I was Reincarnated as the Scum Older Brother of the Protagonist in a Romance Battle Game, But I don't want to Die, so I'll do my Best - Episode 12

I sat in my room in my apartment, about to call my father.

Honestly, the parents of the Kitano family in the game aren’t clearly depicted much.

However, judging from the scene where they unhesitatingly kick their own son out of the house, even if he’s the worst scum, I can infer that they prioritize practicality over sentiment.

If I approach such a drastic decision-maker with a poor explanation, it could lead to another death flag, even without the duel event with the protagonist.

The inability to report the current situation carelessly was the main reason I hadn’t informed my parents about the broken engagement.

But they’ll find out someday…

Just now, my fervent conversation with Michiyo-san about making a resolution and striving to live must have dispelled my hesitation.

I watched the small text “Calling…” on the tapped call screen.

I had mentally prepared several patterns for the conversation flow, assuming my father’s personality.

Then, the display switched to “Call 0:01.”

“George? What do you want at this hour?”

The voice from the phone didn’t express an ounce of joy at hearing from his son after a long time.

(As expected… he’s that kind of parent… I need to brace myself.)

“It’s been a while, Father.”

“…What’s with that creepy way of speaking? What have you done this time?”

(Indeed, after the duel, there was a line where George said to his father, “Hey, Dad! Why am I being kicked out of the house?!” So, that’s how he usually talks… Well, I’ll stick with this tone for now.)

“Yes, due to my own shortcomings, my engagement with Aru Miyashita has been dissolved.”

“…What? Say that again.”

His tone was calm, but his voice was clearly tinged with anger… I covered the microphone with my hand, took a deep breath, removed my hand, and stated again:

“This time, due to my fault, my engagement with Aru Miyashita has been dissolved.”

“…Do you have any excuses?”

“I have no excuses.”

I could hear a loud sigh from the other end of the phone, audible even without being there. I calmly thought to myself that such a loud sigh is what happens when someone is disappointed and disheartened.

“So, you’re saying that the Miyashita family’s daughter bears no responsibility whatsoever, and the dissolution of the engagement is entirely your fault. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that is correct, without a doubt. All responsibility rests with me.”

“…And?”

My father’s voice was chillingly cold… This response meant he wanted to know how I would take responsibility. It was the worst possible scenario in my imagined conversation flow… I guess it can’t be helped.

“This might not be something I should say, given the trouble I’ve caused, but I believe Ms. Miyashita has feelings for my younger brother, Takeru.”

“…Tell me the circumstances.”

“First, as you know, Father, I have caused a great deal of trouble to many people, including Ms. Miyashita, both inside and outside of school, due to my selfish behavior.”

“…”

“It seems that Ms. Miyashita consulted Takeru about me because of that. And Takeru, it seems, empathetically listened to Ms. Miyashita’s concerns.”

“…So, the Miyashita daughter has feelings for Takeru?”

“I don’t know that much. However, to Aru Miyashita, I must be nothing but an object of disgust. Although I brought this upon myself, I believe that if we were to marry, it would only lead to unhappiness for both of us.”

“So? What do you intend to do in the end?”

“Father… I have decided to reflect on my past actions, repent, and mend my ways.”

“…I’m tired of hearing empty words of repentance. What can you possibly do?”

“…Father, I am currently seriously working towards ranking within the top 10 in both the upcoming academic exam and the uncharted territory test.”

“What? You, who can’t even study properly or use divine sight properly, aiming for the top 10? Talk in your sleep.”

(This is… this is the first turning point where I choose whether I can survive in this world…)

“If I don’t make it into the top 10, I will take responsibility and leave the Kitano family.”

“Oh, you know very well that I don’t tolerate jokes, don’t you?”

(I don’t know that, but it feels like it…) “Yes, I know very well.”

“It’s rare for you, but you’ve made a sensible decision. You seem to have matured somewhat, but it’s a little late.”

“With all due respect, I don’t believe there’s a ‘too early’ or ‘too late’ when a person decides to start making an effort.”

“You, of all people, say that? But… well, fine. You brought this up, so you must be prepared. I’m looking forward to seeing your ‘not too late’ effort.”

“Yes, then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Hoo-

I hung up the phone and weakly lowered my smartphone, exhaling the breath I had held in my chest along with the tension.

“Now there’s no turning back… All I can do is see it through.”

