Volume 9 Chapter 1

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What It Means to Write a Little Sister Novel

“What’s most important is definitely collecting data! It becomes more realistic the more data you have to work with! Don’t you agree?!”

“Y-Yeah…”

It was something that happened on acertain evening. I was in my own room, kneeling in front of Suzuka,hearing her passionate argument. A few minutes before, I had beenbusily working on the plot for the next novel that I was planning onentering into the next light novel contest, when Suzuka suddenlystormed in my room. I was overwhelmed by the sudden situation, and Ihappened to end up in this position. What exactly is going on here…?

“U-Umm, Suzuka-san?”

“What is it, Onii-chan? Are youdoubting the importance of collecting data, by any chance?” Suzukapierced me with a sharp gaze.

“No, um, why did you even comehere…?”

Although it might be a bit late to askthat, since I had already ended up in this situation, I carefullyasked her anyway. Naturally, this question should be justified, butSuzuka only replied with a sigh. She even hit me with acounter-question. “You don’t even understand that, Onii-chan?!”Her gaze was filled with disappointment.

…Why is she acting like I’m the onein the wrong here…?

“I came to help you, Onii-chan.”

“Help me how?”

“I want to assist you with the nextnovel you’re going to write, of course.”

…My next novel? I wanted toask why, but Suzuka got the jump on me. She put up her index finger.

“Onii-chan, you decided that thetheme you want to write will be, um… a li-little sister novel,right? That’s how you’re going to write the next novel you’regoing to submit, right?”

The moment she spoke the words ‘Littlesister novel’, her cheeks turned a bit red and she awkwardlyaverted her gaze. It was the same for me. I could feel my facegetting hotter.

The other day, after a lot happened, Ifinally understood that I had always wanted to write a little sisternovel, and had decided that I would focus on that theme for thenovels I enter into contests. Naturally, Suzuka is already aware ofthat, which doesn’t make it any less embarrassing. It’s crazyawkward, to boot. Especially since it’s Suzuka of all people. Imean, think about it this way. Suzuka is my real little sister, andI’m writing a little sister novel of all things. It makes me theabsolute worst. Even I know that, and it must look even worse toeverybody else.

However, now that I’ve decided uponit, I can’t back out anymore. My wish to write a little sisternovel is real, and I don’t see any reason to stop here beforeachieving my dream of becoming a light novel author. Luckily, Suzukaisn’t against me writing a little sister novel, either. On thecontrary, she said that she would support me.

Because of this, I replied with aconfident “Th-That’s what I’m aiming for,” and nodded. Pleasedon’t laugh at me for stuttering there. I’m in quite the awkwardposition, after all…

“R-Right! So I think that myassistance will be necessary!”

After she heard my response, Suzuka hada relieved expression on her face for a bit before she continued.

“S-See, my novel just so happens tobe a little-sister type as well, and even though I’m possessedwhile writing it, I’m still something of a trailblazer for you, soI thought I could give you some advice that could help you out!”

“I see, so that’s what you meant byassisting me.”

Suzuka is the incredibly-popular lightnovel author Towano Chikai, and her novel ‘The story of a littlesister who loves her big brother way too much to cope’ is indeed alittle-sister novel. This means that, just as she said, she’s mySenpai in the industry, and she’s the type of person that I shouldstrive to be. Hence, having Suzuka help me out here is actuallysomething I should be begging her to do—

“I’m really thankful to be able toreceive direct advice from Towano Chikai! Thank you!”

I bowed forward to earnestly thank her.Do you know how many aspiring authors would die to be able to have achance like this?! This greatly increases my chances of winning thelight novel contest! I started getting hyped, imagining myselfdebuting as a light novel author. People would ask for my autographat a signing session, and I would be able to sign it “NagamiYuu-sensei”…

Suzuka for her part was squirming backand forth with joy and saying “E-Ehehe, is that so?! So Onii-chanreally needs me!” and laughing to herself. Hence, for a shortwhile, the room was filled with the sounds of us laughing.

“Hehehe.”

“Ehehehe.”

Doubt suddenly entered my mind.

“…Hey, Suzuka. I’m reallygrateful for the chance, but why would you help me out with mynovel?”

I just couldn’t figure out why, nomatter how hard I wracked my brain. Suzuka had accepted the fact thatI would be writing a little sister novel, yes, but there should be noreason for her to help me to this extent.

Suzuka’s laughing suddenly stopped,and she looked at me with a sharp gaze yet again. “What are youtalking about, Onii-chan?” She looked down at me.

“W-We’re brother and sister, afterall, so of course I’ll help you out. Onii-chan, you became mystand-in as well, and you’ve always been helping me out with mynovel, so now it’s my turn to assist you in any way possible.”

“But that was just me thinking thatit should be obvious that an older brother should help his littlesister out.”

“I-It’s the same for me. Supportingan older brother is only natural for a little sister,” Suzukaresponded as she averted her gaze.

Maybe she doesn’t want to owe meanything, since she’s such a perfectionist. But nevertheless, I wasmoved by her words. Another reason for that was because I alsorealized just how much our relationship had improved over the pastcouple of months.

—Alright, I’ll take in all theadvice Suzuka—Towano Chikai has to offer, and I’ll win the lightnovel contest! Both for my dream, and as a way to thank her!

While I was thinking that, Suzuka spokeagain.

“A-And, you know, it’s my duty tohelp Onii-chan out, but there is an even bigger reason for this!”

When I heard her words, I was unable toprocess them, and I muttered a confused “Eh?” in return.

“U-Um…! O-O-O-Onii-chan, you saidthat a girl like me is your ideal type, didn’t you…?!”

“Guhk?!”

I swallowed my breath out of shock…H-Hold on! Why did she suddenly bring that up?! I-I mean, I did saythat before, so it’s not like she’s wrong or anything, but it’sembarrassing for her to say it out loud! I’m so embarrassed that itmakes me want to dig a hole and hide in it!

“S-Since I’m your ideal type ofgirl, and you want to write a little sister novel, i-it would makesense for you to want to use me as a model, right?! A-Although it’snothing but a bother for me, I do understand that I have to at leastoffer to do it!”

“N-No! Hold on! I never said anythingabout basing the little sister off of you or anything—”

“Ehhh?! A-Am I wrong?!” Suzuka wasclearly devastated.

It would have been great I could justrefuse her outright by saying something like “I don’t have anyplans to do that!”, but sadly…

“W-Well, that’s…”

I couldn’t help it that I was lostfor words. Truth be told, I had never thought about writing thelittle sister novel based off of Suzuka. That isn’t a lie. But,considering the circumstances, I couldn’t help but worry that itmight actually turn out like that. My perfect heroine is Suzuka, andsince it will be a little sister novel, the chance that it might turnout that way is—pretty high, yes. But, since I’m an actual olderbrother to an actual little sister like her, I can’t let it come tothat.

