Volume 4 Chapter 1

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Editor: Daxar

You picked up a runaway voice actress?

Part 1:

“Please make Sakura your real littlesister!”

“………….What?”

My days had been fairly uneventfuluntil this certain November evening. I, Nagami Yuu, was standing on aroad close to my home when that line was spoken to me.

“Like Sakura said, she wantsYuu-oniichan to make her his real little sister!”

While I was completely lost anduncertain how to respond to that, the girl in front of me, MinazukiSakura, repeated herself with a smile on her face.

“No, uhm, I still have no clue whatyou want from me, though?!”

Minazuki-san has gotten super popularas a voice actress lately, even though she is pretty new to theindustry. I met her a while back when I had a signing session, and itwas there that I found out that she is a huge fan of Towano Chikai.While we were there, she swore to me that she would definitely getthe role of the little sister when the novel was made into an anime.She even started seeing herself as the little sister in my novel,which causes her to sometimes call me “Onii-chan” — eventhough she’s a year older than me. Although it’s a bit troublesome,I almost feel like she’s doing it involuntarily. That being said,being suddenly called out here this late, only to be told somethinglike that, I had no clue how I was supposed to respond.

….Calm down. Let’s rewind time backto a few minutes prior….

After I finished my bath, I readSuzuka’s newly released light novel volume.

“I won’t stay your stand-in forever,you know!” I declared and started working on my new manuscript forthe light novel contest. Suddenly, though, I got a call fromMinazuki-san, asking me if we could meet up at a place close to myhome. I hurried here, thinking that something might’ve happened, butwhen I had arrived I saw her, as calm as ever, with a giant suitcasenext to her. When I wanted to ask her what she wanted from me thislate at night, I had been asked that question instead.

…..Yep, even now, I still have noclue what’s happening.

“Anyway, weren’t you going to holdback on calling me ‘Onii-chan’ until you’d gotten the role forsure?” That’s why I decided to change the topic by asking thatquestion.

“There are some things Sakura wantsto talk about, including that. That’s why she called Sensei out here,hoping that he would listen to—- achoo !!!” She finishedher sentence with a loud sneeze.

Looking at her more closely, her bodyseemed to be slightly shivering. Lately, it’s gotten way cooler, andthe evenings especially have gotten colder and colder. Even now, acold breeze was blowing as if it were the middle of winter already.Even I, who had run out of the house while only wearing a t-shirt andshorts, had started shivering slightly.

“We’ll both catch a cold if we keeptalking here like this, so for now, let’s go back to my house. Youcan explain yourself more when we’re there.”

“Eh?! Would that really be fine?!”Seeing her expectant gaze, I smiled wryly.

It was true that the cuteness of hersmile was part of why I suggested it, but , I was worried if it wasreally fine to just take her with me like that.

…..Well, I guess that we won’t findanywhere else this late at night, and it’s not like I brought anymoney with me, either. No other choice, I guess.

“Sensei’s home! Sensei’s home!”Minazuki-san hummed as she followed after me happily like a smallpuppy.

Although she might be a bit specialsometimes, me having made such a popular voice actress happy thateasily with a few words made me feel a bit glad.

“Sorry for intruding! So this isSensei’s home, huh….” Having entered through the front door, shelooked around with excitement.

By the way, she didn’t receive ananswer from anyone.

“Huh? D-Don’t tell me, Sensei isalone at home today? A boy and a girl alone together through thenight; this is clearly where one of those romance events would occur,right?!”

“What are you talking about?! It’strue that my parents aren’t home, but haven’t you forgotten about myyounger sister Suzuka?!”

……And why does she look sodisappointed now?

“Hmmm… is that so… Well, it makessense for Suzuka-chan to be here. But it’s a shame that your parentsaren’t present. Sakura really wanted to give them her regards.”

“Hearing the word ‘regards’ outof your mouth is filling me with nothing but worry—-and there’s noway that you would be doing what I’m thinking, right?! You only meantthat you wanted to say hello to them, right?!”

“Eh? Of course Sakura only wanted totell them ‘please take me as your daughter!’, you know?”

“So I was right to be worried…..”

“That should be obvious, since Sakurais trying to become your little sister! Ah….but that could also betaken as a proposal for marriage, right? If that’s the case, thenSakura will tell them more clearly. ‘Please let me beYuu-oniichan’s little sister!’ would surely be clear enough!”

“I can’t be bothered to retortagainst every little thing you say, you know?!”

Minazuki-san responded with an “Itwas only a joke!” while smiling at me, but the look on her face isnot exactly telling me that she was joking.

Still, it really is a blessing indisguise that both my father and mother are overseas— I thoughtas I prepared some slippers for her.

“Thank you very much, Sensei! By theway, where is Suzuka-chan?”

“Ah, she’s probably taking a bathright now.”

“Eh?! Sakura is so sorry, then!!”

“Why are you sorry about that….?”

“I mean, since you two siblings areliving together under the same roof, shouldn’t there be events likeentering the bath together?! And Sakura came over and interruptedthat….”

“There definitely aren’t any eventslike that between me and Suzuka!”

My daily life with my little sisterwhile our parents are out has never seemed weird to me, so pleasedon’t change that!

“Is that so? But, since Sensei is alittle-sister-loving author, Sakura totally thought that he would belike ‘Let’s go take a bath together!’ or something like that!”

“Ugh……!

Never! —iswhat I wanted to scream out, but I remembered at the last second thatTowano Chikai’s novel is all about little sisters. Since I’macting as a stand-in, I have to act like a total siscon, or elsepeople might find out that I’m not really the real author.

Almost half a yearhas passed since Suzuka first asked me to help her out. I’ve had toact like a total sister-lover in a lot of situations, but since Ireally don’t feel anything at all towards little sisters, my actingmay have seemed very forced on occasion. Developing feelings forlittle sisters even though I have a real-life one— that can’thappen. It’s not allowed to happen.

No matter how oftenI have to assume the character of a little sister fanatic, thesefeelings will never change. Yep.

“F-For now,please come in. I’ll listen to your story in my room.”

“Sensei’s room!Let’s go!”

After I changed thetopic, Minazuki-san didn’t seem to give it any more thought andhappily followed me. We went up the stairs and I led her to my room.

“Woah…..so thisis Sensei’s room…..!” Putting both her hands in front of herchest like she was praying, she had a look on her face like she hadentered the world of her dreams.

Even though I’vehad Double Peace-sensei and Mai come into my room before, I still gota bit nervous as she entered.

“And, what didyou want to talk about?” I said as I sat down on my bed, motioningMinazuki-san to have a seat in my desk chair.

“Ah, that’sright. Actually, Sakura ran away from home to come here.”

“I see, ranaway…….Ran away?!” The instant she spoke these words, I almostfell off of the bed. “W-Wait a second! Run away……does that meanwhat I think it does?!

“Yes, exactly.It’s not the kind of running away where I was transported to anotherworld.”

“That kind ofthing doesn’t happen in real life! No, there should definitely notbe….? No forget about that! Why did you run away from home?!”

“Sakura had afight with her family….” Her voice sounded less energetic thanusual. “Deciding that she didn’t want to be at home for a while,Sakura gathered her most important things and left her house. Notknowing where to go, she decided to ask Sensei for help since she wasclose to his home—–”

“…..Well,running away just because of a fight is a bit….”

“For now, Sakuradoesn’t even want to see their faces. This time, she really is mad,”This irritated version of Minazuki-san was really different fromusual, which surprised me quite a bit.

“Uhm, what’s theprospect for reconciliation?”

“Nonexistent,”She pouted as she looked away. In that moment, I thought she reallyresembled Suzuka.

