Volume 4 Chapter 4

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Is it okay if I become a little sister lover?

Part 1:

“Even thoughwe’ve only been to two places today, I already feel incrediblytired…” I muttered as I was sitting on a bench near the pool.

After whathappened, we decided to leave the pool. While the girls went tochange and freshen up a bit, I decided to wait here.

“I was thinkingthis before, but they really do have everything here in thispark…..”

Even though thatcrossed my mind for a second, my thoughts immediately returned tosomething else, namely our goal for this date today — to make mesomeone who loves little sisters. Thanks to Suzuka and Sakura, I feltlike I understood what makes little sisters cute. It did feel likewith just another small push I could fall in love with littlesisters, but…

“Well… youknow…”

There was stillsomething missing, like there was an invisible wall inside my heartthat stopped me from taking that final step. Our second meeting withSakurada-san was just around the corner, and right now, it didn’tfeel like I would be able to convince him.

“And just now,Suzuka looked like she was extremely pissed for some reason….”

My thoughtsstarted to spiral into negativity.

…I mean, just afew minutes prior, her mood seemed to be really good. After I savedSakura, however, it worsened on a matter of seconds. I don’t reallyknow why, but I’m sure that it’s because I did something weird or badagain. I feel like I’m always troubling Suzuka, especially withthis whole act to try to make me a little sister lover.

Even though shehates me, she’s still going so far for me, trying to be lovey-doveywith me for my special lessons. She always says that it’s her dutybecause she’s the true Towano Chikai, but I still feel like I need toapologize to her for it. After all, I’m her stand-in, and I’mbothering her about it to no end.

“‘Please pullyourself together, Onii-chan’… is it?”

For Suzuka, I’mnothing more than an unreliable big brother. Of course she’d hate me.And that feeling surely hasn’t changed during this incident. Ican’t blame her for being pissed. After all, she’s basically forcingsomeone she hates to fall in love with her.

“But still —no, exactly because of that, huh? To become as strong as she needs meto be, I have to devote myself to her, probably.”

Because she’s mylittle sister. Becoming strong for a little sister is the natural jobof every big brother.

“Ah, there heis! Heeeey, Onii-chan!”

At that moment, Iheard Sakura’s voice and my thoughts were interrupted. As I turnedaround, I saw Sakura walking towards me and waving her hand in theair.

“Huh?You’re alone? Where’s Suzuka?”

“She’s stillbusy freshening up. Her hair’s so long and pretty, so it takes her abit longer to get ready. Sakura asked her if Sakura should wait forher, but she said that it’s fine,” Sakura said as she sat down nextto me.

“I see. Thenlet’s wait for her here.”

“Yeah! And whenshe’s done, we’ll go to another attraction, okay?”

“….I’m finewith that but can we do something more….soft next time?”

“Soft? If youwant something more relaxing, then how about we go to this ‘Agonizingslime hell’ attraction? Sakura thinks that it sounds veryinteresting!”

“Not that kindof ‘soft!’ And what’s up with that weird attraction?!”

Sakura said thatshe was just joking, but the slime hell thingy she mentioned wasreally in the pamphlet… as well as countless other weird-soundingattractions.

“They have somany attractions here, it’s so fun! That explains why this place isso popular.”

“Well, it seemslike they really designed this park well, since they got so popularso quickly.”

“Yeah, it’sreally fun! Are you having fun too, Onii-chan?”

“…..Yeah, Iam.”

It’s true that Iwas a bit tired from all the things I was thinking about, but I wasstill having fun. That’s why I honestly answered that.

As I did, Sakurasaid, “Is that so? Good,” but after that, she kept quiet.

“………..”

Not knowing whatto say, I started spacing out again, but…

“Hey,Onii-chan,” After a moment’s pause, Sakura opened her mouthagain.

“There’ssomething that Sakura would like to ask you, Onii-chan.”

“W-What is it?”

For some reason,Sakura seemed a bit more mellow than usual, slightly startling me.Without paying attention to my reaction, she merely turned her facetowards the pool and continued.

“Sakura knowsthat you’re in the middle of special lessons to get the hots forlittle sisters, and that’s why we’re helping you out, but… why isthere any need for that anyway?”

“…..Iexplained that a while ago, didn’t I? I don’t really know what itfeels like to be a little sister lover, and—”

“Um, and why isthat?” With these words, she calmly turned towards me again, “Untilnow, Onii-chan has been writing such a cool little sister novel,right? Even if you think that you’re still lacking something, youmanaged to write that novel. Isn’t that enough? Why do you still haveto become a little sister lover?”

That questionwasn’t anything like the things Sakura normally said, completelyattacking me off-guard.

…..Well,objectively speaking, she might be right about that.

Towano Chikai wasstill a newcomer but he still had managed to write a super-popularlight novel that sold over 300.000 copies of just the first volume.Wishing for anything more than that would be taking it too far. Isthere really any need for these special lessons, then? It was alogical question, but….

“W-Well, it’sthat I’m one of those people who can never be satisfied. I have tomake the perfect novel. And it’s a fact that I’m still lackingsomething, so that’s why I have to move forward no matter what ittakes,” I answered like a typical author.

And even though Itried to cover it up pretty well….

“Mhm, that’s alie, isn’t it?”

“Eh?”

She answeredimmediately as she looked straight at me. Being surprised by that, Icouldn’t find the right words immediately.

“N-No….!A-And why would you think that I was lying?!”

“Mhm? Sakuradoesn’t have any basis for that but….just because, probably? We’vebeen living under the same roof for quite some time now, so Sakurajust thought that you sounded weird. And also, you’re very easy tosee through, Onii-chan.”

“Ugh… that’sthe exact same phrase I always hear out of Suzuka.”

“Is that so…yes, that makes sense. Suzuka-chan really understands Onii-chan afterall.”

She looked reallylonely for a second, but I didn’t have the time to dwell on it.There’s no way that I could tell her what was really going through mymind, so I had to deceive her somehow.

“B-But still, Iwasn’t lying okay? I really—”

“Onii-chan.”However, she stopped me mid-sentence and—

“You shouldn’tlie to your little sister,” She said to me with an expression moreserious than any I’d ever seen on her before.

“There might bespecial circumstances, and maybe you can’t tell anyone about it. ButOnii-chan, being lied to still feels very sad.”

“S-Sakura….”

“If there’sreally no way that you can tell Sakura, then so be it. But seeingOnii-chan suffering like this causes Sakura to worry, you know?That’s why she really wants you to talk with her about it. As yourlittle sister, she wants to support you.”

Hearing thesewords, my heart skipped a beat.

“…………”

Of course,there’s still no way for me to let Sakura in on Suzuka’s and myproblems. The fact that I’m merely a stand-in and that Suzuka is thereal Towano Chikai— I can’t tell a single person about that. But ifI can just protect that secret itself, then maybe…?

Even if Sakura’snot my real little sister, I can’t just say “It’s nothing.” Notafter she’s shown such concern for me. I just can’t do that.

“Well, it’sactually pretty embarrassing, being a little-sister novel author likethis…” I decided to put my trust in her and tell her about myproblems in a way that wouldn’t make her suspicious of me. “A whileago, I had a sort of discussion with someone else about being alittle sister lover. And that person told me that I knew nothing ofwhat’s it like to be a little sister lover.”

“What it’s liketo be a little sister lover?”

“Yeah…And inthe end, I was unable to satisfy him. Even though I’m a little sisternovel author, I still lost to him. But, that can’t happen, you know?So to win against that person, I have to understand what it feelslike to love little sisters from the bottom of my heart….!”

