Volume 8 Chapter 2

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Romcom recommendations

“You’d better watch me, Suzuka!I’ll do it!”

After we reunited, this was the firstthing that Onii-chan said to me.

After we departed from the office, Imade my way home together with Onii-chan. He was acting like that thewhole way back, and was barely able to hold a decent conversation.Even on the train home, he kept that motivated expression on hisface—w-which looked cool in its own way, sure—but all he saidwere things like “What kind of story should I write?” or “Ihave to write the best novel ever, huh?”, so I felt a bitembarrassed to be sitting next to him. He only started to calm down abit once we got home.

“…That being said, I have to writethe greatest romcom ever!” Onii-chan said, still energetic.

I had heard most of the conversationthrough his microphone, but upon hearing the details from Onii-chandirectly, I let out a small sigh.

“Really… I told you to keep calmabout it, so why did you agree to it immediately?”

“W-What’s your problem? There wasno reason for me to say no, right? Sakaki-san told me that I hadtalent. With her help, I can write a novel that’s a huge hit!”

“She never said anything like that,though! She only said that she saw something good in your novel.That’s all!”

“Well, that’s basically the same inthe grand scheme of things, yeah.”

“…W-Well, you’re reallyoptimistic there…”

“…Hey, Suzuka.”

“W-What is it? Have you calmed down abit?”

“Maybe I should think about how Ishould sign my autograph now.”

“Hold your horses, would you?!”

…I-It’s no use. Onii-chan iscompletely lost in the world of his fantasies…!

While I was at a loss as to what to do,Onii-chan kept mumbling things to himself like “Maybe I shouldthink of a pen name… I was always applying with my real name beforenow,” and so on.

…Good grief, this is the first timeI’ve seen Onii-chan act so giddy. Watching him act like this makesme feel embarrassed to be his little sister. But there’s actuallysomething more troublesome than feeling embarrassed… It’s thatOnii-chan looks so cute right now! Ahhh, really, how cute can you be,just by being happy like this?! This is different from his usualunreliability! My desire to protect him is going so crazy that Icould cry! To think that Onii-chan had such a side to him! This isthe best! Although I’d like to say a lot more about the situation,I guess I should be a bit thankful to Sakaki-san from CrescentPublishing!

“Ehe… Ehehe…”

…Oh, this isn’t the time for this.

I have to burn this image of Onii-chaninto my eyes, and save it to my ‘Beloved Onii-chan memories’ boxinside my heart. I’ll also have to write everything down in myOnii-chan notes—But I have to think rationally right now. For allthe ways that Onii-chan is acting innocent, I have to be reasonable.It’s his little sister’s duty to look after him, after all.

“ Cough . By the way,Onii-chan.”

“Hm? What is it? I was thinking ofusing ‘Great Galaxy Dragon God, the second coming’, but what doyou think, Suzuka?”

“Do you have any naming sense atall?! No, it’s not that. Will you give it a rest already? Calm downfor just a second!”

When I voiced this complaint, Onii-chanasked “W-What’s your problem?” and went quiet.

“…For crying out loud. Listen. Itold you not to, so why did you immediately agree to her terms likethat? I agree that it sounds great, but there’s no doubt that thisCrescent Publishing company is suspicious.”

“In what way are they suspicious?”

“I investigated them a bit, and likemany minor publishing companies, all the novels they publicize arelesser-known releases like Fifty Ways to Become Friends with anOctopus and Isekai Trip ~ Truck-kun Arc ~ ,”I said, showing Onii-chan the results of my investigation on mysmartphone screen. “And it looks like they haven’t ever releasedany light novels. That alone is pretty weird, don’t you think?”

“That’s what Sakaki-san said,right? They want to broaden their horizons by expanding into lightnovels, so they started looking at light novel contest results. And Ihave the reputation of reaching the final round of a contest!”

“…But you were rejected in the end,right?”

When I said that, Onii-chan was broughtclose to tears. “Don’t remind me!” he complained.

…Uh oh, this is bad. Onii-chan looksso cute that I can’t help but want to grant his wishes. I have tocalm down.

“Sigh… If that’s the case, thenwhere are the contest winners? I didn’t hear anything about them.”

“Maybe the novels didn’t live up totheir expectations after all? And I ended up being the only one whocould convince them in the end! Even though I was rejected!”

…So now you’re even saying thingsthat damage your own pride.

Anyway, maybe nobody actually appliedfor this light novel contest? Somehow I feel like that might becloser to the truth…

“…Hey, Suzuka, I know that you’rejust worried about me. It’s true that this publisher is reallysmall compared to Sumeragi, for example. But there’s somethingthere. I can feel it.”

“Can you really say that, or are youjust focused on the possibility?”

“Ugh…! T-Then, what is it? Are youtrying to tell me that Sakaki-san is deceiving me?”

“I-I wouldn’t go that far…”

It’s true that I had been consideringthat possibility, but there shouldn’t be any real reason for themto deceive Onii-chan, so I can’t imagine that being actually true…But that’s exactly why I can’t relax just yet.

“I’m telling you, there’s no needto worry. I think that we can trust Sakaki-san!”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s true that she… Well, shehas a rather nonchalant personality, but I could tell how serious sheis about light novels,” Onii-chan declared with a seriousexpression.

“Her desire to create an interestingnovel together is real. I could feel it. As long as she has that, thecompany as a whole doesn’t matter. I don’t really lose anythingfrom this either, so there’s no need to be hung up on it, right?”

…Humm, there is logic behindOnii-chan’s words, but…

I was lost in thought and was unable tocome up with a response.

“…Well, if Onii-chan says so.”

“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me,Suzuka. I’ll try my best,” he said. He flashed me a reallygrateful smile.

Seeing that, I could feel the deepestparts of my heart growing warm. If I see Onii-chan happy, then I gethappy as well.

…That’s right. As his littlesister, I have to support Onii-chan. After all, he’s just trying toachieve his dream that he’s been working towards for so long—

But, in that moment, I realizedsomething. If Onii-chan’s dream were granted, and he moved on towrite his own novel, that would mean that he would stop being TowanoChikai, and would stop being my stand-in.

“Ah……” I muttered. I tightlygrabbed my chest with one hand.

So that’s what I was worried about…I had always been prepared for this day to come. But I didn’trealize that it would approach this quickly. Because I’m unable tobe honest, we were always in a cold relationship as siblings.However, when he became my stand-in, we found common ground, I becamecloser to him, a-and we got to be lovey-dovey really often…Although I didn’t expect to get so many rivals as a result of it…we finally managed to make up. And now I’m going to see thatmiracle end in front of me.

Naturally, it would be a lie if I saidthat I didn’t feel lonely. But at the same time, I have to acceptthis. I cannot act out of selfishness and get in the way ofOnii-chan’s dream.

…It’ll be fine. I’m differentthan I was a year ago! A year ago, I wasn’t even able to directlyapproach Onii-chan without the pretense of him being my stand-in. Butnow, we’ve made up, and we’re even attending the same highschool. That’s why I have to work just as hard as before, even ifwe’ve lost our common ground!

Granted, I will have to stop being alight novel author. I’ll have to stop showing the whole world justhow great my feelings for Onii-chan are. And in order to not let themstay as mere fantasies, but to actually become connected to him likethat, I have to work even harder. I’ve laid the groundwork for it!

Thinking that, I came to one simpleconclusion.

…To make sure that Onii-chan’sdream is granted, I will support him with everything I have! And, inorder to be connected to Onii-chan, I have to approach him even morefiercely! F-For our happy future together… For our happy marriedlife…! Ehe, ehehe, ehehehehehehehe…!

“…U-Umm, Suzuka? Is everythingokay? Your face looks a bit tense…?”

…Ah?! I-I was lost in my fantasies,and I made a disgraceful face around Onii-chan?!

I hurriedly changed the topic.

“Y-You said that you’ll have aneditor that you’ll be working with on a novel, but what exactly areyou going to do from now on?”

Yes, in order to help out Onii-chan asmuch as I can, I have to understand everything related to what he’llbe doing.

“I guess the first thing is to comeup with a few potential plots for different stories. I’ll probablyfigure out the general outlines and have Sakaki-san look over them.After her feedback, I’ll flesh out and work on the good ones.”

I see, so first is the general plot…That makes sense. So that means that there’s not much that I canhelp with. It’s Onii-chan’s story, so I can’t exactly tell himwhat to do and what not to do.

…Also, I’m really interested in thekind of story that Onii-chan is going to write! It’s a romcom, youknow?! I’ll definitely have to lay low and watch how things unfold!

“Fufufu… It’s time to come upwith about 100-200 potential plot outlines and have Sakaki-san lookover them!”

Oooh, Onii-chan is fired up. Naturally,I’m very happy to see that, and I’ll definitely support him, butsince I have the duty of watching over him, there is one thing that Idefinitely have to tell him.

