Volume 8 Chapter 1

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It’s been a while, but we’re back. And with a banger

The Way to the Debut

…Recently, I’ve been acting a bitweird. I often catch myself just spacing out.

“…………chan.”

And I know the reason for it. Thereason is—

That horrible, disgusting confessionthat made me look like the lamest older brother ever. The confessionthat I made in the back of the school building early this spring.

“………ii-chan.”

But, well, thanks to that, themisunderstanding was cleared up, the bad rumours about us stopped,and miraculously, Suzuka didn’t start to hate me, so I guess itwasn’t all that bad. Of course, just because it turned out okaydoesn’t mean that it hasn’t become part of my dark history thatI’d rather have erased immediately. But it’s already happened, sothere’s no use mourning over it now.

“………For crying out loud.”

So then, if one were to ask me why Iwas still thinking about it even though almost three months hadpassed, I’d have to say that the incident in itself wasn’t themain problem. Rather, it served as a catalyst, and I ended upbecoming more conscious about… Well, a certain someone.

“Onii-chan, why aren’t youlistening to me?”

“……?!”

While I was lost in thought, I felt mybody being gently shaken, and I almost yelped in surprise. Barelyholding back my voice, I turned around. The very little sister that Ihad been thinking about, Suzuka, was standing there as she stared atme with an exasperated expression on her face.

“W-What is it?! W-What happened?!”

“…That’s what I want to say. Youwere spacing out again, Onii-chan.”

I tried to gloss over it, but Suzuka’sgaze grew colder and colder.

…N-Now I’ve done it. I got lost inmy thoughts again. Not to mention right in front of her…! Eventhough I was trying to be careful…!

Yes, the reason I found myself lost inthought more and more often recently was because my thoughts alwaysdrifted towards Suzuka.

…H-Hold on! Before you react with a’Disgusting!’ or ‘Eww…’, please hear me out first! I begyou!

C-Cough

Umm… The thing is, ever since thatincident, I’ve found myself growing weirdly more and more consciousof Suzuka… Her face keeps flashing through my mind, before Irealize it, my eyes start to search and ultimately follow her, andwhen I’m close to her, my eyes drift in her direction. Things likethat. Basically, uhm, to say it in one sentence, it seems that I’vegrown extremely conscious of Suzuka. Though I don’t know the reasonfor that myself…

But don’t get the wrong idea, okay?It’s not like anything has changed about how I feel towards her,okay? We’re still siblings, so there’s no way I’d look at myreal little sister in that way, alright?!

It’s true that Suzuka is crazybeautiful, and whenever I see that small body of hers, it just makesme want to hug her and think ‘Ahhh, she’s a perfect fit for myarms~’ and—Wait, n-nevermind that!

…A-Anyway, it really isn’t what youthink it is. Basically, it’s not something idiotic, but rather, Ithink I’m just being conscious of her thanks to all that talk abouther having someone she likes.

Suzuka herself said that she didn’thave someone like that, and I’m sure that she wasn’t lying to me,but this is just hypothetical. There’s no guarantee that it won’tchange. Suzuka is a high school student, now. It wouldn’t be weirdfor her to find someone like that sooner or later. That’s exactlywhy I’m worried. I mean, as her older brother!

“O-Onii-chan…? What’s wrong? Isthere something on my face?”

“Eh?”

When I heard that, I returned toreality.

When I looked up, Suzuka’s face wasright in front of my eyes. Not to mention that she looked a bitembarrassed, and she was fidgeting.

…N-Not good… Was I staring atSuzuka’s face…? Also, just how much of a beauty can you be? Hereyes are a bit watery as she’s glaring at me, and hersort-of-sulking pursed lips are way too cute. Being this adorablewhile being mad at me is way too unfair. If some other man saw Suzukalike this, they’d definitely fall for her. Please don’t show thatappearance to anybody but me… Eeeeeeehm, nevermind!

“………!”

I quickly averted my gaze. In response,I heard Suzuka’s disgruntled “W-What is it?!”, but my heartcan’t take any more than this.

…Haaaaah… A-Anyway, today is worsethan usual for some reason, but this is how it’s been as of late…

That being said, I can’t stay likethis forever, so I tried to calm myself down while ignoring Suzuka’scomplaints behind my back.

“Y-Yuu… I don’t understand thisone…”

Just then, I heard a rather demotivatedvoice coming from across the table. Looking over, I found Mai, withan open math workbook in front of her, looking at me with tears inher eyes.

“I guess that studying becomes moredifficult when you become second-years.”

“That’s what it looks like. I feelbad, Enryuu-sensei…”

Next to her were Suzuka’s friends,Shiina-san and Nikaido-san, who were also studying while watchingover Mai. Shiina-san gave a bitter smile, and Nikaido-san seemedhonestly worried about her.

“Yuu, help me, please…! At thisrate, I’m going to fail the next set of exams…!”

“Y-Yeah, sure… But what part do younot understand?”

“Ugh… I don’t even know what Idon’t understand…”

“Doesn’t that mean it’s a bit toolate for me to even help you with anything?!”

“I-I can’t help it! My job has beentaking up a lot of time recently! The manuscripts for SukaMaga, themagazine serializations, scoring SS ranks in the event, and my newnovel—”

“Okay, I get it already! I get it, sodon’t cry! …First, to make sure that you don’t fail anyclasses, we’ll have to aim for just enough to squeak through everysubject.”

“Y-Yeah… Thank you, Yuu.”

When she heard my words, Mai’s tearsstopped, and a smile formed on her face.

…She always behaved like agood-for-nothing over-the-top stalker, but she can be honest at timeslike these. Not to mention that recently, this honesty has beensurfacing more and more frequently, which makes it a bit moredifficult to deal with her. Well, at least sometimes.

“…Hmph, you’re looking away fromme again… So you’re ignoring me to run to Himuro-san’s aid,huh? Interesting…!”

When I moved closer towards Mai, Icould hear Suzuka grumbling about it.

Until I can calm down about it, I just have to make sure that I don’t look at Suzuka’s face for a while. I know, it’s pretty pitiful, but I can’t help it. Forcefully pushing any thoughts of Suzuka out of my mind, I steeled my resolve to at least not lose myself in thought when she’s nearby from now on.

It was the beginning of July, on acertain holiday.

We were holding a study session at ourhome. The group consisted of Suzuka and I, Mai, Nikaido-san, andShiina-san. Just for the record, this study session is really onlyfor us to study, and there’s no special or weird meaning behind it,okay?

Anyway, you’re probably wondering howI ended up in this situation. Well, there’s a certain sequence ofevents that led up to this point. Or so I say, but it’s not thatbig of a deal. Anyway, to start from the beginning…

“…Yuu, help me with my studies…Please…”

Mai came groveling to me, close totears. Just as the person herself had stated before, she’s thelight novel author Enryuu Homura, and because of all of her work, shewasn’t able to focus on her studies at all. Not to mention that hergrades were never on the high side to begin with, so the nextend-of-term exams might end up being really close. Since she can’tafford to waste away her time in supplementary lessons, she came toask her (self-proclaimed) rival while “Swallowing her pride” orsomething like that.

Well, since my father (and Suzuka inthe beginning, as well) made the condition that I had to maintaingood grades if I wanted to continue writing light novels, theteaching in itself shouldn’t have caused any major problems. Shehas her own set of circumstances, after all, and just ignoring herwouldn’t sit right with me, so I ended up accepting her request,but when Suzuka found out about it…

“Y-You’re holding a study sessionwith Himuro-san? Just the two of you…?! Even I haven’t… I-Ifthat’s the case, then I’ll join in as well!”

“Umm, you’re a first-year, though,so the things that you’ll be studying will be completely differentfrom what we are, right? And even more so since your grades arebetter than mine—”

“As if I could leave Onii-chan allalone with Himuro-san! If some sort of problem occurred…! Also, Iwas planning on holding a study session with Kade and Kotomi for theupcoming exams, so we might as well join them together in one bigstudy session!”

And that’s how we all ended uptogether in a single study group.

Again, I didn’t have any reason todecline, and I had been a bit worried anyway that Mai would use theopportunity to stalk me instead of actually studying, so this wasactually to my benefit. That same Mai was a bit displeased by mydecision, but she didn’t complain much about it since “This isn’tthe time for it.”

—Now, here we are.

“Suzuka, sorry, but could you tell mehow to solve this?”

“Eh? …Ahh, you have to use thisformula here.”

“Suzu-chan, can I just solve thisproblem the same way as the other one?”

“Before you use the formula, you’rebetter off factoring both sides.”

