The Beginning of the Plan with Sister Mar

Even combing through Yune's memories, I couldn't find a single instance of the family sharing a warm meal together. I was always sick, hacking and wheezing in bed, and Mother often just had a simple sandwich in her office.

So having four of the five of us gathered at the dining table was remarkable... or at least, that was the sentiment as 'Yune.' For me, now far more the 'Ryu Si-u' persona, it wasn't particularly astonishing. It's just a family eating together. What's the big deal?

But my two sisters, having just returned home today, seemed incredibly tense, their expressions frozen stiff.

'Why are they like that? They're going to get indigestion.'

"Mother, say ahh~."

"...Mm. It's good."

While glancing at my sisters, I piled a heap of carrot purée onto a piece of steak and fed it to Mother.

Tip of the day: served alone, carrots make me a picky, useless son. Put them on top of steak, and I become a filial son who graciously offers the best part to his mother.

Seeing the corner of her mouth lift by about 0.05mm, Mother seemed satisfied with the taste as well.

But this made my sisters' expressions stiffen even more. Especially my second sister, Mar, who was staring with eyes as wide as lanterns.

"Mar, what's wrong?"

"...Nothing. Little brother."

"Really? ...You too, say ahh~."

"Huh, me?"

"Ahh~."

Wondering if she was angling to be fed too, I stretched out my fork. My sister's pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit, and she slowly brought her mouth to the fork.

And then...

"How is it? Good, right?"

"...Yeah. Thanks."

My fork went in and quickly came back out. Perhaps because the steak was delicious, her expression relaxed considerably.

"I just don't know anymore...."

"Hm? Know what?"

"Nothing. Let's finish our meal."

We continued eating after that. It did prick at my conscience a little that Albert kept glancing at me as if asking why she wasn't getting any... but the carrot purée was all gone. I didn't have any more steak to give her.

Throughout the meal, I chatted with Mar.

"So, Mar, what did you graduate early for at the Academy? Albert said she wrote a thesis."

"Me? When Albert was graduating, I just went straight to a professor and begged her to let me graduate too. She said, 'Beat me in a sword duel and I'll let you graduate immediately!', ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so I challenged her and won."

"You beat a professor? Was she a bad fighter?"

"Not a chance. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a Sword Master."

"A Sword Master?! How on earth did you win?"

My sister had beaten a Sword Master in a duel. I stared at her, eyebrows raised in shock. No, from Yune's memories, there are only about ten active Sword Masters in the Empire. And she defeated one of them?

I wanted to hear a more detailed story, but...

"Yunes, Margarete. Refrain from excessive chatter during the meal."

"...Yes, Head of House."

"Tsk."

Since Mother shot us a scolding look, I decided to postpone the story for later.

* * * * * *

After the meal. While I wanted to find Mar immediately to hear the details, a more pressing issue had come up, so I headed to the kitchen first.

The head chef looked down at me with a puzzled expression.

"Young Master Yune? What brings you to the kitchen...."

"Leave the carrots out of my food from now on!"

"...Pardon?"

"Anyway, just leave them out!"

And just like that, I got straight to the point.

Mark of a Manly Man: Stating one's demands boldly.

"That will be difficult, young master."

"Ah, whyyy!"

"Grand Duchess Erengard has given strict instructions. That only healthy meals, with a specific ratio of meat to vegetables, are to be served on the Nordkirchen household table."

"Omitting the carrots is fine, isn't it? If it's an issue, you could just swap in a different vegetable..."

"My apologies, young master."

...And mark of a head chef: Not listening to a manly man's demands.

I glared at the chef, who was using Mother's authority to stonewall my request. Perhaps overwhelmed by my glare, she offered me a glass of milk and some cookies.

"You think this will make me forgive... oh? This smells great."

"I baked them especially for you, young master."

"Mmph... Wow. This is really good! Thank you!"

"Pfft. How adorable."

Since I found them quite pleasing, I took the plate of cookies and the milk and headed back out. ...I thought I heard the head chef muttering something behind me, but it was probably nothing.

* * * * * *

With my spoils in hand, I marched confidently toward Mar's room. A plate of cookies in one hand, a glass of milk in the other.

I quickly arrived at my sister's door. With both hands full, I hesitated for a moment, then—

"Sis~!"

—I pushed the door open with my shoulder and barged right in.

And then.

"...Oh? Little brother?"

"...!!!"

I walked in on my sister in the middle of changing her clothes.

I stood frozen, my body locked up, as the door swung shut on its own from the draft.

-Creeeeak, thud.

"Just a second, I'll get dressed quickly."

And she started changing right in front of me, with total confidence. As if I wasn't even worth noticing.

"S-Sis. Aren't you embarrassed? I'm watching."

"Hm? What, these? It's just my chest."

'Right, this is that reversed world.'