Recently, I’ve found myself beingweirdly conscious of Suzuka, so much so that I can’t deny that I’mslowly turning into a siscon, and I feel like it would only getstronger if I were to spend more time with Suzuka. Hence…

“I-I never thought about that~?”

Although my response sounded less thanconvincing, I still tried to deny it. However, just as I expected,Suzuka narrowed her gaze.

“That sure sounds lackluster. If youdon’t cultivate as many experiences as you can, you won’t be ableto write the best novel there ever was! A-Although I’m not thebiggest fan of it!” Suzuka gave a very Suzuka-like response.

I know that she isn’t wrong, but Ireally think that there are experiences that should never beexperienced in this world. Yes.

“Onii-chan… A-Anyway, since I’mOnii-chan’s ideal girl, as well as your little sister, I have aduty to help you out with your novel. A-Although it really doesn’tsit right with me!”

She emphasized the last part severaltimes, so she must surely feel that way. Her conscience is strong,she’s diligent, and since she owes me for acting as her stand-in,she feels obliged to help me out, even if she really doesn’t wantto… Really, my little sister is such a kind girl.

“I see… Thank you, Suzuka.”

“N-No, this is all to write alovey-dovey story between me and Onii—Excuse me! All to write aninteresting little sister novel of course! As a fellowlittle-sister-novel author, I won’t allow anything half-baked!”

So basically, she doesn’t want theshame of the older brother of Towano Chikai writing something bad inthe same genre as her. And she’s ready to achieve that, even ifit’s to her own detriment… I can’t help but bow my head to youagain. Thank you, Suzuka.

“I’ll tell you about every littledetail that belongs in a little sister novel! Now then, let’sstart!”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

Suzuka’s words made me sit upstraight. The truth is, I had decided to make it a little sisternovel, but I was already having trouble thinking of a decent plot.That’s why I’m really thankful to Suzuka for her willingness tohelp out.

“Then let’s prepare to go outimmediately!”

“Alright… Huh? Go out?”

But the words that came out of Suzuka’smouth left me in confusion yet again.

“U-Um… What about giving meadvice…?”

“What about it?”

“Shouldn’t we take a look at theplot and decide how we can improve it?”

I thought that this was the naturalcourse of events, personally. We’d be discussing this and that interms of story development, how the characters should behave here,and how they shouldn’t, right? But, Suzuka just said “No,” andshook her head.

“I won’t comment on anythingregarding the story. Well, since it’s a little sister novel, I’dwant—Excuse me, I’d anticipate lots of flirting between thesiblings, but since it’s Onii-chan’s novel, I want you to work onit yourself.”

That’s… Certainly a valid approach.Also, I’ve said the same thing before, haven’t I?

“But what will we do about the adviceyou were talking about, then?”

Since the plot isn’t done yet,there’s no reason for any other advice. Or so I thought…

“T-That’s…! I’m talking aboutflirty events between the siblings!”

“F-Flirty events?!”

“L-Listen, Onii-chan. What’s mostcrucial in a little sister novel are the lovey-dovey and flirtyscenes between the older brother and the younger sister. Basically,if you have a higher quantity of those events, the quality of thenovel as a whole rises!”

“W-Well, that might be true to acertain degree, but the story isn’t even decided yet, so shouldn’tI be thinking about that…?”

“No, that’s not necessary! Whateverthe story may be, the flirty events take priority over everything!Every author knows that!”

“S-Seriously…?”

“S-Seriously. And in order to achievethe greatest results, it’s crucial to collect as much data as wecan. That’s why I said that we have to prioritize data-gatheringright now.”

…So is that how it works? I had noidea…

“I don’t know what kind of storyyou’re thinking of writing, Onii-chan, but flirty events are thecore of every little sister novel, so we have to collect data… Um…It’s not like I want to or anything, b-but that’s just my adviceas Towano Chikai.”

When Suzuka told me this, I couldn’tsay anything in response. When Suzuka was working on her novel, wehad always done that, and she finished her novel that way. The firstnovel was completed by her being possessed, but the rest was allthrough hard work and data-gathering. As her stand-in, I am painfullyaware of that. But… to think that the day would come where I’dhave to be the one doing the data-gathering!

“Since I’m your ideal girl, as wellas your little sister, you’ll definitely grow more conscious ofme—No! I-I mean the quality of your novel will skyrocket for sure.I-I’m really not happy about that, though!”

Since this is advice from the realTowano Chikai, this must be important for writing a little sisternovel and subsequently debuting as a light novel author. Not tomention that she’s going out of her way to help me, so I can’thesitate here.

“…I understand. We’ll collect allthe data I need, and I’ll write the best novel ever.”

I formed a fist with my hand to steelmy resolve. Yeah! I’ll do whatever it takes to become a light novelauthor! Even if I have to collect data on flirty events with Suzuka!Even if I want to kill myself afterwards!

“…………!”

“Hm? What happened, Suzuka? You’resuddenly all quiet.”

“W-Well, I just realized thatOnii-chan is going to collect data on his own accord now, so I wasimagining that…!”

Suzuka put her hands together in frontof her chest and looked up at the ceiling. I-I think that you’reover-exaggerating a bit there…

“T-Then let’s start immediately. Ican’t miss out on this when Onii-chan is so energetic!”

“Y-Yeah. But why are you so hypedup?”

“I-I don’t know what you’rereferring to! N-Nevermind that, let’s hurry with our preparationsso that we can get started quickly!”

“Y-Yeah… But what are we collectingdata on?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” Suzuka’ssparkled as she continued. “The most important flirty event! Inother words, a date!”

*

And thus, Suzuka dragged me yet againout to the nearby shopping mall. For some reason, she wasn’t ascalm as she normally was. She literally pulled on my arm while we ranhere, leaving me quite out of breath. Again, why are you so motivatedeven though we’re doing this for my novel? I mean, I’m thankfuland all, but…

“We’re here! T-Today, we’ll beconducting our date here!”

But, Suzuka’s gaze of enthusiasm wasso overwhelming—and also so scary—that I didn’t have any chanceto ask her about it. I really am a weak-willed older brother likealways.

“Ummm… Can I just ask why we’regoing on another date?” I voiced the question that had beenplaguing me all the way here.

It’s not like it was a bad thing, butthere should be other kinds of flirty events that we can do, so whydid it have to be a date?

“That’s obviously because I wantedto go on a da—No! I mean that I wanted Onii-chan to understand theimportance of a date.”

“The importance of a date?”

“E-Exactly. A date is the greatestform of being lovey-dovey. An event where a boy and a girl can enjoytheir time together to their fullest. You might even call it theessence of flirting. Leaving out a date in a little sister novel islike leaving out the miso in miso soup.”

“It’s that important?!”

N-No, that’s not the point here.Suzuka is saying that the novel can’t be considered completewithout such an event?! But aren’t there a lot of romcom novelsthat don’t have any dates in them?! But wait, she might not becompletely wrong about this… In romcom novels, dates happen all thetime, and they’re always fun to read. Naturally, they aren’tnecessary or anything, but at the very least, from Suzuka’s—TowanoChikai’s—point of view, a date scene is crucial.

