"Today, Big Brother was acting a little weird, wasn't he?"
"You want to know why?"
"Allow me to tell you."
"Big Brother has been chosen as the Hero!"
"The previous Hero was also your brother, you know. I killed him, though."
"Heroes are such a nuisance."
"Maybe I should just erase him~"
"What should I do~"
"If someone cooperated with me, I might spare him~"
*glance* That was a digest of my exchange with the little sister.
Oh, and I was genuinely startled when the little sister got so excited about Yamada becoming the Hero that she blew a nosebleed.
It turns out that old wives' tale about nosebleeds from overexcitement wasn't a myth after all.
It looked like the "big brother talk" was about to kick off from there, but Fermina shut it down and saved the day.
Nice one, Fermina.
As expected of a former noble lady.
Her conversational skills are on another level compared to me.
Incidentally, right around the part where Yamada became the Hero, there was someone else who started going "GAAAAH!" in excitement.
Well, it was the Vampire-kid.
Come to think of it, I forgot to explain earlier.
I kicked her to shut her up quick.
I sent her flying into the wall like a gag manga, so she should stay quiet for a while.
The little sister looked like her face went white with terror when she saw that, but I'm not going to worry about it.
Also, Fermina might have snorted in disdain, but that was probably my imagination.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
And now the little sister is completely at a loss.
"It's quite simple. If you want to save your dear brother, all you need to do is betray your homeland. If you can't do that, then you'll lose your homeland, your brother's life, and yours along with it. Which will it be?"
Fermina is pressing the little sister into a corner with barely concealed relish.
Looking at her like this, she really does come off as the villainess type.
She's usually pretty repressed, but Fermina is a noble lady from a prestigious family at heart, after all.
Being the one giving orders probably suits her nature far more than following them.
The little sister twists her expression in anguish as she agonizes over the choice.
Every now and then she lets slip an unsettling aura, but she reins it back in almost immediately, holding herself back.
It seems she knows that attacking would only result in being struck down.
Well, little sister or not, no matter how hard she tries, she can't beat me.
For a Human race member who isn't even a Reincarnator, she's got impressive strength, but even so she wouldn't reach Fermina's level.
The little sister agonized and agonized, and eventually broke.
Honestly, I didn't expect her to struggle this much.
I mean, this girl is pathologically brother-obsessed. I figured she'd answer on the spot with "For Big Brother's sake!" without a second thought.
But based on what my split bodies had been observing, this girl doesn't have an ounce of love for her country.
If anything, she might even hate it.
It probably has to do with the family environment she grew up in, but her mother and her other brother — not Yamada — are pretty much worthless people.
Well, they happen to be this country's queen and the next king, so there's that.
So I figured she'd have no reservations about bringing the kingdom down, but...
Oh, right.
Cooperating with us means opposing her beloved brother.
That's why she's been agonizing so hard and looking so dejected.
The little sister is slumped over with an expression like the world is ending.
Fermina and the Vampire-kid, who'd recovered at some point, are grinning as they watch her face.
These two...
"Two lovers on opposing sides," I whisper into the little sister's ear.
Her shoulders flinch dramatically.
"A forbidden romance that burns all the brighter for it."
This time she twitches in response.
"When he learns the truth, he'll become intensely aware of you."
"Let's do it!"
Easy pickings.
What kind of gap-brained yandere brother-complex is this?
Her earlier look of despair is gone without a trace, replaced by a slack, blissful grin.
This one's hopeless. I need to do something about her quickly.
Actually, no — it's already too late.
To keep her motivated, I'll slip her a novel about a heroine who falls in love with the enemy.
In the end, the two are bound together in a happy ending and all that.
Not that I actually expect the little sister and Yamada to end up that way.
With the little sister secured — busy indulging in her fantasy of overcoming all odds to be with her brother — I move on to Natsume.
I teleport directly to Natsume's location.
"Huh? What's up?"
When I arrive, Natsume is in the middle of brainwashing someone under surveillance.
I'd been watching through my split bodies, but it seems Natsume's been gradually breaking down the people monitoring him through brainwashing.
The surveillance is being handled by the Oshima family's estate.
The Oshimas are dukes of the kingdom.
The duke and his wife have already been targeted by
So Natsume had been acting on his own initiative without me having to give any orders.
"Hmm? You...
I'd hidden myself behind an illusion, but she saw through it instantly.
Kusama had also seen through my disguise at a glance. It seems that if someone already knows your face, the illusion doesn't work.
Come to think of it, this might be the first time we've met face to face while she's actually in her right mind.
Well, that sanity won't last.
Go ahead and wreck her head, split body.
"Ahheh?"
Natsume lets out a strange noise and rolls her eyes back.
"Wh-whoa!"
The voices of the Vampire-kid, Fermina, and the little sister all overlap at once.
Perhaps irritated at having the same reaction, the Vampire-kid and Fermina lock eyes in a staring contest.
Don't start fighting over something pointless.
Anyway, through the split body attached to Natsume, I implant the suggestion that the little sister is a cooperative and obedient ally.
I also guide her toward taking actions that will overthrow the kingdom.
That should do it.
Oh, might as well alter their memories to remember us as supporters too.
Once I finish fabricating Natsume's memories, the body that had been twitching and shrieking with rolled-back eyes suddenly jolts and goes still.
Then, as if nothing had happened, her expression returns to normal.
"Oh, Shiro. What do you need?"
I've set up Natsume's perception so that she recognizes me as Shiro rather than Wakaba Himeiro.
There's no particular reason.
"Use these kids."
I gesture to the Vampire-kid and the others behind me.
I'll have the little sister assist Natsume, and the Vampire-kid will take control of the Empire from the inside.
As for Fermina, she's coming back with me to Demon race territory for some work.
I relay all of this, and for now I assign the little sister as Natsume's aide and handler.
Natsume mentioned needing some time to work out the balance with the Empire, so the Vampire-kid's turn is still a ways off.
And so, I left the little sister in Natsume's care and made my exit.