Volume 6 Chapter 1

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New novel, new circumstances

Part 1:

“Ahhhh, I really don’t get it.” Ilet out a sigh.

I, Nagami Yuu, was in the schoollibrary. Sitting in the corner of said library, I gazed out of thewindow. Actually, today was a holiday, so if you ask me why I came toschool on this day, it was obviously because I wanted to write alight novel where the setting was a library—sadly, that was not thecase. And I didn’t come here to study either.

“…Why did Suzuka choose the sameschool as me?”

That was the reason I came to school onthis day. I escorted Suzuka. The reason that we didn’t have schoolthis day was because it was time for the entrance exams. Even now, inthe building located across from the library, the examinees werestill writing seriously. And in the middle of them, Suzuka was there.After I had finished showing her around, I was waiting for the examsto end and for her to return.

…I say that, but it’s not like I’mworried about her or anything, okay? There’s no way the superhumannamed Suzuka would actually fail an exam like this. That was not whyI was anxious. Rather, I was still wondering why she chose the schoolI was attending: Nanamisaka High School.

“Going up the ladder at her academy,she could’ve just continued to Hakuou’s high schooldepartment…”

…Mhm, I really don’t get it. Nomatter how much I think about it.

The school she’s currently attendingis THE Ojou-sama school. And most of the students would use thechance to continue on to the affiliated highschool. Suzuka hastop-notch grades, she’s very athletic, and her popularity isthrough the roof because of her insane charisma. That’s just howmuch of a superhuman she is. Not to mention that she is the studentcouncil president. There should be no reason for her to lower herstandards and go to the same school as me. Though I wouldn’t callour school a bad one, there just was no way we could compete againstHakuou…

“Ahh, for crying out loud…”

While I was pulling out my hair andgroaning, a female student wearing glasses glared at me with aclearly reprimanding gaze, which forced me to lower my head in panic.

…Haaah, the reason Suzuka wants to goto my school, huh…? Well, I did ask her already, but her responsewas always the same.

“T-There’s no deeper meaning toit.”

…Come on, randomly taking an entranceexam at my school without any good reason isn’t doing you any good,you know!

Well, after that she added stuff like”It’s what I decided upon after thorough reflection” or “Alwaysbeing at the same school might narrow my possibilities.” or “Itdoesn’t matter which school I go to, because university exams won’tbe a problem at all.” or “I have our parents’ permission.”and other reasons like these.

But none of these reasons really clickwith me.

I spent my time like this racking mybrain until Suzuka’s exam ended.

…I mean, if the person herself ishappy, then I have no reason to complain. But, going to the sameschool as my sister… huh. From grade school to middle school, we’vealways gone to different schools, so I don’t really know what goingto the same school feels like. It feels like I’m not mentallyprepared, I guess.

“…Don’t tell me…”

While I was thinking that, a certainthought entered my mind.

These past days and months, a lot hashappened, and our relationship has more or less improved, so maybethat influenced her judgement? Basically, since we’ve made upagain, she wants to go the same school as me—wait, no no no, whatam I thinking?!

T-That would mean that Suzuka choseNanamisaka because I’m here, you know? Uwa, what is this?! Howdisgusting am I?! How conceited can you be, me?!

Trying to rid my mind of theseimprobable thoughts, I vigorously shook my head, which earned meanother cold gaze from the glasses girl.

…N-Not good, my thoughts went in aweird direction… Needlessly racking my brain won’t give me a goodanswer anyway. Yeah. Let’s just use our time effectively.

Reassuring myself, I took out anotebook from my bag. This notebook is where I always jot down myideas for light novels. To become a professional light novel writerin the future, I’ve applied to countless light novel contests, andevery novel has originated from an idea in this notebook. You neverknow when you might get an idea, after all. And to make sure thatthese ideas don’t go to waste, I always keep this notebook with me.

So as to not waste this precious time,I opened my notebook to think of some ideas for my next novel entry,but…

“Mhmmm… I can’t really get in themood.”

Staring at the blank page in front ofme, my fingers holding the pen sadly didn’t move. This was a firstfor me, not being able to come up with anything at all…

Normally, so many ideas flowed out ofmy head that I could barely keep up with writing them down, but thatisn’t the case now. At this rate, I won’t finish my new novel intime.

Is this what they call a slump? I don’tknow, I’ve never experienced this before.

Nodding to myself, I thought about thereason why this was happening to me. Just recently, Suzuka had helpedme find out what my ideal type of girl was, so maybe that was thereason for it?

…Well, it makes sense afterdiscovering that Suzuka is actually my ideal type—ah, of course Idon’t mean to say that because she is my little sister. I mean thatfrom an objective point of view, I have to say that she is indeedvery charming, but I really don’t see my real little sister likethat, okay?!

… Cough. Anyway, I hadpinpointed my perfect heroine, so I shouldn’t have any problemswriting my novel. However, it isn’t always that simple.

Normally, I could write for hours andhours, but now I’m struggling to write just one novel. I mean, Idid manage to finish one novel in time for the light novel contest’ssubmission deadline, but this is the first time I’ve struggled somuch. I should be making even more progress than before, so why?

Like this, I spent my time sittingcross-armed in front of my notebook while tilting my head.

“……Huh?”

Interrupting me from my reverie, Iheard a bell calling me back to reality. I checked the time andrealized how much time pad passed. Though I wanted to be able topraise myself for my concentration, the page in front of me was stillas blank as before. The old me would’ve come up with at least tennovels’ worth of ideas…!

…No, this isn’t the time to bethinking about that.

“That bell means that the exam isover, right? I have to go over there…” I hurriedly packed up mynotebook and writing materials and stood up from my seat.

I promised Suzuka that we would go hometogether once the exam ended. With that in mind, I stepped out of thelibrary and headed towards the place where we were supposed to meetup. Though most of the examinees were also leaving the building atthe time, I spotted Suzuka immediately. She really does stand out.

After all, she really is superbeautiful, and her aura is somehow different. And not to mention thateven the other examinees were practically staring at her, making hereven easier to spot.

“Ah. Onii-chan, sorry for making youwait.”

“N-No, uhm, I was just passing timein the library.”

As Suzuka raised her voice, I stutteredfor some reason.

…Hmm, our relationship has felt kindof weird ever since we made up. It’s like I’m being overlyconscious of her… Why am I getting so nervous when I’m justhaving a normal conversation with my little sister…?

“Ahhh, uhm, how did the exam go?”

“No problems. I think it wentperfectly.”

“P-Perfectly…”

I shivered in response to thatself-confident answer from Suzuka.

I mean, we’re talking about Suzukahere, so there’s no doubt that she passed with flying colors, butstill, for her to use that vocabulary… my little sister really isamazing.

“Well, just in case, I double-checkedeverything and made sure that I properly wrote my name. It’s fine.Though I did have a lot of time left…”

…When I took that exam last year, Ididn’t have the time to leisurely check everything over like that,you know?

“Anyway, so with that, I will begoing to the same school as Onii-chan from this spring onwards.”

And she followed up with this confidentstatement. Normally you wouldn’t be able to talk about somethinglike this in such a manner, but my little sister is different asusual. Scary.

“What is it, Onii-chan? You look abit troubled.”

“R-Really? I don’t mean to though—”

“…! D-Don’t tell me, you hate theidea of me going to same school as you that much…?!”

“Eh? No, that’s not it.”

“I-Is that so…Thank God.” She putone hand on her chest and let out a relieved sigh.

After that, the conversation between uswent completely silent.

…Ahhh, for crying out loud, what isthis weird feeling? It’s been like this all the time recently. It’snot like I’m feeling embarrassed or anything; it’s more likewe’re not on the same wavelength, and it always feels a bit stiff.It’s like we’re both overly conscious of each other, and it feelseven stranger than before we made up…

Since we’ve always been on rather badterms, it might be a bit weird to suddenly be all friendly with eachother. But it can’t keep going like this, otherwise my nerves won’thold up. F-For now, let’s just act calm like always.

“…Guess we’ll go home.”

“…Yes.”

Maybe Suzuka was also thinking thesame, because she didn’t say anything else as we walked towards theschool gate. While we were doing that, all the other examinees keptglancing at us. Their gazes towards Suzuka were filled withadmiration, and towards me, thy were the complete opposite.

Hey you guys, we’re siblings, sodon’t look at us like that. You’re going to misunderstand.

“Ah, p-please wait a moment.”

