Volume 8 Chapter 4

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The Little Sister That Started Everything

“Well, I feel like you made some goodprogress there. The romcom elements have taken a good form, so Ithink we’re getting close to finishing the plot.”

“I-Is that so?! Then maybe I canstart writing for real now…!”

“Don’t rush it. Also, do you wantto drink something? I did call you here, so just get whatever youwant. As for the money… well, I can pay if it’s just you, Ithink.”

“…N-No, don’t mind me, justcontinue…”

“Ah, really? Then I’ll just ordersomething for myself, okay?”

“Go ahead!”

A few days after we came back from thetrip, on a certain day, late in the afternoon, I was once againhaving a meeting with Sakaki-san. Today, we didn’t meet at thepublishing company itself. Instead, we were at a nearby cafe thatSakaki-san had recommended.

“S-So what should I do next?” Iasked Sakai-san after she had taken a sip from her melon soda thatshe’d ordered. After all, it felt like the plot was receiving anoverall OK right now, and then I would start writing my own novel.After that would be my debut! Ahh, I can’t wait!

“Weeell, I think that you can startworking on the main part now.”

“I-I’ll immediately work on it!Give me a week. No, three days, and I’ll stop by—”

“Hold your horses. You’re rushingthis too much. It’s good that you’re so motivated, but justcharging forward won’t work… Woah, that sounded pretty good,didn’t it?”

Ugh… Sasaki-san is going at her ownpace as usual… Well, she’s right in saying that I might berushing things, but Sakaki-san is too relaxed…

“Also, there’s one thing that stillpiques my interest about your novel… Umm, what was it again?”

“How would I know?! And what do youmean by that?”

“…Ah, I know! After reading yourmanuscript, I was wondering why you weren’t writing your novel in adifferent genre.”

“A-And what is that genre?!”

“Why aren’t you writing a littlesister novel?”

That question surprised me so much thatit robbed me of any words I had just been about to say.

“E-Even if you ask me that, I don’tknow how to answer that question…”

“I mean, the heroine you wrotetotally acts like a little sister, right? She’s younger, she has asmaller stature, it feels like she’s dependant on the protagonist,and the atmosphere around her totally fits what you’d expect from alittle sister~”

T-That’s because I wrote the heroinewith Suzuka as a model.

“So, I was wondering why you didn’twrite a little sister novel from the get-go. It seems like that’syour forte after all, and it’s easy to understand as a reader, socoming up with a story and plot isn’t too difficult—”

“I’m sorry, but I won’t write alittle sister novel.”

Before I realized it, I’d alreadyrejected Sakaki-san’s proposal.

“Hm? Why is that?”

She stared at me blankly when she heardmy response, which she wasn’t expecting. In a certain sense, thatreaction was to be expected, and objectively, there was nothing weirdabout it. But that didn’t matter to me. Just this once, I couldn’tback down on this. I won’t write a little sister novel.

Why?

Because I have a real little sisternamed Suzuka! I do like little sisters, and I think that Suzuka isincredibly cute, and I’m so much of a siscon that I probablywouldn’t be able to survive it if she got fed up with me! I admitthat! But even I won’t use a little sister as the theme for mynovel. That is something that I cannot do, since I have a real littlesister! I cannot allow myself to cross that line.

…Not to mention that recently, I’vebeen feeling weird every time I look at Suzuka. With all this goingon, do you really think that I could write a little sister novel likethat?

“A-Anyway, I won’t write a littlesister novel.”

However, laying bare my feelings wassomething I couldn’t do either, so all I could do was confidentlyassert my position. When I did, Sakaki-san looked a bit surprised fora second, but…

“Hmmm… Well, I can’t help it ifyou don’t want to write it.”

Luckily, she didn’t question me anyfurther. Maybe she realized something about my attitude, or sheprobably just felt like it was a bother, but either way, I was gladabout this result.

“Hmmm, but what to do, then? Achildhood friend is a bit too weak, so we have to think of anotherway to create an element that can give your novel enough of a punch…Ahh, what a pain.”

With her usual half-opened, sleepyeyes, Sakaki-san muttered to herself. It’s not like she suddenlygrew disgruntled, but she really looked like she felt that all ofthis was a bother, making me feel like I was the one at fault. As aresult, I found myself saying “I’m sorry…”

“I’ll give it some thought, butmake sure that you rethink your plot as well. Sorry, but I don’thave that much time right now. I’ve gotta go to a meeting.”

“Yes… Sorry to bother you likethis.”

“You’re not bothering me in anyway, so stop lowering your head like that~ This is just my job as aneditor… But the things I have to do now kinda cross the boundariesof my job as an editor~”

“Eh?”

“Nah, it’s nothing. Anyway, I’llcontact you later.”

Saying that, Sakaki-san ate the rest ofher ice in the cup and got up from her chair to walk away. When Ilooked at the table, the bill was still there, unpaid, but seeingthis as a sort of repayment for her bothering with me, I reachedtowards it, all the while muttering to myself.

“…A little sister novel, huh?”

“…So, why won’t you write alittle sister novel…?”

In that moment, I suddenly heard avoice behind my back, making me made me freeze in place. It was avoice that would send shivers down your spine. I was too scared tocheck, but ignoring the voice wouldn’t work out either, so I turnedaround hesitantly.

“I’d like a detailed explanation asto why you won’t write a little sister novel…!”

When I did, the face that greeted mewas the one I had anticipated. It was Suzuka, glaring at me withpalpable anger.

Why was Suzuka here? Is it because ourmeeting place was a public cafe, and she was sitting in the seatbehind me the whole time? I’m really starting to wonder if she’sturned into a stalker. Maybe I should have a word with Mai!

“So why is that, Onii-chan?”

“U-Ummm… How about we just get outof here first!”

“Ah, wait a second!”

I left the cafe behind and beganrunning away. Suzuka followed me shortly after, but I tried not tomake eye contact with her, and I muttered a panicked “L-Let’s gohome” and started walking even faster.

“Why is a little sister novel nogood?! Your editor even said that you should, and it lines up withyour beloved little sister attribute! You’re even using me as amodel, so you might as well add the little sister element as well,don’t you think?!”

Naturally, that alone wouldn’t beenough to satisfy Suzuka, and her barrage of questions mixed withscolding followed shortly after, but I couldn’t say anything inreturn.

…Why, you ask? It’s exactly becauseI’m using you as a model!!

—Or so I wanted to say, but I didn’thave the guts to do that. Also, hearing Suzuka bring up the reasonherself left me unable to retort! If it were anybody besides her,bringing up that reason wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but Suzukais the one person I can’t tell. Making my real little sister theheroine, and writing a little sister novel with her… The guiltwould be unbearable. Even a lawyer wouldn’t be able to defend me.

“Y-You heard it, didn’t you? Idon’t want to write a little sister novel! How do I put it… Itdoesn’t really add up with me. It just feels wrong!”

Hence, all I could do was emphasize myopinion without giving any detailed explanation. But…

“W-What’s with that cheap reason?!”

