Chapter 02
My Stepsister Wants Too Much to Get Married
Yes, my stepsister, Ichido Yufumi, looks exactly like my type.
Her silky, long blonde hair sometimes tied up in a ponytail—both styles suit her perfectly. Her facial features are sharp and well-defined. Her body is toned, and although it feels weird to use this word for a girl who’s supposed to be my sister, let’s just say her chest is well-developed, her waist is slim, and her height, while lower than mine, is still pretty tall for a girl. Of course, everyone has different tastes in style, but at least in Yufumi’s case, no one could deny she’s an absolute beauty. And everything about her appearance hits my preferences dead-on. Not only that, she’s cheerful and kind.
And yet, despite all that, when this stepsister of mine says, “I want to marry you,” I, as her brother, cannot possibly accept it. That’s what makes this situation so troublesome.
“Welcome home, Yufumi.”
“Dinner’s already ready, so just tell me whenever you want to eat!”
After saying that, she paused for a moment as if thinking, then shook her head and spoke again.
“Big Brother! Do you want dinner first? A bath first? Or—”
“Dinner.”
I answered simply. Yufumi then pressed her finger to her lips and said playfully:
“I see… then does that mean I’m last?”
“You’re not even one of the options.”
“Whaaat! But I’m going to be your wife in the future, so shouldn’t we be spending more quality time together soon?”
“There you go again… But fine. Actually, today I want to ask you a few things about that whole ‘future wife’ thing.”
“Eh!? Really!? Yay! I’ve thought a lot about it, so ask me anything!”
“Yeah, let’s talk while we eat dinner.”
Heading to the living room, Yufumi went to the kitchen to bring the meal.
…If she’s already calling herself my “future wife,” then there’s no way her talk about wanting to marry me has some different hidden meaning. Still, I’ll confirm the details. Once I’ve gathered enough information, I’ll talk with Kanzuku at school tomorrow and figure out some kind of countermeasure.
“Today it’s fish! Just in case anything happened to you, I made sure to remove all the bones!”
“Ah, thanks.”
She’s attentive to details like this and really cares for me. Normally, she’d be the perfect little sister… if it weren’t for this marriage obsession.
When we sat across from each other and began eating, I decided to ask her straight away about marriage.
“Yufumi, first I want to confirm something. You really did say you wanted to marry me, right?”
“Eh? Of course! I want to marry you!”
“…And that’s not some kind of game, or metaphor, or joke?”
“Nope. I mean the kind of marriage where a man and woman pledge themselves to each other. I want to spend my life with you, Big Brother.”
…Yeah, I figured as much, but hearing it confirmed still made me uneasy.
Alright then. I’ll try to persuade her to change her perspective.
“Yufumi, we’re siblings. Normal brothers and sisters don’t get married.”
“But we’re step siblings, not blood-related. So we’re not a ‘normal’ brother and sister. That means it’s fine for us to do whatever we want.”
With that, Yufumi happily popped a mouthful of rice into her mouth.
“So it’s really marriage you’re after, huh… But why bring this up only recently? At least last year you never said anything like that… More specifically, it’s only since I became a second-year in high school. Is there a reason for that timing?”
I voiced the question that had always nagged me, and Yufumi swallowed before replying:
“It’s not because you became a second-year, it’s because I became a high schooler. Back when I was in middle school, no matter what I said, you wouldn’t have taken me seriously. Even if I’d kept saying it after moving up, you’d still think of it as childish talk. So I decided: once I became a high schooler, that’s when I’d tell you properly.”
“Middle schooler or high schooler, it doesn’t change the fact you’re my sister, Yufumi.”
“Maybe so, but two high schoolers can do a lot more things together, don’t you think?”
Then Yufumi’s cheeks flushed red, her lips curling upward as though she were picturing something pleasant.
“For example—stuff like… naughty things.”
