Volume 7.5Chapter 3

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Towano Chikai and the Akiba Live Experience

Part 1:

“T-This is the city of Akihabara! Awhile ago, Onii-chan brought me here to teach me in-depth knowledgeabout otaku culture! So, since I’m this close to Onii-chan, I’llshow you around!”

“I-I’m looking forward to it…”

“Still, it’s impressive that thisself-proclaimed pupil of Sensei’s doesn’t know anything aboutotaku culture. Of course, as an older student, I’ll have to changethat.”

“I-I’m sorry, Akino-oneesama… Butthanks to this, I get to learn many things from Onii-sama, so I’mvery happy…”

“Hmm, it makes sense that theless-experienced pupil will have to cling to Sensei, I guess. Ididn’t think about that.”

“N-No, the only one who’s allowedto cling to Onii-chan is his real little sister, me! Please rememberthat!” Suzuka walked in front of us, acting like the leader of thegroup.

Right behind her, Nene-san was lookingaround with sparkling eyes. Next to her was Akino-san, not hiding herhostility at all.

“…Haah, why did it have to end uplike this…?”

Of course, the younger Kanzaka sisterwas also there, and she let out a sigh as she trotted along besideme.

Suzuka, Nene-san, Akino-san, theyounger Kanzaka sister, and I had come to Akihabara, and it was nowafternoon. In order to explain how things ended up like this, we’llhave to turn back the clock.

Part 2:

“—Basically, since I’m Sensei’snumber-one pupil, I’ll have to test your resolve.”

“…U-Umm, so Akino-oneesama was alsotaught by Onii-sama…?”

“I never once have received anydirect advice from Sensei. That’s why I’m really envious of you.But I will not yield yet. After all, I’m Sensei’s favoritepupil.”

“F-Favorite pupil, is it…?”

While Nene-san was rather perplexed bythis sudden declaration, Akino-san puffed out her chest inconfidence.

“…Ugh, seeing Onee-chan act allarrogant in front of a middle school student… I can’t watchthis…”

And the person watching the scene witha miserable expression on her face was the younger Kanzaka sister.

If one were to ask what exactly broughtus to this situation, then the easiest way to explain it would bethat Nene-san once again came to visit our house once again, and theKanzaka sisters suddenly stopped by. And after seeing Nene-san,Akino-san suddenly started to run wild like this.

“…It seems that Akino-san found outabout Onii-chan giving advice to Madenokouji-san, and now she thinksthat her position as a pupil is endangered.”

“…Bull’s-eye. She even ignoredher own manuscript… Haaaah…”

While Suzuka was making guesses as towhy this was happening, the younger Kanzaka sister let out a deep,exasperated sigh.

“…Ahhh, for crying out loud, evenMadenokouji-san is a big problem by herself…”

“You can say that again. We haveenough trouble thinking of advice we can give to Nene-san anyway.”

Suzuka held her head in her hands whenshe heard my words, and responded with “That’s not what I meant…”as she glared at me.

“I meant it in the sense that Idefinitely have to do something about those feelings she harbours forOnii-chan…! A-Anyway, please do something about this. After all,it’s all your fault.” Accusing me, Suzuka averted her gaze.

I actually think that Towano Chikaibeing way too popular is the problem here, but saying that withoutgiving away my position as stand-in is a bit tough…

“Umm… Akino-san, could you relax abit?”

“Hmm, I’d like Sensei to explain itto her as well. Sensei, tell her that I’m your number one pupil,and that we are connected by a deep bond.”

“Isn’t Akino-san just aself-proclaimed pupil as well…?”

“I was thrown away by Sensei, and myposition as a pupil has been stolen. There’s no meaning in stayingalive anymore… I guess I’ll die.”

“No no no no! Again, please calmdown!”

But even when I called out to her, shewouldn’t listen to a word.

…Ahhh, we’re having enough troubletrying to give Nene-san advice already, so why does Akino-san have tointerfere now…?

“…No, wait a second.”

I thought of a way we could work thisto our advantage.

…This could kill two birds with onestone—soothing Akino-san’s rage as well as helpingMadenokouji-san!

“A-Akino-san. As a senior pupil, youhave to be a bit more reserved.”

“…Senior pupil?”

With that one phrase, I caughtAkino-san’s attention… She took the bait!

“T-That’s right. Akino-san is theSenpai here… So, how about we have Akino-san take a look at yourmanuscript, Nene-san, and give you some advice?”

“Eh? Have Akino-sama take a look atit…?”

“What do you mean? That and thiswonderful phrase ‘Senior pupil’?”

“Akino-san is a professional lightnovel author, so, as I told you before, she’ll be able to give yousome advice from a fresh perspective. And since you’re aself-proclaimed pupil as well, it’s your job to look after yourKouhai, right?”

While I was trying to explain my ideaas calmly as possible, Suzuka suddenly elbowed me in the ribs andasked me a bewildered “What is this about?” under her breath.

“I-I mean, with this we’ll be ableto give Nene-san some good advice, and calm Akino-san down at thesame time…”

“T-That might be a good plan, butthen Madenokouji-san’s novel will evolve even more and more…!”

Eh? But isn’t that a good thing? Whydo you look so agitated about it?

“U-Umm, if Onii-sama says so, then Iwouldn’t mind…”

“I see. I’d be okay with that. Justcall me your senior pupil. I’ve taken a liking to that.”

While Suzuka and I were busy whisperingto each other, the other two seemed to have reached an agreement.

“H-Hey, Onee-chan, your deadline ispretty close. You don’t have the time for this.”

“Fulfilling my job as Sensei’spupil has the utmost priority. And looking over this self-proclaimedpupil’s work is my duty as a senior pupil.”

Akino-san seemed to be as energetic asever as she let out a satisfied snort, while the younger Kanzakasister glared at us.