As I was thinking that, Suzuka pulledon my clothes as she stopped.

“What is it? Did you forgetsomething?”

“No… Uhm, how do I say it…” Forsome reason, Suzuka was fidgeting, unsure of what to say. “Well…wouldn’t it be a shame to just go home like this…? S-Since we’rehere already, I’d like it if Onii-chan would show me around theschool…” She put her index fingers together as she said that.

“Show you around the school…?”

“I-I mean, I will become a studenthere this spring. T-That’s why I thought it might be nice to seethe school beforehand. T-There’s no deeper meaning to it! I-I justthought that this might be a good chance!”

“I-I see?” I was flustered by herwords.

Setting aside the fact that she has nodoubts about her acceptance (though since it’s Suzuka we’retalking about, she definitely will), her request makes sense.

…I guess I could, yeah. It’sperfectly normal for her to see the school before the new yearstarts. And since I’m technically her senpai, it’s my role tohelp my new (future) kouhai.

And isn’t this a good chance for meas well?

Recently, we haven’t been spendingmuch time together as I’ve been busy with my novel. I might as welluse this opportunity to communicate with her and hopefully get rid ofthese awkward feelings.

“And it’s natural that a bigbrother would listen to his little sister’s request…”

“Did you say something, Onii-chan?”

“N-No, nothing at all. Want me toshow you around? Okay, got it.”

“Really? Thank you very much.”

Seeing Suzuka happily smiling at me, Icould feel the tension rising in my body.

…Doing this as siblings is completelynormal, so there’s really no need to be so nervous…!

With that, I started taking Suzuka tovarious places. The first-year classrooms, the science laboratory,the library—

“…S-Sitting next to Onii-chan inthe library while studying…!”

We also went to the gym hall, but…

“…Gym hall… Declaring thatOnii-chan belongs to only me while I’m standing on the stage infront of the whole student body…! N-No, that is a bit…! Ahhbut…!”

…It seem that Suzuka is acting a bitweird. It’s nice that she’s enthusiastically listening to me, butshe still seems a bit absent-minded nonetheless.

But when our eyes met, she hurriedlylooked away. And not just slowly, but in one quick motion… Is shein a bad mood? Am I still making her angry in some way that I don’tknow of? No, maybe it’s Suzuka’s intention to keep ourrelationship distant like before?!

“W-What’s wrong, Onii-chan?! Whyare you suddenly drooping your head like that?!”

…T-This isn’t good. My thoughtsjust started wandering in that direction…!

“W-Well… S-So how is it? A normalschool isn’t that fun, right? We really can’t win against a crazyschool like Hakuou…”

“I don’t know what you think ourlife at Hakuou is like, but it’s just like any other school. And Idon’t care if it’s interesting or not. I-I’m interested in theatmosphere of this school and that’s it.” Suzuka averted hergaze, looking embarrassed.

Once more, a certain question enteredmy mind, and I decided to give it another shot.

“Hey, Suzuka. I know I asked youyesterday, but why did you choose this school?”

“Eh?”

“It’s true that you’ve told mevarious reasons, but I still don’t really get it. Look, Hakuou ispretty famous, and they have a high school institution as well, sowhy give up on that and come here?”

“A-Again with that topic…?” Shepouted with slightly flushed cheeks. “I-I told you yesterday,didn’t I? It doesn’t matter which highschool I graduate frombecause I won’t have any problems with the university exams anyway.That’s why I can broaden my horizons like this…”

“But to reject the possibility ofgoing to the highschool department of Hakuou is still a bit—”

“I-It’s not that weird. I’msatisfied with this, so it’s fine.”

“T-That might be okay, but…”

“A-And also, at this school…Onii-chan is…” Her face went red in an instant.

I didn’t really catch it, but Icould’ve sworn I heard the words ‘this school’ and ‘Onii-chanis’ in there.

…I am, what? …D-Don’t tell me…There’s no way, right?

“I-I’m pretty sure that I’m wronghere, but did you choose this school because I’m here…?”

“?!?!?!”

Hearing my words, Suzuka twitched andtook a step back.

“W-W-W-W-W-W-Wha—?!”

Suzuka was clearly confused, but itwasn’t all that different for me.

…S-Shit. Though I just sort ofblurted it out, what sort of embarrassing things am I saying! Thatsounded like I was hoping for that to be her reason! Am I an idiot orwhat?!

“T-T-T-T-T-That’s… uhm…!”

“S-Sorry Suzuka! Even if we’ve madeup, that’s no reason for you to change schools just because of me!I’m really sorry!”

While I was earnestly apologizing,Suzuka responded “T-That’s right” with a bright red face.

“T-That’s right! There’s no waythat I was thinking of going to the same school as Onii-chan so thatI could flirt with him to my heart’s content, so don’tmisunderstand me! I-I would never… I would never do something asidiotic as that!?”

She’s perfectly right. Just what wasI thinking…

“Sorry for saying something as weirdas that. Please forget about it — Wait, Suzuka? Why are you holdingyour head in your arms like that?”

“W-Well, I was just assaulted by astrong feeling of self-hatred… Haaah, just why am I like this? Ifinally managed to make up with Onii-chan… so why can’t I behonest with myself, even now…?”

For some reason, Suzuka was mutteringto herself with a gloomy expression. I don’t get it.

“Ah—uhm. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“N-No, Onii-chan isn’t at faulthere… Also, if Onii-chan is here, then I have one person who I cantalk to and ask for help, so…”

I-I see. That makes sense. Basically,it’s that. Suzuka has a Suzuka-like reason to choose another schoolbesides Hakuou, and since I’m here at this school and it’s alsorather close to home, she decided on Nanamisaka. Since Suzuka ishappy with that, I’m fine with it as well.

…And also, although it might not bemuch, I’m still happy that I was one of the reasons she chose thisschool, so I decided to stop questioning her about it.

“I see, I get it. Then if anythingcomes up, don’t hesitate to ask me about it,” I said. I thenadded with a laugh, “But I don’t think that Suzuka will have anyproblems at all.”

“U-Uhm, Onii-chan…” She keptglancing at me while fidgeting. “I-It might be a bit late for this,but… m-me going to the same school as Onii-chan… Am I being abother…?”

“Bother? How come?” I tilted myhead.

There’s nothing she could bother mewith, really. Though I might end up bothering her if things go south…

“U-Uhm, I decided on it withoutasking Onii-chan for advice, and maybe he thinks that I might hinderhis normal student life…”

“Hey hey, there’s no way, youknow?” I sighed as I shrugged.

Rather, I’m really lucky to be ableto go to the same school as Suzuka, now that we’ve made up.

Maybe we can make up for all thetime we’ve lost — is what I thought, getting excited. Butthere was no way I could honestly say that to her face. If Suzukawere to respond with “So Onii-chan was thinking something likethat…” I don’t think that I’d ever recover from it. Justthinking about it is rough.

“You don’t have to worry about me.And there’s absolutely no way that you would ever be a bother tome, so relax, okay?” I told her.

“T-Thank you very much…!” She letout a relieved sigh.

…Really, my sister is way too honest.

“I’m glad that Onii-chan thinks so.I would be worried if that were true. Now then, could we continue ourtour?”

“Understood,” I answered, and withthat, we continued our walk around the school.

As we went towards the club building,we walked past more and more students. Even though there weren’tany classes that day, it seemed that there were still countless clubsthat had activities.

“It really is noisy around here. Arethe clubs this popular?”

“Y-Yeah, well…”

…Actually, the reason is this sighthere. For a while now, all the people who passed by us (or rather,passed by Suzuka) kept staring. Especially the boys. It was just likethe examinees from before. They were saying things like:

“…Hey, that girl, she’s reallycute.”

“…Woah, really. These clothes…she’s here to take the entrance exam?” and so on.

Hey hey, I can hear you guys loud andclear. It’s true that Suzuka is cute, but can you not react in sucha way to my little sister?

“I seem to be standing out… Is itbecause of my Hakuou uniform?” Said Suzuka, clearly oblivious tothe meaning behind the gazes.

You really should be more self-awarethat you’re a beauty. But there’s no way that I can say that.It’d be disgusting after all.

“Who is that next to her… Nagami?”

“Damn it… Why’s he alwaystogether with the cute ones…?”

“…For real, even after he alreadyhas Himuro-san…”

“Wai—?!”

