Chapter 10: An Accident Exposes the Truth

"Brother!! Help!!" A scream that seemed to shake the heavens jolted me straight up out of bed.

"What is it? Lilith!!" I scrambled to my feet and rushed toward Lilith's room.

I had just dreamed that Lilith had turned into a powerful, gorgeous succubus and led me toward the peak of my life, and now she was crying for help. Sure enough, dreams really were the opposite of reality!!

...

The opposite of reality? No, the dream seemed to have come true. Lilith now had curved, spiraling succubus horns on her head, and a rose-pink heart-shaped tail was flicking back and forth in the air... There didn't seem to be anything wrong with that at all...

"Brother, help me. I've turned into a monster. Horns grew out of my head and a tail came out of my butt. What do I do? What do I do?!! Why did I turn into a monster!!" Lilith shouted at the top of her lungs. The things on the vanity were scattered all over the floor, and she was clawing at her beautiful hair, on the verge of collapse.

Only then did I react. I lunged forward, grabbed her, and covered her mouth. "Shh... shh... calm down!! Lilith, don't shout. It'll be bad if someone finds out. Quiet!! Brother is here with you, be good~" I comforted her while patting her back soothingly, just like I used to when the screams and curses outside the house would scare her.

Little by little, Lilith calmed down and stopped panicking.

Just when I thought things were fine, she shoved me away and stared at me with an alert look I'd never seen before. "Brother, why are you so calm? Not even a little panicked, not even a little surprised? Something's wrong with you!! You know the reason!!"

Damn it, I forgot the setting!! It was that dream's fault. I couldn't tell whether this was reality anymore. Was it even too late to keep acting? Forget it, I'll gamble on it!!

"Nonsense, I don't know anything!! All I know is that no matter what you become, you're still the most important person to me... my dearest sister!! If I turned into a monster, would you still like me?" I struck first, trying to win her over with emotion.

That did make sense. She froze for a second, then narrowed her eyes and pushed back. "Your reaction isn't normal. A normal person's first response would be panic and shock, then comfort afterward. You skipped all the normal reactions and went straight to comforting me!!"

I immediately changed my attitude and put on the reaction a normal person should have, following the proper script to try to cover it up. "Who said I wasn't? I'm very surprised, very nervous, but I care more about how you feel. Lilith, why did horns grow on your head and a tail on your butt? Does your head hurt? What does it feel like to have a tail?"

While I was performing, Lilith looked a little fluffed up, her tail whipping back and forth even faster and harder.

When I finished speaking, she seemed to confirm something. Furiously, she pounced at me. "Astaroth, you bastard, spit it out right now, or I'll kill you!!"

She sat on top of me and shook my shoulders hard.

My head was spinning. Lilith, how could you say something so heartless to your brother? Aren't you afraid you'll make me sad?

I really was in the wrong. I'd been trying to hide the truth, trying to maintain this dreamy, fragile sibling relationship, while still foolishly hoping you would grow strong enough to protect me. I really was afraid... afraid that when this dream ended, I'd have to face how you would look at me then, so I tried my best not to think about it. One second longer, one second more would do. Just don't let me wake up...

"Brother, why do you look so sad? What are you hiding from me? What did you decide on your own again? I... tell me the truth, the facts!! I'm your sister, aren't I? We've depended on each other for so long. What can't we say? I've grown up, I'm not the little girl I used to be, am I? Look, I've been learning from you. Isn't I doing well? I've earned wealth and glory, and there will be more in the future. Anything you don't want to do, I can help you with. Anything you can't do, I'll do. You don't believe me? You don't believe in my trust and feelings for you?" Hot tears fell onto my face, and Lilith's expression was grief-stricken and desperate.

Yes, we're family. You're my most important treasure, which is exactly why I don't want to say it.

If I don't say it, what will you do?

Throw a tantrum and ignore me? Or beat me up and then go back to being my good sister?

We could actually go on as before, keeping our unspoken understanding, our quiet...

Maybe my silence enraged her. "You bastard!!" She raised her arm high, making a show of bringing it down.

Yet I was actually a little happy, looking forward to the pain. Go ahead, hit me, hit me, keep hitting me until you're not angry anymore. Then I'll make up some story, use magic to reinforce your disguise, and after that we'll still be as good as before, okay?

"...Astaroth, I think I get it now. That stupid secret matters more to you, doesn't it? More than the feelings and bond between us?" Lilith withdrew her hand, stood up calmly, and walked toward the door. "I've decided. I'm leaving you to find the truth!! Keep everything. Goodbye, brother... Astaroth!!"

"No, you can't go. Just walk out like this? It's dangerous!! Everyone will look down on you, and maybe they'll report you to the church and have you judged!! Lilith, don't make a scene!!" I immediately got up and rushed to stop her before she could leave the house.

"..." She stared at me stubbornly, as if her resolve wouldn't change unless I told her the truth. It was exactly like that accident back then.

For safety's sake, all I could do was sigh and back down. "Lilith, if I really tell you, will you not get angry?"

