My Favorable Rating Does Not Rise

My household increased on that day. It had been with the addition of my younger brother, Sylt.

By the way, since Mother asked me how I’d gotten his name out of him when he’d made no effort to open his mouth, I told her「I persuaded him through tears」. It was true in a sense. I did cry a little.

Leaving that aside, I wonder what’s up with the popup screen.

In the screen, pumpkin had been written as a【Favorite food】. The following evening after Sylt came along, he was served pumpkin gratin that Mom made, and even though there had been leftovers of the soup from the day before, the gratin had been completely polished off.

According to the information on the screen, he was nine years old. When my family officially took Sylt from the orphanage, the staff relayed to us that he was nine years of age. It seemed both my parents were shocked since they thought him to be a lot younger than that.

It seems much of the information written in that screen was accurate.

Having said that, I can’t discuss this with anyone since I’d look crazy if I brought this sort of topic up in a conversation.

Besides, there was an entry called 【Favorability】 on the popup screen. A favorability of -30 wasn’t just for laughs.

Calling it a minus… it would’ve been better to call it an unfavorability of 30 instead.

He hasn’t responded to any of my questions or invitations since I asked his name. I was endlessly being despised.

Without speaking to us, he holed himself in the room as if putting up a guard. He’s been a shut in ever since.

I– Ochiai Rikka was confused at having regaining her previous memories only at the start, but now, my previous self and my current self have fused together, settling down. I was told that I’ve become a little more of a tomboy than before, but my parents came to an agreement that it was also perhaps because I’d gotten a younger brother.

Although I don’t quite believe it, it appears this world was that of a game’s.

I’m not sure what kind of game this was, but since there wasn’t an entry called 【Level】 in the popup screen, it’s probably not a role-playing game. And since there wasn’t an indication of squishy things falling from the sky, I’m sure this wasn’t my beloved Ochi-mono game as well. Tsk.

What my sister like to play, was an otome game. But while it’s unfortunate, seeing glimpses of the screen or listening half-heartedly to my sister talk about it were the extent of what I knew about that kind of game, so I don’t really know much.

Could Sylt have been the character who appeared in that game?

He’s still holing himself in his room two weeks since he came to our home.

That evening sprinkled with light snow outside. I brought food and entered his room.

「Sylt. Today’s supper is your favorite boiled pumpkin and mushroom rice, you know? 」

With all smiles, I called out to him.

Gulp, I could hear the sound of saliva being swallowed back, but he’s been stubborn. After directing a pointed look that seemed to be a glare at me, he turned away with a hmph.

My goodness, I sighed setting the meal on the table. Since he won’t touch his meal when I’m here, I had to leave the room so that he’d eat it while it’s warm. It’s like I was domesticating a wild animal.

The servants were the one who delivered things like change of clothes and bath towel to Sylt, who wouldn’t go out of his room, but I was the one delivering his food. I volunteered to my parents.

「 You’re happy to have a little brother, aren’t you?」Mom said, but, that wasn’t it. Well, there’s that too…

—But it was more because a favorable rating of a minus, as expected, didn’t sit well with me.

As a family member, it’s way too sad to not be liked even a little, more so, to be awfully disliked. I’d like to get along as siblings from now on. I want to at least raise my favorability enough that even if he doesn’t like me, he won’t hate me either.

At first, Sylt wouldn’t move even one step from his corner of the room, but he’s now holding his knees at a position about three steps from there. The path to a thousand miles starts with a step, after all.

「They didn’t put in any carrots, you know. You will eat it, right?」

I tried asking like that, but Sylt, who hugged his knees as usual, did not respond.

I raised my index finger.

Sylt Belmonte (male)

【Favourable Rating】

【Age】

【Height】

【Notes】

He was later taken into the custody of the Belmonte house and became their adopted son.

【Favourite Food】

【Detested Food】

【Weakness】

Shining brilliantly on the popup screen was a minus 29. The favorability rating went a point up. Woopee!

…But I wonder why, I have a feeling the long path that appeared wasn’t just a thousand miles.

Sylt hasn’t said a word since he first told me his name, but my parents accepted that sort of att.i.tude from him kindly.

I heard from Mom that he’d been treated badly at the orphanage. I heard that’s why he was so thin and small, and why he was incredibly wary.

「 You should eat a lot and gain more weight」

He was shorter than I was, and probably even lighter… it definitely didn’t mean I was fat. I wonder if I wanted to insist that because of my past memories? Since I gain weight as soon as I eat, diet had been my friend during my high school days.

But I want the boy in front of me to eat a lot more and have more meat in his bones. Seeing the thin wrists poking out from long sleeves, I sincerely hope for it.

「 Eat it while it’s hot, okay?」

When I said that and left the room, I felt his gaze on my back.