…I-I can’t help it, can I? This isthe only method that I could come up with!

“Now then, since that’s decided,let me see if you even have the right to call yourself Sensei’spupil.”

“Y-Yes…!”

“Nene-san didn’t call herself mypupil, though…”

Of course, my retort was whollyignored, and Akino-san instead went over the manuscript with aserious expression.

“…Uuu, what should I do about this?To think that something like this would happen…”

Suzuka for her part was mumblingsomething to herself while hanging her head, but I still don’tthink that I did anything wrong.

After a bit of waiting, Akino-san hadfinished reading through the manuscript, and she raised her head withgreat vigor.

“I get the gist of it. To be frank, Ithink that it’s very well written.”

“T-Thank you very much…!”

“The flirty scenes are especiallygreat. I can only guess that this is thanks to Sensei’s guidance.I’m so jealous.”

“Nethertheless,” Akino-san said,”There’s still something lacking.”

“It’s very well-written, but thisstill isn’t enough to certify you as Sensei’s pupil.”

“W-What exactly is my novellacking…?”

“Something very simple: A strongfeeling of empathy. The strength to pull in the reader. This is veryimportant for light novels in particular.”

“…A strong feeling of empathy? Umm,how would I go about creating something like this?”

“Normally, you’d pay attention tothe readers and bring out a close, friendly atmosphere. In the caseof light novels, it’d be otaku material.”

“U-Umm, I don’t really know muchabout otaku culture, but adding something like that would beenough…?”

“Merely adding it won’t do much.Just as I’ve told you, you have to use these elements to youradvantage, and use them as your tools to create this feeling ofempathy.”

…Ahh, I see. Now that she mentionsit, I remember feeling something similar to that.

“To be precise, you have to attachthese elements to your novel in a form that can make Sensei happy.”

“…I-I see. Ehm, Onii-sama, can youteach me what kind of things would make you happy…?”

“Eh?”

While I was nodding to myself, thesituation suddenly took a weird turn.

“W-Why is that important?”

“The main readers of light novels areboys the same age as Sensei. Because of this, we can simply take youto represent the general opinion of all readers. There’s no deepermeaning to that, fufu.”

“Then what exactly was that laughimplying?!”

…It’s not like I can’t see whereshe’s coming from, but I don’t really know what would make mehappy…

“Onii-sama, please…” Nene-sanleaned forward, her eyes glistening in anticipation.

…A-Anyway, teaching her a bit aboutotaku culture wouldn’t hurt, so I guess I can accept it for once—

“I will do that!”

Or so I thought, but Suzuka suddenlycame back from her reverie and raised her voice.

“I-I’m very well informed when itcomes to Onii-chan’s preferences and so on! Because of that, I willteach Madenokouji-san in Onii-chan’s stead!”

“S-Suzuka-sama will?!”

“I-I also wasn’t all that informedabout otaku culture, but I had Onii-chan teach me earlier. Becausehis little sister asked for it, he took me to Akihabara and showed mearound. He went this far, just for me!”

W-What’re you planning with this?

…Well, it’s true that I once tookSuzuka around Akihabara to show her the ropes. But this isn’treally something to boast about, is it?

“Because of this, I have perfectknowledge about Onii-chan’s preferences!”

“T-Then, I’d like to visitAkihabara…”

“Y-Yes, I’ll show you around. Afterall, Onii-chan showed me everything with great attention to detail!”

I was a bit confused by this suddenturn of events, so I asked her about it in a quiet voice.

“T-There’s no other meaning to thisbesides making it clear that Onii-chan only cares about me—maybenot! S-See, I’d be very frustrated if I couldn’t be of any helphere.”

But the response I got was some rathervague reasoning that I could sort of get behind, but not fully.

“A-Anyways, with my guidance, I willshow Madenokouji-san around Akihabara!”

“If that’s the case, then I’llcome with you.”

“O-Onee-chan?!”

“I have to keep a keen eye on thisself-proclaimed pupil. Nene-san, I still have to see if you areworthy of being Sensei’s pupil.”

“…I-I don’t really understand,but please treat me well, Akino-sama.”

“Stop calling me like that. Since I’myour senior pupil, you have to address me properly.”

“T-Then, Akino-oneesama…?”

“That’s okay.” Akino-san snortedagain in a very pleased manner.

…Again, what are you on about?

“O-On this trip, I’ll definitelyhave to make Madenokouji-san understand that nothing can get betweenme and Onii-chan…! A-Alright then, I’ll teach you everything thatyou need to know!”

Suzuka jumped up as she said this.

And thus, it was decided that we wouldgo to Akihabara.

Flashback: Over.

Part 3:

“H-How is it? All the stores we’vevisited so far have a deep connection to otaku culture.”

Like this, we walked around Akihabara,following Suzuka’s guidance. Well, all the places that we visitedwere of standard faire, like light novel shops, a game store, andbasically all the different places I showed Suzuka when we were herebefore.

“W-Well, it had a very specialatmosphere… So this is the so-called ‘otaku’ culture…”

“That’s right. Onii-chan was theone who taught me about how important this atmosphere is.”

“I see… Umm, Suzuka-sama, do youoften go to the city with Onii-sama like this?”

“Eh? Y-Yes, of course! Onii-chan andI are very close, after all! We’re always together whenever hecomes here!”

“Eh? No, that’s not—”

“Right, Onii-chan?!”

When I was about to raise my voice toclear up the misunderstanding before it happened, Suzuka glared atme, like she wanted me to confirm what she said. I nodded inagreement, of course, but what’s wrong? Is she worried that hercredibility would suffer if I said that we only came here once?

“Hmm, that’s Suzuka-san for you.Always escorting Sensei.”

