“Kio, Aiko? Good, you’re home.” As soon as we entered the house, I saw Mother lively and dressed to go. “Hina, you come here too!”

“Mom?” Kio frowned. “What is it?”

“It’s a nice day. I want to go out on a picnic!” Mom declared such a thing.

“Ridiculous.” I declared.

“What? I don’t want to go.” Kio added.

The pair of us looked at each other with a bit of surprise. It seemed like we were in a rare agreement that neither of us wanted to partake in such an activity. For me, it simply felt like a waste of time. I had better things to do than go outdoors where there was the sun, bugs, and dirt. A clean inside environment, one without windows like the storeroom at my work, was the best kind of place. It wasn’t like I was a shut-in! It was merely that I had my preferences.

Hina left her room at this point, immediately capturing her mom’s eyes. “Oh my, Hina. You have your hair back again. You really do look pretty that way.”

Although her words had been intended to complement Hina, she quickly turned red and then removed her ponytail so that her hair fell in front of her face once again. I had a chance to see her face too, and a single glance could confirm that Hina’s appearance had improved drastically over the last week. It seemed like my acne cream worked well on her. I knew that my face, Aiko’s face, had similarly been stripped of acne. This was only one of the many fleshly improvements I planned to make with Aiko.

Now that I had my paycheck and had finished my requirements with the neighbor, it was time to go out and get more supplies of my own. Yet, Mother had decided to delay me with a useless trip to the park.

“Why did your face clear up?” Kio was far blunter. “Aiko’s face seemed to clear up as well. Are you guys using a new soap?”

“Ah… y-yes… it’s… Aiko… gave me.” Hina spoke in her usually shy way, only barely managing to get the words she wanted to say out.

Kio’s eyes narrowed on me. “What did you use?”

“A natural remedy,” I responded.

“Give me some.” She ordered.

“If you pay me.”

She grabbed my shirt and made a fist. “How about I pay you with a knuckle sandwich?”

“Kio! Aiko! Stop fighting!” Mom huffed.

“Mom! He has some kind of acne remedy and he won’t give me any.” Kio growled, not letting go of my shirt.

“Oh, for goodness sake. Aiko, will you just give her some?” Mom demanded.

“Fine, but I need to make it first. You’ll get some tonight.” I responded darkly.

Kio finally let go of my shirt, and then cocked her chin up. “See that you do.”

I had been here a week, but the family rarely interacted, so I was still trying to get a feel for the dynamics of this household. It was clear that Kio bossed her two younger siblings around. Even though I hadn’t done anything, Mother had blamed both of us for any conflicts. That was ultimately how Kio was able to remain in charge. Hina was too timid to stand up to her, and Aiko likely just tried to avoid her. If there was a confrontation, she’d usually win because Mother’s policy was to end the fighting by any means necessary.

This wasn’t completely disagreeable to me. During the height of the demon-human wars, there were often times where demons had to fire on other demons and tolerate collateral damage. It was taking lives, but with the intent of ultimately saving more lives. In this way, Mother felt that to keep the peace she had to sacrifice both sides. There was no such thing as fairness with such concepts.

Thankfully, I knew how to play the game all too well. I would give Kio the item she wanted. Whether she’d come to regret it, that was for the future to decide. After that, it’d be up to her to make the next move.

“Mother, I’ll help you pack the car.” I declared.

“You will?” Mother looked touched.

I had to wonder just how little the supposed hero had done for his family during his time on this planet. He had gone through untold torture and torment, crossing continents and battling unspeakable monsters all to save a kingdom he didn’t know from an enemy he knew even less. Yet, it seemed like he hadn’t even shown the most basic considerations for his mother, and had even abandoned this family the first chance he got. How odd was that?

As I went to help Mother, Kio wore a panicked, and then angry expression. I had to admit it made me feel a bit good seeing her plans upturned. If she had wanted me to be her ally in stopping this visit to the park, then she shouldn’t have threatened me the first moment that she wanted something. Hopefully, she’d take this moment as a lesson.

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Seeing me help, Hina quickly followed suit, and we loaded the car up with the various items needed for a cookout at the park. While I was bringing a bag of charcoal into the trunk, I felt someone waiting beside me. I turned to see Hina standing there. When I looked at her, her entire body shook like a frightened squirrel. However, she didn’t run away, and she forced herself to meet my eye.

“Thank you… for… the stuff.”

“It’s fine. Your face looks much better. Mother was correct. You should wear your hair back.”

The last time I had said that, she had suddenly slapped me. I was feeling out if her temperment had changed, but I was still prepared to catch her hand if she attacked. Instead, she looked a bit sheepish. Her face turned red again, but she reached back pulled her hair out of her face for a moment as if she wanted to show me the improvement. However, since she didn’t tie it back in a ponytail, her hair fell in front of her cheeks a moment later.

“I… um… meant the other stuff. It… helped,” Hina said.