The first years for their part weremoving forward diligently with their studies, with Suzuka takingsomewhat of a teaching role. We had called it a joint study session,but since the first-years and the second-years had completelydifferent material in their subjects, they couldn’t exactly helpany of us out, and we were too busy to help them out.

“For now, we’ll start with scienceto get the most important things covered. You said that you’d beable to fumble your way through social science, so if in the worstcase you just try to rote memorize your other subjects, you should beable to avoid failing marks… That leaves math.”

“Ugh… Why does math even exist inthis world… As long as I understand the price of one paperback bookand the consumption tax, that’s all that matters…”

“Haven’t you already said somethinglike that before?”

But, maybe because she was in such apinch, there was no sharpness in Mai’s words. Ignoring her comment,we quickly moved on with our studies, as time was of the essence.Hence, I had Mai work over the problems in her math workbook, helpingout whenever she was stuck on something, but…

“H-Hey, I don’t really get thispart…”

“Do you even understand anything…?You’ve been saying that the whole time…”

“I-I can’t help it if I reallydon’t understand anything! I’m sorry, okay?! And it’s not justwith my studies. I can’t even remember what I wrote in the firstand second volumes of my series!”

“What do you hope to achieve bysaying things like that?! C-Calm down, okay?! You’re starting topanic and blurt out weird things again!”

“The reason I didn’t have any timeto study was because I had to reread my earlier volumes in order tomove on with the new installments…”

“I’ve never heardabout anything like that before?!”

While having conversations like this,we didn’t make much progress at all. Hence, instead of sittingacross the table from her, I sat down next to Mai and showed herevery single formula she had to use.

“Listen, in this problem, you have todo it as it’s shown above and take the X—”

“…O-Onii-chan, Onii-chan.”

“Hmm? What is it, Suzuka?”

A bit of time passed, and while I wasbusy focusing on Mai, Suzuka suddenly tugged at my clothes andstarted talking to me.

…What? And why does she look sodisgruntled?

“W-Why are you suddenly clinging toHimuro-san like that…!”

“Eh? I mean, sitting next to herwhile I’m helping her out works better, so…”

“D-Don’t you think that you’re abit too close…?! Your bodies are about to touch! I think that’staking a bit too far…! I-Indecent…!”

“H-Huh?!”

When she told me that, I panicked. But,just as she said, we had indeed moved very close to one another. Ourarms were nearly touching, and our heads were close together since wewere looking at the same math workbook.

“Hey Yuu, what should I do here?”

Every time Mai moved her body forward,her soft, spongy breasts pushed against my arm?! T-This is bad…!

“Hey… Mai, could you give me a bitof space?”

“Why? Also, I feel like I’m gettingthe hang of it! For this problem, I just have to use the same methodyou just taught me, right?!”

However, Mai didn’t show any signs ofnoticing. She was completely focused on the questions. Instead, sheseemed to get even more into it, pressing her body against me evenmore even more intensely. My sense of reason was drifting away, andit earned me a sharp gaze from Suzuka.

…Again, this is really bad…! Sinceit’s come to this, I should just move away for now—

—That’s when it happened.

“Ah, I solved it! I totally solvedit, right?! Hey Yuu, look!”

Mai’s face lit up, and she made melook at the workbook. I did as I was told and lowered my gaze, andshe had indeed used the right formula, even getting the right answerin the end.

“I-It’s right…? Yeah, your answeris correct!”

“Really?! Yay~! I did it! I finallyunderstood it!”

In response to my confirmation, Mai putboth her arms in the air to celebrate. Though she had just managed tosolve the most basic of problems, that was at least a step in theright direction.

“Good for you! Well, this problem isnothing but practice for the upcoming ones, but you did manage tosolve it. At this rate, you’ll definitely be able to avoidfailing!”

“Y-Yeah! Thank you, Yuu! Then let’skeep going like this! As long as I barely avoid flunking out, it’sall good!”

“Your goal is a bit low, don’t youthink?!”

Not paying any attention to my reply,Mai once again returned to her previous state of studying. Hence, thesoft feeling from before returned, but…

“Hey hey, what about this problem?The formula is in a different form than usual.”

For a second, I was about to ask her totake her distance again but… I stopped myself.

You understand, right? Mai wascurrently focusing on her studies. I’d feel bad to disrupt herconcentration because of something like this, and getting this closewas something we couldn’t help considering the currentcircumstances, so it’s something like a force of nature. Beingoverly conscious of it is my fault.

Making excuses to myself about it, Itried my best not to become more conscious of that soft, spongyfeeling hitting my arm—Well, it was pretty much impossible toignore it one hundred percent, but I tried, okay?—and I continuedto teach Mai. Thus…

“…Suzuka, since I have to help herstudy, I can’t help it this time. And this level of contact doesn’tmake that much of a difference, anyway.”

I replied to Suzuka in a quiet voice.

“E-Ehh?! It doesn’t matter, yousay…?!”

“I’m helping her study right now,so I don’t have the time nor the capacity to think about any wickedand indecent stuff. So please don’t pay it any mind.”

“W-Wicked?! No way… Why does itfeel like I’m the weird one…?!”

…Sorry, I know that you’re justbeing considerate, but this isn’t the time for that.

“Uuuu…”

“Instead, how about you go back toyour own studies? Look, the other two are waiting for your help.”

When I glanced behind Suzuka, I sawNikaido-san and Shiina-san looking over at us with puzzledexpressions on their faces. They seemed to be holding a conversationlike “What’s happened with Suzuka?” and “I wonder… Fufu…”They were probably waiting for her to come back.

“Grrrrr…”

After gazing at them for a second,Suzuka looked like she really wanted to say something, but heldherself back and went back to her seat. Naturally, while she made herway there, she continued to throw me dubious glances

…Calm down. We’re really juststudying here.

“Hey, Yuu, what should I do here?”

“Ahh, that’s the same principle.You have to use this formula to solve that equation—”

Like this, we returned to studying. Wekept the same distance as before, and I could even catch a whiff of anice smell every once in a while. The soft feeling continued to pushagainst my arm, and I tried my best to ignore both.

“S-Studying together with Onii-chanat close range like that…! I’m so jealous…! I can’t haveHimuro-san hog all the enjoyment to herself!”

Even after that, Suzuka kept throwingglances over at me while muttering something to herself, but Idecided to not pay any attention to it.

Trying to not pay any attention toSuzuka, and not being aware of Mai’s closeness, I engrossed myselfmore and more fully into helping Mai study—

*

“Alright, now that you’ve come thisfar, I think that you only have to factor the numbers.”

“T-Thank you, Yuu!”

After that, a short number of hourspassed, and the goal of getting Mai to pass her end-term exams wasfinally in sight. I hammered all the important basics into her, soall that was left was for her to slowly get used to the applicationof the complicated formulae. With that, she should be able to achievethe bare minimum of points she needs. As I watched her go through theremaining problems in front of her, I let out a sigh and relaxed mybody. With this, we should be home free. Thanks to that, I doubt thatI have to teach her everything that thoroughly anymore.

“……Haaaah.”

“Good work, Onii-chan.”

As my exhaustion assaulted me, Suzukaabruptly called out to me, making me jump a bit in surprise. When Iturned towards her, she still had that disgruntled expression on herface as she looked at us.

…W-What? Is she still hung up on whatI said before?

—Or so I thought, but…

“U-Umm…”

For whatever reason, Suzuka startedfidgeting, and suddenly shoved both of her hands forward. When Ilooked closer, I saw that she was holding a first-year math workbooktowards me. Hmm? What’s she on about?

“Ummm, Suzuka-san… What is this…?”I timidly asked her, not knowing the reason for her actions. When Idid, Suzuka’s face lit up like a lamp, turning bright red.

“I-I-I’d like you to teach me aswell…!” She said, averting her eyes while suddenly blurting outthese unreasonable words.

………Eh? What? Suzuka is…? Askingme… To teach her…? …Ehhh?

“Umm… I don’t really understandthe meaning of this…”

“Wha—?! W-Why?! It’s exactly whatI said…!”

“N-No no no, if you meant what yousaid, then you’re asking me to teach you, you know?”

“That’s exactly what’s happeninghere?! Why won’t you just accept my request?!”

“I mean… Why is there any need toteach you in the first place?”

Thinking rationally, this doesn’tmake any sense.

“T-That’s… Umm… There’ssomething that I don’t understand…”

“As if. There’s no way that you ofall people wouldn’t understand something. You got the top grades inthe midterm exams like it was nothing.”