“…You… forcing your little sisterto always accompany you… how much of a siscon can you be?”

Seeing the Kanzaka sisters’reactions, Suzuka said “O-Of course. We’re close siblings afterall!” She seemed somewhat happy.

…Setting that aside, however, sinceSuzuka decided to take the responsibility of teaching Nene-san uponherself, I have no room to complain.

“A-And what I learned from Onii-chanis to take this atmosphere and implement it into games, manga, andlight novels.”

“Implement the atmosphere into my ownnovel…” Nene-san wrote down Suzuka’s words in her small memonotebook.

Deep down, I was glad that thisactually had turned into good advice for her, but—

“However, that’s nothing more thanthe basis. Skillfully implementing that requires a lot of planning.”

“P-Planning…?”

“Yes. Even if you create anotaku-like atmosphere, just making the location a game center orhaving the characters talk about light novels is far from enough. Youhave to base entire events around this. That’s what you wanted tosay, right, Suzuka-san?”

“…Eh?”

“I’m sorry for stealing this fromyou, but I couldn’t hold back any longer.”

“N-No, umm…”

“Of course, Sensei must’ve told youabout that, since you’re always next to him.”

“…!!! N-Naturally! I-I was justabout to bring that up!”

…Hey hey, I don’t remember evertelling you about that… Are you going to be okay, Suzuka? I cantell you’re panicking already…

“I’m really envious of Suzuka-san.You’re learning from Sensei all the time just by being his littlesister.”

“W-We’re very close siblings, afterall!”

“U-Uhm Akino-oneesama, what kind ofevents are we talking about…?”

“Hmph. Since this was Suzuka-san’sjob to begin with, how about we have her show you in reality? I’malso quite interested to see it.”

“I-In reality?”

Hey, why is the conversation takingthis strange turn?

“I also want to see what Sensei hasonly taught to his little sister.”

“N-No, I don’t teach her any—”

Getting really bad vibes, I hurriedlytried to stop this flow of conversation before it was too late, but…

“I-If that’s the case, then I can’thelp it! O-Onii-chan only teaches me about these sorts of things,after all!”

“Hey?!”

Suzuka got the jump on me.

“Thanks a bunch. Good timing. There’sa game center right over there. Can we use that?”

“I-I understand.”

“I’m looking forward to it,Suzuka-sama…”

As the girls moved the conversationforward as selfishly as ever, it was abruptly decided that we wouldgo visit a game center.

“…H-Hey, Suzuka, we’ve nevergathered information about this, so what are you going to do now?”

While we were on our way, I questionedSuzuka about her previous bold declaration.

“…I-I couldn’t help it. This wasjust another appeal—not! It’s perfect for our advice forMadenokouji-san!”

…I-Is this really going to be okay?Well, Suzuka is the one and only Towano Chikai, so she’s probablyalready thought of something…

“S-So this is one of those gamecenters I’ve heard about… It’s the first time I’ve everentered one…”

“Otaku culture and game centers aredeeply connected. Take a good look at what Suzuka-san is about toshow you, so that you can use it in your novel.”

“Why is Onee-chan acting all bossynow?”

“U-Ummm, it should definitely behere… Ah, there it is!”

While the girls were conversing witheach other, Suzuka looked around the interior, and finally spottedwhat she was looking for.

“That’s… a photo booth?”

“Exactly. When you think about gamecenters, visiting a photo booth is something that you can’t missout on!”

It’s not that important, but go on…Well, it’s true that we used a photo booth before when we weregathering ideas, so she should be able to explain the gist of it.

“U-Umm… Is this possibly themachine where you can take pictures and print them out for later…?”

“Exactly, Madenokouji-san.O-Onii-chan and I often take pictures here,” said Suzuka, puffingout her chest.

Using the photo booth specifically sothat you don’t lose your credibility is one thing, but we only usedit once… And that ended in failure.

“C-Come on, Onii-chan, let’s do itlike always.”

“Ah, stop pulling me.”

“We’re going to take a selfie likewe usually do, okay? Given how close we are, there’s nothing weirdabout that!” Suzuka emphasized our closeness as the two of usappeared on the big screen in front of us.

“S-Since this is a sort ofpresentation, we’ll go with the normal one like always.”

“H-Hey?!”

Before I had realized that there was asoft feeling on my arm, Suzuka was already clinging to me, bringingher head close enough to mine that our cheeks were nearly touching.When I looked over at Suzuka, her whole face had gotten bright red,and she whispered to me, saying “T-This is for Madenokouji-san’sadvice…!”

“Hawawa… S-So you have to get thisclose…?”

“T-This way of collecting data isonly possible because we are such close siblings. Right, Onii-chan?”

I-I can’t disagree here or else…

“T-Then, we’ll take a picture now,so if everyone else would be so kind as to step out of the booth fora bit,” Suzuka said, strengthening her grip on my arm.

But instead of complying, Akino-saninstead moved into the frame.

“Eh? W-What are you doing?” askedSuzuka, clearly perplexed.

“I also want to take a picture withSensei.”

“Ehh?! N-No, this was supposed to bea presentation for Madenokouji-san, right…?! W-We have to take ithow we normally would…!”

“But now that we know how it works,there’s no need to do it like always, with just the two of you,right?”

“T-That’s…”

“Having her experience it live wouldbe even better, don’t you think?” said Akino-san, pullingNene-san into the frame as well.

“…U-Umm, is it okay for me to joinyou?”

“Gaining experience is the mostcrucial part of this. You should accept the words of your seniorpupil. Come on, Haruna, you too.”

“H-Hey? It’s not like I want totake a pic—”

But before the younger Kanzaka sistercould finish her complaint, Akino-san pulled her inside and closedthe curtains.

“Uuuu… Even though it wassupposed to be only Onii-chan and me…”

“Fufu, let’s use this heart borderhere.”