“Onii-chan…”

I tried my bestto explain the circumstances without going into too much detail. Withthis, Sakura should be able to understand what I’m going through.

“Uhm…is thatreally all?”

“Huh?”

For some reason,she tilted her head in confusion.

…H-Huh? Ididn’t expect that kind of response.

“Uhm, even ifyou say that… that’s really all…”

“Are youreally, really sure? Sakura doesn’t feel satisfied with just that.”

“What do youmean by ‘satisfied’…? I’m that little sister novel author, youknow? But I still lose against someone else like that—”

“No, it’s notthat,” She stopped me once more, only to continue speaking with amysterious expression on her face, “The thing that Sakura doesn’tunderstand is why you gave up after being told that you ‘don’tunderstand what it’s really like to be a little sister lover’”

“Well, itreally surprised me, so…..”

“It was asurprise because it was true, right? So basically, you were aware ofthat from the very start. That’s what Sakura doesn’t understand.”

I gulped at herdeduction. Her words were beginning to imply that she was becomingsuspicious.

“T-That’s…..!”

I couldn’t findany words. Seeing me, Sakura continued.

“First of all,Sakura thinks that Onii-chan does know what it feels like to reallylove little sisters,” Her eyes looked like she was remembering anevent from the distant past as she said that.

“Why…do youthink so?”

Not understandingher expression, I had already asked before I even realized it. As Idid, Sakura said “That’s—” with a painful smile as shecontinued.

“What it meansto love a little sister… that was the very question Sakura askedherself a long time ago.”

Like she wasconfessing something, she said that.

“…Eh? Thequestion you asked yourself a long time ago…?” I muttered like aparrot.

However, Suzukadidn’t pay any attention to my reaction and merely faced me againwith a “Yeah…”

“U-Uhm, I’msorry, but… what do you mean by that?”

“Hmm? Just asSakura said. A long time ago, Sakura didn’t know what it meant to bein love with a little sister. Not one bit. That’s why, when she heardthat Onii-chan thinks that he doesn’t know either… she thought thatit was completely different from her.”

Sobasically…..she thinks that I’m wrong in saying that I don’t knowwhat it means to be a little sister lover?

“But…wait?You said that in the past, you didn’t know what it meant to lovelittle sisters, right?”

“Yes, Sakurasaid that. Why?”

“But right now,you’re trying so hard to get that little sister role and you’re evenperfectly acting as one….?”

“Yes! Becausenow, she really loves little sister characters!”

Then…..whathappened to make that change occur?

Being unable tosay that question out loud, I merely stared at Sakura. As I did, sheseemed to understand what I was thinking and finally opened her mouthafter a short pause.

“Onii-chan,will you listen to Sakura’s confession?”

Finally, she hadher usual smile on her face as she said that. Being perplexed, Icould only mutter a “Y-Yeah….” to which Sakura responded with a”Thank you…” before staring off into the distance again.

“Sakura is surethat Onii-chan already knows this, but she only debuted as a voiceactress about one year ago. She happened to get the role of the mainheroine, and even though it was a lot of trouble, Sakura managed topull through and become really popular. She was very lucky.”

“That didn’thave anything to do with luck. You definitely have the skill to backup your popularity. After all, you’ve gotten countless other rolesafter that, right? That’s the proof of you being a popular voiceactress for a reason.”

Hearing my words,Sakura’s smile seemed to be filled with embarrassment as she said”Thank you…”

“Yeah, Sakuraalso thinks that she’s giving it her all. Being a voice actress isreally fun after all, and there are countless people supporting her.Some have even gone so far as to call her a genius. Although thatseems to be a bit over the top, Sakura has confidence in her skillsand she wants to get even better.”

I know thatbetter than everyone else. After all, I’ve seen what Minazuki Sakurais like when she’s at work. It’s completely different from herusual easygoing attitude.

“Yeah, youreally deserve your popularity. Your roles have all been hugesuccesses.”

“Mhm, andSakura is really happy about that, but…” A bitter smile.

“But? Didsomething happen?”

“Nothingspecial. Since Sakura isn’t a perfect human either, there were somedrawbacks to her success and also a lot of frustrations.”

“But—” shecontinued.

“Thatfrustration was pretty severe in Sakura’s case.”

“Eh?”

“This isn’tsomething that Sakura should be telling other people, but during theproduction of ‘Utopia’, she failed at the auditions.”

Sakura said itlike it was nothing, but these words had a big impact on me.

….So it’s not amatter of ‘not getting chosen’ but rather of ‘failing’?

Well, that canhappen for the even the best voice actresses out there, so thisshouldn’t be all to rare in that scene. But judging from her choiceof words, namely ‘failure’, it didn’t seem that simple.

While I waskeeping quiet, Sakura continued with a pained expression.

“The reasonSakura failed was because there was a role she just couldn’t actout.”

“That’s…don’ttell me…?!”

“Yep, that’sright. The role of the little sister,” She said as if it werenothing important.

“W-Wait asecond. Before, you said that you didn’t understand what it felt liketo love little sisters… so that’s why you failed the audition…?”

“Yup,” Sakurasoftly nodded, “You’re probably wondering why, right? …That’s themain part of my confession.” She took a deep breath and continued,”Sakura told you before that she has a big brother, right? And thereason is that big brother. He’s a totally good-for-nothingsiscon.”

“S-Siscon…. that kind of siscon, you mean?”

“Yep, he has asister complex. Towards little sisters specifically. He’s ahardcore siscon, blinded by love for little sisters…” With thesewords, her smile completely disappeared from her face.

“B-But wait. Ifwhat you told me before is true, then he’s not the type to beoverprotective or overbearing, right….?”

“That’s true,yeah. How should she say it…? Look, he’s not the type to lay hishands on Sakura or anything… but…” She continued with a pissedoff expression, “Like, his feelings are way too strong and it’sirritating… ‘I really treasure you’ or ‘I’m worried about youbecause you’re like an angel to me’… he’s more of the meddlingtype.”

“Ah, that’s…”

Annoying .Just from listening, I thought that.

“Yep, it’s sotroublesome…! He’s clearly not in the wrong, but he takes it so farthat he always scolds Sakura but doesn’t care about himself, or healways is reading those little sister romance novels right on frontof her with no delicacy at all…” Like she was getting irritated,her voice got louder. “When Sakura scolds him, he just goes ‘Eventhe mad Sakura is so cute’ or ‘It’s fine because Sakura’s Onii-chanis really cool’ and other complete nonsense…! How do you thinkSakura would feel after living with him for years and years?!”

“T-That’s gottabe pretty horrible for sure!” I straightened my back as Iresponded.

“Yes, it ishorrible….He’s the worst big brother…That’s why Sakura couldn’tunderstand what was so great about little sisters and why anyonewould be a little sister lover. She hated the idea of loving littlesisters.”

….Yeah, lookingat her circumstances, it makes sense for her to harbour thosefeelings.

“But still,since nothing really bad happened until now, Sakura always held back.However, the situation changed.”

“How so?”

“Sakura doesn’tknow what triggered it, but her big brother suddenly started tobecome more irritating, acting more like the older brothers in hisbooks! That’s why Sakura wanted to tell him off, so she went into hisroom—”

“That’sright…I never asked what really happened…..”

“All over thewalls were pictures of Sakura. He even had some of those dakimakurapillows with photos of her on them. The worst part is, he took voiceclips of Sakura and spliced them together. ‘I love Onii-chan(Heart)!’ is what the final product was… and he kept that playingon an endless loop inside his room.”

W-Woah, that’sgotta be like a nightmare for her…..!

“When Sakurasaw that, it resulted in a big fight, and that’s why she ran awayfrom home….”