“It’s not my fault if it doesn’tmatch up with my light novel abilities! It’s just that I feel likethis isn’t the right genre for me! Yeah!”

“Say something like that after you’vemanaged to debut as a light novel author!”

I know, okay?! …Damn it, that’sSuzuka for you. She knows that there’s another reason for sure…But I definitely can’t tell her, at any cost!

“Onii-chan…!”

As I adamantly defended my opinion,Suzuka had a frustrated expression on her face, and…

“W-What’s this about?! Why are youso stubborn about this?! So a little sister really isn’t going towork?!”

At first, she lowered her head in adepressed manner, but that changed immediately,

“N-No, this isn’t the time to feeldown! Now that it’s come to this, I definitely have to makeOnii-chan write a little sister novel!”

She looked like she had decidedsomething, and she formed a fist with her hand.

…I don’t know what she’s planningon doing, but I definitely won’t write a little sister novel,okay?!

In the meantime, we arrived at ourhouse, and the conversation was over—

…Sike.

“Onii-chan, it’s time for alecture.”

As soon as the door of the entranceclosed behind me, Suzuka dragged me to her room, and I knewimmediately that the battle wasn’t over.

“Now then…”

She forced me to go down on my knees ona cushion. Suzuka stood in front of me, looking down at me, like shewas some kind of god, and I knew that I wasn’t allowed anyback-talking.

“This is about you not wanting towrite a little sister novel. If you aspire to become a light novelauthor, shouldn’t you write a little sister novel if it has ahigher chance of success?”

This time, she argued with flawlesslogic. T-This might be bad…

“T-That might be true, but if it’sa novel that doesn’t really sit right with me…”

“Why do you keep saying that? Youreditor even recommended it. It just sounds like you’re just beingstubborn.”

“D-Don’t say that! My senses tellme that, and that’s important when writing a novel, right?!”

“So is that all? Your wish to becomea light novel author… Was it really that trivial to you?”

“Ugh… O-Of course not. It’sprecisely because of it that I want to make everything perfect!”

“Hmm… But because of that, you’redistancing yourself from your dream, don’t you think?”

“Not quite. It’s just one steptowards making my novel even better!”

“A-And what is there to gain withthat one step? Is there a better type of heroine for you than littlesisters?”

“I-I’m searching for that rightnow!”

“That’s the same as saying thatthere isn’t!”

“Ugh…!”

“Hmph…!”

We were both just glaring at each othernow. Suzuka was adamantly trying to make me change my plans, and atthe same time, I was adamantly trying to stay true to them. Neitherof us showed any signs of stepping down from our opinions, and ourdiscussion continued. Before I realized it, an hour had alreadypassed, and both of us started to get tired, breathing heavily.

“O-Onii-chan, why are you…?! Youdon’t want to write a little sister novel, even though it could getyou closer to your dream…!”

Even with Suzuka’s glare, shecouldn’t break me. Also, I felt like I could see tears building upin her eyes… Is this really something to cry about? P-Please stopalready, okay? Making you cry would make me want to kill myself evenmore than I already do…!

“What’s with that attitude all of asudden…! Where did the old Onii-chan go, who would do anything toachieve his dream of becoming a light novel author…!”

Luckily, Suzuka brought up anotherargument instead of crying… Thank God. But props to her for comingup with all these arguments. This time she’s even comparing me tohow I used to act…

“That’s right…! I used to lovewatching Onii-chan, doing his best to work for his dream! Now youjust look so pathetic—”

S-Say what you want. My opinions won’twaver even if you pretty much insult me!

“………Ah.”

“…Hm? S-Suzuka?”

But for whatever reason, Suzukasuddenly grew quiet mid-argument. …W-What? Is this some feint?

“That reminds me, there’s somethingI’d like to ask Onii-chan.”

Her atmosphere from before was gone,and she seemed more unsure than ever.

“W-What’s with that so suddenly…?What is it you want to ask?”

“I realized that I had never askedyou about this, so I thought that I might as well ask now.”

Suzuka looked directly at me as shecontinued.

“What was it that made you want tobecome a light novel author? The origin of your dream. I neverasked.”

After Suzuka asked that question, aheavy silence filled the room. But it didn’t last for long, sincethe moment I grasped the question she had just asked, my reactionwas… wild, to put it mildly.

“T-The origin of my dream…?!”

“Yes. Thinking about it, I don’tknow anything about that. I just always took it for granted that itwas your dream. But that doesn’t make any sense, right? Thereshould be a reason as to why it became your dream.”

Suzuka continued to calmly explain whatshe wanted to know, and I could tell her eyes were serious.

“…So what was the trigger? Therehas to be some influence that made you want to become an author, andconsidering that it’s your dream to be a light novel author, it hadto have been a light novel, right—?”

After making it this far, Suzukasuddenly lifted her head as if she had realized something.

“That’s right! What was the firstlight novel you ever read?!”

The question she asked me made mefreeze in place.

…S-Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!

“W-Well, that’s…!”

“Tell me, please! That novel musthave been the origin of your dream!”

…Y-You, will you ever quit being soeffing sharp?! You just hit the mark, you know?!

“I-I’d love to read it as well!Onii-chan’s ‘First Novel’! Do you still have it?!”

Suzuka closed in on me with greatenthusiasm.

W-What should I do?! How can I get outof this?!

“Just so you know, covering it upwon’t work, you know?!”

Before I could come up with anything,Suzuka closed off my escape route.

S-Suzuka’s totally serious. She won’tlet me go until I show it to her…! And the worst part is that I’mclearly not in the condition to think calmly about this. Normally, Imight be able to come up with something like always, but—

Staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare

But not with Suzuka acting like she isright now! She’ll definitely see right through me!

“M-My first light novel is somethingI read when I was just a young kid, so my memories of it are quitevague… I didn’t buy it back then, so I don’t have it either…”

Hence, I could only respond with that.Naturally, that wasn’t a lie, nor was it a way to cover it up,either. I just remembered one crucial detail about the story. Butthat crucial detail was exactly what made it so unforgettable to me.Because—it was the origin of my dream to become a light novelauthor.

“…Really?”

“Really! You should understand,right?! So please just let it go…!”

“I still can’t. It might be truethat you’ve forgotten most of the novel, but if it’s related toyour dream, there must be something important about it that you stillremember!”

Don’t read too much into it! Give mesome privacy, will you?!

“I definitely have to read this booknow!! Where can I get it?!”

“I don’t know, since I don’t haveit! Also, there’s really no reason for us to do so, so just dropthis, I beg you!”

“Then I just have to search for it!The internet will surely tell me where I can buy it!”

“Again, I’ve even forgotten thetitle! You can search for it as much as you want, but you won’tfind anything if you don’t have any keywords, don’t you think?!”

When I said that, Suzuka went quiet andstarted thinking.

“But wait a second. If you didn’tbuy it, then where did you read it, Onii-chan?”

“Eh? I just happened to pick it up bycoincidence in the library…”

“Then let’s go to the library rightnow!”

“H-Hold on. That won’t work. Thatlibrary was torn down years ago.”