In that moment, I heard voices sayingsomething completely different, and I unconsciously responded totheir outrageous statement.

…What are you saying?! And why areyou bringing up Mai here?!

“……………………Interesting.”

And of course, Suzuka heard it as welland gave me a look filled with bloodlust.

*Rumble*

I thought I could feel a dark aurafilling the atmosphere, which made me tense up in anxiety.

“I would really like to know whatkind of relationship Onii-chan and Himuro-san have at school. Pleaseenlighten me, if you would.”

“N-No, there’s really no specialrelationship between me and Mai and all, so don’t mind them…Rather, we’re just normal friends, or just acquaintances, no,stalker and victim is more like it…”

“So why are your fellow studentssaying something like that…?” She smiled at me, but her eyes wereice cold.

There’s this black fog building uparound her… please tell me that my eyes are playing tricks on me.

“…Damn it, normies should justexplode.”

And that phrase was the final push thatset me off.

…Just shut up already and explodeyourself! And I’m not a normie either! I’m not any better offthan you guys, so why are you looking at me like that?! …No, wait,this isn’t the time to be worried about that! I have pacify Suzukaor else…!

“T-These guys are justmisunderstanding…! You should know how Mai keeps clinging to me,right…? I can’t help it that everyone gets the wrong idea justbecause we’re in the same class.”

Though I tried my best to make herbelieve me, she looked at me, completely in disbelief. Why?

“…Is that really all?”

“Yeah, that’s all! The guys whodon’t know the circumstances just keep spouting nonsense, and it’sreally a pain in the butt! Anyway, I’ve showed you around hereenough, so let’s go somewhere else.”

I was practically pushing Suzuka alongas we left the club building. She still didn’t seem satisfied.

Anyway, I’ve gotta find another placeto show her to make her forget about that topic—

“Ahhhhhhhh! It’s Yuu!”

Are you kidding me?! W-What’s withthis timing…?!

“Why did you come to school?! And whyare you together with Suzuka-san?!”

WIthout even giving me a moment toexplain, the devil we were talking about appeared in front of us:Himuro Mai.

She’s the school’s top beauty, theprofessional light novel writer Enryuu Homura, and also TowanoChikai’s one and only stalker. And of course, she has agood-for-nothing personality, which gives me a lot of trouble fromtime to time, and results in misunderstandings about our relationshipamong fellow students.

“You too, why did you come to school?Today we don’t have any school, right? And you’re not in a club,are you?” I asked her.

“That should be the same for Yuu,right? And I was here because of my supplementary math lesson!” Shepuffed out her chest in pride.

I won’t even bother responding tothat, okay? The comeback is way too obvious.

“Since I was busy with my light novelwork, the teacher got mad at — no no no, since I’m such a honorstudent, I decided to go to the supplementary lessons as well! Andthanks to that, I happened to meet Yuu, just what I would expect fromme!”

“I really don’t know why you soundso arrogant about that…”

“Rather than that — Ah, right,hello Suzuka-san — what are you guys doing here? Tell me!Especially the reason that you’re together with Suzuka-san!”

I had wanted to keep it a secret atfirst, but I realized that there wasn’t any reason to do soanymore.

“Uhm, actually—”

“Onii-chan, I will be the one toexplain.”

But for some reason, Suzuka stepped infront of me.

“Good day to you, Himuro-san.Actually, today I came here to take the entrance exam for thisschool.”

“Eh? E-Entrance exam?”

“Yes. Onii-chan was kind enough tocome with me today. And after the exam, I had him show me around theschool.” She explained with a self-confident smile beforecontinuing. “Basically, this spring, I will be going to sameschool as Onii-chan . So I hope that we can get along,Himuro-san.” She bowed slightly to Himuro-san and finished herexplanation.

Her expression seemed very cheerful forsome reason, and her eyes were filled with pride… or was that justmy imagination?

“W-What did you say?!”

For some reason, Mai took a step backand looked really shocked.

…I don’t know why you’re soshocked about that, but what is this sudden tension between the twoof them…?

“I-If Suzuka-san were to go to thesame school as Yuu… then…!”

“Fufufu, what’s wrong, Himuro-san?”

“Kuu…! To think that Suzuka-sanwould go this far…!”

“Uhm…”

“Yuu, keep quiet for a second! Youdon’t have the right to participate in a discussion on how toproperly grill cow meat!”

“What are you talking about?!”

That hurt. I didn’t know why, but ithurt. And why is Suzuka glaring at me as well…? What the hell isgoing on…

“…Haaah, I see. It seems like Ihave to step up my game as well.”

Finally, Mai crossed her arms, andblurted out another random statement.

“Are you trying to act like a lightnovel protagonist?”

“Y-You’re wrong! I’m justthinking about the circumstances! And rather than that!” With thesewords, she pointed at me. “You were showing Suzuka-san around,right? Then I’ll join you!”

“Eh? Well, I don’t really mind, butyou don’t have to phrase it so forcefully.”

“Ehhh?! N-No, uhm, you must be busywith your manuscript, so you don’t have to force yourself…!”

Suzuka for her part starting furiouslyshaking her hands as if she wanted to decline.

“I don’t really mind. Also, thereare some places that Yuu can’t show you, right? Like the changingroom or the girls’ restrooms.”

“O-Onii-chan will show me, so there’sno problem!”

“As if I could!!!” I interjected.

Don’t just blurt out weird thingslike that!

“Now that that’s decided, I’ll bejoining you! Let’s go already, Yuu!”

“Shouldn’t you be saying that toSuzuka?! I’m already a student of this school!”

Mai took my arm and pulled me along. Inresponse to that, Suzuka hurriedly chased after us with a “W-Waitfor me, please!”

“…M-Muuuuuu…! This was finally achance for me to be alone with Onii-chan…”

“Well, her argument is reasonable, soit should be fine if she shows you around as well. Since she’s sopushy, nothing would change no matter what we said.”

“Onii-chan, please be quiet for abit.”

“Who’s the pushy one here, huh?!”

As I followed up, I got glared at fromthe left, and I heard Mai complaining at my right.

…From the outside, it might look likeI had a flower at each hand, but the real circumstances arecompletely different, okay?

“…Ah, who’s that person withHimuro-san?”

“…It’s Nagami-kun. I heardthrough the grapevine that he’s dating her.”

“But then who’s that other cutegirl next to him?”

Like this, the three of us walkedthrough the school building, garnering gazes left and right. Even thefemale classmates were gossiping, and I could hear every single word.

“Hmmmm, did you hear that? T-Theythink we’re dating…” Mai grinned.

T-This girl… she’s acting like I’msupposed to be the lucky guy… Let me tell you, I’m not. If only Icould tell her that I wasn’t the real Towano Chikai… but I can’t.

“O-Onii-chan? Are you happy, by anychance…?”

“Does it look like I’m happy toyou…?”

“It does. You look really pleasedthat they’re misunderstanding…”

Huh?! Where did your normal sharpnessgo?!

While we continued to walk like this,we once more heard the girls whispering.

“…Don’t tell me, is she alsoNagami-kun’s…?”

“…Eh? Then, is he two-timing? Arethey fighting for him?”

“…Woah, he’s not even satisfiedwith Himuro-san and needs another cute girl? That’s the worst.”

“Ahhh———!!!”

I-I won’t let you all keep talkingnonsense like that! It feels like I’m on thin ice with just Maialone, but I can’t allow Suzuka to suffer from thismisunderstanding. I have to crush this sprouting rumour right here,right now!

“Don’t get any weirdmisunderstandings! This girl here is my little sister! She took theentrance exam today, so that’s why!”

As I tried to explain the situation,the girls raised their voices in shock.

“Lies! Little sister?! You don’treally look like siblings, do you?!”

“Leave me alone! I feel the same, butit’s the truth!”

“So, you’re two-timing onHimuro-san with your little sister? You really are a deviant…”

“Why would you come to thatconclusion?! And I’ll just say this upfront: I’m not going outwith Mai at all, okay?!”

“H-Hey, Yuu! What are you saying!”Mai started complaining behind me, but I’ll ignore her for now!

“Hmmm, so it was his little sister.”

“Just that? I thought that thingsmight get interesting.”

It seemed like they believed me, fornow.

…That being said, wishing for thingsto get ‘interesting’ and whatnot… High school girls really arescary…

“Well, anyway, that’s how it is, sodon’t get my little sister mixed up in any weird rumours.” Ifinished my explanation with that, and the group of girls separatedfrom us.