“It’s good that you’re workinghard, but you’re not forgetting that our end-of-term exams areright around the corner, are you, Onii-chan?”

“Eh?”

“Since it’s Onii-chan, I’m surethat you won’t get any failing grades, but you still have yourpromise with our parents that you have to keep your grades high tokeep writing light novels. And I won’t forget about it either.”

“N-No, but I’m finally gettingcloser to my dream…aren’t I?”

“You can’t just ignore your studiesfor that dream…alright?”

“…………Yes.”

Onii-chan sighed and nodded in adefeated manner. Watching over Onii-chan’s daily life is also theduty of his little—No, of his wife! I have to make him realize justhow well-suited I am for this role!

…But, anyway, like this, thesituation will surely change. Though I don’t know in what way,there is definitely one thing that will not change. That’s the factthat I love Onii-chan, and that I want him to be happy… So pleasework hard for your dream!

——–All this happened around twoweeks ago.

And now back to the present.

“Haaaah…”

I stopped in front of a bench in thecourtyard, where Onii-chan was sitting as he let out a big sigh.

Our end-term exams had ended safely,and summer break was about to start. Although I had planned to makemy way home with Onii-chan as always…

“Haaaaaaaah…”

For some reason, Onii-chan remaineddejected, and he just randomly sat down on a nearby bench, completelydevoid of any strength.

“W-What happened, Onii-chan…? Didyou do badly on your end-term exams or something?”

When I called out to him, Onii-chanjust casually lifted up his head, and…

“…No, I think I did the same asalways on the exams… That’s not what this is about…” He said,letting out yet another big sigh.

If his exams didn’t go poorly, thenthere can only be one other reason for his mood.

“I had Sakaki-san look at my plotoutlines that I came up with while I was studying, but every singleone of them was no good. She rejected all of them.”

“Rejected, rejected…” Onii-chanmuttered to himself in a quiet voice, as I followed him. After that,Onii-chan gave me a rough gist of his conversations with Sakaki-san.

“—Welp, I read all the plotoutlines you sent me, and to be frank, I’d like to reject all ofthem.”

“—Ehh?! W-Why?! What was wrong withthem?!”

“—Each and every one has their ownreasons. Umm, for example… Well, a lot of stuff, basically.”

“—No, can’t you give me moreconcrete details?!”

“—There’s so many that I actuallycan’t be bothered by telling you~ Like, one, two, three, a mountainof problems, see?”

“—In what generation were you born,again?! No, anyway. If you don’t tell me what I did wrong, I can’timprove, you know…”

“—No seriously, it was a looot, andeven the most important parts were bad. You’ll have to do somethingabout that.”

“—A-And what’s the most importantpart?”

“—The essential point of a romcom.The meeting with the heroine. The boy meets girl stuff, or whateverit’s called? It’s the part that determines the mood of the novel,and you have to deliver a never-before-seen punch in there, or elseyou’ll drown in the sea of romcoms.”

“—T-That’s true… But whatshould I do then?”

“—Hmmm~ That’s actually the jobof the author to think about, but I’ll give it some thought aswell~ Nagami-kun, you also give it some thought and rewrite yourstuff, alright? See ya.”

…And that’s the gist of it.

I see, the first meeting between theheroine and the protagonist. Settingthe details of the conversation aside, I can understand Sakaki-san’scomplaints. It seems like she really is serious about light novels,so that’s a relief.

“Ahhh, dang it… What should I do…?!What’s the best way to make a boy-meets-girl scene…?!”

That aside, Onii-chan really seems tobe in a tough spot. But the sight of Onii-chan gazing up at the emptysky pondering like this is so cool… I just can’t stop myself fromstaring at him!

…No, I have to contain myself.Onii-chan is having a hard time right now, so he needs my help.

“Onii-chan. In times like these, it’sbest to collect some data. It’s great to try and think with yourhead, but experiencing it yourself might give you some new ideas.”

Taking all the experience I had intoaccount, I said this out loud.

O-Of course, I’m just trying to helpOnii-chan with the purest of intentions, so it’s definitely, not ina million years, not just that I want to be lovey-dovey with him,okay?! D-D-Don’t get the wrong idea!

“I-I see…! Yeah, that makes sense!”

“T-That’s right. Naturally, I willhelp you with all my might. I’ve had you help me all this time,after all, so don’t hold back on asking me for help in any way!”

“……Thank you, Suzuka. Having thereal Towano Chikai help me out and collect data with me is reallyreassuring…”

Ugh… being thanked like this makes mefeel really bad… But Onii-chan is also really cute when he actslike this. That thought completely blew away all of my guiltyfeelings.

“So when we collect data for theromcom, we have to be lovey-dovey, right?!”

I said this while sitting down next toOnii-chan and tightly gripped his arm. My heart was beating so fastthat it started to hurt, and I hoped that Onii-chan didn’t notice…!Uuuuu…!

It happened that moment.

“…Uh, Onii-chan?”

I realized that something weird wasgoing on with Onii-chan. Normally, he’d reluctantly play along withthe data collecting, but right now there was no response from himwhatsoever.

Thinking that this was unusual for him,I looked up at his face, and he was just staring at me with a brightred face, which made me feel even more flustered. This is reallyweird.

“Onii-chan? What happened—?”

—to you , I tried to ask, butthen…

“Eh?”

Onii-chan’s face suddenly turned evenredder, and he quickly separated from me like I was the devil askingfor his soul.

“W-What is it, Onii-chan?”

Seeing that reaction, even I was takenaback. I’d never seen Onii-chan act like that before.

“N-No, it’s nothing!”

Onii-chan hurriedly shook his head, hisface still as red as a tomato. He even had his hand on his chest, andwas taking deep breaths as if he was trying to calm himself down.

…It really didn’t look like nothingto me.

His face was red, so I was worried thathe might be fretting too much about the light novel.

“Onii-chan, are you not feeling well?Do you have a fever or something—?”

“No, nothing! It’s just, you know,I was a bit surprised when you did that…!”

As I was about to put my hand on hisforehead to check for a fever, Onii-chan crawled away even further.”It’s fine, okay!?” he said and waved his hand at me.Naturally, I was happy that he wasn’t sick or anything, but itmakes me feel sick myself if he separates from me like that.

“A-Anyway, about us collecting data.The thing is, umm, I don’t really feel like we need to do that yet,or rather, I’m not that motivated for it yet. I’m thankful foryour offer, but I’ll try thinking more about it myself, yeah!”

Not to mention that Onii-chan’s wordsshocked me, leaving me unable to say anything back besides a confused”Ehhhh?!”

…W-Why would he…? It’s plentyobvious that he just doesn’t want to collect data with me. And itfeels like he’s running away from me…!

“……?!”

Then, a sudden realization ran throughmy body.

…I-Is this in some way related to thereason that Onii-chan has been acting so weird recently…? Backthen, I didn’t think too deeply into it, and I figured that itwould just solve itself in time, so I had almost completely forgottenabout it.

…However, looking at Onii-chan rightnow, it seems like everything is connected now. O-Onii-chan is actingweird. And look at his attitude right now. He’s never acted likethis until now, so that means…

…I-I don’t know. I don’t knowwhat’s happening with him. However, there is one thing I can sayfor certain. That this weird behaviour of Onii-chan is taking a turnfor the worse!

As for the reason… I don’t knowthat either. But it’s very apparent that he’s basically runningaway from me! Isn’t this an emergency situation?! I feel a weirdsense of danger…!

“………O-Onii-chan—”

I was about to ask him about it, but—

“Ah, Yuu, you were still here! Nicetiming! I have something to talk about with you!”

With the worst timing ever, Himuro-sansuddenly came walking towards us!

Uuuu… This certainly isn’tsomething I can talk about in front of Himuro-san of all people.After all, he isn’t gathering data for Towano Chikai, but ratherfor his own novel…

I would’ve loved to make up an excuseand ask Onii-chan in a place without her, but…

“A-Ah yeah. Then let’s go hometogether.”

But Onii-chan had no idea about theplans I was making, and he immediately focused on Himuro-san. Not tomention that I heard him mutter a quiet “I’m saved” with arelieved expression on his face…?!

“S-Suzuka, come on. Let’s go home,”Onii-chan called to me, leaving me unable to say anything else…

On the way home.

“Hey hey, Yuu, listen! I actuallymanaged to avoid supplementary lessons during summer break! Hee heehee! Well, that’s just expected if it’s me!”

“You were crying about not wanting toget any failing grades, and now you’ve got an arrogant attitudeabout it?!”

“W-What about it? It’s fine. I’mhappy, you know… and I haven’t forgotten that it’s all thanksto you, Yuu… U-Umm… thank you.”

“…W-Well, whatever. You said thatyou were busy writing your manuscript during your studying time, so Ican see that you were really stressed while trying to balance allthat. I’m also your fan, so I’m glad that I was able to help youout.”

