I really don't want to be reborn.

"She looks so feminine—" Black Cat thought bitterly, feeling a pang of envy, just like the muscle in his arms.

Last night, Kirino rushed me to bring my microwave to her brother's place today, saying she wanted to throw a party to celebrate his discharge from the hospital and bake cakes and such.

Hopefully, the microwave oven is powerful enough to bake something decent...

As for why she didn't take action herself, Kirino Kousaka's reason was as compelling as ever—"I'm keeping it a secret from my parents; they still think I went shopping with Ayase!"

Black Cat wanted to ask you siblings what you had done, that meeting up was like a spy rendezvous.

What exactly is going on?

Then, this question was suppressed by a little jealousy—jealousy, of course, because her good friend was holding hands with that girl named Ayase Aragaki, and Kuroneko, who valued Kirino very much, was naturally a little jealous.

However, after feeling jealous, this question resurfaced, and when Kyosuke Kousaka returned, she couldn't help but ask it quietly.

Two high school students who had spent the morning buying groceries returned home. Before they even went inside, they heard a girl's voice coming from the room. Kyosuke was wondering what was going on when he spotted the black cat.

"Hey, meow? What are you doing?"

The black cat glanced somewhat timidly at the taller girl with long, straight black hair, recognizing her as Kasumigaoka Utaha, the villain Kirino often mentioned, whom it had seen before at the bookstore.

"Hello."

The black cat nodded hastily: "Hello..."

He's a shy child—Kasumigaoka thought to herself, taking the things Kyosuke was carrying and gracefully entering the house. The smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by a high-spirited mood.

Kirino Kousaka, what are you trying to do?

Demonstration?

Kousaka Kyosuke watched her enter and asked in a low voice, "Is Kirino inside?"

"Yes, and her friend, that guy named Aragaki, said he wanted to celebrate your discharge from the hospital."

Ayase Aragaki?

Kyosuke Kosaka frowned slightly, then suddenly smiled: "It seems you have something important to tell me. Now you can speak."

The black cat nodded: "You know, right? Your sister is a brother-complex."

"...A possessive younger sister, you could say that. What are you trying to say?"

The black cat looked at him worriedly, as if trying to read something from his face: "That woman is a brother-complex, you...you're not a sister-complex, are you? Do you like your sister?"

Kyosuke's expression changed slightly, feeling a pain as if something buried deep in his heart had been nakedly dug out!

"How is that possible!"

The boy tried to remain calm, but couldn't control the tremor in his voice. When he realized this, he tightly shut his mouth, braced his hands on the railing, and it was as if all the strength in his body had vanished.

That's impossible!

He always believed that he only had normal feelings for Kirino.

“Listen to me, Black Cat, such a thing is impossible. I would never think that way, so you can pretend you didn’t say anything. Thank you for your concern.”

He calmly stood up straight again, and in less than a minute he felt a kind of exhaustion.

"but……"

Black Cat wanted to say, "You're probably fine, but your sister is the kind of person who follows her desires," but before he could finish, Black Cat forced him back with a sharp look.

"..."

Like a cat startled by firecrackers, Kyosuke Kousaka softened his expression and patted the girl's head: "Thank you, black cat. Please continue to treat Kirino this way."

He went inside.

The black cat raised its head, its little face full of aggrieved and indignant expression: "What the hell is going on?!"

…………

Kirino Kousaka is unusually active today.

Ayase Aragaki and Kuroneko were busy in the kitchen, while she hung balloons and ribbons all over the room. By the time Kyosuke Kousaka and Utaha Kasumigaoka returned, the room had become adorable, and the cake was almost finished baking.

"Welcome back, big brother."

Miss Kousaka was unusually serious today, using very formal and elegant language, and had a sweet smile on her face, seemingly completely unconcerned that the person she hated most was standing next to her brother.

Kyosuke looked his sister over as if he were appraising an antique that had just been dug out of the ground, and twitched the corner of his mouth: "Well, um... thank you for your hard work, Kirino."

"Hey, it's not hard work at all."

She smiled shyly as Kyosuke patted her head.

Her eyes involuntarily drifted towards Kasumigaoka Utaha, her soft gaze slightly upturned in the process, subtly turning into a provocation. However, before she could make a further move, Kyosuke changed the subject.

"Um...who is this?"

