Though it was not as roomy as imagined, it still looked like a dress on the frail girl, hanging loosely from her thin frame.
Those crimson eyes no longer held yesterday's wariness and terror, but they still seemed vacant.
And most importantly, there was that form of address...
"...Listen, little Mibu, there's no need to call me Master or anything. It makes me sound like some kind of pervert. If you're willing, call me Brother instead—Brother Mahiro. What do you think of that?"
Having a loli call him Master might feel great, but if outsiders heard it, they would seriously call the police!
"Mahiro... Brother?" Mibu Asaka softly mouthed the words.
She seemed utterly unfamiliar with the word "brother," as though she had just learned it for the first time.
"Mm, that's right."
Mahiro nodded, bent down, and reached out to stroke her long hair.
"I'm your brother, and little Mibu is my little sister. This is your home, so you don't need to be so nervous around me."
The girl seemed to have grown accustomed to his gentle touch. Rather than becoming tense or trembling, she simply stared blankly at him.
"...Brother... little sister... home? I... I can have a home too?"
The girl hesitated, pointing at herself in disbelief. Clearly, the meaning of the word "home" was very different to her.
Born as a cursed child and ruthlessly abandoned by her parents, Mibu Asaka had nowhere to belong in this vast world. She had always harbored feelings she could never let go of toward other children, who naturally enjoyed the love of their parents. She longed desperately for a home, and the meaning of that word was etched deeply into her heart.
She yearned for it, yet feared it, terrified that she would be abandoned by "home" once