“That’s why Onii-chan will have toput a date event like this in his novel. This is the only reasonwe’re here. There’s no deeper meaning to it or anything.”

“I-I see. A date scene might indeedbe important… And if you’re willing to help out, then I’d loveto collect some data on it.”

“Hau…! To think that I would hearthese words from Onii-chan’s mouth…! So writing light novels wassomething as wonderful as this…!”

“Y-Yeah…? Wait, you’re onlysaying that now?!”

Suzuka looked really moved. Although Idon’t know why.

“But this isn’t the time to get allsentimental. A-And now that Onii-chan is convinced, we have to movequickly.”

“Y-Yeah… But Suzuka?”

“W-What is it, Onii-chan? Time isprecious, so I want to start flirting—Excuse me, collectingdata—immediately. O-Or do you mean to tell me that you’ve alreadythought of a wonderful idea, and you want to try it out immediately?!Ahh, Onii-chan is taking the initiative! I-I’m more than welcometo—No, I just mean that I don’t mind that at all!”

“I’m not talking about that! Whyare you so tense today?!”

Having Towano Chikai show me the ropesis great and all, but isn’t she a bit too motivated?! I’ve neverseen Suzuka this energetic before!

“T-That’s not what I meant. Iwanted to talk about the fact that we went to the same shopping mallagain. I mean, we’ve walked around this mall countless timesalready.”

We’ve gone here on a fake date oncebefore to rid Mai of her doubts, and again when we wanted to searchfor my ideal heroine… Still, a lot has happened, huh? Picking outunderwear, eating ice cream… and then the rings… Wait. Inretrospect, all of these things are crazy embarrassing…!

“B-Back then, those were technicallyalso kind of like dates, right? What I mean is that we should haveplenty of data collected already.”

Also, I’ve come here with Suzukaseveral times already, without the whole data-gathering on dates asthe goal. Not for me, though, but for Suzuka’s novel. But sincewe’ve walked through here countless times, I feel like I’vegathered just as much experience as she has. When it comes todata-gathering on dates, I’d say that I feel just as experienced asher now. And I have confidence that I can write a date sceneaccurately. After all these times that we’ve come here, I shouldhave also gained something, myself.

“…I see, so Onii-chan is sayingthat he wants to try out another flirty event at a differentlocation…”

“N-No, I wasn’t saying it in thesense of flirting or anything… I was just talking about the date,and thought that maybe we should try it in a different environment…”

“So basically, you’re saying thatwe’ve already gathered enough data here about dates.” Suzukapierced me with a sharp gaze, which made me twitch.

I-I don’t know why, but Suzuka feelsalmost overwhelming today…

“Onii-chan…”

“Y-Yes?”

“Don’t look down on dates!”

“E-Eh?!”

She pointed at me with her indexfinger, leaving me in confusion.

“It’s true that we’ve been hereseveral times already, but your understanding of a date is still tooweak!”

“No, um… What might you be talkingabout?”

Suzuka stood in front of me, armscrossed. The pressure emanating from her forced me to suddenly startspeaking formally.

“Just how many shops and stores doyou think there are here? And it’s not just them, there are alsoplaces where you can spend free time, right? We haven’t even setfoot in all of them yet, so why are you talking as if we have?”

“I-I mean, visiting every single oneof them would be a bit much…”

“Back when we came here before, welooked at a clothing store, an u-u-underwear boutique, ate some icecream, and fed each other! We even went into the photo booth andflirted in there, right?!” Suzuka’s face flushed bright red asshe retold all of the events we had experienced.

…If you’re that embarrassed, whyare you bringing them up?

“T-That was all for clearingHimuro-san’s doubts that she had about us back then, but it wasalso a wonderful experience for collecting data. I used it later inmy novel, too. However, that is only but a small fraction of what youcan do in this mall. This is all in hindsight when thinking about myown novel. We also need to make sure that Onii-chan’s novel isdifferent from mine.”

T-That’s… not wrong, for sure.Suzuka’s data might only be useful for her own novel. Although Ialso gained something from it all, myself, my experiences wereshallow by comparison. Hence, if I wanted to experience the fullbenefit of data-collecting, I would have to do it myself.

“It seems like you understand whatI’m trying to say. Basically, there’s an infinite number ofthings here that we still haven’t done. If we start from here,Onii-chan’s date could turn out completely different than mine.”

“I-I see, that’s not a bad idea.Ah, but hold on, I haven’t even finished the plot yet, so…”

“I know that. That is exactly whyI’ve chosen this place.”

A glint appeared in Suzuka’s eyes.

“If nothing’s decided yet, you canjust come up with a plan for a date, and then you can figure out thestory you want to build around that!”

“W-What?! So we’re doing it inreverse?!”

“T-That’s correct. The data isessential for writing light novels, anyway. So no matter how thestory ends up, we have to prepare now so that you can immediately putit in words!”

What a ridiculous way of thinking! Butit feels oddly persuasive coming from her.

“…Ehe, ehehe… The logic isflawless, if I do say so myself! Thanks to this, I can enjoy afulfilling date with Onii-chan…! Ehehehe…!”

Suzuka suddenly started bugging out andlaughing to herself, muttering something under her breath. I couldn’treally be bothered to pay any attention to what she was saying,though… Dang, Towano Chikai has such a strange way of thinking. Shereally is on a different level than I am.

“I’ve never thought about it thatway. I really didn’t gather all the data from this place that Icould last time. Sorry.”

“Hya?! N-No, it’s fine if youunderstand. Then let’s enjoy our date—data-gathering to ourheart’s content. Ehehe…” Suzuka smiled as she grabbed my arm.

Apparently, Suzuka is planning onstaying in character the whole time. Even though it’s acting, Icouldn’t help but be entranced by her for a second… Hold on, whatam I thinking?! Recently, I keep feeling weirdly conscious of her…It’s like she looks cuter than ever… Well, Suzuka has always beena beauty… Wait, stop thinking about that! She’s helping you byher own choice, so don’t think about idiotic stuff like that!

“…Hm? Is something wrong,Onii-chan?”

“N-No, it’s nothing! Anyway, let’shurry and start the date!”

I furiously shook my head to rid myselfof these thoughts. However…

“…………Why did you stop?”

After taking a single step, I wasunable to keep going.

“I-I mean, collecting data aboutdating is great and all, but what exactly should we do?”

I had been dragged here out of the blueand told that we should collect data on dates. There’s no way Icould come up with a good plan right on the spot. Not to mentionthere’s no way I could know what specifically I should becollecting data about. And I’d never gone on a real date before,which didn’t help.

“What, that’s all you’re worriedabout? Then leave it to me.”

Suzuka’s response to my unease wasunexpected. It almost seemed like she was a bit let down.

“I-I do have several date plans thatI thought of beforehand. So just tag along and collect data onwhatever you want.”

