"Brother~!"
The voice was a soft, sweet murmur directly beside his ear. A faint, milky scent—from the hair brushing his nose—drifted into his consciousness, pulling him from sleep.
That scent. That softness. That weight.
Even with his eyes closed, Akira knew it was his adorable younger sister, Yuki Souo.
"Time to get up, Brother~!"
He could hear the playful smile in her voice. She shifted, her propped arm lowering, and she pressed herself more fully against him through the thin summer blanket. Then, she began to wriggle gently, like a caterpillar.
"Hmph~!"
The blanket was no barrier. She easily found the firm, "rugged terrain" of his morning physiology. He was seventeen, after all—an age where the sun rose vigorously and without fail, especially now, feeling decidedly too bright and conspicuous.
Slap!
"Oh!" came her familiar, unserious protest.
Akira administered his usual, gentle disciplinary tap. But today, instead of bouncing away, she lingered.
"Brother, you're awake!"
"How could I not be, with you crushing me like this?"
The bedroom door swung open. Yumi Souo, who had been observing from the hallway for some time, stepped inside, her expression a mix of exasperation and concern.
"Up, you two! School starts tomorrow, and you're lazing about like this? Hurry up!"
Though Akira was adopted, Yumi had raised him as her own—closer, some might say. Watching Yuki and Akira navigate adolescence was a delicate task. Yuki was utterly clingy and completely unguarded around him. If left unchecked, Yumi feared things would progress too far, too soon.
She wasn't opposed to the idea of Akira and Yuki being together, in principle. But the family patriarch, Gensei Souo, was still evaluating Akira's place within the clan. If Akira crossed a line before that assessment was complete, no matter how promising he was, Gensei would cast him out without a second thought.
Yumi had watched these two grow from childhood playmates to what they were now. She couldn't let Akira's future—his safety—be jeopardized by a moment of passion.
The outside world was perilous. Monsters, Devils, Cursed Spirits—the news cycled daily through reports of destruction and desperate battles waged by the Hero Association. For their sake, for their happy future, she had to be vigilant.
But this… this morning scene had crossed a threshold. She had no choice. Tonight, she would have to find Akira and explain… certain things. The facts of life every young man needed to know. If he could release that tension appropriately, Yuki would naturally be safer.
Just the thought of personally giving "the talk" to Akira sent a flush creeping up her neck. Yumi was in her early thirties—a vibrant age—but she'd been without a partner for years. No, truthfully, she'd never had one. Was she even qualified to…?
"Get up, right now!" she commanded, her voice sharper than intended to mask her fluster.
She reached out and pulled Yuki off the bed. As the girl moved, the thin blanket fell away, and the "blazing sun" it had partially concealed was fully, angrily revealed.
Yumi's breath hitched. She swallowed, hard.
So… big.
What are you thinking?! she immediately chastised herself. Akira is your son!
Shaking off the brief, dizzying distraction, she put on a stern face and pinched Yuki's ear. "Yuki! Is this how you wake your brother? You call this a 'prank'?"
"Hehehe," Yuki giggled, sticking out her tongue, utterly oblivious to her mother's momentary crisis.
"Out. Both of you, out! Don't dawdle; your brother needs to change." She herded Yuki through the door and shut it firmly behind them.
Alone, Akira sat up. He glanced under the blanket and sighed, a helpless smile on his lips. Rising, he fetched a fresh pair of underwear from the wardrobe.
"This girl… she's becoming a real menace," he muttered to the empty room. "If only I had the power to refuse the old man outright… Who wants to live by his rules? But then again…"
His gaze turned contemplative. "If it weren't for him taking me in, I'd probably be dead—killed by a Monster or a Cursed Spirit. I wouldn't have this comfort, this safety."
This world was not peaceful. Survival required not just strength, but resources. The Souo family was wealthy, and alongside other major families, they were key shareholders in the Hero Association. That status granted protection. Without it, their household might have been wiped out long ago by a random—or targeted—attack.
After cleaning up and disposing of the soiled underwear in the laundry basket, Akira stood before the full-length mirror. He examined his reflection: the handsome face, the lean, strong physique built from years of discreet training.
A grin spread across his face, revealing a line of white teeth.
"Not bad," he said to his reflection. For the ten years since his transmigration into this dangerous world, he had achieved a life he once could only dream of. Now, he just had to secure it.
Akira's credentials were impeccable. Top grades, a sharp business acumen, and even martial arts mastery—enough to handle three to five strong men without breaking a sweat. He had a stunningly beautiful sister utterly devoted to him, and a captivating, unrelated "mother" in Yumi Souo. All he had to do was pass the old man's test.
The terms were clear: achieve a significant independent goal within three years, using not a single resource from the Souo family. Succeed, and he would inherit the mantle of the Souo family head and earn the right to marry Yuki.
Ofcourse, he had sometimes dreamed it would be easier with a system.
After a decade in this world, he'd long since abandoned that hope. So when the thought flickered through his mind once more, the voice that answered nearly made him jump from his skin.
["Heroine Training System bound."]
["Related protocols unlocked."]
["Scanning for viable capture targets in vicinity…"]
["Target Identified: Yuki Souo. Comprehensive Potential: S-Rank."]
["Target Identified: Yumi Souo. Comprehensive Potential: A-Rank."]
["Approach target to initiate capture."]
… What?
Akira stared into space, his chopsticks hovering over his breakfast. This wasn't the legendary, all-powerful cheat code he'd imagined. A Heroine Training System? It sounded less like a divine gift and more like the first quest in a particularly risqué game.
Hesitantly, guided by an instinct he didn't understand, he moved closer to the dining table where Yumi and Yuki were sitting.
The system's voice, cool and mechanical, chimed again.
["Please establish physical connection with the target to complete capture."]
Physical connection?
The term echoed in his head. His mind unhelpfully supplied a series of increasingly vivid and inappropriate interpretations. Surely it didn't mean… that. Right?
"Akira? Is everything alright? You haven't touched your food."
Yumi's voice broke through his bewildered reverie. She was watching him, a faint line of concern between her brows.
"Ah! No, it's not that," he recovered quickly, his eyes darting to Yuki. A plausible excuse formed on his lips. "I was just thinking… Yuki's outfit today is particularly charming."
"Ehhh! Big Brother!" Yuki's face lit up like a sunrise, her earlier pout vanishing instantly. If not for Yumi's presence at the table, she likely would have vaulted into his lap. "Have you finally noticed your little sister's appeal? Here, say 'ahh'!"
She leaned over, offering a bite of her tamagoyaki on her chopsticks.
Akira accepted it mechanically. "Mmm. Delicious."
"Right? Now, Big Brother, feed me!" Yuki chirped, opening her mouth like a baby bird.
The intimate, domestic scene should have been comforting. But as Akira numbly lifted a morsel to Yuki's waiting mouth, he was hyper-aware of the system's silent, pending prompt in his mind. Establish physical connection.
Across the table, Yumi Souo watched the exchange. The relief she felt seeing their normalcy was instantly tempered by a new, sharp spike of anxiety. Akira was acting differently. There was a distracted intensity in his eyes she hadn't seen before.
Was Yuki's constant affection finally pushing him past his limits? she thought, her own grip tightening on her chopsticks. No more delays. Tonight, I absolutely must have that talk with him. I have to teach him the proper way to manage… these urges.
The breakfast continued, a fragile tableau of normalcy. But beneath the surface, three hearts thrummed with secret thoughts: one confused by a sudden, bizarre power; one blissfully seeking affection; and one steeled with a resolve for a most awkward and necessary intervention.