normal that it wasn't affectionate at first, but you can build a good relationship with it by feeding it food..."

“Well…” Makinohara Shoko hesitated for a moment, then said with some regret, “I have some heart problems and I’m often in the hospital, so I can’t take care of my pets.”

Hospitalization?

Azusagawa Kaede was taken aback and asked in surprise, "You're sick too?"

"also?"

"Um... I used to stay in the hospital for a long time. Every day I could only see monotonous white rooms everywhere. Occasionally I could see a lot of people outside, but it was always very quiet..."

"It's like everyone dives into the water... well, I've heard that people who dive into the water can't hear anything."

"I'm not quite sure about that..."

The two unconsciously began discussing their illnesses. Makinohara Shoko seemed a little more relaxed, and smiled slightly, saying, "My parents work very hard, and there's not much I can do to help, so having a pet is out of the question. I can't take care of it, my parents are too busy, and a pet would feel lonely and helpless..."

“Yes…” Azusagawa Kaede couldn’t help but sigh, “So, the best encounter is perhaps not to meet in the first place.”

"Should we not meet...?"

Shoko Makinohara murmured, "Hmm... I don't think that's the case, is it? If I already have a pet, there would probably be various things that make it difficult to take good care of it, but happy things would definitely happen, otherwise why would I have a pet? Since there have been happy things, how can you say that the best thing is not to meet again?"

"This..." Azusagawa Kaede asked instinctively, "Won't this cause a lot of trouble?"

“But since it’s started, it must be for the sake of happiness, right?” Makinohara Shoko looked up at the cat on Azusagawa Kaede’s lap. “When Kaede and Nasuno first met, didn’t they also have a lot of troubles at the beginning? Even with sadness and worries, just seeing Nasuno at this moment makes you feel that meeting each other was the best thing.”

Azusagawa Kaede hesitated, looked down at the fat cat lying on her lap, and couldn't help but reach out and poke its ear.

With a gentle yet swift twitch of its ear, Nasuno let out a lazy, low meow, as if gently scolding—"What are you touching?"

"Hehe, when I first touched his ears, Nasuno would have run away immediately."

"Our relationship is already this good now."

Shoko Makinohara looked at the cat owners with a hint of envy.

"You should touch it too..."

Playing Ludo, petting the cat together, and occasionally watching TV and complaining, the voices of the two teenage girls echoed in the living room until Makinohara Shoko had to go home. Azusagawa Kaede reluctantly saw her off to the door, lingering on the door frame as she watched Makinohara Shoko walk into the elevator.

For a shut-in, simply peeking out the door is the limit!

Oh dear, Shoko is such a good kid, so logically speaking, it's quite normal for her brother to turn bad—hmm? Is this logic correct?

Question 3! Would a good child like Xiangzi lead her brother astray?

This isn't exactly a wrong path, is it? It's normal for good kids to be liked... and it's normal for the older brother to like them, right? But if Xiangzi becomes the sister-in-law—ugh! My brain, my brain can't process this, I can't imagine that scene at all. I feel like it's both acceptable and completely unacceptable...

Kaede Azusagawa was caught in a fierce struggle between duty and personal feelings, until her brain got stuck and she could no longer think straight.