“S-Seriously? You have that sort ofthing already prepared? How?”

“Well… I’m always thinking aboutgoing on dates with Onii-chan, so having three or four plans ready isno big deal.”

“Eh…?”

“…Ah?! Th-That’s not it, okay?!Don’t get the wrong idea! I was just… um… Talking about thelight novel! I was thinking of ideas for how the siblings in therewould go on dates and so on!”

A-Ahh, I see. That scared me. Itsounded like she genuinely wanted to go on a date with me… Hey!Stop thinking about the impossible, brain!

This isn’t good. These weird thoughtskeep coming back! Because of them, I can’t think straight. I haveto calm down. Calm… Down…

“Y-You really are amazing. You haveso many ideas.”

“Y-Yes, most of my date ideas comefrom my Onii-chan no—Excuse me! I just give them a lot of thoughtwhile writing.”

“Is that so? How many ideas do youhave, roughly?”

“As for the siblings beinglovey-dovey? So many that I can’t count them.” Suzuka respondedimmediately. “And the notes just keep on growing.” She finishedher muttering with a grin.

I was quite shocked by this, honestly.A-Are you for real? Suzuka is going to great lengths just to make hernovel more interesting. That’s Towano Chikai for you. And she’swilling to use them for my novel, too? So basically, she’s teachingme the ropes for romcoms… Wow, I feel incredibly blessed.

“…Thank you, Suzuka. I’ve been inyour care a whole lot recently. I feel bad about it, but I’ll usetoday as reference material for my own story.”

“Y-Yes, please do! I really should bethanking you, instead. This way I get to act out even more of myfantasies!”

“Hm? What do you mean by—”

“N-No, I was just thinking out loud,so don’t pay it any mind. Anyway, let’s hurry up!” Suzukalatched onto my arm and squeezed it tightly.

I don’t really get it, but maybeshe’s telling me that I don’t have to hold back now. Anyway, myown data-collecting will start from here on out. This is differentfrom me just tagging along with Suzuka. Now I have to actively seekout situations that would make for good data. In order to write abetter light novel. In order to become a light novel author.

“…Alright. I’ll give it my best!Please help me out as much as you can, Suzuka!”

“…! T-To think that a day like thiswould come…! It’s like I’m dreaming!”

“Hey, pull yourself together!”

Using Suzuka’s ideas as a basis, ourdata-collecting started. I was excited at first, hoping that I couldtake the fun of Suzuka’s novel and make it my own, but… Well…Things don’t always work out as planned.

“…Haaaaaah…”

“What are you sighing for, Onii-chan?Let’s go to the next place.”

Approximately ten minutes later.

I was already worn out, sitting on abench with my head hung low. Next to me was Suzuka, still asenergetic as ever, pulling on my arm. Of course, the reason thingshad ended up like this was because of the data-collecting.

“H-Hold on a second, Suzuka… Wewere just collecting data. And at a really rapid pace…”

This time around, it was really tough.Normally, it’s (mentally) tough for me, but this time around it’sway worse.

“What are you talking about? We haveto use everything available to us, so we have to try everything wecan. If not, this data-gathering won’t be worth its time.”

Yes, this is the reason it’s sodifficult this time. Previously, we’d always think about theconcept behind the scene and collect data on one aspect of that. Now,though, it’s an all-in-one deal. For example, not long ago we hadgone to a store with miscellaneous goods with the goal of looking fora birthday present. Today, though, we had gone through a wide rangeof things, such as ‘Looking for matching accessories with yourlittle sister,’ or ‘A surprise present for your little sister,’or ‘Secretly showing your affection for each other,’ and so on.

Also, since Suzuka was really trying toemphasize the flirtatious aspect of it, nothing half-baked wasallowed. You can probably understand why I’m so exhausted now.While we were in the clothes store, I had to come up with differentsituations while picking out clothes for Suzuka. It was like afashion show. Naturally, that also meant that I was supposed tocompliment her every time, and in a different way. I’ve reached mylimit here…

” ‘I-I think that those clotheshave a calm and gentle aura that really suits you, Suzuka’… Thatsounds really good! Your word choice is pretty plain, but it bringsout the feeling that you really understand your little sister well.’Ah, sorry, I was just so entranced by—No, it’s nothing!’—This also sounds wonderful. The reaction is perfect, even if thewords aren’t. B-But the best one has to be ‘Y-You’re cute,Suzuka…’ Ehehe…”

“W-Wait, what are you listening to?!”

I had been so lost in my thoughts thatI hadn’t even realized that Suzuka had taken out her smartphone.She was holding it to her ear while kicking her legs up and down, herface as red as a tomato… And am I hearing the same things I wasforced to say just earlier during our data-collecting?!

“W-Why did you record that?!”

“It’s important data. After this,I’ll replay them and fantasize—excuse me. I’ll use them withthe data we collected today.”

“W-When did you…?! I’m reallyembarrassed here, so could you not?”

“B-But Onii-chan, you took so manypictures of me while I was trying on clothes. This is basically thesame thing.”

“That was because you practicallyforced me to!”

Just as she had said, a great number ofpictures of her from the ‘fashion show’ were saved on my phone asof this moment. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. This is allmaterial for my novel.

“T-They’re important so that youcan remember everything more clearly. A-Anyway, time is limited, sowhere should we act lovey-dovey next…? Ehehehe…”

“H-Hold on! Stop!”

Suzuka was about to walk away, pullingon my arm, so I frantically stopped her.

“What is it? D-Did you come up with awonderful date plan already, by any chance?”

“N-No, that’s not it. I waswondering if we could maybe take a break for a bit?”

“Breaks shouldn’t be necessary,though, should they? I’m not tired at all.”

I could clearly tell that Suzuka wasstill brimming with energy. But really, are you serious? I’m dyingover here! But now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve everseen Suzuka look tired when we’re out collecting data.

“S-Sorry, but that’s impossible forme. Let me rest a bit.”

You can’t just ask me to just gofull-steam-ahead on the first time. If this keeps going, I’ll bepermanently damaged, both physically and mentally. Especiallymentally.

“Hmph. That’s no good, Onii-chan.You can’t give up this early.”

“Guilty as charged… Still, I’mshocked that you’re fine after all of this. You seem even moreenergetic than ever.”

“It’s for Onii-chan’s littlesister novel, after all. And since I can try out different ways ofcollecting data for dates right now, instead of being tired, I’mmore fired up than ev—Ah, don’t get the wrong idea! Gatheringdata like this is essential for a little-sister-novel author, so Ican’t be tired just yet.”

A-Amazing. Once again, I’m awestruckat the difference between me and Towano Chikai.

“But I’m sure that you won’t beable to concentrate too well if I force it on you. Since that isn’tmy intention, we can take a short break if we really have to.”