“A-A picture together withOnii-sama…”

“Ugh, why do I have to do this aswell?”

Being crammed into this narrow box withfour girls like this, I was so nervous that I couldn’t utter asingle word.

…U-Ugh… This soft feeling hittingmy back and shoulders… I-I have to think about something else!

“I’m glad that we get to take aSensei harem commemoration picture like this.”

“Don’t say weird things like that!”

While rebutting Akino-san’s teasingcomment, I tapped the button to take the picture. In that moment, Ifelt Suzuka tightly gripping my arm.

“Hm. Quite the good picture we got.”

“Hauuu… I took a picture togetherwith Onii-sama…”

“This totally makes it look like I’ma member of the harem!”

Once we finished taking the picture, wesplit up the copies. While all the girls were giving their respectiveopinions, I felt my cheeks getting a bit hot as I looked at my copy.

“…You seem to be really happy,Onii-chan.”

“N-No, not really… Wait, why areyou so grumpy all of a sudden?”

“I-I’m not grumpy or anything. Ijust wanted to make a statement here… For the sake of collectingdata, of course.”

“I agree with Akino-san. I think it’sbetter for Nene-san to gain some live experience as well while we’reat it.”

When I responded with that, Suzuka goteven more grumpy than before, and her expression slowly turned into aglare… But why?

“U-Uhm, Suzuka-sama, was this anevent that would make Onii-sama happy?”

“E-Exactly! A flirty event like thisis perfect for him. Right, Onii-chan?”

“A-Ah, yeah.”

“I-Is that so? It’s true that I waspretty happy to be able to take a picture with Onii-sama—Hawawawa…”

Nene-san started mumbling something toherself, her face getting as red as a tomato.

“So, Suzuka-san. What’s next?”

In that moment, Akino-san came walkingover towards us.

“What’s next?”

“There have to be more things you cando in a game center like this other than going to the photo booth,right?”

“……Huh?”

“I know that you started withsomething soft for the girl who doesn’t have any knowledge of this.So let’s move on to the real deal now.”

“Real… deal…?”

“You don’t have to play dumb.Suzuka-san must know what I mean,” said Akino-san as she tookSuzuka’s hand and pulled her towards the second floor.

When we followed them, we were greetedby an area filled with big metallic boxes, which were spaced out allover the floor.

“Here. When it comes to games, you’vegotta do this.”

Apparently, the 2nd floor was reservedfor video games. Fighting games, shooters, action games, puzzlegames, rhythm games, racing games—

Countless games of various genres wereshown on the screens of the gaming machines, waiting for players toarrive.

“Those games represent otaku culture.Photo booths are fine and all, but that’s more for casuals, if Ican say that.”

“Eh? Eh?”

“So I’d like you to show us thereal deal.”

“……”

Being driven into a corner, Suzukacould only look around the floor in search of a way out.

…This is clearly bad, no matter howyou look at it. Just earlier, it somehow worked out with the photobooth, but Suzuka has never played games like these.

“What’s wrong, Suzuka-san?”

“A-Ahh, umm…”

As I expected, Suzuka didn’t knowwhat to do. I’ll have to throw her a lifeline here.

“Y-You see, Suzuka isn’t all thatinformed when it comes to these…”

“Wait, didn’t she say that theywere always together when he’s gathering data?”

“O-O-O-Of course! W-W-We go here allthe time as well, because we’re so close!”

“Ehhh?!”

But Suzuka rejected my helpimmediately.

“…H-Hey Suzuka! What’s your planwith this?” I asked Suzuka in a quiet voice.

“I-I can’t help! My statement—no,advice is on the line here…!” Suzuka responded, tears filling thecorners of her eyes.

…I know that your feeling ofresponsibility is pretty strong. But forcing yourself won’t do youany good either…

“…I-I’m looking forward to it,Suzuka-sama.”

“Make sure to get a good look.”

“Again… Why is Onee-chan acting soarrogant about this?”

With the expectations around her risingmore and more, Suzuka was still unable to find any escape from this.

“Umm… Umm…”

However, no matter what she was lookingfor, nothing would actually save her from her inexperience. In theend, she called out to me in a quiet voice, saying “W-What is thatgame over there about?”, but it was already too late.

“I’m really looking forward tothis. Maybe a shooting game where I can hang onto Sensei’s arm, ora racing game where I can sit on top of Sensei’s lap.”

“What are you imagining, Onee-chan?!”

“Hawawawawa…”

T-This is bad. I have to somehow get usout of this situation—

“T-That’s…”

Right after I thought about that,Suzuka’s gaze wandered to the corner of the floor.

“O-Onii-chan, isn’t that machineover there for a dance game?” Suzuka asked in a small voice.

Looking where she was pointing, Ispotted a huge machine with dance pads in front of it.

“…I saw it on TV once. I don’tget the other games in the slightest, but I can dance at least.”

“In these dance games, you have tomatch up with the orders coming from the screen, and move your legsaccordingly on the dance pads to accumulate points. But a first-timerlike you…”

“…Anybody would be able to do thatat a decent level—No, I just have to…!”

“What’s wrong, you two?”

When we suddenly heard Akino-san’svoice from behind us, both of us twitched and turned around in shock.

“N-Nothing! I just thought that wecould try that one out!”

“The dance game?”

“E-Exactly. When we come to the gamecenter, we always play on this to gather data. Right, Onii-chan?”

I nodded out of reflex, but is thisreally going to be okay?

“A dancing game to collect data?”

“L-Let’s just go. You’ll see.”

As if she was trying to run away fromAkino-san, who looked surprised by her statement, Suzuka headedtowards the huge machine. Upon arriving, Suzuka stood stiffly on topof the dance pad as the game slowly started booting up.

