Volume 6 Chapter 3

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Valentine’s day tactics

Part 1:

It was the 13th of February. For somereason, the whole school was enveloped in a tense atmosphere.

“Y-You already got some? You alreadygot three?!”

“Yeah, chocolate. T-They’re justobligatory chocolates, okay?”

…There was a good reason for thisatmosphere. After all, today was the day on which you would givechocolate to your loved one, or close friends. This year’sValentine’s day fell on a school-free day, though. That was whyeveryone was giving out chocolate today, and more or less enjoyingthe event, depending on if they received chocolate themselves. As forme, I don’t really like this atmosphere.

Why? The reason is pretty simple………I have never once in my life received chocolate at school. While allthe other normies did their normie stuff on this normie day, Ifocused on my light novel contest entries all day long. And whilethinking that I wouldn’t get any this year either, I focused on myidea notebook in front of me, but…

“Ah, Nagami-kun, here, have some.”

“Here, Nagami-kun. It’s justobligatory chocolate, though.”

For some reason, I received chocolatefrom some of the girls in my class.

“……T-Thank you?”

“Pay me back three-times the amounton White Day, okay~”

“I’m looking forward to it~”

Why so suddenly…? — Ithought as I tilted my head.

It’s true that they’re justobligatory, but I still don’t see any reason why.

“…Hmph, good for you. Gettingchocolate.”

In that moment, I heard a rough voicebehind me, which made me twitch. I hurriedly turned around.

“I-It’s just Mai, huh? Don’tscare me like that.”

“I-I didn’t mean to scare you oranything. Anyway, you really are popular. Though if they knew thatyou were Towano Chikai, that wouldn’t be so surprising.”

“I’m not popular, you know? They’rejust obligatory chocolates… And I’m surprised, to be honest.After all, I’ve never once in my life received chocolate untilnow.”

“Is that so? I’m glad to hearthat!”

“That’s pretty rude, don’t youthink?!”

You know, I’m pretty traumatizedabout it still! That’s even worse than the usual verbal abuse!

“I-I didn’t mean it like that. Iwas just relieved… And also, I might have an idea for why theywould give you obligatory chocolate.”

“And why is that?”

“It’s mostly because of me, don’tyou think? No, it has to be.”

“What do you mean? Did you ask themto give me obligatory chocolate…?”

“A-Are you an idiot?! Why would Ihave to do that?! It’s not that, they just think that the two of usare on good terms!”

“And how does translate to me gettingchocolate from them?”

“I-I’m not that close to you oranything. I’m only your fan and rival, okay? Really, it’s sotroublesome. And they even think that we’re dating. I-It’s notlike I hate it or anything, though.”

“What a hideous misunderstanding… Ireally want to tell them that you’re nothing but a stalker, butyou’d tell everyone that I’m Towano Chikai in revenge…”

“D-Don’t say stalker! I’m just asuper-duper mega energetic fan, that’s all!”

“I-I get it already! So what wascausing the chocolate now?”

“Basically, they see that I’mactually acknowledging you, so they wanted to give you some chocolatetoo.”

“…? I don’t really get it.”

“Because you have such a beauty likeme next to you, they must be able to see that there’s some worth ingiving chocolate to you.”

“…So you’re saying that it’sbecause of your popularity?”

“That’s right,” Mai nodded.

“…S-Seriously? Girls would give outchocolate for such a reason…?”

“There are girls like that, yeah.Many girls can be pretty realistic in that regard, and they’realways planning ahead. Though that’s a type of girl who would nevermake a good light novel heroine.”

…I-Is that so? But her explanationdoes make sense in a way.

After hearing that, my slight happinessfrom before vanished completely.

“W-What’s up with that gloomyexpression? Obligatory chocolate should be good enough, right? Aslong as it’s chocolate given to you out of good will. Since you’reTowano Chikai, you should get some from your fans anyway.”

“Don’t tell me… Are you going togive me some chocolate?”

“Wha—?! A-As if I would do that!……………Not today, anyway.”

…So that does that mean that she’llgive me some tomorrow?

“W-What? As your number one fan, itshould be obvious that I would give you chocolate too, right?! Justwait for me tomorrow! No going out, okay?! You got that?!”

Being suddenly screamed at like that, Inodded without thinking.

“H-Hmph, you’d better be preparedfor tomorrow!”

With these words, Mai left me behind. Iwas sure that she was planning something weird again. That beingsaid, I was still a tiny bit happy that I would receive chocolatefrom Mai.

“…But what if it’s somethingrelated to her stalking activities again…?”

N-No, let’s not think about that…although the possibility is pretty high.

Anyway, since Suzuka also told me tostay at home tomorrow, I seem to have no reason to object. Not tomention that I’m still having trouble with my entry for the lightnovel contest. I don’t really have the leisure to go out for astroll, anyway.

While I was pondering these thoughts,school ended, and since I had work today, I made my way towardsMaruneko bookstore.

“Hey, Nagamin~ Tomorrow’sValentine’s, so I’ll give you your chocolate now~”

“Thank you — Wait a second, this isjust a small piece of store-bought chocolate…”

“Well~ I completely forget, see~This is a leftover from my snacks~”

“And you don’t feel bad about thatat all?!”

“Oh, and about your gift for me onWhite Day~ I really would like you to introduce me to Ahegao-sensei~And also, please get me her new art book and the game that releasesnext month~”

“How bold of you to think that I’mgoing to give you any of that just because you gave me this tinypiece of chocolate!”

“Ahaha~ I was just joking~ Nagamin isso serious sometimes~ To soothe you, Onee-san will make you some hotchocolate~”

“T-Thank you very much. But, ratherthan that—”

“Now now, just wait here, Nagamin~Making hot chocolate is my speciality after all~ Though it might takesome time~”

“Don’t use such a roundabout way tojust force me to tend the register by myself!”

After spending time like that, my workthere also ended (I did get some hot chocolate in the end, though)and my next destination was Hakuou.

It didn’t have anything to do withher research, but since Suzuka was worried about my eating habits, Iwas just going there to pick up the dinner bento she had prepared forme… However,

“O-Onii-sama, it might not fit yourtastes, but here.”

“Please accept this, Onii-sama.”

“This is my apology for the troublewe caused before.”

“Please, take my thanks for yourlecture at the culture festival.”

“I tried my best for Onii-sama. Ihope you like it.”

For some reason, some other femalestudents were waiting together with Suzuka, and they all gave mechocolate. Though I was fairly certain that this was the sameprinciple Mai had told me about earlier, I was still moved fromgetting obligatory chocolate (not to mention from the girls of anOjou-sama school).

“O-Onii-chan seems to be pretty happyfrom being popular like this…!”

With a displeased expression, Suzukahanded me the box with my food for the evening.

“Don’t forget about our plans fortomorrow…!” Suzuka added while I stuffed the chocolate into aplastic bag.

Now that that was out of the way, Iwalked back home.

“…I thought that stuff like thisonly happened in light novels in manga… but this is actuallyhappening, huh?”

Well, I knew that it wasn’t because Iwas charming or anything, and that it was all just because I wasSuzuka’s stand-in, but I couldn’t help but be a bit happynonetheless.

“But, how should I repay all thischocolate that I got? Something like this has never happened to mebefore, so I have no clue… I’ll have to think of something fornext month—”

But at that moment, a certain thoughtentered my mind.

…That’s right, Suzuka saidsomething about research on Valentine’s tomorrow. I’ll probablyget some chocolate, and then it’ll devolve into a Valentine’sevent that she can use for her novel.

“…But that would mean…”

I want Suzuka’s research to beperfect. As her stand-in, and as a huge fan of her novel, I want hernew novel to be just as good as her current one. To achieve that,I’ll do whatever she wants.

“Yeah. That means that it’ll besomething like that, huh?”

Nodding to myself, I started walking inthe opposite direction of my home.

Part 2:

The following day, the 14th ofFebruary.

I didn’t have anything to do beforeSuzuka came over, so I decided to work on my own novel. In that oneweek, I had thought of a plot point for my new novel, and so I’vewritten about 30 pages up until now. It was going to be a battle SFnovel with special powers set in the near future. Of course, I wrotethe main heroine like my ideal type of girl, and the novel wouldideally bring out her charm as much as possible.

Currently, I was reading through theparts I had written yesterday.

“………Nnn.”

There’s something good here. I thinkit’s interesting. Comparing it to the novels I wrote a year ago, Ithink that it’s much more interesting. Maybe it’s because I’vegotten better at writing characters. Thanks to me finding out whatkind of girl I like the most, I’ve been able to improve thedepiction of the heroine. Exactly because the character is good, Ilook forward to reading more of it. But…

“………Mmmmm.”

…I wonder. I don’t know how toproperly put it into words…

“But this is still no good.”

Putting the manuscript back down on thetable, I sighed.

…I don’t get it. I don’t knowwhat I’m not getting, but I’m not getting it at all. It’s notlike it’s boring. Even reading it with an objective viewpoint, Ithink that it turned out pretty good. But it still feels likesomething doesn’t add up.

“The reason is… maybe it’sbecause I finally figured out my ideal type of girl…?”

