Returning home while wrestling with the snow was akin to a torment for a body raised in Kyushu.

The sound of crushing fresh snow underfoot echoed loudly in my ears.

Occasionally, strong winds blew through the gaps in my hoodie, brushing against my neck like cold fingers.

“Cold…!”

I couldn’t help but let out a voice. My breath froze instantly into white mist, dissolving into the darkness before me.

Since parting ways with Yukishiro Miru after today’s ski class, my mind has been in chaos ever since.

(I’m going to become a “Solid Self”! )

A firm vow made after two deaths and entering this third life. It was supposed to be as unshakable as concrete, an absolute certainty.

But how things are now…

(“You’re too adorable!”)

Her face, smiling without reserve, burned into my eyelids, refusing to let go.

(No, no, hold on, me. Why am I getting all lovestruck here? I’m supposed to become a solitary being who doesn’t get swept away by anyone! )

A pure, sun-like light different from the twisted smile of Hinomiya Akane’s possessiveness or Saint Agnes’ fanatical grin.

That’s why it’s dangerous.

If I were to bask in that light, my fragile resolve would surely melt away like sherbet in an instant.

“…I won’t be swayed. Absolutely not.”

Muttering to myself, I twisted the doorknob with my freezing hand.

“I’m home…”

The moment I entered the entrance, the heat from the stove enveloped me. It felt like coming back to life.

I removed my scarf and took off my snow-drenched coat while heading toward the living room.

With a rattling sound, I opened the sliding door.

“Welcome back, Onii.”

Sitting on the sofa was my new family given in this third life—my younger sister, Ayabe Mirei.

Still in her sailor uniform, she stared at her smartphone screen. She didn’t even bother to face me, only speaking to me.

“…Yeah. I’m home.”

I awkwardly replied and headed toward the kitchen to take out some barley tea from the refrigerator.

There was a part of me that still wasn’t sure how to deal with this “sister” existence. After all, in my previous two lives, I had always been an only child.

“Today was ski class, right?”

Mirei said without looking away from her phone.

“Yeah… but…”

“You looked like you were having fun. With that girl… Yukishiro-san.”

Gulp—the sound of me swallowing my barley tea echoed far too loudly.

My heart made an unpleasant thump. Why does she know that? Is it a rumor from school?

“…Did you see?”

“Just happened to see it.”

Mirei said that, finally lifting her gaze from the phone.

And then those piercing eyes locked straight onto me.

“Onii…”

A chill ran down my spine.

Her eyes were cold, unreadable. It felt as if they could see straight through everything about me.

“You’ve had eyes like that… since way back.”

“…Way back?”

I instinctively asked back.

Since way back? The moment I met Mirei was just a few days ago when I woke up in this world’s Hokkaido. There shouldn’t be any “way back” between us.

(No way, could my sister also be related to the loop…? No no, that’s too inconvenient of a story! )

But Mirei didn’t care about my doubts and continued speaking.

“Easily swayed eyes. Making nice faces to everyone, unable to refuse. You know it’s completely unacceptable, yet you still do it.”

My breath caught in my throat.

That was my very essence.

(Why does she know!? Is she an esper!?! No, more importantly, why is this embarrassing situation where my sister, who I just met, accurately describes my core nature…! )

【Liquid Self】

A self with no clear identity, perfectly matching whatever “desired vessel” a woman envisions.

Why? Why does my sister know?

“W-why…”

My voice trembled.

Mirei suddenly looked away, then stood up and walked right over to me.

Even though she was small, there was a strange pressure as she looked down at me.

At that moment, Mirei’s eyes vividly dragged a memory up from the depths of my mind.

――”Why won’t you look only at me!?”

At the finish line of the Kumashiro Marathon. Those eyes of Hinomiya Akane’s burned with jealousy and despair.

For an instant, Mirei’s eyes perfectly overlapped with Akane’s from that day.

“Hii…!”

I let out a pitiful, short cry and instinctively took a step back.

A sharp pain throbbed in my abdomen. Of course, there were no scars on this body. But the memory of being stabbed etched into my soul summoned a phantom pain.

“Onii, gross.”

Mirei dismissed my flustered state with a voice that deeply looked down upon me.

“…S… shut up. It’s because you suddenly said something weird.”

“It’s not weird. It’s a fact.”

Mirei discarded my objection and smoothly extended her right hand. A pale, slender hand.

“Give me your phone.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it.”

A tone that left no room for argument.

(Refuse. Refuse, Ayabe Yuuma! This is dangerous! The first step of a yandere, “acquiring information!” It’s written in the textbook from past lives! If I’m swayed here, it’ll be the same cycle again! )

I screamed desperately inside, but my body betrayed me.

Like a marionette, I took my phone out of my pocket and handed it to Mirei.

Ah, why am I like this…

Mirei took my phone and skillfully unlocked it with ease.

“Wait, how did you unlock it!?”

“Your passcode is your birthday, right? 0810. Too simple for any security.”

