19 A hopeless beginning

[Congratulations, you have achieved a Level 50 of the Merchant!]

[You have become the greatest merchant in the world!]

[What is yours is yours; what is theirs is yours.]

[With the power of money, you are the one who controls this world.]

"....." 

Even though Mizuto was surprised, he could perfectly control his facial expressions. Nevertheless, he had to say that it didn't take him a long time to achieve a Level 50. 

Probably, it was all due—

"What's wrong?" Mizuto asked. 

After their parents took their photo, the two entered the school together.

Originally, Yume didn't want to stay too close to his side as she wanted to keep their status as a stepsibling in a low-key manner, but when she saw all the girls and even women who entered the school would glance at him twice or thrice, she didn't care about it anymore and walked by his side together. 

"Don't stare at my legs all the time." 

Yume knew that Mizuto loved her legs so much, especially when they were wrapped in black stockings, and because of that, she needed to remind him to be careful since she didn't want him to be seen as a pervert. 

"...." 

"Are you going to join a club?" 

Mizuto tried to ignore her rude accusation, but he couldn't deny her since she wasn't wrong. Nevertheless, he wondered whether she planned to join the club, especially when he saw the group of upperclassmen who stood on the side of the entrance, shouting and trying to invite the new students to their clubs. 

"I am not sure." Yume felt like she might as well spend her time studying instead of joining the club. "How about you? Are you going to join the club?" 

Yet, he didn't have time to answer since—

"Congratulations on your admission!"

"Let's spend our youth together on the baseball field!" 

"You have a great height! Do you want to join the basketball club?" 

"No, he should join our fashion club! There are many beauties in our club, please join! Moreover, it's better than spending your time sweaty with those disgusting guys!" 

"What did you say?! Our club is full of friendship!" 

Like a group of hyenas that found delicious meat, all of the upperclassmen directly crowded Mizuto. 

Yume was overwhelmed by all of this, but when she saw many girls start to approach him, she wished to get him away from this place. 

Mizuto also didn't want to stay at this place any longer, especially when someone kneaded his buttocks secretly. 

Dammit, who was it?

He became angry and tried to find the molester, but—

Wait, it was you?

Mizuto looked at Yume, who touched his buttocks helplessly since she wanted to get his attention. 

"I am sorry, Senpai. I want to focus on my studies in high school. My goal is Kyoto University." 

While softly rejecting those aggressive upperclassmen, he held Yume's hand and escaped together, but then, he looked at her and asked calmly, "Why did you touch my buttocks?" 

"..." 

Yume lowered her head shyly, but she had to say they felt great, firm, and easy to knead. Nevertheless, she tried to change the topic of the conversation by asking him a different question so he wouldn't tease her. "Do you want to enter Kyoto University?" 

He looked at Yume in silence, causing her face to become hotter and hotter. He sighed and then asked, "Ask every student in Kyoto who doesn't want to enter Kyoto University?" 

"...you are right." 

Every student in Kyoto wished to enter Kyoto University as it was the best university in Kyoto and the second-best university in this country after Tokyo University. It was also because of this that it was hard to be accepted, and one needed to work hard to enter, so hard that they might sacrifice their youth. 

His words weren't exaggerated since even though their high school was one of the famous private high schools in Kyoto, there were many students from the country who wished to join this university, showing how fierce the competition to enter this university was. 

Nevertheless, as long as one could enter this university, it wouldn't be wrong to say that their future was several steps ahead of everyone, and their family would set up a celebration for a few days, showing how special one could be accepted into this university. 

"But if you wish to enter, I am sure that you can enter this university."

"How about you?" 

"I plan to enter, too." 

Hearing her firm answer, Mizuto was surprised and asked, "You want to go to Kyoto University, too?" 

"Yes." Yume nodded since she wished to be with him. However, her answer caused him to chuckle. "Wh-What is it? Why did you laugh again?" As long as he laughed, this guy definitely didn't have anything good to say. 

"Nothing, but do you want to continue to hold hands like this until we arrive at our class?" 

"....." 

Yume looked at his hand, which she firmly held. When they parted, this was definitely something that she had never imagined would happen, but many things happened after they became stepsiblings.

Many things that were unfamiliar to her became familiar after they stayed together, like the feeling of his hand when they held each other or the feeling of soreness on her chest as he often slept by kneading her breasts during his sleep. 

Even if no one knew what they were doing, she enjoyed it, but now, it is different. 

They were in the school, in the public, and by then, everyone would be clear about what their relationship was. 

Yume also didn't think they could hide their step-sibling relationship, especially when their parents were there. 

So, was it okay for them to show their affection?

Yet—

"Let's hold our hand." Yume squinted her eyes, then asked with a smile, "Or, are you planning to get a girlfriend in high school?" 

"....."

Why has she become so scary now?

"Of course not." Mizuto shook his head and said, "I have a cute stepsister with me; why should I get a girlfriend?" If nothing happened between them, he planned to find a girlfriend, but many things happened with this girl, so he didn't plan to take the initiative to find a girlfriend. 

"Hmm..." 

His answer satisfied her, but even so, she still needed to be careful. It wasn't that she didn't believe in him, but she was afraid that the other might be interested in him, especially when she could see many girls who often kept glancing at him occasionally. 

"Let's check where our class is." 

"Okay." 

The two continued to walk toward the announcement board to see where their classes would be. 

However—

"Attention, new students! Welcome to Rakurou Private High!" 

This loud voice attracted the two of them and everyone who was walking. They turned and saw a group of students standing on the stairs with a bespectacled female student as their leader. 

Mizuto had to say that this female student was beautiful with above-average height and straight, lush, shoulder-length black hair.

"It's a concert band." 

He turned his head and saw a young, fair-skinned girl with light auburn hair tied in a ponytail. It seemed that she noticed his gaze, so she turned to meet it. Their gazes met, but he didn't dodge or pretend that he didn't watch her. Instead, he nodded with a gentle smile, causing the girl to be a little flustered and blushed, then nodded hurriedly. 

"It hurts!" 

He looked at Yume, who pinched his waist, clearly showing her jealousy, which made him helpless. As he rubbed his waist, he asked her with a doubt, "What am I doing?" 

"Nothing." Yume pouted, then asked reluctantly, "Aren't we going to see the announcement board?" 

"Let's wait." 

"Are you interested in the concert band?" Yume asked curiously. 

"We still have time anyway, so let's watch it for a while, right?" 

"Okay." Yume would be lying if she didn't feel curious. 

As the two talked and waited for the performance of the concert band, the girl who met Mizuto's gaze looked at the two curiously. 'A couple?' It was just the first day of school, yet someone had already become a couple, which made her speechless, especially when their school was a prestigious school. However, when she looked at Mizuto, she felt a little bit jealous of Yume. 

Not only due to her boyfriend but also Yume's figure, which was gorgeous, especially those boobs. 

Looking down, staring at her flat chest, she sighed helplessly. 

Yume glanced at the girl and smiled inwardly before she watched the performance of the concert band with Mizuto quietly. 

"To celebrate your admittance..." 

The bespectacled female student turned, facing all the band members, raising her baton. 

Everyone waited for their performance with anticipation, only—

Hopeless. 

His lips twitched, and he felt that this was probably the only thing he could say.