"I'd advise you to make sure everything you say is the truth. If I find out it's fake, hmph, I don't think you'd want to know the consequences!!"

Huh????

Lilith, do you really have to be that harsh with your brother?

She'd completely seen through me before I could even make my move.

Helpless, I could only stammer and drag out the whole story from beginning to end. "Lilith... actually, you're not human."

"Then what am I? A demon? Why did you raise a demon? For what purpose?"

"Uh, how should I put it? You're a succubus, one of the kinds of demons. As for why I raised you, that's a bit complicated..." I still didn't really want to say the exact reason and tried to bluff my way through it.

"Complicated? I know. You wanted to use me to make money, didn't you? Now I've left all the money to you, and you're still not satisfied? You want more?" So sharp. She'd misunderstood completely, and her aggression was intense.

No, no, Lilith, that's not what brother means.

I was getting anxious. "No, no, Lilith, I'm not human either. We're the same kind!! Look!!" I canceled my disguise magic and let Lilith see that I was just like her.

She studied me for a moment, apparently comparing the two of us. "So you're not human either? Then we're really biological siblings? I misunderstood just now?" Lilith's attitude was much looser than before. Clearly, I'd won back her trust again. That was good.

But only a few seconds later, she started firing off questions again. "Then why are we in the human world? What about Father and Mother? Why don't we go back to our own world? Did we have some kind of hardship? So, brother, what are you planning to do? Are we going to take revenge?"

...

Lilith's questions never stopped. One after another, until in the end I couldn't keep making things up and had to confess everything.

It was a bit twisty, but in the end I did tell the truth. So why did I still get beaten? Fine, beaten is one thing, but why did she have to hit my face? I have plans for tonight. How am I supposed to explain this?

"I hit you. You have a problem with that?" Lilith said, then landed another blow on my face.

It hurt so much!!

"No, no, I don't dare. Whatever makes you happy..." So humble. I really was humble. Serves me right, Astaroth, this is all what you deserve.

After beating me up, Lilith seemed to be in a much better mood, but her face was still expressionless, and I couldn't quite tell what she was thinking.

"I have plans tonight. Hurry up and turn me back to my original form." Her tone was icy, like a queen giving me orders.

"Okay, wait a moment..." I didn't dare delay and immediately gathered my magic, trying to cast the disguise spell...?!!

Why wasn't it working? I'll try again... huh?

After trying several times, I was sweating so hard my whole head was damp, but it still didn't work.

"S-sorry... Lilith, it doesn't seem to work anymore... I don't know why..." I was freaking out. If Lilith's identity got exposed, what would happen? Would we be hunted down?

"Bang!!" My eye!! My beautiful golden eye!! After beating me, Lilith stormed back to her room, and the huge slam of the door made my whole body tremble.

No!! This can't end like this. Lilith's safety comes first. Ignoring the pain, I ran upstairs and knocked on the door. "Lilith, let's run. Brother will take you away!! It may not be safe here anymore!!"

After a long while, Lilith must have gotten tired of the knocking, because she finally opened the door. "Why did the disguise fail? Your magic doesn't work anymore?"

Oh?

Why?

Lilith's words instantly calmed me down. My own disguise hadn't failed, but it didn't work on Lilith. Could it be that Lilith had gotten stronger and surpassed me?

So it stopped working?

Then she could actually cast it herself. I really was brilliant, and I immediately told her my idea.

"...What magic? I can't do that." She gave a cold explanation.

"Huh? How could you not? Succubi are born able to sense magic and use spells. How could you not know how?" I was incredulous. "We inherit it on the way from the Mother Tree to maturity and descent..." The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I'd made a mistake. Uh, so awkward. I was so guilty...

"Hmph!!" Seeing that I'd understood, Lilith slammed the door shut again.

Ow, my nose. This time it was my nose... No, the conversation isn't over yet. Lilith, brother still has something to say.

I kept knocking. "Lilith, good girl, let's still run away. It's not safe here. It won't be good if the humans start hunting us, so be good~ Listen to me~"

Lilith opened the door again. "Besides running away, what else can you do?"

Thank heavens. Her attitude was terrible, but as long as she was willing to talk, that was enough. I begged her in a low voice. "Lilith, I'm sorry. Brother really is stupid, nowhere near as good as you. But I think safety is the most important thing, so..."

"Enough. What's there to be so worried about? You're overthinking it. I have my own way." As she spoke, one eyebrow lifted, as if she'd already made up her mind.

"Then tell me, or brother will just keep knocking until you can't stand it anymore!!"

"I'll tell them I got my hands on a secret aphrodisiac potion that lasts for three months. There. Now get lost!!" After frowning through the explanation, she slammed the door shut again with a bang.

Ah!!

This time it was my fingers!!

I looked at the door, and it was as if it had turned into an iron fortress. No matter how much I knocked, it wasn't opening again.

Forget it. I can only take things one step at a time and hope Lilith's plan goes smoothly...