“I mean, why do you know my birthday…”

“More importantly, if you cheat on me, I’ll catch you instantly with this.”

My interruption was lightly ignored.

Mirei returned to the sofa and opened up the app store, starting a download.

I could only stand there helplessly watching the scene unfold.

She was supposed to be a sister—someone in an untouchable, sacred zone. And yet she was now stepping so easily into the same territory as the yanderes from my past.

How am I supposed to act? What’s the right way to deal with this… as her “big brother”?

“M-Mirei… um… good job at school today…?”

It was, even by my own standards, a pathetically stiff attempt at my best “big brother move.”

But Mirei’s reply was colder than I could’ve ever imagined.

“…Huh? You’re seriously gross. What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“…”

My heart shattered into pieces.

Soon after, a notification sound rang out. The installation must have finished.

Mirei stood up and pushed the phone back to me.

The screen displayed an unfamiliar map-like icon.

“This… what is it?”

“A GPS tracking app.”

Mirei said casually.

“I’ve set it up so I can always keep track of where you are and what you’re doing. It’s for your sake.”

――For your sake.

Those words echoed in my head.

(Déjà vu! This line is completely the yandere template! )

Flashbacks of past memories surged through my brain.

“Yuuma can’t do anything without me.” CV: Hinomiya Akane

“There is no greater happiness than having Yuuma-sama remain mine alone.” CV: Saint Agnes

Their possessiveness always wore a mask of “for your sake,” devouring my freedom.

And now. The sister before me also spoke the same words.

“W… why, this…”

I asked desperately.

Then Mirei tilted her head slightly with an expression of genuine confusion.

Her gesture looked as cute as a girl her age.

But the words that came from her mouth were more than enough to plunge me into despair.

“It’s obvious.”

Mirei smiled faintly, like a demon.

“Onii’s no good unless I’m the one ‘taking care’ of you.”

――Perfect match.

Exactly the same as when Hinomiya Akane changed my schedule in the student council room of Kumamoto High during the first cycle. Word-for-word identical.

(No way—my little sister too!? Even the home, my last sacred sanctuary, is getting corrupted! Isn’t my third life’s difficulty set way too hard!? )

My body hair stood on end.

Was this a coincidence? No, it wasn’t. My sister, Ayabe Mirei, was undoubtedly the new “observer.”

And this time, through the unbreakable bond of family as a “sister,” I’m trapped like a caged bird.

No escape.

“Then, I’ll go back to my room. Call me when dinner is ready.”

Mirei said that and turned her back, ascending the stairs with light steps.

I was left alone in the living room.

I couldn’t feel the warm air from the heater anymore. An absolute terror froze me from the core of my body outward.

“…It’s over… my third life…”

I weakly headed toward my room and collapsed onto the bed. The creaking sound of the springs echoed strangely loud.

This time, I would definitely not be swayed, living a peaceful life as a “Solid Self”…

Ah, how fragile my resolve was.

At that moment, my phone in my pocket vibrated.

A message notification.

Feeling like giving up, I looked at the screen and saw a bright name displayed there.

Yukishiro Miru.

“Ayabe-kun, good job today! Watching your skiing was seriously so funny! (lol)”

The message had a snowman sticker attached.

I couldn’t even bring myself to reply before the next message arrived.

“I’ll teach you perfectly in the next class! Look forward to it, okay? It’s a promise! See you!”

The moment I read that message, an electric shock ran through my brain.

A warm sunbeam seemed to form in the very center of my frozen heart.

The next ski class… Miru would teach me… a promise…

Just seconds ago, the absolute despair that had dominated me melted away instantly with her innocent words.

“Hey, there’s still hope!”

I suddenly jumped up from the bed.

Yeah, so what if my sister’s watching me! So what if there’s GPS! I still have a bright future ahead of me—my next ski lesson with Miru!

From the inside, an ice-cold little sister was “taking care” of me, and from the outside, Miru shone on me like the sun.

Fine then—bring it on!

My third battle, “Days of Being Swept Away,” has begun in the worst possible form, yet with the highest anticipation.

“…No no no! I can’t! I’m being swept away! Completely swept away!”

I threw my phone onto the side of the bed and buried my face in the pillow.

A chaotic situation where hell and heaven are pressing in at the same time.

Well, that’s fine. For now, I’ll just immerse myself in this exhilaration…

At that moment, my phone vibrated again briefly.

A new message. The sender was—Ayabe Mirei.

“Hate to bring you back down when you’re all excited,”

“Is curry okay for dinner?”

On the surface, an ordinary message.

But I swallowed hard.

Why did she know I was excited?

A chill ran down my spine once more.

At that moment, an unfamiliar icon popped up briefly on top of the messaging app and disappeared instantly.

――”Ayabe Mirei has confirmed your current location.”

My blood drained.

She’s watching.

Always, no matter where I am, everything about me.

I gripped my phone tightly, frozen in place on the bed.