I Was Reincarnated As The Older Brother Of A Villainess Destined to Die, So I Want To Change The Future By Raising My Younger Sister With My Own Hands. I Am The Strongest In The World, But My Little Sister Must Be The Cutest In The World - Volume 4 Chapter 2.8
I’m sure you had a question in mind. If I had been keeping surveillance within the school, why didn’t Nina go to see her sister?
I didn’t withhold that information from her. In fact, I promptly informed her about her sister’s whereabouts, even a week before the start of the school.
But back then, Nina responded like this:
“Unless she comes to see me, I have no intention of showing my face.”
She continued by explaining that her sister had a tendency to become overly dependent on others. She analyzed that when subjected to a certain level of stress, she couldn’t help but seek someone to lean on.
During the time when Nina was still a noble, she clung to Nina because she didn’t have excessive expectations of her, unlike the adults around her. It seems that Lina exhibited such a strong level of dependency at that time.
I strangely found myself accepting Nina’s explanation. After all, Lina’s behavior in the original game was a prime example of high dependency.
The ending “Blood Purge,” where she annihilated the nobles, could be considered as such. If the cause of her vengeful madness was her “dependency on her older sister,” then it would make sense why she displayed such intense anger. She also heavily relied on her second source of dependency, her lover Yudai.
“It wouldn’t be good for both me and Lina to meet. Since I’m overwhelmingly stronger, Lina will probably rely on me completely. I can’t just dismiss my long-lost sister. It’s evident that our lives would fall into chaos.”
Nina was right. In the game, both Yudai and Lina had similar levels of strength, so they spurred each other on and grew together.
However, the Hanewes sisters are an exception to that. Due to my guidance, the older sister has become overwhelmingly stronger. If Lina truly possesses the dependency tendencies that I’ve heard, it would undoubtedly lead to her relying completely on her sister.
“What if you were to meet? Most likely, she would want to live together,” I asked.
Nina fell into a brief silence in response to my question.
Then, she spoke up right away.
“I refuse. The paths of Lina and I have already diverged. They will never intersect. I may help her when she’s in trouble, but I have no intention of getting involved more than necessary.”
Her words were unwavering, and there was no hint of hesitation in her gaze.
I expressed my concern and asked again, “Are you sure?”
Nina readily affirmed, “Yes, I’m sure. My place is in Foranada. I can’t leave now, and I don’t want to leave.”
“Can you accept Lina into your life?”
I didn’t want to invite a potential landmine of a heroine, but if it was Nina’s wish, I was willing to make arrangements. If it was a family member’s desire, I wanted to fulfill it.
However, as I expected, Nina shook her head.
“Lina would definitely cause trouble for you and the others. I can’t stand that.”
She firmly asserted her position. Perhaps because she had spent her childhood with her real younger sister, predicting Lina’s actions seemed easy for her.
“And besides… it may sound heartless, but Zex and the others are more important to me than my real sister. You saved and trained me from the depths, Caron and the others became my friends and supported me, and the people of Foranada accepted me as an outsider. I want to cherish everyone like that.”
As I looked into her sincere gaze, I understood.
For her, the Hanewes family was already a thing of the past. Given that she never had any particular attachment to it, it seemed that she had no sentimental feelings whatsoever. Although there might be some lingering affection for her only sister with whom she had a good relationship, she had realized that the other side was merely a source of stress relief.
It may sound complicated, but she valued the present more than the past. She wanted to prioritize the warm and meaningful time we shared together. It was as simple as that.
And now, the feared situation has finally arrived. After meeting her long-lost sister Lina, she expressed her desire to live together as they used to.
Well, I was surprised that Nina had already severed ties with the past. It was an immediate response. I think I could have shown a bit more hesitation, considering Lina’s position.
At first, Lina was in a state of shock, but gradually she began to understand the implications of her sister’s words. Her eyes widened to the point where it seemed like her eyeballs might pop out, and she started trembling as if exhibiting withdrawal symptoms.
“What are you talking about, Big Sister?”
“I said we can’t live together.”