“…Somehow, Suzuka-san is looking abit weird… You don’t always force her to play a dance game likethis, right?”

“O-Of course not? Isn’t she justnervous because she’s doing it in front of other people?”

In response to the younger Kanzakasister’s glare, I tried my best to hide the fact that Suzuka wasactually a first-timer at this game. In the meantime, the game hadalready started, and Suzuka was moving her body to the beat.

“…Ah… Alright…”

Unexpectedly, Suzuka’s rhythm andfootwork was actually pretty fluent. Though it certainly wasn’t ona professional level, she didn’t put herself to shame either.

“…Suzuka-sama is so wonderful.”

“Hmph, so she can do it after all.”

Nene-san and the younger Kanzaka sisterdidn’t seem to notice that Suzuka was a first-timer at this.

…Is that it? Because she’s an aceat everything she does, including sports, did she get used to thisimmediately?

“…Ah, it ended? How was it?”

After one song ended, Suzukaimmediately turned around to look at us.

“Y-Yeah, you were pretty good. A-Asgood as always, of course!”

“I-Is that so?! W-Well, I’m used tothis after all, so of course I’d be able to do something likethis!”

While the two of us were exchangingwords of relief, Akino-san once again tilted her head.

“But is this supposed to be forcollecting data? As of right now, Sensei doesn’t look all thathappy to me. Is this some kind of dancing fetish?”

“Now listen here…”

Setting aside the sudden appearance ofthe word ‘fetish’, it seems that Akino-san still has her doubtsabout all of this. It makes sense though, since this wasn’t exactlythe kind of otaku-oriented data we’d need.

…We were too caught up in trying tohide the fact that Suzuka is a newcomer, and we completely forgotabout the data…!

While I was panicking for a differentreason this time, Suzuka had already started up the second song, withan even higher tempo than the one before.

“Wah, amazing…”

But instead of admiring her like theother two, I started getting a really bad premonition—

“…!”

“Ohh!”

In that moment, Akino-san’s cheeronly proved it.

…W-Wait a second. D-Did I just seesomething that I shouldn’t be able to while she was jumping up…?

My heartbeat started to accelerate, andwhen Suzuka once again made a different sudden movement, I wascertain.

“I see. A panchira in a dance game.Not bad.”

“No no no no!”

…Why are you nodding to thissituation?! No, never mind that! Suzuka, do you even realize thatyour panties are visible every time you jump while you’re on thedance pad?! You’re wearing a skirt right now! Don’t forget aboutthat!

Normally, there’s no way that Suzukawouldn’t notice something like that, but she must be so focused onthe game that she wouldn’t realize it even if somebody else wouldbe able to see—

“Well done to Sensei for coming upwith such an abnormal event like this.”

“You’re wrong about this, okay?!”

It’s nothing more than an accident.It really is. At this rate, I’ll still end up as the pervertedolder brother who’s forcing this on his little sister, won’t I?!Ugh… I have to focus on the problem right in front of me first.Luckily, not many people are currently on this floor. But there’sno guarantee that nobody will see this.

“Ah, Sensei, what are you—”

Thinking that, I immediately movedbehind Suzuka to block her from anyone’s view. This is the cornerof the floor. If I do it like this, nobody should be able to see herpanties…!

“…Eh? O-Onii-chan?”

Of course, it didn’t take long forSuzuka to notice my presence. Probably because she was surprised atmy sudden appearance, her step wavered for a second.

“O-Onii-chan…? W-What are youdoing…?” said Suzuka, after fixing herself.

Constantly sending glaces at me overher shoulder, she resumed her dancing.

“I-I can’t help it. There are somerather unfortunate circumstances to this…!”

“And what… do you… mean bythat…?”

It seemed that she had reached theclimax of the song, and she was picking up even more speed. At thesame time, her skirt started moving up and down even morerapidly—Ahh, don’t look, me!

“Y-You see…!”

“Please… tell me…!”

Since Suzuka didn’t seem like she’dstop questioning me anytime soon, I mustered up my courage and toldher flat-out.

“…! Everytime you jump, you’redoing a panchira…!”

“Eh?”

And thus, Suzuka’s moves came to asudden stop, and her gaze wandered down her own body. Finally, sheseemed to have remembered what exactly she was doing while wearing askirt.

“Wha… Wha…!”

Though her face was drained of allcolour for a second, she suddenly went as red as a tomato.

“Ah, hey?!”

Suzuka’s body fell to the floor, andI barely was able to catch her.

“Pa… Panties…! Right in front ofOnii-chan… without realizing…! S-So embarrassing…!” saidSuzuka, hiding her face in her hands.

I felt similarly embarrassed by thecurrent situation, making me equally bashful in response.

“A-Are you okay, Suzuka-sama…?”

“Y-You… you did all of this, justso that you could look at your little sister’s panties…! Just howhard is it to satisfy a fiend like you?!”

Immediately after, Nene-san and theyounger Kanzaka sister walked towards us, with Akino-san behind them.

“Amazing. At the end, you’re evenbeing embraced like that. I didn’t think you’d be able to pull itoff this realistically. Well done, Suzuka-san,” commentedAkino-san, crossing her arms with a satisfied look on her face.

“UUuuuuuu…”

Suzuka continued to grumble in my arms,and I called out to her.

“…W-Well, it did work out prettywell as a demonstration, so let’s just call this a success andforget about it.”

“P-Please forget about it…! Youdefinitely have to…! Uuuuuu…!”

By the way, the score screen on thedance game showed that Suzuka had only made one mistake.

Part 4:

“So those were all otaku elementsthat would make Onii-sama happy…”

While we were resting in the breakcorner of the game center, Nene-san said this as she looked at thememo in her hands, her cheeks dyed a faint red.