Yeah, even I was flabbergasted by that.Not only did she manage to get the top grades of students in heryear, but she also got a perfect score in every subject. A perfectscore, you know? One hundred points in every subject. Just what kindof monster is my little sister? Well, this isn’t the first timethat I painfully realized just how much of a perfect superhumanSuzuka is. As you can see…

“There’s nothing that I would beable to teach you, you know?”

Nothing. I don’t even need to thinkabout it, there won’t be anything. The story would be different ifit was some second-year stuff, but teaching that to a first-yearwouldn’t be of any benefit to them, and knowing her, she’dprobably grasp it in a matter of seconds.

…No, she might even be planning onstudying third-year subjects already… Or maybe she’s alreadypreparing for university entry exams…!

Naturally, those scenarios wereimpossible for the normal human being, but it’s Suzuka we’retalking about. Hence my perplexed reaction when she suddenly asked meto teach her.

“Ugh… T-that’s…!”

Suzuka swallowed her words. But after ashort silence, she spoke up again.

“T-That doesn’t matter in theslightest!”

“Ehh?!”

Why is she suddenlymad at me?!

“L-Listen! I’m a first-year, andOnii-chan is a second-year. Basically, I am the Kouhai, and Onii-chanis the Senpai. With that in mind, it’s obvious that the Senpai hasto look after his Kouhai’s studies! It doesn’t matter if there’ssomething that I don’t understand or if there’s not!”

“Wha—?! Saying that it doesn’tmatter is taking it a bit too far, don’t you think?!”

You can’t just decide on everythinglike that like it’s your legal right!

But Suzuka just turned slightly red inthe face, said “A-Anyway,” and pulled me away from Mai, towardsthe first-year girls.

“You have a duty as a Senpai to helpyour Kouhai in need!”

Saying that, she sat down next to meand opened up her math workbook.

…Umm, you’re being a bit tooforceful, you know…

“Ara ara, so this time I’ll betaught by Suzu-chan’s Onii-san.”

I heard that voice from across thetable, and when I lifted my head, Shiina-san gave me a carefree (butsomewhat teasing?) smile. And it wasn’t just her. From Suzuka’sother side, another voice spoke up.

“Looking at your exchanges withEnryuu-sensei, you seem to be good at teaching, so please treat mewell,” said Nikaido-san with a diligent expression as she gave aslight bow. I was so flustered that I was unable to reply.

“L-Look, the other two are also onboard with it.”

And Suzuka dealt the finishing blow.Though I feel like Suzuka is using the other two as leverage…

….Whatever. It makes sense that shewould want me to look after her, since I’m her Senpai, at least inname. Not to mention that Mai is currently doing fine on her own, soI’m not too busy.

More importantly—

Whenever Suzuka gets this adamant,there’s always a reason for it. Knowing her, she’s probablytrying to gather data again. Since she’s secretly such anincredibly popular light novel author, she tends to collect dataabout a lot of things in order to increase the quality of her novels.Considering the current situation, the next volume will probably havea scene where the siblings study together. Hence, she probablydecided to use this occasion for research. I’ve already been actingas her stand-in for more than a year, so I can tell fairly easily.

“…I understand. So what do you wantme to teach you?”

I completely changed my tone anddecided to help Suzuka collect data.

“Ah… U-Umm…!”

In return, Suzuka’s expression litup, and she hurriedly started flipping through her workbook.

“…Ehm…! I-I know! This righthere!” Suzuka said, pointing at a certain page.

…Why are you so happy to findsomething that you don’t understand…? Even if you’re justpretending…

“Let’s see… Hold on. Isn’t thisthe most basic of the basics you learn as a first-year?”

“W-Well, I left that part untoucheduntil now because I felt uncertain about it. But since I can’t keepgoing like this, I thought that I would ask Onii-chan to teach me…!”

“Then how did you get perfect scoresif you left it untouched until now?!”

“T-That was just pure coincidence! Ijust had a lucky day! I just so happened to write the correct answer,nothing more!”

As if! If you want to collect datahere, at least think of a better excuse!

“A-Anyway, I can’t help it if Idon’t understand. S-So please teach me thoroughly like you did withHimuro-san just now…!”

Just after finishing her sentence,Suzuka immediately closed the distance between us. And then shebrought her whole body closer to mine. Not just her arms, also herthighs.

“……!”

The moment I felt her softness, mywhole body twitched and I found myself taking my distance from her.

“……Eh? O-Onii-chan? Whathappened?”

Suzuka was making a perplexedexpression, and so was I. Just a second ago, when she touched me, itfelt like electricity ran through my body, and my body moved on itsown.

“Ah, well, you surprised me, that’sall…”

“I-Is that so? …Please don’tscare me like that. Ummmm… then let’s start again. Calmly, okay?”

While my heart was still beating likecrazy, Suzuka once again brought her body closer. Then, the secondbefore our bodies touched, I instinctively jumped away again.

“O-Onii-chan…?!”

Suzuka’s voice was clearly shaking. Ifor my part was unable to look Suzuka in the eyes.

Why? Easy. Because I was crazyembarrassed…! I-I know why.

In the end, I still can’t help but beconscious of Suzuka. That’s why my body is reacting like this, evenwith that small amount of physical contact. Even though we’ve doneeven crazier lovey-dovey and flirty things than that to collectdata…!

“W-Why are you jumping away from me?”

“I-I mean, there’s no need to stickthat close when I’m just teaching you…” I replied, not lookingat her.

Naturally, that’s just an excuse.Inside my heart, I kept chanting “I can’t be conscious ofSuzuka…!” like a mantra, but I wouldn’t be having any troublenow if it really were that easy.

…Ahh, damn it, why am I suddenlyfeeling weird like this?

“W-What is this about? You had noproblems with Himuro-san just now…! And you can’t do it if it’sme?!”

Suzuka’s body was shaking furiously.

…Exactly. I agree. But I can’t helpit if I can’t do it. How do I put it, there’s no reason behindit… I just have to calm down for now.

“L-Let’s just forget about that andfocus on studying. This is that you don’t understand, right? Sobasically you have to—”

“I already understand that, sothere’s no need for you to teach me that!”

“Ehhh?! You just told me to teach youbecause you didn’t understand it, right?!”

How irrational can you be?! Now you’rejust contradicting yourself!

But Suzuka just continued to close inon me. “Why are you this adamant about not clinging to me likethat?!” She demanded. Naturally, I couldn’t say the real reasonfor it, and I didn’t know the details myself, so I had no otherchoice but to keep quiet. I felt really bad that I couldn’t fulfillmy role as a stand-in to help her collect data, though.

“Onii-san, there’s something Idon’t understand, so could you help me?”

Shiina-san, who was sitting across thetable from me, called out to me with a smile. I had been hoping for achance to cool down like that, so I gladly accepted and moved over.Naturally, Suzuka didn’t appreciate that, and she startedcomplaining. “He’s ignoring me again!” Please forgive me justthis once!

“U-Umm, what is it?”

“I’m having a problem applying theformula for this problem, and I don’t know what to do next afterthis step.”

Shiina-san and I leaned over hernotebook at the same time. When we did, another comforting fragrancecame wafting over from her, which startled me a bit But, itdefinitely wasn’t on the same level as when I was close to Suzuka.

…Calm down, I don’t mean it in aperverted way.

“If you transform it here…”

“Ah, then I can use the formula. Justwhat I’d expect from Suzu-chan’s Onii-san. You’re so good atteaching.”

With a delighted expression on herface, Shiina-san worked on the problem, making me feel glad that Iwas able to help her.

“Nagami-senpai, can I bother you fora second as well?”

Just then, Nikaido-san called out tome. When I took a closer look, I saw that she was also stuck on asimilar problem, so I moved over to her. In the process, our handstouched for a moment as I reached over the notebook, but nothing cameout of that either. Thus, I realized that I was only panicking when Iwas with Suzuka.

“…I see, I think I understand itnow. I think I’ll be able to use this on the exam. I’lldefinitely repay this debt. B-But nothing perverted, okay?!”

“I never once thought about that!”

“Ugh… But being driven into acorner by Senpai, will I be able to withstand his devilish handstouching every part of my body?! I can see my dark future already!Ahhh…!”

Thus, Nikaido-san started fantasizingabout something.

I-I guess it’d be better to justleave her like this…

“Phew…”

Since I was so calm while helping theother two, I’ll surely be able to handle Suzuka now, right?

Thinking that, I once again returned tomy former seat.

“…Uuu…!”

What greeted me was a disgruntledSuzuka. I’d never seen her this disgruntled before.

“So you won’t teach me, but you’llhappily jump to their aid, I see… Ahh, how lucky you are…”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

Sadly, I couldn’t muster any strengthinto my voice.