Thankfully, Suzuka didn’t mind, andshe agreed to take a short break. In the end, this sort of kindnessis what makes my little sister so great.Well, it should be a given that Suzuka would adjust her pace to matchmine, since I’m the one collecting data right now, but that’sjust how impressive the gap between us is. Of course, this isn’thow I want our relationship to be in the long run. For now though, Ifeel like I might be fine with it.

…Ahh, I can feel myself becoming moreand more of a siscon. But since I’m already starting to accept thatfact, I shouldn’t dwell on it too much.

“What’s wrong, Onii-chan?”

Suzuka interrupted my thinking. Shepeered into my eyes with a confused look on her face, leaving meunable to say anything in return but a flustered “I-It’snothing.”

“Then that’s fine… Instead ofstaying on this bench, how about we take a break over there?”

Suzuka pointed to a familiar food courtwe had visited before. Since it was afternoon on a holiday, quite alot of people were there, as you’d expect. Most of them werefamilies or couples. Luckily for us, we still managed to find a seat.While we sat down at a table next to each other, I let out a sigh.

“…Haaah, we might as well eatsomething. I’ve gotten a bit hungry.”

“You’re right. This is the perfecttime for a snack,” Suzuka agreed.

I was about to get up and look forsomething to eat, but Suzuka suddenly stopped me and said “Pleasewait a second!” She tugged on my clothes.

“What’s wrong? Is there somethingyou want to eat?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

For some reason, Suzuka averted hergaze, and she started fidgeting. I’m getting a really bad feelingnow…

“U-Um… Since we’re here already,I thought that we might as well collect some data on something…”

And just like that, my bad premonitionsturned into reality.

“Ehh?! Didn’t we just say that wewere planning on taking a break?!”

“I-It’s not something as tiring asbefore. It’s just something simple we can do while taking a break…It’s like collecting data in between our data-collecting!” Suzukalooked up at me with an expression like she had just solved worldhunger.

I’m sorry, I really don’tunderstand what you mean!

“A-Also, since Onii-chan has tocollect data about as many things as possible, you don’t have timefor a break. Hence, we have to continue this time as well.”

“N-No way…But what about my break…”

“A-Again, it’s just some light datacollecting. Something you can do while taking a break. Some lightflirting.”

…So basically, something natural thatwould happen during a date? I can’t really think of anything likethat. But Suzuka looked determined enough about it that I could onlygive in and ask her what she meant.

“…So what are you planning ondoing?”

“T-That’s obvious. It’s somethingthat you can only do in a food court like this.”

Her eyes glinted while she responded.

“Something you can only do here?”

The moment I spoke these words aloud, acertain picture entered my mind. That picture was what Suzuka haddone before, in this very location. Back then, Suzuka and I had toact lovey-dovey to rid Mai of her doubts, so we fed each other icecream…

“Auuuu…”

Apparently, Suzuka had thought of thesame thing at the same time, and her face flushed immediately…Wait, my face feels hot now, too! This is getting really awkward!

“Y-You want to do the same thing thatwe did back then…?” I asked, thinking that already knew heranswer, but Suzuka proved me wrong when she shook her head.

“N-No, doing the same thing againwouldn’t help at all. You should have already mastered that kind ofdata collecting from back when we did that. Right?”

I don’t really know how to respond tothat, but I nodded along to be on the safe side.

“Therefore, we have to go withsomething different today. Don’t worry, I’ve already thought ofsomething.”

Something different? Well, it seemslike she already has something in mind. How many ideas do you evenhave prepared? That’s nothing short of amazing.

“A-Anyway, let’s just buysomething… Ummm, maybe those crêpes over there. They look prettydelicious.” Suzuka pointed to a crêpe stand, and the two of usheaded there.

There were lots of couples lined upthere, and Suzuka and I stood among them, which made me feelextremely uncomfortable.

“They have a lot of variations here…I’m fine with a normal one. What do you want?”

“No, we will only be buying one. Andmaybe a drink, too.”

…Just one? For what exactly? I was abit confused at first, but I went ahead and bought just one crêpeand one drink as she instructed. We returned back to the bench.

“P-Please enjoy the crêpe,Onii-chan.”

“Yeah, but what about you?”

“I-It’s fine. Just eat it,”Suzuka urged me to eat the crêpe.

…You really don’t want to eatanything? Well, if she’s that adamant about it, then I’ll justtake a bite myself.

…Yeah, it’s delicious—

—Nom!

“…Eh? Woah?! S-Suzuka?!”

She suddenly moved forward and bit intothe crêpe I was holding. And not just anywhere, but at the exactsame spot I had taken a bite from just a second ago!

“W-W-W-W-W-W-W-What are youdoing?!?!?!?!”

“C-C-C-C-C-Calm down, Onii-chan!”

Naturally, I panicked. A lot. And sodid Suzuka. She started flailing her arms and legs all over theplace… Weren’t you the one who did it?!

“T-This was all part of thedata-collecting that I was talking about! A while ago we did the’Feeding each other’ part of it, and now we’re doing the’Sharing with each other’ part!”

“S-Sharing with each other, yousay?!”

W-Why are you coming up suchembarrassing things?!

“N-Now, Onii-chan, keep going,”With her face still as red as before, Suzuka urged me to continue.

She grabbed my hand with the crêpe,barely containing her embarrassment as she glared at me. I was leftwith no other choice, and was now face to face with the crêpe. Rightin front of me was the spot where Suzuka had just bitten into—No,don’t think about it! Calm down! This is to collect data, nothingmore!

Feeling extremely hesitant, I stillforced myself to take another bite. I was assaulted by waves ofembarrassment, and I was unable to get a good taste of it. But evenso, the sweetness of it all was overwhelming, which left my mind inchaos and confusion.

“E-Eating the same crêpe asOnii-chan! Ehe, ehehe, ehehehehe…!”

P-Please stop! I’ll be even moreconscious of it if you say it out loud! And don’t bug out on me!This is your idea! I’m about to bug out, myself, here!

That’s how we progressed as we atethe crêpe together. Honestly, the embarrassment of it all left meunable to think about anything. I’m not sure if that datacollecting was a success or not.

“Y-You must be thirsty. Have adrink.”

After a bit, Suzuka handed me the icedcoffee we had bought. Now that she mentioned it, I felt like mythroat was getting all dry, so I bit on the straw and gulped downsome coffee. The bitterness of it tasted even better than usual.

…Alright, I might be able to calmdown a bit thanks to this.

“U-Um, Onii-chan… Can I also take asip?”

“Y-Yeah, maybe that would helpyou calm down a bit.”

I handed over the coffee to Suzuka. Butin that moment, I realized something.

…H-Hold on a second? Didn’t Ijust—?

“…Mmm… Mmm… W-What sweetcoffee…!”

Before I could voice my thoughts,Suzuka had already taken a good sip of the coffee. Naturally, sheused the same straw. The one I had just used.

“Y-You…! That’s…!”

“W-W-W-We’re just sharing, right?!O-Of course that would include the drink as well! I-Inevitably, thereis also the i…i-i-i-i-i-i-indirect… kiss…! But we can’t helpthat, right?!”

