Chapter 5: Wow, nerdy hobbies sure do make money. — Part 1

Translated and Edited by: ynlucca.

Common Honorifics:
-san: A polite suffix, but not excessively formal.
-kun: A common suffix among friends and younger people.
-chan: A common suffix among people you’re close with, mostly used for feminine nicknames and girls, since it’s cutesy and childlike.
-senpai: A common suffix and noun used to address or refer to one’s older or more senior colleagues in a school, workplace, dojo, or sports club.

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T/N: The ice cream girl’s POV.

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You know what? I know this may sound like a bunch of lame excuses, but I have something to say. I did my best, okay? There.

Just recalling it is enough to make me feel embarrassed. Normally, I’d never have done something like that, but for her sake, I buckled up, mustered all my courage, and did it recklessly.

—No, I’m not making excuses, just let me finish.

Well, I have a feeling I did something wrong. Surely, in the right conditions, I would’ve done it a little better, though I don’t think I was being pushy at the time I asked him for money. Oh well, let’s stop talking about this. It’s already done, so all I can do now is move on.

The day was almost reaching its end while I lay in my bed, lights off. All I want to do is fall asleep, but I can’t and I hate it. Ugh, what happened after-school just doesn’t leave my head, and a nagging feeling lodged itself onto my back, crawling, gnawing while repeating, “enough, enough.”

I should’ve prepared his money yesterday, but I was like “nah, tomorrow’s fine enough.” I wonder if that passing thought was enough to cement today’s mess.

Truthfully, I just wanted to pay back the money I borrowed yesterday, but returning it as-is would be vulgar. I thought that I had to put it in a cute little envelope at least. That’s when I remembered there was one envelope somewhere in the house… I hope I’m right.

Sneaking around the living room, I saw my cute little sister doing something while sitting in her chair. I was in the middle of a raving search for an envelope, so my eyes just happened to catch a glimpse of her back.

Reaching where I wanted to go, I opened my beloved wallet under the desk. Surely enough, there were no bills inside. Prodding it with my finger, the coins answered with clicks and clangs, still, there wasn’t enough. I huffed an annoyed sigh.

Hmm? Why am I sighing, you ask?

That cute lil’ girl, you know, since she got sick, she started hiding her problems and worries. I don’t like that one bit. Memories of the past flashed by me.

I forget what they were called, but I remember there was a set of colored pens with characters popular among elementary school kids. My sis thought they were the cutest thing and really wanted it, but apparently, it was quite expensive. So much so that she didn’t even ask mom for anything.

For girls, not having the latest thing or the newest fad was basically an embarrassment, but unfortunately, my sister seemed to be the only one who didn’t own one of those preem pens.

A bit of time later on a holiday, one of her friends invited her out to play, but she said she wouldn’t go. When I asked why, she answered by telling me that everyone would have that pen but her. Upon finding that out, I asked why she hadn’t said a word about it. “Why didn’t you just ask mom and dad for one?”

Well, in hindsight, that was a bit overbearing on my part.

But then, you know what she said?

“No way, I’ll just cause more trouble for you…”

Her eyes were downcast, almost as if she’d given up on it already.

“It’s my fault mom and dad spend a lot of money already…”

It’s fine, I couldn’t tell her those words. Instead… eh?

That was the first time I got really upset with my sister. I was so angry I started yelling at her. My parents came running to us upon hearing my loud voice, which they rarely even hear. My face was burning pepper, and my voice almost a roar.

Mom and dad, wide-eyed, asked me what was wrong but I didn’t stop. Then I left without bothering to change out of my loungewear and flip-flops, withdrew all my New Year’s money, and bought every single one of those damned pens, not knowing which one she liked.

After that, I went back home. She cried and apologized profusely, but I didn’t waver.

“If you want something, say it! If, and only if it’s something we can’t have, I’ll just say no! Stop being shy about it, and if you do that again, I’ll just go into debt and buy every single thing you showed remote interest in like I just did!!!”

Maybe then, while I screamed, she had thoughts like, “Ah, my sister is a lost cause. One of these days she’s gonna do something irreversible.” Maybe.

So, you see, after that incident, she started asking me for stuff to some extent. Even so, she still had such a gentle personality inside her I couldn’t help but wonder if she hid something stupid from me again, but that was fine. I wasn’t asking her to tell me everything.

It’s only natural to hold a secret or two, but I just couldn’t tolerate her backward thinking. “It’s my fault!” or “It’s because I’m like this” were two phrases I just couldn’t take.

When did I ever say I had a bad time because of you, lil’ sis?

When did our parents ever tell you they were inconvenienced by your situation?

We didn’t say that. Never.

Rather, you made an insurmountable effort and continued that grueling rehabilitation. Even though it may have been a step at a time, you gradually became able to walk again. Seeing you struggle and win bit by bit brought me and our parents to tears every single time.

Even now, there’s something you want, right? So you worry this month’s allowance isn’t enough or something trivial like that, right?

Geez, for crying out loud. You should tell us something like that. We’ll gladly reward you for working hard every waking day. You won’t get punished for wanting something!

Look at me! Yesterday, I begged mom to pay for the ice cream I borrowed from that guy yesterday. Compared to that, your request is nothing! Everyone in the family will cooperate, I promise.

I just can’t help it. I can’t. Whenever she works hard and acts cute, my big sis switch just flips on accordingly. The only downside to that, though, is that there’s no stopping me once I get going.

“—If you can wait until your next allowance, I’ll help you out.”

Looking back, those words were the turning point.