It must be that. Before, I couldclearly make out why something I wrote was interesting or not, butnow it’s different. Am I still not satisfied with the depiction ofthe heroine? No, that shouldn’t be it… It feels like somethingthat should be there isn’t there, or something. It’s like I can’tput it into words. Though I don’t know the real reason for it,since I have this feeling of discomfort, this manuscript is still nogood after all.

“For now, this one’s a failure too…Ahhh, really, what am I doing wrong? Is it the genre? What would be agenre where my perfect heroine shines the most…” I starteddelving deeper into my thoughts.

Fantasy, science fiction, mystery,romance, isekai, slice of life… But, as soon as the genre ‘rom-com’entered my mind, my thoughts suddenly stopped, only for me to quicklyban it from my mind.

…It’s not like I can’t write arom-com or anything, okay? I read them all the time, and it’s agenre I’ve submitted countless times.

“But, my ideal type of girl isSuzuka, after all — wait, no that’s not it! A girl like Suzuka!…I can’t just write a rom-com with a heroine modeled after mylittle sister, you know.”

There’s nothing to ponder about. It’simpossible. I’d better get rid of that thought right now.

But now my mind went completely blank.It happened that moment, when I was wondering what Suzuka or Maiwould do in this situation.

*Ding Dong*—I heard the sound of thedoorbell ringing, and I returned to reality.

I hurriedly headed down the stairs tothe first floor, and quickly opened the door.

“G-Good day, Onii-chan. I-I came formy Valentine’s day research…!”

And, just as I had expected, Suzuka wasstanding there. However…

“Y-You, those clothes…?”

“It’s Valentine’s day after all…On a special day, special clothes are a must, don’t you think…!O-Of course, it’s only for my research…!”

Suzuka, whose face was bright red, waswearing a frilly western dress. I’m really not good when it comesto the names of female clothing, but this looked like she was reallyexcited for today.

“Somehow, they’re amazing… Ididn’t know you had these kinds of clothes…”

“I-I normally don’t wear suchclothing after all…! Today, uhm… I prepared it for ourValentine’s date…”

“V-Valentine’s date?”

“T-That’s right. Though when I saydate, it’s really just me going to my boyfriend’s house andspending the day with him… S-Since it will be a special time forboth of us, I thought that the term ‘date’ would be prettyfitting…!”

I-I see… So that’s today’sresearch topic, huh? So what exactly do you do on a Valentine’sdate?

“O-Of course, the main event ofValentine’s day is to exchange chocolate, but there should be otherchances to be lovey-dovey. Everything I had always wanted — no,excuse me! I had always thought about, I want to try for thisresearch,” Suzuka corrected herself for some reason. “Ehe,ehehehe, I thought lots of plans just for today…! Everything willlead me to being lovey-dovey with Onii-chan…! Ehe, ehehe, ehehehe.”

“Y-You’re really excited. Well,come in for now.” I invited Suzuka in as she grinned from ear toear.

“Ah, before that! I-I didn’t, uhm…hear your impression of my clothes yet…!”

It took me a second to understand whatSuzuka was saying.

…I-I see, since it’s a date, notcomplimenting my girlfriend on her clothes would be very weird. Uhm,what should I say…?

“H-How do I look?”

“U-Uhm… I-I think that it reallysuits you…”

“I-Is that so…! But, I’d like youto be a little bit more detailed about it. O-Of course, it’s notlike I want to hear it or anything, it’s just for my novel!”

E-Even if you ask me that… Ahhh, Ihave no idea.

“Uhm… I don’t really know muchabout clothes, but… you look really stunning I think! With thosefrilly clothes, you look like a princess from a distant country orsomething…”

…Wait a moment?! C-Calling her aprincess is taking it a bit too far, don’t you think, me?! Rightnow, she’s my girlfriend — but only for the research?! Eitherway, it’s way too embarrassing!

“A-A princess…!”

“Sorry, forget about that! Or rather,I’m sorry, but getting any more impressions from me is impossible!”I lowered my head.

To think that complimenting a girl’sclothes would be this difficult…!

“N-No…! This was really useful…!”

“R-Really…? The protagonist in yournovel is the kind of guy who would say stuff like that…?”

“Y-Yes, he’s kind of similar toOnii-chan, but not as much?!”

Hey, is a protagonist with bad clothingsense like me really going to be okay…?

While we were having that exchange,Suzuka finally entered the house.

“Today, I would like to conduct ourresearch in the living room, so would you please show me there?”

Though she obviously knew perfectlywell where the living room was located, today she was acting as mygirlfriend who had been to visit only once so far, so she waspretending to not know where everything was.

After that, the two of us sat downfacing each other on the couch. Even though it was the same house asusual, her clothes and the different atmosphere really made me feellike she really was my girlfriend, and I couldn’t help but getnervous again.

“S-So… I have no idea what youwould do on Valentine’s day other than giving out chocolate. Whatdid you think of?”

“Fufufufu… I will gladly explain.All week long, I made preparations just for this day… I cannotallow any blunders during our lovey-dovey Valentine’s date…!”

L-Lovey-dovey again…? Is this somesort of code name for this research…? Her naming sense is just asbad as mine… Maybe because we’re siblings…?

“First would be… yes. Let’s startwith a message card.”

“Message card?”

“Yes, a message card that you handover with the chocolate. You put all your feelings onto that card andmake the other person read it. You might think that it is unnecessaryif the person is right in front of you, but putting your feelingsinto words can also be a good way to get them across….!”

“I-Is that so…?”

“Yes. That is why I prepared thesecards… Ah, but of course, whatever you write on this card is purefiction for our research, okay?! Those are just the fictionalcharacters’ feelings, and it doesn’t have any relation to theperson actually writing it?!”

I know that… You don’t have tospell it out for me…

“T-Then, if you would—”

It happened the moment she was about tohand me the card. The doorbell rang, and Suzuka’s movements frozeup.

“W-Who could it be at a time likethis?!”

“I wonder…? I’ll go check.”

Leaving behind the displeased Suzuka, Iheaded towards the entrance. And, when I opened the door, a personfrom the home delivery service was standing there. The package wasaddressed to me, and the person on the return address label was—

“Eh, Shinozaki-san? Why is it fromher?” I tilted my head because I would have never expected to findher name on the package.

Normally, she would come here or callus whenever she had business regarding Suzuka’s novel.

“Who was that? And what’s inthere?”

As I returned back to the living room,Suzuka immediately started questioning me. When I told her that I hadreceived a package from Shinozaki-san, she showed a complicatedexpression, and started pondering about the contents.

“Just for Onii-chan… And on thisday… I have a bad feeling about this…!”

I proceeded to open the package. Insidewas another smaller box and a card.

“…This looks like a message card?”

“W-What did you say?! A messagecard?!”

…Why is she so shocked about that?It’s not because we were just talking about writing some ourselves,right?

Anyways, I decided to leave Suzukaalone for now, and opened up Shinozaki-san’s card.

Happy Valentine’sday, Nagami Yuu-kun. You might already guess what’s in there, but Idecided to send you some chocolate. At first, I thought of addressingit to Towano Chikai-sensei, but I always express my feelings for himat every possible time, so I thought of changing my plans. However,my feelings for you do not change in the slightest. I’m reallylooking forward to how you will grow as a man. Now then, please thinkof this chocolate as you would think of me, and have a good taste.

—ShinozakiReika.

“…Ohh, that’s rather seriouscoming from her. Though she dropped it at the end.”

“Uuu…! To think that Shinozaki-sanwould send a message card…!”

“Uwa?! S-Since when!”

Before I had even realized it, Suzukawas peeking from behind my back, and her quiet whisper made me turnaround. But for some reason, Suzuka didn’t pay any attention to meat all, and just continued to glare at Shinozaki-san’s card.

“N-No, even if she was the one whodid it first, I still have the advantage… After all, I can readOnii-chan’s response right here and flirt with him…!” And shecontinued to mutter under her breath… Scary.

As I was about to ask her what theproblem was, my phone started vibrating, letting me know that I wasgetting a phone call. And, of course, the person on the other end wasShinozaki-san. I had a bad feeling right from the start, but I pickedup the call anyway.

“H-Hello, Shinozaki-san? What’swrong?”

「Hey,Sensei, there was something I wanted to check. Did you receive myValentine’s present?」

“Ah yes, just now. Thank you verymuch for that.”

「Ah,well, that’s fine. But did you already open it?」

“Yes, as soon as I received it…Should I not have done that?”

「Isee… No, it’s not such a big deal. I just realized too late thatI hadn’t put a message card in. That’s why I thought of directlytelling you in case you hadn’t opened it yet.」

“Eh? But, you did put in amessage card, though? Though I was really surprised that it was so…normal.”

「Iactually prepared two cards. And I forgot to put in the second one. Ithought that the content of the first was a bit too formal. That’swhy I prepared an even more frank, romantic, and erotic one.」

S-So that’s what it was… Just whenI thought that the contents of that card were rather docile forShinozaki-san… But it seems like her forgetting to put in the cardactually saved me. I really don’t want to hear about the contentsof it…

「Alright,it seems like I’ll just have to tell you verbally what I wrote.」

“Wha—?!”