Since I’m notreally familiar with the circumstances, I can’t just go and tell her”How about you go home and make up?” but still, running awayhuh…..

“I see. So youdidn’t know where to go, and your first idea was to call me forhelp,” I sighed as I recapped the circumstances.

It does sound likea pretty difficult situation, but I still want to help her the best Ican.

“That’s right.Sakura thought that maybe she could stay over at Sensei’s home.”

“I see. At myhome huh……….what?” I was crossing my arms, thinking about howI could be of help to her, when she said that. “I might havemisheard you just now. Did you say something about staying at myhome?”

“Yes, Sakura saidthat. You didn’t mishear at all.”

“No no no! Whatare you saying?! There’s no way we can do that?!”

“Eh? Why not?”

“‘Why not,’you say….. I’m a boy and Minazuki-san is a girl, right?!”

“Of course! Itwould be way too unrealistic if Sensei’s future little sister werea boy. Mistaking a girl for a boy would be much more realistic!”

“What the hellare you talking about?! No, not that! What if something were tohappen?!”

“What are yougoing to do?!”

“What do youmean?! And this isn’t the time to look at me with your eyes sparklinglike that, is it?!”

“Sakurais joking. She isn’t worried about that in the slightest. Senseiisn’t the kind of person who would do something like that, after all,and if something really were to happen that wouldn’t be so bad in andof itself, chira.”

“This has to bethe first time that anyone actually said the sound effect ‘chira’out loud!”

(TLC: chira =remember back to panchira)

Ugh….this isn’tthe time to be arguing about that! There is no way in hell that Iwould lay my hands on her in this situation! I do have enough decencyfor that, at least! Just letting a girl of my age stay over while myparents are out is bad in and of itself, but if word of this thisgets out, this might even turn into a scandal that ruinsMinazuki-san’s career.

“It’s fine. SinceSensei is Sakura’s future Onii-chan, it’s like staying over at arelative’s house! It’s not weird at all!”

“It totally is!Will you please think about this rationally?!” I was shaking myhead furiously, “And why does it have to be my house? Can’t youjust stay at a friend’s house?”

“Sakura doesn’tmean to brag, but she doesn’t have anyone like that who she couldask.”

“It really isn’tsomething to brag about, but it’s the same for me too, so I can’t sayanything…..! T-That’s right, Minazuki-san could ask a fellow voiceactress or her manager for help, right?”

“My manager wenton a hot spring trip with her new boyfriend, so Sakura really can’tdisturb her now….”

“That’s the firstlogical reason you’ve brought up…..! I know! How about you stayat a hotel that’s close by?”

“That only makesSakura feel like she’s gone on a vacation. She ran away from home,you know? And, she’s never actually been on one, so she’s not surewhat she would do….” She said with a worried expression. She thencontinued, “Sakura is sorry, Sensei….She knows that she’s being abother, but she doesn’t have anyone else except Sensei…..But, ifit’s still good, she’ll go and search for another place.” Seeingher say that with her face downcast, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

….Damn it! I knowthat I’m only being rational here, but what good does that do me if Ican’t help a friend out who needs it…..!

I glanced at theclock. It was pretty late into the night. Outside of the window, itwas pitch black. And extremely cold. Kicking Minazuki-san out therewhile I was comfy in my own house…..There’s no way in hell that Icould do that!

“….All right. Iget it already. I can’t kick you out now, so you can stay here.”

“Really?!”Hearing my words, her usual energetic attitude returned.

Seeing her likethat, I thought deep down that I really had made the right choice.But….

“But only for onenight, okay! Once it’s morning, you have to figure out for yourselfwhere to go!” That’s the one condition I clearly stated.

“Ehhhhh?”

“That’s supposedto be ‘Yes!’ not ‘Ehhh?,’ right?!”

“Fufu, it’s justa joke. Thank you very much, Sensei. You really are a kind-heartedperson!” She had a big smile on her face as always.

….For now, it’sdecided. I’ll have her stay over for just this one night and give herthe room on the first floor. She’ll have to make do with a futon, butI can’t exactly help that now. Where do we keep that again? I’llhave to ask Suzuka for—–

“Ah.”

With that, Ifinally remembered. A cold bead of sweat ran down my spine and mybody started shivering.

……O-Oh no. Idecided this on my own, but how do I explain this to Suzuka? If shewere to find out that I took in a girl while our parents are gone…

——Onii-chan, Icalled the police.

So you called themalready, Suzuka-san?! In past tense?!

….N-No, calmdown. That possibility might be high, and it might turn out like thatin the end, but if I were to calmly explain the situation to Suzukathen she will…… probably…… maybe..… still not understandit, yup.

“Huh? Sensei? Youdon’t look so good,” Minazuki-san looked at me and tilted herhead.

“I-I-I-It’snothing!” I tried to calmly respond and failed.

“….Onii-chan,are you talking with someone?” Hearing a sudden knock on my door,my heart almost leaped out of my chest.

“Ah, it’sSuzuka-chan. Sakura wants to say hello to her too—- mpfgh “I quickly put my hand on Minazuki-san’s mouth as she stood up.

With a “Shhhhh,”I put one finger up to my mouth too.

“It’ll be bad ifSuzuka were to find you here, so be quiet for a bit…..!”

I slowly opened thedoor just a little bit so that Suzuka wouldn’t be able to see themiddle of the room and slipped out.

“…..Didsomething happen, Onii-chan?” Having finished her bath, she stillhad her hair down as she looked up at me.

My little sister isactually the super popular light novel writer Towano Chikai. Being astudent at a prestigious all-girls middle school, she has top grades,is very athletic, and thanks to her charisma, she even got elected asthe student council president. All in all, she is a superhuman withlooks that would cause a lot of women to turn green with envy.

…..But, thisisn’t the time to check in on her profile. The problem is thepersonality of my perfect little sister. Her serious eyes lookedstraight at me. What would happen if she were to find out aboutMinazuki-san in the room behind me?

Also, setting thosecircumstances aside, what would she think if I said that Minazuki-sanwould be staying over tonight?

….I’ll just startfrom the conclusion. She’d be really mad at me! 100% for certain!

“N-No, nothing’swrong, okay? When you heard that voice…..yeah! I was trying tobecome another character for my novel! Before I realized it, I wasstarting to read lines!”

there’s no otherchoice but to cover it up! Just for this one night, I have to hideMinazuki-san. If not, this’ll be my BAD END!

“Ah, is that so.Still, I thought I heard a female voice in there, too?”

“T-That was alsome! Sometimes I say lines as if I’m the heroine like this:’Speaking in a high voice like a girl is pretty normal, isn’t it?'”

“Can you pleasenever do that again?” She glared at me with a freezing coldexpression.

Well, I did alsothink that my voice was pretty weird just now.

“But, if that’sthe reason for that, then it’s fine. Focusing on your writing is onething, but please keep your voice down a bit.”

“Y-Yeah, sorry.I’ll be more careful,” I was relieved that I had managed to hide itbut….

“Also, we have togo to the editorial department tomorrow, so please don’t stay up toolate…..Don’t tell me, have you forgotten about that?”

Thanks to herwords, I remembered.

That’s right, wewere going to meet the producer for Suzuka’s anime project tomorrow.

“Of course Ihaven’t forgotten.”

“I’m glad to hearthat. Well then, good night, Onii-chan,” Saying these words, Suzukareturned to her own room.

“Haaa…..thatwas close,” I let out a sigh of relief. I had managed to avoid aworst-case scenario……Still, the situation wasn’t in the clearquite yet.

For now, I decidedto return to my own room…..however…

“Hya….! SoOnii-chan likes stuff like this……!” I was greeted with ared-faced Minazuki-san, sitting on the floor while she was readingsomething.