“What is with this?! Not just withHimuro-san, but Kotomi and Kaede as well! You’re getting solovey-dovey! And here I am, being left out! Onii-chan is actingreally weird!”

Suzuka averted her gaze and startedsulking.

“Sorry…” I replied, feeling badbecause I couldn’t help her collect data.

Realizing that my behaviour wasstarting to become harmful to my surroundings, I decided that I hadto do something now. I don’t know what’s going on inside me, butI have to make sure that I don’t become any more conscious ofSuzuka…!

Thinking that, I realized thatsomething deep inside me found reassurance. That was because Suzuka,her mood slightly improved, called out to me with “Teach meproperly this time!”, without trying to come closer towards me.

…Though if this development actuallybecame more intense, then my determination that I gathered just nowmight be blown away immediately…

Ignoring that assumption, I pushed itinto the deepest recesses of my mind.

*

“I-It’s perfect! With all thisstudying I did, rather than avoiding failing marks, I might even moveup to the top of the school year, don’t you think?! No, I mighteven get perfect scores!”

When we took a break from our studysession, Mai blurted out these words with a grin, totally returningto her normal behaviour. Just where did her low spirits from beforego, I wonder? This is what happens the second she makes any sort ofprogress… Well, it’s not my business, so she can be as cocky asshe wants for all I care.

“So this is the result afterOnii-chan went out of his way to thoroughly teach you every singlestep like that, I see. That’s my Onii-chan.”

In response, Suzuka said this as shemade tea for everyone. With a sideways glance, she glared at me, andemphasized some of the words, so I guessed that she was stilldisgruntled about before. Since avoiding the topic at times likethese is the best way to handle the situation, I hurriedly changedthe subject.

“O-Oh right, once end-terms are over,it’s summer break, isn’t it? Do you all have any plans?”

“I still have to work. Ah~ being apopular light novel author really is tough!”

Mai was still in her arrogant mode whenshe responded, but since that kinda ticked me off, I responded toher.

“You’d better do your assignments.I won’t help you even if you come crying to me at the end of summerbreak,” I said, driving a nail into her attitude.

…Hey, I was half-joking, so don’tstart seriously crying now.

“Suzu-chan’s Onii-san andHimuro-senpai must have it rough with your jobs. I’ll probably justfocus on my club activities, I guess? Once summer break ends, theculture festival is just around the corner, and our theatre club willbe extremely busy with our preparations for that,” Shiina-sanresponded, flashing her usual gentle smile.

By the way, Shiina-san knows that Maiand I are light novel authors. Well, after what happened, we actuallytold her ourselves. Being the only one in Suzuka’s circle of closefriends who didn’t know would probably cause suspicions sooner orlater, so Suzuka advised that it might be better for us to tell her.Naturally, we had her promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“Same for me. I’m going to bepracticing at home as well, trying to improve my sword… H-However,I would love to participate in this otaku event called’NatsuComi’…”

Nikaido-san continued, her face turninga tiny bit red as she fidgeted out of embarrassment. After what hadhappened a while ago, she had slowly started to open up to otakuculture, which was nice to see.

“That sounds good. How about we allgo together?”

“W-W-What an honor to be able to gotogether with the Enryuu-sensei! K-Kotomi, how about you come with usas well?!”

“Ara ara, that sounds like it’llinteresting for sure. Naturally, Suzu-chan and Onii-san will comewith us, I assume? Oh yes, Suzu-chan, what are your plans for thissummer break?”

When she said these words, everyone’sgaze turned towards Suzuka. For some reason, her cheeks started tosoftly flush, and she threw glances at me as she answered.

“I want to… Umm… Well, since it’smy first summer break as a high school student, I want to make somespecial memories…”

She started glancing at me even morefrequently, and she continued.

“G-Going on a trip and stayingovernight somewhere sounds very summer vacation-like…! This socalled ‘Adult Trip’…! N-Naturally, I don’t have anyone that Icould ask for this, so the only person I can ask for this isOnii-chan…! A-Ah, of course, only in the sense of helping Onii-chancollect data for this novel. I don’t actually want to do thismyself in the slightest!”

She stopped simply glancing at me, andinstead she fixed her gaze entirely on me.

“Suzu-chan is really diligent when itcomes to Onii-san.”

“I knew that Suzuka was helpingNagami-senpai with his novel, but make sure not to cross the line,okay! …I-If you really need someone for that, I’ll reluctantlytake Suzuka’s place…!”

Both Shiina-san and Nikaido-san didn’tshow any sort of doubt in response to Suzuka’s plans. AsNikaido-san said, Suzuka would help with ‘my’ novel, hence shedoesn’t doubt us if we were always together. In reality, Suzukawanted to collect data on those sorts of scenes, and I help as herstand-in, but for secrecy reasons, we pretend like it’s the otherway around. Though I thought that they’d actually doubt her aboutit, since she normally acts like a different character when we gatherdata. After that incident a while ago, though, they completelystopped doubting her. In the worst case, I’ll just end up as theperverted older brother who forces his little sister to put up withhim, while Suzuka ends up innocent. It’s kinda unfair, right?

That’s why they didn’t think thatSuzuka’s actions just now during the studying session were weird,but let’s forget about that for now.

“S-Speaking about adult trips, ahotel with a romantic seaside view would be great, don’t youthink?! But a calm and soothing atmosphere in the mountains at an innis also a great possibility! O-Onii-chan, which do you prefer?!”

Suzuka took a step towards me with aninquiring gaze, and I unconsciously took a step back. Basically,Suzuka wants to go on this adult trip (whatever that entails), and isasking me, the stand-in, to play along.

“Ahh, well, umm… Let’s see…”

But the words that came out of my mouthweren’t anything that could be considered an actual answer.

…No, I know that it’s prettypitiful of me, but hold on a second! I had just managed to calm downa bit, and now she’s suddenly bringing up a trip with just the twoof us, you know! I know that it’s to collect data, but it’s withSuzuka, hence it’s a bit too much to handle. However, panickingforever isn’t an option either, so I tried to calm down the stormof emotions going on inside my chest, and forced some more definitivewords out.

“Ummmm… Both sound fine to me…?”

…Uff, I barely managed torespond —or so I thought, but…

“W-What’s with that sloppyresponse…?!”

Not understanding my troubles, Suzukajust got angry at me.

…C-Come on, as if I could justrespond here with something sappy like “I think that watching thestars with you on a beach at night would be the best!” Don’t askfor the impossible! I’m trying to play along as best as I can, butI do have my limits!

However, ignoring my inner turmoil,Suzuka continued to glare at me, showing no intention of calming downany time soon. Even during the following tea break, which went byrather smoothly, the silent pressure that Suzuka emitted keptstressing me out, and I could only try my best to calm my nerves.

That evening.

“Onii-chan… There’s somethingthat I’d like to talk about.”

After I finished my bath, I returned tomy room, but Suzuka was already waiting for me. Although I hadmentally prepared myself for a rant because of what had happenedearlier that day, the dangerous aura that Suzuka emitted made mestiffen up in fear, and I replied with a weak “Y-Yes!”

“Onii-chan, what was that aboutearlier?!”

And just as I anticipated, herlecturing began. She said things like…

“Onii-chan is my stand-in, so Iexpect you to keep up the act!”—

“Onii-chan has been slacking offrecently. Be a bit more serious!”—

“Why could you do it with Himuro-san,but stopped playing along the moment I tried to do it… O-Only formy data of course!”—

“You even helped Kaede and Kotomiout, so do you prefer your Kouhais over your little sister?”—

Though the contents of the lectureweren’t always quite what I had anticipated, she was no doubt angryat me. To be fair, whenever I act as her stand-in, it usually endswith me getting scolded for no reason. But just this once, I cancompletely understand her, and didn’t have the strength to try tofight back…

“Onii-chan is acting a bit weirdrecently. Is there something that’s occupying your thoughts all thetime?”

Finally, Suzuka calmed down afterventing all her anger at me, but I still froze up when she said that.

“D-Do you mean to tell me that you’veactually found someone you like…?!And that’s why you don’t have the enthusiasm to help your littlesister collect data…?!”

“No no no no! That’s not the case,okay?!”

When I fervently denied Suzuka’saccusation, she coldly responded with “Then what is it?!” towhich I had no response.

…Again, I can’t just tell her thatI’ve been growing weirdly conscious of her recently, which makesthings feel really awkward!