“E-Ehehe… B-But isn’t that thesame for you, Yuu? Balancing learning and your job, and you get suchgood grades! I really can’t compete with Towano Chikai…!”

“T-That’s… Ahaha…”

W-What is this rather awkward feelingto their conversation…! Himuro-san was leaning forward, looking upat Onii-chan. Is she doing that on purpose? I don’t know, butrecently, Himuro-san’s actions have been looking more and more cutein my eyes… And although he looks a bitflustered, Onii-chan shows no intention of distancing himself fromher…!

That being said, I was unable to doanything but watch the two of them until Himuro-san suddenly grabbedOnii-chan’s arm.

“S-So, Yuu. Since I’ve been in yourcare this time around, and as your rival as well, I’d feel bad notrepaying you in any way… S-So, is there like, anything you want meto do?!”

What’s with that embarrassed, yetdetermined expression!?

“T-There’s no need for any of that,you know?! And this totally isn’t like you, who’d never careabout what other people think or about how you behave…”

…Just this once, I might be thankfulfor Onii-chan’s denseness…!

“W-Who never cares about that?!Though you might be right that I can be a bit self-centered attimes!”

However, Himuro-san sure didn’t looklike she gave up just yet.

…Still, you were aware of thatpersonality trait, Himuro-san…

“I-It’s not that. As I just said,I’m your rival, so I don’t want to have any lingering debts oranything. That’s why you have no right to decline my thanks, Yuu!”

“I get what you want to say, butthat’s not how any of this works, you know?!”

“W-Who cares about the details?Anyway, Yuu, what do you want? There’s no need to hold back. Justtell me!”

“I know that it’s nothing special,but you’re being a bit too pushy right now, don’t you think?! Buteven if you ask me… I’m busy thinking about the romcom—Ah, nonevermind! I-I have some things that I have to think about, so Idon’t have the time for this…”

It seems like Onii-chan is busythinking about how he’ll write the romcom. It’d be great ifHimuro-san realizes that, but…

“H-Hmph? Is that so? T-Then, howabout this? We’ll go to a shopping mall together and search forsomething that you want. If we do that, I’ll be able to get yousomething good, and we can even eat something during that time…It’s a nice idea, don’t you think?!” Himuro-san peered evencloser into Onii-chan’s face, her cheeks brightly flushed.

…T-This is! This pattern! T-There’sno mistaking it. She’s using this as an excuse to invite Onii-chanon a date! Since I’ve used this technique countless times already,I can immediately see through her plans!

“H-Hold on a second, please…!”

Even I can’t stay quiet here anymore.I can’t allow Onii-chan to go on a date with Himuro-san like this,so I raised my voice, and stepped between them, but…

“Ah, a call… Umm, it’s fromDouble Peace-sensei… I wonder what she wants.”

At that moment, Onii-chan’s phonestarted ringing, and our conversation was put on hold. Though it wasnice timing, since the call was from Double Peace-san, I felt likethis could only take a turn for the worse…

“Eh? …Yes. I’m currently withSuzuka and Mai, though?”

Holding his phone to his ear, Onii-chanlooked over at us. In response, Himuro-san muttered “What’s thisero illustrator want now?” Onii-chan pulled the phone away from hisear.

“Well, Double Peace-sensei hassomething to tell everyone, so she wants me to put her on speaker—”

And in the very next moment, we heard “Hellooooo, Ahegao Double Peace-sensei here! Can you hear me?”

“Uwah?! W-We can hear you, so stopscreaming like that…! The people around us are staring already…!”

“ Ah, is that so, desu? I’m sorryabout that. But if I called Sensei with the heavy breathing Inormally use, that would probably cause a misunderstanding!”

“Onii-chan…?”

“Yuu, are you really having that eroillustrator do stuff like that?!”

“I don’t have her do it, and shedoesn’t do it either! Double Peace-sensei, can we get to the mainpoint already?!”

Onii-chan panicked slightly when bothHimuro-san and I glared at him. From that attitude, it was plain asday that Double Peace-sensei was just joking, but knowing her, Istill couldn’t be completely certain of that…

“A-Anyway, what did you want to talkabout? You wanted even Suzuka and Mai to listen…”

In response to Onii-chan’sfed-up-sounding statement, an energetic “Oh, that’s right,desu!” came back from the phone.

And when she said the following words,everyone present could only respond with a confused “Eh?”

“ Let’s all gather up for aparty!”

*

“My~heart~be~longs~to~Onii~chan~!”

“………I’m glad that you’reable to sing that song without feeling embarrassed…”

“Haruna, we’re in the middle of ourparty, so let go of your embarrassment and enjoy yourself. You shouldsing a heart-throbbing song as well.”

“I-I don’t wanna! And don’t justput on a new song, Onee-chan!”

The Kanzaka sisters were fighting witheach other while Minazuki-san was singing.

“Let’s enjoy ourselves today, desu!Sensei as well! Let yourself go! You can even strip your clothes off!I sure as hell wouldn’t mind!”

“W-What are you saying, you eroillustrator?! Y-Yuu’s naked body… don’t make me think aboutsomething as…stimulating…as…that…! Anyway, why are yousitting next to Yuu like that?! That’s where I, as his number onefan, should be sitting!”

“No no no, since I’m his number onepartner, this seat is reserved for me and me alone, desu!”

“O-Ohh? Then how about we fight forit?”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,desu!”

Mai and Double Peace-sensei startedloudly arguing with each other.

“S-So this is a karaoke bar… It’smy first time coming here, but it sure has quite a unique atmosphereto it… But it might not be bad coming here now that I’m a highschool student… Not to mention with Onii-chan…! O-Only to collectdata, though!”

Suzuka was sitting next to me, lookingaround the karaoke box with an intrigued expression on her face. Icould only gaze at her, wondering how things even ended up like this.

As you might have guessed, we wereinside a karaoke box. It was a karaoke bar located in Akihabara, andapparently Double Peace-sensei and her colleagues came here often.The reason for us being here right now was none other than whatDouble Peace-sensei had told us yesterday over the phone.

“ —Let’s all get together for aparty!!!”

Considering that it was DoublePeace-sensei we were talking about, I expected it to be eroge-relatedor something similar. Fortunately it turned out to be nothing likethat, and she was simply inviting us to a normal party instead.Naturally, when I asked for the cause of our celebration, she repliedas if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“ The thing is, I was really busythese past few weeks with my job, desu. I had to stay over at thecompany to work on an eroge for practically days on end. Because ofthat, I wasn’t even able to send Sensei any erotic illustrationsanymore! But now it’s finally over, desu! I realized that Sensei’sexams should be over soon as well, so I decided to call you to gathereveryone together so we could let loose for once!”

Before telling us, Double Peace-senseihad already contacted Minazuki-san and the Kanzaka sisters, and theyhad already agreed to come. Minazuki-san seemed to have a break fromher job right now, Akino-san had just finished her manuscript, andthe younger Kanzaka sister had just gotten through her exams like wedid, so they all gladly accepted the invitation to relive somestress.

“It sounds good to me! That’s anice idea for once, you ero illustrator! It’s a perfect time tocelebrate me escaping from any supplementary lessons!”

Mai seemed to really like the idea, andshe even pumped her fist. Although her reason for celebration soundedpretty selfish to me.

“A-A party, huh? I see, that mightnot be too bad. It’s a very high-school-like event, and I want toexperience that with Onii-chan as well… Ehe, ehehe… I agree.”

Not to mention that even Suzuka agreed,leaving me unable to turn her down. Well, it’s not like I was goingto say no or anything, because it was a good idea. But…

“………”

I couldn’t immediately agree, and thereason was very simple. Although exams were over for now, I still hadto worry about the plot of my romcom, and I hadn’t been making anyprogress on that recently, either…

“Onii-chan? What’s wrong?”

“Eh? Ah, it’s nothing…”

That being said, I couldn’t justignore the cheerful atmosphere and decline the offer.

Since Suzuka was participating, Ididn’t have any other option but to join in as well, since I’mher stand-in and all. I also doubt that they’d just let me off thehook, either, seeing as I’m technically Towano Chikai.

…In the worst case, they might evenall come gang up on me while I’m working in my room. If thathappens, then I definitely won’t be able to work on my novel,anyway.

…It seems like my opinion will bedisregarded no matter what I say here…

When I arrived at that conclusion, Iagreed to their idea. The day right before summer break started,Double Peace-sensei made us all gather in this karaoke bar, and theparty started. The mic was given to the professional voice actressMinazuki-san, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Seeing that, I decided to forget aboutmy plot for now, and enjoy this myself, but…

“Onii-chan?”

“…Eh? W-What is it, Suzuka?”

“Well, it looked like you werespacing out.”

“N-No, that’s not the case. I wasenjoying Minazuki-san’s singing.”

“Indeed, Sakura-san can sing reallywell, but… The song she chose to sing is a bit much…”

Suzuka once again directed herattention towards Minazuki-san, and I let out a relieved sigh, seeingthat Suzuka hadn’t caught on.