“I-Isee….That makes sense. To think that Sakura’s big brother would besuch a perv—-no! Such a little sister lover…..”

“It’s fine ifyou want to call him a pervert,” Sakura said.

….But, huh?

“Even thoughyou live under the same roof as such an awful big brother, you stillmanaged to understand what it means to love little sisters?”

How did shemanage to do that with her big brother basically stalking her?

However, Sakuraonly smiled at me, saying, “You really don’t know? It’s because Ifound Onii-chan’s novel.”

“B-Because youfound Suzuka—-no, my novel…?”

“That’s right.By pure coincidence, Sakura happened to pick up Onii-chan’s lightnovel, and that changed her whole world. Before that, she wished thatthe ‘siscon’ trope would just disappear from this world, but thatchanged the moment she read your novel,” Her voice sounded like shewas reminiscing about something that had happened long ago.

“W-Why such asudden change….?!”

“Because Sakurathought that the little sister in your novel had a really wonderfullife. The feelings of the little sister were transmitted so clearly,and even the big brother was such an understanding, sweet character.The moment Sakura had finished reading it, she really thought thatthe little sister character trope was something very lovable. WhenSakura realized this, she decided that she also wanted to be a littlesister like that. Since this was the first time that she had everfelt this way, Sakura was really surprised. But it didn’t end there.Of course, Sakura became a big fan of Toowano-sensei. When she wentto get an autograph, she met Onii-chan there. Although she was a bitsceptical at first, Onii-chan was an exact reflection of the bigbrother in Sensei’s novel.”

“I told youbefore, right? That I’m nothing like that ideal big brother,” Ianswered.

“That’s nottrue,” Sakura responded, “But, that’s how it happened. To Sakura,Sensei— Onii-chan is something like the one who saved her life.Her… hero,” She ended her monologue with a radiant smile.

Of course, I wasat a loss for words. I had known that Suzuka’s novel was somethingspecial, but to think that it had the power to completely change aperson’s heart like that….!

“That’s whySakura has to pay you back, no matter what it takes.”

“N-No, I didn’tdo anything great enough for you to call me hero… and I especiallydidn’t do something so great that you have to repay me for it…”

I’m nothing morethan a stand-in after all… but there was no way that I could tellher that.

“No, this issomething that Sakura has to do. Even more so now that Onii-chan ishaving the same troubles that Sakura had in the past.”

“W-What?!”

I-Is she reallygoing to give me the clue I still need…?

“But, even ifshe says that, the answer is relatively simple. Onii-chan just has toaccept it.”

“Accept….what?”

Hearing myquestion, Sakura grinned.

“Onii-chanmight’ve not realized it yet, but you already love little sistersfrom the bottom of your heart.”

“E-Excuse me?!”I couldn’t believe her words.

I was incrediblysurprised. It felt like the big wall inside my heart had been torndown.

…..No no no! Nono no no! No no no?!

“W-What are yousaying?! T-T-That I already love little sisters?!”

“It’s true, youknow? Why are you so flustered, hm?”

“Well, because…you know?! A-After you said something so absurd…! On what basis areyou saying that anyway?!”

“Let’ssee….the most simple proof would be that when we were acting outdifferent characters, you really looked like you loved all of us.”

“Hyiiiiiiiii?!”

“You reallydidn’t realize that? It was the same with Enryuu-sensei andAhegao-san, and Sakura completely understood it at that point. WhenSakura called you Onii-chan, you looked really happy.”

T-There’s no wayright?! I got lovestruck because I was called ‘Onii-chan’?! I washappy being surrounded by these cute little sisters?!T-T-T-T-T-That’s impossible?! E-Even though I have a real littlesister?!

“Y-You’relying, right?”

“Sakura iscompletely serious.”

“An immediatereply?! Y-You’re lying! S-Something like that is…!”

Impossible! Ishould not develop feelings for little sisters!

No matter howoften I screamed these words inside my heart, I couldn’t say them outloud. It felt like something inside me stopped me from doing so.

“I actually…love little sisters?! I-Impossible?!”

“Onii-chan!Onii-chan really is a kind person. But you might be a bit too kind,”Her voice seemed warmer than ever.

Like she wasworried, but not pissed. Like she just wanted to watch over me andgive me strength.

“Seeing youworry like this, Sakura understands that you really treasure littlesisters from the bottom of your heart. But, there’s no need toworry, okay? Just like you treasure them, Sakura is sure that theyequally treasure you as ‘Onii-chan’. That’s why it’s okay for you tobe more honest with yourself.”

“B-But justbecause of that….”

“Have some moreconfidence, Onii-chan. You will be accepted no matter what happens.”

In that moment, Ifelt a presence looming closer towards me. I felt Sakura’s breath onmy ears.

“Because—”She murmured,

“—Onii-chanis the best ‘Onii-chan’ ever—”

And I felt asoft, warm feeling on my cheek.

“Wha—?!”

In surprise, I turned to look at her. What I saw was Sakura as she looked at me with flushed cheeks.

What did shedo? — That was pretty obvious.

Akiss.

But,why? Sakura did?

WhileI was lost trying to figure out why this was happening, Sakuracontinued with a bright red face.

“Yousaid that you would listen to Sakura’s confession, right?”

Thump Myheart skipped a beat.

So that confession part wasn’t about the thingwith her big brother…..?

“Afterliving together with Onii-chan for a whole week, Sakura understandsonce again how kind you are… That’s why Sakura loves her Onii-chan.Both the one on the novel and the real one. From the bottom of herheart… she loves him…” She had her usual smile on her face, andboth her hands in front of her chest, making it look like she waspraying.

That confession didn’t look fake. It alsodidn’t look like she was just pretending to be some character.

I couldn’t move. Not a single muscle wouldlisten to me.

It felt like time had stopped. Like this momentwould continue for ever. However—

“Onii……chan?”

Time started moving again. I turned towardswhere the voice had come from. When I saw who it was, all the airleft my lungs.

“Suzu……ka?” Her body started shiveringthe instant she heard my voice.

And in the next moment, my little sister dashedoff.

“Suzuka!”

Part 2:

I should confess that I have these feelingsthat I can barely keep from overflowing. I should tell Onii-chandirectly how I feel about him.

…That’s what I’d thought. I’d thoughtthat I had no other choice. To make him fall in love with littlesisters, I would have to surpass my own limits. That’s why, once thisamusement park date was over, I would confess to him. Or at leastthat’s what I’d thought.

But the little sister who had done it wasn’tme.

After freshening up in the bathroom, I hurriedto where Onii-chan would be waiting for me. However, the scene thatawaited me there was the one I feared the most.

“—–That’s why, Sakura loves her Onii-chan.Both the one on the novel and the real one. From the bottom of herheart….she loves him….—–”

At first, I thought that this wasn’t real. ThatSakura-san was just troubling Onii-chan again with her weird acting.But…

“……….Onii…..chan?”

Before I could even comprehend what washappening, my husky voice reached him.

“Suzu….ka?” He turned to me with ashocked expression.

Hearing Onii-chan’s voice then make my wholebody and heart shake.

“Suzuka!!”

And, before I had even realized it, I wasalready running away. To get away from Onii-chan’s voice, to get awayfrom that scene, I forgot everything and just continued to run away.

I wonder what’s happening over there. WhatOnii-chan and Sakura-san are doing. What Sakura-san’s words meant. Idon’t know. I don’t know. I don’t… want to know.

“Haa…..Haaa……..” With roughbreathing, I just continued to run.