He looked at one of his sister's best friends, beaming, "Hello, I remember you are—"

This is pretending to have forgotten the name.

Although Kirino didn't know why her brother always disliked Ayase, she quickly added, "It's Ayase, Aragaki Ayase. I ran into her during the last photoshoot."

"Yes, yes... Oh, if your cake is done baking, please make room in the kitchen. We also need to prepare some other dishes—"

Ayase Aragaki suddenly stepped forward, her smile a little forced: "Let me cook, Kirino and I will do it together... Kousaka-nii and Kasumigaoka-senpai must be tired, so we'll take care of this!"

He and Shiyu exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement.

…………

The meal was very enjoyable.

At least on the surface.

Celebrate his move, celebrate his discharge from the hospital, celebrate the near completion of his novel—basically, mention everything that can be celebrated, it's always a good idea.

The five of them enjoyed their meal. Kirino secretly observed that her brother was also chatting and laughing with Ayase, and she couldn't tell who he was targeting. So she was relieved and thought she had worried for nothing.

Suddenly, Kasumigaoka Utaha's words not only froze the atmosphere in the entire room, but also made Kirino's heart leap into her throat.

"Kirino made all these dishes and cakes? That's amazing. I was such a good cook when I was in middle school."

Kyosuke remained noncommittal regarding Kasumigaoka Utaha's praise.

How could he not know what level his sister is at?

Those cakes might have been baked by her, but these dishes definitely weren't. These well-cooked dishes were either made by Aragaki or Kuroneko, but he wasn't going to say anything.

Let's save her some face.

Kasumigaoka smiled at Kirino: "Why don't you marry your brother when you grow up? He's got a life of luxury, Kirino can definitely take good care of him, right?"

"..."

Both the black cat and Aragaki were stunned.

Kirino neither said yes nor no, she just kept her head down and didn't speak. She was completely unaware that this was Kasumigaoka Utaha testing her.

Even if she knew this was a test, she might still be unwilling to say "no".

This time, however, it wasn't Kirino Kousaka who was being tested.

Kasumigaoka is testing Kousaka Kyosuke.

She stared intently at the boy's face, not missing a single detail.

Before Kyosuke Kousaka could even react, someone else had already lost his temper.

"boom!"

The dining table shook.

A girl named Ayase Aragaki stood up, her face flushed, staring at Kyosuke Kousaka as if he were her father's killer: "I...I don't agree to this marriage! They, they are—"

Kasumigaoka Utaha slowly ladled a spoonful of soup into her rice bowl: "They're siblings, I know, I was just joking..."

------

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Chapter Twenty: A Memorial for Forgetting (Third Update)

On a side note: You guys should at least have some faith in me.

…………

Kirino is feeling very depressed today.

The oppressive feeling reminded her of her first trip to Akihabara, where she felt isolated and ostracized by the group of otaku girls.

She, who is used to being the main character, has been completely relegated to a supporting role today.

The older brother's focus wasn't on her, nor on Kasumigaoka Utaha, but rather... on his best friend, Ayase Aragaki.

He praised Ayase for being well-behaved and sensible, unlike himself who was so mischievous. Even when he mentioned her, he only compared Ayase's strengths to her weaknesses—or rather, he mainly highlighted her weaknesses. As for Aragaki Ayase's strengths, he was obviously not clear about them, but he could just say so vaguely.

Anyway, this meal completely humiliated my sister.

Yes, as a girl, Kirino has many good qualities, really many—but in the eyes of her older brother Kyosuke Kousaka, who knows her inside and out, she has even more bad habits.

The only thing she was praised for was her cooking skills. The table was full of her signature dishes, and if she really made them, it must have taken a lot of effort. She could proudly accept her brother's praise.

Unfortunately, that's not the case...

So, under her brother's ambiguous gaze, she could only nervously lower her head and eat the microwaved rice ball, trembling with fear.

However, this thing was microwaved and wasn't fully cooked. When I took a bite, I felt an extremely strange taste that instantly numbed my entire head.

Kasumigaoka Utaha kindly asked her, "Kirino, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the rice balls you baked?"

I didn't bake it!

It's obvious without even thinking that this woman has ill intentions!

Despite her immense discomfort, Kirino managed a polite smile: "It's alright, thank you for your concern."

"Oh."