My Little Sister is from the Fire Cult (1)
I'm seventeen years old. Out of nowhere, I suddenly have a little sister.
"Oppa! Oppa! Good!"
A two-year-old baby girl, with skin as white as her parents' and pretty eyes, smacks my cheek with her tiny, fern-like hands.
Smack~ Smack~
"Ow~ Ow~ Cut it out, cut it out. Uncle's hurting here."
She's not hitting me because she hates me—it's just that she's suddenly so excited she flails her arms wildly.
By the way, she's not actually my little sister. She's my older brother's daughter, my niece, Sima Hui.
As I hold my two-year-old niece in both arms, soothing her while taking the hits, a woman in her early twenties with pale skin, pretty eyebrows, and beautiful eyes—my sister-in-law, Geum Moran—rushes over and scoops up Huiya in a panic.
"Huiya!? I'm so sorry, Young Master!"
"It's fine. She's so small it doesn't even hurt."
I tickle Huiya's side with my finger as she nestles into her mother's arms, still smacking away.
"There, there~ Having fun with Uncle, huh?"
"Heehee~ Tickles~ Good~ Good~"
I smile at Huiya wriggling and giggling her little heart out, then check the time.
It's about that time.
The newest member of the Sima Family Manor. A new face I've never even seen. The girl who's going to be my little sister starting today is due to arrive at our house.
...Technically, she's my little uncle's daughter, so my cousin, and she's coming in as an adopted daughter. But whatever—an adopted kid counts. She's my little sister.
Clack-clack-clack.
I hobble around the house corner to corner, leaning on my staff, checking that the servants are doing their jobs properly.
I spot Jang Sambung bustling back and forth in the dining area.
"Jang Sam, food ready?"
"I prepared enough to break the table legs, just like you said, Young Master. But you think a little girl can eat all this?"
I waggle my finger at Jang Sam's doubts—her ingrained servant-service mindset.
"This isn't about whether she eats it all or not. It's to show her how much we've been looking forward to her coming. To welcome her. That's the point."
"Then what about the leftovers? It'll go to waste."
"What else? You guys eat it. Deliciously."
Jang Sam's eyes greedily scan the roast suckling pig. The other servants lick their lips at the greasy delicacies they rarely get.
"I hope the new young miss has a tiny stomach."
"Forget her stomach—she grew up on Western food. Who knows if Central Plains cuisine will suit her taste."
I frown a bit, worried, and Jang Sam playfully nudges me lightly with her elbow. Poke~ Poke~
"This is normally the family head's job, but you're handling everything from A to Z. Poor Young Master."
"Family business is my business, other people's too. Whoever's free does it. You guys pitch in a little more."
She's right—since she's coming in as an adopted daughter, even though she's a cousin, Father should really be leading the welcome. It looks better that way. The head of the house personally welcoming the new family member sets a warm, harmonious tone and emphasizes family unity.
But unfortunately, Father got tied up with sudden business, and my older brother, the eldest son, is bedridden with a high fever. Naturally, Mother and sister-in-law are busy nursing him and can't focus on welcoming anyone.
So, like pheasant or chicken, I'm preparing the welcome for the newest family member: Sima Yeomhwa.
...Though Yeomhwa (炎火)—fire characters twice over—is a pretty unique name, not that I can talk.
How much did Little Uncle love fire to cram three fire radicals into his only daughter's name?
Well, that's a story lost to time now. The man who named her is dead.
Suddenly, while doing trade business in the West, Little Uncle caught a plague and passed away. Word is, Yeomhwa's mother died not long after him.
Her home shattered overnight, orphaned... I feel bad even though I've never met the relatives.
Chirp~ Chirp~ Chirp chirp~ Chirp~
Birds twitter as warm sunlight pours down, contrasting the chilly air. Winter's passing, spring's coming.
Honestly, even with a sudden little sister, I don't really feel like family yet.
And I'm sure Yeomhwa, riding here in a carriage to the Sima Family Manor, feels the same.