I swallowed my breath; I had let downmy guard too early.

「—Bythe way, I made this chocolate while thinking about you, and I put alot of energy into it. I rammed all of my overflowing emotions intoit like I was in heat. I hope that you continue to work on your novelfrom now on, as well. And of course, if you ever feel pent up, don’thold back on asking me for advice. As your editor, I’m fairlypositive that I can satisfy you. Please think of this chocolate assomething like that—」

“Okay, stop! Stop! It’s fine now! Iget it already!”

「Heyhey, I was going to go on to specify all of the different services Ihave to offer.」

“I don’t want to know! And just soyou know, I will definitely not be eating this chocolate, okay?!”

「Nownow, I’m just joking. I bought it from the store, so there’s noway I would be able to put that in.」

“A joke is where both sides laugh inthe end, though?!”

「Fufufu,Sensei really is great. No matter what kind of stuff I say, you reactso innocently to it. It’s so exciting. Thinking about it, itmight’ve been good luck that I forgot to put in the card.」

“Please excuse me then! Thank youvery much for the chocolate!”

I only heard a “Fufufufufu…”laugh from the phone in response, and I hurriedly cut the call andlet out a sigh.

…Shinozaki-san really isShinozaki-san!

“…Onii-chan, that just now wasShinozaki-san, right? What in the world were you talking about?”

“W-Well, I don’t really want to sayit out loud, and you probably don’t want to hear it, either.”

“Don’t tell me… She had actuallyprepared another card, and forgot to put it in, so she decided totell you the contents over the phone and enjoy your reaction?”

“Why do you know that?!” Itwitched.

“I deduced it from how you werereacting,” said Suzuka, as if it was the simplest thing in theworld.

My little sister can’t possibly bethis sharp…

“A-Anyway, let’s forget aboutShinozaki-san. Right now, your research is more important. You saidthat you wanted to write some message cards, right?”

“N-No, let’s not do that!” Suzukahurriedly averted her eyes. “Uuuu… Why did she get the jump onme…! Even if I did that, Onii-chan wouldn’t feel anything fromit, anyway…!”

“Suzuka?”

“I-It’s nothing! Anyway, thatresearch is cancelled! Let’s move on the next plan!”

Why?! Did I make her mad or something?!

“…Fuu, that’s right. When youthink about it calmly, message cards aren’t that big of a deal.What’s most important is the chocolate, after all,” Suzuka said,seemingly calming down.

It was probably just my imaginationthat she was trying to cheer herself up with that monologue.

“That being said, I’ll show you thechocolate that I made! Without this, we couldn’t call this researchfor Valentine’s day, after all.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right,” I nodded.

And with that, Suzuka took out a smallbox, which I imagined held the chocolate she was talking aboutinside. I didn’t know how many years it had been since I had gottenchocolate from my little sister. Especially since our relationshipwas always so cold. I knew that this was nothing more than research,but I still looked forward to what kind of chocolate she had made.

“V-Valentine’s chocolate really hasto give off a good impression at first glance too…! The form has totransmit your feelings directly…!” With that, Suzuka opened thelid. “K-Keeping that in mind, I chose a heart form of course—”

But in that moment, the doorbell rangonce again.

“Again?! Who is it now…!”

Tears started forming in Suzuka’seyes as she was interrupted once again. While Suzuka was seeing meoff with a “Uuu…!”, I checked the door and found…

“Good day, Sensei. Since it’sValentine’s, we came over.”

“…I didn’t really want to come,but Onee-chan forced me.”

Unexpectedly, this time it was theKanzaka sisters. As usual, Akino-san had a deadpan expression on herface, while the younger Kanzaka sister had her usual displeasedexpression as she glared at me.

“H-Hello. B-But, why are you here?”

“LIke I said, it’s Valentine’s,so we came to give you some chocolate.”

“You came all the way here just forthat?!”

Akino-san calmly stated her response,while the younger sister just crossed her arms and glared at me withan expression that said something like “You’d better bethankful.”

Uwaa… this is the first time eversomeone has gone to such lengths to give me chocolate… I’m kindof moved…

Of course, this was only because theythought I was Towano Chikai, nothing more.

“Ah, sorry. Just making you standhere is pretty rude of me, so please come in.”

“No, our deadline is actually prettyclose. It’s a shame, but we can only hand you the chocolate. Wehave to go back immediately.”

“But still, Onee-chan said that shehad to personally give it to you no matter what.”

Akino-san was a light novel author whohad just debuted at Ryuusei Publishing, while her little sister wasresponsible for the novel’s drawings: Her illustrator. Though theyweren’t exactly new to the scene, since they led a very famousdoujin circle before.

“Is that so? You can’t come in forjust a little bit? I would feel really bad just sending you home likethis…”

“Then, once we give you thechocolate, we’ll go home. Excuse me.”

“I-It can’t be helped, then…I-It’s not like I’m happy to enter your house or anything…”

“It’s Haruna’s first timeentering a boy’s home. That’s why she’s so nervous.”

“O-Onee-chan?! Don’t sayunnecessary things!”

I guided the two lively-as-alwaysKanzaka sisters to the living room.

“A-Akino-san and Haruna-san?!”

And Suzuka’s eyes went wide uponspotting the two of them. Shortly after, she tugged on my sleeve andspoke to me in a quiet voice so that the two of them wouldn’t hearus.

“…W-What is going on here? Why arethe two of them in our house…?”

“W-Well, they said that they camehere to bring me chocolate, and just sending them home afteraccepting it would’ve been rude, right?”

“Wha—?!”

Again, why would that make you sosurprised?

“Good day, Suzuka-san. As always, I’menvious of your beauty.”

“Those clothes really are somethingelse… And it’s even more amazing that they actually suit you sowell.”

For their part, the Kanzaka sistersgreeted Suzuka like normal.

“Ah, good day to you two…”

“Don’t worry, Suzuka-san. We willjust give Sensei our chocolate and be on our way again, so you canrest assured.”

“N-No, it’s not like I…! Don’tmisunderstand…! Uhm…!” For some reason, Suzuka started glaringat me with a red face.

…Why are you mad at me again…? Iknow that we’re in the middle of our research, but they’ll gohome soon enough anyway…

“Don’t tell me; you’ve beenenjoying your Valentine’s day together with Suzuka-san like this?No matter how much of a little-sister-lover you are, this is takingit a bit too far, don’t you think?!”

“L-Leave me alone! It’s none ofyour business!”

Though I’ve grown accustomed to thesesorts of accusations, it still hurts a bit.

“If it’s like that, then let’shurry and finish our business. Here Sensei, my chocolate. Come on,Haruna; you too.”

“I-I know… Here, accept it, willyou? But don’t get the wrong idea, because they’re obligatory!Super obligatory!”

The both of them stretched out smallboxes towards me.

“Actually, they’re both handmade.”

“Eh, really?”

“Really? I’d really like you totake a look and tell me your impression. And Haruna’s too, ofcourse.”

“I-I don’t need anything like that.Let’s just hurry and go home.”

“Just first impressions are enough.I’ll ask you about the taste later,” said Akino-san as she openedthe small box.

Inside said box were countlessheart-shaped chocolate pieces.

“Ohhh…”

“Wha—?! T-That’s…!”

Both Suzuka and I voiced our surprise…Suzuka’s reaction seemed a bit off, though, or was it just me?

“They’re heart-shaped, right? Theyrepresent my feelings towards Sensei. They’re proof of my love forbeing Sensei’s pupil, and being educated by him.”

“I don’t remember ever educatingyou, though…”

“I learn everything I need just bylooking at Sensei. I’m learning your spirit and essence as much asI can,” Akino-san said with a satisfied sigh.

…Well, if the person in questionthinks that way, I won’t bother saying anything.

“The first impression of Valentine’schocolate is very important. But Haruna’s chocolate is alsosimilarly amazing.”

“I-It’s not like that. And don’tjust open it on your own, Onee-chan!”

Akino-san ignored her outburst andshowed me the contents of her little sister’s box. Just likeAkino-san’s, there were small pieces of chocolate inside, but theylooked different. They all were in the shape of various animals, andthe quality was amazing.

“Ohhhh, that’s crazy…”

“……………………”

I was honestly moved, while Suzuka keptquiet.

…Is it just my imagination, or is shejust staring at it absentmindedly…?

“Haruna’s animal-shaped chocolates.She worked really hard to make them.”

“I-I’m also an illustrator, youknow? I just pay attention to design and such.”

“But still, it’s amazing. Yourdrawings are crazy good, but to think that you’d be this skilled atmaking sweets too…”

“I-I just did it in my spare timewhile watching Onee-chan make hers, okay?!”

“She says that, but she stayed in thekitchen even after I was already finished. If even one of them wasn’tperfect, she’d try again. She probably wanted her first chocolatesfor a boy to be perfect—”

“O-O-O-O-O-Onee-chan?! Y-You’rewrong, okay?! I just take pride in what I create, okay?!”