But, soon after that, I reached my limit.Having come to a stop, my shoulders heaved heavily as I gasped forair. In the middle of that, I lifted up my head and before me was asmall — incredibly small garden. In the shadow of some sort ofattraction, it was hidden between countless trees, like a forgottenplace. There was one little bench there surrounded by a beautifulflower bed. Before I realized it, I sat down on that bench. Doing so,I felt a nostalgic sensation, like something from a long time ago.

“Onii-chan….you idiot….!” These wordshappened to come out of my mouth as I remembered that scene frombefore.

That was… a confession. Sakura-san confessedto Onii-chan. Words that clearly reflect what she feels for him.Faster than me, she mustered up all of her courage and confessed toOnii-chan. As I reminded myself of that, my heart felt like it wouldsink into the ocean.

“I’m the idiot…”

And seeing all that, I ran away and came here.Because I didn’t have the strength to see it through to the end.

…I really am an idiot. A coward.

Being unable to be honest, always makingproblems for Onii-chan, unable to tell him my feelings… and that’swhy I’m the one sitting here alone, crying.

“Ugh…..sniff…….”

My view is getting blurry, my tears aredropping onto the flowers beneath me, and my heart is hurting so muchthat I can’t describe it.

Ican’t cry. As if I would — themore I thought that, the more tears streamed out.

….T-This isn’t good. I have to pull myselftogether….! It’s true that Sakura-san confessed to Onii-chan… butI didn’t hear his answer yet…..!

A slight glimmer of hope.

I’m not trying to cheer myself up. It justfeels like I’ll completely break down if I don’t start thinkinglike that… and I’m scared of that. That’s why I have to keeptelling myself that everything will be fine. Like I’m praying.

But another deadly thought came out of thedarkest recesses of my mind.

… ….Whatif Onii-chan accepts Sakura-san’s confession?

“…………………..!?”

In that moment, it felt like a sharp pain hadgrabbed my heart. I couldn’t pray anymore. I was just so unbelievablyworried about what I would do, like a child teetering on the spot,not knowing what to do or where to go.

…If Onii-chan really were to acceptSakura-san’s feelings… if they started going out… what would Ido?

—Where will my place be in all of that?

—Being unable to be a cute little sister,will he eventually forget about me?

—I don’t want that! That is… impossible forme…!

—But that might really happen, you know?! Itmight already be in the happening, you know?!

—They would just forget about me, run away,and have a fun time with just the two of them…..!

—And, Onii-chan would never turn around tolook at me ever again……!

“Ah….no…….”

It felt like Onii-chan was going to a placefar, far away without me. Leaving me here all alone, sitting on thisbench where everyone has forgotten about me. Endlessly alone likethis, never being able to see Onii-chan again—

No matter how ridiculous it may sound, my heartseemed like it was about to break into pieces.

My body started shaking, and the tears wouldn’tstop flowing.

“Onii-chan…..Onii-chan…..”

Being unable to think about anything, I justkept calling for my most beloved person. Even though I knew very wellthat my voice wouldn’t reach him, I couldn’t stop myself.

…..Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chanOnii-can…….!

“Waaaahh…… Onii-chan……..!”

Like raindrops, my tears where mercilesslyfalling down into my hands — and in that moment, it happened.

“So you were in a place like this!”

My breathing…..stopped. I thought that it wasimpossible. But, standing there, it was really him. With roughbreathing and serious eyes, but still with a worried expression. Itwas my most beloved person.

Onii……chan…..!

“I’ve been searching for you all over theplace, Suzuka.”

Saying these words, he had a relieved smile onhis face.

At that time, all these doubts and worries, all the pain and sadness, everything was blown away. Instead, I was filled with pure happiness, and a feeling of nostalgia.

Part 3:

“Hey Suzuka! Wait! Please!” I triedstopping her with my voice, but her back slowly vanished into thedistance as she ran away.

I wanted to immediately chase after her, butsomeone grabbed my arm.

“Wait, Onii-chan.”

“Why?! Let me go! I have to chase after her!”

“Yup. But, Sakura still didn’t hear theanswer to her confession.” Hearing her words, it felt like my heartwas being torn in two.

Even though I was about to dash off, Icompletely froze up. And eventually, I remembered Sakura’s confessionjust now. With a serious face, she looked straight at me. She showedno signs of letting go of my hand.

But I—–

“…..Sorry. I will still chase afterSuzuka.”

I honestly said out what came flying into myheart. Right now, I couldn’t think about anything else.

“……….Is that so,” She muttered with alonely expression, lowering her head.

However, in the next second, she lifted up herhead again and I saw Sakura’s usual smiling face.

“Even after all Sakura said and did, it seemslike it is still her loss.”

“Eh?”

In the next second, she dropped the littlesister act and started talking to me in her usual manner.

“Really Sensei, why are you so surprised?Just now, that was Sakura acting for the competition, you know! Howwas it? Did it get your heart beating faster?”

“…..Eh? Eh? Acting…..?”

“Like she said~, it was just an act to winthe competition between Sakura and Suzuka. Sakura was hoping thatbeing suddenly confessed to by your little sister would help youbecome a little sister lover. It seems like it didn’t work out,though.”

Even though I clearly heard her words, it tookme a second to process them. Shortly after, I finally finishedanalysing them and I understood the situation.

“Acting….I-I see, that makes sense! I wasreally worried for a second!”

I put my hand on my chest, letting out a bigsigh. Sakura watched me doing that with a lonesome expression— butalso a happy face.

“Sensei really is the best Onii-chan thereis….”

“Eh? What do you mean by that — and you’vestarted calling me Sensei again… is your little sister act over?”

“Mhm… Is that really important right now?Shouldn’t you be chasing after Suzuka-chan?”

“—!!! That’s right. I’m sorry, but I’ll begoing!”

“Yes, please find her quickly. Sakura is surethat Suzuka-chan is waiting for Sensei.”

Turning around once more to bow down with a”Sorry,” I dashed off. With that, the conversation from beforecompletely vanished from my head and I directed all my thoughtstowards finding Suzuka.

In that moment, I felt like I heard a quietvoice.

“In the end, Sakura still can’t win againstthe real deal…..”

Part 4:

“Shit….! She won’t answer!” Separating myphone from my ear, I stuffed it back into my pocket.

I tried calling her countless times, but to noavail.

…..For now, I should check the places thatshe would probably go to….!

“I know! If I call for her with anannouncement—” I thought out loud for a bit, but I stoppedmid-sentence, shaking my head.

….No no no, that won’t work. She’s notexactly a lost child; she ran away on her own accord, so there’s noreason for her to come back after hearing an announcement.

“There’s no other choice but to search forher…!” I continued running.

Rest areas, shops, restaurants, and viewpoints,I checked all of them, hoping that she might be there. But she wasnot. She was nowhere to be seen. But my feet never stopped. Icompletely ignored my rough breathing and continued to search forSuzuka.

—Onii-chanmight not have realized it yet, but you already love little sistersfrom the bottom of your heart—

In that moment, Sakura’s words reverberatedinside of my head.

“Ah, for crying out loud! I know! I knew fromthe very start!”

Yeah, I knew. I was aware of it. Just how muchI actually loved little sisters. Just how cute I thought they were.Just how much — of a little sister lover I actually was.

But I was unable to accept that fact. Why?There was only one reason for that!

—Because I have Suzuka! Because I have a reallittle sister that hates her big brother! What if I openly admittedthat I love little sisters? She would hate me even more than ever!

That’s why I closed off my feelings. That’s whyI’ve been continuing to tell myself that I didn’t feel anything forlittle sisters.

