As Shin's younger sister, Meruru Hikami actually had quite a few merits beyond being a crybaby — and being exceptionally well-endowed.
Blessed by the Great Witch with the magic of [Healing], she could restore nearly any injury in an instant. The ability even extended to inorganic matter, making it incredibly versatile.
Shin had even wondered — if he ever returned to the world of JoJo and obtained one of those Stand-awakening "Arrows," what would happen if he used it on her.
If she awakened something like Crazy Diamond, that would be hilarious. There probably wouldn't be a better "healer" in the world than Meruru.
Of course, aside from magic, there was something else worth mentioning about Meruru: her fashion sense.
After all, there wasn't much to do on Witch Island. Aside from practicing magic, what she loved most was learning tailoring.
"Sniff… Onii-sama, what do you think of this outfit?"
"Anything's fine…"
"That won't do!"
Inside the bedroom, standing on tiptoe, the girl in the nun's veil wiped at the tears at the corner of her eyes while adjusting Shin's collar.
"I already heard from the Great Witch… you're going to meet your future partner, sniff… This is something important. You have to dress properly… sniff sniff…"
"Sniff… Onii-sama… I knew it… I'm still not worthy of you… Waaa…!"
As she spoke, Meruru finally couldn't hold it in and burst into tears.
This wasn't her usual silent weeping — her sobs were loud and unmistakable.
"Meruru? You—"
"S-sorry, Onii-sama, I can't control it… sniff…"
"It hurts so much… Onii-sama, Onii-sama, Onii-sama… sniff… please don't abandon me—!"
After fixing his collar, Meruru's strength gave out and she collapsed onto the floor.
That wasn't the end of it. She crawled forward and suddenly wrapped her arms around his leg, pressing her cheek against his thigh.
"!"
With the strength of a Pillar Man, Shin could've shaken her off in an instant.
But she was his sister — how could he bring himself to do that?
"Meruru, don't overthink it. I'm just going out with Mother for a while."
"You don't need to comfort me, Onii-sama. I know… siblings can never…"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then you're willing to accept me? I'll go tell the Great Witch right now! That way you won't need to travel far!"
"…That's not it either."
"Waaaah—!"
Shin: …
He was exhausted.
Seeing her crying so hard that snot had smeared onto his pant leg, he bent down and scooped her up in a princess carry.
Though she had developed far more generously than their petite "loli-mom" Great Witch, in Shin's arms there was little difference.
"Listen to me, Meruru."
"Onii-sama…?"
Lifted so suddenly in such an intimate posture, the nun-clad girl's tear-streaked face flushed bright red.
Her hands clasped at her chest. Her body went stiff, afraid to move. In her gray eyes flickered nervousness, shyness — and a hint of anticipation.
"I didn't refuse earlier because I dislike you. It's because Mother has been acting strange lately."
"The Great Witch… strange?"
"Yes. If I had agreed earlier when she told us to marry, what do you think would've happened?"
Shin chose his words carefully, trying to pull Meruru onto his side.
"Based on what I've discovered, we'd most likely lose our freedom — and become tools for her to breed future generations."
"Lose our freedom… breeding tools?"
Meruru, whose eyes were filled entirely with his face at such close distance, didn't seem to fully process it. She simply echoed his words like a recorder.
"We're still young. Things like this should at least wait until we're adults, right?"
"So I need your help, Meruru. When the time comes, we'll persuade Mother together—"
"As long as I can be with Onii-sama, I don't mind becoming a breeding tool!"
She blurted it out without hesitation, cutting him off.
Shin: "?"
"Onii-sama, you don't need to hold back for my sake. I know my body well…!"
"And even if it gets too much, I can use the [Healing] magic the Great Witch gave me to endure it. So Onii-sama, don't suppress yourself. You can do whatever you want to me…"
Shin: …
If he had committed some grave sin in his previous life, then let him be cast into the eighteen levels of hell — not saddled with this pair of unhinged mother and daughter.
"Uwah—!"
With a slight exertion of strength, the nun-clad girl in his arms was suddenly tossed onto the bed.
"Mmm~ go ahead, Onii-sama. Even if the Great Witch finds out, I'll take all the blame…"
Meruru had clearly misunderstood.