The moment Iunderstood that it was a newly-bought erotic manga, my body froze up.

“Wha…..Wha………?!”

“Ah, Onii-chan?Really, you are always so kind, but now I see that you have hiddendesires like this! Sakura was really surprised to see something likethis in your collection….”

“I should be theone who is surprised, though?!”

Also, it seems likeher way of speaking changed again, but I don’t have time for that!Just how embarrassing do you think it is when a girl finds yourhidden stash?!

“So, Onii-chanreally likes this? The one where the girl is being assaulted butstill gives in to the pleasure in the end?”

“You’re wrong!And that’s not my preference! That’s just something that DoublePeace-sensei left there, and it doesn’t have anything do with mylikes and dislikes!” I told her the truth.

By the way, thisperson called Double Peace-sensei is actually Suzuka’s illustratorand someone who basically lives off ero stuff. She’s a blonde-hairedbeauty who loves fiendish stuff from the bottom of her heart. As aside note, her full pen name is A-He-Ga-O Double Peace-sensei, butfor reasons that should be obvious, I don’t ever call her that outloud.

“Ah, so this issomething that Double Peace-sensei likes, then. Now that Sakurathinks about it, the doujinshi of her circle looked really familiar.”

“Yes, exactly!Minazuki-san should know about that, since she came by to buy oneherself, right?!”

“So, Onii-chanactually doesn’t like this?”

“Of course Idon’t!” I nodded with all my might.

In response,Minazuki-san tilted her head, “Then what fetishes do you have,then?”

Being asked such aquestion out of the blue, I let out a weird voice with an “Excuseme?!”

“As your littlesister, Sakura really thinks that she should know about Onii-chan’sfetishes.”

“An averagelittle sister wouldn’t be thinking about that stuff! And why did yousuddenly change into little sister-mode?!”

“Well, Sakura isgoing to bother Onii-chan if she stays over, right? That’s why, ifshe were to act as a little sister, that problem will be solved.That’s why, as long as Sakura stays in this house, she will act asyour little sister!”

“What kind oflogic is that?!”

“It’s fine! Rightnow, Sakura is Onii-chan’s little sister! So, will you tell yourlittle sister your fetishes?”

“As if there wasa little sister who’d ask that out of her ownwill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I tried to get her to stop with myscream, but she showed no signs of reflecting on her actions.

“Sakura is alittle sister that wants to know everything about Onii-chan. Youshould have some other erotic books around here, right? Show me! Showme!”

Damn it! The factthat she looks so cute while she’s asking me is really not a goodthing! Still, as if I would show a girl my erotic books out of my ownaccord!

It happened when Iwas about to open my mouth once more.

“A phone call?P-Please keep quiet, okay, Minazuki-san?” I said before answering.

「Ah,Yuu? W-What are you doing right now? You probably have time rightnow, right?」

“Ah, it’sMai…..” Hearing her voice, I was relieved.

The girl who’s onthe phone with me right now is Himuro Mai, a classmate of mine. Inreality, she’s also the popular light novel writer Enryuu Homura.Since she’s a big fan of Towano Chikai, she ended up conductingstalker-like activities to try to find out what makes the novel sointeresting. Normally, I’d be eager to be rid of her, but this timeI’m glad that she called.

「A-AlthoughI’m pretty busy, I’ll be so kind as to make some time in myschedule for you, okay?!」

Wasn’t she the one who called mefirst? —-is what I thought, butI decided to prioritize the situation concerning Minazuki-san fornow.

“T-That’s right.I’m also pretty busy, but if it’s something urgent I might listen toyou,” I said in a voice that could be heard by Minazuki-san and Ilooked her in the eyes with a gaze that said ‘Keep it quiet.’

She only respondedwith a “Muuu” as her cheeks were slightly flushed.

「Whatare you saying? You’re busy with something?」

“Ah, nevermindthat. What did you want to talk about?”

「Eh?A-Ah, yeah. Uhm, so, what are you doing right now—-」

I wanted to talkwith Mai a bit to cool my head but….

“Mu, Onii-chan!You’re not allowed to be on the phone for so long!”

「W-Whatwas that voice just now? Did I just hear a girl talking in thebackground?!」

Minazuki-sansuddenly raised her voice and Mai heard it loud and clear!

“W-W-W-What doyou mean?! W-W-Wasn’t it just your imagination?!”

「I’msure I heard something! That voice even called you Onii-chan, right?!It didn’t sound like Suzuka-chan at all, though…. D-Don’t tell me,you’re together with a girl even this late?!」

“O-Of coursenot?! I’m all alone in my room right now!”

“Eh? But Sakurais right here, you know?”

She’s doing it onpurpose?! She’s clearly doing it on purpose, isn’t she?! She’s evenjust tilting her head innocently when I glare back at her!

「Sakura….?That reminds me, she sounds like that voice actress I met atComiket….S-So you really are together with her right now…….!」

“Y-You’re wrong!This is just….Yeah! A voice from an eroge! Well, I really shouldn’tbe on the phone while I’m playing an eroge, ahahaha! With that said,I’ll talk to you later!”

「Ah,wai–!」I hung up the phone before she could say anything else.

“Onii-chan?Sakura hasn’t done any voices for eroge, you know?”

“Ah, yeah, that’sright….” I just needed to have an excuse to cut the callactually.

For some reason,she didn’t say anything back to me.

“Uhm,Minazuki-san? Are you mad about some—-“

“Sakura.”

“Eh?”

“Since Sakura isOnii-chan’s little sister right now, she won’t answer any more if youdon’t call her by her name.”

“……………….”

Since she’s notsaying that with a smile, she’s probably serious about that….

“Ah…..uhm,Sakura…..san?”

“Why would youadd a ‘san’ to your little sister’s name?”

“Ahhh okay, I gotit! Sakura! Asking your big brother about his sexual preferences isclearly overstepping your bounds, so any more questions about thatare prohibited! Okay?”

I decided to playby her rules for now. Not having the time or leisure, this was theonly option I had.

“Muu, it can’t behelped, then. Though, if Onii-chan ever feels pent up or something,please consult your little sister, okay?”

“I’d rather diethan ask my little sister for something like that!”

No, she isn’t evenmy actual sister! What the hell am I saying?!

“Then, let Sakurasee Onii-chan’s PC!”

“Why?!” Shereally didn’t give me any room to take a breath.

“Sakura wants tocheck if Onii-chan is using porn sites even though he’s still aminor! That’s also the duty of a littler sister after all!”

“There’s no dutylike that?! And I’m paying enough attention to that, myself!”

….Wait, thatclearly makes it sound like I’m using them from time to time, doesn’tit?

“Is that so? Soyou don’t use your computer for stuff like that?”

“O-O-O-Ofcourse!”

“Then, it shouldtotally be fine for Sakura to take a look, right! Show me! Show me!”

Guh……I normallydon’t get cornered like that!

B-But wait….? Idon’t use my PC on that table for eroge at all. I have another onefor that, so as long as I just let her look at that one, it should befine….right?

“O-Okay, I gotit. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll let you check. It’s notlike you’ll find anything anyway.”

With this, I canget this topic over with!

I was about to bootup the PC in question but….

“Huh? Anotherphone call….Hello?”

「Isthat Sensei, desu? Good evening! I’m sorry if I interrupted you whileyou were masturbating!」

“Good evening,Double Peace-sensei….And no, I’m not doing that, so it’s fine….”

「I’mglad to hear that, desu! Perfect timing, though! I sent you anotherero illustration, so feel free to use that as material for later,desu!」

By the way, shekeeps sending me ero illustrations every day, hoping that they wouldcause me to awaken to her preferences…or something unrealistic likethat.

