I (30), Who Works for a Black Company and Died While Regretting My Gloomy Life, Started Over From High School!
Chapter 100: A Night After the Sea

“Wow, Haruka-chan’s swimsuit is so sexy! How can she be so innocent yet exude such allure?”

In the living room of the Niihama household, my little sister, Kanako, exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the swimsuit photo of Shijouin-san on my flip phone.

By the way, this swimsuit photo was taken sneakily by Kazamihara with her flip phone and sent to me with a message saying, “It turned out like one of Haruka’s gravure shots, but enjoy it for now.” She sent it to me before the barbecue.

The resolution was a bit disappointing from my perspective, being used to smartphones, but the alluring and adorable figure of the pure and lovely girl with long black hair was captivating. Even if she weren’t my sister, anyone would be amazed by its impact.

(We had so much fun at the beach… Well, cleaning up afterward was quite a task…)

Sipping barley tea in the air-conditioned room, I recalled what happened yesterday.

After the chase game with Shijouin-san on the sandy beach, I had no choice but to carry the sleeping girl on my back and return to where everyone was.

It was truly a trial.

You see, I had to walk slowly so as not to wake the sleeping beauty, feeling her soft, trembling body against my back and hearing her soft breaths against my neck. It took an extraordinary amount of mental strength to hold back my bursting desires.

(And to top it off, Ginji and the others were asleep when we got back… I would’ve been in trouble without Natsuzaki-san’s help.)

As the one who had to take on the final cleanup duty due to being sober, I tidied up the barbecue set and other things with the friendly muscular driver. Then, we put the four sleeping people into the car and headed home.

Regarding the drinking incident, there was an apology from Shijouin-san’s family, saying, “We’re sorry for not watching over the kids properly.” However, every family understood that it wasn’t mischief or anything of the sort, just the kids being careless, so they treated it as a simple funny story.

And now, the next day around noon, my little sister was eagerly asking me to tell her about our day at the beach like she was waiting for the latest volume of her favorite manga.

So, with the photos from that day, I briefly explained what happened. But…

“My brother’s coverage of all the ero incidents at the beach,” said my little sister with a mixture of surprise and admiration.

“Don’t make it sound like a title of some internet novel!”

In the Niihama household’s living room, I retorted to Kanako, who recently switched from twintails to a ponytail.

What kind of clichéd title is that? It could easily become popular with some decent erotic illustrations!

“But seriously, that’s the only way to describe it! Anyway… hehe, I can just imagine my virgin brother turning red every time he gets close to Haruka-chan.”

“Ugh…”

I couldn’t argue with her since her imagination was completely correct.

“By the way, it seems like your friends are all so helpful. Having a big group together for the beach or festivals is a chance for boys and girls to get closer, right? If you have the excuse of ‘coming as a group,’ it reduces the awkwardness.”

Yeah, I can understand that. Being in a mixed-gender group provides a convenient cover for such feelings.

“It’s better than forcing yourselves to go alone and getting all nervous. With the right group of friends, it increases the chances of forming a couple. On the other hand, if the group is full of loud people or too reserved, it can make things awkward.”

That makes sense, I guess.

“On that note, your friends seem to really support you, and as I thought, they were quite supportive of your endeavor, right?”

“Yeah… They’re really great guys.”

Indeed, there were many moments during the trip where I thought I was lucky to have those three with me.

Well, I’d like to think I repaid some of the favor with the aftermath of that drunk incident…

“Hehe, listening to my brother’s stories, it seems like everyone around him is quite reliable. With such a dependable surrounding, I don’t think I need to be involved. Although, I did consider going to the beach with you… but it was probably the right decision to stay back.”

“Huh…? You were planning on going!?”

“Well, if it seemed like you guys were having a hard time getting along, I thought I’d liven things up. But in that case… both you and Haruka-chan would’ve followed me around, and it would’ve been the last resort.”

While saying that, Kanako smiled.

Apparently, she has the confidence to barge into my friend group and quickly become friends with them. In some cases, she was actually serious about going along.

However, regardless of that…

“…Thank you, Kanako.”

“Huh?”

When I conveyed my overflowing gratitude, my sister’s eyes widened.

With her twintails, she was cute, but her recently becoming default in a ponytail also suited her adorable face.

“You really support my love life, huh? You were even willing to come with me to the beach and support me… Thank you for caring so much about me.”

“Well, um… Don’t get conceited, big brother! Of course, I’m totally rooting for your love life, but it’s more because I want Haruka-chan to become my sister… Hey, hey, stop patting my head without permission!”

I touched my cute sister’s head as she blushed, trying to resist but eventually accepting my gentle patting.

Perhaps because she might have been the one I hurt the most in my previous life or because the family that might have been disappointed in me in the future was now showing such concern for me, my feelings of love for them couldn’t be contained, and I continued to pat her head without getting tired of it.

“Now… I’ve been feeling lately that my big brother is getting more and more used to being around girls. Rather than a transformation from an introverted character to a cheerful one, it feels like the core of your being has suddenly matured, and you’ve become more like a dad…”

Annoyed that she gave in to my head patting, Kanako grumbled.

Her analysis was strangely close to the truth. If I were to tell her someday that I came from a time leap, she’d probably believe me without hesitation.

“Well, that aside, you achieved great results at the beach, big brother! You had plenty of physical skinship… and you finally accomplished the name-calling you wished for! In terms of Kanako-chan’s love psychology, that means the shell of friendship is starting to break! The day you metamorphose and spread your wings is so close!”

“Hmm… It was definitely a good thing, but Shijouin-san was quite drunk during the name-calling part, and I don’t think she remembers it, most likely.”

“Huh… Does alcohol really make you forget things? Isn’t that just an exaggerated expression from manga or something?”

Even Kanako, who was at her age, seemed unaware of the dangers of alcohol, and her eyes widened in surprise.

That’s right, little sister. Especially since you’re so cute, be careful when you eventually start drinking alcohol in the future.

“Yeah, when you get really drunk, you can actually forget things. It’s like waking up and finding yourself teleported from a bar to your own house… It’s not just fiction. Well, it’s just what I heard, though.”

Normally, you wouldn’t forget things that easily unless you got seriously drunk… But that time, I ran around a lot, and the alcohol hit me pretty hard. Considering Shijouin-san’s incoherent state during the trip, her memories were probably not connected.

“Well, honestly, it’s probably better for Shijouin-san if she forgets. Think about it. For example, if you got drunk and snuggled up to me, hugged me, and said, ‘I love you, big brother~,’ embarrassing memories like that… you’d cringe, right?”

“H-Hey, even if I were drunk, I wouldn’t say something like that! Well, anyway… if I had memories of doing something like that, I’d want to die right away…”

“Right? Well, I do feel a bit disappointed, but it’s also sad if she’s left with memories of herself stumbling around, confessing her feelings, venting her dissatisfaction, and whispering ‘Shinichirou-kun~’ in my ear…”

“Hahaha, well, given the way she was incoherent and unguarded, it’s almost certain that her memories are wiped clean. If she remembered everything, she would probably end up panicking in bed despite her carefree personality!”

Based on my experience with various drunk people, Ginji and the others probably had some fragmented memories, but given Shijouin-san’s level of intoxication, her memories of that time were most likely completely gone.

I’ll be the only one who remembers the incidents brought on by that alcohol.

“But… are you sure about that…? She might actually remember everything perfectly…”

With her arms crossed, Kanako questioned me with a doubtful tone while I smiled confidently, assuring her of the peace of mind in her crush’s heart.

(TLN) Whoo chapter 100!! Letz gooo~