Do You Think You Can Run After Reincarnating, Nii-san?

The Determined Infancy: Sibling Reincarnation Arc

Chapter 6

A song at ten thousand feet♪

I woke up.

My consciousness was now completely clear.

…Huh…?

Where is this place?

I looked around, but the scenery was unfamiliar. The walking route should always be the same.

I looked up at Anelli’s face. She was still singing. Not just humming, but singing lyrics.

“♪ Sess-se-se no yoiyoiyoi ♪”

“♪ If we go straight through the forest ♪”

“♪ It’s the utopia for me and my brother ♪”

“♪ Laaan la la la la la la la ♪”

“♪ Laaan la la la la la la ♪”

“♪ Laaan la la la la la la la ♪”

“♪ Lan lan lan lan la… ♪”

…What…?

Is this still… a dream…?

No, it’s different… This is reality…

Anelli, who was holding me in her arms—

happily singing some song I’ve heard somewhere—

—is singing the same song as that sister…?

Suddenly, what Anelli said earlier flashed through my mind.

—We plan to spend time as a family.

—It’s been so long… such a long time since we last met.

Why am I remembering that now…?

No, I already understand… I’m just refusing to accept it…

I’m stubbornly refusing to understand…!

Family, who?

The family we haven’t seen in such a long time—

Could it be—

Anelli looked into my face, which was filled with dread.

“Are you awake?”

With a smile so bright it was almost terrifying.

“We’ve finally reunited properly.”

The maid with her hair in twin tails, the girl who is turning fifteen this year, the girl who has been looking after me for this past year, Anelli, spoke with her voice full of affection.

“It’s been fifteen years—brother…”

◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆―――――――◆◆◆

I couldn’t move.

Astonishment and fear bound my entire body.

Why?

Why?

Why?

I don’t understand.

It doesn’t make sense.

Because, because, because!

You—Anelli, you should have been in that mansion before I was even born!

Which means… w-w-what?

So she knew I would be born into the Leiber family in advance…?

And for a year, she continued to act as my caretaker without a hint…!?

What the hell…?

It doesn’t make any sense…!

How is that even possible…!?

“Hehe… you’re making a ‘why’ face.”

Anelli—my sister—smiled brilliantly and spoke as if it were nothing.

“How could I—the one and only me—not recognize my brother, just because his face, name, status, and position have changed?”

…Huh…Ah…?

It’s absurd…

Yes, this girl is absurd…!

Ah, damn it!

How foolish I’ve been…!

Thinking I wouldn’t be found out because my face and name are different.

Believing it would be okay if I didn’t do anything unusual.

Such ordinary thinking could never work on this abnormal sister!!

One year ago—god said.

The omniscient, omnipotent Creator had no choice but to say it.

Run.

Hide.

Never be found.

I should have taken those words more seriously.

The fact that even god was hesitant, I should have taken it more seriously…!

“I am always by your side, brother.”

My sister declared in an ecstatic voice.

“In sickness and in health, on rainy days and windy days, always and forever, by your side.

So, you mustn’t think about running, hiding, or never being found, okay?”

…Damn it.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!!

I struggled.

I struggled desperately.

But I couldn’t escape from my sister’s arms.

Of course not.

I am now just a one-year-old infant.

A helpless baby who can’t even walk on his own yet…

“Hehe… you can go back to sleep if you want. By the time you wake up, we’ll be there.”

…There…?

Where…?

“Our new home.”

As if reading my mind, my sister smiled and answered.

“This time, it’s just the two of us, my brother and I, in our ideal paradise, living peacefully. Ah… my dreams are expanding… I wonder how my brother will grow up? Will he be cute or cool? Will he be muscular or slender? I prefer him to be a bit muscular, like my previous brother… but my imagination won’t stop. But my little brother is also cute and lovely. He’s round and soft, the embodiment of cuteness! Compared to my current brother, a kitten or Chihuahua is just a mere animal. Hey, brother, do you remember how I always changed your diapers? Do you know how hard it was for me to suppress my excitement? It was like finding an oasis in the desert, only to see a sign that said “private property, no entry”! But now, I don’t have to hold back anymore, right? I can touch you and lick you… ah, no, no, no, I must calm down. My brother will still be pure until his second puberty. I’ll save my excitement for 10 years later. Receiving my brother’s first milk is a dream come true, and it’s not a big deal to wait 10 years! Ah, yes, yes, yes! Let’s make a baby, my brother and I! We didn’t succeed last time, but this time will be different! We don’t have any annoying blood connection, so we can have children without any worries! What do you think, brother? Do you want a boy or a girl? … Ah, sorry, that was a stupid question. We can have both! What should we name our child? Japanese-style or Western-style? I have many ideas, and I even left a notebook with 3000 names in our previous world… but it’s meaningless to think about it now (laughs). I’ll ask for your opinion when the time comes. Whatever name you choose will be lovely! And how shall we raise our child? Whether it’s a boy or a girl, our child will be cute and cool! We must keep them from getting corrupted, so we won’t let them out of the house! We’ll spend our lives together, just the three of us, forever! Ah, brother, brother, brother… please don’t leave me again. Please stay with me forever! Don’t go out again… if you do, I’ll be lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely…”

**”―――――――――――――You never know what I might do, do you?”**

Ah.