That was also the truth. That was why Ihad never had the chance to reread it myself.

“No way?! Then there’s reallynothing we can do?!”

Exactly. So please just give up…

“…We can’t help it then.Onii-chan, we’re going out.”

“Eh? W-Where are we going?”

“That’s obvious. We’re going tosearch for that novel. The bookstores around might still have it.”

“No no no no, there’s no way thatany bookstores would have such an old book, you know?!”

“Then some second-hand bookstores.Come on! Why are you hesitating like this?! This might be the key tofulfilling your dream, you know! So try to at least remember what thecover looks like!”

“I faintly remember something, but…That’s just the hairstyle of the characters and their poses…!”

“That’s more than enough!”

Suzuka showed no signs of giving up.Instead, she looked as motivated as ever as she quickly grabbed myarm. As you can see, I had no chance whatsoever of resisting.

…Ugh, now that it’s come to this,she won’t give up unless she finds it. And she won’t just let metag along, either… She’ll force me to help out by dragging outevery single piece of information that I still remember…

We left the house and made our way to anearby second-hand bookstore. In the end, all we could do was gothrough novel by novel, checking the covers, and there were evensecond-hand bookstores that didn’t even sell light novels. Hence,we shortly realized that searching for it this way was impossible,and Suzuka came up with a different idea.

The next place we visited was a nearbypawn shop. They didn’t just sell books, but they also had games andCDs, and even a large light novel corner. However…

“…Not here. Also, they mostly havebooks from popular series and one-shots, so searching for some rareold book is a lost cause…”

“So basically, the first light novelyou read wasn’t from a popular series, and didn’t sell too manycopies. Why did you choose that as your first novel, anyway?!”

“I just happened to find it by purechance, okay?!”

Our search in the pawn shop came to anend as well, and Suzuka got more disgruntled as she became lost inthought.

…There aren’t any second-handbookstores near us, so there shouldn’t be any other method left…So why are you looking like you still haven’t given up?

“…Let’s see. If we’re going tosearch for it, we’ve got to be thorough with this. Onii-chan, let’sgo.”

“Eh? Where are we heading now? Ithink that we’ve checked all the bookstores in the area, though…”

“That’s obvious. If you’researching for something, you have to search at the place that has themost items that are similar. Hence, we’ll be going to Akihabaranow, and you’ll guide me through it, like always.”

“A-Akiba?! Right now?!”

“Why are you so shocked? Akihabara isa place filled to the brim with otaku things, right? That’s whythere’s a good chance that we’ll find an old light novel there.”

“Ah, hey! Chill a bit…!”

Suzuka grabbed my hand and pulled me tothe train station. I had never expected that Suzuka would bring upthe idea of heading to Akiba herself. Her dedication to this searchwas quite shocking.

…S-She might actually not give upuntil she finds it.

“…I see… So the second-handbookstores in Akihabara are here and here…”

During our train ride, Suzuka checkedthe various locations she wanted to search on her smartphone, and Igrew worried that one of them might actually have it.

Immediately after our arrival, wewalked around various second-hand bookstores and thoroughly searchedthrough all of them. Suzuka’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Ifound myself honestly searching for it as well.

“…Not here, as I thought.”

“W-Why does no store have it…?!”

In the end, we walked all around Akibaand were still unable to find the novel.

…It really must have been a rare bookfor us not to find it after all that searching…

“Muuuu…!”

“Well, we did all we could. It’s ashame that we couldn’t find it, but now that we haven’t evenfound it in Akiba, we have no other choice but to give up…”

I put one hand on Suzuka’s shoulderas I spoke to her with an imploring voice, and I felt bad for herfrom the bottom of my heart. At first, I was perfectly fine with usnot finding it, but seeing Suzuka search for it this desperately, I’dstarted hoping that we’d find it.

“It’s already this late…”

When I looked up at the sky, it hadgotten completely dark. Wanting to tell her that we should go homesoon, I turned to Suzuka. But, the moment I did that, I reflexivelylet out a confused “Eh?” in response.

“………By the way?”

Suzuka still didn’t look like she wasgoing to give up. Rather than that, her disgruntled mood from beforewas gone, and she was lost in thought with a serious expression onher face.

…A-Are you still going to keepsearching? We didn’t find anything in Akiba, so where else could wesearch?

My thoughts came to a stop when I heardSuzuka’s next words.

“Onii-chan, let’s go toHimuro-san’s private residence.”

“…Eh? ……H-Huh?!”

M-Mai’s residence… What are youtalking about?!

“There’s an old second-handbookstore near her residence, right? It looked like it might have thebook we’re searching for. Weren’t you looking at that one bookbefore?”

“Ah… Y-You… Are you…?!”

“Yes.Let’s go check it out.”

Suzuka calmly replied, but I couldn’tstay quiet when I heard that.

“There’s no other choice but to tryand find it there.”

“H-Hold on! Right now?! It’s almostnight already, you know?!”

“There’s the train, so there’s noproblem.”

“I was talking about our way home…”

“We just have to look for a place tostay over there. I’ll call our parents, and we don’t have toworry about the money. At times like these, I can use my allowance asan author.”

I was shocked and astonished.

Is this… really Suzuka?

“B-But, I might’ve just mistakenthe novel for another one…”

“Then we’ll just have to go thereand check.”

Suzuka showed no hesitation whatsoever,and I couldn’t find any way to convince her otherwise. Her fiercegaze was directed at me, and the intensity in her eyes made me feeleven weaker. I was unable to say anything in the end.

“Let’s go, Onii-chan. Time’sa-wasting,” Suzuka said, once again grabbing my hand.

But in that moment, I felt theunbearable urge to ask Suzuka something that had been bugging me fora while, so I opened my mouth.

“H-Hey, Suzuka, why are you goingthis far…?”

When she heard my question, Suzukastopped in her tracks, and after a short silence,

“T-That’s… obvious…!”

She started, and she turned around.

“J-Just like Onii-chan gave it hisall to help me… I want to do anything to be of help to you…!W-We’re siblings, after all!”

When we stepped out of the bus at thestop near Mai’s residence, it was already dark out. We startedwalking down the road towards the bookstore. Unlike the nearbysupermarket, the bookstore was already closed, just as we hadsuspected. However, instead of giving up for the day, Suzuka knockedon the shutters for a while.I helped her out, and we hoped that somebody would hear us and openit.

Finally, our efforts paid off, and thedoor opened. An old lady greeted us. She was a bit surprised, but shestill let us in. We quickly explained the situation, and went tofinish our business. We walked through the bookshelves, and wefinally found it.

I picked it up to make sure, andchecked the cover and title. There was no doubt that this was it.

When I nodded, Suzuka stood next to meand peeked at the book.

The title was ‘Honey Sister’,written by ‘Kirurin.’

It was the first light novel that I hadever read.

“”This book, please!””

Suzuka’s voice and mine overlappedperfectly. The old lady returned our request with a smile.

*

“That’s bad manners, Onii-chan.Just give up already.”