“I-I’d be glad if it turned intosome great reference material for you.”

The person who responded to her wasSuzuka, having somewhat calmed down herself (although her cheeks werestill a bit red).

“Suzuka-sama really is amazing… toperfectly enact all that Onii-sama has taught her…”

“W-Well, I normally always go withOnii-chan when he’s collecting data, after all. If only youremember that there’s nothing that can come between us, then that’sall that matters…!” Suzuka said, awkwardly averting her gaze.

…I mean, that just now was nothingmore than an accident that somehow turned out to be advice.

“F-For now, collecting data was asuccess, right?”

But well, since nothing particularlybad had happened, I decided to call it quits here. Nene-san alsoagreed with “Y-Yes,” so this was one problem down for now—

“Now then, it’ll be our turn next.”

…Or so I thought, but now Akino-sanblurted out something incomprehensible again.

“Suzuka-san’s lively presentationturned into very good reference, but we still have to try it out forourselves. So we’ll do what Suzuka-san just did.”

“I-I will have to do the same thingthat Suzuka-sama did just now?”

Nene-san was clearly taken aback by ofAkino-san’s plans.

“Experiencing it for oneself is theTowano Chikai way of learning it. I have to do it myself, or thiswon’t be as useful as it could be,” Akino-san snorted when shelooked over at me.

Uuu… I can’t say anything back tothat.

“B-But even if you say that, can youreally pull it off so suddenly?”

“Don’t worry, Sensei. I know theperfect place for it. It’s my duty as the elder pupil after all,”said Akino-san as she suddenly stood up from her seat.

We followed her out of the store. Nomatter how often I asked her where we were going, she said we’dunderstand once we got there. She led us to a certain building, andthe moment we entered, we were greeted by a studio-like atmosphere.

“Wait a second.”

Akino-san stopped us, and walked off onher own.

“Onii-chan, where exactly are we?”

“I wonder…? Do you know about it?”

“I-I’ve never been here before, soof course I don’t know.”

Conversing with the younger Kanzakasister like that, Akino-san came back shortly afterwards… but,

“Thanks for waiting.”

“Welcome ba—ckkkk?!”

I swallowed my spit. After all,

“H-Hey, Onee-chan?! Why did you puton cat ears all of a sudden?!”

Yes, for some reason, Akino-sanreturned as a cat girl, of all things!

“This is cosplay, of course.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear!Why are you suddenly wearing cosplay like that?!”

“To do something like this, ofcourse.”

Akino-san kept her cool, even when theyounger Kanzaka sister was clearly angry at her. And, just when Irealized that she was coming closer to me, she suddenly startedrubbing herself against me?!

“Nyaaan~”

“O-Onii-chan?!”

“Hawa… Hawawawawa…”

Both Suzuka and Nene-san raised ashriek, their faces as red as could be, but Akino-san didn’t paythem any heed, and continued rubbing her cheek on my chest.

“W-What are you doing, Onee-chan?!”

“A pet roleplay. But of course,that’s not all. I have prepared everything,” Akino-san said,suddenly taking out a collar and a matching chain.

Of course, seeing those items finallypulled me back to reality, and I hurriedly stopped Akino-san.

“W-What is this about, Akino-san?!”

“Again, this is cosplay. I’m tryingto experience an event in real life.”

“E-Experience what?”

“Experience an event that can pleaseSensei. And this cosplay studio is perfect for trying out lots ofthings.”

…W-Why would you go so far?

“A good idea, if I do say so myself.Sensei seems to be happy, as well.”

“N-No, it’s not like…”

“O-O-O-O-Onii-chan…?!”

D-Don’t glare at me, Suzuka! My heartjust skipped a beat, nothing more!

“If it’s not something that canmake Sensei happy here, it probably wouldn’t do any good in yournovel either.”

“I-I understand… Then, I will alsoattempt this challenge with Akino-oneesama…!”

“W-Wait, Nene-san?!”

Lulled in by Akino-san’s motivationalwords, Nene-san went bright red, her expression filled withdetermination.

“I cannot let all these things Ilearned from Onii-sama and Suzuka-sama go to waste…! I have to burnthese things into my body, or else…!”

Why is she suddenly so motivated…?T-There’s no other choice but to have Suzuka stop her—

“P-Please wait a second! I’ll joinyou! I’ll demonstrate everything I have learned from Onii-chan!”

“Why are you joining in on this?!”

You’re saying that you’reparticipating, of all things?!

“…I-I can’t help it, can I? She’sdefinitely wrong in her approach, and I can make an even bettercase—give even better advice on otaku culture, after all!” saidSuzuka, seemingly even more motivated than the other two.

“Then let’s have everyoneparticipate, and the one who can make Sensei happiest will be thewinner. Of course, you’ll be joining in as well, Haruna.”

“W-What?! W-Why me?!”

“You might be able to draw a goodillustration that can please Sensei, don’t you think?”

“…Eh?”

“See, you’re totally interested inthis. Alright, we’ll go change now.”

“Eh? Woah! I-I’m not really intothis, so let me go already!”

The younger Kanzaka’s last requestwas completely ignored, and she was dragged off by Akino-san.

“N-No, umm, are you really doingthis…?”

“Don’t worry, Sensei, since this isa cosplay studio, there’s lots of things we can rent here.”

“I wasn’t worried about thatpart!!!”

Ignoring my scream, the girls walkedaway, leaving me alone.

…W-Why does it always end up likethis?!

I held my head in my hands for a while,and the girls soon came back.

“Uuu… Why is everyone wearingcosplay with miniskirts…”

“W-Why do I have to wear theseclothes…!”

“With these, we’ll make Sensei’sbrain cells melt!”