“O-Okay… But I’m still reallyhappy to get something like this.”

“W-What are you saying?! I told youthat this is obligatory chocolate, right?! It’s the kind ofchocolate that’s just obligatory, okay?! Just how much were youstarving for some Valentine’s chocolate that you got happy fromsomething like this!”

“S-Shut it! What’s wrong withwanting some chocolate?!”

Both of us glared at each other. Itseems to always end up like this.

“Haruna, calm down. Anyway, you’veseen the chocolates, so we’ll be on our way now. Please tell mewhat you thought of them later.”

“H-Hmph, just go and eat them.”

With these words, the two of themstepped out of the house. As for the boxes with the chocolate, Iproperly closed them and put them away safely. I really wanted to geta good taste of them later.

“Fuuu… To think that even Akino-sanand her little sister would come.”

“………..That’s right.”

When I had finished storing thechocolate, Suzuka greeted me with a heavy aura.

…Oh yeah, she was acting really weirdthe entire time both they were here.

“…H-How lucky you are to gethandmade chocolate filled with affection from the two of them…!”

“What are you saying? Affection…that’s only because they think that I’m Towano Chikai, right?They were basically addressed to you.”

“That’s…! Uuu…!”

Why are you glaring at me like that?It’s the truth, you know…

“W-Why does this keep happening…!And now my idea is once again ruined…! The impact of heart-shapedchocolates is completely gone…! Not to mention, the quality of theanimal-shaped chocolate is on completely different level…! Ahh, Ican’t show this to him anymore…”

“U-Uhm, Suzuka-san?”

A dark aura started building up behindSuzuka as she was mumbling to herself.

…I-I wonder… Did I do something toruin her mood again?

“Ahh, that’s right. We were in themiddle of your research… S-Sorry. Let’s continue that. You weretalking about the first impressions of your chocolate or something—”

“N-No! I wasn’t!”

All of sudden, Suzuka whirled around,and shouted these words at me, which made me take a step back inbewilderment.

“I-I never once said anything likethat! And also, the first impression isn’t important at all! Afterall, once you put it into your mouth, it will just lose its shapeanyway!”

“B-But, you said that the form isperfect to convey one’s feelings…”

“That’s right! But heart-shapedchocolate is something that’s just too common! It lacks the powerto convey your feelings!”

…She’s not listening at all.

“Fuuu, that being said, I’veunderstood that presenting my chocolate won’t turn into goodresearch, so let’s go with a different plan…”

“Aren’t you saying the same thingas before…? And why are you crying—?”

“I-I’m not crying!”

No, I can definitely see the tears inyour eyes.

“I-I’m not sad that another planfailed, okay?! R-Rather than that—”

Suzuka took a short pause, drawing deepbreaths.

“Though we’ve been interrupted, wehave to continue our research. We haven’t done anything yet afterall…”

“Yeah, you’re right. But aren’tyou going to show me your chocolate?”

“N-No, that’s… uhm, we’ll dothat later…! Anyway! I want to research different ways to conveyyour feelings through chocolate!”

“Through chocolate…? What do youmean?”

“Directly handing it over shouldn’tbe the only way. There are other ways to increase the impact of thechocolate, so you are able to convey your feelings even better.”

“Uhm…? So you’re talking abouthow girls who are really bad at cooking still give it their best whenmaking handmade chocolate? And that means you gratefully accept iteven though it may not taste as good?”

“Something like that, yes. Though I’mnot bad at making chocolate.”

…I’m well aware of that. But I getwhat she’s trying to say.

In rom-coms, there’s often adevelopment like that. Even if it doesn’t look nor taste great, youcan still see the effort the girl has put into it, and that often hasa lot of impact.

“…Fufu, I took a picture while Iwas making the chocolate that perfectly showed how hard I was workingfor Onii-chan — no, how I gave it my best just for the research, soonce you accept them, the impact will be even greater…!” Suzukasaid, and started rummaging around in her bag.

…I had already guessed it by thispoint, but it seems like I will be getting handmade chocolate fromSuzuka. Of course, I know that it’s just for research… but I’mstill happy nonetheless.

However, that sound once more rang outinside the house… Naturally, it was the doorbell.

“I-It seems that there’s someoneelse here.”

“W-Why?! Why is it always when we’rein the middle of our research…?!” Suzuka started pouting.

Trying to escape from her bad mood fornow, I dashed towards the entrance.

“Sensei! Sakura finally got to seeyou…!”

“Eh? Minazuki-san?”

The person who greeted me was the superpopular voice actress Minazuki Sakura-san. She was a huge fan ofTowano Chikai, who was doing everything she could to get the littlesister role in the upcoming anime. I got to know her after she cameto Towano Chikai’s signing session, and after that, we’d met afew times, but why is she here today? Not to mention that she’s outof breath, so was she in that much of a hurry?

“Haaah… Haah… Of course, it’sValentine’s day after all! If Sakura didn’t give you somechocolate, she wouldn’t qualify to be your future little sister!”

“Would that qualify you to be mylittle sister if you did?!”

“Rather than that, would it be okayfor Sakura to come in? She came to bring you some chocolate.”

“Y-Yeah, of course. Come in.”

“Yaaay! Thank you very much!”Sakura showed her happiness as I guided her towards the living room.

“…So this time it’s Sakura-san, Isee.”

“Ah, Suzuka-chan, hello! Woah, thoseclothes! They’re really cute!”

“That’s, uhm, thank you very much…”Suzuka’s face softened as she looked away.

It seems she’s still bad at dealingwith Minazuki-san.

“S-So Sakura-san is going to giveOnii-chan chocolate, too?”

“Yeah! Ah, is Suzuka-chan spendingher Valentine’s Day with Sensei?”

“No, uhm, it’s not like…”

“How nice~ Sakura had work today, butshe somehow managed to slip away to come here.”

“Is that going to be okay?” Iasked, to what Minazuki-san answered with “It’s for Sensei, afterall!”

“Recently, Enryuu-sensei has beenconstantly approaching Sensei for her research and whatnot. Going tothe same school really is unfair! That’s why Sakura at least wantedto directly hand over her chocolate to Sensei on Valentine’s day!”

“So Himuro-san is also bragging toSakura-san, I see.”

“Any information related to Sensei isbeing shared in the Towano Chikai LINE group after all!”

“Towano Chikai… LINE?”

“W-Well, that aside, you came here tohand over your chocolate, right?!” I hurriedly tried to change thesubject.

I would probably never hear the end ofit if Suzuka found out about that group. And Suzuka only has that oldflip phone, so she couldn’t join the group even if she wanted to.

“Ah, that’s right! Here, Sensei,happy Valentine’s day!”

While I managed to cover it up,Minazuki-san stretched out her arm, holding out a small box. Before Icould even check the contents myself, Minazuki-san opened it. Inthere were small ball-shaped chocolate bits, but when I lookedcloser, they were a bit distorted.

“Ehehehe, they’re all homemade.”

“That’s…Thank you very much.”

Again with the handmade chocolates…The power that Towano Chikai holds is crazy.

“And you came all the way just togive them to me… How could I repay you for this…?”

“Sakura is looking forward to it! Ah,but that wasn’t the only thing she prepared for today,” she said,looking a bit conflicted.

… Not just chocolate? — Ithought. She suddenly took out her phone and showed me the screen.

“This is it… Though it’s a bitembarrassing, please watch it,” Her cheeks flushed as she pushedthe button.

Suzuka and I peered at the screen.

[Hm~ Hm~ Please be delicious~ ForOnii-chan~]

The next moment, we heard that voicecoming from the phone, and the screen showed Minazuki-san wearing anapron and cooking something. Though she wasn’t necessarily good atit, you could tell that she was giving it her best. The video showedthe bowl she was using, and you could see the brown chocolate inside.

“Sakura’s present is this video.She filmed herself making the chocolate.”

Just like she had said, theMinazuki-san in the video was fighting with the chocolate. But herexpression looked very happy, and she kept humming.

…Huh? Someone else entered the frame?Wait, isn’t this Director Sakurada? Minazuki-san’s older brother?

[Ah, Sakura-tan?! You’re makingchocolate just for me?!]

[Ugh, Nii-san?! You’re wrong! This isfor Towano Chikai-sensei! Stop getting on Sakura’s nerves andleave!]

[W-What?! You’ve betrayed me, mycomraaaaaaaaaaade!]

“Ah, please act like you didn’t seethat part.”

…M-Minazuki-san looked really seriousjust now. Well, I didn’t want to see that either, so let’s forgetabout it…

After she pushed Sakurada-san away,Minazuki-san continued to work on the chocolate. Maybe it was becauseof her humming, but I was entertained watching the video.

“Uu… Uuu…!”

But for some reason, Suzuka lookedreally frustrated….

“But what made you think of filmingthis video?” I asked in the meantime, to which Minazuki-san showedme an embarrassed smile.

“Sakura isn’t that good at cooking,so she thought that just eating her chocolate might not satisfySensei at all.”

Oh yeah, I had also noticed her cookingwas bad back when she was staying with us.