Suzuka had just finished her bath, andshe still had wet hair. She was closing on me while wearing a yukata.I was also wearing a yukata, trying to distance myself from her, butI soon hit the wall behind me.

“Fu fu fu, you can’t run awayanymore…”

Suzuka was getting closer and closer.As a result, I could faintly smell the shampoo in her still wet hair,which made my heart beat faster. I could feel my body getting hotter,and since I barely had gotten out of the bath myself, I could feel myhead spinning.

“A-Aren’t you embarrassed…?” Itried to reason with her, but…

“I-I would be lying if I said that Iwasn’t embarrassed! B-But, even more than that, I’m veryinterested in Onii-chan’s ‘first’…!”

Although she was as red as I was,Suzuka still walked forwards. When I tried to run away to the side, Islipped on the blanket lying on the ground and landed on my butt.

“Now you won’t get away anymore,Onii-chan…”

In response, Suzuka lowered her body,and was now hovering over me. From an outsider’s perspective, itlooked like a little sister was pushing down her older brother on theblanket. It was a truly dangerous sight. Even as I desperately calledout to Suzuka by saying things like “Wait!” and “Calm down!”,Suzuka just continued baring her suspicious smile, refusing to givein.

“Then I’ll be taking Onii-chan’s’first’…!”

She stretched out her hand towards me,and… While my body was shivering like crazy, she pushed her handbetween the gaps of my yukata. I could suddenly feel Suzuka’s softtouch on my chest, making me stiffen up and gulp in shock. But inorder to make sure that I wouldn’t run away, Suzuka pushed herselfin front of me even more.

“Is it here? Onii-chan…?”

Suzuka brought her face closer to mineuntil I was able to feel her breath.

N-No…! I can’t… anymore…!

And just when I was unable to stand thesituation anymore,

“I found it!”

Suzuka screamed out, and pulled herhand out from underneath my clothes. The item she held in her handswas of course—Honey Sister.

“You really don’t know when to giveup! Trying to hide the novel in your bust while I was taking a bath!”

Holding the book in her hand, shelooked down at me angrily. In the meantime, I was lying on the groundin a T-pose with spread arms and legs? “H-How did you know?” Iasked.

After complaining, I slowly lifted upmy head and my upper body.

“Of course I knew. You were planningto not show it to me even though we went this far to get it, right?But you didn’t have the courage to throw it away, so you tried tohide it in your clothes.”

…Amazing. She’s completely right.She’s even got my motives completely pegged.

Suzuka complained “Really, Onii-chanis such a helpless person…”, and since I didn’t have anythingto say back, I just sighed in defeat.

…Well, I knew that it was wastedeffort. But I reflexively hid it, trying to escape the situationnonetheless. I’m really such an idiot…

But anyway, let me explain thesituation. What happened after we found the novel, and how we endedup like this…

Ah, but, before that, to all the peoplethat just imagined something weird during our previous exchange,you’d better rid yourself of these impure thoughts. After all,something like that would, umm… never happen… between me andSuzuka… alright?

Cough … Anyways, our currentsituation:

We were resting in a single room in aninn close to Mai’s private residence. I’m glad that we achievedour goal, but since it took us so long, we were unable to take thetrain home, so we had no other choice but to sleep here. Naturally,there was only one room for me and Suzuka. Although there weremultiple free rooms, Suzuka was adamant that we’d sleep in the sameroom.

Of course, I had tried to convince herthat we each should have our own room. Suzuka responded with a flurryof arguments against that, though, such as…

“W-We’re family, so it’s fine ifwe sleep in the same room!”or “Why should we waste money on this if we can save it?!” and soon… Even though she said that this was what her pay as an authorwas for… So why didn’t she use it now of all times?

Still, I couldn’t exactly oppose her,seeing that she would be the one who would pay for it, so I ended uprenting a room together with my little sister. After we finishedeating dinner, we each took a bath. Suzuka threw glances at me whilesaying things like “Taking a bath together as family isn’t weird,right?”, butI just lied by saying I wanted to gather some data, and went to takeone ahead of her. Once I came back, two futons were already laid out,so I got the weird idea of trying to hide the novel while she was outtaking a bath herself.

…To be honest, I regret that it cameto this after all. At the time we found the novel, I happened to feelhappy for both of us, but I shouldn’t have let it get so far. How Iwish I could awaken to some time-reverting ability now…

“Are you still hesitating,Onii-chan?”

As I was thinking all that, Suzukacriticised me with a displeased expression on her face. Truth betold, it’s probably just a waste of energy to try to stop it now. Icertainly can’t run away from having Suzuka read it at this point.But…

“…Hey, do we really have to read ittogether?”

Why do you want to read it togetherthat badly?! A book is something you read on your own, right?! Alone,in silence, your mind filled with the story!

“O-Of course. It’s Onii-chan’sfirst light novel, you know?”

“I really don’t get why that’s areason for anything!?”

“You want to read it as well, right?After all this time. That’s why we can just read it together! We’renot losing anything by doing it!”

“It’s not like I wanted to read itthat badly or anything…”

“For Onii-chan, who has forgotten howto do anything for his dream, reading this right here right now ismore than essential, don’t you think?!”

W-Why are you right all the timetoday?! But it’s not like I can just say “Yeah, you’re right!”and play along!

“Aren’t you embarrassed oranything?! Look at the title! The it’s a lovey-dovey story betweentwo siblings, you know?! Reading this together right here would betotal torture!”

“I-I-I-I don’t really mind! E-Evenif there are such sibling scenes in there, I’m looking forwardto—Not that! This is important to Onii-chan, so I can put up withit!”

…Y-You might be able to bear it, butI can’t. Reading a little sister novel with my little sister wouldjust be hell…

In the meantime, Suzuka opened hermouth with an “Also!” Her face was bright red.

“Also, you said that this is thefirst novel you ever read, right? And it’s a little sister novel,so why won’t you write a little sister novel yourself?! That’sjust weird!”

“T-That’s…!”

“To find out why that is, we have toread this together after all! This is all for Onii-chan!” saidSuzuka. She arrogantly puffed out her chest.

Seeing Suzuka become this emotionalmight actually be a first time for me… And it’s not even for hersake, but just for me. There’s no way I could say no after seeingthat.

“……! …Haah, I got it already. Igive up…”

I shrugged my shoulders as I slumpedover in defeat. In that moment, Suzuka’s face lit up.

“So you finally understand,Onii-chan! T-Then let’s start immediately! Of course, the two ofus, together, next to each other…!”

With those words, Suzuka sat down nextto me on the same futon. Coming so close that our bodies almosttouched, she held the novel between us. Meanwhile, as I was gazing atthe cover, I started to feel nostalgic.

Honey Sister, huh? Back when I didn’teven know that light novels existed, I just happened to spot this onenovel in the library. The cover and the illustrations, the title andthe designs; I remember it all now. All those feelings I had backthen are slowly coming back to me…

“Now then, please flip the cover,Onii-chan.”

I did as I was told. Shortly after,both of us were absorbed into the story of the novel.