Though I tried not to look at Mai’sdispleased face, Suzuka had the exact same expression for somereason.

“I-It’s fine, Suzuka. This waythere won’t be any weird rumours about you when you enter theschool.”

“…Mu, I can’t say that I’mreally happy about that…”

What do you mean by that, exactly…?

“And it’s not that, it’s just…your response when you explained that I’m your little sister…”

Hearing her words, I thought back towhat I had said.

“Uhm…? The part where she said thatwe didn’t look alike at all?”

“Not that. Though that is the truth.”

“I-Is that so… But after I saidthat — they seemed to be satisfied…?”

“That’s… right. It’s just, the’Just that?’ response was a bit… light….” Suzuka mutteredwith a serious expression. “Like… Like I have no chance since I’mOnii-chan’s little sister…”

I didn’t think that there was anyproblem with that, but I couldn’t catch everything she said sinceher voice trailed off near the end.

So she’s not happy that themisunderstanding is cleared up? Why…?

“…It seems that it’s no good whenI’m his little sister…!”

“…Suzuka?”

She suddenly made a fist, as if she hadmade up her mind on something. I was completely lost as to what washappening, so I tried to ask her once more, but…

“Come on, let’s continue to showSuzuka-san around.” Mai’s grip on my arm tightened as she pulledme along again, and I lost my chance to do so.

“No wait, before that, myconversation with Suzuka—”

“What are you doing, Onii-chan? Let’shurry on. This isn’t the time to be relaxing like this.”

“Ehh?!”

In a matter of seconds, Suzuka was backto her usual self…

Like that, I was once more draggedalong by Suzuka and Mai as we walked around the school building. Istill didn’t understand what had happened, but I didn’t careanymore. I gave up on resisting.

“So, where has Yuu shown youalready?”

“Let’s see… the classrooms, theclub building, and so on.”

“I see, then our next destination isalready decided. Let’s go.”

“Just what I want to hear.”

As Mai quickened her pace, Suzukafollowed suit, leaving me no other choice but to drag my feet alongafter them. Both their gazes were worrying me, for different reasonsof course. How did something as simple as showing Suzuka around theschool end up like this…?

“We’re here! This is it!”

And the destination Mai pulled us towas—

“…Why are we at the gym hall’sstoreroom?”

For some reason or another, we werestanding inside the gym hall, in front of the storeroom.

…I’m really getting a bad feelingabout this.

“W-What are you saying, Yuu? For thetwo of us, this is a very important place,” Mai said in a flusteredmanner.

“W-What does she mean by that,Onii-chan!”

…Well, even if you ask me that, Idon’t understand either.

As I was about to try to pacify Suzuka,Mai puffed out her chest again.

“Hehe, this is, you see, the placewhere Yuu and I spent an important memory together, all alone,” Sheboasted for some reason.

“….What?! W-What did you say…!!!!”Suzuka looked like she had just seen a ghost.

But I was just as surprised, of course.

“I-Is that really true, Onii-chan?!With Himuro-san, all together in…?!”

“No no no! I have no clue what she’stalking about, either!”

“I-I-I-I-In this deserted place, withHimuro-san?! What exactly did you do, Onii-chan?!”

“C-Calm down, Suzuka! And Mai! Whatdo you mean by ‘important memory?!’ Don’t make up weird liesthat Suzuka could misunderstand!”

“I-It’s not a lie at all! Yuushould member, right?! We were in here, breathing heavily andsweating profusely! My body really felt hot at the time…!”

“O-Onii-chan…!” Suzuka lookedlike she was about to explode from anger.

…Damn it! Why does it always have toend up like this?! I don’t have any memory of being in theretogether with Mai, doing something that would fit her descrip—-

“Mmm…? No wait?”

But in that moment, a certainpossibility entered my mind… Don’t tell me…!

“Hey, Mai… Are you talking aboutthe time when I helped you rearrange the storeroom…?”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

What!!!

“Hey wait! You came crying to mebecause you couldn’t do it on your own, right?! I was nice enoughto help you out, and this is how you thank me?”

“I-I wasn’t lying! At that time,Yuu and I were alone in here, and since it was so warm, we startedsweating and my body got hot!”

……..

“Did you hear that, Suzuka?! Wedidn’t do anything weird in here at all, okay?!”

“…But you still were in here alonewith Himuro-san,” Suzuka still wore a frustrated expression.

…Well, that’s true, but what do youwant me to do about it…?

“T-That’s right, Suzuka-san. Thefact that Yuu and I were together doesn’t change! …Fuu, that oneespecially is one of my precious summer memories…”

“I’m pretty sure that you probablyhave some better memories than that…”

But since we’re talking about Mai, Ican’t imagine that she has any of those… Now I feel sad.

“…Haaaah, I somehow knew this wasgoing to happen. It seems like we really shouldn’t leave this toMai. Let’s leave her alone and continue, Suzuka…” I let out asigh and turned towards my sister.

“…No, I am exceptionally interestedin the places that Mai wants to show us. I don’t mind it at all.”

But, for some reason, Suzuka didn’tagree with me… Why?

“Now now, let’s go to the nextplace!”

With that, we once more startedwalking.

The next place is… the nurse’soffice? Why here…?

“This is another memorable place forYuu and I! Yuu, who had gotten hurt, was nursed back to health by me!I directly put a bandage on Yuu’s body, and I won’t forget thisday when our bonds deepened.”

“O-Ohhhh? O-O-O-O-Onii-chan, yourexplanation?”

“W-Wait! …Don’t tell me! You meanthat time when I got a scratch on my hand because I tripped andfell?! I told you that it wasn’t worth worrying about, but youstill pulled me here against my will!”

“So Yuu also remembers. I-It’s animportant memory, after all.”

“What is?! And also, you were the onewho ran into me, so you’re responsible for causing that scratch,you know?!”

“L-Leaving out the details, theimportant fact is that we were all lovey-dovey while I was nursingyou back to health!”

Nursing?! You forgot to disinfect thewound, you failed to put the bandage around my hand properly, and wewere never lovey-dovey at all!

“When I finished nursing Yuu, hereturned a passionate gaze… I still remember the look on his face…”Mai said. Her cheeks had gotten red for some reason.

There’s no way that I wasn’tlooking at her with the same look of disgust that I am right now.

“Haah…” I sighed and turnedtowards Suzuka.

Even she had an exasperated expressionon her face, but…

“H-Himuro-san? I-I think that I’mbetter at nursing Onii-chan, though…” She said as her facetwitched in anger.

…Why did you have to say that…? NowMai’s not going to be calming down anytime soon…

“One time when Onii-chan was sick, Idid my utmost to nurse him back to health, and I probably am betterat handling wounds too…”

“But you never put a bandage on himlike I did, right?”

“That might be true, but still…!But if you say so, then I will do that right here! Onii-chan, sitdown here for a moment please!”

“Ehhh?! W-Why do I have to do that?!”

Though I tried to protest, Suzukapushed me onto a bed close to us with a “Just do it!” and took abandage from a shelf.

“Ah, I’ll do it too, then! I’llshow you how skilled I am!” Mai also jumped in and came closer witha bandage of her own.

“H-Hey?! What kind of situation isthis?!”

“Don’t move, please! I-I’ll put abandage on your hand…!”

“Then I’ll take his arm! Yuu, takeoff your shirt!”

“Wha—?! T-Then, I will takeOnii-chan’s upper body—”

“No no no?! You two have a weird lookin your eyes!”

I unconsciously tried to distancemyself from them, but they also came closer to me to prevent myescape. As a result…

“Uwa?!”

Like I was being pushed down, I endedup lying face-up on the bed. On top of my body, there were two heavybut soft sensations, and Suzuka and Mai’s faces located too closefor comfort, which resulted in my face burning up.

…What kind of situation is this?!

“Ah, don’t worry, Onii-chan. I’llbe very careful…”

“B-Be prepared to lose yourself inpleasure from my technique…”

We’re talking about bandages, right?!It’s just my imagination that this sounds so weird, right?!

While I was in confusion, the two ofthem continued to close in on me.

I-I have to get away from thissituation, or else — is what I thought, but…

“…U-Uhm, what are you threedoing…?”

Behind the two of them, the nurseappeared with an astonished expression on her face. As the two ofthem turned around to look at her, I used that chance.

…It was now or never!

“N-Nothing at all! Please excuse us!”I yelled.