“Right… good,” I responded, but as I saw her waiting there seeming to want more, I continued. “And… I’m sorry for the slap.”

“The… oh!” Her eyes widened, and then she lowered her head even more shyly. “I-it’s fine. I-If brother… needs to touch that… it’s fine.”

“What?”

She let out a cry. “That’s not what… I mean… I mean it’s okay. I liked it… no! That’s not what I meant either!”

She was acting extremely flustered, and I didn’t know what to say to her. I decided to use the same technique I had used on a witch once before. I reached out and patted Hina on the head. Her eyes were still open, but she had stopped talking. I considered that a success. With nothing else to say, I turned away from her, but I didn’t move far before Hina spoke up again.

“Are you going to punish her?”

I froze but didn’t look back. “What?”

“S-sister… Kio, she grabbed you. You said you’d punish those that wronged you. Would you punish her?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I… want to help.”

I slowly turned back. “You want to punish Kio?”

“She’s always so mean. It’s because she has a lumpy flat chest, and broad shoulders like a man that isn’t cute at all!” As Hina spoke, her face seemed to fill with rage, and her shyness was pulled away to show her true feelings. “Breasts aren’t that great. They hurt my back and they get sweaty and smell and then the acne… well… that’s fixed now… but she has no right bully us all the time just cause she’s a year older.”

By the time Hina finished her small rant, she was breathing hard and her red face was filled with an expression other than embarrassment. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand her dilemma. The weak always wanted to throw off the oppression of their superiors. Kio, who had acted unreasonably had created some kind of resentment in Hina’s heart. Ahhh… they were both my sisters now, so I had a familial obligation to them.

It wasn’t that I didn’t consider my vengeance upon Kio. It was more that I didn’t want to include Hina in this. Whatever actions I took would have been solely between Kio and myself, where Hina here complicated things. Not the least of which, she was a means of exposure. I didn’t trust her not to reveal my plans to Kio, whether on purpose or by accident, at an inopportune time, thus messing up my plans completely.

“I’m not sure…” I began slowly.

Hina reached out and grabbed my arm, her expression looking somewhat desperate. “Please! Brother.”

I stiffened slightly. That look of hers was quite damaging. I supposed it was my fault for helping her improve her skin. Without acne, and when her hair fell back, it revealed a face of a somewhat cute girl. I thought I had long become immune to such levels of manipulation, but I found her quivering lip and tear-laden eyes difficult to refuse.

Clearing my throat, I coughed. “If you want, then you may help.”

“Thank you!” She cried out, and her face began to glow.

I hadn’t found Aiko’s family to be particularly attractive, but that was probably inaccurate. After all, that golden pretty boy Aiko, the hero who had even stolen the heart of one of the demoness generals and gotten her to turn on her kin, was known for being very attractive. This body had a few faults, but once those faults were removed, my body would look every bit as appealing as the hero Aiko. Of course, I had no intention of being some blonde playboy, but the point I was making was that the genetics were there and his sisters and mother would share in them.

As it were, Hina looked dangerously beautiful when she smiled. I had to turn away awkwardly so that I didn’t feel any effect from that demonic charm. I was going to have to be aware of such a thing in the future and properly prepare for it. I was far too clever to be caught by such things. One could call me a sage in my previous life. I had no desire to break such a streak, especially toward a family member.

“There will be a cost for getting involved.” I declared, making sure I didn’t look at her.

“A cost?” Hina asked.

“Tonight, you must come to my room.”

“Y-your… why?” Her voice rose slightly.

“You will find out then,” I responded. “This condition is non-negotiable.”

“…”

“If that is your answer…” I stepped away.

“I’ll go!” She cried out, but then with each additional word her voice grew weaker and quieter. “I-I’ll come by your room… tonight…”

I merely nodded, and then headed back inside. We had nearly finished packing, and there were only a few more things. When everything was complete, we piled into the car and drove a short distance before arriving at a clearing near a forested area. Then, we had to pull everything out in reverse. This time, at least, Kio was willing to help, having gotten bored of sitting to the side with her arms crossed.

“Aiko, can you start the fire?” Mother called out.

“Yes, Mother.”

I found the public grill and loaded it up with charcoal. I had lived on my own for a long time. If I didn’t know how to start a fire and cook my food, I would have died a long time ago. Of course, I had my own way of doing things. I looked to my left, and then to my right. Then, placing my hand over the grill, I conjured fire. Heat erupted from my hand, and a moment later, a fire started to lick around the coals. I still had enough magic to manage this much, and soon there would be even more.

However, gathering it in this world was still rather limited. That was why I wanted Hina to come to my room. I had more experiments that I needed to run.

“How did you light that? Was that magic?”

I stiffened as I heard a voice from directly behind me. I turned around to see a little girl standing there. She was young, with short pigtails and a gap in her teeth. Worst of all, she had just seen me use magic.