“But……”

In the end, that just resulted in that incidentwith Sakurada-san… and Suzuka dashing off like this…….! Whatthe hell was I even doing?!

“What the fucking hell were you doing, youshitty big brother?!”

I grit my teeth. I hit myself. I was so mad —at the one who had left Suzuka alone like this. I couldn’t forgivemyself.

….But this isn’t the time to be thinkingabout that. For now, finding Suzuka is all that matters. But… shit,where are you, Suzuka!

“Huh…..?”

It happened in that moment. I didn’t know why,but for some reason, a very nostalgic feeling assaulted me. Similarto a déjà-vu. I couldn’t exactly recall what it was, but my feetstill moved toward that place. In front of my view, there wassomething. A small garden — even smaller than I remembered. And,sitting on a bench, there was Suzuka.

“So you were here!”

Before I even realized, I had already calledout to her. As she lifted up her head, I could see that she wascrying. And seeing her like that sent a sharp pain through my heart.But even more than that, I was relieved that I had finally found her.

“I’ve been looking for you all over theplace, Suzuka.”

Hearing my words, Suzuka looked like she wasabout to break out crying again. However, she immediately averted herface and wiped away the traces of her tears.

“W-Why did you come here…..!” Sheanswered in a shaking voice, “O-Onii-chan was confessed to bySakura-san, right…..? What business did you have coming here…..!It would’ve been fine to stay with such a cute girl and spend timewith her……!” Without looking at me, she looked like she waspouting.

“N-No, that wasn’t what you think! You’remisunderstanding!”

“Misunderstanding…..? Just how could Imisunderstand a situation like that…..!”

“Sakura was just saying that because shewanted to win the competition between the two of you! She was justacting!”

“T-That’s a lie! There’s no way that she wasjust acting!”

“It’s the truth! Sakura even said soherself!”

“She was lying! It has to be a lie! Pleasedon’t lie to me like that…..!” She just kept on shaking her headfuriously, not willing to listen to me at all.

—Theimportant thing is that you don’t lie to your little sisters.—

I remembered Sakura’s words.

….Yeah, I know. I was lying to her all thistime. It’s all my fault—-that’s why I’ll do this myself. Even if,as result, Suzuka hates me even more than she already does now. Thatwill be my punishment.

“I declare it here and now! Everything I sayfrom now on will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but thetruth! I swear! So please believe me!”

“O-Onii-chan?! W-What’s this so suddenly!”

“I will say it once more! Sakura’s confessionwas just acting. It wasn’t the real deal!”

“A-Again….! How often do I have to tell youthat you’re clearly lying—”

But I didn’t give her the time to finish hersentence. Instead, I screamed out at the top of my lungs.

“The truth is, I’ve always been a littlesister lover!”

“……………………………………………………………………………………..Eh?”

Hearing my words, Suzuka froze up.

……Ah, I said it! I went and said it!There’s no turning back now! I’ll let out all out.

“Yeah, that’s right! I’ve always liked littlesisters! That’s why I have so many light novels where the heroine isa little sister, after all! I only buy eroge if they have a littlesister in them, and I always play the little sister route first!”

“Wha……Wha?!” Suzuka almost screamed asshe stared at me with wide eyes and a red face.

However, now that I had started, I couldn’tstop myself anymore. I had to say everything out loud.

“The whole reason why I started loving lightnovels was because the first one I read was a love comedy with alittle sister in it! After that, I couldn’t stop myself anymore! Andafter reading your novel, I found the best little sister characterthere is! I can say that with confidence!”

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-You’re lying! O-O-O-Onii-chancan’t be…..! T-T-T-T-T-Towards little sisters! Lies! Lies! Lies!”

“It’snot a lie! Like I said, everything I’m saying is definitely thetruth! Okay? For me, little sisters are the best attribute ever! Itfeels like it’s my destiny to protect them! The feeling of someonedepending on me but still being kind to me! The cuteness of someoneyounger than me! And, most importantly, being called ‘Onii-chan’ bythem!”

“O-Onii……..uwauwa…….!”

“Everything is cute! Nothing about them isn’tcute! The best attribute there is… Is little sisters!” Trying togive my words more impact, I formed a fist.

As I did, Suzuka’s face was so red that itlooked like it was about to explode.

“W-W-W-W-What kind of embarrassing things areyou screaming out in broad daylight! And what’s with you sosuddenly?! You always said that you didn’t really like littlesisters! So why now…..!”

Because I don’t have any reason to hide itanymore. Now I will be honest with myself.

“I’ve always tried to hide it. Not just fromyou, but also from myself. I kept telling myself that I didn’t likelittle sisters until I really believed it. I kept telling myself thatloving little sisters is not good.”

“And, why did you think that…..?”

“Because I didn’t want you to hate me anymore than you already do.”

“…..Eh?”

That was probably the lamest confession I hadever made. But I had to say it now.

“If you were to find out that I was a siscon,then you would hate me even more… that’s what I thought. Because ofthat, I continued to tell myself that I shouldn’t love littlesisters… until now.”

“But—” I continued.

“Because of that, I kept making problems foryou… That’s why I’ve decided. I don’t care if you hate me. But inreturn, I will never hurt you anymore!”

“O-Onii-chan….”

“Leave the thing with Sakurada-san to me! Nowthat I’ve realized my true feelings, I will not lose against anyone!I will never allow him to change my beloved little sister character,so rest assured!”

With that, my monologue-like confession ended.In between the silence, I was breathing roughly.

…..I’m sure that I made her mad with thatconfession. After all, her big brother is a disgusting siscon.

But the words Suzuka said next completely threwme off.

“T-There is no way that I would hateOnii-chan just because of that!” Glaring at me with tears in hereyes, it was like she threw these words at me, “What’s up withthat! Why are you doing something like that just for me….!Suffering all on your own…..! What were you thinking!”

“Eh? S-Suzuka?”

“I am really mad right now! Why didn’t youtell me any sooner? If you had done that, then……!”

“E-Even if you say that, I only realized itjust now….”

“But, the one I can’t forgive the most…..ismyself! To make Onii-chan suffer like that…..! It’s my fault thatit’s come to this… so why…!” Her small body was shaking withanger, and she formed a first with her hand, “So why am I soincredibly happy right now…! Just because Onii-chan thinks likethat… why am I feeling so blissful… ehehehehe!”

…So, are you crying or laughing right now?And what kind of reaction is this…?

Seeing her wild variety of expressions, Iwasn’t sure what to do.

“U-Uhm, Suzuka-san…?”

“W-What is it?”

“Ehm, so, will you forgive me?”

“There is nothing that I could forgive youfor…! Since Onii-chan actually likes little sisters, that solvesall of our problems!”

“T-That might be the case, but still! Youknow?! I’m a siscon, you know?!”

“And I told you before, didn’t I! There is noway that I would hate Onii-chan just because of that!”

“How can you say that so confidently…?I-Isn’t it, you know, disgusting?”

“On the contrary, it makes me incrediblyhappy — no, not that! I’ve always known that Onii-chan was apervert, so something of that level doesn’t surprise me anymore!”

“That hurts! That hurts far more than if youwere to call me disgusting!”

Still, hearing her words was really comforting.Knowing that she won’t hate me even though I am a siscon. With thatthought, I could feel a weight disappearing from inside my chest.

…Haha, I feel like smiling all of a sudden.

“…Suzuka, I’m sorry that I forced you tohelp me out with these special lessons. It must’ve been reallystressful for you.”

“N-No, it had its benefits! AlthoughSakura-san was a bit difficult to deal with, in the end it was allokay! Just thinking that you finally admitted being a siscon…Ehehe, ehehehehehehehehehe…!”

