Don’t Look Back, Megumi Kato [11]

After leaving the convenience store, Izumi Yuu made his way straight home.

Before long, he arrived at the front door of the Izumi household.

Although his parents hadn’t left him any inheritance before they passed away, the house itself was quite spacious. Located in Tokyo, it was a standalone villa—not exactly a small asset.

At the very least, Yuu only had to worry about day-to-day expenses. He didn’t need to work himself to the bone paying off debt or saving for a new place, nor was he saddled with any rent.

He pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door. The house was shrouded in darkness, save for a sliver of faint light seeping out from beneath a door on the second floor.

“I’m home!” Yuu called out reflexively while switching into his slippers.

As usual, no one responded.

Well—not exactly no one. From upstairs came a soft knock on the floor.

Yuu knew immediately. That was his stepsister, Izumi Sagiri, letting him know she’d heard him.

Click.

He flipped on the light, banishing the darkness from the room.

Thump, thump, thump…

A flurry of knocks followed in quick succession.

That was her signal. The girl was telling him her stomach was growling—dinner time.

“Hah… You really don’t give a guy a break,” Yuu sighed with a helpless smile.

He headed toward the kitchen, carrying the discounted groceries the store manager had given him when he left.

The female manager often gave him food that was nearing expiration—free of charge—since she knew he had a little sister to take care of.

Well… mostly because of his good looks. She didn’t give food away to just anyone.

Originally, Yuu’s cooking was average at best. But ever since he’d ended up in this world, life had been tight. Out of necessity, he started cooking for himself.

Those cheap convenience store bento just weren’t edible unless you were starving.

Over time, he’d gotten pretty good—so good, in fact, that he felt like he could probably take Tokyo’s culinary scene by storm in a few months, even without outside help.

Before long, he finished preparing two steaming bowls of his special omurice and picked one up to bring upstairs.

“Sagiri, your dinner’s ready,” he said, standing outside her room.

The moment the words left his mouth, the door swung open.

Peeking out was a silver-haired, blue-eyed girl in a green hoodie and a pink pajama dress. Only the upper half of her body was visible as she stood just behind the door. The hem of her nightgown brushed her knees, revealing two slender, porcelain-white legs and bare, delicate feet.

Her features were so exquisitely doll-like it was almost surreal. With her small frame and adorably perfect face, she looked like a porcelain figure crafted for affection.

Even her toes, round and soft, looked like creamy candy you’d want to savor slowly.

[Looking at the petite, adorable girl before you, a thought flashes through your mind. Due to deep psychological trauma, she’s an extremely reclusive and socially anxious shut-in, unwilling to speak to outsiders or interact with the world. No matter what you do, she’ll silently endure it without resistance. The only flaw in this otherwise perfect scenario is that you two aren’t related by blood—you’re step-siblings with no biological connection whatsoever.]

Bullshit. Absolute garbage.

Yuu scowled inwardly, thoroughly disgusted by the intrusive narration.

What kind of scum takes advantage of a girl with severe social anxiety? That’s no better than preying on someone with a cognitive disability!

And what’s this about “no blood relation” being a flaw? Isn’t that the one thing I should be relieved about?

Whoever’s writing this garbage is the worst of the worst.

He ignored the sleazy voiceover entirely and turned his attention back to the girl.

A translucent screen floated before her:

[Name: Izumi Sagiri]
[Age: Confidential]
[Status: Shut-in illustrator suffering from severe psychological trauma]
[Affection Level: 45 (Quite fond of you as a caretaker)]

When she saw the special omurice in his hand, her sapphire-blue eyes lit up. She took it eagerly and whispered a barely audible, “Thank you.”

“Huh? Is that marker ink on your hands?” Yuu asked, noticing the blue smudge on her otherwise pristine fingers.

Sagiri didn’t speak. She just gave a small nod in confirmation.

“Were you practicing your drawing?” he asked gently.

Another nod.

“That’s awesome. Actually, I’ve always dreamed of becoming an illustrator myself,” Yuu said with a wistful smile.

“Mm?!” This time, she let out a small sound of surprise, staring up at him in disbelief.

She clearly remembered that just two months ago, her oniichan had submitted a manuscript to a light novel publisher. And just recently, he’d gotten word that it was accepted. The publisher was planning to assign her and another illustrator to work on the book.

So why was he suddenly saying he wanted to be an illustrator too? Was he trying to take their job?

“Well, that’s something for the future anyway. No need to get into it now,” Yuu said, waving off her confusion as he noticed her blank, puzzled expression.

Looks like she’s still mixing up verbs and nouns a bit.

Of course, there was no way he could explain the full situation to her. If he did, he was pretty sure her affection level would plummet into the negatives.

Gurgle~!

As they stood at the doorway, Sagiri’s stomach let out a loud growl.

[The girl is currently in a state of hunger. You decide to let her sample your personal pre-dinner dessert first. Just be careful—her teeth might be sharper than you expect.]

Yuu rolled his eyes, ignoring the narrator’s filthy commentary as usual. He looked at Sagiri and said softly, “Sorry I’m late today, Sagiri-chan. You must be starving.”

Her face instantly turned a bright red. Steam practically puffed up from the top of her head as she clutched the bowl with one hand and shoved Yuu with the other, her little foot stomping furiously at the floor.

Clearly, the shame had overwhelmed her.

[You watch the girl’s flushed, bare feet and suddenly realize—maybe you need a little pre-dinner dessert yourself…]

But Yuu didn’t hear the narrator this time.

Because Sagiri, her face now entirely red, had shoved him out of the room with all her strength.

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Left standing outside, Yuu could only shake his head with a sigh and head downstairs to enjoy his own dinner—and check the latest updates about his upcoming book.

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T/N: this narrator is out freaking me :sob:

This is a fan translation of 加藤惠别回头，我是伦也君 by 故人归 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!