Chapter 4: 4 – My Younger Brother is an Ikemen

Minato’s POV

“There’s no way Peita[1] could be this cute! What is this! How did you become a pretty boy? Gross!”

“Ah, that foul mouth… There’s no doubt you’re Mina-nee…!”

Peita, or rather William, was making an unspeakable face, but still managed to look good.

It was a fact that the Tanaka family had been really unremarkable in appearance.

Peita had strong and thick hair that he never shaved. He even decided to style his unkempt hair as an afro so he could call it a natural perm. Because he looked like a tramp, I would trash-talk him every time we met.

As a spoiled youngest child, he could never hold down a job; being kind was his only redeeming quality. Just when I think he’s settled into a new workplace, it usually turns out that he already quit some time ago.

He’s just a good-for-nothing.

But the more hopeless he is, the cuter, and I can’t help feeling conflicted. We have a close relationship, you see.

“I heard the story from Martha… Could it be that Father, Mother, and Older Brother reincarnated as well…?”

There’s no way that a situation that miraculous could come true, but my reincarnated younger brother is right here, in the form of this pretty boy before my very eyes. This guy… What manner of good deeds[2] had he performed while temping? Even his hair is smooth and silky!

“How much of your past life do you remember, Mina-nee?”

“Err, all of it?”

“Is that so! Since I woke up 10 days ago, I feel like my memories are gradually returning… But there are still many parts that are vague.”

Hmm. Just like Martha said, it seems this phenomenon has something to do with eating the matsutake. I wonder if Father and the others are having the same experience… Are the memories returning slowly because they carried on life as usual instead of sleeping for days…?

“Peita, have you said anything about reincarnation? To Father and the others?”

Even if it’s still a hunch, he should have at least tried to confirm it.

“No no, unlike Mina-nee, I’m normal in this world. There’s no way I can ask Father and the others something so absurd!”

“Normal, huh… Even though you were an idler in our past life!?”

“Guh–” he spluttered.

Got him!

Based on what I’ve heard from William and Martha, it seems I have a reputation for being crazy in this world. But why is that so?

Also, I’m unconsciously mixing up the way I speak in this world with the way I used to speak in the world of my previous life. I’m safe for now because I am only with my younger brother, but if I’m not careful…

I understand why Peita was afraid to ask. Have you, perhaps, been reincarnated? I may have lived for over 40 years, including my past life, but I have never heard that question even once.

Meanwhile, Peita had been waiting ever since he woke up, to approach me first. To be fair, if our positions were reversed, I would have also reached out to Peita first…

In my past life as ‘Tanaka Minato’, I was a light otaku[3]. The amount of anime, manga, and light novels[4] that I consumed was double that of a typical person.

Because I didn’t do things like collecting merchandise and getting my hands on doujinshi[5], I was proud of being only a mild otaku.

Now, my younger brother Heita, he was also an otaku.

In fact, the key to getting along within the Tanaka family was lending and borrowing manga between us siblings, including my older brother.

I knew that each of us had an understanding of the ‘reincarnation into another world’ genre to a certain extent. My older brother, Wataru, read manga, but he didn’t read novels. Reincarnation wasn’t an uncommon feature even in manga, but I doubt that he would understand.

That’s why Peita contacted me first. He even brought the violet spider in order to chase Martha away.

Ah, the spider is building a web. How cute…

My heart skipped a beat. This reaction wasn’t something ‘Minato’ would have had. Wasn’t Emma supposed to be the daughter of a Count? It felt more like a reaction from a 5-year-old insect lover…

….

Also, I didn’t feel sad over my death as ‘Minato’. My only lingering desire from my past life was beer, which may be because my body was still experiencing the feeling from that moment when I yelled ‘I wanted to drink beer!’.

Instead of sadness, there was only joy over the fact that I didn’t have to go to work tomorrow. Inside this body, there was no denying that my consciousness as ‘Minato’ was stronger, perhaps because I had lived a longer life as her.

Looking closer, the mind that was ‘Emma’ was mostly buzzing with bugs. She was a foodie, like me, and even though I wouldn’t go as far as feeling my heart skip a beat for them, I was fond of bugs too.

Strangely, I didn’t notice any difference in personality. Some things had been added, but aspects that already existed didn’t seem to be missing.

At any rate, the promise of a life where I would have to learn to be a proper lady was giving me major anxiety. ‘Minato’ was a normal person, while ‘Emma’ is an insect-loving princess… I’ll do my best… somehow… I’ll do my best…

“By the way, Mina-nee… have you ever played an otome game[6]?” William asked suddenly.

“Have you, Peita?”

“Never.”

“Me neither.”

In stories about being reincarnated to another world with memories of a past life, the setting invariably follows the pattern of ‘I reincarnated to an otome game world…’ and so on. It turns out that neither I nor Heita had a single acquaintance who was familiar with such games, let alone any experience playing one ourselves.

