"Onii-chan!"
"Yuki!"
Reuniting with my sister is always a special moment.
"Happy birthday, Yuki! Although it's not today, I hope you'll be satisfied with this since I can't be here for your real birthday. You'll have to settle for this. Also, you have no idea what special present I have for you."
"Oh, I can't wait!"
Indeed, we don't see each other too often, with me living in Kyoto and her in Tokyo. This distance makes our reunions even more important. The emotion was amplified since it had been a while since her last birthday — my work, college, and hidden commitments had kept me occupied.
"Well, first of all, here's a little something. It's the least special present."
I handed her a small box, and when she opened it, she gasped in recognition.
"This... this is the Lord of the Mysteries Tarot Card set, the first release!"
Yuki admired the box for a moment until she froze at the sight of something unusual in the bottom-right corner.
"Furthermore, it's signed by Mysteries of Beyond-sensei! How did you get this?"
I just smiled and stayed quiet while Yuki fangirled over my identity, one I hadn't revealed to her yet.
"Oh, I knew how much you liked the series, and since I could, I thought, 'Why not?' Here I am with the most famous collector's item."
She looked at me as if I had grown a second head, her voice rising with excitement.
"Collector! COLLECTOR!?! Do you know how rare this is? How much does it cost? Because I do! There are only ten official copies, of which only one has been sold for more than 1,150,000 yen! And none of them were signed by Japan's current most famous author!"
I smiled and responded with another question.
"True, but you missed the other important part. Open the box and look inside."
Yuki gulped and opened the box, carefully taking out the tarot cards that were wrapped in plastic, as if they were fragile treasures that could break easily. But her best reaction came when she read my message:
'To my most cherished sister, Yuki.'
-Mysteries of Beyond'
She just gaped, unable to comprehend the meaning of those words until I snapped her out of it.
"Earth to Yuki! Is anyone home?"
She slumped down, as if all her energy had been sapped away.
"...So, you are the most famous author nowadays."
"Yes."
"All those artworks?"
"Mine."
"And even the products?"
"Also mine."
Then she got serious and asked another question.
"Did you sell yourself to a new company just because you needed money? The text, full of 'I'm submerged in work,' was about you joining the new anime-related company. Indeed, it's slowly gaining traction in the entertainment industry, but you could have gone with Shueisha for a better contract. I'm sure with your reputation, you could leverage more benefits than with Re-Logic."
I maintained my demeanor of knowing more than her as I stirred my coffee, then looked at her.
"I know Shueisha would have prepared a great contract for me, but there's something important you don't know."
"Is it as important as actually finishing college, obtaining your degree, or even more significant than that?"
"Yes. Dear Imouto, a lot happened while we were apart. Can you guess why I did what I did?"
Yuki started thinking, probably trying to organize her thoughts and remember our past conversations. Sure, I had never told her about my career as a novelist or other work-related matters, but I had dropped hints here and there. Most of the time, I had expressed my displeasure about my new job.
She opened her eyes, clearly concluding.
"You told me the only reason you bothered with college wasn't just for the degree itself but for the connections you could make. You entered a partnership with Re-Logic because the founder is one of your colleagues!"
"You're about 90% correct. Yes, I know the founder of Re-Logic and made more connections at the University of Kyoto than I hoped for, but you're missing one small detail... I know the founder of Re-Logic because I am the founder of Re-Logic."
"What? But… you aren't even 16 years old yet! How did you do it?"
"Legal stuff. So much legal stuff that even the fact you know about me is enough to end your future career in Japan."
Although I was also bound by those same rules.
Yuki smiled. Her smile expressed both respect and a hint of self-esteem issues. She loves me, that much is true, but she is — and if I'm right, still is — suffering from comparisons with me.
"I always knew you were good, but I never would have imagined it was by this much... Sasuga Onii-chan..."
I needed to change the subject and steer her thoughts in a different direction, and I had the perfect topic in mind.
"Do you know the funniest part? This isn't the most important surprise. But before I continue, are you aware of the supernatural world?"
"...I imagined you knew about that. Yes, since our family is powerful, we know about the supernatural world, although we don't have any influence over it. The only thing I, along with the maternal side of our family, know is that about 200 years ago, we became wealthy, and as we entered the political field, we learned about the supernatural situation in Japan. Now, we know that in Japan, there are the Shinto gods of Takamagahara, the Youkai of Tokyo and Kyoto, and the Five Principal Clans. Apart from their existence, we don't know anything else."
They knew less than I had thought. Although this lack of information might be because the family member I suspect knew more about it is my father, who was once the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since he is divorced, it's unlikely that he shared such information with them.
I ignored Yuki, who was lamenting that she could have become a famous wizard or something if she had been born in Europe, and continued our discussion.
I kept joking with her as we left the cafe—the same one we visited for her birthday—and walked to a nearby empty park to share fun and strange facts about Kyoto's youkai.
After sensing no responses from humans or similar creatures using [Mana Sense] and [Lifeforce Sense], I proceeded with my objective for the day.
"Do you remember our promise from ten years ago? The one we made when I went with Dad, and you stayed with Mom?"
"Of course. How could I forget? I was bedridden with asthma while our parents were divorcing... I also remember that the promise wasn't for 'ten years later' but 'when we were both ten years old.' When you didn't tell me anything, I thought it was just something you made up to stop me from crying..."
A sad, nostalgic aura surrounded her, likely reminding her of her less-than-fortunate childhood.
"That wasn't an empty promise. There's something I wanted to tell you about, but when we turned ten, I was in Kyoto, and you were here in Tokyo, so it was best to wait a bit longer... until now."
I looked directly into her eyes, my gaze breaking her from her daydream.
"Yuki, I am a reincarnated person—an isekai protagonist, if you prefer."
"...What? But that's..."
She wasn't outright rejecting my claim, but she didn't seem to fully believe it either. I had the perfect way to prove my assertion.
"Party Invite: Yuki Suou"
After those words, a blue screen appeared—not in front of me, but in front of her. It read, 'You have been invited to a party. Do you accept? Yes/No.' which made her both excited and surprised.
Using this moment to my advantage, I took her hands and clearly stated my intentions.
"Yuki, I can't be here for your birthday because I have to stay in Kyoto for some paperwork and gather my belongings from my house. After that, I'll buy a place here and enroll in Seirei Private Academy for the last or second-to-last week before the end of the year. But during our vacation... would you like to go on an adventure with me?"