Ahh, damn it… I can’t forget aboutmy novel after all. I really wanted to try a change of pace and justenjoy this party, but before I would realize it, my thoughts werealready drifting in that direction again…

“…Onii-chan. You’re thinkingabout your novel again, right?”

“Eh?!”

Suzuka suddenly asked me that, whichmade me panic a bit.

“Onii-chan really is easy to seethrough… I can understand your dedication, but try to forget aboutyour novel for now. A-Also, this party is very useful for me becauseI can collect some data for my own novel, so I’ll be troubled ifyou don’t play along.”

“Eh? Collect data?”

“N-Now that I’ve become a highschool student, I want to go on grown-up dates with Onii-chan, andexperience all sorts of situations…! We’re sadly not alone today,but it still is a valuable experience. So please stay focused andflirt with me—I mean, help me collect data!”

“S-Seriously? This is the first I’veheard of it, though…”

“I-I just came up with it!”

Ehhh?! S-So suddenly is just…!

But since I can’t say no when sheasks me for assistance, I have to help out whether I want to or not…

“Ehe, ehehe… Singing a love songtogether might be a good idea, don’t you think…?”

When I gazed at Suzuka, whose cheekswere slightly red as she was humming to herself, I realized that Ireally had been thinking about the plot the entire time. Normally, Iwould be able to force myself to focus on collecting data forSuzuka’s sake, but this time I couldn’t. Now that my dream was insight, I just couldn’t stop thinking about my novel.

“Sensei! How was Sakura’s singing?!She tried to fill it with as much emotion for Onii-chan as possible!”

After she finished her song, Sakura-sansuddenly brought her face close to me… Too close!

“W-Well, umm, you were really good.Just what I expected from a professional voice actress!”

I took some distance, and answered herwith a shaky voice. I hadn’t even realized that Minazuki-san hadstopped singing, and now it was the Kanzaka sisters’ turn. Theirsong was an energetic, happy-go-lucky one. Akino-san was asexpressionless as ever, and the younger Kanzaka sister’s face wasflushed red. She looked close to tears… She had probably beenforced to do this again…

In contrast, Double Peace-sensei wastaking pictures of her. What a demon.

“Thank you very much, Sensei! Ohyeah, Sakura wants to hear Sensei’s singing as well! Please showher!”

“Ueh?!”

I had originally planned to enjoy thisfrom the sidelines, but the moment I heard those words, I froze up.

“Ahh, good idea. Let me join! Whatshould we sing, Yuu?”

Not to mention that Mai, who had satdown next to me while I wasn’t paying attention, started actinglike it had already been decided that I was going to sing. Not tomention a duet with her.

“N-No, I’m really bad at singing…That isn’t something that you guys should be forced to listen to…”

Since I’m unbelievably terrible ateverything music-related, I tried to decline, but…

“Who cares about that? This isn’t acompetition or anything! A-Also, I want to hear you sing! I don’tcare if you’re good or bad!”

“It’s exactly as Enryuu-senseisays! If Sensei were to sing in his Onii-chan voice, that alone wouldbe enough for Sakura to…!”

“What’s an Onii-chan voice?!”

As you can see, these two girls wereclosing in on me. On top of that, Minazuki-san suddenly took my handand pulled me up from my seat.

“It’s fine, Sensei! If your singingisn’t good, then you can just sing together with Sakura! She’llteach you from scratch, so there’s no need to worry about anything.To say it in the words of Suzuka-chan, ‘it’s the duty of a littlesister!'”

“…Huh?! Hold on, Sakura-san! Don’tjust use my words like that! And I’ve told you countless times thatyou aren’t his real little sister…!”

“Ah, Suzuka-chan, let’s singtogether after that! Since we’re the Onii-chan sisters, let’s getSensei excited with the two of us!”

“Don’t just act like you’re mysister! Also, Onii-chan was planning on singing a love song with meto collect data!”

“Collect data?! I-If that’s thecase, then I have to join in as well, Yuu!”

What’s up with this chaos?! Mai,Minazuki-san, and Sakura are all pulling on me?! And the Kanzakasisters, who just finished singing, as well as Double Peace-sensei,all started looking over here! This can only end badly, right?!

And, it happened that the place wasabout to turn into hell for me.

“…………Huh?”

Suddenly, all the tumult grew distant,and I could feel my brain working on something. Something was stuckin my head… Suzuka’s words just now… ‘Collect data’, aswell as what Minazuki-san had said: ‘teach’.

Currently, I’m having trouble with myplot—to be precise, the boy-meets-girl part. Suzuka said that it’dbe good to experience that for myself, but I thought that in thissituation where I was lost on where to even begin, there’d be nomeaning nor merit to it.

…But hold on. Is collecting datareally only something that you have to experience yourself? No, thatshouldn’t be the case. There’s also the normal advice toconsider. That should also be called ‘Collecting data’. If that’sthe case—

…If that’s the case, then doesn’tthat mean that you’d be able to gather data when you’re beingtaught by someone, as well…?

“…………Ah.”

“Eh, Onii-chan? What is it?”

…Yeah, that makes sense! I still havethat option left! If I don’t know my way around something, then Ican just ask other people for help! Other people who know it canteach me, and I can use their methods as my own! That is, without adoubt, another way to collect data!

…I see. It’s because we’ve alwaysbeen collecting data the Towano Chikai way, I didn’t realizesomething as simple as that. Suzuka could be considered a genius, andshe had her own way of doing things. If she wanted to find out aboutsomething, there was no need for her to be taught by someone else.There was no need to use other people’s techniques.

…But I’m different.

I’m just an average person, and Idon’t have my own way of doing things. If that’s the case, I canask other people for references. Blindly following their advice won’twork out, of course, but even the slightest tips or tricks might comein handy. After all, this isn’t the time to be collecting data forSuzuka’s novel, but for my own!

Then—

“Eh? W-What, Yuu?”

“Ohh, I can feel Sensei’spassionate gaze!”

“Sensei? Are you finally motivated todo a duet with Sakura?!”

“What’s wrong with you? Don’tstare at me like that!”

“Sensei’s passionate gaze… Nodoubt it’s filled with romantic feelings.”

Right in front of me are several peoplewho should have at least some level of knowledge about romcoms!

…Kukuku. Sorry about this, everyone.Right now, I’m not Towano Chikai’s stand-in, Nagami Yuu. I’mnothing more than a soon-to-be (hopefully) professional light novelauthor, and I’ll be taking all your opinions and techniques! I’lldefinitely repay the debt when I manage to debut, so put up with meuntil then!

“Well, the thing is…”

Arriving at this conclusion, I steeledmyself, and slowly opened my mouth.

“Right now, I’m having trouble witha romcom. Because my head’s basically occupied worrying about that,I can’t really concentrate on the party…”

“O-Onii-chan?!”

Suzuka’s shock and the look on herface were clearly questioning me what I was even talking about.

…Well, this reaction might be naturalfor someone like Suzuka, since she knows the circumstances. But Idon’t have the time to explain everything in detail. I’ll helpout with collecting data for you as much as you want later, so let medo something for myself right now!

“What romcom are you talking about,Yuu? Aren’t you writing the best romcom right now, frustrating mewith every single minute?”

Ugh… I’m still Towano Chikai to theothers, so I can’t come up with any good excuses.

…Forgive me, Suzuka. I’lldefinitely apologize as many times as it takes later.

“W-Well, I’m always thinking abouthow to write a better romcom. I’m always aiming higher, see.”

“Ohh, that’s Sensei for you, desu!You’re someone who is always conscious of how he appears, I see!”

“Ah, I think that’s somethingdifferent…”

It’s vexing that I can never say itin my own words, but rather I have to formulate it with the words ofTowano Chikai But, since I can’t see anything that would soundfishy in my words right now, I continued.

“I’m thinking about the mostimportant part of a romcom, the boy-meets-girl part. Naturally,there’s many ways to approach it, but I’m pondering how to makeit as interesting as possible. Hence, I was hoping that, umm… youall could maybe share your thoughts with me…”

Maybe that last bit didn’t soundlike Towano Chikai— I worried, but I managed to say it withoutarousing suspicion. When they heard what I had to say, everyone atfirst had a rather surprised and perplexed expression on their face,but…

“…Hah, you really are TowanoChikai. Your focus of attention is all over the place.”

Mai finally said this with a faintsmile.

“Since he’s my teacher, it’s onlynatural. For a romcom, it’s the most basic of basics.”

Akino-san also nodded in agreement.”…Hmpf, even though you’re normally all over your littlesisters.”

“Sensei really is thinking about alot!”

The younger Kanzaka sister andMinazuki-san followed up.

“Sensei sure is amazing, desu! Yourdesire to improve in both ero and light novels is something I canonly admire!”

The ero part isn’t exactly true, butthere was a strong sparkle in Double Peace-sensei’s eyes.

