I Was Reincarnated as a Nameless Combatant in a Japanese-style Fantasy Depressive Erotic Game, but the Women Around Me Are All Dangerous, and I Have a Bad Feeling about It

could feel his consciousness being guided by his dull thoughts.
However, the hard work from morning till midnight, the painful reality that would never change no matter how long he endured, the anger and desire for the unreasonableness of this world that he knew because he knew his previous life, all of these factors were leading him to make an outrageous choice.

 

　(That's right.
If it's just one person…
if it's just one person…)

 

　Because it was his second life anyway, his second family after all, and because there were so many similar tragedies to be found in this world, the boy was gradually drawn to the choice.
And as the boy tries to make that decision, defeated by the weakness of his heart…

 

　”Brother?”

 

　The words were spun in a very poor, childish, familiar tone.

 

　Suddenly, the boy came to himself and turned around to see a sliding door open and a girl standing there with a sleepy look on her face.
A typical young girl from a poor farmer's family, probably not even ten years old, was staring at the boy, dressed in a second-hand cotton kimono.

 

　”Yuki…ne?”

　”Brother!”

 

　A young girl giggles when she makes eye contact with the boy.
Her name is Yukine.
She was born on a day when the snow piled up as deep as today, hence the name Yukine, from the sound of snow piling up.

 

　”…sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you.
Did I wake you up?”

 

　The boy apologizes in a small, half-disguised way, and the little girl comes running up to him, opening the sliding door.
Then she sits down on the floor in front of the hearth like a throne on top of the boy's legs.

 

　”It's cwold!”

 

　She sits on the boy's thighs and complains in a child's language.
The gesture reminded of a whimsical cat.
Then, she sits on the boy's feet and points her hand at the hearth in front of her to feel its warmth.

 

　”Nihihi, it's wamm!”

 

　She exclaims with a cheerful expression and then reaches for the bowl of porridge in the boy's hand.

 

　”Hmm? Hey! Yukine, what are you doing! You're making your brother cold! And don't take his food!!”

　”Ehh~!? N-no!!”

 

　The boy's mother notices the presence of her youngest daughter after she has finished making sandals.
She runs up to her youngest daughter and claps her hand on the bowl, pulling it away from the boy.
The little girl yells in response, grabbing the boy's cold clothes and holding on.

 

　”Seriously! What are you doing!? Ahh, you're stretching ■■'s clothes!?”

　”No! No~!!”

 

　A mother scolds her daughter's resistance, and the daughter resists.
The little girl grabs the boy's kimono tightly and doesn't let go.

 

　”Ow!? It hurts, it hurts…!? M-mom, it's okay.
She won't let go even if you do that…
and my kimono's going to get torn to shreds first.”

　”Seriously, this daughter of mine! You're always playing around…
but you're so perceptive! Just when your brother came home from work and was warming up, you interrupt him and even try to steal food from him!”

　”No, I was just trying to keep brother warm.”

　”Stop making excuses!”

 

　The little girl was half crying as she hugged the boy, and her mother spat sharp words of rebuke at her.
Then the little girl became even more unhappy and wiped her tears with the boy's clothes.
The boy pats her head with a troubled smile and helplessly offers his help.

 

　”Ah, it's okay…
Mom, I'm okay.
Right, Yukine? You were just trying to keep me warm, weren't you?”

　”Ummm……”

 

　The little girl finally nods her head in agreement, even though she is still crying.
And then, she looks at her mother with a stern gaze while shielding her brother, the boy, from her.

 

　”You've always been so sweet to your younger siblings.”

　”It can't be helped, they're still little.
They want to play.”

 

　Smiling at his mother's exasperation, the boy takes a scoop of porridge from the bowl in his hand and offers it to his little sister.

 

　”Here, just a little bit, okay? You're growing up, I'm gonna share some of mine with you.
Don't tell your other siblings, okay?”

 

　With this warning, the boy shares some of his dinners with his sister.
The boy understood that even though his parents were holding out as much as possible for their own food, it was still not enough to fill the growing stomachs of his younger siblings and that they were not mentally mature enough to endure it.
Therefore, he felt that it was inevitable for him as the eldest brother to give a little of his own food to his younger siblings.

 

　The little girl smiles at the boy's comment as if she were a flower blooming.
She takes a bite or two of the porridge with the spoon offered to her and looks truly happy.
Yes, she takes a mouthful or two of the porridge, which is too thin and poor.
For a boy who knows the world of satiated food, it seems too pathetic a sight.

 

　”Ihihihi, brother! Thanks!!”

 

　The little girl smiled at her brother after taking the third bite, with the remnants of her meal stuck to her mouth.
Her smile was pure, carefree, and full of genuine affection and friendliness.

 

　”……Ah.
You're welcome.”

 

　The boy was ashamed of himself during the moment of silence before he responded.
He realized how mean and vile his thoughts had been just a few moments before.
Yes, abandoning his sister, his family, to save himself…

 

　”Huh…?”

 

　As he was thinking about this, he suddenly felt a warmth in front of him.
It was his sister hugging him tightly.
She tilted her head upward and asked the boy who had been working outside in the cold until a little while ago.

 

　”Am I warm? Have you warmed up?”

　”…yes.
It's very warm.”

 

　When the boy replies gently, his sister giggles again, this time with a mischievous giggle.
The sight of the child in front of him, who probably loves him without a trace of doubt, makes the boy grit his teeth, wondering what her fate will be if he does not do something.
And he makes a choice.
He chooses that path.

 

　”…brother?”

 

　the little girl calls out, slightly uneasy at the disturbing presence of her brother.
The boy shows his sister a smile of endless tender affection and hugs her.
Kyaa! the younger sister gives a small but joyful scream.

 

　”That's right.
If things continue as they are, we'll all be in trouble, right?”

 

　So, he has to do something to protect her younger siblings as the eldest brother.
That's why…
that's why…

 

　And at that moment, Yukine did not notice that her brother's hands were shaking as he embraced her…