“Iwon’t!…..Huh? But, I didn’t think I’ve received it yet?”

「Ahh,yes. This time it turned out to be rather big, so my phone couldn’tcompress it, desu. Instead, I’ve sent you the file via email so thatyou could look at it on your PC!」

W-What did she justsay?! So, that means…….?!

“Hey, Onii-chan?Is your phone call not over yet? Can I start it up on my own?”Hearing Minazuki-san’s words behind me, my back straightened up insurprise.

That PC isconnected to my email program, so if she were to boot it up, shemight see Double Peace-sensei’s email and…..!

「Hmm?Did I just hear a girl’s voice, desu? And it sounds oddlyfamiliar….?」

“T-That was justyour imagination! ……..Y-Yeah, it was a voice from an eroge! I’lldo the deed after this phone call, so I started the game up already!With that being said, I’ll talk to you later!”

Even Ididn’t know what I was saying, but I had to hurry up and cut the callor all hell would break loose. Thanks to that, I barely managed tostop Minazuki-san.

“N-No!! Stop! Ireally can’t let anyone else see my PC!”

“What’s with youso suddenly…….Ah, so you really do have something on there!”

“Yes! That’sright! So please don’t look!” I didn’t care any more, so I pulledno punches in order to stop her.

Thinking about it,I could’ve just used the excuse of me being Towano Chikai…… Am Ian idiot or what?!

“Mou, it’sOnii-chan after all. Sakura will not look at it, but instead,Onii-chan has to tell her his fetishes!”

“Why does it endup like that?!”

Acting as my savinggrace was my vibrating phone, telling me that another call was comingin.

「Towano-sensei?It’s your beloved pupil, Kanzaka Akino. Good evening.」

I heard the voiceof the older Kanzaka sister whom I had met during a doujinshi event.She had fallen in love with Towano Chikai’s novel, and now she wantedme to make her my pupil since she was about to debut as aprofessional light novel writer as well.

“Goodevening….What’s up?”

「Iwanted to ask about the novel I will debut with. I want to hear youropinion. What did you think?」

“Ahh, it wasreally interesting. The mix between mystery and fantasy worked reallywell.”

「Thankyou. But still, I’m nowhere close to Sensei. To close that gap, Ineed to hear everything you thought about the novel. Good…..andalso bad.」

“E-Even if youask me that….It’s not like there were any major flaws that I couldsee or anything….”

「Senseireally is kind. But, as your pupil, I wish that you would be a bitmore strict with me from time to time. If Sensei thinks that it’snecessary, I wouldn’t mind being tied up with a rope and hit with awhip.」

As always, she’ssaying such things in a completely deadpan tone of voice.

Suddenly, I heardthe sound of footsteps on the other end of the phone.

「H-Hey,you! What kind of things are you making my Onee-chan do!」

Oh, so this timeit’s the little sister Kanzaka Haruna. She’s the one of the tworesponsible for the illustrations, and her skill is on par withDouble Peace-sensei.

“No, I didn’t sayanything weird though?! That was your—”

「You’reOnee-chan’s teacher, so don’t abuse your power!」

…..I won’t evenlisten anymore. And I don’t even remember officially becoming herteacher…

In that momentthough, Sakura, who had kept quiet until this point, grabbed myclothes and looked up at me.

“Hey Onii-chan,hurry up and tell me your fetishes already!” She said in a voiceloud enough that the other two could hear her. Of course she did.

「Eh?A girl’s voice? That didn’t sound like your little sisterthough….Y-You, are you together with a girl this late?! A-And shesaid something about fetishes…..!」

「Ialso want to know about that. Please teach me, Sensei.」

From the phone, Iheard them saying things like 「Whatare you saying?! You have to treasure yourself more,Onee-chan!」and「Thisis necessary for my novel. If it’s Sensei, it will surely bealright,」butI didn’t have any time to respond to that.

“I-I-I-I’m reallybusy right now, so I’ll talk to you later!” Not even trying to talkmy way out of this, I straight up cut the call with those words.

“Ah, is your callover? Then, hurry up and tell me!” Sakura looked at me with abright smile.

“Ahhhh, okay, Iget it already! I’ll tell you, so stop pestering me about it!”

Just as onecould’ve guessed, I had to give her every little detail abouteverything involving my fetishes….while trying to not make anymistakes that would give away my stand-in position.

Part 2:

After that, I wascontinuously asked questions by Minazuki—no, Sakura. From the sizeof breasts to what colour of knee-socks I prefer. All things that Inever ever wanted anyone else to know. As you might guess, I wasreally burnt out after that.

“I see…… soOnii-chan likes longer knee-socks. And of course, the breasts have tobe big……”

“Uhhhh……”Her interrogation was really scary.

How do I say it, itwas really a pain in the ass. Being asked questions continuously bymy self-proclaimed little sister without her giving me any chance totalk my way out of it.

Just like aninnocent little sister, she asked me simply because she wanted toknow. Before I had realized it, I told her everything. She really isgood at acting, alright.

“So even thoughyou had such a fiendish manga inside your room, you’re more of thelovey-dovey flirty type! Sakura is glad to hear that!”

“Can you notrepeat every single thing again? And, please promise your big brotherthat you will never tell a single soul about what I just told you,okay?”

“Okaaay! Sincethis is a promise between brother and little sister, Sakura will keepit!”

Being satisfied bythat answer, I started patting her head without thinking. Going”Nyufufu…..” as she looked up to with a smiling face, Irealized that I was completely seeing her as a little sister now.Maybe I’ve gotten weird in the head.

“….Haaaa, wellit’s fine. I’m starting to get tired too, so let’s go to sleep.”

Looking at theclock, the date had already changed.

“That’s right.It’s gotten pretty late, after all. Ah…but….”

“I-Is theresomething else?”

“Yeah….well,Sakura thinks that she wanted to take a shower before going to bed.”

“Ahh, a shower.You can use the showers on the first floor if you want.”

“Yay! Sakura willsee you later then, Onii-chan!”

I spaced out for abit as she started grabbing her things, but the next second, I cameback to my senses.

“W-W-W-Wait!A-Actually don’t! Stop!”

….I-I completelyforgot! I’ve kept the thing about Sakura a secret from Suzuka!Normally, she’d be asleep by now, but in the one in a million chancethat she’d go to the toilet while Sakura was there….she’d realizethat the lights are on → What is Minazuki-san doing here?! →O-O-O-O-Onii-chan….what exactly does this mean….!

→ Onii-chan, thisrequires execution.

Of course I’d beexecuted immediately, right?!

“A-Actually, ashower is not a good idea! Please bear with it at least for tonight!”

“Ehhh, that’s notgood though. Sakura is finally staying over at Onii-chan’s home, soyou wouldn’t like it if she was sweaty, right? And Sakura alsodislikes that feeling.”

“It’s not like Idon’t understand where you’re coming from, but….!”

“Sakura just hasto be careful of Suzuka-chan, right? It’s fine!” So she says, butthe risk is way too high here…..!

It seems like it’simpossible to stop her.

“Damn it…! Iget it already! But we’ll do it like this….!” Having no otherchoice, I came up with an emergency plan.

“Fuuu, taking abath at the end of the day is really the best!”

“I know already,so just hurry up and get this over with!”

The only otherchoice was that I had to enter the bath together with her—-youweren’t thinking that, were you?!

Instead, whileSakura was taking her time, I was acting as a guard in the room infront of the actual bath.

….In case Suzukacame in here, I would just tell her that I was using the bath rightnow.

“But, wouldn’t ithave been better if Onii-chan also took a shower?”