“Ah, Onii-chan!” “Hey, Yuu!”

I hurriedly jumped up, grabbed the twoof them by their arms, and dashed out of the nurse’s office. Andwhen we finally got to a place with no one else around, I finally letgo of their hands.

…S-Saved.

“Really, what was that about?!”

“That’s right. Why did we run away,Onii-chan? Now we won’t know who’s more skillful at treatingOnii-chan.”

“…Again, what are you two onabout…? Our goal was to show Suzuka around the school, right…?”I protested as Suzuka kept glaring at me.

“Uuu… that’s true, but… foronly Himuro-san to have these memories… that’s just unfair…”

“Unfair? What is?”

“N-No, it’s nothing?! …A-Anyway,since we’ve already left the nurse’s office, there’s nothing wecan do about it now. We’ll have to clear this up some other time.Himuro-san, please show me another place!”

“Fuu, it’s my pleasure, Suzuka-san.There are countless other places that are filled with importantmemories that Yuu and I share, after all!”

“…So we’re going to continue…?”

All of the places she showed us wereweird, what she said was just as crazy, and our purpose for beinghere had changed completely… But, since Suzuka seemed fine with it,I couldn’t really complain, huh?

And just like that, Mai pulled us tocountless other places. Apparently Mai and I have…

Talked about love on a bench in thecourtyard, read a book together in the library, made cookies andexchanged them, and so on. Everytime Mai reminisced about our’wonderful’ memories, Suzuka shot me a cold gaze, and I panicked,trying to clear up the misunderstanding. As you might have guessed,everything she said was completely made up. But no matter how hard Itried to clear up the misunderstandings, Suzuka still wore adispleased expression.

“So Himuro-san has this many memorieswith Onii-chan…!” She glared at me, with no signs of believing meat all.

“And this is the place where Yuu andI met for the first time!”

The last place Mai guided us to was therooftop of the school building.

“This was the place where we sharedour secrets for the first time!”

“So basically, the time when you toldme that you knew of my identity as Towano Chikai, and told me thatyou are Enryuu Homura. And what do you mean by ‘first meeting?’You talked to me in the classroom, right?”

“D-Don’t sweat the small stuff.Meeting for the first time on the rooftop sounds more dramatic.”

“You’re already admitting thatyou’re lying!”

“At the time, Yuu listened to myserious request, and gave me the permission to investigate him asmuch as I want… ‘Yeah, don’t hold back. Find out everythingabout me’, you said…”

“Y-You… blurting out such a lie infront of the other person… I just agreed to it because youthreatened to leak my true identity! And I never said that either!”

“Is that so? W-Well, as an author, Ihave to dramatize stuff a little bit, you know?”

“But don’t add complete lies toit!” I let out a sigh, and turned to look at Suzuka.

“You probably already know by now,but she’s always exaggerating, okay? Reality and fantasy don’thave anything in common, okay?”

“How rude! There’s always a smallpart that’s true!”

…Just ignore her. I don’t have theenergy to respond to everything.

“…I know, Onii-chan. That’s justfrom her subjective point of view,” Suzuka responded, but she stillwas pouting for some reason.

Hearing that, I let out a relievedsigh.

“I know… I know, but…” But shestill looked displeased.

“U-Uhm, Suzuka-san? Are you mad aboutsomething?”

“I-I’m not mad about anything. It’sjust…”

It’s just… what? This is the firsttime I’ve seen Suzuka so inarticulate.

“It’s just… Even if thesememories are mostly fabricated by Himuro-san, the foundation stillhappened. That just shows how much time she spends together withOnii-chan when you’re at school.”

“Well yeah… we’re classmatesafter all.”

Though additionally, she’s also astalker. Right now, I spend most of my time at school with her. It’smore like a total pain, you know.

“…And also, no, exactly because ofthat, people think that you’re going out… But what would theythink if it was me, your little sister…?”

“Eh?”

“Ah?! N-No, it’s nothing!”Hearing my response, Suzuka’s body twitched and she furiously shookher head.

Even though I should’ve just left itat that, I couldn’t forget her expression. But no matter how oftenI asked her about it, she always said “I’m fine!”

“I-It really is nothing. Please don’tworry about me.”

“…If you say so… You just lookedlike you weren’t that happy, so…”

“No, that’s not the case. On thecontrary, I’m really looking forward to going to this school afterhaving Himuro-san show me around!”

“R-Really?”

Just how did she become motivated fromthat half-assed guided tour? Or rather, is she just happier for Maito show her around than me? That’s kind of sad…

As I dropped my shoulders, Suzukaresponded with “Y-Yes…!”

“…From now on, I will be going tothe same school as Onii-chan…! At this rate, it won’t work… Atthis rate…!” Suzuka made a fist, seemingly having made up hermind about something.

Whether she was getting excited abouther new high school student life, or something completely different,I had no idea.

Anyway, I’m glad that her mood hasimproved. But, at the same time, I realized that Mai seemed weird aswell.

“…Yeah, at this rate…”

With a rarely serious face, she juststared at Suzuka. Since we were still on the rooftop, I could onlycatch portions of what she said. However, what followed clearlyentered my ears.

“But… what exactly should I do?”

Part 2:

The school tour ended, and we decidedto go home. As we we walked home, with Mai of course, Suzuka openedher mouth and proposed something.

“Should we go to Onii-chan’spart-time workplace? We’ll surely be in their care from now on.”

My part-time job was at MarunekoBookstore, which was halfway between my school and our home. SinceSuzuka’s Hakuou is in the complete opposite direction, she neverreally walked past it, but that would probably be changing soon.

With that, we decided to visit saidbookstore. By the way, I didn’t have any work today, so we werejust there as normal customers.

“Mmm? Ah~, if it isn’t Nagamin andMai-chan~ And even Nagamin’s little sister~”

As soon as we entered, my Senpai atwork, and the store owner’s daughter, Esaka-san, greeted us. Thoughthe size of her body made her look like a grade school kid, that wasnot at all the reason I started working here, so please don’tmisunderstand.

“Why is everyone here~? Did Nagamincome here to show me his harem~?”

“Can you not say such terrible thingswith a grin like that…? We just thought we’d check in on our wayhome from school.”

“Heeeeh~ Is that so~? So you came tosee how hard I’m working~”

“What is not there cannot be seen…”I looked at her with a cold gaze, hoping to tear down her fabricatedimage of herself.

“What are you saying, Nagamin~ I’min the middle of customer service, you know~?”

“Eh? A guest came? Then why are youtalking with us—”

“It’s fine it’s fine~ Though theyare technically our guest, they more importantly are Nagamin’sguest~”

When I heard these words, I returned aconfused “Eh?” as a woman appeared from the shadow of abookshelf.

“Fufu, it seems that I have goodluck. To meet Sensei here.”

“Eh? S-Shinozaki-san? Why are youhere?”

Since that person was actually oureditor Shinozaki-san, we were all surprised.

“And you’re together withImouto-san and Enryuu-sensei. Is this what I think it is? Are youtrying to make Imouto-san jealous by spending time withEnryuu-sensei? And in the end… you end up stabbing your poisonousfangs into her as well… Fufufu, just what I would expect fromTowano Chikai-sensei.”

“You make me a bad person in yourfantasies?! How noble of you.”

“Uwaa~ Nagamin is really the worst~I’m also gonna get eaten by him~”

“Onii-chan… you’re the worst.”

“Yuu, it seems like I’ve misjudgedyou…”

…Did they all plan this from thestart? This can’t be a coincidence, right?

“Well, I originally meant it as ajoke, but why are you on your way home from school together withImouto-san?”

In response to Shinozaki-san’squestion, Suzuka took a step forward and answered. “I took theentrance exam. This spring, I will be going to the same school asOnii-chan.”

“No way! Imouto-san really issplendid! To enroll in the same school as Sensei just to improve thequality of his novel! You really are the perfect little sister!”

“N-No, it’s not that much…”

“…Uhm, Suzuka didn’t choose myschool because of my novel, though…”

“Please feel free to shower him evenmore with your love!”

“T-That’s not what it’s about.It’s just that, as his little sister, it’s my duty to look afterhim.”

They’re not listening at all… Whydo the two of them have such a high affinity… Though it feels likethey’re talking past each other.

“R-Rather than that, Shinozaki-san,why are you here?”

“Nnn? Ah, that’s right. Actually,before I came here, I went over to Sensei’s home.”