…Yup, I don’t really know what to make ofthat reaction. But there’s one thing I understood. Even after thatconfession, nothing will change between me and Suzuka. Just thinkingthat calms me down. I’m really glad…

“Ah, s-should we go back for now…?”Suddenly getting embarrassed, I blurted out these words.

With flushed cheeks, Suzuka kept mutteringsomething under her breath.

“O-Onii-chan does…!” or “He acceptedthe fact that he’s a siscon…!” but she’s probably just trying toprocess all of this. Yup.

“Hey, we’re going to go back to where Sakurais now!”

In response to my words, Suzuka went “Hya?!”,returning to reality. And just when we were about to leave the gardenbehind…

“U-Uhm, Onii-chan?” Suzuka grabbed mysleeve.

“I-It’s about the result of the competition…Who won in the end? As your little sister, who was more cute?Sakura-san or I…?” She asked with a red face.

Seeing her expectant gaze as she looked up atme, my heart skipped a beat.

“L-Let me see….”

Normally, I would’ve hesitated in such asituation, but this time my answer came immediately. Now that I wasfinally being honest with myself, it felt like something inside mehad changed.

“Since the competition was about who couldmake my heart beat faster by playing character, that would be yourwin.”

“T-That makes sense! B-But it’s not like I’mhappy or anything?! It should’ve been obvious that, as your realsister, I would be the winner, right?!” She was fiddling with herhands furiously.

…Even though I had accepted my own feelingsnow, she’s still focused on winning… just how much of a superhumando you have to be…

But, the next moment, Suzuka stopped herfidgeting and turned back to look at the little garden once more.

“It’s the same as before.”

“Hmm?”

“Onii-chan, do you remember this place?”

“Yeah…”

Compared to how I remembered it, it seemed abit smaller. Now that she mentioned it, though, I did remember thisplace.

“When we were kids, something similar to thishappened. If I remember correctly, we went here with our parents, butyou got separated from us. After searching for you everywhere, Ifound you here, sitting on that bench.”

“….Yes. Although it was just a coincidencethat I happened to end up in this place again.”

“But why did you get separated from us,again? Were you lost or something?”

“No, that wasn’t it… Do you not remember?That promise… that turned into my pen name…”

“Promise…? And your pen name…?”

“No, it’s fine if you don’t remember. Let’sjust go back to where Sakura-san is waiting. We’ve made her waitfor quite a while, after all.”

Although I tilted my head in confusion, Suzukadidn’t pay any attention to me as she walked off. Without knowinganything about the promise she’d mentioned, I decided to walk afterher.

…But isn’t there something that I’mforgetting?

In that moment, it felt like I had forgotten totell Suzuka something.

…T-That’s not good! I-I shouldn’t haveforgotten about that in the first place!

“S-Suzuka!”

“…? What is it, Onii-chan?”

Stopping in my tracks, she turned around as Icalled out to her.

“It’s true that I’m a siscon! B-But, thatjust means that I like little sisters in general! There’s no waythat I would get crazy about my blood-related little sister, soplease rest assured!”

That was the one thing I wanted her tounderstand.

“………..Haaah,” However, afterlistening, she merely took a deep breath and continued, “I’m wellaware of that.” She smiled at me and started walking again.

…I’m glad… I didn’t want her to have amisunderstanding about that.

“Was that all? Then, let’s hurry back.”

“A-Ah, yeah,” I hurried after her.

“…For now, this is perfectly fine.”

As I caught up to her, I could’ve sworn thatshe mumbled something to herself. I couldn’t quite make it out,though, because the noisy attractions around us drowned out herwords.

Part 5:

When we returned to the pool, Sakura was stillsitting on the bench and eating some snacks.

“Really, do you know how long Sakura has beenwaiting here?”

As we apologized, Sakura was the same asalways, smiling as if she was happy that I found Suzuka.

“But, it’s Sakura’s loss, huh……Ahhh, howfrustrating….”

“T-That was to be expected. I am Onii-chan’sreal little sister after all.”

After what happened, we didn’t need speciallessons anymore, so we decided to go home for now. Like it was themost natural thing in the world, we ate dinner together and preparedfor the following day. However…

“I can’t sleep……..” I muttered whilelooking up at the ceiling in the middle of the night.

Thinking that maybe I should grab a bite toeat, I stood up from the bed and headed towards the first floor. Inoticed that there was already someone in the living room.

“Sakura? Why are you up this late? Issomething wrong?”

“Sakura couldn’t fall asleep. Onii-chan too?”

As I nodded, I prepared something for her todrink. I decided to make her some hot chocolate, since she seemed tohave quite the sweet tooth.

“Today was really fun,” She sipped the hotchocolate in silence for a bit, only to start a conversation with meagain.

“Yeah… Though a lot of things happened.”

“You’re right.”

For some reason, Sakura never asked whathappened after I caught up with Suzuka, or anything along those linesat all.

“It seems like Sakura still has a lot tolearn as a little sister,” It seemed like she had finally revertedback to her usual way of speaking, away from the little sister act.”Amusement park date aside, Sakura was always trying to give it herbest as she was staying over at Sensei’s house. But, in the end, shewas just imitating the little sister of Sensei’s novel: Yuika-chan.Did you realize this, by any chance?”

“Ahhh, well, I thought that maybe that wasthe case.”

“But in the end, an imitation is just animitation. I can’t win against the real thing.”

“Minazuki-san…..”

“Ah, but Sakura didn’t give up just becauseof that, okay? In the end, she still has to become a good littlesister on her own, without imitating anyone else. Her desire tobecome Sensei’s number one little sister has only grown stronger!”

“U-Uhm, how do I say it….good luck…..?”I was unable to find a fitting response for that, but Minazuki-sansaid “Yes!” with a big smile nonetheless.

“Also, now that Sensei has realized that he’sa siscon, Sakura’s charm will be transmitted even more directly, soyou’d better be ready!”

“Please take it easy on me….”

As I felt the cold sweat on my forehead,Minazuki-san changed the topic with a “By the way….”

“Tomorrow, Sensei will meet this person againthat you had that argument with, right? What kind of person is heanyway, talking like that to Sensei?”

…..Ah, right, I haven’t told her aboutSakurada-san.

Thinking that Minazuki-san knew almosteverything already anyway, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt if I toldher about the Sakurada-san’s incident directly. However…..

“Eh? Director Sakurada….?”

As the conversation moved forward, I realizedthat Minazuki-san’s expression was becoming more grim. And as soon asI had finished explaining, she kept muttering “It can’t be…”countless times.

“U-Uhm, is there something wrong….?”

Hearing my question, Minazuki-san merely shookher head. Though she still looked weird, so I wanted to press theissue, but…..

“Sakura doesn’t feel so good……For today,she will go to sleep. Thank you very much for the coffee,” Withthese words, she hurriedly returned to her room.

After putting away the cups, I also returned tomy room. In the end, I was still thinking about the expressionMinazuki-san had while I was talking to her. But the sleepinesscaught up to me, and before I realized it, it was already morning.

When I went down on the first floor to wash myface, Suzuka came, panicking.

“Onii-chan! Sakura-san is gone! Instead therewas this…..!” She handed me a piece of paper.

Written on that was:

Sakura has been in your care for these pastfew days. She will certainly repay you. However, there is somethingthat Sakura has to do now. Sakura is sorry for not saying goodbye inperson.

-Minazuki Sakura

“It seems like she left the house very earlyin the morning. Her belongings are gone and she properly put away thefuton too.”

Listening to Suzuka’s words, I tilted my headin confusion.