Aaaah.

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…!!!

This time.

How many years will it be…?

Last time it lasted five years, those days of nightmares.

Starting as a baby…how many years…!?

My life will be taken away.

My life will be stolen again…by this sister…!

I hate it.

I don’t want that.

I finally have a good family.

Father and Mother are good people.

Even the servants went all out to celebrate my birthday.

And then.

Even Anelli.

“…Aaaahhh…!!”

My underdeveloped vocal cords let out an indescribable sound.

In front of me is indeed Anelli’s face.

The same girl who has devoted herself to me for the past year, like a real mother.

But the inside.

The inside is—!!!

—The only one who can love brother

—Is the one with the eyes

—I’ll take them for you, okay?

Memories of five years of darkness and blood flashed before my eyes.

Again, just like then.

Again, just like those days.

This sister took away the people close to me…!!

I won’t let it happen again.

I won’t let you do it again!

I won’t let things go your way ever again!!

This time, I will live my own life.

Grow up, work, marry, raise children!

So…!

“Ah—”

I took a deep breath.

Filled my small chest with air and determination—

—and let it all out in one go.

“—Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”

A cry, as if expelling my very insides.

The only and most powerful self-defense method of a human baby…!!

Humans have a frequency that causes discomfort when heard.

The typical example is the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

And actually, a baby’s cry contains that frequency.

Unless completely deaf, any human would instinctively recoil if this sound erupted nearby.

A natural sonic bomb humans possess…!!

“Ah…!?”

For just a moment.

My sister’s grip loosened.

I didn’t miss that opportunity.

I struggled with all my might, escaping from my sister’s arms—!

A feeling of weightlessness enveloped my body.

The ground approached rapidly.

If I fell face-first like this, I, a fragile baby, wouldn’t survive unscathed.

But.

—Levitate, [Wings of Departure!]

The roughly one-meter fall, I stopped just above the ground.

The power of the spirit Andrealphus.

My spirit magic that can levitate myself and anything I touch.

As soon as I avoided the fall, I kicked my sister’s leg with all my might.

Having lost weight, the reaction propelled me into the nearby bushes.

The branches scratched me painfully, but I managed to make it through unscathed.

Create distance.

First, I need to create distance…!

“…Didn’t I tell you…?”

Chasing my back—was the voice of what was once my sister.

“Didn’t I tell you you never know what I might doooooooooooooooo!!?”

Running from that fury, I kicked off the trees, heading deeper into the forest.

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After creating enough distance, I landed in a spot that seemed less conspicuous, panting heavily, an unusual thing for a baby.

It was the first time I had used my spirit magic to stay afloat for such a long time while engaging in strenuous activity.

As a result, I was more exhausted than ever before.

I had never felt tired using spirit magic before, but it seemed that serious use consumed significant physical energy.

As my parents said, even if my spirit magic skill matched that of an adult, my stamina was still that of a baby.

Considering my increased weight since my spirit magic awakened, moving while levitating was quite taxing.

As I caught my breath, I considered my next move. Should I keep running?

Running back to the mansion—would that be the smartest choice?

…No, it wouldn’t.

Remember.

That sister tormented and killed people close to me right before my eyes.

How can I be sure she won’t do the same this time?

I have to defeat her.

I have to face the monster that is my sister—

“…!!”

My whole body shivered.

Chains of fear emerged from nowhere, binding my heart.

Even when I was an adult, I was no match for her.

So what could I do now—with this infant body?

A body so underdeveloped that I can barely stand holding on to something.

I touched a nearby pebble almost instinctively.

And levitated it. Disconnected it from gravity, making it float gently.

[Wings of Departure].

If I ask what I can do—it’s this.

Yes, I decided, didn’t I?

When my spirit magic awakened—I decided to protect the world and people with this talent.

So what if the time came a little earlier than planned?

I’ve been honing this one weapon for this moment, haven’t I…!!

I strengthened my knees.

Gripped the earth with my tiny feet.

Defeat or be defeated.

This is a survival struggle between me and

my sister.

My life, the lives of those dear to me.

I will never again let them be taken away by her whims.

—A moment of significance.

The only witness was myself alone.

The moment Jack Leiber stood up on his own feet for the first time in his life—

—only I witnessed it, deep in the forest.