“That’s why, at the very least,Sakura wanted Sensei to see all the time and effort she put into it.That’s the only thing she can do, after all.”

“No, uhm… Thank you very much. I’mvery happy.”

Being told something like that thisoutright, I felt my face getting hot. I still managed to return mythanks.

“UUu… Uuuuu… Uuuu~~~…!”

Again, why do you look so bothered byall of this…?

“Ahh, a phone call! It’s fromSakura’s manager!”

A ringtone rang out inside the room,and Minazuki-san hurriedly answered as she turned away from us. Andafter exchanging two or three words…

“Sorry! Sakura has to go back to herjob now!”

“No, it’s okay. Thank you forcoming all this way. I’ll properly repay you later.”

“Ah, then Sakura would like you tolet her call you ‘Onii-chan’!”

“Rejected!”

Minazuki-san went on her way, pouting.After seeing her off, I returned to the living room once more.

“…To think that she would actuallymake a video like that. I was a bit surprised, but I’m reallyhappy. It’s a very Minazuki-san-like thing to do, after all.”

“……………That’s right,”Suzuka said as she sighed.

…For quite a while now, my littlesister has been acting strangely. Is it that? Is she frustrated thatevery time we start doing research, we keep getting interrupted? Butif we just restart the research, it should be fine…

“T-Then, let’s return to ourresearch, shall we…? Uhm, you were talking about showing me apicture of when you were making the chocolate or something?”

“W-What are you talking about?!”

As if trying to reject my words, shelet out a shriek. And it looked like she was shaking a little, aswell.

“Well, you said that you took apicture of yourself when you were—”

“I-I-I-I-I-I have absolutely no ideawhat you’re talking about! I cannot show you that right afterseeing a video like that — No, it’s not that! There would be nouse showing you that picture after all?! Not like this… I will losewhen it comes to impact…”

Though she basically screamed almosteverything she said, that last part was too quiet, so I couldn’tquite catch it.

“A-Anyway! That plan before is alsocancelled! Let’s try another kind of research!”

“What do you mean by ‘another’…It feels like we haven’t even finished one yet.”

“Whose fault do you think this is?!…N-No, it’s not really Onii-chan’s nor any other person’sfault! Uuu….”

T-This might be the first time I’veever seen Suzuka this weak-willed…

“A-Anyway! This isn’t the time tobe hesitating! The message cards were a failure, the chocolate also,and even handing it over went poorly, so the only thing left toresearch is what happens after I’ve handed it over…!”

“After you’ve handed it over?”

“…That’s right, there’s noother way…! After you’ve received the chocolate, you naturallyhave to eat it…! So I’ll feed you my chocolate, which will let usbe flirty…! T-This should be perfect…!”

…Heeeey, she’s back in her ownworld again… But if the only thing I have to do is help Suzuka out,that should be — Nn?

*Ding dong*

“……”

“………………….”

“I-It seems that someone else hasarrived.”

“W-What do you mean? I-I-I-I didn’thear anything!”

“There’s gotta be a limit to lyinglike that, right?! You’re even glaring at me again!”

“W-We can just pretend that we’renot home.”

“…I know how you feel like, but wecan’t do that… I’ll be right back.”

As I left Suzuka behind, I heard hersay “A-Am I cursed or something?!”, but I decided to just ignoreher.

…Still, this is the fourth timetoday, huh? No, counting Suzuka, doesn’t that make it the 5th time?…Anyway, I’ll head to the entrance.

“Good day, Sensei! Your fiendishatmosphere is as wonderful as always, desu!”

“I somehow felt like this was goingto happen… Hello.”

When I opened the door, DoublePeace-sensei was there to greet me. This western blondie was actuallya woman with the pen name ‘Ahegao Double Peace-sensei,’ and shewas the illustrator for Suzuka’s novel.

“Mm? Sensei doesn’t seem veryenergetic… Did something happen, desu?”

“No, I’m just a bit tired sincewe’ve been bombarded with guests.”

“It seems like the others alreadycame to give you their chocolate.”

“…Don’t tell me… did youarrange this beforehand?”

“Yes! We decided that we all wouldgive Sensei our chocolate separately, desu! At first, we thought ofputting you under house arrest in a hotel so that everyone couldenjoy their Valentine’s, desu.”

“That’s basically happening anywayas it is!”

“I’m just joking, desu. If we didthat, it would turn into a full-fledged war, after all!”

I don’t really get it, but thissounds really dangerous…

“Haaaah. Anyway, Double Peace-senseialso came here to hand over something, right? I’m really happyabout the gesture, but…”

With slow feet, I dragged my body tothe living room as I was followed by a gleeful Double Peace-sensei.And you can probably guess what Suzuka’s reaction was, so I won’tgo into detail.

“H-Hello, Double Peace-san…”

“Good day, Imouto-san! Ohh, thoseclothes are magnificent, desu! Paired with your beautiful naturallooks, all the erotic fantasies that come to mind might make me gocrazy, desu!”

“Don’t use my little sister as fuelfor your fantasies, please!”

…Ahhh, that’s right. Trying toargue with her like that doesn’t work. Well, it’s not like Iactually have any energy left to think of a retort in the firstplace…

“Ohhh, that aside, we have to moveforward with the Valentine’s event. If this was an eroge though,the ero part would follow after this…”

“W-What are you thinking, DoublePeace-san?!”

Since Suzuka had no resistance to thatsort of thing, her face turned bright red.

“Sadly, Sensei is still an all-agesversion, so I cannot do that.”

“Could you not describe me like aneroge, please…?”

“Because of that, I thought that Iwould present my chocolate to Sensei normally, desu!” With that,she took out a small box and stretched out her hands towards me.”Here, please accept it, desu! As Sensei’s number one partner,this chocolate is filled with love, of course, but it’s also filledwith carnal lust and desires!”

“Can you not mix anything weird inthere?!”

“I’m expecting something equallylustful on White Day, desu!”

“…Onii-chan? You know what willhappen if you prepare something like that, right…?”

S-Suzuka is so scary…! And why areyou taking Double Peace-sensei’s words so seriously…?

“…Um, would it be okay if I took alook inside for now? Just to make sure that it’s not actuallychocolate shaped into an eroge or something…”

“Ohhh, what a wonderful idea, desu!Sensei really is a genius!”

…I shouldn’t have said anything…

For now, I carefully opened the box.However, contrary to my expectations, the box was filled withnormal-looking cookies…

“What’s this tube-like thing?”

“That’s a chocolate pen. If you putchocolate in there, you can draw something with chocolate.”

“That’s pretty normal for DoublePeace-san…” Suzuka muttered as she peered into the box beside me.

I also thought the same thing.

“Well~ I don’t have the skill tomake handmade chocolate, so I had no other option but to usemarket-sold chocolate, desu.”

And, with her usual beaming smile, shecontinued.

“That’s why I thought of somethingelse! If I can’t make Sensei happy with the chocolate itself, Ihave to make him happy in a different way! And that is the result,desu!”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?”

As I was lost as to what she wasplanning, she let out an ominous-sounding laugh and picked up thechocolate pen. Just when I thought that she was about to drawsomething on the cookie, she turned towards me, and…

“Here, open wide, desu~” She said.

“Wha—Eh?!”

“W-W-W-W-What are you saying?!”

Both Suzuka and I froze. But DoublePeace-sensei continued without paying attention to either of us.

“Like I said, open wide, desu~ I’lldirectly feed you my chocolate. If I don’t do something like this,the others will win against me, you know? Here Sensei. If you don’teat it, I’ll be the one who is left out, desu. Here, open wide~”

I unconsciously opened my mouth. But inthat moment, I spotted exactly what she had drawn on the cookie, andmy mouth froze half-open.

“T-This is…!”

“Onii-chan? What’s wrong — Wha?!A-Au…!”

Suzuka did the same, as her face wentbright red.

“Oh? What’s wrong, desu? Is myillustration not good enough?”

“N-No, that clearly isn’t theproblem here… this… is totally an ero illustration!!!”

And it was totally an R-18 one! Why isthe quality so good?! It’s such a waste of her talent!

“…Fu, it doesn’t matter what Idraw it on. An eroge illustration can fit anywhere. After all, erogeillustrations are already written on my heart…”

“No no no no, don’t say it likeit’s something obvious! What’s up with that?! Why did you drawanother ero illustration?!”

“Like I said, desu, just feedingSensei a cookie normally would have been unsatisfying. So in the end,I thought that an ero illustration would make Sensei the most happy,desu!”

“O-O-O-O-Onii-chan…!!!”

“C-C-C-Calm down, Suzuka! It’s notlike I…!”

“Judging from your reaction, youclearly look happy, desu! So please open wide~”

“W-Wait! This really is a bad idea,so can we not—Mguh?!”

I tried to talk my way out of it, butthe moment I opened my mouth wide enough, she stuffed the cookie inthere, leaving me no other choice but to chew it and swallow.

…Of course, both the cookie and thechocolate tasted perfectly normal. But when I remembered that therewas an ero illustration on that cookie, I still felt reallyembarrassed.

“Fu fu fu, how does it taste, desu?”

