Chapter 2.2

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Chapter 2.2
Claire Ridill has no self-respect

Based off of the current results, the flu epidemic appears to have been successfully resolved.

All of the maids, including Mich.e.l.le, are now safe. We kept them in a clean and humid environment, and they all appeared to be in good physical shape, which helped them get over the disease.

However, there were some sacrifices that were made. The people needed to nurse the sick also became infected.

Still, we did manage to save more people than if we had just burned them all.

As a result, the knowledge I had was proved to be genuine — and I was brought to my father. His questions for me were surprisingly concise and I was quickly released. He appeared to have no intention of investigating me further and would quietly ignore the fact that I had knowledge that I shouldn’t.

– However, as a different form of punishment, Milli was fired.

There would be no other punishment, other than Milli being forced to return to her hometown…but once the punishment for Milli had been decided, I was not allowed to meet with her, and I wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye.

So, as a subst.i.tute for Milli, a new maid, Mary came. She was also here to monitor me closely and remained unfriendly and would hardly talk to me.

Because there are now long stretches of time where I am unable to interact with anyone, I was desperate to talk to someone –

“Otouto-kun~ I came to check on you.”

One afternoon, about one month after Milli was gone – Claire came to see me in the living room.

“You came to check on me….Isn’t there already a maid here to provide surveillance for those in the mansion?”

The new maid is not on my side, so I need to be cautious about what I say around her. But I knew I could trust Claire, I sat down next to her on the sofa.

“You should be fine, I persuaded Mother to be lenient with your punishment.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yes, it is true, but before I talk about that I needed to apologize first.”

“What, apologize for……what?”

“For Milli-san, I’m really sorry that happened!”

“Oh that, I told you before, Milli and I had prepared ourselves for that outcome, so you do not need to apologize, Claire.”

“But, to be separated from your mother, it must have been a shock.”

“It was a shock – but…Please wait a minute, what did you mean by mother?”

“What else could I mean by mother…Eh?… Didn’t you know that Milli-san was your birth mother?”

“……you’re lying, right?”

“It’s not a lie – everyone knows, did you not notice that Milli-san called you and I by our first names and never used our family name?”

“But, Milli can’t be my mother…”

“That is……Milli-san probably made a promise not to tell you, since Mother seemed to have been against allowing Milli-san to take care of you.”

“That’s not possible…”

I am completely overwhelmed by the shocking truth Claire has revealed to me, but surely it must be true. There were so many times over the past six years that I thought Milli was like an actual mother to me. (TN: He does say six years (六年) here even though he’s actually eight.)

“d.a.m.n it!”

I slam my fist down on the table.

Someone so important was right in front of me, someone that I had to protect, but I didn’t even notice until Claire told me!

“Sorry, it wasn’t my place to tell something like that to you, right? …”

“……Oh no…No,

Claire you’re fine. I’m the one at fault for not even noticing, even if I knew about it, I was obsessed with helping you.”

I do not regret saving Mich.e.l.le for Claire. However, if I knew that Milli was my mother…it just makes me sad that we were not able to have a proper goodbye.

“I knew nothing about Milli, at least I should’ve asked what the name of her hometown is.”

“Oh, no problem, I asked Mich.e.l.le to secretly check on Milli’s safety.”

“..Eh, really?”

“Yes, really. She is living in her hometown, since she may be under surveillance, it would be impossible to bring her back.”

“Oh, she’s okay! Good job, Claire!”

“Gu, gujjobu? I do not understand, but I’m glad that you are happy.” (TN: Leon says gujjobu in the previous line. Gujjobu is just how you would phonetically p.r.o.nounce ‘good job’ in j.a.panese. So it’s an unfamiliar term to Claire.)

Woops, because I’m so happy, I let out a word from my previous life.

But, I have some hope now. I may not be able to do it now, but someday, I can find Milli if I am able to get some form of freedom.

“Hey, otouto-kun, is there nothing you want me to do? Since Milli is no longer here, is there anything I can do to be helpful?”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Is there nothing? Otouto-kun please, there must be some kind of favor you can ask?”

This is no good saying something like that. But, because she is my onee-chan, I could never make a perverted request. What would she do if I had made an unreasonable demand?

There was a similar opportunity last time, I haven’t regretted not acting on that opportunity.

“Oh… okay umm…Oh, I have a favor to ask, in fact I have a lot of free time now that Milli is gone, and I would like to study, but there are no books available to me here. If you can get any books, can you bring theme here?”

“Books, huh?…Let me think….It might be difficult because there are so many eyes watching me in the mansion, but I will try to find someway to manage it.”

“Oohh, thank you Claire!”

“It’s okay, as long as it’s something I can do for my otouto-kun, though it may be a little late.”

“…Eh, what is that…What do you mean?”

After hearing my question, Claire averted her eyes from me.

“……I’m supposed to meet with another potential marriage candidate. This time I think it’s impossible for me to run away.”

Is that so…..the marriage of convenience again? Someday I thought it may come up again, but I didn’t think it would be so soon……

“What kind of person is it this time?”

“An accomplished, 27 year old marquise, it seems that he is not bad looking, and I think that he is a better candidate than I had expected.”

“That is……”

I am at a complete loss for words. If I listen objectively this marquis sounds like a good candidate, but knowing the age difference with nine-year-old Claire is 18 years. Would this really be okay…?

“Do not worry – even if I decide to get married, the marriage itself wouldn’t take place until I am twelve-years-old, Mother said it would be fine for me to act freely until that time.”

“Is that so…..That’s why it was fine for you to come here.”

