The person who likes me is a yandere.

"...Waaah, I've been talking to you for so long, I'm almost late!"

Just as Qiong was about to leave the toilet entrance, she turned back:

"Brother, please restrain your perverted behavior! Otherwise, you'll soon be sentenced to death."

"I'm not a pervert. Besides, even if someone is really a pervert, they wouldn't be sentenced to death, would they?"

"A brother who commits indecent acts against girls other than Sora... shall be executed by Sora. Because we cannot cause trouble for the world!"

"...So, you mean, if we do it to Sora... then it's okay?"

Qiong's face turned bright red. My little sister always shows her anger on her face.

“Doing strange things to Qiong will result in a fine! I will confiscate two months’ allowance from my brother!”

What can you do if you sacrifice two months' allowance?

...No, as an older brother, I'm hopeless once I ask that question.

Chapter Three: Fighting Magic with Magic

"Also, brother, the aesthetics of your underwear are beyond saving. Goodbye."

It seems I'm beyond saving no matter what. Qiong said this before turning and leaving.

The mirror by the sink reflected the bright leopard print on my boxer shorts.

The fortune-telling segment on the TV program this morning said today's lucky color is leopard print... which means leopard print isn't even a color.

What do you need to fully enjoy school life?

Is it an excellent academic achievement that is highly regarded by all the teachers and is expected to be a promising future?

Is it the physical strength to be energetic and active in the club, or a specialized skill?

Is it her sociability that makes her popular in class, or her sense of humor?

Is it the kind of appearance that can make a complete stranger fall in love at first sight?

Is it enough financial strength to buy up all the bread from the welfare society?

No, of course it would be great to have these things, but they are not the most essential.

So what's the most important thing to fully enjoy school life? It's... luck.

This applies not only to school life, but perhaps to life in general. Luck plays a significant role.

Misfortune has also befallen me in my school life today.

This happened during tutoring time before the end of the school term.

We changed seats.

I gave up on campus activities like changing seats, which require luck, a long time ago.

I drew a lot without any expectation.

I glanced at the numbers written on the slip of paper after opening it.

"really."

I couldn't help but sigh.

The seat I drew was directly in front of the podium.

This is probably the worst seat in the entire event.

After the whole class had drawn lots, we each moved our own desks.

I had just moved my desk to the front of the podium when someone next to me struck up a conversation.

"...Ah, Xiaoyu is right next to me. Please take care of me."

What appeared was a beautiful girl with bouncy, wavy hair, the object of many boys' affections. How lucky.

Being able to sit side-by-side with a classmate who looks pitifully cute should be a cherished memory of youth.

Just as I was getting excited, a female student at the back of the classroom inexplicably raised her hand and said, "Teacher, excuse me~"

"My eyesight is poor, can I move to a seat in the front row?"

The teacher granted the female student's wish, and the beautiful girl next to me with wavy, airy hair switched seats with the class monitor, who had poor eyesight, wore a braid, and wore glasses.

I can't recall sitting next to those pitiful students—

"Tch, Xiaoyu is right next to me, how unlucky. Sit away from me."

A girl with poor eyesight and a terrible personality became my neighbor.

The initial excitement of the seat swap, followed by the disappointment of being let down, is even more disheartening. It's like expecting sushi for dinner only to find out it's actually chirashi (scattered sushi). If you had anticipated chirashi from the start, you wouldn't have been disappointed; you could have even enjoyed it. But once you realize it's nigiri sushi, chirashi becomes a disappointment. The realization that a pitiful classmate is right next to you in school feels even more unfortunate than having a girl with terrible eyesight and a terrible personality sitting next to you from the beginning.

I'm willing to cover part of the medical expenses for laser eye surgery, but could you please move the girl sitting next to me to the back of the classroom? Just as I was indulging in this far-fetched fantasy, the pre-dismissal tutoring session ended.

Luck is important in school life, but perseverance is also very important.