“Well, uhm, it’s delicious, but…”

“I’m glad to hear that, desu!That’s all thanks to the ero illustration!”

“It’s thanks to the cookie and thechocolate! And stop reminding me about it!”

…Shit, my face is getting hot. AndSuzuka is glaring at me like I’m the one at fault again.

“Now then, since Sensei’s happy,desu, I’ll keep them coming!”

…S-She’s going to continue?!

Double Peace-sensei continued to drawero illustrations on the cookies.

“This time, it’s Sensei’sfavorite big breasted character, desu! Here you go!”

“N-No, I’m already full! Pleasetake it easy on me!”

“There are only a few cookies left,and you have to eat all of them, you know? If this isn’t enough, Icould always make an eroge figure out of chocolate, desu.”

“Guh… I’ll gladly eat them…!”I surrendered.

…I can’t help it, right?! Comparedto being fed a eroge character figure made out of chocolate, this isa thousand times better! God damn it, the fact that the quality ofher drawings is so high pisses me off the most…!

“Uuu…! Onii-chan…!”

While I was being fed by DoublePeace-sensei, I realized that Suzuka’s mood was getting worse bythe second as she continued to glare at me.

“W-Why does this happen…! I wantedto do that… so why did someone get the jump on me again…! Not tomention with those indecent drawings…! Even if I were to do it now,the impact would already be gone…!”

Ah, this isn’t good! Her body isshivering… and there are tears in her eyes!

I didn’t know why, but there was onething that I was sure of. Suzuka was about to explode, and I would bethe one held responsible.

“D-Double Peace-sensei!! I’msorry, but we were just in the middle of our Valentine’s research!And we would really like to focus on that!”

“Research? Is that for thecompetition with Mai, desu? The one that Sensei is writing a newnovel for?”

“T-That’s right. That’s whywe were in the middle of some research.”

“Ohhh, now that sounds interesting!Please let me watch, desu!”

…A-Alright, I’ve somehow managed tofree myself. Though I don’t know what kind of research Suzukawanted to do, she should be fine doing it in front of others. If not,we’ll just have to convince Double Peace-sensei to leave.

“Since it’s Sensei we’re talkingabout, it must be research with Imouto-san, right? That means thatthis wonderful dress was prepared for the research, right?! What kindof research are we talking about, desu?!”

“Y-You’ll have to ask Suzuka aboutthat… R-Right, Suzuka?”

Averting my eyes from DoublePeace-sensei, I turned the conversation over to Suzuka. Since she isthe one who’s actually doing the research, I just have to followher instructions. However—

“…Since it’s come to this… Ireally have to use that…! There’s no other choice but to puteverything together…! Showing Onii-chan how I’m making thechocolate… Feeding him by hand…! If I do that, I surely won’tlose when it comes to impact…!”

For some reason, she was lost inthought, and wasn’t listening at all.

“…H-Hey, Suzuka!”

“…Ha?! A-Ah, the research, right…?It’s fine. We can just do it as I told Onii-chan beforehand.”

When I called out to her, she finallyreturned to her senses. Just what you would expect from a superhumanlike her. She had found the perfect response for this situation, andit looked like she had already thought of a plan.

…Thank God. I just have to playalong. I don’t know exactly what she’s going to do, but I’llplay along with whatever she demands.

“T-Then, let’s hurry and go to thekitchen—”

However, Suzuka’s words were oncemore cut off.

*Ding dong*

…How many times have I heard thatbell today…? It’s hasn’t been used this much in years…

Suzuka froze mid-stride.

“What’s wrong? Are you not going toanswer, desu?”

Double Peace-sensei was surprised byour reaction, since she obviously didn’t know what had happenedbefore. I resigned myself, left the living room, and moved towardsthe door. And, once I opened the door…

“…I-I came for Valentine’s dayresearch.”

Mai was standing there, looking up atme. In response, I only sighed.

“…I thought so… What did I do todeserve this…?”

“W-What? Your reaction is a bitweak.”

“…No, it’s nothing. You, uhm…have Valentine’s chocolate for me?”

“O-Of course?! I’m your numberone fan after all, so if course you get chocolate from me!” Herface went bright red, and she hurriedly averted her gaze before shecontinued. “B-But, it’s not only that. I also want to do someresearch… Of course, I’ll just selfishly do it, so you have noroom to complain.”

“Ugh… just research, huh…?”

“I’ll say this upfront, buteverything I do today is just for my research, okay?! Don’t get anyweird misunderstandings!”

“I won’t… And what kind ofresearch are you thinking about—”

“Y-You’ll understand when ithappens. For now, I’m coming in.”

Honestly, I already have a bad feelingabout this.

“I got it. Please don’t overdo it.”

“Why does it sound like you’rewarning me?”

Oh, how I would’ve loved to respondto that.

“Oh, if it isn’t Mai, desu. So youreally came.”

“It’s the ero illustrator, huh?Well, our times overlapped, but it’s not that big of a deal. Ah,Suzuka-san too, hello there.”

“…H-Hello Himuro-san,” saidSuzuka, with shock still written all over her face.

It seemed like even Suzuka was a littleoverwhelmed by this storm of visitors. Truth be told, I myself feltlike crying.

“And what kind of lovey-doveychocolate did you make for Sensei, desu?!”

“What’s with that weird question?!I-It’s not lovey-dovey or anything! I’m just handing it over forresearch!”

Mai’s face went red as she answeredDouble Peace-Sensei’s question. After seeing Mai’s reaction,Suzuka was close to tears as she grumbled. “Uuuu…”

“Anyway, Yuu, can I borrow thekitchen?”

“I don’t mind, but… what are youplanning on doing?”

“That should be obvious. I’m goingto make some chocolate.”

“Ehh?!”

“Eh? Is something wrong, Suzuka-san?”

But even after being asked that, Suzukadidn’t respond.

“…I don’t really get it, but I’llgo ahead and borrow it,” Mai tilted her head in confusion and madeher way into the kitchen.

I followed after her. She startedboiling some water and cutting up the chocolate she brought with her.

“…Don’t tell me… You’re goingto make chocolate right now?”

“Yeah, I am. And once it’sfinished, it’ll be my present for you. I’m going out of my way tomake you handmade chocolate, so you better be thankful! O-Of course,it’s only for my research!” Mai continued her preparations.

Even though her movements weren’t asskilled as they could be, I still felt happy, since I knew that shewas doing it for me.

“W-Why does this keep happening…!N-No, I have to calm myself down…! Even if Himuro-san is trying todo the same thing as me, I have the upper hand because it’s fromOnii-chan’s little sister…! I know exactly what kind of tastesOnii-chan has…!”

Suzuka was still standing next to me,also gazing at Mai, while muttering that under her breath. Though Iwas interested in what she was saying, she was letting off a scaryaura, so I thought I’d be better off not asking.

“I see, desu. But you really musthave a lot of confidence, for you to make chocolate in front ofSensei.”

“Hehe, that’s because I have thiswith me!”

In response to Double Peace-sensei’squestion, Mai confidently took out a single notebook.

…Wait, that notebook is titled’Nagami Yuu research notes?!’

“I’ve written down everything Ifound out while investigating Yuu in here! Especially his tastes andpreferences, of course! Using this, I will create chocolate thatsuits Yuu’s tastes!”

“…S-So basically, that chocolate isthe culmination of all of your stalker activities…”

“Y-You’re wrong! Don’t call me a’stalker!’ It’s not like I wrote weird stuff in this notebook!Just stuff like where Yuu starts washing himself when he’s in thebath, his favorite pattern for his boxers… Everything in here iscompletely normal!”

“How is that normal?! And I don’teven remember telling you about any of that!”

“S-Shut it! Rather than that, stopdisturbing me!”

Mai turned her back to us and continuedworking. It looked like she was warming up the chocolate with theboiling water…

“…Fuu, that’s done.”

Finally, Mai turned around holding asmall container, as well as some small biscuit sticks.

“Here Yuu, try putting some chocolateon the sticks!”

Doing as I was told, I put the stickwith the chocolate into my mouth. The taste of the sweet chocolatefilled my mouth, and it had a very peculiar aroma.

“…H-How is it?”

“Ahh…yeah, it’s prettydelicious…Is this coconut?”

“Y-Yeah. You like it right? I putthat flavour into the chocolate.”

“It’s true that I like it, but Idon’t remember ever telling you…”

“D-Don’t sweat the small stuff!Here, there’s more! Next is this!” Mai proclaimed, as she putanother stick into the chocolate.

This time it was strawberry, the nextwas almond, followed by caramel. Every single one of them perfectlyfit my tastes.

…I really don’t remember tellingher about any of that. Scary.

“How is it?! This is the result of myinvestigation!” Mai puffed out her chest with a confident grin.

Leaving aside her questionable methods,it’s true that her investigation really bore fruit here.

“…B-B-B-B-But I also knowOnii-chan’s favorite tastes when it comes to chocolate…! E-Even Icould do that…!” Said Suzuka, panicking for some reason.

Really, why are you crying?

“And, and to finish it off! Here,hurry up and try this!”

“This is…the smell of grapefruit…?”