“…Onii-chan.”

The only person left was Suzuka. Justjudging by her glare and the fact that she knew very well about myplans here, she must’ve been very exasperated with me. I didapologize with my eyes just in case, and maybe because she realizedthat, her sharp gaze softened.

“So, Yuu, you want us to teach youour opinions on the boy-meets-girl scenario? That sounds good to me!Since I’ve started writing the greatest romcom as well, I’ve beenthinking about that a lot. I’ve got mountains of advice to give!”Mai was puffing out her chest, brimming with confidence.

Though she probably wanted to get astep ahead of her rival Towano Chikai, it was also clear that she wasjust speaking her mind, showing her enthusiasm for light novels. Shereally is amazing in her own way…

“That’s the same for me. Theboy-meets-girl part is a crucial element of a romcom. Naturally,you’d be forced to encounter that a lot while pondering about yournovel as the author. I’d be delighted to give you my thoughts.”Akino-san also had a confident atmosphere to her, though she was asexpressionless as always. She continued. “And speaking of romcoms,Haruna is always constantly thinking about that. Since she also wantsto debut as a mangaka, on top of being an illustrator, she has toeventually come up with her own plot, and she’s busy thinking ofways to do just that.”

“H-Hey, Onee-chan! Don’t justreveal everything! But, well, that’s true… Although I’m nothingbut an amateur when it comes to writing a story.”

The younger Kanzaka sister averted hergaze as she crossed her arms. She certainly didn’t lookdemotivated.

“Here! Here here here! Sakura knows alot about romcoms as well! She watched a lot of romcom anime to getinto her character, and she also read a lot of light novels andcomics that revolve around them. She’s seen a lot of boy-meets-girlscenarios!” said Minazuki-san with a bright smile.

“Fu fu fu, a meeting between a boyand a girl is standard fare in the eroge industry, desu! I’m surethat my knowledge will be of help!” Double Peace-sensei jumped in,leaving me slightly concerned.

…Just what you’d expect from thepeople I decided on. They’re all motivated about what they’redoing, which greatly helps. And more than anything, I was happy.

“M-Me too…! Umm…!”

But since she had nothing to do withauthors and illustrators, at least officially, Suzuka was unable toadd to the conversation, and couldn’t really say anything.

She glared at me with a pout. I know,you’re mad at me for suddenly changing the subject like this,right? I’ve already prepared myself for whatever you’re going todo to me once we get home, so please put up with it for now! But atleast still make me dinner, please! That’s all I’m asking for!

“…Hmm… I see…”

Just when I was thinking that DoublePeace-sensei was lost in thought about something, she suddenlyflashed me a daring smile.

“So basically, this is a contest tosee who can make Sensei think that their boy-meets-girl scenario isthe most interesting, right?!”

She came out with some utter nonsense.I could only answer with a confused “Ehhh?”

No, it’s not a competition oranything. I just want to hear everyone’s opinion, that’s all…!”

But before I could even formulate arebuttal, I felt the atmosphere change, stirring a grave sense ofdanger within me.

“…Hmph, that sounds good to me! I’mhis number one fan, as well as his rival! I’ll show you thatthere’s only one author able to stand on the same ground as him!”

My bad premonition was immediatelyjustified when Mai replied. But, instead of anything mischievous, itlooked more like she was just enjoying herself.

…W-What? I was a bit worried afterDouble Peace-sensei said something that weird, but I’m actuallygetting excited as well? The mood feels… passionate, or somethinglike that.

Before we even realized it, we had allforgotten that we were inside a karaoke box, and we sat down aroundthe table. Why did we come here? A party? Whatever. We were allcreators and otakus who enjoyed what we were doing, and that’s allthat mattered.

“Alright… Here we go!”

With Mai’s words as a startingsignal, the romcom dispute started, and sparks filled the room.

*

The first one to start the debate wasMai.

“When you consider the boy-meets-girlprinciple, the most important part of it is the way they meet. Saidmeeting decides the flow of the story and gives reason to why theprotagonist and the heroine even stay in contact with each other. Youcould even go so far as to call this the essence of a romcom.”

…Hmmm, she does have an argument withthat. I was aware that it was a tool to decide how the story starts,but it seems that it’s also an instrument to not make the readerquestion why the two of them are still talking with each other. Justwhat you’d expect from the light novel author Enryuu Homura. Evenfor a genre like romcom that’s clearly out of her field, she stillknows her way around it… This will be really helpful!

“So Mai, what kind of meeting are youthinking about, desu?”

“Whatever you’re deciding to go forin the end, the impact is the most important, I think. You have todeliver something monumental that helps the readers become invested.When you consider that, it should probably be some sort of luckyaccident. Like the protagonist fondling the heroine’s chest, orseeing her p-panties? But in my opinion, having the two of them kissfirst thing has the most impact.”

“ Kiss?!” —everyone raisedtheir voices.

“Yes, since it’s something like theend goal in a romcom, bringing that in first thing will leaveeveryone wanting more! The protagonist and heroine that shared akiss. Then you can have the heroine, who otherwise is hostile towardsthe protagonist, find out that she’s supposed to marry the personwho stole her first kiss. Following that, you can add in otherstandard developments, and boom!” Mai declared with a snort,clearly confident in her idea.

…H-How bold and forceful… But I cansee where she’s coming from. Until now, I’d only taken smallsteps in working with plot developments, so something abrupt andintense like that might not be a bad idea…!

“It’s true that impact isimportant. But the development after that is way too tough.”

“W-What did you say?!”

But right then, Akino-san spoke heropinion.

“I agree that the first impact is aselling point. But that doesn’t mean that the crazier it is, thebetter. You should have a better grasp of the developments thatshould come after that.”

“Hmph… Then what kind ofboy-meets-girl scenario would you recommend?!”

“Getting into physical contact is onething… But I’d rather see something like… let’s see…touching each other’s foreheads. The protagonist and hero suddenlyend up in that position. The heroine just pulls back without becomingflustered. After that, however, she can’t help but be conscious ofthe protagonist. The thing is, she’s actually a mind-reader whoactivates her skill by touching other people, and she can read theirhearts. But she’s unable to hear the protagonists voice, so shefeels herself being drawn towards him.”

…Ohhh, so the story would have amysterious aspect to it! So this fanservice scene suddenly turns intoa crucial element for future parts of the story. I see! That’s alsoa way to do it.

“Hmm? But that would feel kindagloomy. If it’s a romcom, Sakura would prefer something more brightand pleasant!”

“……Oh?”

After Minazuki-san gave her opinion,Akino-san calmly turned towards her. Her expression was as deadpan asever, but I felt like I could hear a slight bit of irritation in hervoice…?

“Sakura thinks that it’d be betterif it was more simple! For example… The protagonist comes home, andthe heroine is there to greet him, saying ‘Onii-chan!’ orsomething!”

“That’s just a little-sisternovel.”

“Nope. The protagonist’s littlesister is still young, and he’s never seen that girl before. Theprotagonist thinks that he’s going crazy, but then the girl says’I’m your little sister from the future!'”

“M-Minazuki-san changed the genre toscience fiction?!”

“Her Onii-chan has a lot of troublein the future, so she came back to the past to help him, to spoilhim, and so on! The protagonist is a bit taken aback by at first, buthe immediately gets used to it and enjoys it… Ehehehe…”

…I-I feel like there’s a lot thatdoesn’t make sense there, but it still sounds interesting enough.It might just look like she’s dwelling in her own dream world, andit fits the theme.

“Hold on! If you add these completelyabsurd elements now, you’ll ruin the romcom later on when it’stime to explain every single part of it!”

“Ehhh? Who needs an explanation? Andare you one to talk, with your crazy developments? Where’s thelovey-dovey elements?”

“Agreed. But it’s incorrect to saythat explanations are unnecessary. Also, it’s the author’s job tostrengthen the bonds between protagonist and heroine.”

As I was appreciating their tips, thethree of them started explaining their own opinions. They allbelieved that their own romcom idea was the best, and none of themwere showing any signs of backing down.

“…Hmm. What do you think, Haruna?I’d like to hear your opinion as well,” Akino-san said to theyounger Kanzaka sister.

“Eh? M-Me?”

“If you want to become a mangaka, youshould have your own aspirations for how a story should go. So youshould be participating in this conversation, too.”

“I-I understand. For me, I understandthat their first meeting is very important, but I think that showingoff the heroine’s cuteness first thing is the most crucial aspect.”

Everyone’s gaze focused on her, mineincluded.

“Everyone seems to be thinking abouthow to have the protagonist meet the heroine, but that’s not allthat the boy meeting a girl is about, right? A real boy-meets-girl iswhen the relationship with a girl that he’s known for a whiledrastically changes, right? That’s why there should be a heroinewhom the protagonist has been acquaintances with up until now, and hesuddenly sees a different side of her, which acts as the trigger fortheir relationship. That way, you have to make sure that both thereader themselves and the protagonist think that the heroine iscute.”

