Dinner in Kasugano Family passed tensely nowadays. There was no merriment nor casual talk in the middle of the procession, which was a common occurrence when a close-knit family had dinner together.
In the past, it wasn't like this. It only became like this after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Kasugano.
This time dinner also passed tensely. However, the cause was different. Several things stood out before and after dinner.
Sora and Suzuka were behaving obediently. No passive-aggressive exchange between the two, which really stood out.
Sora and Suzuka were behaving like obedient children because they didn't want to make Haru angry again. They had gotten a heavy dosage of scolding from Haru, and it shocked the girls and made them anxious and scared.
Of course, Haru preferred not to make them afraid of him. However, he must be strict with them so they wouldn't fight in front of him. He also felt guilty for scaring them, but he hid it behind his calm expression.
Haru understood that Haruka's assimilated emotions and feelings were the sources of his guilt. After all, Haru's predecessor, Haruka Kasugano, had spoiled his sisters too much that he didn't mind being the girls' metaphorical doormat.
But alas, Haru wouldn't accept such humiliation. Haru, after all, was a prideful boy. He had a bottom line, which he wouldn't ever relinquish even if it was for his new sisters that he came to love. It was the byproduct of his independence in his previous life.
Haru continued his introspection while eating Sora's delicious curry. At the same time, Sora and Suzuka were eating silently and often sending a furtive glance at Haru. Of course, Haru sensed them, but he wasn't in the mood to talk.
Although Haru wanted the three of them to live together in harmony, he was aware that it was a tall order because of their rivalry. Which was why he'd told Sora his options for her and Suzuka to choose. Either she and Suzuka accepted sharing him if they really want their relationship with him to change into that of lovers, or he will stay as their brother forever.
Though, if someone asked Haru's truthful answer which one he prefers, his answer would be the former. After all, he loved them both as a man.
However, after witnessing Sora's surprise for him after he returned home from picking Suzuka up, he wondered if he had made a mistake. Perhaps, he should wait until he could tell them together.
'I can't help it. I was carried by the mood at that time,' Haru mentally rebuked himself. It wasn't like him to do a shortsighted thing.
'Is it because of the assimilation? I know that I acted out of character in some instances.'
Haru paused as he recalled the out of character behaviors he'd done today. Then, he remembered something else.
'Or is it because of Plot Armor's downsides?' Haru felt that the random moment of foolishness could be fatal in spite of there were no supernatural elements in this world. 'Whatever. I'll just blame both of them.'
"A-Ano, Onii-chan. Pardon me," Suzuka called him all of a sudden, jolting him out of his introspection.
"What?" Haru asked after turning his head to Suzuka.
"Are you still angry?" Suzuka timidly asked.
Haru blinked his eyes, stunned by her question, and then darted his gaze between Suzuka and Sora, who had timid, chastised expression.
"No. I'm not angry at you two anymore."
Sora and Suzuka unconsciously released a loud sigh, relieved. What had happened before, it was the first time that Sora and Suzuka saw their brother is mad for real. In the past, their brother never showed such a scary expression to them. They also felt guilty from behaving willfully and stubbornly toward him.
"But, never do that again in front of me. I don't want you two fighting like that. There are only the three of us here, and Obaa-san is busy with her work and her own daughter to look over us. It's a miracle that she accepted to become our legal guardian, but I digress. Returning to the main issue, I don't want us to fight if we can help it. We only have each other after the death of Otou-san and Okaa-san. I want us to live in harmony, not fighting over a small matter."
Haru paused and released a heavy sigh out of vexation to his complicated life. He then continued, "Also, I want to apologize for raising my voice and making you two scared. I should have shown more restraint, but stress has gotten into me, I suppose."
When the diner neared the end, Suzuka opened her mouth again. This time, her words reminded Haru of his decision to talk about his reincarnated status and power.
"By the way, Onii-chan, regarding your change, could you tell me the reason for it? I forgot to ask about that in the morning."
"Now that you mentioned it, I noticed Haru's change too. I have no problems with it, though. In fact, I like this version of you better, Haru. You seem more dependable and less indecisive," Sora raised her face and remarked.
"Well, that's a valid point. Still, I feel somewhat sad and lonely that my unreliable and hopeless Onii-chan is no more…" Suzuka said with a nostalgic smile.