“If I’m to be married anyway, I’d like to spend as much time as possible with my otouto-kun.”

“Claire…”

Did she come here thinking that way? I would like to save Claire somehow, but…as I am now I can’t do anything.

At least I have a little over two years until Claire turns twelve. But, would I really be able to find a way to save her in that time?

I do not know. I do not know…. but no, just because I’m not sure now doesn’t mean I can give up already. I’d like to help relieve Claire’s burden even a little.

“Claire, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Eh, what’s wrong? Suddenly asking something like that.”

“In truth, I really would like to help you with the marriage itself, but it is impossible for me right now, so if possible is there anything else I can do?”

“……Really? You’ll do anything?”

“Yes, I promise you.”

Claire is now as important to me as Milli and Saya. Any inconvenient request she may make I should be able to grant as her younger brother.

Therefore–

“Would you please take my first time?”

“………………………..Hah?”

I could not understand Claire’s request.

“So, please, I would like my otouto-kun to take my first time, rather than by a middle-aged man whose face I don’t even know.”

“……Oh, oh I see. I mean, your first time, what could you mean by that – ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…..”

“Wow, that reaction……Otouto-kun, you must know what I mean by that kind of thing.”

“Oh, no, no…that’s because I am eight years old so I do not know how to react to that!”

“…..Are you trying to lie your way out of this?”

Wow, I was completely seen through by Claire.

“Even if I’ve heard of it, I have no experience doing it.”

“Is that the case? You don’t need to worry – as part of my bride practice I am educated by Mich.e.l.le so I have some knowledge. So, your onee-chan will lead you.”

It was at this time that I noticed Claire had been slowly moving closer to me on the sofa.

Even though hearing words like, “your onee-chan will lead you,” may seem desirable, but the opponent here is my real older sister, and she is still only nine years old and I am only eight.

How can I force this onto Claire? (TN: This is supposed to be a double entendre. I did my best to keep it as close to the raw as possible. Sorry if this or the next couple sentences are awkward to read.)

No, no. Not in a s.e.xual way … it’s not like that. I just mean to force my thoughts onto her.

I’m just forcing it onto Claire! I don’t mean anything s.e.xual by forcing my thoughts onto her! Am I stuck in a loop!?

“Hehe, otouto-kun, you’re cute when you’re panicking.”

“Wait a minute, Claire! Do you know what you are trying to do!?”

“Of course, I know. Though, I have no experience, so it is possible that I don’t know.”

“I don’t want to hear your play on words! Let’s calm down a bit and think about it!”

“Eh~but, the other day you said, “Even if it’s something you don’t like, you should be prepared to back up your own words,” you told me that, didn’t you?”

“…………………………..”

“You did say that, didn’t you?”

“………………………Y-yes, I did.”

In other words, I said that when I was afraid someone may take advantage of Claire and force her to do perverted things. I even had to convince myself a few times now not to make any perverted requests of her.

………It cannot be helped! Can it? No way, I never thought that my onee-chan would force me to do something perverted!

“So, otouto-kun, will you take my first time?”

Claire grabs my shoulders and brings my face close to hers.

“Wait, Claire, your face is too close! What are you going to do!?”

“What do you mean, of course we should start off with a kiss.”

“Of course a kiss – not! Let’s calm down a bit and think about it! Aren’t there various problems here!?”

“Is there a problem…?”

“Well, that is….”

Calm down, calm down me! I need to calm down and think about this.

It is impossible, for many reasons, to accept Claire’s request. However, because I said such things earlier, I can not just go back on my earlier words either.

If that’s the case, what should I do? There is only one option I can think of, I need to persuade Claire to withdraw her request.

But, how would I be able to do that.

For example……In j.a.pan, even siblings holding hands could be a problem. But in this world even a marriage between siblings isn’t uncommon. Even if doing this would cause people to have a negative opinion of Claire, she wouldn’t care.

The children of blood-related family members would have a higher chance of having birth defects or disabilities — no, that argument is no good.

The aim is not to make children. I do not know if Condo-san exists in this world, but because I am in a magical world, I cannot be careless. (TN: Condo-san is j.a.panese slang for condom. I found it too funny, so I’ve left it as is.)

No, before that, due to my age I shouldn’t be able to make children.

But, Claire, knowing all of this, has still asked me. She would not change her mind even if I point all of this out to her.

……Huh? I can not find a reason to persuade her to not want to do this. Maybe, is it because Claire wants to create good memories? No…No, such a foolish thing.

I would definitely regret it if I were to do this out of sympathy for Claire. I have to persuade her properly. But, um, the problem is … … problems, problems?

–That’s it!

“If it is the first time for both of us, we really wouldn’t know what to do!”

I’m so stupid ha ha ha! She won’t be convinced by such a stupid reason.

“That is……certainly true.”

– She was convinced by that!?

“It is my first time and having my otouto-kun lead sounds like an attractive situation, but for that I have to get you to gain experience first…”

H..huh? Did she just say something strange? I feel like this could be dangerous. This could be terrible if I don’t stop it.

“Ah, excuse me, Claire?”

“- Oh yeah! That way otouto-kun can fulfill my request.”

Wow, I was surprised. Suddenly Claire stood up and grasped my hand.

She would usually seem cute, but now I get an ominous feeling from her.

“Otouto-kun!

“Y…yes?”

“I thought of something really good, so please look forward to it!”

Claire quickly left, giving me no opportunity to stop her. I was left standing alone in the room, convinced Claire had misunderstood what I said earlier.

……Ah, this girl is absolutely hopeless.

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