Usually, if one is reincarnated… Doesn’t it go like… ‘Make the best use of my knowledge! Like having cheat codes in life’…and so on?

Real life is tough. I learnt that lesson during my 35 years living in my past world. Being peerless is nothing but a dream.

“Ah, I played the Takeda Shingen[7] capture game, once!”

Was that? Did it count? I’m sure it’s an otome game. It was a few years ago, I never finished it, but I remember it vaguely.

“Why Takeda Shingen?!”

I, Minato, am a history nerd. That said, even if the room furnishings hadn’t made it clear enough… This country, from Emma’s memories, looked Western[8], which I didn’t have any knowledge of.

If this world had been the Sengoku-era Japan like that of the Takeda Shingen capture game I played on my smartphone, I might have cheesed it with my knowledge cheat.

Takada Shingen could probably have been captured too. Sheeeesh. I had my sights set on Naoe Kanetsugu’s wife… To polish my ‘love’ helmet[9] every day.

The world could only be said to ‘look’ Western because it was somehow different from the West in the past life Heita and I shared. Since silkworms were farmed here, they didn’t need a Silk Road[10].

I was really good at Japanese history, even if my knowledge varied in depth depending on the period. World history, on the other hand… I couldn’t rely on my knowledge to cheat at all…

Moreover, if this was the world of an otome game, there was a risk.

“Oh no… If I’ve reincarnated as a Villainous Princess, I can’t avoid the condemnation event[11]…”

In the Takeda Shingen smartphone game, tropes like the Villainous Princess and her rival, the teahouse serving girl, hadn’t appeared. Even if I wished to plan countermeasures, that game would be of no help.

To be speechless in front of everyone at the graduation party[12] would be heart-breaking.

“Mina-nee

, you, of all people, would make a splendid Villainous Princess,” said William brightly to my face, which had turned sour with annoyance.

This guy…! I’m this close to decking him!

I was frustrated. Normally, I would have hit him immediately, but! I just can’t hurt a pretty boy’s face! Why did you have to be so gorgeous! …Disgusting!

“Anyway… Let’s confirm this theory with Father and the others later.”

I was able to hold back from punching him, somehow. As I hopped off the bed, I aimed to land on Peita’s, in other words William’s, little toe.

“Oww, owwowwow!!!”

Big Sister here will properly teach you, that even a pretty boy has to suffer the payback if he gets too cocky.

Judging by the pitiful expression, it seems that I did get his little toe! *Grins*

♠♠♠

Author’s notes: It wasn’t just the disappointing younger brother who was reincarnated.

…

[T/N 1: Peita is Minato’s nickname for her younger brother, Heita.]

[T/N 2: Karmic reward is a common belief in Japanese culture, where one who performs many good deeds or good deeds with significant impact is thought to be rewarded in their next life by being born with power, beauty or other advantages, and vice versa.]

[T/N 3: Otaku refers to someone with consuming/obsessive interests, particularly in anime and manga.]

T/N 4: Light novels are a style of Japanese novel, typically easy to read, fun and escapist in nature, accompanied by some anime- or manga-style illustrations.]

[T/N 5: Doujinshi typically refers to self-published manga, equivalent to fan fiction. In Japanese, the term may include other self-published print works such as magazines or novels.]

[T/N 6: Otome games are story-based video games targeted towards women (otome, pronounced oh-toe-meh, comes from the Japanese word for “maiden”), where typical goals include developing a romantic relationship between the female player character and one of several male characters, also known as ‘capturing’ them. In this story, sometimes referred to as capture games.]

[T/N 7: Takeda Shingen was one of the most powerful Japanese feudal lords in the late stage of the Sengoku period, circa. 1467 to 1615. The capture game referred to here is a real-time tactics smartphone game based on his life, where ‘capture’ refers to ‘defeating enemies’. Otome games are sometimes called ‘capture’ games in the sense of wooing or ‘capturing’ love targets. Hence, Minato is confused about the meaning of ‘capture’ game or is grasping at straws.]

[T/N 8: Western here refers to a stereotypical medieval European setting, not in the sense of the American Wild West.]

[T/N 9: Naoe Kanetsugu was a samurai of the Sengoku period, famous for owning a helmet which bore a decorative crest in the shape of the Japanese character for love, 愛. Here, Minato is making a lewd pun.]

[T/N 10: Silk Road refers to the overland trade routes connecting Southern Europe with East Asia. The author may be implying that any discrepancies between this world and real world Western cultures may be written off as due to lack of contact with the East.]

[T/N 11: Condemnation event may refer to a certain point in a typical otome game where the Villainous Princess character is exposed and punished, something Minato would clearly like to avoid if possible.]

[T/N 12: ‘Graduation party’ here is a metaphor for the end of the potential journey imagined by Minato as a Villainous Princess, ending up ‘speechless’ as she would have to go along passively with no way to change that fate.]