For a while, it'll be this weird, awkward distance—like family but not quite—filling the house.
Even in my own comfortable home, I might have to watch my step.
Now there's a girl in the household. New rules might pop up, requiring new considerations. It'll be annoyingly inconvenient for sure.
Sometimes it'll piss me off, lead to arguments.
But what can you do? Family. Gotta endure.
Regardless of what we think, starting today, Yeomhwa's my little sister, and I'm her big brother.
Big brothers have to look out for and accommodate their little sisters. It's a losing role.
"Young Master, just in case, I prepared confetti. Should we toss it from both sides when the young miss arrives?"
I smack Jang Sam's head lightly with my staff at the basket full of neatly cut colored paper.
"Ugh?!"
"You wanna shower confetti on a girl who just came from her parents' funerals to celebrate?"
While we bustle with preparations, the carriage carrying Sima Yeomhwa pulls up in front of the manor.
I straighten my clothes and glance around.
No other family members besides me.
...Can't be helped with everyone's circumstances, but it looks bad.
Feeling a pang of regret, I scan the surroundings more, and spot Jang Sam next to me, legs trembling nervously.
"Stop shaking your legs, Jang Sam."
"I wasn't thinking much till now, but what if she's a super bitchy young miss?"
True—for me it's just gaining a little sister, but for the servants, it's one more person to serve. They're worried.
...Come to think of it, I don't know much about Yeomhwa either.
She's fifteen this year, half-Sogdian from her mother's side. That's it.
Just in case, I close my eyes and simulate a bitchy little sister.
"Hehe~♥ Loser♥ Can't even walk right without your~ cane~♥ Total cripple♥ Lame bro♥"
"The lame bro who goes ow~ ow~ without his cane? Yeomhwa will take care of you~♥"
"Hehe~♥ I can't wait~ Pathetic♥ How's it feel~ getting helped by a girl younger than you? Huh~? Tell me~♥"
Sip... A bratty little sister imouto might not be so bad?
While lost in this idiotic fantasy, the carriage door opens, and Sima Yeomhwa steps down gracefully.
And all my idiotic fantasies go blank.
More precisely, her unexpected beauty stuns me speechless, my mind going white.
Flawless smooth white skin, neatly groomed black hair, cute nose, pale pink lips, and captivating red eyes that dominate everything with a single glance.
Pretty face. Beautiful girl. Like a perfectly crafted porcelain doll.
At just fifteen, she exudes a strangely mature air, every movement elegant and refined.
I thought it was just some kid coming. Unexpected. Shocking.
But those red eyes... unique.
Albinism? Nah, hair's black, and no issues under sunlight.
Just genetics?
Scanning her for info, I notice a peculiar ornament among her jewelry: a golden figure of a human upper body on a bird's lower half with spread wings.
I remember seeing it before. In my past life.
That's not just decoration. It's a religious symbol.
Not from some book—glimpsed in a manga.
The name was...
"Zoroastrianism?"
Yeomhwa, who'd been quietly observing, widens her eyes in surprise. They go perfectly round. They light up.
As if her doll-like demeanor was a lie, she clasps her hands in prayer, eyes sparkling, and beams radiantly.
"Wow—you know Zoroastrianism! It really is the god religion!"
"...Pardon?"
She rushes right up, clasps my hands in hers, ignoring all the stares, and chatters in her lovely voice.
"You're Mancheon oppa, right? Central Plains folk usually call it the Fire Cult. How do you know the proper name, Zoroastrianism? Where'd you learn Western tongue? From Father—no, Uncle? Did Father tell you about me, oppa?"
...So many things I wanted to say.
Like, "Uwaaa~ I already go to church!"
Or "Don't use foreign words in murim!"
"This ain't wuxia!"
Plenty, but none came out.
Far from her homeland, alone in the distant Central Plains, meeting someone sharing her faith—those red eyes trembling with pure joy left me speechless.
In the end, I pulled out my ultimate move.
"Uh... let's talk slowly over food. Didn't know your tastes, so I prepared a bit of everything."