“Exactly. At school, I once gave yousome chocolate with grapefruit flavour, right? At that time, you said’This is the first time I’ve eaten it, but it’s delicious’,so I went out of my way to buy it. H-How is it? Is it good?”

“Oh yeah…Yup, it really isdelicious. I like this taste.”

“I-I did it…!”

As I stated my honest feelings, Maijumped up and struck a winning pose.

“Ehh?! T-That…Even I didn’t knowabout that…?!” Suzuka’s eyes opened wide in shock.

…Uhm, of course you wouldn’t. I’venever had a chocolate with that taste before…

“…S-She’s making the chocolateright in front of him, and even uses her knowledge of Onii-chan’spreferences perfectly…?! T-That’s just…!”

With a quiet voice, Suzuka dropped hershoulders. Meanwhile, she was saying things like ‘N-No, it’s notover yet…!’ and ‘Impact-wise, I should still have the upperhand…!’, but I decided not to answer her.

…At times like these, it’s betterto just leave her alone.

“S-Still, I’m glad that herchocolate was still rather normal.”

I was about to let out a sigh ofrelief, having survived Mai’s turn, but…

“What do you mean! …But, well, I’llforgive you since you liked it. Then, time to bring out the otherchocolate.”

“Eh?”

Letting out mysterious words, shebrought out a big box with a bang.

“…W-What is this? And what do youmean by ‘other chocolate’…?”

“That just now was Himuro Mai’schocolate towards Towano Chikai as your number one fan. And, this isfrom Enryuu Homura, for my fan, Nagami Yuu!” With those words, sheopened the box.

And inside was…

“Huge?!”

It was a huge chocolate cake in theform of a heart, and written on it was [For my number one fan NagamiYuu. Enryuu Homura] with white chocolate ?!

“W-Why two different chocolatethings…”

“I mean, as authors, we have twodifferent faces right? So, I thought that giving you two differentones would be more fitting…A-Anyway! You said that you wanted myautograph, right? You should be happy about this, you know!?”

“But, giving one person chocolate twodifferent times is a bit weird, don’t you think?!”

…But, I still felt happy receivingchocolate for being a fan of hers.

“But, well…thank you.”

“I-I-I-I-I-It’s totally fine! But,I will be looking forward to White Day!”

…But, she really got me with thatsurprise…At first, I thought that she didn’t have anything else.

“Mu, this is unfair, Mai, desu. Togive him two different chocolates. It’s true that you have to doresearch for your competition with him, but I can’t stay quiet anylonger, desu! If that’s the case, then I will also conduct my ownresearch! I will draw an ero illustration with Sensei’s favoritechocolate, and give him another one!”

“Ah, hey! Don’t just use my ideafor yourself!”

Double Peace-sensei jumped up and down,waving her hand, while Mai was glaring at her. It looked like they’dcompletely forgotten about me. But as I could occasionally see aforbidden fabric entering my view, I hurriedly looked away.

…Ah, really. But, if Mai’ssatisfied with this, then I’m okay with it. And I even got asignature from Enryuu Homura-sensei.

But, on the other hand, we didn’t getany further with Suzuka’s research.

That reminds me, Suzuka was actingreally weird for some reason. Maybe she was mad that her research wasobstructed?

Preparing for the worst, I looked overat her to check.

“………………”

As I did, she was just standing therewith a blank expression with no movement whatsoever.

…W-What happened? I know how shefeels, but there’s no need to so shocked that they obstructed herresearch…

While Double Peace-sensei and Mai weretalking about something, Suzuka just stared at them in silence. Ijust looked at her, without getting a chance to try any chocolate atall.

Part 3:

“There shouldn’t be anyone elsecoming, so now we can focus on your research…”

After Himuro-san and Double Peace-sanleft, Onii-chan said so with an exhausted expression as we were stillin the living room.

“………”

However, I could only stay quiet.

“Suzuka…? I know that it’sprobably a shock being interrupted so many times, but we can just doyour research now, so don’t let it get to you like that.”Onii-chan tried to cheer me up, but I didn’t respond.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s exactly asOnii-chan says. I’m not mad in the slightest because of theresearch.

…But, that’s not the problem! Thereason I was so shocked was because every research opportunity that Iwanted to conduct with Onii-chan was stolen away by someone elsebefore I had gotten the chance! I mean, come on! This clearly wasweird!

When I thought of writing him a card,filled with all my emotions, Shinozaki-san did the same…! When Ithought of presenting Onii-chan with some heart-shaped andanimal-shaped chocolate to show him my affection, Akino-san andHaruna-san got the jump on me…! When I thought of showing him thepicture from when I was creating the chocolate with all my heart,Sakura-san even showed him a video of that…! I had no other choicebut to personally feed Onii-chan the chocolate, but DoublePeace-sensei did it first, not to mention with those indecentdrawings…! As a last resort, I was prepared to make the chocolatefrom scratch in front of him, but of course Mai had to obstruct thatas well, even perfectly knowing Onii-chan’s tastes andpreferences…!

Ahhh, for crying out loud, justremembering it makes my blood boil…! Am I cursed or something?! Arethe gods looking down on me?!

“H-Heeey, Suzuka-san…?”

Uuu…I won’t give up…! It’sfinally the long-awaited Valentine’s day. The important day where Igive Onii-chan my chocolate, filled with all my feelings for him. Asif I would quietly accept this outcome…!

“…She’s not listening at all…?Suzuka! Hey, Suzuka!”

However…ahh, what should I do?! Ican’t think of anything else!

Every chance I had was stolen bysomeone else. I don’t have any other choice but do the same as theothers. Valentine’s is a very important day. I have to leave thelargest impression on Onii-chan. I have to be the one he remembersthe most on this day. If I’m not Onii-chan’s number one…!

“U-Uuu…”

…But, what can I even do at thispoint? I have to think of something new. But is there anything leftthat hasn’t been done by anyone else? No, I can’t give up. I haveto change my way of thinking. Get rid of my rational thinking, andonly think about how to be flirty with Onii-chan. I always fantasizeabout being lovey-dovey with Onii-chan. In those fantasies, thereshould be something I can do in this situation—

“…Ah”

“…………Ah? S-Suzuka? Are youfinally back?”

…T-There it is. I found it! A perfectidea for this situation! It’s perfect for both my research, andOnii-chan definitely won’t forget this!

…B-But…!

“Uu…Uuuuu…!”

“H-Huh?! She’s not back at all?!”

N-No matter how I think aboutit…isn’t this a bit too embarrassing…?! I-It’s very indecent,and I might even look like a pervert…! N-No! That’s not true.It’s just a normal way to be flirty with Onii-chan, and I don’thave any choice now that it’s come to this…!

“O-Onii-chan…”

“A-Are you finally back…? Uhm, whatis it, Suzuka?”

“Right now, uhm…W-We’ll start theresearch…!”

“O-Okay? I mean I’m all up for it,but why are you so energetic all of a sudden…?”

C-Calm down, me…I have to calmlyexplain it to Onii-chan. This is a research. There isn’t anythingweird about this. So that I don’t lose against Himuro-san and herrom-com, what’s about to follow is necessary. I’m not forcingmyself so that I can be lovey-dovey with Onii-chan or anything…!

“A-About the research…”

“What should I do? Just tell me?”

“…T-Then…Please change your intoyour swimsuit, take a bath, and wait for me…!”

“Got it. Change and take a bath. Whatare we going to—Eh?”

Onii-chan’s eyes opened wide. Thatexpression was so cute that I would’ve loved to keep watching itforever, but there are more important things right now.

“I-I’m sorry, but I think Imisheard you? Something about swimsuit and the bath…?”

“Y-You didn’t mishear me at all.That’s what I said.”

“…Seriously…? …Eh?! W-Why do Ihave to—?!”

“Anyways! I have to preparesomething! I will start the water for the bath, so wait there for me!This is essential for my research!”

Saying that, I dashed off towards thebathroom and turned the handle for the hot water. After doing that, Ireturned to my room, and searched for the essential item in mycloset.

…It really is embarrassing, but Ihave to do this…!

And so, roughly 20 minutes later.

I slowly opened the door to the bathwhere Onii-chan was already waiting for me.

“S-Suzuka, huh…Wait, thoseclothes…a school swimsuit again?!

Onii-chan’s face went even more redthan it was already from the hot air. I washed his back too whenSakura-san was staying over…But this time it’s different…

“P-Please make some room for me. Iwill also enter.”

“Eh? E-Enter…together with me?”

“T-That’s right. T-T-T-Thisshouldn’t be anything weird, right?! W-We’re both wearingsimwsuits, so it’s just like we’re both entering the pool!”

Of course that wasn’t the same atall, but I had to say this out loud, or else I might collapse fromthe embarrassment.

After hesitating for a bit, Onii-chanmade some space for me. I slowly entered the bathtub, my heartpounding so crazy that he might as well have heard it.

…Taking a bath together withOnii-chan…! How many years has it been…!

“Uuu, Ah— I-It really is a bitsmall for two people…!”

As the two of us were facing eachother, Onii-chan averted his face. It probably was very awkward forhim, but it was the same for me.