“Eh? Why? Did you tell me you werecoming?” I asked, as I looked over at Suzuka.

Though phone calls with the editor weremy responsibility as the stand-in, Suzuka, the real Towano Chikai,was the one exchanging emails with her.

But Suzuka just wordlessly shook herhead.

“Well, I thought of surprising Senseiby randomly coming by. But sadly, you were away from home, and myphone calls wouldn’t get through, so I decided to come by theworkplace that you had told me about before.”

That reminds me, I was warned to turnoff my phone inside the library today.

…So that’s why I didn’t hear anyof this… What a coincidence.

“But, for the editor to come bypersonally, did something important happen that you have to tell himin person?” Mai commented, which made me and Suzuka freeze up.

We both nervously swallowed, waitingfor Shinozaki-san’s next words. However, Shinozaki-san’s facerelaxed and turned into a smile.

“Fufu, actually… I don’t have anybusiness at all!”

“Eh?” “Eh?” Eh?” “Hoooh~”

The three of us beautifully showed oursurprise. And Esaka-san joined in for the laughs.

“No, uhm… then, why…?”

“I had some business close to here,so I thought of visiting Sensei’s home while I’m here. Like afamily visit sort of thing.”

What’s that supposed to be? An editorwouldn’t visit an author just like that — right?

“Fufufu, I also wanted to seeSensei’s room, and find out about your nocturnal-assaulttendencies. As your editor, I have to know that, right?”

“Is that so? The exit is over there,thank you for your visit.”

“N-No no, I was just joking! I justwanted to find out about Sensei’s tastes. An editor always has toknow everything about their author.”

So you’re basically saying that youweren’t joking at all!

“If it’s about Nagamin’s likes,then I know~”

“Wait, Esaka-san?! W-Why do you…!”

“Fu fu fu~ never underestimate thedaughter of a bookstore owner. I know very well what kind of booksyou look at when you’re working here~”

“Ohhh, now that sounds interesting.Please feel free to tell me all about it.”

“M-Me too! I also want to know!”

Both Suzuka and Mai spoke up asEsaka-san puffed out her modest chest.

“Oh I see, so Sensei taught thisyoung girl his tastes and preferences and got excited from that? Justwhat I would expect. It’s no wonder you managed to write such amagnificent novel when you have no ethics or humanity left inside ofyou!”

“So now you’re just calling me acomplete psychopath?!”

Ahh, for crying out loud! Why am Ialways the bad guy?!

“Anyway, Shinozaki-san, if you don’thave any urgent business, then go home already! We will discussanything important over the phone — no, since we’re just talkingabout random nonsense, please only email me from now on!”

“Hey hey, don’t be so harsh now. Imight not have any important business, but there was still somethingthat I wanted to tell you. You’re going home right after this,right? Please let me accompany you.”

…Ehhhh, I really want to declinehere, but now that she says that she has something to tell us, I’dactually feel bad. Also, she’s technically Suzuka’s guest ratherthan mine.

“…Haaah, I won’t let you insidemy room, okay?”

“Really, Sensei worries way too much.I wouldn’t search under Sensei’s bed, inside your drawer, orinside your book shelves without your permission, you know?”

Woah, she’s already got my hidingspots down to a tee. Scary…

“…But now that it’s come to this,we can’t help it. And it would be rude to just send her away,”Suzuka whispered into my ear.

In the end, I decided to give up myfutile resistance and it was decided that she would come with us. Asa stand-in, I can’t really object against the real author, afterall.

And with that, we left Maruneko behindwith Shinozaki-san. At that moment, Esaka-san suddenly clung to me,saying something ridiculous like “I’ll also go to Nagamin’shome~. I’ll become a family member and spend the rest of my daysrolling around on Nagamin’s bed!”, so we had to tie her to theregister before we could leave.

After around 5 minutes of walking, wearrived at our home.

“Sorry for intruding. I see, so thisis Towano-sensei’s home…” Entering inside, Shinozaki-sancommented as she looked around with a muffled laugh.

I don’t think that you need to havesuch a weird reaction though…

“Please, this way. I will preparesome tea,” Suzuka said as we entered the living room. She startedpreparing tea for everyone.

“Sorry, Imouto-san, for troubling youlike this.”

“It’s no problem. You’re a guestat our house, after all.”

After putting cups filled with blacktea on a tray, she brought it over and set down next to me.

“…Fumu, very delicious. MightImouto-san be good at cooking as well?”

“Yes, I always leave the food toSuzuka,” I answered, to which Suzuka lowered her head inembarrassment.

For some reason, Mai puffed out hercheeks when she saw that.

“That is wonderful, Imouto-san.Please keep feeding Sensei wonderful food. Preferably food that willincrease his sexual urges so that you can help him produce evenbetter scenes for his novel.”

“ Cough Cough W-What are yousaying?!”

“It’s fine. If it’s too much forImouto-san, don’t hold back on asking me. Helping out the author ismy job as an editor, after all. Fufufu…”

W-What is this person talking about…!T-This is no good. I can’t take anything she says seriously. If Idon’t change the topic, I’ll be treated like a pervert again.

“Haaah… And, what exactly did youwant to tell me?”

“Like I said, it wasn’t anythingparticularly important. Sensei’s “The story about a little sisterwho loves her big brother way too much to cope” series is movingforward so wonderfully that I don’t have much to say. However —since we have the chance to relax now, it might be good to give itsome thought.”

“Give what some thought?”

“A new novel.”

The moment these words leftShinozaki-san’s mouth, everyone in the room went “Ehh?”.

“A-A new novel…? What do you meanby that?”

“Nothing extraordinary. Exactly whatI said: A new work, a new series. Even though the current series ispopular, you won’t be able to continue it forever, right? No, Iwouldn’t mind if you continued it forever, but with Sensei’stalent, I would really like to see another series born from hishands.

Well, she’s not exactly wrong. Iglanced at Suzuka sitting next to me, and it looked like she was alsobewildered by the idea.

“Uhm… even if you suddenly bring upthat up…”

“You don’t have to give it muchthought for now. It doesn’t have to be immediately, anyway. I justwanted to bring up the idea, that’s all,” Shinozaki-san added,but I could only reply with a half-assed “Okay…?”.

But still… a new novel, huh? I neverreally thought about that. Not to mention that Suzuka looks even moreshocked than me. That being said, Shinozaki-san’s idea wascompletely reasonable. There was no way that an author could justkeep writing the same series forever. And that was true even for thesuper-popular light novel writer Towano Chikai. It would be obviousto both editors and readers that another work would be a good idea.

“But even if you say that, what kindof work to you have in mind?”

“Since Towano-sensei is a rom-comauthor, wouldn’t it be fine to just keep it in the same vein? Thatbeing said, I trust Sensei, so I wouldn’t mind of you tried anothergenre you’re interested in.”

…Hmm, that’s pretty vague. I took alook at Suzuka, and she was also deep in thought. But still, thiswasn’t something that we could decide right here right now.

“…I’m sorry, but I can’t reallyget a good picture of it yet.”

“You can take your time… But, fumu,just leaving it to you might be a bit irresponsible as an editor, soI wonder if there’s anything I can do to help Sensei…”Shinozaki-san muttered as she looked up the ceiling, only to pulldown her gaze again with an “Ah, that’s right.”

“If you don’t have a specific imagein mind, it might be good to just try out different ideas. Basically,a trial would be a good idea, to figure out what might fit yourtastes.”

“A trial…?”

“Yes. Actually, about two months fromnow, at the end of March, there will be a spring rom-com festivalevent, which is sponsored by Sumeragi Fantasy Publishing. We haveeach of our authors write a short story and publish them online.”

“Ohhhh… But wait, this is the firstI’ve heard of that.”

“I hadn’t informed you of it yet.Think about it; if people found out that our super-popular authorTowano Chikai would write a short story or a sidestory, theirpopularity would go through the roof and the other authors wouldsuffer, which would completely ruin the balance. That’s why we werestill hesitating to invite Sensei.”

I-I see…? But now that I’m thinkingabout it, Suzuka’s novel is insanely popular…

“So, what’s your idea with thatevent?”

“I’m saying that Sensei couldrelease a short part of his new novel there. Since it’s acompletely new series with no relation to your current one, therewould be no problem with letting you participate.”

“Ehhh?!”

In shock, I looked over at Suzuka.