Every Tuesday and Friday after school, going to the Ebisu shopping center in the suburbs with Hinata to buy groceries is an important rule in our family.

Today is Friday.

Although the two siblings would go shopping together on their way home from school, we didn't arrange to meet at the school's main entrance or near the school gate.

Kasugano Sora is known as the "Goddess of Cuteness" by the boys at our school; her appearance is so beautiful it's almost pitiful. Even if you don't know that the God of Learning is Fukuzawa Yukichi, the God of Soccer is Billy, or that the person who sang "Toilet Goddess" was Uemura Kana, it's common knowledge at our school that the Goddess of Cuteness is Kasugano Sora.

Qiong is a super celebrity at our school.

The fact that I and this adorable goddess Qiong are each other's only family is common knowledge on campus.

Although we were siblings, young men and women living under the same roof. For male high school students, whose thoughts and fantasies are as natural as breathing, we became the perfect subject for their fantasies, whether Sora and I liked it or not. Although it's not talked about much now, when we first entered high school, the rumors were rampant.

So, after enrolling in school, Qiong and I pretended not to know each other.

Now it's like we're treating each other like we're invisible; we don't talk to each other, and we don't even make eye contact.

I don't feel lonely because we have very casual conversations at home, but it's still a bit inconvenient.

After all, to avoid unexpectedly running into other classmates, we had to go to a shopping center located far from the school and in the suburbs to buy things.

I was the first person to arrive at Ebisuya that day.

According to Qiong's text message, she should arrive in about fifteen minutes.

While waiting for Sora at Ebisuya, I would occasionally visit bookstores and amusement centers to pass the time, but I would usually head to a natural stone specialty store.

This is not to give a natural stone to someone.

Collecting natural stones is my hobby in order to improve my pitifully low luck.

Money luck.

Love fortune.

Work luck.

Health and wellness.

Compared to stones that are believed to bring good luck...

To avert disaster.

To relieve misfortune.

Exorcising evil spirits.

I am more interested in stones that are said to possess such powers.

If it were a bracelet or necklace, it would cost several thousand or even tens of thousands of yen. If I were to actually buy one, I would actually lose money before it could improve my financial luck. At the same time, the lack of money would force me to reduce my monthly food allowance, and I wouldn't be able to afford vegetables that are more expensive than in previous years. Being forced to eat simple meals at this age when my appetite is so strong would harm my health in the blink of an eye... I feel that I would suffer a visible blow to both my financial luck and health luck, so I don't own any natural stone jewelry or the like.

However, if it's a stone the size of a marble, it only costs a few hundred dollars. So far, I've bought several stones that are believed to ward off bad luck and evil spirits.

crystal.

Amethyst.

Smoky quartz.

lapis lazuli.

Green fluorite.

malachite……

I would choose a stone based on my mood that day and put it in my uniform pocket, carrying it with me as if it were a talisman.

In addition, the stone I'm wearing today is lapis lazuli.

Lapis lazuli is a blue stone containing pyrite particles. It is said that an ancient Roman naturalist described this stone as "fragments of a starry sky." Indeed, golden stars shimmer against a deep blue sky, as if day and night were simultaneously visible.

Chapter Four: Penniless

I gazed intently at the stones collected from all over the world in a natural stone specialty store where I could see almost only women...

"Oh? Rhodochrosite has the power to 'heal the past and bring happiness to the future'?"

some type of.

"Hmm, yeah, white iron ore has the power to 'heal a wounded sense of self-esteem'... If I buy this stone, will the shop assistant think, 'So this person has a wounded sense of self-esteem'? If someone thinks that way, I'll feel even more frustrated."

Like this, as I ramble on and gain knowledge about natural stones...

——?

My phone beeped with the sound of a text message being received.

It seems that Sora has already arrived at Ebisuya.

"Wow, brother, look at that!"

Qiong really likes food stores.

"There are dried fish samples available!"

"...Are you a cat?"

The only high school girl who was overjoyed at the chance to try the dried fish was Sora.