…Still, I’ve wanted to do this forsuch a long time, that I can’t stop myself fromgrinning…Ehehehehe.

“S-So, it’s not gonna be just this,right? It’s research for Valentine’s day after all…”

Onii-chan only looked at me withoutturning his head. And, while slowly lifting up the bowl I broughtwith me, I answered.

“O-Of course. The subject of thisresearch is [Entering the bath together and feeding the boyfriendwith chocolate] !”

“I thought so! …But, Suzuka, let mejust say one thing…!”

“W-What might it be, Onii-chan.”

“I’m just gonna be honest, I don’tget it at all!”

Y-You don’t have to tell me that! Ifeel the same way! …B-But, if I don’t do this, I cannot hope towin against anyone else!

“W-Well, this is research necessaryfor my new novel.”

That wasn’t a lie. I will flirt withOnii-chan like this, and use this experience for my new novel. Thatis the only way I can hope to win against Himuro-san. After all, Iwon’t use any little sisters this time in my work. It should beobvious that I would do something as crazy as this so I can win!

“Huh…Well, if you say so, then Ihave no choice but to help you out, I guess…”

Though Onii-chan still didn’t seemconvinced, he gave me his OK. In times like this, he really is kind.

“So, from here on out, you’re goingto feed me with the chocolate, right…?”

“T-That’s right.”

“Uhm…I don’t know how to saythis, but…”

…? What is it?

“That chocolate…is it supposed tobe melting like that?”

“Eh?”

Hearing his words, I looked inside thebowl. What greeted me was the sight of the chocolate having alreadylost its former form, its original state unrecognisable.

—What am I doing?! Of course theywould melt in here! I was too focussed on my research, and thatcompletely slipped my mind…! Normally, something like that wouldn’thappen…!

“Auuuuu…!”

W-What should I do?! I tried my best toget them into a heart-shaped and animal-shaped form! No, that’s notthat much of a problem since the Kanzaka sisters already did that,but still…!

“H-How about making it one more time?I can’t really it it like this after all.”

N-No! I cannot leave the bath until ourresearch is finished! It would make less of an impression on him, soI have to think of something, right here, right now—

“…………!!!”

I had an idea.

…B-But, just from imagining it, mybody is shivering in embarrassment…! T-This is, what kind of ideadid I come up with, really…! It’s too indecent…! Ah, but! Ican’t think of anything else, so I have to do it!

“Hm? Suzuka? What’s wrong?”

Maybe Onii-chan realized that I wasacting strangely. But I simply gulped, and put my fingers in the bowlwith the molten chocolate.

“O-Onii-chan…”

Looking straight at Onii-chan, Isteeled my resolve and said the following words.

“H-Here you go…! Please eat it likethis…!”

“……………………Eh?”

Onii-chan’s eyes went wide. And,after his face went as red as a tomato…

“S-So basically…you’re telling meto lick off the chocolate from your fingers?!”

“T-T-T-T-T-That’s…correct!”

“A-As if I could do that?! Licking mylittle sister’s fingers…!”

“W-Why! I always properly wash myhands!”

“That’s not the problem here! Andalso, it’s my mouth we’re talking about…”

“O-O-O-O-On Onii-chan’s body, thereisn’t a single spot that’s dirty!”

“Again, I’m not talking about that!For an older brother to lick his little sister’s—no wait, aren’twe boyfriend and girlfriend right now? A-Anyway! As if I could dosomething perverted like licking your fingers!”

“P-Perverted?! Uu…E-Even if it isperverted, this is necessary for my research! To win againstHimuro-san!”

As I responded with conviction,Onii-chan swallowed his words. And, after a short silence…

“………D-Do we really have to dothis…?”

“Y-Yes, we really have to do this…!I-It’s for my research after all!”

Hearing that, Onii-chan had a troubledexpression, and he looked like he was about to cry. But, eventually,he opened his mouth with a “…I got it.”

“…You chose to do this because youhave to win against Mai, right?”

T-That’s right. Thinking about therom-com, the impact of Valentine’s day, and most importantly, formy high school life that’s about to come, I have to win againstHimuro-san.

“T-Then, here I go…” Onii-chansaid, seemingly having made up his mind, as he slowly opened hismouth.

WIth that, he slowly brought his facecloser to my fingers. In that moment, I thought my heart was about tostuff since it started beating like crazy.

And—

*Bite*

“Hya?!”

When Onii-chan sucked on my finger, ashock ran through my entire body, paired with a hot, and somehowsweet feeling as it filled my body.

“Hya….?! Nya…!”

In that one moment, I completely fellinto trance, and just spaced out while Onii-chan continued to softlylick my fingers. Every fibre of my body was screaming in happiness,and I could have sworn that the gates to paradise opened in front ofme. Of course, that was just a figure of speech, but that’s howhappy I felt. In my head, I could only think of my beloved Onii-chan.

Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chanOnii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chan Onii-chanOnii-chan…! I love you, Onii-chan…!

“…Haaa, I-I’m done, Suzuka.”

That blissful feeling disappeared frommy fingertips. But as my mind was clouded with thoughts about my lovefor Onii-chan, so I didn’t pay any attention to that.

Onii-chan…Onii-chan is…! Ehe,ehehe, ehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe Cough Cough Cough Cough …

“Suzuka?! Are you okay?! Suzuka! Hey,Suzuka—”

Onii-chan’s voice was getting moredistant, and the whole world started to distort in front of my eyes.However, I still continued to dwell in this blissful feeling.

Onii-chan…Ehehehehehehehehe…Onii-chan…

And with that, the world went dark.

Part 4:

“I-I’m really sorry about that…!”

“No, uhm, what’s done is done.Let’s just forget about it…Yeah,” I reassured Suzuka as shebowed down to me.

After what happened, Suzuka collapsed,and I somehow managed to get her out of the bath. Though she regainedher consciousness shortly after, she remembered everything. Aftersomehow managing to calm her down, I got her to change her clothesback in her room, while I did the same, and now the both of us areback in the living room—

“Well, what do you think? Was theresearch a success…?”

“O-Of course! It was the mostwonderful experience ever! I was so happy that my heart kept goingdoki-doki—N-Nevermind! Anyway, it was the best research ever!”

“I-Is that so. If you say so, thenI’m glad.”

To be honest, I felt like I wanted todie the entire time…So embarrassing and immoral…! But, it must’vebeen the same for Suzuka…No, I’m sure that, considering Suzuka’searnest personality, it must have been even harder on her. But shestill managed to pull through. Suzuka really is amazing. She reallyis a genius…

“T-Thank you very much, Onii-chan.Thanks to you…I got some wonderful data. With this, I can surelywrite a masterpiece.”

…Oh yeah, this isn’t the time to beall depressed about that. If she can win against Mai, then that’sall that matters.

As her older brother, I’m happy tohave been able to help her—

“Ah”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

That moment, I remembered something,and I stood up from the couch. Leaving behind the confused Suzuka, Ihurriedly returned to my room. When I found what I was searching for,I made my way back to the living room.

“Well, there’s something I forgot.”

“Something you forgot?”

With that, I handed her a small box.That was the chocolate I had prepared. Yesterday on my way home, Ithought of it, so I stopped by a shop.

“…Eh? T-This is?”

“Uhm…It might just be a uselessaddition for your research, but this is my Valentine’s present foryou…”

“P-Present for me?! W-W-W-W-W-What doyou mean by that?!”

Since Suzuka seemed to be confused, Ihurriedly explained.

“T-This is just something I selfishlythought of, but…I thought this might help you with your research. Imean, this time around, you thought of everything, right? I mean, itmakes sense since you’re the real Towano Chikai, but…I alsowanted to help you in some sort of way…

“Onii-chan…”

Ah, damn it. I can’t put it in words…

“B-Basically, it’s what you alwayssay, right? That we both together are Towano Chikai. Well, I don’thave much say on the novel, but since I’m your stand-in, I thoughtthat this might be helpful in some way, so I bought it…”

“T-That’s why you’re giving mechocolate for Valentine’s day…?”

“Yeah. There’s also White day whereI should be giving you a gift as a return, but next month will be toolate for your research…That’s why I decided to give it to younow. And it wouldn’t be that weird for a boy to give chocolate to agirl either.” I tried to explain my thoughts. “That’s why, youcan get it beforehand…Uhm…Am I just being a bother…?” Iasked, since Suzuka was quiet during my monologue.

“W-What are you saying, Onii-chan…!O-Of course I’m happy about this!” Suzuka responded as she glaredat me with a red face. “T-Thank you very much…! I completelyforgot about collecting data on White day…But thanks to Onii-chan,you greatly helped me with that!”

She once more said her thanks to me.

That smile she showed me was so brightthat I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

“Alright, now it’s perfect! Withthis, I can write the best rom-com ever! I can make you say that it’sinteresting, even without having to add a little sister character!”

Since she said so with words filledwith conviction, I had no more reason to worry. It was about a monthuntil the deadline, and just like she said, I was sure that she wouldwrite the best novel ever.

And I still hadn’t made any progresson my own novel.