“Fumu, it’s a good idea if I do sayso myself. Like that, we could get our figurehead Sensei toparticipate in the event, and Sensei might get closer to having anidea for a new series. Good idea, good idea.”

“P-Please wait a moment. Even if yousuddenly say that, I—”

“It’s okay, Sensei. You don’thave to be so eager about it. You can just write something to try itout. Like a playground for your ideas. It’s a good plan, right?”

She says it so leisurely…!

That being said, even if she acts likea good-for-nothing pervert most of the time, she really is seriousabout light novels, so I don’t think that’s she saying this justto give me a hard time.

So basically… No, wait? This mightactually be a big chance, right? Even if the idea doesn’t turn outgood, there’s no damage at all. And, since it will be publishedonline, there will be feedback from the readers, so there’s reallyno downside here.

“How is it, Sensei? How about joiningin on the event?”

Looking over at Suzuka, I saw that shealso nodded.

…Alright, I guess we’ll be joiningthat event then—

“W-Wait a moment!”

But before I could acceptShinozaki-san’s proposal, a loud voice called out inside the livingroom. When we looked for the source, Mai, who had kept quiet all thistime, had suddenly jumped up.

“W-What is it, Mai? Don’t scare melike that.”

“What’s wrong, Enryuu-sensei?”

“I-I also want to participate in thatevent!”

“…What?”

Unexpectedly, Shinozaki-san opened hereyes wide.

“Enryuu-sensei… participating inour Spring Rom-Com Festival?”

“T-That’s right. Since I’m alsoan author who belongs to Sumeragi, I should have the right toparticipate, right? Or rather, why have I never heard anything of ituntil now?”

“That’s because Enryuu-senseidoesn’t specialize in writing rom-coms, right?” Shinozaki-sananswered without hesitation.

“But, but! That still shouldn’tstop me from participating, right?!” Mai said, seeming verydesperate.

Seeing that, even I was a bitsurprised. After all, it’s pretty rare for Mai to make such aserious face. I leaned over to whisper in Suzuka’s ear “I wonderwhat’s wrong with Mai?”

“………Don’t tell me…”

But for some reason, Suzuka had anequally earnest expression as she gazed at Mai. Even though Iexpected her to say something like “Right? I wonder what it is…”

“Of course we would be very gratefulfor that. Especially if you want to try out a different genre.”

“Then I will also participate!”

“I’m not Enryuu-sensei’s editor…but I guess it’s fine. I’ll acknowledge it. But will you tell meone thing? Why did you decide to participate? Enryuu-sensei’s ‘SkyMagic Guardian’ isn’t a rom-com after all.”

Ah, I wanna know that too. ‘Sky MagicGuardian’ is a battle fantasy, so why would she want to write arom-com now?

“T-That’s…”

When she was asked that question, Mai’sface went red, and she kept glancing at me.

“Thanks to Yuu — No, TowanoChikai’s influence, I also want to try writing a rom-com!”

…Eh? Ehhhh?! R-Really…?

“Ohhh, now that is wonderful! Justwhat I would expect from Towano-sensei! To move another professionalauthor to such an extent! If that’s the case, then I can onlyagree!”

Mai nodded with a gleeful smile inresponse to Shinozaki-san’s words.

“I see, I see. But, if you reallythought so, then you could’ve just told your own editor.”

“T-That’s… I just decided on itafter Yuu said that he will join… and I thought that I could usethis as a chance…”

“Hnnn? What is it, Enryuu-sensei?”

“I-I-I-I-It’s nothing! R-Ratherthan that!” Mai’s cheeks flushed even harder as she continued.”There is something that I want to know! When you say that you willpublish it online, then the readers will have the opportunity to votefor their favorite work, right?!”

“Of course. The author who wins firstplace will receive a chance to get his work published.”

“I thought so…!” Mai had asatisfied grin on her face.

And following that, she turned towardsme and pointed her finger at me…

“That being said, Yuu! The one who’smore popular wins! It’s a competition!”

Only to blurt out this crazy statement.

“……Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!C-Competition?! What do you mean!” Of course, I was completelyconfused.

“You should already know! I’m yournumber one fan, and also your rival! Just for this competition, I’vekept researching you! I’ll use all this data — to win against youat the rom-com festival!!”

“Wai—?! W-Why…!”

“My rom-com will win against yours!I’ll make you excited about my novel! And then… surely, Yuuwill…!”

Mai’s whole body was shaking, and Iwasn’t sure if she was mad or happy as she glared at me. The onlything I knew was that her eyes were shining for some reason.

“…Anyway! Now that that’sdecided, it’s a competition!”

“No no no no! What is this ‘Nowthat that’s decided!’ about?! Anyone would be completely lost ifyou suddenly bring up the idea of having a competition like that!”

“You really don’t know when to giveup, do you? Since I am your rival, a competition is a completelyrational choice, right?! It’s gonna be a new novel for you, and forme, rom-com is an untouched land. The conditions are fair!”

That’s not the problem here! I’mstill asking why it’s suddenly ended up like this!

I know very well how she ‘researched’Towano Chikai with her stalking activities, and how she sees herselfas his number one rival. That’s why I can understand thecompetition part. There’s nothing weird about that. But—

“I’ll definitely win against you,Yuu!”

The Mai right now is weird somehow.Well, she’s weird pretty much all the time, but right now it feelslike she’s burning up with motivation.

“…Onii-chan.”

But just when I thought that, I heardSuzuka’s voice close to my ear. Before I even realized it, she hadcome closer to me.

…That’s right, it’s my job as astand-in to act how the real Towano Chikai, Suzuka, wants me to.Though I was a bit taken aback by Mai’s sudden attitude, if Suzukawishes for it, I can turn down Mai’s challenge. However…

“Please accept Himuro-san’scompetition. I will win for sure.”

“……Wha—?!”

I was about to let my voice out, but Iwas able to barely myself back.

…T-That was close…! I was carelessenough to almost show a reaction like that in front of the others!But… what the hell are you saying?! There should be no reason foryou to accept her challenge?!

I couldn’t help but remember thedoujinshi competition against the Kanzaka sisters. She couldn’tgive a calm response back then either, and just accepted it on awhim. If she’s once more getting swept along with the conversation—

—is what I thought as I gazed deepinto her eyes, but I froze up the next moment.

“This is a competition I cannotafford to avoid. So please accept it, Onii-chan.”

Suzuka’s expression was calmnessitself, or at least it looked like that on the surface.

I don’t know why, but I decided totrust Suzuka and accept Mai’s challenge. That’s what I have todo, acting as a stand-in.

“Hey, Yuu! You’re not trying to runaway in front of your rival, right?!”

“I-I get it. I’ll accept yourcompetition.”

Hearing my response, Mai’s expressionwas filled with joy.

“I did it, yay!” she jumped in theair, only to remember I was looking at her. She then added a “Iwon’t lose okay!” as her cheeks flushed a slight pink.

…Was this really okay, Suzuka?

“Ohh, now that’s interesting! Tothink that both of our star authors would participate in acompetition like this!”

…As an editor, shouldn’t younormally stop a battle between authors like this…? No wait,Shinozaki-san isn’t a normal editor, so reasoning with her wouldn’twork anyway.

“Even better, let’s advertise thiscompetition to the readers!”

“…Uhm, didn’t you say that itwould be problem if the popularity skyrocketed?”

“No problem. Since the both of youwill write completely new novels, you’re on even ground with all ofthe other authors as well. From there on out, it’s a battle ofskill, so the two of you don’t have to hold back. You can justwrite to your heart’s content!”

“…Ugh. Such an easy-going editor isjust…!”

“Well, it’s just an event for fun,so as long as we get more publicity, it doesn’t matter who wins andwho loses, Onii-chan.”

…Muu, now that she says it.

I was a bit shocked because of the word’competition’, but it’s not like anything bad will happen evenif we lose. This is still far from that high-stakes doujinshicompetition.

…Is this why Suzuka has kept so calmabout this? Instead of aggravating Mai more, she just accepted it tocalm her down…? Yeah, it must be that. Just what I would expectfrom Suzuka. My little sister is as clever as ever.

“Hmph, I don’t care about anybodyelse. But the competition is a competition. I’ll definitely write abetter rom-com than you…!”

“…Yeah, I’m looking forward toit,” I returned with my usual calm manner.

I have full trust in Suzuka, and thisisn’t even a real competition. With no risks whatsoever, I can justenjoy the stories that both of them create.