“Y-You’re alreadyin there! A-And that’s not something a girl of your age should besaying!”

“I was onlyjoking~” She said through the closed door but I really wished thatshe would hurry up.

From said showerroom, I could hear the sound of splashing water and happy humming.Turning around, I saw the faint silhouette of Sakura standing up.Even though it was merely her shadow, her bodyline was clearlyvisible. Every time I looked at her silhouette from head to toe, Ifelt like I was charmed by Sakura even more than I was ever before,and the sound in the background made me think of what other dangerousthings might happen after—–what the hell am I thinking about?!

“Onii-chan, areyou still there?”

“Still here!Please hurry up though!”

C-Calm down! Sakurais my little sister after all, so I shouldn’t be thinking about herlike—-Wait?! She’s not my sister at all! Don’t get led astray byher act, me! She’s actually not my sister but instead a super popularvoice actress! …..Doesn’t that make the current situation even moredangerous?! Maybe I should just think of her as my little sisterthen! But won’t that make me a perverted big brother for looking atmy little sister taking a shower?! I really should not think of heras my little sister, after all!

The incidenthappened when I was lost deep in my thoughts.

“….Onii-chan?What are you doing here this late?”

“Hawaa?!”Hearing Suzuka’s voice from the other side of the wooden door, myheart seriously stopped for a second. “S-S-Suzuka, huh?! W-W-Whyare you here?!”

“I heard weirdsounds from here so I wanted to check. Realizing that the lights wereon in the bath, I came here and heard Onii-chan’s voice.”

It was probablywhat I just said to myself….but that’s not important right now!

“Y-Yeah! I-I justthought it’d be nice to take a shower right now or something likethat!”

To tell the truth.This was the worst-case scenario….!

If Suzuka were totake one step in here, everything would be over. My whole life, to beprecise. For that reason, I steeled my heart and tried to cover it upas best as I could….but….

“….This late?And, Onii-chan took a bath before me, right? Why would you takeanother one?”

“That’s…..! Itsuddenly got colder, so I wanted to warm myself up again!”

“Wouldn’t youfeel chilly after taking a shower?”

“W-Well, I alsofelt a bit sweaty, so there’s that too!”

“First you’refeeling cold and then sweaty?”

“T-That’s whathappens to boys, okay?! A-And also….yeah! You wouldn’t want to liveunder the same roof as a big brother who smells of sweat all thetime, right?!”

“W-What are yousaying all of a sudden…?! A-And, if it’s about Onii-chan’ssmell….it’s not like I necessarily hate it or anything….actually,it’s the other way around….”

Suzuka was mumblingsomething, but I didn’t have the leisure to confirm what she said.

“A-Anyway, that’show it is, so there’s no problem, right?! Pay no mind to me! Feelfree to go back to your own room and go back to sleep!”

“….You’reacting weird.” It seems like I was acting too rashly, making hermore suspicious of me instead. “Onii-chan, are you hiding somethingfrom me?”

Hearing her spot-onassumption, I felt the cold sweat on my forehead.

“T-There’s noway that’s the case, you know? What reason would I have to hidesomething from you?”

“Thinking aboutit, you were extraordinarily noisy when you were talking in a highvoice earlier…..Onii-chan, is there somebody else in the house?”

“Wha?!” Iscreamed out in surprise because of the pinpoint accuracy of herdeduction.

….Suzuka wasalways really sharp, but what’s up with this critical hit of hers!

“W-W-What are yousaying?! O-On what basis are you assuming that!”

“I don’t have anybasis for that. I just thought of it. Since it’s Onii-chan, maybe heis hiding another woman from me…or something like that.”

Perfectly on point.And what does she mean by ‘Since it’s Onii-chan’…..?

“T-T-There’s noway I would do that, right?! B-But, if that was the case,theoretically speaking, what would happen?” I tried asking. Maybewe could still talk this out.

“….I would bevery mad.”

Uwa, I don’t evenhave to ask any further. She sounds so scary!

…..This is bad!Very bad! Extraordinary bad! I have to keep all of this a secretor….my life will end….and the last thing I will see before myeyes will be the message ‘Little sister End (Death)’!

“It seems like Ireally have to come in and check.”

“W-Wait Suzuka!You have to trust me! I really recommend you to go back to sleepright now!”

“…That soundsreally fishy. Now I’m sure that you’re hiding someone!” Suzuka saidand it sounded like she was about to open the door.

Even though I triedmy best to keep her from opening it, she started to overwhelm me interms of strength…..What is going on?!

……W-What shouldI do?! I’m really done for at this rate!

In that moment, myhead went blank and I blurted out something really bad.

“I-I’m completelynaked right now!”

“…….Eh?”

“Like I said,naked! Completely! If you were to enter, you would see me in mybirthday suit! Do you really want to see me like that?!”

Ahh, I’m really done for now! —iswhat I thought after I realized what I had said.

For some reasonthough, the strength that was pulling on the door weakened.

“W-W-W-What areyou saying, Onii-chan?! I-I-I really want to see Onii-chan’s nakedbody! …No, not that! Of course I wouldn’t want to see that! T-Thatm-m-manly part of yours….! Y-You’re muscles that aren’t visiblethrough your clothes…! O-Of course it’s not like my body is burningup merely from imagining it or anything—–”

“U-Uhm,Suzuka-san?” I asked with a worried tone.

The moment she headmy voice, she swallowed her breath with a “Ha?!” and she stopped.

“U, Uuuuu!O-Onii-chan you idiot! Idiot idiot idiottttttt!!!”

Leaving only thesewords behind, her presence disappeared with loud footsteps. Aftereverything went silent again, I slowly opened the door to make sureshe really was gone.

“W-What was thatabout?”

….I don’t reallyknow what happened but…..

“I-I’m Isaved….? Haaaa…….” Having confirmed that she was gone, I tooka deep breath.

For a second, Ithought that everything was over, but thank God…..

“Huh? Whathappened, Onii-chan? Sakura heard another voice.”

Hearing Sakura’svoice behind me, I turned around without thinking. In that moment, Iwas painfully reminded both where I currently was and in whatsituation I was in.

“……….!”

“Ahahaha….Sakurais still a bit embarrassed wearing these clothes….”

My eyes wanderedall over her body, not knowing where to look. She was barely coveringup the important parts with a towel. Her face was flushed since shehad just stepped out of the bath.

“I-I-I’m sosorry!!!?!?!?”

Panicking, I took abigger towel off the shelf next to me and hurriedly handed it overbefore dashing out of the room. Behind my back, I heard Sakura’snonchalant voice saying, “If it’s Onii-chan, then it’s fine!” butthe only thing I could do was apologize repeatedly in my head.

……I wonder why,but for some reason, between all these apologies there was anotherphrase I thought of. “Thank you very much!” I thought but….Iwonder what that was about?

Well, as long asnothing bad happens anymore then I’d be very happy withthat….but….

“I completelyforgot about that.”

After thatincident, Sakura had changed into into a pyjama (that she apparentlybrought with her) and returned to my room. At the time, though, I wastoo busy thinking about the problem at hand.

“Where should Isleep?” There’s no way that I can tell Sakura to go sleep in someother room of the house.

However, there’sonly one bed in my room. And we are two people.

“Everything wouldbe solved if Onii-chan and Sakura were to sleep in the same bed,”She said with her usual demanding smile, but there’s no way that Icould just go “Yeah, you’re right,” here.

“…Well, I guessI’ll just sleep on the floor and Sakura will sleep on the bed,” Itwas actually pretty simple now that I thought about it.

Well, since we’resiblings, sleeping the same room shouldn’t be too bad.