…W-Woah, amazing! That makes totalsense! I see, so for the protagonist, she’s not a completely newcharacter, but rather a character whom he hadn’t had much contactwith until now, and he’s now seeing her in a new light, whichbasically amounts to her being a new character.

Now that she mentions it, I rememberthere being a lot of novels that do that.Still, to think that the younger Kanzaka sister of all people wouldcome up with that…

“Haruna, more details please.”

“U-Umm… For example, theprotagonist and heroine always fighting with each other, and theprotagonist suddenly is confessed to by a different girl, which makesthe heroine panic, and she confesses to him all maiden-like—”

“Oh, so it’s basically using Senseiand Runa-chan as models, desu?”

“H-Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!W-Wha—?! W-W-What are you talking about, Ahi! Why would I imaginedoing something like that with a guy like him?!”

“Haruna, you’re panicking toomuch.”

“Man, Runa-chan is really pure,desu.”

For some reason, the younger Kanzakasister was glaring at Double Peace-sensei with a red face, but I wastoo busy reflecting on her words to pay any attention to it.

…I see. So a sudden change in theirrelationship as a way to start of the story, huh? Hence, the triggerfor that sudden change dictates the direction that the story willunfold in. That definitely sounds like a safe way to approach things.That’s quite different from how I’ve done it up until now…

“R-Rather than that, what about you,Ahi?! You haven’t told us your opinion yet!”

“Me, desu? Well, I have to agree withRuna-chan’s opinion! I particularly would like to see a suddenchange in relationship, and have the trigger for that help flesh outthe characters. Not having to depict a character from ground zero isalso easier, desu!”

“That’s quite the meta opinion youhave there… but yeah, I can see where you’re coming from,” Maisaid.

“Right!” Double Peace-sensei saidin return.

“In eroge, it’s always about howyou can get to the sex scenes the fastest, desu! Forcing yourself toflesh out a character can make it harder in the end, and it can borethe reader! That’s what our scenario writer said!”

“So it wasn’t your opinion in thefirst place, and you were just talking about eroge?!”

“No no no, Mai, I agree with hisopinion, and the same can be said for light novels, right? On top ofthat, from an illustrator’s point of view, the change should beeasy to grasp, and I’d like it to be visual as well, desu.”

“Visual how?”

When I questioned her about it, DoublePeace-sensei continued. “For example, desu. Let’s say thatthere’s a heroine who wears glasses. Normally she’s a cheerfulgirl, but the moment she takes off her glasses, she immediatelybecomes timid and shy. A true maiden, desu! And then the protagonistsees her like that, and she becomes dependent on him!”

“Umm, why does her personality changewhen she takes off her glasses?” Minazuki-san asked.

“I don’t know, desu!” DoublePeace-sensei bluntly replied. “You just have to think about thatlater, desu! The only thing I know is that adding such things toinduce new development is standard fare in light novels! Well, if Icould ask for it, I’d like the character to become totallyperverted once she takes her glasses off!”

“…I guess you’re not the modelfor that character. You’re like that all the time, even withglasses on.”

The younger Kanzaka sister said this ina slightly exasperated tone, but I could see where DoublePeace-sensei was coming from, and nodded in understanding.

…That kind of development does soundfun, yeah, and it’s perfect for the comedy part…

“You! As if it’d be fine to justomit that part for whenever you feel like adding it! This sort ofweird occurrence has to have a proper explanation in the story,because that’s basically the point that sells the entire thing! Youcan’t just write whatever you want, you know?!”

“But it’s one way to keep thereader entertained, so I have to agree with Ahi to a certain degree.”

“Sakura also prefers something fun toread. Ah, but, having a little sister in the story is important!”

“That’s just your personalpreference. As a pro, you have to try your best to be aware of thereaders.”

“But, Runa-chan, your idea has a lotof your personal preferences mixed in as well, desu.”

“S-Shut it! You’re just too laxabout everything! And why are you fixated on the glasses?! That’snot romcom! It’d fit better in a gag manga!”

It quickly became a wild uproar.

Before I had even noticed it, everyonewas leaning forward around the table, hurling insults at each other.Everyone thought that their own idea was the best, and they all wererefusing to step down. As for me, I wasn’t really bothered with anyof it, as I was plenty excited on my own.

…I’m glad that I took the time tohear everyone out. I’ve heard so many different approaches for aboy-meets-girl scene in such a short time…!

I wanted to immediately take out mynotebook and write down all the information that I had just obtained,but since Towano Chikai would never do that, I could only think aboutand engrave all that they had said into my brain. Since thereprobably won’t be another chance like this, I can’t missanything—

“O-Onii-chan, Onii-chan…”

At that moment, Suzuka, who hadn’tbeen participating in the discussion up until now, suddenly tugged onmy sleeve.

“What? I’m sorry, but I have tofocus…”

“I-I know that, but, Umm… I alsothought of a boy-meets-girl idea…”

I could see Suzuka’s mouth movinglike she was trying to say something, but because of the fight goingon in the background, I couldn’t really understand anything shesaid. In the meantime, the conversation between the other girls wasmoving forward, with exclamations like “Gap moe is important!”and “A secret relationship is standard fare!” and so on, whichmade me focus back on the conversation again.

“…S-Sorry, Suzuka! I’ll hear youout later, so please let me listen to them for now! It’s for thesake of my romcom!”

“A-Again, I also…!” Suzuka triedto say.

“…I know that I’m being selfishhere! I’ll apologize later! You can lecture me however long youwant once we get home! I’ve even prepared myself!”

“It’s really not like that. Don’tbe like that! I was a bit mad earlier, but I also have my own opinionon the matter!”

It happened while we were holding thatconversation.

“Alrighto! Now that it’s come tothis, it might be better to just show it off in reality!”

We heard Mai’s voice, and the roomwas enveloped in a different atmosphere than before. I turned awayfrom Suzuka, who was panicking slightly, and turned over towardseveryone else, when—

“Eh?”

“Come on, you! Step in front!”

Mai suddenly grabbed my arm and pulledme in front of the karaoke screen, basically the stage of the karaokebooth.

“…Eh? Eh? What’s going on?”

Naturally, I was lost. But both Mai,who was standing next to me, and the others watching us acted likenothing was wrong with the current situation. The only person whowasn’t like that was Suzuka, who had a confused expression on herface similar to mine. That quickly turned into a glare shortly after.

No, I have no idea what’s evenhappening, so don’t glare at me, please!

“Alright, then let’s startimmediately, Yuu!”

“H-Hold on, what are we starting?”

“Weren’t you listening? We’retesting out whose boy-meets-girl idea is the best.”

“Ehhh?!”

I didn’t hear anything about that,though?! What kind of crazy things were you plotting in the shorttime I wasn’t listening?!

“Well, no matter how much we tried totalk it out, nobody would back down, desu. So we decided to act outeach scenario to test the impact it would have.”

Double Peace-sensei said this with asmile, but what she was saying had crazy written all over it, likeusual.

“Still, acting it out just because ofthat is just…!”

“Isn’t it the Towano Chikai way tocollect data by experiencing it directly? As your student, I have tofollow your techniques,” said Akino-san.

…N-Not good. What she’s saying istrue, so I can’t argue!

“B-But why do I have to be partof it?!” I asked, trying to resist at least a bit, but…

“You were the one who brought all ofthis up, right? Do you see any other boys around here?”

I was hammered down with flawlesslogic, and I couldn’t even reply.

Ugh. Up until now, the only person whoI was collecting data with was Suzuka, but to think that the daywould come where Mai and the others would join in… It’s true thatI basically put myself in this situation, but I still can’t helppanicking.

Though, after a bit of thinking, Irealized that this might be a good chance. I’ll be able toexperience everyone’s ideas up close, like I’m really collectingdata, so there’s a whole lot of benefits to be had here!

“…Alright! So what should I bedoing?”

“Ohh, Sensei is motivated now!”

“Well, you’ve been doing thingslike this all the time, so I guess you must be used to it…”

I could hear Minazuki-san’s excitedvoice, and an indirect complaint from the younger Kanzaka sister.

“You just have to play along. We’rethe ones who will be doing the acting.”

I see. Then I’ll just collect all thedata I want while playing along with what you all come up with!

“T-Then, I’ll start!”

As I was pumping myself up, Mai lookedat me with a red face and leaned forward a bit. And then—

“Uwah?!”

Just when I was wondering what she wasgoing to do, Mai suddenly pushed me down. There wasn’t much impacton my back when I hit the floor. But immediately following that, Icould feel something soft and warm touching my chest, which sentshivers throughout my entire body. The reason for that was Mai, herface almost touching mine, right in front of me.

“Wha—?!”

I didn’t even need to see myself nowto understand that my face must’ve been incredibly flushed. Mai wasthe same. Her face was so red that she looked close to exploding. Buther gaze was directly focused on me beneath her as she muttered ashaky “H-How is this…?!”

