Ch.404IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (101)

Shall I be honest?

Lately, I’ve developed a small complaint.

Well, it feels a bit strange for me to say this. Since I remember my past life, I’m not really what you’d call “my age.”

My mental age is probably much higher than even Koko’s, who might have been born a few years before me.

But still.

You know how they say when a sibling suddenly appears, the firstborn becomes jealous?

Yes, I know. It’s incredibly embarrassing for me to admit. But what can I do? That’s genuinely how I feel.

What’s more, I’m the one who brought Koko home, and I’m the one who named her. Everyone already calls her Koko without hesitation. For me, what was meant to be a temporary name has somehow become what even her mother Kagami calls her.

So, me being jealous of Koko is indeed strange.

“Wow!”

But still, watching someone who looks exactly like me playing on Kagami’s lap makes me feel a bit odd.

Koko is honest. Honest in a way that makes people around her feel good. Plus, she shows interest in everything people do, to the point where you’d wonder if there’s anything she dislikes.

She eats whatever food she’s given without being picky, wears whatever clothes she’s given. She’s gradually learning how to bathe herself.

So I understand why Kagami adores her like that. I’m at an age where sitting on mom’s lap is a bit… you know.

Well, by that logic, Koko is at that age too, but.

“…”

Still, I can’t help feeling a twinge of something in my heart.

They say we were a family of three including dad, but strictly speaking, while dad was our guardian, he never really gave the impression of being Kagami’s husband or my biological father. Dad himself drew that line quite clearly.

Because he has his real family.

That’s not to say we weren’t close. Dad would sometimes pat my head lightly or pat Kagami’s back, and we would occasionally slap his arm when he was being too harsh with Souta.

But me climbing onto dad’s lap to play was… a bit awkward.

So, for me, the only family member who would always hug me tight and sleep next to me in the same room was Kagami. And conversely, for Kagami, it was only me.

Now, Koko is with us.

Koko doesn’t seem to mind hugging others. She even hugged dad sometimes, which made him extremely flustered.

I don’t hate her. She’s not the kind of child one could hate.

But still, I do feel a bit jealous.

“Kotone?”

Noticing that I was staring, Koko called out to me.

Then she suddenly got up from mom’s lap and ran over to me sitting at the table.

And she hugged me tightly, almost pouncing on me.

“Kotone!”

This is truly puzzling. Well, it’s her puzzling nature that makes her cute.

We both fell to the floor with a thud. Koko hugged me tightly with her arms and exclaimed,

“Kotone, like!”

Koko has been overusing the word “like” since she learned it. It’s fine when she uses it with Shii, but she once used it with Souta and received a glare from Shii. Though Koko seemed to have the attitude of “I just said it because I like him, what’s the problem?”

Koko’s word acquisition ability is impressive.

No, not just words. Koko hasn’t had much trouble absorbing knowledge in general. I’m not sure why yet.

In this world, there’s no [Tokyo Slayers] that I used to read, no [Lovecraft] either. There are similar cosmic horror stories, but none of the terms I knew back then like Cthulhu or Eldritch. Indeed, while there are similarities, the details are very different.

So, perhaps Lovecraftian monsters might directly appear in this world. Even if their names are a bit different.

In the Cthulhu mythos, if you think of a slime, there’s one that comes to mind: Shoggoth.

It’s not cute like it’s often depicted in RPGs; true to the Cthulhu mythos, it’s described as a horrifying creature. If I remember correctly, it was an intelligent being that could absorb someone and retain their memories.

If the author based Koko on that, it would explain why she’s a bit smart.

“Yes, yes.”

Anyway.

Hearing Koko overuse that word “like” with me too, I got up from my seat again. Koko pressed her face against my chest, hugged me tightly once more, and then let go.

Then, immediately turning her attention elsewhere, she exclaimed,

“Snacks like too!”

And with that, she started munching on the snacks that were on the table.

She’s like a child eager to use a newly learned word.

Well, she’s a child who lived a life where she barely knew the concept of “liking” something.

I wanted her to understand the word “happiness” someday.

…Right, what jealousy?

If anything, Koko had a much harder life than I did. Isn’t it a good thing that she’s now able to live so brightly?

But still.

I slowly walked over to Kagami.

As I stood in front of Kagami with a determined expression, Kagami looked at me with wide eyes.

I took a deep breath, turned my back to Kagami, and sat down on her lap with a thud.

“Kotone!?”

Kagami exclaimed in surprise.

But soon, Kagami hugged me tightly from behind as if she would never let go. I felt a warm and soft sensation against my back.

Perhaps even more strongly than when Koko hugged me earlier, Kagami embraced me.

My heart feels a bit lighter.

I never thought that just because Kagami had another daughter, she would treat her daughters differently.

Kagami is always Kagami. My mom.

I stayed in Kagami’s embrace for quite a while.

In truth, I didn’t really try to break free either.

*

At least the house has become brighter.

From a systematic perspective, there are quite a few issues to resolve regarding Koko.

First of all, having another daughter who is relatively normal… well, I have some doubts about using that term fully, but anyway, having another daughter similar to me who doesn’t attend school looks extremely suspicious.

Neither Kagami nor I intend to keep Koko confined to the house.

Both of us have been taking Koko outside whenever we have time, showing her various sights and how society is structured. Koko seems to be gradually understanding to some extent.

Both of us carry a burden in our hearts, even if we don’t directly speak about it.

Kagami’s burden is the feeling that she abandoned Koko. Mine is the feeling that I was the cause of Koko being left alone.

Perhaps, if Kagami had stayed there, would she have discovered Koko’s identity? If she had met Koko in that nose state, like I did.

I know it’s already in the past and there’s not much point in discussing it, but it’s a bit hard not to think about it.

“I’ve already taken care of the school matter to some extent.”

But when Kagami gathered the two of us and dad in the living room on the weekend and said that, I was a bit surprised.

“I’ve talked with Mr. Miura.”

Ah, I see.

We are, after all, under government protection to some extent.

I was a bit skeptical since the government was deceived into leading me to that place, but it’s also true that we couldn’t live properly without their help.

Especially when it comes to these institutional matters. If Koko, who until now was a non-existent person, suddenly appeared out of thin air at the same age as me, trying to register her as a resident and get her into school would probably be a massive headache.

I wonder if Yuka could have helped if I had asked her.

…Though even Yuka ended up under the government’s wing.

“Kotone.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think you can take Koko to school? Not starting tomorrow, but I’ll prepare things over time.”

The second semester is already coming to an end. It’s a bit awkward to start school at this point.

Maybe Kagami is planning for Koko to enter school in the second year.

“Yes, I can.”

It’s only natural.

I brought her here. I didn’t bring her without any thought, with the intention of abandoning her.

As sisters in this life, I intend to do my best for Koko.

…I don’t plan to lose her, like in my past life.

“Then, big sis—”

“Ah, mom.”

Seeing me whine, Kagami gave a bitter smile.

“Please take care of Koko. …I should have been more helpful.”

No matter what, a mother can’t escort a middle school student to school every time.

As I nodded inwardly, Koko looked at me, tilting her head in confusion.