But Suzuka isn’t the kind of personwho’d be deceived that easily. Her intuition is impeccable, and forsome reason, it’s even more so if it’s about me. So much so thatI’ve been worried that she might find out about this feeling ofmine any second now. Because of this, I frantically started searchingfor some excuse that could get me out of this situation. Afterwracking my brain to its limit, I thought of only one possibility andblurted it out immediately.

“I-It’s that, you know, I was justlost in thought because the results of the light novel contest willbe revealed soon! I worked really hard this time, so I was thinkingthat I might actually be able to win the grand prize, or at least getclose!”

“The grand prize, is it…?”

She had a blank expression on herface—or rather, she was wearing the very definition of a doubtfulface. Though it totally sounded like a lie, she didn’t have anyproof of that, and I didn’t have proof to confirm my own statement.The expression she made said that she was only doubting me even moreas a result.

“And which one might you be able towin…?”

“I-I wonder. I don’t mean to brag,but I sent my manuscript to both major publishers, as well as somesmaller ones…”

“That really isn’t something tobrag about…”

Leave me alone! I was desperate to getyou off my case, okay!

And I did that ‘Apply to many, gettaken once’ tactic before, so I’m at least not totally lying.

“Well, that would explain why you’vebeen spaced out all the time… You should be getting the resultssoon, right? Can you show me the places where you have a good feelingthat you’ll win?”

“Eh?”

When she asked me that, I panicked. Ithink that there should be a few where I made it past a fewpreliminaries, but their results are yet to be announced, so I can’tuse them to cover it up…?! W-Weren’t there some results that werejust announced recently…?!

While cold sweat started running downmy forehead, Suzuka’s sharp gaze began cutting right into me.Suzuka seemed to have become more suspicious, and she said “Are youhiding something from me?” I could feel the pressure emanating fromher. Just then, we were interrupted.

— Ring ring ring ring …

My phone suddenly started vibrating,and a ringing sound filled the room.

…A call? I-I’m saved?! I can getaway from Suzuka’s questioning! I don’t know who’s calling me,but nice timing there! Thank you very much!

“S-Sorry, I’m getting a call,” Itold Suzuka. I walked towards my table that had the smartphone on topof it.

“Hmph… It’s probably Himuro-sanor Double Peace-san or Sakura-san or one of the Kanzaka sisters orShinozaki-san or—Hold on, don’t you think that you have way toomany women around you?!”

“Don’t get mad at me for somethingunreasonable like that, okay?!”

“…That reminds me, I feel like youexchanged phone numbers with Kaede and Kotomo a while ago, as well?”

“They asked me for my number, okay?!Don’t make it sound like I’m trying to pick up every girl I comeacross, okay?!”

“…Hmph, whatever. Anyway, you’retalking with me right now, so please cut the call as quickly aspossible… No, there’s also the choice of not answering in thefirst place—”

“No way!”

Whoever it is, I’ll stretch the callout as long as possible. Even if that makes Suzuka angry, it’sbetter than being driven into the corner like this!

Thinking that, I lifted the phone fromthe table, but…

“Huh?”

When I looked at the screen, I saw thatthe call was coming from an unknown number.

…Maybe they have the wrong number? Itdoesn’t seem like I can get any reprieve with this…

“What’s wrong, Onii-chan?”

But not answering in the first placeisn’t an option. If I don’t answer it, Suzuka won’t let me getaway. Wasting any time at all is better than that.

「Uhhm~Hello? Is this the number of Nagami Yuu-san~?」

Unexpectedly, the person on the otherside of the phone new my name… It seems like they didn’t dial thewrong number. But who is it? It sounds like a woman, but I don’trecognize her voice.

“Ah, yes, I’m Nagami Yuu…” Ianswered, a bit perplexed.

Maybe it’s someone from a callcenter?

「Ahh,good, I’m Sakaki from Crescent Publishing」

“———?!”

The moment I heard those words, Iswallowed my breath.

…W-What did she just say…?W-W-W-W-W-What did she just say…? Crescent… Publishing ? Sobasically, she’s from a publishing… Company?!

“…Onii-chan? What happened? Who isit?”

Though I could hear Suzuka’s voicebehind my back, this was not the time to pay her any heed.

…W-Wait, calm down… This is a callfrom a publishing company… That can only mean one thing, right?!

My heart was beating so fast that Icould hear it in my chest, and I could feel my whole body tensing up.Countless thoughts spun around in my head. All the possibilities, allthe fantasies, everything.

「Umm~I wanted to talk about your entry novel for our contest, so could Ihave some of your time? …Hmm? Hello? Can you hear me?」

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes! I can hear you justfine, yes!”

Suzuka stopped trying to talk to me andkept quiet. Maybe she realized that the call was important.

「Ummmmm,well first of all I wanted to thank you for sending in your novel. Itook the freedom to read it.」

“Y-Yes…!”

Without realizing it, I made a fistwith my hand.

…I-It only could be that, right?! Acall from a publisher after a contest. Yeah…! This must be therumoured ‘I have called to inform you’ call that I’ve heardabout…!

The unpleasant feeling from before whenI was talking with Suzuka was now completely washed away, and Ifocused my entire mind on the call.

W-Will I finally hear the words I’vebeen waiting years and years to hear?! ‘Congratulations on winningthe grand prize’, or something like that?! I can’t be anythingelse, right?

….Or so I thought.

「Well,I’m sorry to say this, but you were eliminated from the contest,though it is very regrettable.」

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”

Naturally, having not expected thisturn of events, I couldn’t contain my shock.

W-W-W-What’s up with that?! I didn’tmake it?! Regrettably?! Wait, again?! Are you doing this to meagain?!

I remembered back to when somethingsimilar had happened a short while ago. I had gotten a phone calllike this, and just when I started getting my hopes up, I was justtold “Sorry, but please try harder next time”, which utterlydestroyed my will to live. Feeling despair crawling its way into myheart once again, I fell on my knees.

“O-Onii-chan?! What happened?!”

Suzuka came over and knelt beside me inworry, but I was unable to give a response.

…W-What’s up with this? What did Ido to deserve getting another call like this? Am I the only personthese cruel jokes happen to…?

「Hmmm?Hello? What happened? Can you still hear me~?」

“U… U…! Y-Yes… I can hear you,loud and clear!” I couldn’t help but answer with a disgruntledtone of voice.

…Yes I did, and I don’t care! Iknew that it would end like this! As if I’d just get a call thatsaid “You won the grand prize of our light novel contest! You’rea professional light novel author now! Yay yay wohoo!” out of theblue! Ahh, shit, damn it…!

As tears started streaming out of myeyes, I cursed myself for getting my hopes up. In the meantime,Suzuka panicked and brought over a handkerchief. She startedcarefully wiping away my tears.

…You really are kind… You’re anangel, that’s what you are…

「Yeah?Good, because there’s something else—」

“Ugh… What else is there…? Mynovel lost in the end, didn’t it…?!”

「Yeah,you did make it to the final round. But it was lacking the finalpush, and we were worried that we might not get enough sales. Atleast that’s what we thought.」

“…Is that so?”

She’s probably telling me to workharder next time. Thinking about it rationally, maybe I should bethankful that they went out of their way to call me like this. But Iwasn’t even an adult yet, and I was unable to show gratitude forthis. I found myself just hoping that she would finish this call assoon as possible, or that she’d at least give me some sort ofuseful advice for next time.

—But…

「Well,that aside, let’s talk about the real reason I called.」

“…? The real reason? Why would youhave something to tell me, since I got rejected…?”

「It’strue that your novel just barely didn’t make it. But there’s noway I’d just call you to tell you about that, you know? That’d bea waste of time.」

“………Eh?”

For a moment, I was unable to graspwhat she wanted to tell me. If she didn’t call me to inform meabout being rejected, then why would she call?

While I was busy feeling lost, thewoman called Sakaki continued with a relaxed tone of voice.

「Actually,I want to meet up with you and have a talk with you if you’re finewith it. That’s why I called.」

“E-Ehh…? Meet me…?”

「Inperson~. Like in the near future or something.」

I was a bit surprised to hear the ‘Nearfuture’ part.

“U-Umm, I did get rejected, didn’tI…? So why are you…?”

「See,I got a bit interested in you~ How about it? I’m not going to forceyou, but—」

“N-No! I’ll go! ….No, I’ll meetyou! Please let me meet you!”

Before I realized it, I had alreadyscreamed my answer into the phone. My depression from beforecompletely vanished, and my body was shaking with anticipation.

「Then,how about tomorrow? It’s a holiday after all… As for thelocation… Umm~ how about our publishing company?」

“T-Tomorrow? I understand!”

