(Conditions Met. Harem Leveling has been activated.)
Like being struck by lightning in broad daylight, my body froze, unable to move for a moment.
What happened? Why did my ability activate? It shouldn't be possible for my ability to activate through Yae, since she's still related to me by blood—but how could it happen?
My head buzzed as a thought flashed through my mind.
'Is Yae really my biological sister?'
"Akio?"
Yae's voice snapped me back to reality.
"Your face is pale… are you okay?"
She leaned in, bringing her forehead closer to mine, trying to check my temperature.
Thump-thump!
Yae was beautiful and fragrant. After realizing the possibility that we might not be related, I suddenly became nervous being this close to her.
"I'm fine. Don't worry, Yae."
"Eh?"
Yae froze when she saw me move away.
"Akio?"
She called my name again, but I pretended not to hear.
"Yeah, there's a lot of food here. Let's pick something that looks good before we go back to the dungeon."
"…"
She lowered her head sadly, clearly hurt by how I was avoiding her.
Honestly, I didn't want to make her sad, but with everything so uncertain, even I didn't know what to do.
In the end, we ordered special fried rice before returning to the beginner dungeon.
On our way back, I checked my status to confirm something.
What I saw shocked me speechless.
Written there were the effects of Harem Leveling—effects that were absolutely outrageous. The most striking one was a hundredfold increase in experience gain, but only for me.
Meanwhile, members of the harem also received a boost, though only half of mine.
'If anyone else found out about this, they'd die of jealousy. No matter what, I have to keep this a secret from everyone. Of course, Yae is an exception.'
"Yae, I want to try something. Please give me the first slime that appears."
Though she was confused, she agreed. As expected of my younger sister—I felt even more affection for her.
Punyu?
A blue slime appeared before Yae.
Just as planned, she passed it to me to defeat.
Pyar!
(EXP +1%)
'What!? That's insane!'
Who wouldn't be shocked? Before this, the experience gained from one slime was so tiny it wasn't even worth writing down. Now it was the complete opposite.
"Hehehe…"
I couldn't contain my joy and started laughing weirdly, making my sister step back in fear.
"Akio? Why are you smiling like that? Is your brain okay?"
"Ugh… yeah, more or less."
"You sure?"
"…Yae, from now on, if you see a slime, don't hesitate to kill it."
"Why?"
"Just do it. You'll be surprised, but don't panic—it's part of my ability."
"Alright, I got it."
…..
Slash!
(EXP +1%)
(Your level has increased by 1)
"Ha ha ha! Finally, level five!"
After hours of hunting slimes in the beginner dungeon, I finally reached level five.
"Akio… what's going on? Why are our levels increasing so fast? This doesn't make sense!"
Yae's body trembled as she looked at her status.
"Didn't I tell you? This is thanks to my unique ability."
"Unique ability? Then why didn't you use it earlier??"
She protested with a cute tone.
"Well… I couldn't activate it before."
"Really?"
She glared at me, as if trying to read whether I was telling the truth.
"Alright, I believe you. But why can you suddenly activate it now? Is there some special condition?"
Thump-thump.
I instantly remembered our uncertain sibling status.
There was no way I could tell her the truth before confirming it with our parents.
"There is… but I can't tell you yet."
"Mu! Stingy!"
Yae puffed her cheeks in annoyance.
Instead of feeling guilty, I let out a small laugh because she looked adorable.
"It's almost night. Let's go home," I said casually while extending my hand toward her.
She smiled sweetly and held my hand tightly.
We took public transportation and arrived home minutes later.
…..
That night, I was completely lost. Part of me wanted the truth, but another part of me feared it.
'No… I have to confirm this today. Whether Yae is my biological sister or not, Mom and Dad will know.'
With that thought, I went to the living room after making sure Yae wasn't there.
"How was the dungeon exploration?" asked the middle-aged man with a simple, kind-looking face.
His name was Andre—my father, an ordinary office worker.
"It went well. I leveled up smoothly."
"Really? That's great."
"Don't push yourself too hard, okay? Nobody sells spare lives in this world," said the woman beside him, a few wrinkles on her face.
Her name was Susi, my mother, a housewife.
"Mom worries too much. The beginner dungeon is the safest dungeon in the world—I won't get hurt there," I said with a helpless smile.
"Even so, you're fighting monsters, right? So you still have to stay alert!"
Mom put her hands on her waist, looking stern yet youthful for her age.
"Don't argue with your mother. Just listen to her," Dad added with a gentle smile.
"Yes, Dad."
I sat beside him, feeling nervous.
"You okay?"
"Yeah… it's just that something's been bothering me."
"What is it?"
"…Dad… Mom…"
They froze and turned toward me with uncertain expressions.
"Are Yae and I… really biological siblings?"
"…"
Both of them stiffened, staring at me in shock.
"Why do you ask that?" Dad looked at me sharply, suspicion in his eyes.
Mom didn't speak, but panic was written all over her face.
"I've experienced some things that made me doubt. Please… answer me honestly."
My parents looked at each other, then nodded.
"I understand. Listen carefully, and don't interrupt until I say so."
Gulp.
"Alright, Dad."
What he said first shook my world—almost breaking it.
Yae was my half-sister, which stunned me even though I had suspected it.
But that wasn't what truly shattered me.
What shocked me most was learning that I was the outsider in this family.
Truly unbelievable, since I had no memory of this at all.
"It's natural you don't know. You were adopted when you were still a baby."
"…"
"Even so, you're still our son. Don't ever feel like you don't belong."
Mom hugged me gently, her warmth comforting.
Even though my mind was blank, I still responded to her words.
"Sorry… for keeping it from you all this time," Dad added.
I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
"No, Dad… even if I didn't know, I'm sure you kept it secret for my sake."
Both of them sighed in relief.
"Dad, Mom… I'll go to bed."
"Aki—"
Mom seemed like she wanted to say something, but Dad stopped her.
"Alright. Sleep well," he said with a soft smile.
"Mm. Thanks, Dad."
I returned to my room with mixed feelings.
As I left the living room, I heard them arguing quietly, but it didn't slow my steps.
… .. .
To be continued…