……Is what Iwanted to think here, but I had given up on seeing Sakura as mylittle sister.

“Ehh? That’s notgood. Sakura doesn’t want to bother Onii-chan anymore.”

“You’ve beenhaving fun doing that until now, though.”

“And we’resiblings after all, so let’s sleep in the same bed!”

“And now you’resaying dangerous things!”

Why are you sayingthat like it’s perfectly normal!

“Well, it’s truethat it’s not exactly normal, but if it’s Onii-chan and Sakura,there won’t be any problems! Sakura knows how kind Onii-chan is,after all!”

“Istill don’t get your logic, and —-hey!” I was formulating aretort to her statement when she suddenly took me by the hand andpulled me to her.

Just like that, Icollapsed onto the bed next to her.

“Fufufu….Onii-chanis so warm….”

Before I evenrealized it, she was hugging my arm and laying down in a sleepingposition.

“H-Hey! Let go! Ibeg you!”

Hearing mydesperate request, she declined it with a cute “Don’t wanna!”

With that, sheclosed her eyes. Soon after, her breathing became an even rhythm andshe fell asleep. Suddenly, I had the urge to ask “Are you a kid orsomething?!” but I held my tongue.

“….What shouldI do about this?” Being assaulted by both a soft feeling on myright arm and the sweet aroma of a girl that had just finished takinga shower, I was panicking.

There’s no way thatI could fall asleep like that, and it wasn’t the situation for thateither.

“And why did youjust fall asleep like you have no worries at all…?” I muttered asI looked at Sakura’s sleeping face.

….Well, I do getthat she’s mistaking me for the big brother in Towano Chikai’s novel,but I am really not an ideal big brother like that.

To hell with it!The next time she wakes up, I’ll talk her out of this!

“Nnn….Onii-chan…..”

“…”

However, when I seeher happy sleeping face like that, I start faltering immediately.Seeing a girl like her so happy and thinking that I could actually beof help to her, I don’t actually think of it as a nuisance at all.

“And…eventhough it’s just provisional, Sakura is my ‘little sister’ rightnow….” —– I might’ve said that, but it doesn’t have any deepermeaning, okay?

It’s just, youknow, I’m trying to take decisions that a light novel protagonistwould, so this isn’t all that different from it.

“And who am Imaking these excuses for…?” Saying that, I slowly pushed awaySakura’s arm.

Having finallybroken free, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Somehow I feellike this has happened before…..” Reminiscing about our time atMai’s villa last summer, I sneaked out of the room while trying tonot make any noise.

Ofcourse I couldn’t sleep with her, not mention stay in the same roomas her. That’s why I mentally prepared myself to spend the wholenight on the sofa in the living room downstairs. Suzuka will come towake me up after all, so I have to be awake at that time or she’llfind Sakura.

“Ahh, how did itcome to this, really….” Trying to fight the sleepiness that wasassaulting me, I started thinking about Sakura’s situation again.

…..Now that it’scome to this, I’ll have to get her to tell me her familycircumstances tomorrow. Before I had held myself back, but now thatI’ve provisionally become her “big brother” and she my “littlesister,” I have all the right to know.

“And since shecame to ask me for help, I can’t just ignore her circumstances,either……”

Like that, I spentmy time fighting drowsiness until Suzuka arrived.

Part 3:

“Really…. Itold you not to oversleep today, but you didn’t have to pull anall-nighter because of that. It’ll damage your body, so pleaserefrain from doing that.”

“Well, I was abit nervous, so I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Suzuka and I werewalking towards the editorial department and she was scolding me likealways.

After whathappened, I spent the whole night trying to stay awake, but thanks tothat I managed to keep the situation with Sakura under wraps. Havingleft the house in the morning, Suzuka and I had travelled all the wayto Tokyo in order to meet with the anime director. Originally, I hadplanned to question Sakura that morning about her circumstances andso on, but when I went to wake her up…..

“Mhm…..Yeah, Igot it, Onii-chan….Nyaa…..,” was the only thing I got out ofher.

Well, it probablywon’t be a problem if I leave her alone for a bit.

“Onii-chan, stopwalking like a zombie, please,” Maybe Suzuka was worried about mebeing sleep-deprived like this because she grabbed my hand.

“Onii-chan reallyis a no-good Onii-chan after all,” She said with a displeasedexpression.

To answer her, Isaid, “Sorry for being such an unworthy big brother,” and I meantthat from the bottom of my heart.

“This is thefirst time that I’m going to the editorial department like this, soplease pull yourself together.”

“I’m still amazedthat you’re getting an anime adaptation so soon after yourdebut…..”

“Well I don’tparticularly care about it, but since I’m together with Onii-chan, Idon’t really mind.”

“Because you cankeep my act as Towano Chikai in check?”

“W-Well,something like that. I doubt that I have to tell you again, butplease act accordingly,” Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

I answered her witha “I got it.”

Walking like this,the two of us arrived at the building of Sumeragi Publishing. Afterwe spoke to the person at the reception desk inside, our editorShinozaki-san immediately came to meet us.

“Hello Sensei,thank you very much for coming here today. And also, it’s nice to seeyour beautiful little sister again. Are you happily accepting all thelove he gives you?”

“Eh? Ah, yes…”

“Don’t greet usin such a ridiculous way! And Suzuka, you don’t have to play along!”

“Fu fu fu, youdon’t have to be so bashful about it. Even though you say that,you’re still bringing her with you today, after all. How about youact a bit more open about your feelings?”

Being unable totell her the truth, I just ground my teeth in frustration.

“T-That’s right,Onii-chan. Just like Shinozaki-san stated, you should show your lovefor little sisters more! …O-Of course I don’t particularly enjoythat, but it’s also my duty as a little sister, so I’ll just haveto put up with it!”

“Ohhh, howsplendidly said, Imouto-san! From now on, I hope that you’ll takecare of Sensei too!”

“I-I know. As hislittle sister, I will try my best for Onii-chan. Leave it to me.”

…..Why do thesetwo get along so well with each other?

“Well then,follow me please.” Shinozaki-san said and she guided us towards ameeting room inside the editorial department.

A man was alreadywaiting for us there with their back towards us.

“Sorry for makingyou wait,” Shinozaki-san called out to them.

However, withoutturning around, he let out a big sigh as a response.

“Hey Sakurada,what happened?”

“….Eh? Ah, I’msorry, Senpai. I was lost in thought because of something,” The manwho turned around seemed to be in his early twenties.

His hair was styledneatly, and he had a calm yet masculine-looking face. The gaze comingfrom behind his glasses made him look like an intellectual. Ingeneral, he gave off an invigorating aura.

A typical ikemen, I see —-iswhat I thought as Shinozaki-san turned to face us.

“Sensei, this isthe person that will act as your anime director, Sakurada.”

Having beenintroduced, the young man bowed his head.

“Nice to meetyou. I will be responsible for the anime production. My name isSakurada Itsuki. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“T-The pleasureis all mine. I’m Towano Chikai. I’m glad to be working with you.”

While my tensionwas rising because of his formal introduction, I realized something.

“….Huh?Sakurada…..don’t tell me….?”

“Exactlythat, Sensei. This guy is that Sakurada.”

Hearing Shinozaki-san’s words, the tension inside me increased evenmore. That’s because this Sakurada was a director that everyone inthe otaku world knew about.

……S-So that famous director will be working on Suzuka’s animeproduction…..?!

“I was really looking forward to meeting Towano-sensei. As a fan ofSensei’s book ‘The story about a little sister who loves her bigbrother way too much to cope,’ I am really happy that I was chosenas the editor.”

“I-I’m really happy to hear that,” Being praised like that, Ipanicked even more.