After that, we decided on the exactplace and time, and after confirming it, we cut the call. I continuedto gaze at the phone in my hand long after that, though.

“…Onii-chan? Who in the world wasthat call from? You said that your novel was rejected though…”

Suzuka called out to me, a bithesitantly. She apparently had gotten the general gist of it, but myweird behaviour seemed to be throwing her off a bit.

“A-Ah, yeah, the thing is…”

I turned to her and explained what thecall just now had been about. Especially about me meeting up withthat person later.

“Umm… So what exactly is themeaning of this? Onii-chan’s novel was rejected, right? So whatelse is there to talk about?”

“I don’t know myself… B-But, whatif…?!”

I had a certain hope that I wasclinging to. Unlike all the times before, there was something elsefor me, even though I was rejected. Thus, this could only be onething, right?

…No no no, it’s too early to getexcited about that. There’s still a chance that my expectationsmight be betrayed yet again. But, I can’t help but think that, youknow?!

“Ha… Ha ha ha he he he hee…!”

“O-Onii-chan?! Your laugh is reallycreepy, you know!”

Normally, Suzuka telling me somethingbluntly like this would hurt me a bit, but right now I didn’t care.Even I could tell that I was getting fired up to the extreme.

…T-This is really bad…! My heart’spounding…!

“W-Well, it’s fine if Onii-chan ishappy though…”

Okay, I have to calm down. I can’tconfirm it yet. I can’t be happy yet. I have to save it all forafter I go to their company tomorrow and hear them out. But there’sreally only one thing it can be, right?!

“Aside from that, there’s a problemthat we have to think about.”

“He he he…! Hm? What problem?”

“…Onii-chan? Are you really sayingthat?”

Suzuka looked at me as if I was nothingmore than a mere insect. Like, I know that my head was in the clouds,but that’s still a bit rough…

“Haaaah… Onii-chan, are you goingto visit that publishing company or whatever tomorrow?”

“Of course? They have something withme to talk about, so I have to hear them out.”

“The problem isn’t the talk initself, but everything before that.”

“Everything before that?”

“…You are my stand-in, TowanoChikai, right?”

“…And?”

“Really?! You still don’t get it?!You’re the renowned Towano Chikai, so you can’t just casuallystroll into another publishing company, acting like a completenewcomer!”

When I was told this, I slowly startedto grasp what Suzuka was talking about.

…A-Ah, I see… No wait, hold on?

“That’s right, but that’s onlywhen showing my face at official events, like the commemorationparty, or the signing session, or my lecture at Hakuou, right? Idon’t think that anyone from other publishing companies were there,and I can’t imagine that they’d just remember my face like that.”

“You’re letting down your guard.You never know when someone will see you. There’s no guarantee thatthe person you meet tomorrow won’t immediately recognize you asTowano Chikai, right?”

“E-Even if you say that…”

Then, I thought of something.

…So, basically, Suzuka is trying totell me that…

“You’re saying that I shouldn’tgo…?!”

“O-Onii-chan?! Don’t make a facelike you’re about to cry! I do think that it’s the most safe andsecure route to take, but I can’t just tell Onii-chan to stayhome!”

With a disgruntled face, Suzuka quicklyaverted her gaze. Was it just my imagination that her face looked abit red when she did that?

“It’s not that. I’m saying thatyou should be prepared if you’re planning on going.”

“Prepared so that they don’t figureout that I’m Towano Chikai…? But, how? Should I wear a disguise?”

I just blurted out that idea at random,but…

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’mtalking about.”

Suzuka actually agreed with it.Seriously?

“It’s all to prevent the worst-casescenario that they figure it out.”

“So you say, but what kind ofdisguise are we talking about here?”

“What about the clothes I wore backat your signing session?”

“Weren’t you wearing sunglasses, amask, and a trenchcoat?! That makes me stand out even more, doesn’tit?!”

It’s basically the same as askingthem to doubt me. Or maybe I’ll be arrested by the police before Ieven arrive at the publishing company.

“Hmph… Though I guess it makessense in this case… You don’t want to stand out, but you alsodon’t want to cause any suspicion…”

…Why didn’t she think of that inthe first place? It seems like Suzuka can be quite air headed attimes as well…

“Then… I-I see, let’s do it likethis.”

Suzuka was lost in thought of a bit,but she suddenly lifted her head with an expression of understandingon her face. She had me sit down on a chair. After that, she stormedoff for a second and returned with a hairbrush and a dryer in herhands.

“If you can’t change how you dress,then maybe we should just change your impression. Like changing yourhairstyle. An image change, so to speak.”

“Ohh, I see.” I nodded inunderstanding.

That was something that could be doneeasily, and it would still be effective.

“Just keep sitting there. I’ll tryto style your hair in a different way from usual…!”

“That’d be great, but you don’treally have to do all that much, you know. A different impressionfrom usual is all that I need, anyway.”

“N-No, I have to give thoroughthought as to what hairstyle might be the best. Also, I want to see adifferent Onii-chan from usual… And by my hands… Ehehehe, this achance…!”

“U-Umm, Suzuka-san?”

“Hyah?! W-What is it?! D-D-D-Don’tget the wrong idea, okay?! It’s definitely not that I’m enjoyingthis situation! I’m just trying to avoid the worst possible outcomeof them finding out, okay?!” Suzuka’s face went bright red, andshe waved around the brush and dryer wildly.

…No, you’re totally enjoying this.It’s like you’re using me as a dress-up doll or something…

“A-Anyway, I’m going to start, sodon’t move!”

That being said, now that it’s cometo this, I have no other choice but to leave it to her. Doing animage change by myself would be impossible after all, and Suzuka hasgood fashion sense.

I kept quiet and listened to the soundof the hair dryer until Suzuka called out to me.

“Done!” She said, and handed me asmall handheld mirror. Feeling a bit excited, I quickly gave myself alook-over.

“…Hold on, what is this…?!”

But I was at a loss for words. Afterall, the person reflected in the mirror had his hair parted to oneside, looking perfectly groomed. And this person was, without adoubt, me.

“How is it? It has a formal feel toit, and I think that it looks wonderful! …Ah, naturally in thesense that the hair is wonderful, and it’s definitely not likeOnii-chan looks really cool or something, okay?!”

But Suzuka didn’t agree with myfeeling of discomfort, and got fired up in front of me instead…Seriously?

“…W-Well, umm, the hair parted toone side isn’t bad or anything, but, how do I say it… it doesn’treally suit me… This hairstyle would probably look better forsomeone who has a proper function in society, wearing a suit orsomething…”

Since my hair was still a bit wet frommy bath, Suzuka had no problem styling it like this, which made mefeel even more uncomfortable… Suzuka, though…

“Eh, really? I think that Onii-chanlooks gallant with whatever hairstyle—Umm, I’m just kidding.T-Though I think that it looks very good on you!”

Her eyes were sparkling while shespoke.

…T-This girl, does she actually haveweird fashion sense after all…?

“A-Anyway, I don’t think that thisis it for me… So I’d appreciate it if you could try somethingelse…” I asked Suzuka as carefully as possible.

When I did, Suzuka looked a bitconfused and said “Is that so?”, but her usual smile immediatelyreturned with “Well, I was planning on trying out many otherstyles, so it’s no problem!”

…I-I’m slowly starting to getworried here…

“Ah, but before that, let’s take apicture.”

“Ehh?!”

While I was already tired from theget-go, Suzuka abruptly took out her smartphone and started to takepictures of me with my current hairstyle, making me panic quite abit.

“H-Hey, what are you doing?!”

“A-A commemorative picture. I don’tget to see Onii-chan like this very often, so it’s only natural!”

P-Please don’t…! You’re totallytreating me like a dress-up doll right now…!

“…Okay! Now then, onwards to thenext hairstyle…!”

“U-Umm, maybe this one’s good afterall? Maybe I can just put on a hat tomorrow and it’ll all be fine…”

“Wearing a hat indoors all the timewould make you look too suspicious, and it’s very rude as well ifthere’s no real reason for it.”

“You’re not wrong, but it’s adisguise, so it’s fine, isn’t it?!”

“Since the hair makes the man, I wantto see Onii-chan with a lot of different hairstyles—Excuse me! W-Wehave to consider the worst-case scenario, so we should aim for thebest possible disguise!” Instead of showing any signs of stopping,Suzuka became fired up even more.

She even pulled some wax out ofnowhere, making me want to ask where she even had been storing it upuntil now.

“N-Now then, the next hairstyle itis…!”

In the end, I was unable to talk Suzukadown, and I just let her do her thing with me. I let out a defeatedsigh. After a bit of time passed, Suzuka once again let out amotivated “It’s done!”