I-Indirect…! S-So that’s reallywhat all this was about, huh?!

“C-Calm down, Onii-chan! This is allto collect data! I-It’s not anything indecent; we just couldn’thelp it!”

“R-Right?! W-W-We couldn’t help it,right!”

Yeah! That makes sense! Our faces werebright red as we tried making excuses to each other. No matter howyou think about it, the situation was bad. I couldn’t remain calm,and I just tried to ignore reality.

We both suddenly heard a voice. “Hey,look at that cute couple over there!”

When we looked over, a coupleconsisting of what seemed to be university students were looking overat us, grinning gleefully. It wasn’t just them. All the othercouples, and all the families that were gathered around here, wereall smiling at us, as if we were animals at a zoo.

…A-Are we the center of attentionright now…?! Don’t get the wrong idea! This is all just tocollect data! It’s necessary for writing an interesting lightnovel! I want to emphasize that right now. But I’m doing all ofthis with my little sister, so that isn’t much of an excuse atall…! I can’t say anything! Just please don’t look over here!

“What happened, Onii-chan?”

Suzuka didn’t seem to understand thesituation at all. She just looked at me with a confused expression onher face. But I’m glad that she didn’t notice. It might havecaused her to bug out even more…

“I-It’s nothing. Anyway, let’sjust finish this quickly…”

Finishing the crêpe took the utmostpriority. I picked up the pace, trying to make the data collectingcome to an end…!

“P-Please wait a second! I also…!”

However, Suzuka didn’t understandwhat I was trying to do, and still seemed to want to eat it together.While I was trying to eat the crêpe all by myself, Suzuka had tolean her body forward to try to reach it, and she lost her balance.

“Ah.”

As a result, a small amount of creamfrom the crêpe ended up on her cheek.

“I-I’m sorry for letting you seesomething as embarrassing as that…!”

Suzuka panicked ever so slightly andwas about to wipe away the cream with a handkerchief, but for somereason, her movements came to a sudden halt. She started blushing andlooked up at me.

“U-Um, Onii-chan…? I have arequest…”

And with an expectant tone, shecontinued.

“C-Could you… get this off forme…?!”

“Eh? W-What do you mean?”

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea. We’rein the middle of collecting data, right?! So I thought that we shoulduse this accident as reference?! A-Although it’s not like I reallywant to, or anything!”

…So you’re telling me to dosomething with that cream? A-And, in some way to make us look likewe’re flirting?!

“F-For example… and it’s reallynot like I was planning on this or anything! B-But, maybe… Youcould softly whisper ‘Really, Suzuka, you’re such a troublesomegirl’ as you wipe away the cream with a kiss…!!!”

The moment I heard those words, my headexploded and steam started rising out of it. Suzuka, for her part,had the same reaction. Why are you self-destructing from your ownidea?!

“Y-You…! What are you saying?! Areyou serious…?!”

“I-I’m telling you not to get thewrong idea! This isn’t what I want to do or anything, but just oneof my ideas for being flirty!”

“Why is such a tremendously bad ideathe first thing that comes to your mind?!”

“I-I’m always thinking about thesesorts of things all the time, so I can’t help it!” Suzuka snappedat me.

…S-Seriously? She’s thinking aboutcrazy things like this all the time? Towano Chikai is so amazing thatit’s scary.

“N-Nevermind that. H-h-h-hurry up,Onii-chan…!”

Suzuka closed her eyes and facedtowards me, entering her data-collecting state of mind.

…Wait, this totally makes it looklike she’s expecting me to kiss her!

“They gonna kiss? Are they gonnakiss? Ahh, they’re so cute!”

Yet again, we could hear the voices ofthe nearby couple.

…Hold on, what are you expecting meto do right now?! We’re not some tourist attraction or anything, soleave us alone, okay?!

“U-Um, Onii-chan, hurry…”

Can you not make the situation worse bysaying things like that?! My heart can’t take it! …A-Anyway, Ihave to hurry up with this, now that we’re here! Telling myself,”This is only to collect data!” mentally, I stared at the creamon Suzuka’s cheek. I have to… with my lips… As if I could dothat! Even if it’s for collecting data! There are certain thingsthat you’re not allowed to do, okay?!

Thus, I used my finger to wipe it away.

“…O-Okay, I got it off!”

I put my finger in my mouth… Thinkingabout it rationally, there was no need to lick my finger like that,but I just did it in the heat of the moment.

“Ahh, what a boring way for theboyfriend to cop out. But that was pretty cute to look at, so all isforgiven~~~”

Why are you all enjoying this while I’msuffering over here? And I’m not her boyfriend! I’m her olderbrother! It’s quite different if you ask me!

“…………Hmph.”

While everyone around us graduallystopped staring, I realized that Suzuka was glaring at me with adispleased expression on her face.

“W-Why did you use your fingers?Although that wasn’t too bad, either…”

“N-No. Licking it directly would havebeen dangerous. In a lot of ways.”

“……Hmpf, even though I waslooking forward to it—Excuse me! I really wanted you to collectdata on this, and I’d even prepared myself for it. Your resolve forgathering data is still too weak, I’d say.”

“Ehh?! Y-You gotta be kidding me! Ithink I really did my best there!”

“I do appreciate your efforts, but ifyou don’t work harder, you won’t be able to write a perfectlittle sister novel.”

N-No way… There’s gotta be a limitto how high the hurdle is…

“It seems that I need to force us todo even more data-collecting, Onii-chan. You have to think of ways toflirt with your little sister as naturally as you breathe.”

“I think you’re asking for too muchthere…”

“What are you acting all dumbfoundedlike that for? Anyway, the break is over, so let’s return to thedate.”

“Huh? H-Hold on, that just now wasn’ta break at all.”

“W-What are you saying? I told youbefore that this was only a casual data-collecting event. After this,we’ll be going full force, so please prepare yourself,” Suzuka’swords as she got up scared me to bits.

B-But I almost died just now!

“Since we’re already in the foodcourt, how about we proceed with our date here for a while?”

“No, but… um…”

“Why are you hesitating? I’m doingall of this for you, okay? Pull yourself together, please.”

“You’re not wrong about that, butcan’t you take it easier on me?!”

“Time is precious, and the date takespriority. Let’s go, Onii-chan!”

Suzuka grabbed my arm and startedpulling me along, which left me unable to complain or protest anylonger… Ahh, fine! I’ll do just that! But if this was really formy sake, shouldn’t I be the one making decisions about it?!

After that, I was forced to go alongwith Suzuka’s data-collecting for lovey-dovey flirty events, andnot a single complaint from my side was ever acknowledged. Just likealways.

—A few hours later.

“Ehehe, we collected quite a lot ofdata today. This will definitely help the quality of Onii-chan’snovel quite a lot!”