“H-How is what?! What are youdoing?!”

“I-I told you, didn’t I?! Start offwith a kiss! We ended up like this because of an accident, and wehappen to kiss each other… It’s the boy-meets-girl situation thatI was talking about!”

“Ki—?! Y-You’re going to do thatright now?!”

“D-D-D-D-Don’t be ridiculous! Doingit right now is—No, not that’s not the point! I can’t just actit out like that! We’re just in this pose right now to demonstratethe impact!”

I was actually a bit relieved that shewasn’t going to do anything like that, but with the distance thatwe were at right now, with our lips literally about to overlap, therewas no way I could just calm down.

“S-So, Yuu, how do you feel?!Following this would be a kiss, and the romcom would start there! Itwould have tremendous impact, don’t you think?!”

Mai let out an ominous sounding laugh,maybe because she was trying to build up some weird tension orsomething.

…I-It’s true that this is quiteimpactful, but I still have no idea how to even handle thissituation!

Every time Mai spoke out loud, her bodywould vibrate slightly, pressing her soft body against mine. Becauseher face was so close, I could feel her breath, and she smelledreally good!

Mai even said things like “I-It seemslike my idea is the best, after all!” but I didn’t exactly havethe willpower to concentrate on gathering any data.

“H-How long are you planning onstaying like that?!”

Then, as I was slowly going crazy, Icould hear Suzuka’s sharp voice pulling me back to reality. Thesame seemed to be true for Mai, because her body twitched as shejumped up.

“A-Anyway, this is what I wasthinking about! How was it?! Isn’t that the greatest encounterscene ever?!”

Her face was still red, and she stoodthere trying to hide her embarrassment.

“W-Well, the impact was there forsure…!”

If something like that happened, theprotagonist and the heroine would definitely grow conscious of oneanother. That’s plenty of reason for a romcom to unfold.

Saying “Of course!”, Mai returnedto her seat. Suzuka was glaring daggers at her the entire time, butshe probably was too embarrassed to even notice.

“Then, next is my turn.”

As if they had switched places, now itwas Akino-san’s turn to step in front. She stared at me with herusual expressionless gaze.

“W-What is it?” I asked her.

“Crouch.”

“Eh?”

“Crouch down until our eyes are atthe same height.”

I did as I was told, and we were now ateye level.

“U-Umm… What are we doing now?”

“This.”

Immediately after I asked that,Akino-san brought her forehead forward and touched it against mine.Her face was suddenly way too close!

“A-Akino-san?! W-W-W-What is thisabout…?!”

“I told you just now. Themind-reading heroine whose powers activate with touch. She wouldnormally run away from any human contact, but she coincidentallytouches the protagonist, and is taken aback because she can’t readhis thoughts. This is the scene that we’re acting out right now.”

While I was busy panicking, whileAkino-san’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, and shesimply calmly explained the situation.

“She tries her hardest to read yourmind… Hmm… Hmmmm… Yeah, I feel like I can hear something. Itsounds like…your love for me. There’s no mistaking it.”

“Hold on! What kind of telepathicmessages are you sending to my Onee-chan?!”

“I’m not sending anything! AndAkino-san, don’t just make stuff up like that!”

“I’m trying my hardest, but I can’tregister the slightest of thoughts from you. And then, I realize it.Puff… our faces are too close…”

And then, her face actually got red…S-She’s acting, right?!

“O-Onii-chan…?!”

I once again heard Suzuka’spartly-confused and partly-panicked voice, which sent a shiver downmy spine. At the same time, Akino-san quickly separated from me,letting out a deep breath for some reason.

“Something like that. Bodily contact.A story element. And the gap moe. Everything together makes it theperfect boy-meets-girl. I think that Sensei will be pleased by this.And I’m satisfied as well.”

With that, Akino-san unsteadilyreturned back to her seat.

…I-I see. At first I was a bitsurprised, but you can use this type of contact as a fanservice sceneas well as a story element.

“Then next is Sakura’s turn!”

As I was thinking that, Minazuki-sansuddenly jumped up on the stage.

“Ehehehe, Onii-chan!”

And she called me Onii-chan right offthe bat.

…Oh right, she was saying somethingabout a little sister that came from the future—

“Here, Onii-chan is a good boy~”

“Wuah!?”

In the next second, Minazuki-san’ssuddenly pressed me into her chest, and she started patting me on thehead. That alone made my thoughts come to a screeching halt.

“W-What are you…?!”

“Like she said before, Sakura isOnii-chan’s little sister from the future who came to spoil him!She wants to save Onii-chan from a future of being too serious, andshe wants him to remember how good it feels to let go as well!”Minazuki-san said as she continued to pat me on the head.

Since I was pressed against her chest,I could even faintly hear her heartbeat.

“H-Hold on, this is going a bit toofar…!”

“No can do~! Sakura might be yourlittle sister, but since she came from the future, she’s stillolder than you. That’s why you have to listen to your Onee-chanlittle sister!”

That doesn’t make any sense at all!But this does indeed have a lot of impact. Using this kind ofneither-good-nor-bad-development, you can build up energy for thestory that follows.

“W-What are you doing, Sakura-san?! Imight not be older than him, but as his real little sister, it’s myjob to…!”

“It’s fine, Suzuka-chan! If youwork a bit harder, you’ll definitely understand thebroad-mindedness of the situation!”

“So you’re saying that I’mnarrow-minded now?! A-Anyway, let go of him please! Just how long areyou planning on doing this?!”

When Suzuka scolded her, Minazuki-sanlet go of me with an “Okaaaaay~”,

“Ehehehe, how was it, Sensei?” Sheasked me before she returned to her seat.

I gave a vague “I-It’s a nice ideaI think…?” in response. All the while, Suzuka glared at me.Th-This is only in the romcom sense okay?!

“I think it’s time for Haruna’sturn.”

“Eh?! H-Hey, Onee-chan?! I’m fine,really!”

The younger Kanzaka sister was pushedonto the stage by Akino-san.

“The situation was that the heroineand the protagonist were always fighting, but once the protagonistgets confessed to, the heroine awakens to her true feelings, andconfesses as well, right? Then, if you would.”

“A-Again, I’m not really…!”

“No can do. Haruna has to do it aswell. If you want to become a pro, you can’t feel embarrassedhere.”

When she was told that, the youngerKanzaka sister swallowed her words with an “Ugh.” She seemed tobe hesitating for a bit, but it seemed like she gave up. Sheapproached me with reluctant steps.

“Uuuu… I-I…”

Her face was deep red as she mutteredto herself. But in the next moment, her eyes opened wide and shespoke.

“I-I love you, okay?! All this time,I’ve loved you! Since we were in a comfortable friendship where Ididn’t have to hold back from saying anything, I wasn’t able tosay it before now! But I don’t want you to be taken away! Soplease… so please… go out with me!”

The moment her confession came to anend, the room was wrapped in silence. The only thing that was audiblewas the younger Kanzaka sister’s rough breathing. For me, the onlything I could do was just stare at her as well, in complete silence.

“…H-Huh?”

It seemed as if she herself noticed theawkward situation she was in, and she looked around the room stiffly.

“…Well, umm… that was justacting, right…?” I asked.

“T-That sounded like a genuineconfession to me, though…” Suzuka said.

When she heard us speak, the youngerKanazaka sister let out a confused “Eh?”, seeming at a loss as towhat what we were talking about, but…

“…Wha—?! W-W-W-W—?! O-Of coursethat was just acting! W-What kind of misunderstanding is this?!I-Impossible…! Are you an idiot?!”

It seemed that she finally understoodwhat we were saying, because her face flushed even more, and shestarted stomping with her feet, as if her whole body was trying todeny our accusations.

“I-I was also really surprised for asecond…”

“It’s difficult for even a voiceactress to get into character that much! That was amazing!”

After Mai and Minazuki-san also joinedin giving their impressions, the young Kanzaka sister seemed to beunable to stand it any more, and just ran back to her seat with a”Y-You’re wrong, okay?!” When she did, Akino-san tapped her onthe shoulder and gave her a solemn “You did well.”

W-What was that about? Is this the gapmoe they were talking about…?

It was amazing seeing the normalyounger Kanzaka sister confessing like that. In a certain sense, ithad the greatest impact out of what anyone had done so far. While Iwas still busy admiring her acting…

“Fu fu fu, it seems like it’sfinally my turn, desu.”

Before I had even realized it, DoublePeace-sensei had already come to the front. She started hugging myarm like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“H-Hold on, Double Peace-sensei, whatare you…?!”

“It’s my boy-meets-girl, desu?…Umm, Sensei, could you take off my glasses for me…?”

Though I was flying by the seat of mypants here, I decided to do as I was told.

“…Eh? Ehhh?! Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

When I did, Double Peace-sensei’sface flushed, and she let out a shriek with tears in her eyes. Saywhat?!