“…Now my hair is standing up likeI’m some punk?!”

My hair was sticking straight up,completely ignoring gravity, while I was crying.

“Though it’s a bit radical… It’sprobably fine! This sort of hairstyle really suits you!”

“That doesn’t feel like praise!”

But, Suzuka’s eyes kept sparkling, asshe said “W-Wonderful…!”

No, umm, your fashion sense might be abit off, you know… Making me look like a super saiya*in is takingit a bit too far in my opinion…

While I was still at a loss, Suzukatook out her smartphone again and took more pictures of me. As ofright now, I was nothing more than a tool that she could use to cureher boredom. I’d have to beg later for her to delete thosephotos…

“Ehe, ehehe… Then next is…”

“U-Umm… Aren’t you forgettingabout our original goal? We’re doing this for tomorrow, right?”

“………Ah?!”

“You just said ‘Ah?!’, didn’tyou?!”

“N-No, I haven’t forgotten ofcourse! We’re doing this for tomorrow, and I’m definitely notusing this chance to satisfy my own desires or anything?!”

“…Then try to make the next onelook more normal, okay…?”

“I-It’s fine… Next is…!”

And, after a few minutes passed—

“…E-Everything slicked back, huh…Well, it’s pretty normal, I guess…”

Though I was a bit perplexed, this wasdefinitely better than everything before. But, just when I wasthinking that, I could feel something at my ears, and my sight grew abit darker.

“Try wearing this as well…!”

“S-Sunglasses?! Why?!”

“I-It’s the most important part ofa disguise. It’s fine, your slight yakuza-like look isn’t toobad, and it really suits Onii-chan!”

“It still doesn’t feel like I’mbeing praised here?!”

Not taking my reply seriously, Suzukatook pictures once again. In response, I slumped my shoulders as Ilooked at myself in the mirror again.

…Suzuka, your fashion sense is reallyweird. At least regarding men’s hairstyles…

“Haah… That was good… Now on tothe next one…!”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. I’ll dosomething about it myself…”

“T-That won’t do! I have to try allthose hairstyles on Onii-chan that I’ve fantasized ab—no, that Ithought of for this special occasion just now!”

“You’re just playing with me,aren’t you?!”

However, Suzuka, completely engrossed,wasn’t listening to me at all anymore, and our preparations for thefollowing day continued late into night.

…In the end, no matter how much Ibegged her, Suzuka remained strong, and didn’t delete the picturesin the end… Ugh…

*

“…Umm, this should be it, right?”

The following day, I arrived at thepredetermined location at the predetermined time.

Crescent Publishing.

Standing in front of the shabby door,with a plaque that had the name of the company written on it, I couldfeel the tension in every inch of my body. The location was a sharedoffice building near a station in Tokyo, on the second floor. Thereit was, in a line of doors with the plaques for many differentcompanies.

“Woah… I’m getting really nervousright now…!”

Past this door is something that willgreatly influence my future… probably. Once I started thinking likethat, my tension grew tenfold. This might even be the time when Igraduate from staying Suzuka’s stand-in.

“A-Anyways, one final check.”

Before I went to open the door, I onceagain checked over my own appearance, making sure that everything wasstill as it should be. Going along with Suzuka’s plans, I changedmy hairstyle and added a disguise. It might sound a bit overboard,but we ended up with a hairstyle slightly parted, and glasses forshow.

…For crying out loud, what was thatabout yesterday? It felt like she was teasing me as much as shewanted—

I grumbled about it as I preparedmyself. Since I didn’t have any proper business clothing, I onceagain borrowed my old man’s suit. Checking to make sure that mynecktie wasn’t crooked, I took a deep breath and put away the handmirror.

“…H-Here I go!”

Steeling my determination, I knocked onthe door, but…

“Hm…? No response?”

No voice came from the other side ofthe door, and there was no sign of movement.

“……Is everyone on the phone orsomething?”

After a short wait, I gave anotherknock, but still to no avail. Having no other choice, I carefully putmy hand against the door. The door wasn’t locked, and it slowlypushed open.

“U-Umm, excuse me… huh?”

When I peeked through the tiny gap, Icouldn’t spot anyone inside. The room was filled with books lyingall over the place, even filling the desks, but no human being was insight.

“What’s going on…? This is theright place, isn’t it? Well, it said Crescent Publishing on thedoor…”

A sleepy-sounding voice came frominside when I was still confused as to what to do.

“Hmm…? President…? You’reback…?”

I could hear a voice coming from theback of the room, located on the sofa riddled with books. Lookingover there, I spotted a woman starting to sit upright.

Her age… Seemed to be in the middleof her twenties, I guess? She was wearing a t-shirt with jeans thathad several holes in them, and she gave off a rough feel. Herslightly curled hair was ruffled, with no signs of make-up, givingoff the impression of a girl who clearly didn’t act her age.However, the person herself didn’t show any concern about that, andshe just looked around in a disordered manner.

“Hmm…? Who are you…?”

The woman seemed to have finallynoticed my presence, and threw me a glare with half-opened eyes, onlyto let out a long yawn afterwards. For a second, I thought that I hadhappened to intrude into some random person’s home, but her voicesounded similar to the person I talked to on the phone, so Ihurriedly opened my mouth.

“U-Umm, I’m Nagami Yuu. We spokeover the phone yesterday…”

“Hm…? Nagami…? Ahh, that’s whatit is… I called you here.”

The woman stood up from the sofa andwalked closer to me, still half-asleep. Once she arrived in front ofme, she gave me a good, long look.

…Y-Your face is too close. But,seeing her this close, she doesn’t look too bad. Rather, with moreelegant clothing, she’d probably be quite the beauty… But notwith that plain look and sleepy expression.

“So you’re Nagami Yuu-kun~ I’mSakaki, who called you yesterday. Sakaki Ruriko………… Huh? HaveI met you somewhere before?”

“Eh?!” Not expecting that, Istarted panicking.

…I-It’s fine. Even if she knowsTowano Chikai, it shouldn’t be more than a fleeting acquaintance,and I’m wearing a disguise right now…!

While I was still panicking inside,Sakaki-san let out a big yawn again.

“Hm… Maybe it’s just myimagination… Fuwaaaaa…”

With those words, she led me to a tablein the back.

…I-I’m safe!

“Well, just take a seat over there.”

“Y-Yes… But the chair has amountain of books on it…”

“Ahh, those have to go back soon…No, were they research material? Well, they’re probably not thatimportant, so just put them wherever.”

“That’s a bit lax, isn’t it?!”

“This is how life works, you know~”

…I wasn’t talking about somethingthat impressive, you know… Why are you looking at me like a kid whodoesn’t know any better…

Though Sakaki-san sat down in front ofme for a second, she immediately got up again with an “Ah!”

“I’ll get something to drink. Whatdo you want, Nagami-kun? Maybe some coffee, or black tea, or barleytea… Well, I don’t know if we really have them in therefrigerator though.”

“Is there anything you’re sureabout?! …No, umm, I’m fine with anything. Thank you very much.”

“Ah, really? I have some chûhai, howabout that?”

“Alcohol is a bit bad, don’t youthink?! Also, I’m a minor?!”

“Well, if you round it up, your ageis in the twenties, so I’m fine with that?”

“How lax can you be?! Anyway, I’dlike something non-alcoholic…”

“Non-alcoholic beer?”

“Anything aside from that, yes!”

When I replied, Sakaki-san gave a bored”That so… But searching for it sounds like a pain…” andwalked off. What’s wrong with her?

“S-She really is a weird person…But anyway, it’s finally time…”

Though I was a bit taken off-guardbecause of Sasaki-san’s unexpected nonchalant behaviour, I’vecalmed down now that I’m alone again, and this finally feels likethe real deal. I’ve been to a publisher before as Suzuka’sstand-in, but this is the first time that I’ve come here withbusiness of my own. The feeling is totally different. Well, my novelwas rejected, though.

I was once again reminded of my currentcircumstances. Unlike Sumeragi, this feels a bit more like apublishing company, and I can’t help but get a bit excited—

「…Onii-chan,can you hear me?」

“Uwaah?!”

That second, I suddenly heard Suzuka’svoice in my ear, which made me let out a shriek.

「Comeon, what are you panicking for?」

“S-Sorry, I was just a bit lost inthought, so…”

Holding my right ear, I replied with aquiet voice. I had a small voice receiver in my right ear. Inside mynecktie, there was a small microphone, which wasn’t visible if youjust looked at it casually. Naturally, it was all so that I couldkeep contact with Suzuka.