“…T-Thanks for that, I guess…”

The evening sky was already dyed red bythe setting sun, and Suzuka and I were on our way home. Suzuka seemedpleased with herself as she walked beside me with a skip in her step,while I had my head hung low, total exhaustion assaulting everymuscle in my body.

…How do I put it? It was impressive.Thanks to Suzuka’s ideas, we went from event to event, withouttaking any breaks in between. We stayed in the food court for a bit,then we went to the game center. After that was the open-air garden,and then many other places. My mental stamina was at an all-time low,almost at the brink of depletion.

“O-Onii-chan, make sure that you useall this data to write some great l-lovey-dovey scenes in your story,okay?”

“…Yeah, I’ll give it my best.”

That being said, it’s true that I’lldefinitely be able to use today’s experiences as great referencematerial in the future. At the very least, thanks to all of today’sdata collecting, I probably won’t need any more material in thenear future. I’d also rather not go through something like thatagain, considering that my head is about to overflow with all theideas I now have.

This is all thanks to Suzuka. Eventhough there shouldn’t have been any reason for Suzuka to help meout this much, she went this far out of her own will, saying that itwas her duty and so on. I really can’t thank her enough. Idefinitely have to take the first place in the next light novelcontest so that her efforts don’t go to waste. For now though, Ijust want to sleep. I probably won’t be able to do any real writingin my current condition.

“By the way, Onii-chan.”

But when I Suzuka spoke up, I had aninkling that my wish wouldn’t be granted.

“O-Once we get home, we’ll becollecting even more data, okay?”

“…………Huh?”

My bad premonition was confirmed whenSuzuka suddenly blurted that aloud.

…What did she just say? A-Am Imishearing things? Something about collecting more data once we gethome…? I must have misheard her, right?

“L-Like I said, we’ll be continuingour data collecting once we get home.”

“I-I didn’t mishear you?! N-No nono no, hold on! We already did a lot of that today!”

Naturally, I immediately protested. Iwas a bit flustered and couldn’t get my words out properly, but sheshould have understood what I was trying to say, right?

“What are you talking about,Onii-chan? You don’t think we’re done for the day, do you?”

But she wasn’t done yet. She pressedher attack, and I could feel my rational thinking starting tocrumble.

“So you’re really thinking thatwe’re done? As if what we did today is even close to enough. Thereare a limitless number of date ideas to be tested. I’m not so softthat I would think that this one experience was enough.”

This isn’t good. I can’t find thewords to counter her argument!

“A-Also, the dates in a little sisternovel are really important, but there are also everyday flirty eventsthat are even more so. We can’t forget about those either. As soonas we get home, we’ll continue by researching those,” emphasizedSuzuka.

A mysterious fire seemed to be burningin her eyes, and she seemed completely confident in her words.

“N-No, please wait a second! You’resaying that all we did today still wasn’t enough?! A-And we’ll bedoing something not related to the date?!”

“Exactly. From now on, we’llcontinue doing these sorts of things. You’ll need training frommorning until midnight in order to accurately write flirty events ina little sister novel.”

“Y-You’re saying that today wasn’tenough?!”

“Of course not. Writing a littlesister novel is no easy feat. It all begins with excessive datacollecting and love for your little sister!”

I could feel my head starting to spinat this ridiculous statement.

“A-Also, I can’t overlook thischance. Both for Onii-chan’s sake, and also as a chance to be aslovey-dovey as I want with you! A-Anyway! We’ll be continuing thisevery day from now on, so please prepare yourself!”

“E-Every day…?!”

“Yes. I’ll do anything I have to doso that Onii-chan can write the greatest little sister novel ever. Sokeep that in mind!”

Suzuka’s face flushed bright red, butI didn’t have the leisure to pay attention to it. In order to helpme achieve my dream of becoming a light novel author, the one andonly Towano Chikai is teaching me, and quite thoroughly at that. Andshe even says that she’ll do whatever it takes. That makes meincredibly glad. I think that every aspiring light novel author inthe country would do anything for a chance like this, crying tears ofjealousy. Even still, I can’t believe the position I’m in. It’stough, okay?

“N-Now, Onii-chan. Let’s hurry onhome and continue with the data collecting. The theme this timearound will be flirting with your little sister at home!”

Do you not have any restraint?! …Ahh,for crying out loud! I’d really like to complain here, but she’sdoing it all for me, so I don’t have any right to do that! While Iwas engaging in this fierce mental battle, Suzuka pulled on my armand started walking faster. I couldn’t do anything but give in.

“Ehehehe, how should we flirt once weget home…? Maybe I should try something from my Onii-chan notesvolume 33…!”

Suzuka was muttering to herself, and mymind went blank aside from one thought.

Becoming a light novel author isreally difficult, huh?

*

“Hmm…”

It was evening a few days later. I wasin my own room, sitting in front of my PC. On the screen was acompletely blank text document.

“Ahh, dang it, I can’t think ofanything…” I ruffled my hair in frustration.

As you can see, I’m currentlystruggling with my new novel, the little sister novel I was going tosend in for the next light novel contest. These past few days, underSuzuka’s assistance, I’ve been going through various sorts offlirting and lovey-dovey events. It’s been really tough, I tellyou. Whether I’m sleeping or awake, my head has been filled with mypast experiences, and also methods I could be lovey-dovey withSuzuka…

A-Ah, of course, not in a weird way,but my thought process just ended up like that, so don’t get thewrong idea. Thanks to all that, though, my ability to write flirtyevents has come a long way, and my confidence has risen. The proof?The scenes in my novel feel much more realistic, and it’s going waymore smoothly than before. However…

“Hmmmmmmm…”

But, as I just stated, I’m in aslump. Naturally, the problem wasn’t with the data I collected oranything.

“If I can’t come up with anoverarching theme, even the best data will be wasted…”

Yes, the wall that I currently facedwas the novel’s theme. Of course, it’s a little sister novel, butthat’s nothing more than the genre. There’s all sorts ofdifferent kinds of little sister novels. I was unsure how to buildthe framework of mine.

…See, when you’re talking littlesister novels, there’s a lot to consider, right? And I’m havingtrouble deciding what tone the novel should have. Back when Irealized that I wanted to write a little sister novel, I only had avague feeling for the concept. But now that I’m actually trying towrite it, that image I had before has grown even more hazy, and Ifeel a bit lost…

“…I didn’t think that I wouldhave this much trouble coming up with the plot.”

In the end, I might have managed tosucceed with my flirty scenes, but without a solid plot, there’snowhere for me to put them. I did write several test plots of course,but none of them felt right, and I ended up rejecting all of them.

“O-Onii-chan, I brought you somemidnight snacks!”

As I let out a sigh, the door sprungopen. Suzuka jumped in, making me almost fall of my chair out ofshock.

“S-Suzuka?! W-Why are you here?!A-And wouldn’t you normally knock first?!”

“I-I’m sorry, I was just sointerested in how far you had come with your little sister novel, soI just… U-Um… I wanted to assist Onii-chan in any way possible,so I prepared some midnight snacks! Anyway, how’s your novel comingalong? Is it done yet?”