…Is this related to last night? Herexpression had changed while we were talking, and I didn’t know why.And that ‘There is something that I have to do now’ part of theletter is also very suspicious.

“I don’t know what has happened either, butit seems like she might have important business. We know that she’sprobably fine, so let’s think about her after that meeting withSakurada-san…..”

“….That’s right.”

“You look worried, Suzuka.”

“I-It’s not like that. I was just surprisedthat she left so suddenly after she’s been living with us for aweek,” She quickly averted her gaze and left the bathroom.

I felt just as confused as Suzuka, but therewere more pressing matters at hand that I had to focus on.

Part 6:

Having finished eating our breakfast, we madeour way once more towards the editorial department.

“It’s finally time….”

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely convinceSakurada-san.”

As Suzuka muttered while looking up at thedepartment building, I replied with a confident voice. We hadaccomplished our earlier goal, so there’s no need for us to beanxious.

“I-It’s not like I’m worried…..A-After all,Onii-chan finally realized that he’s a siscon after all, so thatalone is plenty for me…..ehehe, ehehehehe…..!” She went red allthe way to her ears.

…..Maybe she’s worried that I won’t be ableto convince Sakurada-san? If that’s the case, then there’s no needfor that. I don’t feel like I’m able to lose to anyone in thatregard.

“Leave it to me,” I said to Suzuka as wewent into the building.

After we stated our business at the receptiondesk, Shinozaki-san came over to greet us in a matter of minutes.

“I’m sorry for making you come over hereagain. Sakurada really is stubborn sometimes… Until now, I’vealways held back on my kouhai, but I will not tolerate him talkingdown to Towano-sensei! Now that it’s come to this, I will think ofsomething to—”

“N-No, I will handle this incident, so pleasecalm down.”

While she was still a bit aggravated, we madeour way towards our meeting room.

“……Towano-sensei, I see that you’retogether with your little sister today as well,” After glancing atSuzuka for one second, Sakurada-san looked towards me with a gazefilled with hostility.

Although he was still wearing the same clothesas the week before, his sense of intimidation was gone for somereason.

“And, what might your business be today? Icame here on the whim of my Senpai, but I don’t think that I haveanything to talk about with Towano-sensei.”

“That’s not the case. Although you might nothave anything you think is worth discussing, we do.”

“…And what would that be?”

“It’s about your plan to change the littlesister character for the anime production. I’m going to have to behonest; we can’t allow that to happen, so you have to guarantee usthat you will not follow through with that,” Because I was sostraightforward, Sakurada-san looked at me with big eyes.However…..

“So it really was about that. I believe Itold you before that it’s already decided. No matter how wonderfulSensei’s novel might be, Sensei himself doesn’t understand what itmeans to be a little sister lover, so I have to change the characteraccordingly—”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t thinkthat there is a bigger little sister lover than I around here.”

Since my attitude was filled with confidence,Sakurada-san had a dubious expression.

“That being said, I wasn’t able to show thatlast week, so I will have to apologize for that. However, I’mdifferent now, so there is no need to change the character.”

“…What happened? You don’t meant to tell methat you learned what it means to be a siscon in a mere week?”

“No, I didn’t have to learn that. I justremembered it. Because I was always a siscon.”

In response, Sakurada-san lifted up oneeyebrow. As I looked to my side, I saw Suzuka and Shinozaki-san.

“O-O-O-O-Onii-chan….!”

“T-Towano-sensei….how wonderful…..!”

“So, Sakurada-san, what about you? Now thatI’ve finally awakened, are you really sure that you understand whatit means to be a little sister lover?”

“…How surprising. You’re trying to start adispute with me?”

“That’s certainly not the case. However, Iremembered… that last week you didn’t describe in any detail yourfeelings towards little sisters in general.”

“Fuu… fine by me. If you’re going so far asto say that, I will share my thoughts with you. However, theconclusion will not change. I will be changing the little sistercharacter, so there’s no need for Sensei to meddle with that.”

“For now, I’ll listen.”

“…It’s certainly not an overstatement tocall little sisters the best characteristic there is,”Sakurada-san pushed up his sunglasses as he started talking in a calmmanner, “Even though they are from the same family, they belong tothe opposite sex. This makes them very close, but still very far. Andthe immorality born from that is far greater than from any othercharacteristic.”

Calm, but impactful words. He clearly wasconfident in what he was saying.

“You might even call it a drug. Once you knowof it, you will never be able to forget it…..! Them being simplycute, or the desire to protect them, other characteristics cannot winagainst them! That’s just how magnificent they are!” And he didn’tstop there, “The beings called little sisters are gods! They arethe greatest characteristic! And I am merely an apostle! Lickingthem, sniffing them, hugging them, they are always within reach butat the same time an unobtainable flower! And I have to be the messiahthat tells the world how great they are—”

However….

“I… understand. It’s fine now,Sakurada-san,” I stopped Sakurada-san mid-sentence, tilting myhead.

“What do you mean? Have you finally realizedthat you cannot understand what a real siscon feels—”

“No, on the contrary. After listening to younow, I completely understand.”

And…..

“Aren’t you the one who doesn’t understandwhat it means to be a siscon?”

“W-What did you just say…? I don’tunderstand what it means to be a siscon…? Impossible! I don’t wantto be told that by someone like you!”

“No, it really is a shame, but you are theone who doesn’t understand. I completely understand now. Because—”

In that moment, I glanced over at Suzuka foronce second, only to continue shortly after.

“You only pursue your own desires, but youdon’t care about the little sister’s feelings at all. That’s not whatit means to love little sisters.”

“T-The little sister’s feelings?!”

“I agree that little sisters really are thebest characteristic, and that nothing can beat them. I alsounderstand your desires for licking them, sniffing them and huggingthem. However, you should only do that if it makes the little sisterhappy, too.”

“W-What are you saying! Something asridiculous as that…!”

“That statement just now proves that I am inthe right! You don’t know what it means to love little sisters;you’re just an insane fanatic! If you really loved them from thebottom of your heart, then you wouldn’t do anything that would hurtthem!” I pointed towards Sakurada-san with my finger.

“I-Impossible! Following after your desiresis what it means to be a true little sister lover! Even if it meansthat they hate you for it! You, who aren’t hated by yourblood-related little sister, are the fake little sister lover!”

“Ha!” Hearing that response, I could barelyhold back my smile.

“Your true opinion is leaking out! Just fromthat one sentence, it’s clear that you are nothing more than alowly fanatic! This is your misconception! But, I am different! Likethis—”

Saying that, I tightly hugged Suzuka who wasstanding next to me.

“O-O-O-O-Onii-chan?!”

“Being loved by your little sister despite your faults is what makes you a true little sister lover!”

With overflowing confidence, I said that outloud. Seeing me like this, Sakurada-san stared at me with wide openeyes, and Shinozaki-san started nodding for some reason.

…I alone couldn’t have arrived at thisconclusion. If Suzuka hadn’t told me that she wouldn’t hate me nomatter what, I probably would never have realized it. What I like isthe little sister attribute, not my little sister herself. But in theend, my little sister is still a little sister. The most importantpart of loving little sisters is to treasure the ‘Little sister’attribute. That’s why you should never hurt your little sister in anyway. To achieve this, I have to become a reliable big brother. Whichis something very simple now that I think about it.

Treasure everything that has the name ‘littlesister’ associated with it — that is the central concept behindloving little sisters, and being called ‘Onii-chan’ is the minimumrequirement!

“…Ugh…”

Sakurada-san just glared at me as I continuedhugging Suzuka. Finally, he started shaking his head.