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At a shop we went to a few days prior, her eyes were glued to several lined-up hats. I figured she’d definitely want one of them, and that shop had reasonable prices, so I made my move. “What do you want?” I asked her. Just leave it to your big sis!

At first, she was reserved, but she knew I’m a pushy person through and through. Giving up, she tapped on her phone a couple of times before showing me its screen. She’s my sister after all, so her being easy to get along with must be in her blood.

But, well… The things she showed me were kind of disappointing from a girl’s point of view.

She had a certain flea market website open. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it since I browse it a few times just to have a look, but the item she had open wasn’t good, to say the least.

“Um, right now, this is the card I want the most… so…”

What the…

I had a bad feeling that almost stuck to my throat, but I don’t think it showed on my face. I hope it’s okay…

This kind of thing, um, it wasn’t bad for her to want something, but how should I put it… It’s boring. Oh well, it’s probably a fashion thing, right? Like a pin or something.

…Nope, it’s about that card game again.

I’ve got no clue about them, so all I think they are is a waste of money. Even with that opinion, however, I know it’s not nice to talk down someone else’s hobbies like that.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but on the bright side, it was just a piece of paper. Surely, it would be probably cheaper than your average burger, so I’ll just say I got lucky I won’t have to spend a lot this time. Yeah, let’s put it that way.

Though I was in the mood for an easy win, as soon as I saw the pricing on her screen it was like something punched my gut.

“Wha—?!” A strange sound came out of my throat.

I mean, the more I looked at it, the more zeroes I saw.

“10k yen?!” (TL: 69 freedom eagles. Nice.)

I couldn’t believe the amount written before my eyes. This piece of paper was a little under that, being worth 8.5k yen, but still, come on! I’ve gotta report this immediately, right?! This is a scam! My sister’s being swindled! (TL: 58 buckaroos.)

When I looked over to my side, I saw her sparkly eyes. Stars.

“Yay! I’m surprised at how cheap it is!”

But it’s expensiveeeee! Damn!

I couldn’t say that out loud, but a small me screamed inside my head, definitely. I mean, looking more into it and comparing the other listings, it was indeed the cheapest one as my sister said.

Still, that doesn’t mean this price isn’t wrong! Besides, cheap?!

“I want two of these,” she added.

“Two?!”

No shot! Two?!

For the first time in ages, I felt my head spin in its place. Of course, it wasn’t unusual for clothing to cost that much, but what my sister wanted were cards from that game, and that was the price for just one card.

“The average market price for one card was over 10k last week, but it seems to have finally calmed down.”

She happily snorted, telling me all about how great this card is, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Y’know…” I tried to start, but…

“—I’m sure the price will soar under this season’s circumstances, so I’ll get it sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, okay, I see…”

I didn’t hear a word she said. Half of them were gibberish to me, but above all, we had such different values in money I got worried about her future. So I’m sorry… But then she smiled.

“I had given up on the idea of buying it with my allowance,” she said. Then, while sitting down on the chair, she wrapped her arms around my waist. Her smile was worth far more than a million yen.

“Thank you, big sis. I love you!”

She followed that attack with a finisher… Ugh, so cuuuuute!!!

Hearing her say that made me weak. You’ve got me in the palm of your hands, you know that, right? Besides, this big sister right here has her own stubbornness, so once I made a promise, I can never break it… But more than any of that, I wanted to see my lil’ sis’ happy face.

But, erm, this time… You see…

There’s a limit to everything, right?

Oh, what am I gonna do? If don’t say something, my next month’s allowance will evaporate in one click. What should I do, what should I do? This is too much, my head’s starting to hurt.

Really, I should reject it. I mean, why not wait until it’s cheaper? That kind of statement about how it might be a loss not to buy it right now was BS, though it may have already gone down your throat.

Hmm, but if you ask me, a card tournament at this time of the year? Don’t you mean a festival or something? I heard that cards of all sorts were only available at festivals, so there is a big possibility that they will be more expensive in the future because of the scarcity of value and so on.

Ugh, but doesn’t that mean this amount seems fair? Is this how the game’s played? How? Am I going crazy or something?

I mean, wait a second. Does this card game give out cash coupons or something at these events? Thousands for pieces of paper don’t make sense… Aren’t these nerdy hobbies dangerous?

Hey… If I go to one, buy cheap every time, I can become a millionaire. I think I’ve discovered a money-making technique or something, haven’t I? Oy, wait a moment, don’t you think it’s more profitable if you buy from—

“But if you don’t win, you don’t get anything… Besides…”

“Ah…”

…I didn’t mean to say anything, but I ended up slipping. What I meant to say was, why don’t you just go to one of the events where the cards are first sold out? It’d be more economical that way, wouldn’t it? I thought it’d even be profitable, but that’s all I thought about.

I lacked delicacy. I’m deeply sorry, lil’ sis… I mean, how could I make you look down at your own feet in embarrassment? I hate seeing you do this look because of me…

It’s like making her relive her fear of causing trouble to others around her…

I’m sorry—I wanted to say that, but I couldn’t. If I did, it would be just another excuse. I mean, I’d never want her to give up on something she likes because of me. I’d never accept such bull.

That’s why it’s your big sis’ turn to make her move.

“…I take what I said back.”

I really didn’t have a proper solution in mind, but the sight of her growing sadness made my heart skip a bit. Maybe even the fact that her birthday’s next month pushed me over the edge.

“But, can this wait until your birthday?”

“Huh?”

I’ll go out with a bang. Putting on a movie-like confident smile, I’ll let the words do their job.

“Leave everything to your big sister.”

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