GalaxyTL
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“Stop it, Keranko!!”
The very next moment after Extra-sama and I began eavesdropping on the inside of the manor, a shrill, hysterical scream from a woman pierced our ears.
“H-How cruel, Karashia Onee-sama… Don’t be so rough? Look, the palm of my hand has turned red…”
“Oh my! This is terrible, Keranko-chan! We should treat your injury right away!”
“Oh dear, Miss Keranko…”
Next, we heard a more leisurely voice that sounded slightly younger than the scream – an elderly woman’s cat-like tone.
And a husky, low male voice.
“…In any case, I cannot hand this ring over to you. Excuse me.”
“Uwaa~~ Onee-sama is being mean~!”
“Oh my! Karashia, you are the older sister, aren’t you? Why don’t you indulge your cute little sister’s request a little!”
“…’A little’, you say, Mother? This dress, these hair ornaments, this necklace – Keranko has taken everything from me! And still you say ‘a little’!? That’s enough!”
“You must not talk back to your mother! Doj, do it.”
“Yes!”
“Wh-What are you going to do, Doj! Stop… Stop it! Aah!”
For a while, sounds of scuffling could be heard as if they were struggling, but it soon stopped, followed by a thud like something fell over.
“There, Keranko-chan! Your older sister has given you the ring! Please stop crying now.”
“Really…!? Uwaa~~, how cute!”
“That is good, Miss Keranko.”
“W-Wait… Wait… That ring, just that ring…”
As if her tears from before were a lie, Keranko’s bright, cheerful laughter rang out.
Then the footsteps of several people walking away somewhere could be heard.
It seemed Keranko and the others had left for somewhere.
Karashia’s words, muttered in a voice like she was about to cry, did not reach Keranko’s ears at all.
After that, the sound of muffled sobs could be heard for a while, but from the noise it seemed Karashia eventually got up quietly and walked away somewhere too.
…………………
U-Umm…
…What? This sudden domestic drama?
<Haaaaaah! Th-This is! The “Abused Older Sister” trope common in isekai reincarnation settings!!>
Uwah!?
What, what is it, Extra-sama!?
Why are you suddenly getting excited!?
And also, huh?
The “Abused Older Sister” trope common in isekai reincarnation settings!?
Now that you mention it, I feel like I’ve heard similar words before…?
<The “tropes common in isekai reincarnation settings” refers to the settings protagonists reincarnated into other worlds tend to be given! Among them, the “Abused Older Sister” is one where the protagonist born into a relatively high status family like nobility is often placed in that position!>
Eeh?
The protagonist is abused?
<Precisely because they’re the protagonist is why they are abused. How they overcome that environment and grow is the core of the story! And the existence that should be mentioned alongside the “Abused Older Sister” as a set… is the “Spoiled Younger Sister”!>
Ah, I see…
That Keranko from earlier, was it?
While I only heard her voice… she certainly seemed spoiled, huh?
<There are several patterns when it comes to being “spoiled.” From what I heard, Keranko seems to lean more toward the “greedy” type.>
“Greedy”?
<Basically, a personality that naturally thinks “everything in this world belongs to me.” It’s a trope that goes well with the “Abused Older Sister” and often appears alongside it in stories. They have the habit of trying to take everything from their older sister, even going so far as to try stealing her fiance.>
How cruel!?
Someone stop her!
<And this “Spoiled Younger Sister” is usually doted on by those around her, so there are hardly any existences within the family to stop the younger sister’s outrageous behavior, as is common.>
W-Wow~~…
But, wait, umm?
Does that mean, Extra-sama?
That right now, an isekai reincarnation broadcast is being filmed inside that manor?
<…Hmm, that’s where I’m conflicted. Did you say Karashia and Keranko earlier? From the sound of their voices, they both seem older than you, don’t they?>
Ah, now that you mention it, you’re right.
They sounded like they were in their mid-teens or so, didn’t they?
<If they had souls reincarnated into their bodies later like Sara Salar, the Baroness, then there’s a possibility the abused older sister Karashia could have been your former classmate… but that method is quite laborious. For filming isekai reincarnation broadcasts, the mainstream is to have the reincarnator’s soul implanted from birth.>
Then could they be reincarnators who were recently reincarnated into this world shortly before us?
<That possibility is also extremely low… If there are too many reincarnators, the story gets convoluted. So the soul auctions to produce reincarnators are only held like once every hundred years or so. While it’s not impossible for souls to drift into other worlds by chance, in that case there wouldn’t be any gods filming a broadcast…>
…So in our current conclusion, while the relationship between those sisters matches the “Abused Older Sister” and “Spoiled Younger Sister” tropes, there’s a high possibility it’s just a coincidental relationship and has nothing to do with reincarnation, right?
<Based on probability, that possibility does seem higher. Fundamentally, the “Abused Older Sister” and “Spoiled Younger Sister” siblings are so common in this world that they became “tropes” in the first place. Precisely because they’re so common did they become “tropes.”>
What a terrible world.
<So even if those two just happen to fit those tropes, it wouldn’t be strange at all. If you gathered all the pairs of sisters in the world into one room and threw a stone, you’d probably hit either an “Abused Older Sister” or “Spoiled Younger Sister” at quite a high rate, wouldn’t you?>
I don’t think it would be that extreme!?
I’m sure there are all sorts of sister relationships out there, including close sisters who get along, right!?
<No no, most sisters have bad relationships. That’s what I’ve learned from watching isekai reincarnation broadcasts.>
Ah, once again Extra-sama is taking the information from broadcasts at face value…
You’ve just happened to watch stories focused on that by chance…
<Well, putting that aside. No matter how much we discussed it, whether those sisters are involved with isekai reincarnation or not honestly doesn’t really matter, does it?>
Eh? Why not?
Wouldn’t it be troublesome if we got involved with them?
<But Emi, you have no intention of entering that manor, right? There’s no way you’d get involved.>
…Ah, I see.
<And even if you changed your mind and wanted to do something about those sisters’ relationship, what could you do? Would hitting them improve family relations? Of course not.>
Hey!
There you go again with the narrative that “all I can do is hit”!?
Can’t you stop that!?
<My apologies. In any case, Emi. To bring the discussion back, you have no intention of doing anything about those sisters to begin with, right?>
Well, yeah, that’s right.
I may brag, but while my combat abilities have increased immensely, my interpersonal skills are utterly ruined.
Not to mention I’m a cursed child.
It’s not a problem I could just waltz in and somehow resolve.
It would only cause an unnecessary uproar.
<…I guess you are self-aware about “only being able to hit”…>
Ah!!?
<…My apologies. In that case! The only course of action for us outsiders is just one thing!!>
…A-And that is!?
<…Let’s just quietly enjoy eavesdropping from here!>
What a terrible conclusion. Especially the “enjoy” part is awful.
I don’t think it’s good to enjoy others’ misfortune from a viewer’s perspective, Extra-sama.
<As I said myself, it’s the side-effect of having watched nothing but isekai reincarnation broadcasts for so long… This kind of mentality has rubbed off on me…>
Extra-sama and I let out small, mutually inaudible sighs.
Even so.
I glanced outside through the storehouse window.
The blizzard had cleared since approaching this manor, without even the sound of wind – it was eerily silent.
However, a hazy fog blanketed the area, severely limiting visibility.
If possible, I wanted to wait until the weather improved before departing, so I intended to rest here a while longer.
Which meant.
With nothing else to do.
I closed my eyes again and began eavesdropping on the happenings inside the manor once more.