Honey Sister wasn’t anything special.It was your typical little sister novel. The story had an ordinarypair of siblings who got into a fight because of a certainmisunderstanding, and their relationship became fixed slowly byromcom events. If there was one thing to critique it about, it wasfilled with cliches, and there was nothing that really made it standout. If I was reading it for the first time right now, I’ddefinitely close it after reading it, and I’d never touch thesecond volume. However…

“Ah, Onii-chan, I’m not done withthe page yet…”

“S-Sorry…”

Hence, while the two of us were readingit, I didn’t feel anything special at all. I didn’t think youcould call this work a masterpiece. This much explained why almost nostore even had the book. It probably disappeared from the chartsquickly, and might have even gotten axed. I also don’t remember anyother novel from the author, so the reception might’ve been soaverage that he didn’t release any more novels.

But everyone must have their own novelsthat they enjoy subjectively, even though everyone else says thatthey’re bad, right? I sure have books like that, at least. Therewere times when I thought that a novel was super interesting, only tofind out that the evaluation online was really bad, and that it wouldbe discontinued. And that had happened more than just once or twice.

…The first experience I can rememberthat this happened was with this exact novel. I remember it now thatI’m reading through it again.

“Onii-chan, have you finished readingthis page?”

“Ah, I’ll flip it over in asecond…”

Before I realized it, I found myselfgetting excited. I had completely forgotten about the embarrassmentof reading a little sister novel with Suzuka, and was purely focusingon the siblings inside the novel.

…Fun. This novel is really fun! Thecharacters are common, the depictions of them aren’t anythingspecial either, and the story doesn’t have any great plot twists,pretty much a flat line. Comparing Suzuka’s novel to this is likecomparing heaven to earth. But what does it matter?

It was fun. I can’t properly explainit, but it’s fun, and that all that matters. This is that exactsame feeling of being hooked on something, even though it was nothingspecial. How nostalgic. It felt like my head wasn’t reading it, butrather my heart, which was difficult to explain.

Why did I get so hooked on this novel?

“………”

“………Onii-chan?”

Then I remembered something.

…I remember this feeling? It’s thesame feeling I got as a kid when I first read this light novel, Ithink. Right, I was reading this novel with the exact same feeling.

Fun… To think that there wassomething interesting like that. So this—is a light novel, huh?

“Ah.”

Something popped up in my mind. Allthose hazy and vague feelings I had are suddenly so vivid and clear.The same feeling I had back then when I read it in the library. WhenI took this book to the table. The feeling of it having gottencompletely dark outside once I finished reading it.

….I remember everything!

“What’s wrong? Can I keep going?”

I was brought back to reality bySuzuka’s words, and I quickly turned the page. While my eyes werebusy reading the next lines, my head was filled with all thedifferent memories I had. They were all coming together and forming aclear picture.

…Yeah, I’m starting to remembereverything that happened back at that time, and even before that…The time I encountered that novel, I had just gotten into a fightwith Suzuka.

Suzuka had told me “I hateOnii-chan!” That cold, stiffy relationship had continued until Ibecame her stand-in and had made up. Back then, I had gone to thelibrary from time to time. Though I don’t really remember thereason for that all too clearly. Maybe I just felt like readingsomething, or I felt awkward with Suzuka at home, or maybe neither. Idon’t know.

Still, I had gone to the library. Andeven though I normally didn’t read anything aside from comics, forsome reason I set foot into the light novel counter. I don’t reallyknow why I did that. Maybe that incident with Suzuka was part of thereason, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention and just stumbledin… Nevertheless, I arrived there, in the light novel corner,spotted that novel out of pure coincidence, and picked it up.

I don’t know why. I never read anynovels back when I was still in grade school. Even so, I just feltlike reading it that day. Hence, I took Honey Sister with me to anearby table and started reading furiously.

When I finished reading it, I foundmyself thinking about how fun it was, and I found myself interestedin reading more light novels. After that, I used all my allowance tobuy light novels, and I started having a dream of becoming a lightnovel author. No doubt about it. This was the origin of my dream.

…But those weren’t all the feelingsI had felt back then. Other than falling in love with light novels, Ifelt something while reading this little sister novel as well. Afterall, it was the one thing I still remembered after this time.

…Basically, the one thing I had neverwanted Suzuka to know, and the reason I couldn’t allow her to readthis novel at the same time as I. But it turned out exactly how Ifeared…

“……”

“………”

Both Suzuka and I had gotten completelyquiet, and we were only reading the story. The only sound in the roomwas the flipping of the pages. The story finally reached its climax,the misunderstanding was cleared up, and the siblings managed to makeup, and there was a scene of the two of them sleeping next to eachother, talking with each other. After the little sister fell asleep,the older brother was kindly stroking her head. Then, their dailylife continued in the epilogue, and the story was over.

“…Fuu, so it was that kind ofstory.”

After we both finished it, we bothstayed in silence for a short amount of time, but Suzuka finallybroke the silence.

“This is Onii-chan’s first lightnovel… I-I really enjoyed reading it, but… It really was a littlesister novel, huh?”

With a slightly sulking expression,Suzuka looked at me.

…Uuu, being stared at like that makesme remember all the scenes from the novel just now…

While responding “Y-Yeah…” I keptmy gaze averted from hers. I hoped that this would be the end of it,but naturally, it wasn’t.

“Onii-chan, this is without a doubtthe first light novel you read in your life, right?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“And this is the novel that got youinterested in light novels, which ultimately made you aim to be alight novel author. Is that correct?”

“I-I guess.”

“Basically, it’s fine to assumethat this is the origin of it, right?”

“Y-You could say that.”

Before continuing, Suzuka let out adeep sigh, only to glare at me shortly after and…

“Then why won’t you write a littlesister novel?! If this is the origin of your dream, then writing alittle sister novel would be the natural thing to do, right?!”

As expected, Suzuka started hammeringat me with flawless logic.

…I mean, she’s right… That’swhat it would boil down to…

“Why?! Why do you still not want towrite a little sister novel?! I want an explanation!”

“T-That’s…!”

I tried to respond, but I couldn’tcome up with anything in the end. What could I say? Suzuka iscompletely right… B-But I definitely can’t tell Suzuka thereason, no matter what!

“…Onii-chan.”

As I was debating internally about howto get out of this situation, Suzuka called out to me. She didn’tlook angry, but rather had a serious expression on her face.

“Let me just say this. I won’t giveup until I know the reason why you won’t write a little sisternovel. Because this is definitely weird. I’ll keep asking until I’msatisfied.”

“U-Uuu…”

“It must be a reason that’s hardfor you to say, I’m sure. Onii-chan has his privacy, and I don’tfeel good trampling all over that. However, this time it’sdifferent. In this case, I feel like I deserve to know the reason.I’ve been supporting your dream with all that I can, and this issomething important for me to know… And also…”

“A-Also…?”

“…I can’t keep watching Onii-chanlike this. You’re clearly forcing yourself.”

When Suzuka told me this, I thought, …W-Was I really looking like that?

“So please tell me, Onii-chan.”

“B-But…”

“Whatever your reason might be, Iwon’t think poorly of Onii-chan.”

