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 9.2

After finishing the meeting with Weimley, I returned to my separate residence using the phase-connecting gate. However, for some reason, Nina was lying on my bed.

It seemed like she was awake, as she sensed my presence and sat up.

“Welcome back,” she greeted.

“I’m back,” I replied.

As we exchanged greetings, Nina got up from the bed and walked towards me.

I wondered what could have happened.

Internally, I tilted my head and asked, “What’s wrong, and why are you in my room? Do you have something to tell me?”

“Yeah. There’s something I really need to tell you,” Nina answered with a serious expression. Her eyes locked onto mine, displaying an unusual intensity.

It seemed like an important matter. I had no idea what it could be, but it was better to listen without teasing her.

“Would you like me to make some tea?”

“No, it won’t take long,” she replied.

It must be something urgent if she didn’t want to waste time with tea. I still found it difficult to read Nina’s emotions.

Standing before me, Nina began to speak slowly.

“I’ve been helped by Zex for a long time. They picked me up from being a slave, trained me to survive no matter what, provided for my livelihood, gave me a warm place to stay, and welcomed me as part of their family. I’ve received so much from them. And finally, I think I could even change my fate… I don’t know if my fate has truly changed, but at the very least, the people who used to hunt me down are gone. It’s all thanks to Zex. I’m grateful.”

It seemed like Nina wanted to express her gratitude for everything that had happened so far. Perhaps, now that she had overcome the threat to her life, she felt the need to voice her appreciation.

I was about to respond with something like, “You don’t need to worry about it. It’s the result of your hard work,” but Nina’s story was not yet finished. She lowered her head slightly and continued speaking.

“I’ve been thinking about something for a while. What I should do after overcoming Zex’s so-called fate of death.”

“Ah,” I let out an empathetic response.

I understood what she meant, as I too had been striving towards the goal of protecting Karon from the fate of death. She must have been listing things she wanted to do after putting in so much effort to achieve her goal, to ensure she wouldn’t burn out once it was accomplished. In my case, it included giving a response to Shion, which I had been postponing.

Now, by bringing up this topic, it seemed that Nina’s “things she wanted to do” were somehow related to me.

“If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll cooperate in any way,” I said with a nod, showing both empathy and the happiness of finally seeing my disciple liberated from the grip of fate. It might be a bit presumptuous, but I wanted to help with whatever was important to my dear disciple.

Upon hearing that, Nina smiled meaningfully.

Uh-oh, did I make a mistake?

I didn’t expect her to make an outrageous request, but I had a nagging feeling that something was amiss.

And that intuition turned out to be correct.

In a matter-of-fact tone, Nina said, “After graduation, I want you to marry me.”

“Marriage?”

“Yeah, marriage,” she affirmed, not giving any room for misinterpretation.

Hold on a minute, this was so sudden that I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

I extended a hand towards Nina and asked for some time to gather my thoughts. Fortunately, she didn’t rush me.

…Putting the pieces together, one of Nina’s “things she wanted to do” was probably getting married, and she had chosen me as her partner.

Well, it made sense. Despite not wanting to sound conceited, I had spent a long time with Nina, cooperated on adventures, and felt her affection for me. It was less surprising than Shion or Marina’s confessions.

However, a sudden marriage proposal was truly astonishing. Don’t people usually go through a few more steps? Like confessing their love or asking to be in a relationship first? This felt like skipping several chapters.

But considering she was framing it as a post-graduation event, it seemed she had taken my situation into account. It was calculated or something… I don’t know how to put it.

While feeling a mix of amazement, I asked, “Why marriage?”

“Because I love Zex,” she replied straightforwardly.

Wow, that was blunt. Nina, being as pure as she was, didn’t seem to know the concept of hiding behind embarrassment. Hearing that made me feel bashful.

“Of course, I won’t push Minerva aside, and I won’t disregard Shion either. I just want to secure a spot as Zex’s bride,” she added, still in her matter-of-fact tone.

“I see,” I said.

Her straightforward expressions of affection were like a series of straight punches. Her calm delivery made them all the more impactful.

Actually, now that I looked closely, Nina seemed to be bottling up some pretty strong feelings of love. The fact that she could hide this level of passion deep inside without showing it off impressed me even more.

To be honest, I had feelings for Nina as well, just as much as I did for Shion and Minerva.

However, I thought it would be rather unfair to accept Nina’s proposal while I was still keeping Shion waiting. At the same time, avoiding the question here would also be dishonest.

So, I decided to take a third option.

Nina looked at me with hopeful eyes, probably confident in her acceptance.

It was difficult to disappoint her expectations, but I had no choice.

“Nina, can you close your eyes for a moment?” I asked.

“Huh? Sure,” Nina obediently closed her eyes.

While her vision was obscured, I quietly moved closer. Then, I gently placed my lips on her forehead.

“Huh?” Nina’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at me.

I lowered my head and apologized, “I’m sorry. There are some circumstances, and I can’t give you an immediate answer. Please bear with me for now.”

There was no response from Nina.

I had intended the kiss to signify my willingness to accept her proposal, but it seemed a bit irresponsible in hindsight.

Such thoughts crossed my mind briefly, but the next moment, Nina clung to me.

She buried her face in my chest and said, “I’m sorry. I was being mean.”

“Mean?”

“I knew that Zex was putting Shion’s confession on hold.”

“I see,” I understood.

She must have expected that I wouldn’t be able to answer, so she tried to shake me up. It was indeed a bit mean, but also quite adorable.

“I just wanted to see the flustered Zex, but I got an unexpected response,” Nina said.

“Did you dislike it?” I asked.

“Of course not. I’m happy, so I’m flustered. You playboy,” she teased.

“A playboy…” That was quite an ignominious title. Well, I couldn’t deny it when several women were showing interest in me.

Nina held onto me and then lifted her face.

“Since you gave me a happy response, I’ll allow you to put my proposal on hold. But you have to accept it eventually. No going back on your word,” she said firmly.

“I understand,” I replied.

“Good,” she said with a satisfied smile.

I smiled back at her.

Just being able to share a laugh like this made all the effort we put into overcoming the fate of death feel worthwhile.

Thanks to Nina, I had proven that the fate of death was not absolute.

Next was Karon’s turn. It was still two years away, but I would face it with all my heart. I would work even harder so that the entire family could graduate with smiles on their faces.