Lina couldn’t accept the truth and asked again, but Nina showed no mercy. Once again, she responded immediately.
Undeterred, Lina shouted, “Why? After finally being able to live together as a family! If Big Sister is safe, maybe we can find Mom and Dad too! This could finally… finally fulfill our dream of being a happy family! Why are you denying it, Big Sister?”
She shouted somewhat hysterically.
It may be insensitive, but seeing Lina like this reassured me, thinking, “Ah, she’s a heroine from a game.” Her emotionally unstable nature left quite an impression.
Even in the face of her younger sister’s anguished words, Nina remained unfazed. Her emotions didn’t waver in the slightest.
“I never desired such a dream. Those people, our father and mother, they may have been blood relatives, but they were not family.”
The cruel reality is that blood ties don’t necessarily equate to family bonds.
However, Lina couldn’t see that reality. She deluded herself into thinking that they were all a family. Therefore, her older sister’s words were far from forgivable.
“Why are you saying such terrible things? Dad and Mom and the others, everyone was kind!”
…
It was an insensitive remark from a blind girl. From Nina’s perspective, someone who had been treated poorly, it must have been an unforgivable statement.
Indeed, Nina, who is usually expressionless, visibly furrowed her brows. She slightly bit her lip, and her emotions seemed to sway ever so slightly.
But Nina held her composure. She knows. Acting on temporary emotions often doesn’t yield favorable results.
She lowered her head slightly and let out a slow breath.
“Say something, Big Sister!!!”
Impatient with Nina’s silence, Lina forcefully demanded an answer.
Being denied her dream by her own sister was clearly something she couldn’t accept. Her demeanor was on the verge of striking out.
Nina raises her gaze, her eyes fixed on Lina, causing Lina to be slightly unsettled. Lina’s overly innocent eyes seem to intimidate her younger sister.
While looking at Lina, Nina speaks.
“I have another important family. That’s why I can’t live with you. But if you ever have any problems, you can rely on me.”
Silence follows, as Nina shows no sign of giving in. Understanding this, Lina grinds her teeth in frustration.
And then, she bursts out in resentment.
“Another family… you mean that noble family?”
“Yes, the people of Forlanada.”
“I can’t trust nobles!”
Lina shouts vehemently at Nina’s confirmation. Anger, envy, and hatred are all present in her voice.
“Nobles betray others without hesitation. They easily kill those they were shaking hands with just yesterday. They kill defenseless people like insects. They don’t care about others’ circumstances. They’re parasites who exploit someone else’s happiness just to survive!”
It seems that Lina has accumulated considerable hatred over the past nine years. Her eyes, as she spews out her words, are clouded and filled with a sticky substance like muddy brown.
“Open your eyes, Big Sister! They only want to use you, the Rank A adventurer.”
“I promised I won’t let them use me.”
“Nobles won’t keep their promises, will they?”
“The people of Forlanada are different.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because they’re my family.”
“What!?”
Nina remains completely unfazed. Not only that, but by cutting off Lina’s arguments with her decisive words, she stifles any further rebuttals.
Lina’s mouth opens and closes in bewilderment, but she doesn’t utter another word. Eventually, she falls silent, her face turning bright red as she trembles.
After a while, she murmurs softly.
“…I can’t forgive it.”
“Huh?”
It was too quiet for Nina and me to fully grasp.
Unconcerned with our presence, Lina continues muttering to herself.
“I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it, I can’t forgive it…”
It was no longer a curse. It didn’t escalate to the level of a curse, but it was more than enough to induce fear. Even Nina was visibly repulsed.
“L-Lina—”
Nina tries to call out to her in a concerned tone, but she doesn’t manage to finish her sentence. Before that, Lina runs out of the classroom, leaving.
The two of us left behind can only stare in astonishment at her retreating figure.
“I’m sorry. Looks like things are going to be troublesome.”
After a while, Nina lowers her head and approaches me.
I let out a wry smile and lightly stroke her bowed head.
“Don’t worry about it. She probably strongly denied the dependence she felt towards herself on purpose, to try to get rid of it, right?”