I was belatedly reminded that this place was a reverse gender-role world. Still, it didn't feel right to stare blatantly while my sister changed, so I squeezed my eyes shut and looked down.

-Swish, rustle. Slip.

After a few more moments of fabric sounds.

"All done... what's this? Pfft. Little brother, your face is bright red?"

"Ugh...."

Only then did I crack my eyes open and look ahead.

My sister had changed into a light indoor dress. A playful smile lingered on her lips, like she'd found an amusing toy.

"Aww, my widdle brother. Was this your first time seeing a woman's chest?"

"O-Of course it was...."

"Pfft, he's truly so innocent. Getting flustered over something like a woman's chest."

She giggled and teased me. ...No matter how reversed this world is, she feels absolutely nothing from showing a man her chest? Unbelievable. I'm this embarrassed. This is so unfair!

As I internally lamented the women of this world and their bizarre lack of resistance to exposure,

I tried to calm my shocked heart. I nommed on a cookie and then chugged the milk.

-Munch, munch. Gulp, gulp.

"Whew~. That hits the spot."

"Heh. You've got a milk mustache, little brother."

"Huh?"

"Hold still."

Seeing that, she chuckled, then fetched a handkerchief and gently wiped the corner of my mouth.

Only after she'd wiped all the milk from my lips onto the handkerchief did she lift me up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and settle me onto the bed.

"So anyway. Why did my little brother come looking for his big sister?"

"Right, sis! Tell me the story about how you beat that Sword Master!"

"Oh, you were curious about what we were talking about at the table? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Okay. Sit tight."

My sister plopped down next to me and started recounting what had happened at the Academy.

The story of how she had defeated a professor who retired from her post as Imperial Palace Knight Commander to teach at the Academy, and how she later received a recruitment offer from the Imperial Palace Knights, and so on.

"Well, I turned it down since I'll be taking charge of our territory's knight order. It was a bit of a shame, though."

"Wow, an invitation to join the Imperial Palace Knights is a huge deal, isn't it? You should've just closed your eyes and gone for a short stint."

"Do you think you can just join a knight order for a little while and leave? Besides, I'm the second daughter of Nordkirchen. I have to do my duty."

"Duty...?"

"Yes. The duty to protect our territory, and by extension, the Empire."

After that, she thumped her chest and looked proud. ...That stung a little. Here I was, her younger brother, already planning to run away the moment I graduate from the Academy.

"Anyway, I'll be resting in the territory for about a year, polishing my swordsmanship. So I'll play with you a ton, to make up for all the times I couldn't because you were sick."

"Okay!"

"Oh, right. Little brother, have you ever thought about learning the sword? Something thin like a rapier... you could probably lift it with your strength."

"Ack... I'm going to be a mage, so you can keep the swordsmanship."

"Tch. Guess it can't be helped since you're a boy."

She'd briefly extended a tempting hand to pull me into the world of the sword, but she quickly gave up after my manly and firm refusal.

Afterward, we shared the cookies and chatted about this and that. Was there anywhere I wanted to go for fun? She happened to know a good place, and so on.

We'd been chatting for a while when my sister, who had been watching my expression, casually tossed out a remark.

"Right. About the Head of House, when did she become like that?"

"Hm? What do you mean, when?"

"No... you know, little brother. The Head of House is incredibly strict. But in the year and a half I've been away from the territory, she's gotten so much softer."

"Has she? She seems completely unchanged to me."

"Haa... you're impossible."

At my answer, she let out a deep sigh and ruffled her hair.

...The reason she's sighing like that is probably because Mother feels unfamiliar to her.

But Mother hadn't changed at all from a year ago to now. Her impression might have softened a little, but her inner self was exactly the same. She was always thinking of her family, whether they knew it or not. She was just terrible at expressing it with words.

My sisters might not have realized it because they were slow on the uptake, but I could see it thanks to 'Ryu Si-u,' whose sense for reading people was honed in the orphanage. That Mother is actually an incredibly kind person.

And as I thought about Mother and my sisters, a tightness started building in my chest.

That children would shun and fear their own mother. That they couldn't even call her 'Mother' and had to use a cold, formal title like 'Head of House.'

'...That's just not right.'

Because Ryu Si-u had never once felt the warmth of a family. Because he yearned for the existence of a family. The current relationship between my sisters and Mother was nowhere near the happy, harmonious home Ryu Si-u had always dreamed about.

And so, I began to formulate a plan in my mind. A plan to improve the relationship between my sisters and our mother.

Some might ask, 'Why do you care so much about a house you'll leave anyway?' but...

Mark of a Manly Man: He takes care of his family fiercely.

"Anyway, sis. Hey...."

"What is it, little brother?"

"Could you and Albert take me somewhere tomorrow? Outside."

"With Albert? Where do you want to go?"

——a dungeon.