“H-Hawa… This is the first timeI’ve worn something like this… This feels a bit different fromour usual maids…”

“Why do these maid uniforms have suchshort skirts? …N-No, this is just how Onii-chan would like it…!”

While the younger Kanzaka sister wasnervously fidgeting, Akino-san responded as calmly as ever. Nene-saneven seemed to be a bit curious, and Suzuka forcefully mustered herfighting spirit, probably to hide her embarrassment.

“Now Sensei, hold this smartphone.”While I was still busy trying to keep up with the situation in frontof me, Akino approached.

“W-What do you mean?!”

“I’m talking about a photo shoothere. You definitely have to take pictures at a cosplay studio, afterall.”

“What kind of logic is that?!” Ireplied, but Akino-san paid me no heed and pushed the smartphone intomy hands.

Still, I know very well now thatresisting them would do me no good, so I gave up on that prettyquickly. If even Suzuka decides to participate, then I have no rightto complain… There’s no choice but to take pictures of theirminiskirt maid outfits…!

Hoping that this would at least helpout Nene-san’s novel, I opened the camera app and pointed the phoneat them.

“H-Hey! Why are you trying to takephotos of the inside of my skirt!”

“I-I’m not, though!”

“I see. A classic event. If you justwant to peek into our skirts, just tell us.”

“I’m not, though!”

“O-Onii-sama… I suddenly feel a bitweird…”

“I-I’m sorry?!”

“O-Onii-chan, Madenokouji-san isn’tused to this, so don’t focus on her like that! I’m right here, sodon’t hold back and do it like you always do!”

“S-Suzuka-san?! Can you not blurt outstuff that would cause any unfortunate misunderstandings?!”

“I-It’s just a figure of speech!”

Like this, although I wanted to cry,the cosplay (photo) session continued.

…However, I know very well how to getthis over with as fast as possible. As the little sister-lovingTowano Chikai (stand-in), I just have to focus on Suzuka, andeverything will turn out alright!

Thinking that, I turned myself towardsSuzuka, and pointed the camera only at her. You were the one whowanted to join, so don’t complain about this…!

“O-Onii-chan’s attention is on me…!W-With this, Madenokouji-san will surely give up…!”

S-She’s happy? …No, she must beacting…!

“…Onii-sama is only taking picturesof Suzuka-sama…”

“That guy’s a sick siscon, afterall.”

Hey, I can hear you over there, youngerKanzaka sister!

“This isn’t the time to be spacingout. If you want Sensei’s focus, you have to try to make him evenhappier than his little sister can. This is like fighting to grab thereader’s attention for your own novel. It’s the same principle.”

“An event that could make Onii-samahappy…?”

“Show me the results of today’strip through Akihabara. Otherwise, Suzuka-san would hog all ofSensei’s attention. Are you fine with that?”

“Eh? N-No, I don’t want to…!”

“Then this is no time to be afraid!Become your character!”

“B-Become a character…”

Mm? What? Nene-san and Akino-san aretalking about something every ominous all of a sudden….

Or so I thought, but when I startedhearing some rustling to my side, I subconsciously directed thesmartphone over there, but…

“Gufu?!”

“…Onii-sama…”

When I was greeted by Nene-san, who wasin the middle of stripping off her clothes, I did a double take. Hershoulders were suddenly in plain view, as well as her cute navel. Herskirt was dangerously close to revealing what was underneath.

…W-What is this about?! No, wait,since it’s Nene-san were talking about, this must be…!

“Onii-chan? What happened…? Wait,M-M-M-Madenokouji-san?!”

Of course, it didn’t take too longfor Suzuka to realize Nene-san’s sudden change. Shortly after,Suzuka suddenly jumped towards me, her whole body hugging my head atfull force, sealing off my vision.

Woah?! S-Something soft is hitting myhead…! That can only mean one thing in this situation, right…!?

“What are you staring at, Onii-chan?!And Madenokouji-san as well! Please come back to your senses!”

…I-I guess so. I don’t know why,but Nene-san suddenly went into her serious mode.

“…Eh? Hawawawa?!”

It seemed that Suzuka’s voice pulledNene-san back to reality, because she suddenly let out a shriek. Ofcourse, I couldn’t see her, but judging by that, she was probablybright red.

“I-I’m very sorry… I-I showed yousuch an embarrassing sight again…”

“Hmph, going so far. It seems yourjudgement is better than I expected. Haruna, we can’t let ourguards down with this girl.”

“…Yeah, well, I’m sure that thisguy’s happy because of what she did.”

“O-Onii-sama, what did I…!”

“It’s frustrating, but this is myloss. I didn’t consider the immense power of gap moe. I still havea ways to go, it seems.”

“Onee-chan, can you stop trying towin against her all the time…? It’s starting to get a bitembarrassing.”

“But it’s true… Suzuka-sama stillgot all of Onii-sama’s attention…”

Nene-san was talking with the Kanzakasisters, but I didn’t really have the time to pay attention tothat.

“A-Anyway, make sure to immediatelydelete Madenokouji-san’s picture!”

“I-I didn’t take any picture in thefirst place! I only saw it for a second! And Suzuka, let me goalready!”

I still couldn’t see anything otherthan the figure of Suzuka in front of me.

In the end, this chaos continued for afew minutes, until the cosplay session finally came to an end.

…Of course, the discussion about whothe winner was continued for a bit longer.

Part 5:

“If anything happens, feel free tocall me at any time. I’m your senior pupil, after all, so I’lllook after Sensei’s pupil.”

“T-Thank you very much.”

“Haah, let’s go home already,Onee-chan…”

“Yeah. Now then, Sensei, Pleaseproperly teach that girl that I’m your number one pupil.”