“…Eh?”

“No matter how much you think thatthis reason will make you look bad, I won’t look down on you.Whatever it is, I swear that I’ll be your ally, Onii-chan.”

“S-Suzuka…”

When I saw Suzuka’s honest and kindgaze, I felt like something was changing inside me.

…T-To think that Suzuka would saythat much… B-But, just this once, I can’t tell Suzuka about it…!

“Onii-chan.”

While my feelings were still indisarray, Suzuka opened her mouth again.

“I will never again say ‘I hateyou, Onii-chan!’, even if it rips my soul apart.”

…She said that with a slightlyapologetic smile.

“……Suzuka.”

In that moment, I could feel somethingheavy in my chest dissipate. All the strength and tension disappearedfrom by body, and my hands, which had been making fists, relaxed. Inmy head, Suzuka’s words were the only thing I could think about.

…Yeah, the two of us aren’t thesame as we were back then. I became her stand-in, we became closer,and we managed to make up… And now, she has this much trust in me.Then, whatever happens, we won’t go back to that cold and awkwardatmosphere from before, right? No, even if we do, we would be able tofix it ourselves soon enough, I’m sure.

“Onii-chan, we’re siblings, soplease rely on me… J-Just like I always rely on Onii-chan…”

Suzuka’s words cleared up the last ofmy doubts. I slumped my shoulders in defeat and let out a long sigh.

…It’s my loss. There’s no way Icould win against such a wonderful little sister… Not a patheticolder brother like me. That’s why… I can’t sink any lower thanthis anyway. No, even if I do, that’s a problem for another time.

I took a deep breath and lifted myhead.

“The thing is… I read this novelback when I was in grade school… To be precise, it was around thetime that you said you hated me…”

“Eh?”

“And I just so happened to spot thisbook at the library… I thought that it was just a pure coincidencethat I picked it up, but now that I think about it, it’s probablybecause I saw the title, and I understood that it was about a littlesister.”

“E-Eh?”

“I was really moved after I finishedreading it. ‘Man, light novels are really fun!’ I thought. Afterthat, I got hooked on them… But that’s not the only thing I feltback then…”

“…A-And what was it that you felt?”

Suzuka looked at me, and I confessed.

“…I was jealous.”

“Jea… lous?”

“Yeah, that’s right! I was jealous!I felt envious after finishing it, and not just a little bit! Do youhave a problem with that?!”

I could feel my face burning up.

It’s embarrassing, okay? Laugh at meall you want!

But, instead of doing that, Suzukastill looked a bit confused.

“Jealous… of what?”

“T-That’s obvious! Of the siblingsin the novel! You just read it, didn’t you!”

“Eh, siblings—?”

“Yeah! It was right after we had afight! The siblings in the novel were like us, but they managed tomake up shortly afterwards, and they got even closer than before! Ofcourse I’d get jealous of them!”

“…………?”

Hearing that, Suzuka looked completelylost, and finally…

“Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”

Finally her face went red before I evenrealized it, and she let out a shriek.

“H-Hold…?! Ehhhh?! P-P-Please waita second?! Pwease wait a shecond?!”

“No, you calm down first…”

“J-Jeal—?! About the siblings thatmanage to make up?! Auuuu…..?! S-So basically…?!”

“A-Again, the siblings in the novelmanaged to do what I couldn’t, so—”

“Unyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”

She let out another shriek.

“W-What’sh up with that?! I thoughtthat you shaw the novel as shomething god-like, and you thought thatyou’d be unable to shurpass that?! So I thought of… Ehhh?!”

“Eh? What’s up with that…?”

“And it washn’t that, and rather,you wanted to make up with me…! Unyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

“A-Again!?”

Suzuka let out another shriek, sankdown on the blanket, and buried her face into the pillow.

“~~~~~~!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!”

She then started screaming into it,while hammering her hands on the blanket.

…W-What’s she on about? Not tomention that her speech has been weird at times…

I could only watch the scene unfold inconfusion, until Suzuka lifted her head and glared at me, her face amixture of embarrassment and anger.

“P-Please hold on…! I understand…the feeling that you had… back then…!”

“But!—” she continued.

“Why did you keep saying that youwon’t write a little sister novel…! Shouldn’t you have wantedto write your novel if you were so jealous…!”

Finally, there it was. The question Ihad anticipated. But even though I had expected it, I couldn’t findthe right words. Though keeping quiet was also something that Suzukawouldn’t allow me to do, so I took a deep breath and steeledmyself.

“…I-I mean, how could I write alittle sister novel, since I have a real little sister myself… Youwould totally think that I was disgusting…”

I could only confess my own patheticfeelings.

“Wha—?! That’s your reason?!”

Suzuka’s eyes opened wide indisbelief, but I wasn’t done yet.

“I couldn’t even make up with myreal little sister, and you think I could just write a little sisternovel, and indulge in self-satisfaction like that?! I don’t havethe qualifications to write a little sister novel…!”

I finished my explanation with roughbreathing, and Suzuka kept quiet as well, until…

“…Haaaaah…”

She let out a sigh.

“Onii-chan… you really arehopeless…”

“Ugh…”

I held my head in my hands. I couldn’tsay anything in response to that. Maybe I really messed up now…Thinking that, I could feel chills running through my body. However…

“Onii-chan.”

Suzuka was looking straight at me. Herface was still red, but she wasn’t condemning me or anything.Instead, it looked like she wanted to be taken seriously, and herexpression was honest.

“It’s time for another lecture.”

“…Yes.”

“Onii-chan, be more honest withyourself.”

“Eh?”

“Just write whatever you want to.Stop thinking about qualifications and those sorts of things rightnow. You should only think about what you want to write, and nothingelse.”

“S-Suzuka…?”

“And let me just ask this one moretime… Onii-chan, do you really not want to write a little sisternovel?”

I felt startled. For a moment, Iswallowed my words out of tension, but all that strength once againleft my body shortly after.

…She knows everything, anyway.There’s no need to hide it now. There’s no need to cover it up,either. All I have to do is honestly tell her my feelings and waitfor her response.

“…I see.”

I answered her question. I was ready toaccept whatever her response might be.

“I want to write a little sisternovel. That’s what I thought back when I read my very first lightnovel… ‘I have to write my own little sister novel.'”

Paying no mind to what Suzuka mightthink about me, I finished my declaration.

Now, what reaction will Suzuka have?Her head was lowered, and I couldn’t read her expression. But evenif she thinks I’m disgusting, I won’t hesitate anymore…

“……”

I kept waiting for Suzuka’s response.She finally lifted her head. Her face was red, and she glared atme—Eh?

“O-Onii-chan is just…!”

“Eh? S-Suzuka-san?”

“Onii-chan really is such a hopelessperson! Just how much trouble did you think I had to go through untilyou finally realized the obvious?!”

“Ehhhh?!”

T-That’s not the reaction I expected!And why are you suddenly picking up the pillow—?

“Mugh?! S-Suzuka…?! Stop…?!”