I wrote down the tasks I needed to accomplish and the small goals I needed to reach during Golden Week in a notebook I had started using a while ago. I added a circle to May 13th, the test date, on the calendar.

“First, I absolutely have to achieve Divine Sight Level 20…”

Miyashita Residence, Platinum Dai, Tokyo Metropolitan Area, Upscale Residential Area

“Yes, yes, that’s right… Yes… I just heard about it myself… Yes, my wife and I will confirm the truth with our daughter.”

“I apologize for the great rudeness this time… Well, I will contact you again at a later date.”

The middle-aged man, still in his silk gown, placed the receiver down and remained motionless for a while.

“Oh, dear… What did Mr. Kitano say…?”

A beautiful middle-aged woman, also wearing a fluffy towel-like gown, approached him anxiously and asked about the phone call.

“There’s nothing to say… It seems Aru-chan unilaterally dissolved her engagement with George-kun… This is bad…”

The man’s words made the woman’s face turn pale. She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with surprise.

“That child… She didn’t say a word…”

“Anyway, call Aru. We need to confirm the truth first…”

The woman nodded repeatedly and hurried upstairs.

The man’s name is Yoji Miyashita, the current head of the prestigious Miyashita family and Aru’s father. With his short, salt-and-pepper hair and well-trimmed beard, along with his refined features and well-proportioned physique, he looks remarkably youthful for a 44-year-old.

And the woman who was with him earlier is Akane Miyashita, the mother of Aru and their eldest daughter, Aika. She also looks young, with pink hair cut into a short bob and large, slightly droopy eyes that are endearing. Her skin is spotless, so she wouldn’t look out of place if someone said she was in her twenties.

In the Miyashita Family’s Drawing Room

Now, the three family members are gathered in the Miyashita family’s drawing room.

The parents are sitting together on a sofa, and in front of them, Aru is sitting shallowly, looking a little nervous.

“Today, I received a call from the head of the Kitano family… You know what it was about, don’t you?”

“Yes…”

Aru replied, looking down slightly and slumping her shoulders.

“Regarding this engagement dissolution, Mr. Kitano fully admitted his fault, and Mr. Kitano apologized to us.”

“Eh!?”

Aru was surprised by this news. She never thought George would report to his parents that everything was his responsibility.

“What? What’s wrong, Aru?! It’s a mistake, isn’t it? Right? It is, isn’t it?”

Her mother’s pleading eyes… Just as her sister said, her parents are only concerned with pleasing the Kitano family, not her.

“I told you both before, didn’t I? I can’t possibly be engaged to someone like that.”

Aru’s angry words made her parents flinch slightly.

“So I told him! ‘I’m breaking off our engagement!’ And then George-kun just casually accepted it. I was expecting him to get violent and throw a tantrum, so I was taken aback.”

Her father frowned at Aru’s use of the word “break off.”

“…You didn’t just dissolve the engagement, you unilaterally broke it off…”

“It doesn’t matter which one it is! I have no intention of ever getting involved with that scum again! Ah, what a relief!!”

Aru, feeling a vague sense of guilt towards George, snapped at her parents.

“…The other party also heard that you’re getting along well with George-kun’s younger brother. Is that true?”

“!? Th-that’s… that’s not relevant right now!!”

She was flustered when her parents suddenly questioned her relationship with Takeru.

“Mr. Kitano proposed an alternative to the dissolution of the engagement with George-kun: a re-engagement with his younger brother, Takeru-kun… It’s still unofficial, though.”

“Eh???”

“If Aru and Takeru-kun are mutually in love, there’s no reason for us to refuse… It’s unfortunate that he’s not the eldest son, but Takeru-kun seems reliable enough to entrust Aru to.”

“Eh? Wait…”

It seems that during the previous call from the Kitano family, they misunderstood that I was consulting Takeru about various things and thought I had feelings for him…

“Oh, my! Aru, that’s wonderful!”

Her mother, doing a complete turnaround, took her hand happily.

(Wonderful? Is this really okay?… And for George-kun to take all the responsibility… Is he planning something?)

Thus, the parents of both the Kitano and Miyashita families became aware of the dissolution of George and Aru’s engagement.

However, unbeknownst to George, the discussion of an engagement between Takeru and Aru was progressing, and George himself was about to leave the house depending on the results of the uncharted territory test.

The death flag he thought he had avoided was about to be re-established in an unexpected way.