In that moment, Suzuka warned me in a quiet voice.

“Please act more confidently.”

“Also, I don’t think that I’ve met that girl beside you before.”

“Ah, that’s right. This is my little sister Suzuka. She, uhm,wanted to come with me because she was interested in all of this. I’msorry for not informing you earlier.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagami Suzuka. SinceOnii-chan will be in your care from now on, I hope that we will be ongood terms.”

Following my words, Suzuka perfectly introduced herself.

“Towano-sensei’s….little sister?”

“Yes, Sensei’s little sister is an important person for his novel.She is sacrificing herself to accept her desires for her big brother,and she’s always helping him out with his writing. So please treather with the same respect that you would treat Towano-sensei.”

“What kind of bat-shit crazy introduction is that?!” I retortedwithout thinking while completely forgetting about my position as alittle-sister-loving stand-in.

…Still, I think that introduction deserved a retort like that!Acting like a siscon is one thing, but she basically labelled me as apervert with that introduction!

I was about to follow up on that, but I realized that Sakurada-sanwas spacing out, staring at Suzuka.

“Did something happen?” Suzuka asked and tilted her head inconfusion.

“Ah, no! I’m sorry, I was spacing out for a second,” Sakurada-sanreturned to his senses.

….What was that about?

After everyone sat down, Shinozaki-san once more introducedSakurada-san in a bit more in detail.

Being a 22-year-old anime producer, he had countless big hits in theanime industry, even earning him the title of a genius. Since I wasfairly familiar with famous anime staff and so on, I knew his namefrom countless works. Those were, for example, the adventure into theunknown universe of a young boy and girl, called “LaGrange,” andthe very sensitive but still comical awakening of a young girl’s lovein “Falling in love in the summer.” Not only that, but he alsohad success overseas with his dark fantasy “Iron gods” and othertitles that Shinozaki-san listed after that.

Even though they were extraordinarily well-known titles for animefans, Suzuka never had heard of any of these. Still, since she’s notfamiliar with anything otaku-related, I can forgive her for that(Even though most otakus out there would disagree with me).

“Still, I’m astonished that you managed to get someone likeSakurada-san for my anime production.”

“Come on, this is Sensei’s novel we’re talking about. Someone otherthan him wouldn’t have been enough. And also, since this isSakurada’s first work with such a little sister novel, he’s reallymotivated,” Shinozaki-san said it like it was nothing special toget such a famous director. “Well, we’re in for the long haul nowanyway, so it’s fine as long as we can make your novel known to theentire world. As an editor and also as his senpai from university, Ican guarantee his skill.”

“Now that you say it, Sakurada-san also called you senpai. So youtwo graduated from the same university?”

“Exactly. Even back then, I caught glimpses of his actualskill—-“

While I was listening to Shinozaki-san, Ipicked up bits and pieces of Sakurada-san talking to Suzuka.

“With you being Sensei’s little sister, is he making you help outwith the novel at all?”

“Yes, that’s the case.”

“But, Sensei’s novel is a straight up little sister novel, youknow? So you still…..?”

“A-Although I’m not particularly fond of it, as his little sister Ihave to help him. Well, Onii-chan is a little sister fanatic so it’snothing but trouble for me!” Listening to Sakurada-san’s question,Suzuka answered the same way as always.

Well, in Suzuka’s case, I can see that I don’t have to worry aboutanything. And it’s not like she’s overdoing our act that I likelittle sisters.

After that, Sakurada-san started talking to me too.

“Towano-sensei, can I have a moment?” He looked at me with aserious expression.

It looked like the atmosphere around him changed.

“There is something I want to ask of you. What do you think is theorigin for the cuteness of little sisters?”

“Eh? Cuteness?”

“Yes. As I am responsible for the anime production, I wanted tohear Sensei’s thoughts about that.”

“Ah, it’s about that….” I was a bit shocked after hearing thatquestion. So he meant it like that…

In times like these, I have to put on my act as Towano Chikai so thatthey won’t be suspicious of me.

“Well in my opinion, I think that the fact that it’s a youngermember of the family is very important. Also, being called’Onii-chan’ has a very strong impact.”

“I see. So, there are lots of variations of little sisters, butwhat kind does Sensei prefer?”

“Probably a little sister that resembles Yuuka from my novel.”

“With all of these different attributes that girls have, why was itthat it was the little sister that took your heart?”

“…Even if you ask me that, it just sort of happened.”

“Can you try to elaborate on that ‘sort of happened’ part a bitmore?”

“E-Elaborate?” Sakurada-san’s rapid-fire questions really were throwing me off guard.

…..All of a sudden, it felt like he was getting way more intensethe more questions he was asking.

I felt Suzuka pull on my sleeve again and she whispered a quiet “Keepit together please!” at me, making me realize that I have to tryeven harder here.

“W-Well! Since it’s our fate as big brothers to protect our littlesisters, it gives them a more mysterious feeling than other kinds ofgirls. Adding that to the aforementioned cuteness of little sisters,it’s no surprise that I would be more interested in them!” Isomehow managed to put that together in my head.

…..After all, this isn’t the first pinch where I had to get throughwith acting.

Somethingof this calibre will be no problem !—-iswhat I thought, but….

“Even in today’s society, blood-related marriage is legallyprohibited, so you wouldn’t even be able to marry your little sister.What do you think about that?”

“Eh? T-That’s—”

“But recently, in eroge and so on, these boundaries are slowlystarting to break away. What’s your opinion on that?”

“Well, uhm—-“

“Evenin our religious myths, marriages between blood-related familymembers are frequently mentioned. What’s your standpoint on that?”

“L-Like I said—-“

“And keeping in mind that you love little sisters, would you beable to fall in love with different variations of that attribute? Analien little sister, a flower-girl little sister, an insect littlesister, or even a neutron little sister? Did you ever think aboutthat?”

“Ehhhh?!” Confronted with that barrage of questions, I was at aloss for words.

Even though I have to act as Towano Chikai, it’s not like I actuallyhave any feelings towards little sisters. Until now I had to keep iton the level of “Yes, I love little sisters~” but neither Suzukanor I imagined that I would have to answer so many weird questions.

….And what the hell was that last question about?!

“Hey Sakurada, what’s up with you so suddenly? You’re clearlytroubling Sensei.”

“But, Senpai, Towano-sensei wrote such a little sister novel afterall, so of course he should be able to answer these questions withease.”

Shinozaki-san merely muttered a “That might be the case but still,”in resignation.

“Or do you mean to tell me that this is the level of love forlittle sisters that Towano Chikai possesses?”

“T-That’s clearly not the case!”

In that moment, Suzuka jumped into the conversation.

….For some reason, it looked like Sakurada-san’s atmosphere changedeven more dramatically.

“Let’s see. Since he was the one who wrote that magnificent novel,that shouldn’t be the case, yes. That’s exactly why I have to makesure how much Towano Chikai-sensei actually likes little sisters.”Listening to these words, I couldn’t move a singe muscle.”Towano-sensei, I will have to ask you one more question. NagamiSuzuka-san is your little sister, right? Then, as a little sisterfanatic, Towano-sensei surely lays his hands on her every time hegets the chance, right?”

“Eh?! N-No, there’s no way I would do that to my real-life littlesister?!”

“If you really were a fanatic like you say you are, something likethat wouldn’t hold you back. As long as she has the ‘Little sister’attribute, it should be obvious for you to do that, don’t you think?”

“Still, there are some lines that I definitely can’t cross!”

“…..I didn’t expect to hear that from Towano-sensei.”

Why do you sound so disappointed?!

“Rollingaround in your sister’s bed and sniffing her scent, taking a showertogether, feeling the warmth of her knee-socks immediately after shetakes them off…these acts should be a daily routine for you,right?”