“Now then, the winner has the rightto demand one thing of the loser.”

“Yeah, let’s both give it our—”

………Hm? Huh? Wait a second…Didn’t she just say something incredibly dangerous?

“U-Uhm, Mai-san?”

“What is it?”

“Just now, did you say somethingweird? Like the winner commands the loser to do something no matterwhat it is…?”

“I did. Of course. If there werenothing on the line, this wouldn’t be a serious competition, afterall.”

“I-I see……… No! The loser hasto do any one thing the winner says?! W-Wait a second! Thatridiculous condition is just—”

—taking it too far, is what I wantedto add, but I felt someone pulling on my clothes, so I turned around.Standing there was…

“…H-Himuro-san, you’re going thisfar…! So you’re serious now, I see…!”

There was a strangle light reflected inSuzuka’s eyes as she glared at Mai.

…Ah, this is bad. I don’t reallyknow why, but her switch has been flipped…! No, wait?! You don’tplan on accepting, do you?! You know that I’m the one who willsuffer if you lose, right?!

“What is it, Yuu?! Are you sayingthat you don’t like my condition?”

“No, Onii-chan will accept no matterwhat the condition is!”

She said iiiiiiiiiiiit—! She justwent and said it, ahhhhhhhh!

What is this about, Suzuka?! Well, inthe end it’s still a competition between you and Mai, but why doyou have to accept her ridiculous condition?!

“S-Suzuka, you…!”

“Onii-chan, this is a battle I cannotafford to lose…!”

Ah, it’s over. Her eyes are serious.They’re burning with passion.

…Is that it? Since she’s such aserious person, she’ll accept any challenge no matter thecircumstances? No, this isn’t the time to calmly analyze thesituation!

“Hehe, now that’s the Yuu I know.But I hope you’re prepared! I will be the one to win! I’ll surelywrite a rom-com that you can get fired up about!”

“…Just what I wanted to hear!Onii-chan’s new novel is sure to beat Himuro-san’s rom-com!Right, Onii-chan?!”

“Ah, yeah, okay…”

Uuu… I want to fix this chain ofevents. But I have no clue how to do that. And I’m just a stand-in,so I don’t even have the right to do that.

“Wonderful! Superb! I thought that itwould be a boring event, I’m motivated! Leave the setting of thebattle to me!”

…Even Shinozaki-san is getting intoit… And Mai and Suzuka show no intentions of calming down anytimesoon either……… Ah, it’s over.

Now that it has come this far, I haveno choice but to give up. There’s no way for me to extinguish thisfire anymore. There’s no other choice for me but to keep acting outmy role as Suzuka’s stand-in.

“Onii-chan, show some more motivationalready!”

“…Ahh, for crying out loud! I gotit already! Now that it’s come to this, I won’t lose, Mai!”

“Ohh, Towano-sensei is all moe’d —fired up!”

“H-Hmph! That’s my line!”

…Damn it, there’s no other choicebut to pray for Suzuka to win! Just thinking about what Mai might askme to do sends shivers down my spine! With a bad feeling in my gut, Idecided to cheer Suzuka on.

However—

I still don’t know why you justdecided to accept this, so I’ll listen to your reasoning in greatdetail later, for Christ’s sake!

Part 3:

“So basically, you’ve thought aboutwriting a new novel before, but you were worried if you wouldactually be able to pull it off, so you used this challenge from Maito motivate yourself so that you can write a new novel well?”

“Yes, that’s right,” I nodded inresponse to Onii-chan’s words.

…Well, that was a complete lie,though.

For a short time, Onii-chan just stoodthere with his arms crossed, making a complicated expression, only tolet out a sigh and say “…It can’t be helped then,” as heshrugged his shoulders. Seeing that, I felt a sharp pain inside mychest. And I knew very well that this pain was guilt from lying toOnii-chan like this. But since I couldn’t tell him my actual reasonfor accepting the challenge, I had no other choice but to apologizedeep inside my heart. I’m sorry, Onii-chan.

After that, Himuro-san andShinozaki-san went home, and Onii-chan and I talked about what wasgoing to happen now. That being said, now that I’ve accepted thecompetition, there’s no other option but to win right now, so we’llhave to do research as always. Other than that, we didn’t talkabout much of anything.

…After all, this is my battle…!

I didn’t accept it because of myusual motives of, uhm, being all lovey-dovey with Onii-chan —N-No?! I mean, being lovey-dovey while we’re doing research is abonus this time as well, but that wasn’t my main reason, okay?!

C-Cough. Anyway, the main goal of thisresearch is to win against Himuro-san. I definitely cannot afford tolose this competition, after all…!

“But, knowing Mai, she’lldefinitely force me to do something weird if she wins…”

Yes, the winner can ask anything of theloser. What a dreadful condition. Knowing Mai, she will surely usethis chance to be lovey-dovey with Onii-chan. L-Like this… andthat…! Even I didn’t do that yet…! S-So lewd!

Mumumu…! However, this isn’t themain goal of this competition. And Himuro-san should be well aware ofthat. This condition is just a means to prevent a drawback.

“…Haaah, why does it have to end uplike this…”

…It seems like Onii-chan hadn’trealized Himuro-san’s aim yet. Onii-chan is very thick-headed afterall. Especially when it comes to women’s feelings. Well, thanks tothat, I’ve been saved a lot of times… But, I really wish he’dbe a bit less dense when it comes to my feelings…!

“U-Uhm, did I say something bad…?”

“Hyah?! N-No, it’s nothing!”

T-That wasn’t good. I happened toglare at this stupid Onii-chan of mine…

Calm down, me. Right now, what’s mostimportant is the aim of this battle — of course, Himuro-san’sfeelings. For some reason, she suddenly wanted to change the genre ofher writing to rom-com. And it should be obvious why she did that,right? She’s going to put her feelings for Onii-chan into a story.Just like I did.

She probably saw through me from themoment she found out that I would be attending the same school asOnii-chan. And thinking that she couldn’t keep going like this, sheheard of the rom-com festival and decided to write her own novel towin against the little-sister-loving ‘Towano Chikai’ with her ownfeelings. I completely understand. That is the same for me. Sowhoever wins the battle has stronger feelings for Onii-chan! A battleof feelings it is! Since my feelings for Onii-chan won’t lose toanyone, it is impossible for me to lose!

“Y-You seem to be really motivated.Well, it’s good that I can rely on you like that.”

As I once more steeled my resolve,Onii-chan took a step back… Why?

But even though I understandHimuro-san’s intentions, that wasn’t all. I have another goal inmind. Another important task…!

“That reminds me, Suzuka, sinceyou’re going to write a novel, are you going to write anotherlittle-sister one?”

Yes, herein lies the problem!

Little sisters.

Onii-chan likes little sisters. Thereis no reason to doubt that anymore. However, the position of littlesisters is indeed very precarious.

I remembered the words I had heard fromthe female students at Onii-chan’s school when we walked down thehallway.

“So it’s his little sister.””Just his sister?”

What kind of response is that?! Whatshould I do about ‘just’ being his little sister?!

…Haaaah… No, even I know very well.I am painfully aware of it. That incident made me realize.

—That I can’t keep going like this.

I am his little sister, and Onii-chanlikes little sisters. I was so happy about it that I could cry, but Ican’t just stay at this level. At that time, I understood.

Onii-chan likes little sisters, I amhis ideal type of girl, and we will be going to the same school afterwe’ve finally made up. This isn’t an advantage — I have justarrived at the starting line.

Uuu… it’s still quite the shock ifI think about it. H-However, if I don’t accept this, I can’t moveforward and be really lovey-dovey with Onii-chan…! At this rate,our high school student lives will start, and I will still remain hislittle sister. On the other hand, Himuro-san will get even closer toOnii-chan.

Basically, if I keep being merely hislittle sister, I really will lose against Himuro-san! Be it inreality, or inside the story! That’s why—

“…No, the new novel won’t be alittle sister novel.”

“Eh?!”

Right here, right now, with this newenvironment, I have to show Onii-chan my womanly charms!

“In the new novel, little sisters areprohibited! With a completely new heroine and story, I will winagainst Himuro-san’s rom-com!”

And I will write a story that Onii-chanthinks is interesting!

Looking straight at Onii-chan, Iscreamed out the following words in my heart:

When it comes to my feelings forOnii-chan, I won’t lose against anyone!!!