She shyly shut her eyes, trying to keep her body from stiffening in nervousness, fully prepared to face whatever storm might come—
Yet as the seconds ticked by… one minute passed.
She felt nothing. Not even the tug of fabric being pulled.
Meruru: "…?"
"Little Taiya, why is changing clothes taking so long?"
"Hm? I asked Meruru to help you dress. Why is she lying on the bed?"
"Maybe she's tired and decided to nap. You know how we young people are — full of energy, then we drop and fall asleep instantly."
"Well, she does work hard. Cooking, chores… Let her rest."
Hearing the conversation between Shin and the Great Witch, Meruru's already flushed face turned even redder.
She grabbed the blanket and covered her face, too embarrassed to show herself.
Meanwhile, on Shin's side—
At this point, he could only take things one step at a time. Faced with the Great Witch's almost obsessive fixation on reproduction, he truly had no effective way to dissuade her.
If it really came down to it, perhaps he would just have to comply. Thirteen children… If he tried hard, maybe it could be done within thirteen years… maybe.
"Little Taiya, there's something very important I need to tell you. You mustn't tell anyone — not even Meruru. Actually, it's best you don't tell her either."
"I trust Meruru wouldn't betray you, but she isn't very clever. If someone tricked the information out of her, that would be troublesome."
As they spoke, the Great Witch suddenly grew serious.
"You may not believe this, but last year I entered a mysterious organization that connects different worlds. Its members can communicate remotely with one another."
"It's an extremely rare opportunity. I've obtained some items from other worlds there and made a few friends… You've probably guessed — the place I'm taking you to is one of my friend's 'worlds.'"
Shin: …?
It took him a full three seconds to process what his adoptive mother had just said.
Wait — you're just telling me outright?
"I've been researching how to get you into that organization as well. Unfortunately, its existence is too mysterious and lofty. Even with my abilities, I've found no clues."
"For certain reasons, I can't accompany you this time. But I'm worried you might encounter danger alone. So I've decided to temporarily let you take my 'position' within that organization using one of its functions…"
The Great Witch continued at length, gently explaining the existence of the "chat group" and everything she had learned from it.
Shin opened his own chat interface with his mind and noticed the feature labeled [Temporary Transfer of Membership Qualification].
It functioned much like handing over a messaging account to someone else. Through it, even someone not originally bound to the chat group could log in under the original member's ID and speak. The original owner would temporarily lose access.
There was a 48-hour limit and a one-month cooldown — but it was still proof of how much trust the Great Witch placed in him.
He suddenly realized he had made a fatal misjudgment.
The Great Witch named Snow truly loved him. That love had never changed.
Even those words that sounded like she wanted to confine him as a breeding tool… perhaps they weren't born of selfish desire, but of something he didn't yet understand.
"Mother, I…"
His lips moved.
Deeply shaken, he felt a strong urge to confess that he, too, had already joined the chat group—
[Unread Messages: 99+]
[Spreading Witch Factors]: @Moon Princess Your stratagem worked wonderfully. Now my little Taiya won't resist the blind date at all!
[Spreading Witch Factors]: I hope he won't blame me when he learns the truth. I'm only doing this for his own good…
[Spreading Witch Factors]: @Many-Headed Monster Please withdraw my message in one minute. I don't want him to see it while he's logged into my ID. I'll reward everyone afterward.
[Many-Headed Monster]: Understood.
[Lord of the Lands Between]: Understood.
[Queen of Britain]: Understood.
[Moon Princess]: Understood~ No need to be so polite. I've always been the helpful type~
—And just like that, the surge of emotion vanished the moment his own chat interface popped up with a new message.
Shin: ?
[Aspiring to Become a Perfect Human]: [Message withdrawn]
[Aspiring to Become a Perfect Human]: Understood.
[Moon Princess]: Eh? Newcomer, what did you withdraw? I thought I saw you send a question mark? Do you have objections to the Great Witch's actions?
[Aspiring to Become a Perfect Human]: Not at all. I just feel it's inappropriate for an outsider male to be here. I'll lurk for now.
[Aspiring to Become a Perfect Human]: Men just smell.jpg
Shifting his gaze away from the chat interface, Shin rubbed his face, trying to keep his expression from stiffening under the Great Witch's warm, watery gaze.
Very good—
Let's go, then.
…
To be continued…