---

I was a minor until I died.

Ah, so this is about life in this world. Of course, when I crossed over to the other world, I was technically an adult.

In this world, I had just become an adult, but in that world, I was a “proper” adult in every sense. In fact, the standards for adulthood in Irrelaysia wouldn’t differ much from those in this world.

However, that’s all legal standards. In cases where local law doesn’t exert much influence, or in the case of distant noble fiefs, the standards for adulthood could be defined in a slightly different manner.

Unless it’s a place like the capital city where public education is somewhat established or where prestigious families gather, most commoners lived off farming.

And generally, children over the age of fifteen would become excellent laborers for their families. This means that by the time they could start working properly, they were treated somewhat like adults.

Still, to become soldiers or to get married, one had to be legally recognized as an adult, but laborers working in the village were usually just regarded as adults.

After work, they’d drink a bit, and sometimes get tipsy. Legally, they couldn’t engage in contracts until they were eighteen, but forming a household around that age wasn’t uncommon.

Villages that received supplies before soldiers were deployed were usually those types of villages, and I, who had just become an adult in the world I lived in, was considered a complete adult there as well—no distinctions like being a newcomer to society.

I would sit down and drink with a seventeen-year-old boy, and I would also sit down and drink with that boy’s father.

Though thankfully, the hero’s body didn’t easily get drunk, so I never ended up in embarrassing situations.

So, I was pretty confident when it came to drinking. I was confident I wouldn’t get drunk, in fact, I could drink far better than the average person.

But, thinking about drinking with my older sister, I inevitably got a little nervous.

…After all, I had never done anything with her as an adult.

Besides, I drank in a culture that treated everyone equally once you reached adulthood. I knew that in our country, turning away from someone older or of higher status when drinking was a thing, but beyond that, I was oblivious to the drinking culture.

That’s why I worried about potentially messing up in front of my sister.

Today was Saturday. Young Miss Ga-young didn’t come out since she only worked on weekdays. That was a relief. Ga-young had a way of picking up on things, so if she saw us acting all awkward, she would surely ask what was going on.

It wasn’t that my sister and I hadn’t talked at all.

But we hadn’t had a lot of conversation either. We both continued to work a bit dazed, as if our minds were somewhere else.

“There are, um, hardly any customers.”

“R-right?”

“Then, um… should we close up? It seems like no more customers are coming anyway…”

“Uh, uh, yeah, shall we?”

So, about an hour before finishing up, we quickly decided to close the shop due to the lack of customers.

To be honest, that was just an excuse since there were only the two of us left to tend to the shop. We ended up making excuses even as we closed the store.

The truth was, we were just both looking forward to having a drink together.

We finally shut the shop and locked the door.

Making sure it was securely locked, my sister turned back toward me.

Although we wrapped up a bit earlier than usual, the sky was already painted dark. The only light illuminating my sister’s face came from the streetlights.

Most of the streetlights had switched to LED, but in our neighborhood, the streetlights were still orange. Perhaps they hadn’t broken yet.

That’s why my sister’s face looked a little flushed.

With her head slightly bowed, she glanced up at me, and as our eyes met, she quickly turned away and started walking ahead.

I hurriedly followed behind her.

No, I picked up the pace to walk beside her.

Then, she stopped.

I stopped too, but she didn’t say anything for a moment.

“……”

Then, still looking sideways, she reached out her hand toward me.

“Hand.”

And in a small voice, she said, “……”

I hesitated but slowly reached out my hand toward her.

As my fingertips touched my sister’s hand, she flinched a bit, but didn’t pull away.

Slowly, my hand enclosed around hers.

It was a little cold.

“……When I’m with Siyun, I always held hands like this.”

“……”

That was true.

My sister always held my hand. Ever since I was very young, she led me forward while holding my hand.

Even as we grew up and aged, that never changed.

“Can I still do this in the future?” she asked, looking around as if shy.

That was the most adorable sight.

“……Yes.”

I nodded. I couldn’t quite look her in the eyes, but she probably caught a glimpse of my expression nearby.

A shy, gentle smile spread across my sister’s lips.

And as if to hide that smile, she took my hand and led me forward.

“I actually haven’t been to a local pub, so I’m not sure, but I know there should be some good places. Let’s go there.”

“……Yes.”

“Have you ever had a drink?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

My sister looked surprised, gazing at me, but as our eyes met, she quickly cast her gaze downward again.

“Oh, I see. Then there’s really no need to worry too much.”

“Yes.”

I answered with a smile towards my sister.

“……”

In response to my answer, my sister just tightened her grip on my hand and continued walking forward in silence.

*

“Who are you sending this to?”

The pub was on the same street not far from the bakery.

Securing a seat and while my sister went to the restroom, I was sending a text to my companions who lived in the same place.

Since Dana really seemed to want a smartphone, when we went out for my birthday last time, we all got smartphones together.

It wasn’t a big cost at all. Well, I mean, it was a huge amount compared to my standards before coming to Irrelaysia, but at least it wasn’t a big deal now. I wasn’t going to wobble over that amount of money.

Besides, we needed a way to communicate. We couldn’t keep wandering around in pairs forever. They were gradually getting used to this place. I didn’t think they’d get into any trouble. They all had pretty flexible minds.

Of course, Dana was still the best at reading, while the rest could only interpret at a word-by-word level. But I wasn’t too worried since Dana was set to make calls when necessary. If needed, we could all connect.

Since it was a late night for going in, it would be only right to explain the reason.

“Ah, that—”

While I was replying, I got an emoticon from Dana. It was a cute cat giving an OK sign with its paw.

“To my friends living together. They might worry if I come back late.”

Following that emoticon, I received emoticons a bit late from Kalia, Pia, and Arna. It seemed like everyone struggled with writing in Korean.

“Oh, right.”

My sister, sitting in front of me, said.

“Your friends, huh?”

And just like that, she repeated it. My sister’s expression was thoughtful.

“I’ll introduce them to you sometime.”

When I said that, my sister was taken aback and waved her hands.

“Oh, no, I was just a little curious but didn’t mean to confirm anything.”

“Confirm?”

As I blinked at her words, my sister looked even more flustered.

“Oh, right! I didn’t even order anything! What should we drink? And what about snacks?”

“Oh, then beer… how about fries for snacks?”

“Right? I thought so too! Excuse me!?”

And as if to bury the previous conversation, my sister spoke a bit louder.

… I wasn’t exactly sure why she was acting that way, but for now, I decided to go along with it.

*

Ugh, seriously, why am I so bothered by this?

No matter how much Siyun said something like a confession to me…

There’s no way those friends living together would think that way.

Speaking of friends living together…

“Uh.”

Wait a minute.

Now that I think about it, I don’t recall Siyun ever mentioning the genders of the friends living together.

Even if it was a girl, it was a bit worrisome…but if it wasn’t a girl, that would be even more concerning. Siyun might not think much about it, but I had no idea what those friends were like.

“Huh?”

Siyun reacted to my audible murmur.

“It’s nothing!”

I quickly shook my head and stumbled over my words, wishing I had asked Siyun about her friends a bit more.

 

---