“As if I would do something like that!”

“W-Why? You are Towano Chikai, right? Drinking the bathwater thatyour little sister just used should be obvious, don’t you think?!”

“I’m not that much of a pervert that I would do that!”

While I was denying everything he had just accused me of with all mymight, I felt Suzuka grab my clothes, whispering a quiet”O-Onii-chan….!”, but I didn’t care about that.

…..It’s true that I’m Suzuka’s stand-in and that I have to actaccordingly…..! But there have to be limits! I won’t stand beingaccused of being such a hardcore pervert and there’s no way that Iwould stand by while Suzuka is being made a victim of that. Acting ornot!

I was about to tell Sakurada-san my opinion but—-

“…It really is a shame, Towano-sensei….”

My words proved to be a fatal error.

“It seems like you don’t understand what it means to be a littlesister fanatic,” Sakurada-san said with a sad expression as hedropped his head.

“How disappointing. To think that the person who wrote such a godlynovel had only feelings of such a degree…..how utterlyfrustrating.”

“….Eh? What do you mean by that?”

“Towano-sensei, I don’t feel any love for little sisters from youat all. It really is hard to believe that you wrote thatnovel…..Reality can be so cruel….” Sakurada-san said, makingShinozaki-san panic.

“H-Hey, Sakurada, what happened all of a sudden?”

“Senpai, I’m really glad that you brought these people here today.Thanks to that, I was able to decide on the plan for the anime.”

Plan…? —Itilted my head, just like everybody else did as well.

“I can’t let a person that doesn’t feel anything towards littlesisters describe a little sister character. Regarding the animeproduction, I will take some liberties and change the little sistercharacter.”

Change—that’s the worst-case scenario for the fans of the originalwork.

“Eh? B-By change, do you mean….?” Of course, Suzuka wasoblivious as to what exactly those words meant.

“W-Wait a moment, please! W-Why would you do that?!”

“That is clearly your fault, Towano-sensei,” He responded calmly,”Your novel is magnificent indeed. However, you don’t know what itmeans to be a little sister fanatic. That’s why I have to makechanges before we can work on the adaptation.”

“D-Don’t joke with me! I really love little sisters—-“

“Can you swear that from the bottom of your heart?”

I wanted to immediately scream “Of course I do,” but somehow thewords wouldn’t come out.

I’m well aware as to why that is. It’s a straight-up lie after all. Ifeel nothing at all towards little sisters. Yes, I could probably hugSuzuka right now and say “See how much I love little sisters?!”But I don’t think that he would be satisfied with just that.

“Onii-chan….?” Suzuka’s grip on my hand tightened as if she wasworried.

However, I still couldn’t move a single muscle.

“I will excuse myself now,” With these words, Sakurada-san left.

Shinozaki-san chased after him in a hurry. As for me, it felt like Iwas frozen in place.

Part 4:

“So he meant it literally like that?! He can’t just modify thecharacter! With that he’ll nullify my feelings—-no, he’ll changethe entire story!”

We were currently on the way home from our local train station.

After I had explained what Sakurada-san meant by ‘changes,’Suzuka was acting like that the whole way back.

“…Yeah, I completely agree. Modifying the story a slight bitduring the anime production isn’t all that rare, but actually doingthat with a specific character is absolutely unacceptable…..”

As Suzuka’s stand-in and as her fan, I can’t allow that to happen.However, she was glaring at me for some reason.

“If you really think that, then why didn’t you keep up your act atthat moment?”

“Ugh…I explained that to you already, didn’t I….?”

I’m not a little sister fanatic after all. Even with my acting, thereis no way that I could’ve satisfied Sakurada-san.

“If acting was impossible, why didn’t you just awaken to your lovefor little sisters right on the spot!?”

“Don’t ask for the impossible! I’m not a shounen manga protagonistwhere I can develop a new power when I’m in a pinch!”

“….Is it really the time to be saying that?”

Feeling her cold gaze, my shoulders dropped with an “It isn’t thetime to be saying that, no….”

No matter the situation, it was clearly my fault that it had come tothis. Because of my ineptitude, I troubled Suzuka. I had to somehowturn this around. That’s why….

“Now that it’s come to this, you just have to honestly fall in lovewith little sisters!”

Normally, I’d retort with an “As if I could?!” but I couldn’tmyself to open my mouth.

“And you have to achieve that before next week. Thanks toShinozaki-san, we received a final chance. Before that day, you haveto fall in love with little sisters from the bottom of your heart!”

“Somehow, it feels less like you’re mad and more like you’reenthusiastic.”

“Wha?! W-W-What are you saying, Onii-chan! I definitely don’t seethis as the perfect chance to make you fall in love with me oranything?! I see this only as an opportunity to fix your acting as astand-in, okay?!”

“I got it already, so calm down!”

“If you really understand, then don’t get any weirdmisunderstandings….!” With these words, she let go of my hand andlooked the other way.

For a second, it looked like her face was red.

“But, for me to become a little sister fanatic……”

Merely saying it out loud made me realize once more what kind of atremendous thing that exactly means. I never exactly understood theappeal of a little sister. Sure, as an otaku, I do think that littlesister characters are often cute…..for example, the little sister,Yuuka, of Suzuka’s novel. However, that’s just a fictional character.

…..I wonder if I could really fall in love with little sisters fromthe bottom of my heart….?

“This is no time to be hesitating. We only have one week left,after all.”

At the end of this week, we will once more meet up with Sakurada-san.After what had happened, Shinozaki-san came back, saying that shemanaged to get us one last chance to show Sakurada-san that I reallyam a little sister fanatic.

“Also, I do think that it’s weird! Why can he just modify thecharacter without the author’s consent?!”

“Well, as an anime producer, he does have certain rights….”

…..Still, I don’t have any right to complain. For Suzuka’s novel, Ihave to do this no matter what. Even if it ends up in Suzuka startingto hate me…..I have to other choice but to accept her feelings headon!

“…Alright, when I get home, I’ll immediately go buy anotherlittle sister novel—-“

“Once we get home, we’ll start the special training, Onii-chan.”

“Huh?”

“What are you spacing out for? I just told you that I will make youfall in love with little sisters no matter what.”

“N-No, well, you’re helping me?”

“O-Of course! Since we’re talking about little sisters, I have theduty to help you out!”

“But, uhm, I have to be a little sister fanatic, you know? Won’tyou feel bothered by that?”

“Actually, I’d be very happy about—–Excuse me! T-T-That might bethe case but this is an emergency! And it involves Towano Chikai,after all! Don’t you think?!”

“Y-You might be right about that?!” I nodded violently.

……Well, it’s true that she’s not exactly a bystander in thissituation.

“Thank you, Suzuka….And I’m sorry for forcing you into thismess….”

“N-No, this is just an emergency situation! Rather than that, Ihope you’re ready for your training!”

With these words, we arrived in front of our house. Suzuka avertedher eyes with a red face and put her hand on the front door. In themeantime, I was strengthening my resolve for what was about tocome—-but in that moment, I felt an uncomfortable feeling crawlingup my back.

….Huh? It feels like I’ve forgotten something very important….?

In that moment, I realized exactly what it was….but I didn’t evenhave the time to think of a solution.

“Welcome home, Onii-chan!”

The moment I saw Sakura standing there in the entrance, I rememberedeverything. And the clothes she was wearing only made things worse.She was wearing nothing more than an apron above her naked skin.

“….Onii-chan? What is the meaning of this….?” Suzuka said asshe turned around with stiff movements like a robot.

In that moment, I muttered these words deep in my heart.

“It’s the beginning of hell…….”