“W-What happened?!”

“…I can’t! If I don’t have myglasses…! Uuuuuuuuuuuu…!”

She really looked embarrassed, and herwhole body started shaking.

W-What’s happening?! I’ve neverseen Double Peace-sensei like this?!

“I-I actually am a coward! I can justbarely manage if I’m wearing my glasses, but if I don’t havethem, then I’m good for nothing! P-Please! Just listen to me fornow! I’ll become your slave, so don’t tell anybody!”

“Ehhh?!”

While hugging me tightly, DoublePeace-sensei started rubbing her face against my chest.

“H-Hold on… But this is… Ehhhh!?”

Even Suzuka was unable to process thesituation unfolding in front of her, which was pretty rare.

“Uuuuuuu…!”

And Double Peace-sensei is stillcrying… What is this situation? What should I do here?!

I was trying to figure out how to solvethe situation when—

“Uuuuuu… Ueheheh, uehehehehe…!”

“Eh? Double Peace-sensei?!”

In a second, her behaviour slightlychanged.

“Uehehehe… Sensei really is warm…snuggle snuggle…”

“W-What are you doing now?!”

Double Peace-sensei suddenly returnedto normal, and I decided to push her away from me.

“Ahn~ Sensei is so rough, desu! But Ilike it when he’s like that!”

“What are we talking about?! A-Also,what was that just now?!”

“The character change once theglasses are taken off. I brought that up before, didn’t I, desu?How was it? Were you surprised?”

When I saw her flashing her usualsmile, I slowly started to realize what just happened.

“T-Then… That just now was nothingbut acting…?”

“That’s right, desu. The gap moe,and the relationship changing. It’s impactful in multiple ways! Wasit to your liking?”

No, umm, I was just really surprised ingeneral. I never thought that Double Peace-sensei could act likethat. Still…yeah, it had quite an impact on me. Causing a characterchange with small tools like that is pretty easy to achieve, and youcan think of various scenarios that can induce all of it, so it’dbe pretty plausible…

“…I thought for a second that yourpersonality really changed…”

“Sadly, I’m me even without theglasses!”

Double Peace-sensei flashed me a smile,still not wearing glasses.

“You really caught me by surprisethere… anyway, here’s your glasses.”

“Thank you very much! Now then, nextis… the passionate perverted acting that ensues after I’ve becomeyour slave!”

“Ehhh?!”

“G-Give it a rest already! I won’tbe deceived anymore!”

Suzuka seemed to have regained hercomposure, and she raised her voice. In response, Double Peace-senseilooked a bit disappointed. She returned to her seat with a “Can’thelp it then, desu. Next time!”, which earned her an agitated”There won’t be a next time!” from Suzuka.

But, nevermind that now, everyone’sacting has ended—

“Mine has to be number one after all!In light novels, the fan service element is the most important!”

“Filling it with just that is nogood. You should value the story element like I did.”

“Sakura thinks that moe is thecrucial part!”

“A-After going through theseembarrassing memories, I should win by default…! Uuu…!”

“I am the number one for using ero,desu!”

In the end, the situation didn’tchange in the slightest. Everyone was still convinced that theirscenario was the best. In my case, I think that just listening toeveryone’s opinions turned into some valuable idea-gathering.

But how can I peacefully resolve thisargument? Since I was the one who triggered this situation, I have totake responsibility, but…

Bang!

“…………!”

Suddenly, Suzuka shot up from her seatas she slapped her hands on the table. When everyone heard that loudsound, they stopped talking and focused their attention on Suzuka.The place was suddenly wrapped in complete silence, until Suzukaslowly began speaking with a bright red face.

…W-What? What’s gotten into her?

“A-Actually… The thing is… I’vealways loved Onii-chan!”

The next words that came out of hermouth sounded more determined than I had ever heard her.

“………Eh? ………Ehhhh?!”

Naturally, I was at a loss for words,but Suzuka didn’t pay it any mind.

“I-I’ve always loved Onii-chan, butbecause of my dishonest personality, I’ve always been unable totell you, and I’ve just stayed as your little sister like this!”

Her words felt like a bomb that wasdestroying my ability to think.

“Y-Y-Y-You?! W-W-W-W-What are you…suddenly… ehhh?!”

“C-C-C-Calm down, Onii-chan! This isthe boy-meets-girl scenario that I thought of!”

…H-Huuuuuh?! I’m even more lostthan before!

“B-Basically, the story starts withthe little sister suddenly confessing her love to her older brotherone day! H-How is it?! It has great impact, and it has the littlesister gap moe! You can imagine the wonderful story that can enfoldfrom there on out, right?!”

Suzuka was furiously trying to explainherself. I finally started understanding what she was aiming at.

…So basically, Suzuka saw this fighthappening, and she’s presenting her own ideal boy-meets-girlscenario. But that just now was…

“Suzuka-san, isn’t he already doingthat?”

Mai suddenly brought up exactly what Iwas thinking about.

“Eh? D-Doing what?”

“Like, isn’t this basically thesame as the current novel he’s writing as Towano Chikai?”

“T-That’s true, but I want to helpOnii-chan collect data…”

“I don’t think that writingbasically the same thing in a different series is a good idea.”

“A-Akino-san?”

“Yeah. Sakura agrees with the littlesister part of it, but it’s basically the same thing.”

“E-Even Sakura-san?!”

“Well, if you don’t put any changesin there, you’ll be made fun of, I think.”

“H-Haruna-san… Uuu…!”

“Well, it all depends on Sensei’sdecision I guess, desu.”

When she heard Double Peace-sensei’swords, Suzuka’s gaze turned towards me. I found myselfunconsciously averting my eyes.

“UUuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…!”

Suzuka glared at me with a disgruntledexpression. Shortly afterwards, the war about whose idea was betterrestarted. While I listened to their debate from the outside, Iapologized to Suzuka countless times inside my head. But she seemedunable to read my feelings, and she continued to glare at me afterthat for quite some time.

*

“Onii-chan, why didn’t you agreewith me back then?!”

Naturally, Suzuka questioned mefiercely on the way home.

In the end, the girls didn’t arriveat a conclusion about who won, and they agreed to continue the battleat a later date.

To be fair, I think it’s a good thingif a creator is adamant about their ideas, and it did help me outquite a lot as well, so it’s not all bad. But there’s still oneproblem left.

And as you might have guessed, saidproblem was Suzuka. Even though she was the real Towano Chikai, shehad been unable to participate in any way today, and was even forcedinto that embarrassing situation before.

“Sorry, but I didn’t have any otherchoice. As the stand-in for Towano Chikai, I could only come up withsomething like that…”

“That might be true, but… Sinceit’s Onii-chan’s novel, it should be fine if I help out, right?!”

You’re not wrong about that, but youshould know very well that this isn’t something you can just admitin front of the others. Hence, her words were less persuasive thanusual.

“For crying out loud! Every story inthe world should just start with the little sister confessing!”

“T-That’s quite the opinion youhave there…”

Maybe that showed just how muchconfidence she had in the structure of her novel, but I could onlyreply with a bitter smile.

“So how is it?” She suddenly asked.

“How is what?”

“The boy-meets-girl part ofOnii-chan’s novel. Do you think you can write something good withwhat you’ve learned today?”

“A-Ah, that… Well, thanks toeveryone, I feel like I’ll be able to write something.”

“I’m glad to hear that. But I hopeyou’re prepared for the ensuing lecture about not telling mebeforehand once we get home.”

“T-That’s… Yes, I’ve steeled myheart for that already.”

When I responded, Suzuka still lookeddisgruntled for a second, but that facial expression soon changed,and her cheeks soon turned a faint red.

“B-By the way, Onii-chan. Once youdecide on the boy-meets-girl scene that you’re going to write,you’ll need to collect data on that, right?”

“Eh? Ah… I guess…?”

“I-I think that you should. And whenthat time comes… although I don’t really feel happy about it,I’ll lend you my help. You’ve been helping me for a while, soit’s only natural, right?!”

—So she said, and I didn’t know howto respond. The moment she brought that up, I pictured myself beinglovey-dovey with Suzuka while gathering data, and I hurriedly shookmy head to rid myself of those thoughts.

“…Eh? Onii-chan, what happened?Your face is a bit red.”

“N-No, it’s nothing. Let’s justhurry home.”

“Y-You’re that eager to have melecture you? Onii-chan, don’t tell me… Do you like that sort ofthing?”

“No! It’s not that… Anyway, let’sjust go home!”

“Ah, wait up!”

In the end, I wasn’t able to giveSuzuka a response to her wish to collect data with me, and I myselfdidn’t know the reason for that. Even though we had gathered datatogether countless times already…

Before I noticed, I was already walkingfaster. It was like I was trying to run away from this uncomfortablefeeling inside me. I was also wondering why I was so adamant to notuse references from Towano Chikai’s—Suzuka’s—novel for my ownstory.