“Again, Nene-san isn’t my pupil atall…”

After what happened, it had gottenpretty late already, so we hurriedly left the cosplay studio. Rightnow, Akino-san was clearly acting like she was Madenokouji-san’ssenpai, as well as a pupil of Onii-chan’s, but there’s somethingmore important than that right now.

“…B-By the way, how did you likeAkihabara?”

While I was watching them with anoutsider’s gaze, I called out to Madenokouji-san in a quiet voice.Of course, my intention was to evaluate the results of my specialplan. Namely, the plan to make Madenokouji-san understand how closeOnii-chan and I are, and make her give up on him! A-After all that,she must’ve understood…!

“Ah, well… it turned into somegreat references. A-Although I ended up showing you somethingembarrassing again…!” muttered Madenokouji-san with a bright redface. “B-But, thanks to that, I now understand what I have to dofrom here on out…”

“From here on out…?”

I’m getting a really bad feelingabout this…

“Y-Yes. I will not just aimlesslywrite my novel, but rather put all my feelings for Onii-sama intoit.”

“Ehh?!”

“I-I’ve realized something… Thetime when Suzuka-sama was using her body to seal off Onii-sama’ssight, I felt myself wishing that Onii-sama would look at me evenmore… O-Of course, in a different way than that embarrassing thingbefore…!”

Madenkouji-san was fidgeting in anembarrassed manner, but I could only stare at her in surprise.

“To draw in the readers, I shouldn’timplement elements that I think would be fitting, but implementOnii-sama’s preferences in the first place… B-Basically, I willturn my novel into a love letter for Onii-sama…”

A-A novel like a love letter… It’sjust the same as me…!

“Alright, let’s go home as well…Suzuka? What’s wrong? You’re spacing out.”

Having seen off the Kanzaki sisters, hecame walking over towards us, but I wasn’t able to respond withanything.

…R-Rather than giving up, haven’ther feelings gotten even stronger than before? It’s the completeopposite effect of what I was aiming for, isn’t it?!

“Hawa… O-Onii-sama…! I-If youwould, I’ll excuse myself now…!”

“Ah, yeah. Be careful when you gohome. Suzuka, let’s go.”

Splitting up with Madenokouji-san, meand Onii-chan started our walk home. All that time, I was busy withthinking about what exactly I should do from now on.

Coming home, and returning to my ownroom, I finally made up my mind.

“N-Now that it’s come to this, I-Ihave no other choice but to confess my feelings beforeMadenokouji-san can…!”

If making her give up won’t work,there’s no other choice but to not even give her any option! ThoughI feel bad for Madenokouji-san, Onii-chan is the only thing I cannothand over to her. I’ve always, always had those feelings for him!I’m the one who loves Onii-chan the most in this world!

“T-Tell him my feelings…! I’vedecided. But, confessing head-on is impossible…!”

That means I have only one option. Ihurriedly booted up my laptop and started hammering away on mykeyboard. If I can’t confess directly, I just have to transmit myfeelings through my novel. My novel is just as much of a love letter,after all!

And, a little bit later, when the dayhad already changed, my new novel was finished. I didn’t waste anytime. I immediately left my room, my manuscript in hand.

“W-What’s wrong, Suzuka? You’restill awake at this time?”

Of course, my destination wasOnii-chan’s room.

“O-Onii-chan…! Please read thismanuscript…!”

“Eh? Manuscript? Right now?”

“Y-Yes! I want you to read this rightin front of me!”

Just saying that made me think that myheart would leap out of my chest.

…I-I can’t help it, can I?! Thisnovel has all my feelings, so of course I would be embarrassed! Uuuu…But, I cannot run away anymore! I have to confess my feelings beforeMadenokouji-san gets any chance to!

“W-Well, I don’t mind…?”

Onii-chan accepted my selfish request,and sat down on the chair in his room. I sat down next to him. I wasafraid that he could hear my heartbeat.

Uuuu… He’s reading all of myfeelings…! The very fact that I love Onii-chan, right in front ofme…!

“………”

It seemed as though Onii-chan hadfinally finished reading it, because he suddenly got up from thechair. He stood right in front of me.

“Suzuka… This is incrediblyinteresting.”

I-Interesting?!

The moment I heard that, I thought I’ddie because my heart was beating so hard.

…Him saying that it’s interestingmeans that he accepts my feelings, right?! Auuu… I-I’m so happy…!I’m so embarrassed, but still so happy…! Now we can finallybecome lovers… No, a married couple, right?! …No, wait a second?Since I’m sitting on his bed right now… Is he going to push medown right here and now?! O-Of course, I would be totally okay withthat! B-B-But, so suddenly…?!

“And, Suzuka.”

“Y-Yesh?! W-What ish it?!”

“…What is this side story for?”

“I-I-I-I’m happy that you acceptmy—wait, eh? What for…?”

“I mean this novel. It was superinteresting, but why the sudden manuscript?”

“…U-Uhm, I don’t understand yourquestion, I’m afraid…”

“…Why? This is a side story foryour current series, right? But, I never heard anything about this.”

“…E-Ehhh? N-No, uhm, those are myfeelings…”

“Still, you really are amazing. Evenyour side story is this interesting. This is even more intense thanthe lovey-dovey siblings in the main series… Wait, Suzuka?”

And then, I finally realized. Insteadof reading this as my love letter for him, he read it as any othernovel.

“………”

“H-Hey Suzuka?! Don’t just collapselike that! If you’re going to sleep, do that in your own room…!Hey!”

All the strength left my body, and Iplainly fell down onto the bed. Only two things were filling myotherwise empty head.

The first one—Will you finallyrealize my feelings already, Onii-chan?!

The second one—Why didn’t I justuse the names ‘Yuu’ and ‘Suzuka’ in my novel…?!

And, the third one that just came tomind—

…If I did that, I wouldn’t havebeen able to write such an embarrassing novel… Am I an idiot?!