Haru had become silent and focused on his thoughts.
Seeing Haru's thoughtful expression, Sora and Suzuka exchanged a silent glance, wondering what their brother was thinking.
Finally, Haru released a resigned sigh, catching Sora's and Suzuka's attention. He decided to do it now before a disastrous misunderstanding could happen in the future.
"Well," Haru began, a little reluctant, "Say, Sora, Suzuka, do you believe in the supernatural phenomenon, like, reincarnation and magic?"
Sora and Suzuka gave Haru confused eyes. They tilted their heads simultaneously and had a perplexed expression.
"Well, something like Magic doesn't exist," Suzuka replied. "Also, reincarnation is unproven, right? However, some religions believe in the latter. Is that enough?"
"I see. Thanks for your honest answer, Suzuka," Haru turned his head to Sora, "Now, Sora. What's your opinion?"
Sora blinked her eyes and then displayed a thoughtful expression. A while later, she gave Haru her answer. "I don't know and don't care."
Haru had a wry smile after he heard Sora's answer.
"So, what's with this question, Onii-chan? Wait for a second!" Suzuka abruptly stopped her words and gave Haru a pitiful look. "Onii-chan, did your 8th-grader syndrome relapse?"
Sora snorted right after she heard that. Her glimmering eyes and shaking shoulders spoke her mirth. Haru gave Suzuka a deadpan, apparently unamused by her teasing.
'I never had that disease! Never mind that. Haruka had his 8th-grader syndrome it seems,' Haru thought before steering the topic to the proper rail. "My 8th-grader syndrome didn't relapse. Anyway, I decided to tell you this because you two are precious for me. I don't want a disastrous misunderstanding to happen later because I am hiding this."
Sora and Suzuka had bemused eyes, but they kept their silence, telling Haru to go on.
Instead of speaking, Haru closed his eyes to access his Item Box and sent his plate with half-finished curry rice into his Item Box.
"What?!"
Haru cut his access to the Item Box after hearing Suzuka's flustered voice. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sora's and Suzuka's dumbfounded expression.
"As you can see, Magic is indeed real."
Haru's question snapped Sora and Suzuka out of their shock-induced daze.
"What?! How?! Where is the plate?! It just disappeared! Was that really magic?! Magic is real?! What's going?!"
Suzuka was flustered while alternating her wide-eyed look between Haru's calm expression and his empty hand. Meanwhile, Sora wordlessly mirrored Suzuka's reaction.
"All right. You two need to calm down first."
Following Haru's advice, Sora and Suzuka closed their eyes and went through a breathing exercise to calm themselves. After that, they opened their eyes and demanded an explanation with their eyes.
Haru took a deep breath to prepare himself. "Just like what you two have witnessed. Magic is indeed real. Simultaneously, rebirth or reincarnation is real too."
Haru raised his hand in "hold on!" motion after seeing Sora's and Suzuka's expression that spoke their anxiety and concern.
"What's going on? First is Onii-chan's sudden change, then magic and reincarnation are real…" Suzuka trailed off as if realizing something. Her eyes opened wide.
At this point, Sora seemed to connect the clues together too. She had the same expression as Suzuka's.
These girls weren't stupid. Even the lazy and withdrawn Sora was smart. They could easily connect the dots in their head.
"As you may have guessed, I have been reincarnated. I am Haruka Kasugano, the twin brother of Sora Kasugano and the older stepbrother of Suzuka Kasugano. At the same time, I have regained the memory of my past life this morning. I didn't know why I only regained those memories this morning, but I will figure it out later.
"Concerning my past life, my name was Haru Sakurai, and I was an extraordinary magician despite my youth. People knew me as a genius because of my capability and achievement. I was 17 years old when I died, yet I had surpassed those Sages and Archmages, who had refined their craft for decades and even longer.
"About my death, the past me had attempted to create a spell to cross worlds as my Magnum Opus. I was both successful and failed. I succeeded because I discovered the existence of Parallel Worlds. Simultaneously, I failed because I died when I tried to visit this world. Then, my soul likely entered the cycle of death and rebirth of this world before I got reincarnated as Haruka Kasugano."
Haru finished his explanation and then inspected the reaction of his sisters.