“If you! Want to write! A littlesister novel! Then say so! From the start! Then I wouldn’t have hadto have gone through all of this…!”

Suzuka suddenly lifted up the pillow ofhers, aimed it at me, and swung it down on my head. It didn’t hurtor anything, but since I had never seen Suzuka react like that, I wasa bit shocked. In the meantime, Suzuka continued to lecture me,swinging the pillow at me again and again. And, as if to finish itall, she made one final swing, and…

“Onii-chan, you… idiot!”

Screaming out that insult, she sankdown on the spot, probably tired from it all. In that moment, Ithought I heard a relieved “…I’m glad” in there, but maybethat was just my imagination.

…And so.

“…U-Umm, Suzuka-san? I don’t knowwhat I did, but could you maybe cheer up now…?”

Around ten minutes had passed afterthat, and I continued to call out to Suzuka. She was sitting in thecorner of a room, her back to me, pouting, while letting out weirdsounds like “Muuu…” and “Uuuu…”

At first, I thought that I had finallyused up all the affection that she still had for this pathetic olderbrother of hers, but… this doesn’t exactly seem right. She evenheard the reason that I didn’t want to write a little sister novel,and even so, she continued to support me, so why is she mad now? Ireally don’t understand it one bit, but since she’s angry at me,I can only apologize and wait.

“…I’m not mad anymore.”

Suzuka finally muttered those words,her back still turned to me. After that, she slowly turned, threw aflustered glare at me, and said “Let’s sleep.”

With those words alone, she crawled tothe futon lying on the ground.

…S-She’s definitely still mad atme… But after a night’s sleep, she might be in a better mood.

“Hm…?”

However, while I was thinking that,Suzuka took one of the two futons that were laid out and pushed it tothe corner of the room.

…I-Is she so disgusted with me thatshe doesn’t want to sleep next to me?! W-Well, I had anticipatedsomething like that, but seeing her do it right in front of me stillis pretty depressing…

“H-Huh?”

But Suzuka wasn’t done yet. Sheneatly folded that futon and lied down in the other one. What is shedoing…?

“…Ah?! A-Are you telling me tosleep outside?!”

It has to be that, seeing that shedidn’t want the other one to be used?! I-I guess that I really madeSuzuka hate me this time around…!

“W-What are you talking about…?Don’t be ridiculous. Come here. It’s late already, so let’ssleep…”

“Umm, but my futon isn’t…”

“Onii-chan!”

Suzuka raised her voice and interruptedme.

“…I-I’m telling you to sleep withme in the same futon!”

Her face suddenly blushed as red as atomato, and she was trying her best to look me in the eyes.

…Eh? Together…?

E-Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!

“W-W-W-W-W-What do you mean bythat?!”

“C-C-C-Calm down! D-Don’t get thewrong idea!”

As if I could calm down when you saystuff like that?!

“… C-Cough … Listen. This isjust for Onii-chan’s sake, and certainly not my own wish oranything!”

“How is this for my sake?!”

“I-I mean, in the light novel we justread, the siblings slept in the same bed after making up, right? I-Iwant to reenact that! This is essential to help cement that feelingof yours that you’ve had all this time, Onii-chan!”

…Cement that feeling…?

“H-Hurry up already! I’membarrassed, myself…!”

Suzuka complained as she averted hergaze, and laid down to look at the ceiling. She was red down to herneck, and I could faintly see her shaking. I was taken aback by thissudden development. However…

“Uu… Uuuuuuu…”

But Suzuka must’ve had an evengreater resistance to it, and she still tried her best to hold backher embarrassment for me. There was a time when we slept together tocollect data, but that was under different circumstances. I’d feelbad for forcing her to go this far for me, only to chicken out.Hence…

“……!”

I made up my mind, slipped under theblanket, and rested my body next to Suzuka.

Uuuu, how can I sleep like this with myheart going crazy like this…?!

“H-Hey Suzuka, why are we…?”

“Y-You were jealous of the siblingsin the light novel we just read, right? You wanted to make up withyour little sister just like in the novel, right?! S-So we just haveto do the same thing right now!”

While adding “W-We’re not fightinganymore or anything though!” she moved closer and wrapped her handsaround my arm. Feeling that, I twitched. I could tell that Suzuka wasequally nervous, and both of us just froze up.

“I-I’m doing my best here, so…Make up with your little sister in the truest sense…!”

“S-Suzuka…”

Her face was still red, but she threw aserious gaze at me. Seeing my little sister like that, Iunconsciously blurted out the following.

“…Is it really fine for me to writea little sister novel…?”

When I said that, Suzuka was surprisedfor a second, but…

“Of course.”

She replied with a smile.

“You just have to write what youwant. You were the one who taught me that, right? If you want towrite a little sister novel, that’s all there is to it… And I’mhappy about that as well…!”

Suzuka suddenly cut off her sentence,and continued with “A-Also! You don’t have to think aboutsomething so complicated. I won’t think poorly of you if you writea little sister novel. Just like Onii-chan accepted how I had writtenmy own novel while I was possessed…”

“Suzuka…”

“…N-Not to mention that I’mOnii-chan’s favorite type of girl, and if you were to write alittle sister novel, you’d use us two as inspiration for it…!This is the best result ever…!”

“S-Suzuka?”

“Hyah?! N-No, don’t mind me! Justas I said before, I’ll be Onii-chan’s ally forever, and I willnever push you away! So don’t mind me! Write whatever you want towrite!”

This time, Suzuka’s cheeks were onlyflushed slightly. But what she said was very important to me, so Icouldn’t do anything but honestly thank her.

“…Well, thank you, Suzuka.”

In response, Suzuka muttered aflustered “W-What are you saying?” as she looked away,

“Weren’t you doing the exact samething for me all this time? It’s just my way of repaying you… I’myour little sister, so that much is obvious…”

She’s saying all those kind things tome. In response, I could feel all the tension leaving my body. Thisweird feeling that has plagued me these past few days… No, eversince that day, it’s starting to drift away…

“I’ll write a little sister novel…And I’ll make it the best one ever, I promise…”

I didn’t know who I was saying thatto. Maybe Suzuka, maybe even my past self…

“…Yes.”

Suzuka responded with a relieved toneand a smile. She closed her eyes, and let out a small yawn. Shortlyafter, I could hear her faint, peaceful breathing. She was probablyassaulted by sleepiness after she started to relax. While I gazed ather sleeping next to me, I realized something.

…Ahh, I see, I’ve always wanted tobecome close siblings like this. I finally understand that now.

Calmly and gently, I started strokingSuzuka’s head.

“…Ehehe, Onii-chan…”

Listening to Suzuka’s sleep-talk, Ionce again thanked Suzuka.

…Really, what would I do without you,Suzuka…?

I continued to indulge in this soothingatmosphere, until I felt my consciousness slowly fading away, and Igave in to this warm feeling as I closed my eyes.

I was just about to drift off into theland of dreams, but…

“……”

I remembered Suzuka’s overwhelminglycute sleeping face, which made my heart beat faster again.

*

“…M-Morning.”

“G-Good morning.”

