Chapter 119: Pharaoh’s Curse

（Waaa!! Onii-chan’s sleeping face…)

On the first day of summer vacation, at 6:30 in the morning.

I, Saori Moribe, was visiting Fumio-onii-chan’s room.

But I didn’t mean to attack him in his sleep.

To tell the truth, thanks to my parents becoming the officers of the neighborhood association, I have been asked to become the sister of the morning radio gymnastics for the children during this summer vacation.

Even though the children are children, just the thought of appearing in front of other people makes me nervous.

So, on the way to school in the morning, I told big brother about it, and he said, “Then, shall I do it with you?”.

Oh, big brother, you’re so kind. I love you!

Now I can see big brother every day during the summer vacation.

When I think about it, the depressing radio gymnastics suddenly becomes as big an event as a summer festival.

Also, when I asked that, big brother also smile and say, “I wonder if I can get up early enough”.

And now, it was the first day of the long-awaited summer vacation.

I wore a cute practice shirt and shorts that I bought for this day, and decided to pick up big brother.

I was afraid that if he overslept and missed it, I would cry.

And as I didn’t feel comfortable ringing the intercom this early in the morning, I opened the door a little and called out in a hushed tone.

「Good morning…」

Then, from the back of the room, a woman in pajamas with a lot of curlers wrapped around her head like a fir tree decorated for Christmas came out.

「Oh, um… it’s… Radio gymnastics」

「Yes, yes, Saori-chan’s mother told me. I’m sorry. He’s still sleeping. I’ll go wake him up. Can you wait a minute?」

As soon as she said that, I said something I didn’t expect to say.

「Oh, umm! I, um… I want to wake up Onii-chan…」

After a moment’s puzzled look, Aunt smiled while holding her mouth.

「Well, Fumio, you’re very popular」

「No, no, no, no, no, that’s not what I meant…」

As I panicked, Aunt seemed to be thinking about something.

「Saori-chan too… I think you’ll be able to take care of him in his old age…」

「Old age?」

When I tilted my head, Aunt laughed deceptively.

「No, no, no. Now, go upstairs and wake him up as much as you like. I’ll make sure not to go upstairs until you come down」

（Uuu… She’s definitely getting the wrong idea)

Well, I can’t deny that I had an ulterior motive of wanting to see his sleeping face….

And so, I’ve finally arrived at big brother’s room.

I’m so nervous.

I gulped and gently opened the door after repeatedly putting my hand on the doorknob and pulling it back.

「Good morning…」

I mutter in a whisper, and step through the gap in the door.

I’m like a Snake.

And the target is on the bed.

Recalling the green communication screen of Metal Gear (MSX version), I look toward the bed before the solid is attached.

Oh, he’s sleeping. Big brother is sleeping. Kyaaa.

Even I can feel that my tension is getting out of control.

I noticed a terrycloth being pushed back to his feet.

And big brother, wearing a t-shirt and shorts with the word “海人” written on it, probably a souvenir from someone, is curled up like a baby, snoring slightly.

Kyaaa. What should I do? Kyaaa. What should I do?

I don’t think he’s what people call handsome, but his face is my favorite.

Huh? No? Maybe the order is backwards.

Maybe I like this face because I fell in love with him.

His slightly loose sleeping face is exquisitely sloppy and cute.

「Umm… Umm…」

As big brother let out a moan, I instantly straighten my back.

But in the end, he didn’t seem to wake up, and he just talked in his sleep.

「No, no, no… If I win, your jersey will be miso」

（What are you going to do with the jersey!?)

That’s big brother, even his dreams are unique.

Don’t worry, I don’t mind that kind of thing!

I can handle surrealistic stuff too!

Just as I clenched my fists, brother turned over in his sleep.

Then, he was lying in a big letter (大).

Immediately, my eyes were fixated on one point.

（Kyaaah! Pyramid! Pharaoh! Pharaoh’s onii-chan!」

I’m completely distraught.

Why pharaoh?

Okay, calm down, Saori.

It’s physiological.

It’s nothing nasty at all.

I look out the window and wait for my heart to stop pounding.

And then, once again, I attempted to see the pyramids.

（But still… It’s going to look like that)

I know I shouldn’t look, but I can’t stop my curiosity.

I wondered if it would hurt.

Is everyone this big?

My curiosity knows no bounds.

（T-this should be recorded, right? Yeah)

I take out my phone from my t-shirt pocket and turn on the camera.

The Pharaoh’s pyramid fills the screen.

For comparison, I want to put a cigarette box next to it.

When I pressed the button, the shutter sounded very loudly.

「Hmm… What is it?」

Instantly, big brother wakes up, rubbing his eyes.

「Whoa!」

「Huh… Saori-chan?」

I hurriedly hid my phone behind my back and opened my mouth to make up for it.

「Pharaoh!」

「…… Pharaoh?」

A silence as grand as the Nile descended between us.

Pharaoh, Pharaoh, as a result of saying too much, the word that came out from my mouth immediately was also Pharaoh.

I think this is a curse of 3,000 years of ancient Egypt.

◇ ◇ ◇

In the morning, when I woke up, Saori-chan was beside my bed.

She says, “Pharaoh!” This is a very surreal joke.

I wonder if it’s a popular joke among high school girls, especially Egypt.

Saori-chan. Don’t worry.

I’m no stranger to surreal things.

Anyway…

Last night, I left Takata-san to Lili and went to Ryoko’s apartment to enjoy her cooking and herself.

Her cooking was very tasty, and it was refreshing “to” spend some time outside “the room”.

Then, late at night, I came back to my room and crawled into bed.

Apparently, Saori-chan was worried that I might oversleep, and came all the way to wake me up.

Normally, in such a situation where a girl comes to wake me up, I would expect something naughty to happen, but I guess it is impossible to expect such a thing from Saori-chan, who is very serious and quiet.

And while we go to a park in a neighborhood for radio gymnastics, I found that Saori is more reserved than usual.

There, the neighborhood kids were already gathering.

「You’re late, Fumio!」

「Don’t dawdle, Fumio!」

They were annoying kids.

The ones who voiced their displeasure were the elementary school children who lived next door. They were bratty, round-headed kids.

They are probably bullies on the future.

（Should I nip the danger early?)

Almost as soon as I started to think such a foolish thought, Saori-chan tugged at the hem of my t-shirt.

「O-onii-chan, let’s get started」

（Your lives are saved, brats!)

I growled in my heart, and pressed the switch on the boom box to start the radio gymnastics.

I let the children finish the first and second exercises, and at the end, I stamped the cards they had brought with them.

It is good to move my body once in a while.

When I turned around in a refreshed mood, my eyes met Saori-chan’s, and she giggled.

「Thanks for your hard work. Onii-chan, if you want, why don’t you come by my place now? My mom is cutting watermelons…」

When I said, “OK, no problem”, she shouted happily, “Yayy!” and then jumped up and down.

I think it’s only until she gets a boyfriend that she’ll adore me like this, but the relationship I have with her now feels very comfortable to me.