…Well, Suzuka was the one who thoughtof this in the first place. She actually wanted to tag along today.She was too worried about me being all alone, or she thought it washer duty my little sister or whatever—well, there are a lot ofreasons for it, but this is where we are right now. She certainlycouldn’t just come with me, so I somehow got her to agree to this.

…Last night, Suzuka ordered this atthe fastest delivery speed possible, and set up everything thismorning before I went out. Why did we have to go this far, though?

「Well,it’s fine. Onii-chan, can you look outside the window next to you?」

“Outside the window?”

I followed her orders, and…

“Wha—?! W-Why are you there?!”

Through the glass, I saw Suzuka sittingin the building next door. When I did, I couldn’t hide mybewilderment.

「Thishere is a cafe. From here, I can have a good understanding ofOnii-chan’s situation. I’m watching over you, so don’t worry!」

No no no no!

“Why are you acting all cool aboutthis?! Did you just happen to spot me by coincidence…?”

「No.I scoped out the location and surrounding buildings yesterday, and Ifound this place that might allow me to have a clear view of thesituation. I’m glad that I was correct. It seems like it was worthreserving a seat at the window!」

“Y-You even reserved it…! Aren’tyou becoming more of a stalker? Is Mai’s behaviour slowlyinfluencing you or something…?!”

「Wha—?!D-Don’t lump me together with her! I’m just worried aboutOnii-chan…!」

I could see Suzuka furiously waving herhands as she tried to deny my accusation.

“I’m thankful that you’re worriedabout me, but there’s really no need, you know? I’m not acting asyour stand-in today, so there’s no chance of me making a mistake inthat regard.”

「Iknow that already, but… I-I’m just interested, that’s all!」

Well, even if you are, you’re a bittoo into this…

「…Also,there’s something weird.」

“What is it?”

「Thiscompany. I can tell just from watching here. It’s pretty small fora publisher, and it’s full of books. There’s no people in sight…And judging from what I’ve heard from the mic, Sakaki-san is alsoacting very suspiciously…」

“I-It’s true that she’s a bitweird, but there are lots of publishers out there, you know? Sumeragiis probably just a bigger one.”

「Still,it’s one of those minor companies that you even forgot applying to,right?」

When I was told that, I swallowed mywords. She’s right that I forgot about actually applying toCrescent Publishing. So much so that I want to know which novel Ieven sent here since it’s been so long.

“That doesn’t change anything,though? It’s true that it’s not a big publisher, but theimportance lies in the novels they publish!”

「…Onii-chan,I’ve been thinking since yesterday, but aren’t you a bit tooeager right now? Let’s look at the situation more rationally—」

“Umm, I made you wait, huh.”

Sakaki-san came back, interruptingSuzuka. In a panic, I whispered a flustered “A-Anyway, we’ll talklater…!” into the mic, and cut my conversation with Suzuka.Though Suzuka made a sound like she wanted to complain, sheunderstood my intentions and kept quiet.

“Hmm? Where you talking with someonejust now?”

“N-No, I wasn’t. I was just talkingto myself…”

“Ah, really? Well, whatever. Here, Ibrought something to drink, so feel yourself at home~”

Though she seemed to harbour somedoubts for a second, Sakaki-san gave up on pursuing the issue. Sheput down a cup and filled with a dark reddish-brown liquid in frontof me.

“Ah, barley tea. Thank you verymuch.”

“Aha, I actually don’t really knowif it’s barley tea or soba sauce, even after I put it in, so take asip and check. Then you’ll know for sure~”

“So you wouldn’t know withoutdrinking?!”

“Everything’s the same once it getsinto your stomach.”

“I think that those would still bedifferent even in my stomach…”

“ Gulp gulp … Puwa~! Ah, it’sfine, it’s barley tea,” said Sakaki-san after she took a goodsip.

Her half-opened eyes were still thesame as when she bad barely woken up, and everything about how shepresented herself was screaming things like “lax” and”half-minded. “

Since I didn’t have any intention ofactually trying that barley tea, I switched gears to the main topicof the day.

“Umm, may I ask why you called mehere today…?”

“Hm? Ahh~ I remember.”

When I asked that, Sakaki-san emptiedher cup, and put it down on the table.

“Well~ I did read your novel, and itwas really close~ If we changed it up a bit, you might’ve been ableto get the grand prize.”

Putting one hand on the bottom part ofher t-shirt, she started scratching her belly.

“I-Is that so…? Thanks for that.”

“Well, you did end up gettingrejected this time, so there’s no use in dwelling on it~”

“Then why would you call me here ifmy novel was rejected?” I said with a hint of expectation.

“Ahh~ right. That’s a given fact,but there was something shiny and sparkly in there~ That’s why Ithought that I would talk with you in person like this.”

Before I responded, I could alreadyfeel my heartbeat accelerating.

“A-And why is that…?”

“Basically, we can’t immediatelypublish your novel right now, but if you’re fine with it, I waswondering if you wanted to write under our guidance for now. I’llbe acting as the one responsible for you, so I’ll be the editor whowill support you until you finish a novel that can be published. Andonce I give the okay, we’ll do that. How about it?” Sakaki-sanasked me, but I couldn’t give an immediate response.

But, that wasn’t because I wasunsure, or because I was hesitating. Rather—

…I-I did it—!!! F-Finally, it’shere! The time has come!

No, I know! It’s not like my wish wasfinally granted! I know that I still haven’t secured my debut yet!This is just a chance, nothing more! But it’s still one step in theright direction! The first step up the stairs of being a professionalauthor! This is completely different from all the other times I wasrejected! I’m getting my own editor now, you know?! Once she thinksthat the novel is interesting enough, it’ll get published, youknow?!

Because the development arrived that Ihad been desperately hoping for, I felt so happy that I was worriedthat I might start breaking out in tears. The way to my debut isright in front of me right now!

…As if I wouldn’t be excited forthissssssssssssssssssss!!!

「O-Onii-chan,calm down」

Then, while my whole body was filledwith happiness, Suzuka, who had kept silent until now, suddenlycalled out to me.

「Iknow that it sounds great, but again, this publisher seems a bitweird. To make sure that we don’t rush things, we should reservethis talk for later, and have a meeting later—」

Reserve this for later? What are youtalking about! This is my chance, you know?! If I let this slip, I’llbe back to my daily life of sending entry novels everywhere! I’llbe writing novels with an editor to back me up here! There’s no wayI can hesitate!

“Hm? What’s wrong? Is it no good?”

“No, I’ll do it! Please accept me!”

「Onii-chan?!」

Whatever Suzuka was yelling aboutdidn’t enter my ears anymore. I might become a light novelauthor—the moment that thought filled my mind, I became wrapped upin my own dreams, unable to think about anything besides writing anew novel.

“Ah, is that so? Glad to hear it.Then, I’ll be acting as your editor from here on out. I’m lookingforward to it.”

“Yes! Let’s aim for the top of thelight novel industry together!”

“That’s some crazy enthusiasmthere. It’s much appreciated though~”

In response to my energetic reply,Sakaki-san just gave a bored yawn, saying “Well, let’s just takeit slow for now~”

…As if I could keep calm here! ThoughI’m still standing at the beginning of the road, I can see the wayto my debut! Now I only have to walk down that way, write a novelthat’s interesting enough, and then my dream will finally cometrue!

“B-By the way, Sakaki-san! What kindof novel should I be writing? Just tell me anything! A battle novel,or school novel, and isekai novel or a fantasy or science fiction orwhatever, I’ve read so many novels that I know my way around mostlyeverything!”

“Woah~ that’s pretty crazy. Ihaven’t found any motivation recently, so I’m not really up todate with most of the newer novels… Or any in general~”

I-Is that really fine as an editor…?But that aside!

“I’m very motivated, so I can writea novel in three days! So should I just try out several genres?!”

I leaned forward, and Sakaki-san againdidn’t sound like an editor when she replied “No no, I won’t beable to read all of that~” as she waved her hand. “It’s notthat. I’ve already decided on the genre that I want you to write,”she said, with no energy whatsoever.

“Eh, you already decided on it…?”

“I just told you, didn’t I~? That Ifelt a certain spark in your novel, and I want to build on that.”

…Well, she did say that.

“So what genre are we talkingabout…?” I muttered without thinking.

In response, Sakaki-san slightly openedher sleepy eyes, and a slight smile flashed over her lips. And, withher following words, the road for me was already decided.

“I want you to write a romcom. Aromcom that can get the reader’s heart racing, filled with yourideas and fantasies. The best romcom there ever was, see~”