“I won’t accept that…! I will not acceptthat! Being a little sister lover and being accepted by your littlesister… I will not accept that! As if I would!” Burning withrage, he stood up, “As if I could accept that! Now that it’s cometo this, I will change the character for sure! To make her just likemy own little sister!”

“Eh? W-What….?”

I was a bit confused by his words but I didn’thave the time to question him…

“Will you stop that already!!!”

An incredibly loud voice resounded inside theroom, making everyone twitch and turn towards the source of thevoice. Standing there was…

“S-S-Sakura-tan?!”

“Don’t say Sakura-tan! And what do you thinkyou’re doing?! Changing a character in Sensei’s novel for theanime? Care to explain yourself, Nii-san?” It was the Minazuki-sanwho had run away from our house.

…Wait? Sakura-tan? …And Nii-san…?

“Y-You’re wrong, Sakura-tan! There’s somecircumstances behind this…!”

“Ohhh, then please tell Sakura aboutthese oh-so-important circumstances that forced you to trouble Senseilike this and to do something as stupid as change the originalcharacter!” As Minazuki-san started scolding Sakurada-san, heimmediately stood up from his chair and bowed down countless times,saying “S-S-S-S-Sorry!”

W-What is going on?

“U-Uhm, Minazuki-san?”

“…Towano-sensei, Sakura is so sorry foreverything. Things went south like this because of her idiot bigbrother…” As I asked her, Minazuki-san apologized.

…Wait, by “big brother” does she mean…?

“D-Don’t tell me; is Sakurada-san theperverted siscon big brother you were talking about…?”

“Yes, that’s him…” She turned around toglare at Sakurada-san, who was still bowing down while saying”Sakura-tan I’m sorry, Sakura-tan I’m sorry…”

“Sakura didn’t think that her big brotherwould trouble Sensei so much… Having heard Sensei’s storyyesterday, Sakura thought that something sounded familiar.”

….Ah, that explains her reaction at thattime.

“Sakura actually planned on coming here tograb her big brother by the ear. But she just barely missed him…So, what exactly might this character change be about, big brother?”

“You’re wrong, Sakura-tan… That was just afigure of speech or something…”

“Then properly explain it to Sakura!”

“Hyiiiiiii?!” Letting out a loud shriek, hestarted explaining the circumstances with tears in his eyes.

…By the way, that ikemen aura from before wascompletely gone.

“I really love Towano-sensei’s novel and Iactually planned on faithfully adapting his novel into an anime!After he came here, and with his beautiful blood-related littlesister nonetheless, I really thought that he was an amazing person!”

“But….” He continued.

“After talking with him, I realized that hedidn’t actually love little sisters at all… He was completelydifferent from what I had imagined…”

“Ah, that might’ve been my fault…”

“And in addition, he was accompanied by hisblood-related little sister, and it made me really mad… At thetime, Sakura-tan had just run away from home, so it was like a switchjust flipped in my mind…”

“So you were mad just because of that?!”

“I-I knew very well that I was just actinglike a child, but I couldn’t control my anger… And before I hadrealized it, I had said that I would change the character…”

“Do you have any idea how much you troubledTowano-sensei with that over the past week…?”

A black aura was emitting Minazuki-san’s body,and, seeing that, Sakurada-san continued bowing down to her in apanic.

“I-I never actually planned on really doingit, you know! But after Sensei appeared in Sakura-tan’s radiobroadcast, I thought I would go crazy. When I asked your manager, shetold me that you were staying over at his house and my head couldn’tkeep up…”

“Ah, was that the reason you were there thatday? To check on Minazuki-san?”

…So that’s why he suddenly disappeared whenthe two of them returned…

“Hmph, so in the end, you still decided onchanging the character?”

“Y-You’re wrong! I just thought I’d givehim a hard time for a bit more! We were going to meet up again laterthis week, so I thought that I’d tell him then that we’d do it likethe original!”

“But you still haven’t, right? I hope you’reprepared for this…”

W-Woah… Her smile just now was ice cold…

“S-Sakura-tan! I didn’t think that hewould’ve actually changed that much in one week! And hearing him saythat I was wrong the whole time about little sisters… I couldn’tcalm down anymore… B-But it was thanks to Towano-sensei’s novelthat I ascended to a new stage of loving little sisters in the firstplace!”

“Eh? So it was basically my fault that youtook a turn for the worse…?”

“That’s right! Because your novel was sosuperb, I felt that I had to step up my love for little sisters onemore level or the anime wouldn’t be as good as the novel! That’s whyI thought that I had to really fall in love with Sakura-tan or itwouldn’t work…..!”

So in the end… it was all because both ofthem read Suzuka’s novel…?

“So you mean to tell me that you startedacting so weirdly just because of that?!”

“I-I thought that if I didn’t go to theextreme like that, I wouldn’t be able to catch up to Towano-sensei!As an anime producer, something like that would be inexcusable,right?!”

Ah, I finally understood. This person was justa straightforward and honest idiot.

“That still isn’t an excuse!”

“T-That is just as you say… I was just somad, thinking that I had lost against Sensei, that I thought ofreally going through with the change…”

“It makes sense that you lost! UnlikeNii-san, who basically forced Sakura to run away from her home,Sensei actually treasures little sisters, which is why he deserves tobe called ‘Onii-chan’!”

“Uhhh, Sakura-tan….Still, I really didn’tintend to change the character, so please forgive me!”

“P-Please stop already!”

As Sakurada-san went down on his knees to bowdown, I was panicking. It’s not like I was really mad at him oranything, and I still feel like I’m the one at fault here… Aslong as he doesn’t change anything, I’m fine with that.

“I-It’s fine… I’m not mad anymore.”

“R-Really?! Thank you so much,Towano-sensei!”

“Just so you know, even if Senpai forgivesyou, Sakura will not. This is the perfect opportunity, so from nowon, Sakura will work on removing that siscon personality from you!”

“Fumu, to think that Sakurada was so crazyabout little sisters… It seems like even I didn’t know him all thatwell…” Shinozaki-san said as she watched the scene in front ofher.

In the end, I decided to watch the siblingsquarrel in silence.

“H-H-How long are you planning on stayinglike this…!”

While Minazuki-san was still mid-scolding, Iheard a voice coming from inside my arms. Looking down, I saw Sakuraglaring up at me with a red face, and I finally realized that I wasstill hugging her tightly.

“S-Sorry!” I hurriedly let go of her.

“J-Just how much does Onii-chan actually lovelittle sisters…!” She might’ve sounded pissed, but it looked likeshe was grinning as she turned away, “Even saying all those thingsout loud….! Like licking… sniffing… hugging…!”

Now that she said that, I started to rememberwhat I had actually said to Sakurada-san….

…What was I even saying…?!

And in the middle of all the things I had said,there were some really dangerous things mixed in!

…I really have to apologize to Suzuka!

“S-Sorry Suzuka! I said too much, didn’t I!?”

That’s right, even though she said that shewouldn’t hate me, she never said that she actually enjoyed it…! AndI still had said all that…! What was I thinking?!

I lowered my head, waiting for Suzuka’sresponse.

…But she didn’t say anything.

Slowly lifting up my head, I saw Suzukanervously fidgeting.

“O-Onii-chan, I-I actuallyl-l-l-l-l-l———… well, I didn’t really hate it, so it’s fine…”She said and hurriedly averted her gaze.

Though, for one second, she once more looked atme with flushed cheeks…

“Thank you very much, Onii-chan…”

Being suddenly thanked like that, my heartskipped a beat.

…Was that her gratitude for this incident?

I didn’t know exactly why, but my mouth movedbefore I could think and I responded.

“Likewise… Suzuka.”