The following morning, both of us wokeup at about the same time, and after exchanging a slightly awkwardgreeting, we both got up. Finishing our morning arrangements, we atethe breakfast that the inn had prepared and decided to go home assoon as possible. But before we did so, I quickly took out mysmartphone and dialed a certain number.

“Onii-chan? Who are you calling?”

“Sakaki-san.”

“Sakaki-san… Your editor? Why?”

“I decided to write a little sisternovel, right? I want to tell her as quickly as possible. There’sprobably no reason to hurry, but I feel like I have to do it now.”

“I-I see! That’s a wonderful idea!You’re going to announce that you’ll write a little sister novelthat will be known by everyone on the earth, right?!”

Umm, I didn’t say that much, though…

Flashing a bitter smile to Suzuka, Idialed the number of Crescent Publishing.

But…

“Huh? Nobody’s answering?”

The sound of the phone ringing repeatedcountless times, but nobody picked up… Is it because it’s stillearly in the morning?

“What’s wrong?”

When I explained it to Suzuka, she gotreally fired up for some reason, telling me “Keep dialing untilsomeone picks up! And announce that little sister novels are thegreatest!” I decided to ignore that, however, and instead thoughtof something else.

“Hey, Suzuka. Can we do a quick stopat the publishing office before we go home? I really want to tell heras quickly as possible…”

“Of course I don’t mind. The soonerthe better! Naturally, I’ll come with you!”

Since Suzuka gave her approval, we leftthe inn and headed towards the publisher. We arrived in Tokyo aroundnoon and quickly headed to the building with the publisher’soffice. Heading up the same stairs as before to the second floor, westood in front of the office door. I knocked.

“…No response, huh?”

Just like during the call, nobodyanswered.

“Well, Sakaki-san was sleeping insidebefore, so maybe that’s the same right now.”

“W-What’s wrong with thiscompany…?”

I ignored the comment from the alreadyfed-up Suzuka, and continued to knock on the door. But nobody came togreet us. Since I had no other option, I peeked inside, and—

“Wait, huh?!”

I was shocked when I looked inside theroom. So shocked that I pulled the door open completely.

“Nobody… Wait, nothing ishere?!”

The mountains of books, and the shelvesfilled with other documents. Everything was gone, only an empty roomleft to greet us.

“W-What’s going on here?!”

I looked around the room. But no matterwhere I looked, it was the same.

…S-Seriously, what’s happening?!What’s going on…?!

“O-Onii-chan! Please look at this…!”

I then heard Suzuka’s panicked voicefrom behind my back. When I turned around, Suzuka was waving at me,signaling me to come over. Seeing no reason to ignore her, I slowlytrotted over. When I looked at where she was pointing, there wasanother piece of paper hanging on the door, beneath the one that said’Crescent Publishing’.

…That wasn’t here before, right…?

“O-Onii-chan, read what it sayshere…!”

“What is it?”

I brought my face closer to said paperto take a look at the small letters on it.

——Year XXXX Month X Day X, ourcompany Crescent Publishing has gone insolvent according to the upperbrass. To have it come this far, we’re very sorry to everyone thatwas involved with our company in any way——

“…Eh? Insolvent…?”

“Yes, it definitely says ‘insolvent’here…”

When I muttered that to myself, Suzukaaffirmed my assumptions.

And then silence followed.

Only the sound of the passing carsoutside the window could be heard. But this silence didn’t continuefor much longer. Suzuka and I both let out a confused scream thatended up harmonizing.

“”Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!?!””

……

………

……………

……………………And now.

“…I never imagined that they’d gobankrupt like that…”

While sitting down on the couch in ourliving room, I looked up to the ceiling.

“Uuuuu…!”

Suzuka was next to me, holding her headin her hands.

After that, several other people fromother companies came over after hearing our scream, and we asked themabout some details concerning Crescent Publishing. Even though weasked, there wasn’t much they could tell us either…

All they told us was that they’d beenhaving monetary problems for the past few years. Apparently, themanagement had reached its limit. Around three days ago, almost likethey were running away, they quickly packed their things and left.That explains why nobody picked up when I called before.

…Well, I might as well have guessedthat much. The publisher was pretty small, there were no peoplethere, and the atmosphere in there didn’t feel like that of a realpublisher… Suzuka was right the whole time, but I was too blindwith my dream of becoming a light novel author… Still, I reallydidn’t think they could go insolvent like that…

“Well, there goes my one chance at mydream, I guess.”

“Uuuuuu…!”

When she heard what I said and saw myfabricated smile, Suzuka’s groan got even louder.

Haha… I don’t even have the energyto be shocked about this… Why did I even work so hard recently? Itwas all for nothing in the end…

“O-Onii-chan…!”

“Eh, Suzuka?”

While I was thinking that, Suzuka gotup and turned towards me. She was biting her lip slightly, lookingclose to breaking out in tears, but she swallowed those.

“P-Please cheer up, Onii-chan…! Itdidn’t work out this time, but I’m sure that you’ll definitelydebut with another light novel contest elsewhere! So please don’tlet it get to you, and keep working hard…!”

“Wha—Suzuka-san…?”

When she earnestly tried to console me,I was even more confused. She continued, teary-eyed.

“You might have lost this way ofdebuting, but that doesn’t mean that everything is over…! Thingswill get better, definitely…! I’m sure that you’ll find anotherway to achieve your dream, so please, please cheer up…!”

…W-Why do I feel like Suzuka was evenmore shocked than I?

Unsure about that, I just decided tosay things like “I-It’s fine!” and “Don’t let it get toyou!”, although I was a bit confused as to who was cheering on whoright now. But apparently, that wasn’t as much of a shock this timearound. I was shocked, of course, and a bit demotivated because I hadbeen so close to debuting, but there was also a part of me that wasrelatively happy with this.

“L-Look, why are you even moredepressed than me about this?”

“Uuuu… B-But aren’t you sad aboutthis, Onii-chan?”

“Well of course I feel like it’s ashame… But, I don’t feel all that sad still…”

“Why…? With just a bit more, youmight have achieved your dream… Don’t you feel like you weredeceived?”

“You’re not wrong, but there’ssomething I realized thanks to that.”

“A-And what is that…?”

Suzuka stared at me like a small child,and I continued.

“I feel like I finally understandwhat I want to write… So even if it didn’t work out this time, Ifeel like I’ll be able to debut some other way, so I’m not allthat depressed.”

With those words, I softly put my handon Suzuka’s head, who was still teary-eyed, and slowly startedstroking it.

“You don’t have to worry about itthat much. But thank you, Suzuka…”

I smiled with appreciation, whileSuzuka was staring up at me with flushed cheeks. But soon after, shereturned to reality.

“T-That’s good to hear…! But…Auuuuu…! That means that you’ll continue to be my stand-in for abit longer, right?!” Suzuka said, and quickly averted her face.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I repliedwith a grin.

But…

At that time, I realized something. Whyam I this relaxed, even though my dream was crushed right before Icould achieve it? And—

Why am so relieved that I can stay asSuzuka’s stand-in…?