When Suzuka enthusiastically asked mean avalanche of questions, still holding the tray in her hands, I letout another sigh. Suzuka has been acting like this constantly as oflate, and she’s always asking when my novel will be finished. Maybeshe’s acting like a teacher, trying to push her student towardssuccess. That would make sense, but isn’t she taking this a bit toofar?

Even yesterday during breakfast, sheasked me “Are you finished yet?” Then again during dinner. Sheasked “It should be done soon, right?” on the very same day…You know that I went to school during that time, right?! You evenwalked to said school with me! Just what is wrong with you, Suzuka?

“U-Um, you know that I can’t writea novel in just one evening, right?”

“I did, though.”

“…………Yeah, you’re right.”

A while back, Suzuka wrote a manuscriptfrom scratch in one evening. When I realized that, I held back anyfurther complaints.

“A-Anyway, it’s not finished yet.”

“Hmm… Is that so…? You’reunexpectedly slow, Onii-chan.”

“Maybe you’re just unnaturallyfast!”

Suzuka, there’s hardly anyone whocould be compared to you. And that hurts!

“Well, that’s just how thingsare. So don’t rush me, okay?”

“I-I’m sorry… But I’m lookingforward to it. I’m cheering for you, so if there’s anything youneed, feel free to tell me!” Suzuka said. She gave me a look fullof overflowing support.

I’m really thankful for that, but itstill feels like she’s acting more enthusiastic than when she’swriting her own novel. Well, looking at it from her point of view,her older brother is writing a little sister novel right now, so ofcourse she’d want to see her own advice and such reflected in thenovel. However, that means that the pressure on me is immense, andI’d really like her to at least give me some time when I’mactually writing it.

“Then, if you would excuse me. Pleasedo your best, Onii-chan. If you finish it, tell me immediately,okay?”Suzuka left those words behind, and stepped out of her room. “…Um,it doesn’t matter if it’s in the middle of the night, okay? In anemergency, you can also reach me via phone or email—”

“I get it already, so could you letme focus on my writing?!”

I forcefully pushed Suzuka out of myroom, and once again sat down in front of my desk.

“…Haaah, I feel tired for somereason.”

My little sister’s expectationsweighed heavily on my shoulders. Even more so since Suzuka has barelyever expected anything from me before now. But she’s right that Ishould be hurrying it up. Her aside, the deadline is slowlyapproaching. Though I still have time, I’d rather not cut it tooclose.

That being said, I started focusing asI turned to face my PC screen.

“Umm… let’s see. The protagonistis the older brother, and after a certain incident in the past, heends up alienated from his little sister… He’s a normal highschool student, and the little sister is a superhuman who can doanything. On top of that, she’s beautiful, and has no badpersonality traits… But she’s always sharp and bitter towards herolder brother, which makes him feel like there’s a wall betweenthem. Yeah… And then they slowly and steadily start to get closeragain… But what’s the trigger? Umm… something like the littlesister is secretly writing a light novel, and happens to win thegrand prize of a light novel contest—Wait, hold on…!”

After writing this far, I finallyrealized something crucial.

“…What am I writing?! This is justSuzuka and I! No no no! I can’t do that! No matter the cost!”

When I realized the hidden truth behindwhat I was writing, I panicked and closed the document.

…Again. Yes, it happened ‘again’.Recently, whenever I start writing my little sister novel, I startunconsciously modeling the story and the characters after Suzuka andI. This isn’t a one-off thing. It’s happened several times now.But I can’t do that. I’m not allowed to do that.

Saying that I wanted to write a littlesister novel while having a little sister myself is already terribleenough. If I were to model the characters after her and I now, I’dbe an even more disgusting older brother. Suzuka did say that she wasfine with me wanting to write a little sister novel. But there stillhas to be a line that I can’t cross. At the very least, that’show I think about it. Making Suzuka, who is always kind andsupportive, awkward around me like that is something I can’t allowmyself to do.

“………Huff.”

I purged those thoughts from my mind,and let out another sigh. But as soon as I did that, I could alreadyfeel those thoughts coming back.

“Ugh. This is bad in a lot of ways. Ihave to do something!”

I looked around my surroundings inhopes of clearing my thoughts. Thinking that I might just read alight novel to calm myself down, my gaze wandered to the corner of mydesk.

“Ah, that reminds me…”

When I spotted my phone, I recalled aconversation I had with Mai a few days ago.

“…Mai said she was focusing onanother romcom novel, right? I think she should be close to finishingthat.”

Before I even finished that thought, Ihad already picked up my smartphone. Although she’s a pro, unlikeme, she’s also writing something right now. Not to mention thatit’s a new release, and also a romcom. If I were to talk to herabout it, I might get some hints and ideas. But considering the time,she must be busy with her own novel, so let’s hang up immediatelyif she’s busy—

Hello?! Y-Yuu?! W-What happened foryou to call me?!

—Or so I thought, but she answeredimmediately, without even letting it ring once. Not to mention that Icould hear some clattering and rattling, combined with an “Ahh,the cup fell over!” from her end.

“W-Well, I didn’t have any urgentbusiness or anything. I just wanted to talk a bit… But if you’rebusy, then it can wait…”

Huh?! W-What are you talking about!I’m always up for a phone call with you! Not to mention that youdidn’t have any business here, and you just wanted to talk. Thatnever happens, so you’d better not hang up! You’d better not,okay?!

For some reason, Mai almost soundedlike she was getting mad at me, which made me feel a bit confused.Immediately after that, I heard an “Ahh, there’s a stainalready! Wait, it’s dried already?!” again in Mai’spanicked voice, making me feel like I did something bad.

“I-Is really everything okay? What’shappening over there?”

Don’t mind it. The high-gradecoffee I just made took a direct hit, that’s all!

“Isn’t that bad?! I-I’m sorry…It’s because I called.”

There’s nothing for you toapologize for. Also, answering a phone call from Towano Chikai takesthe highest priority, so I couldn’t help it.

…I don’t even want to imagine whatwould have happened if she knew I wasn’t the real Towano Chikai…And even more than that, I just felt bad for calling her like this,so I apologized again.

I’m telling you, it’s fine. Ijust have to give it a good wash later. Th-That aside, why did youcall me so suddenly? What did you want to talk about?!

Still, Mai seemed like she reallydidn’t mind it all too much, and sounded as gleeful as ever. Somuch so that I could even imagine the face she was making.

“W-Well, it’s not that big of adeal… I was writing on my light novel, and I remembered that youwere working on your new series, so I was wondering how things weregoing.”

I see, so a high-level conversationbetween fellow authors about how much we’ve progressed! W-Well, theonly person who would be able to do that is someone like me, whoseskill you yourself recognize, after all!

…It seems like she’s making goodprogress. However, a high-level conversation isn’t going to happen.Mai’s a popular author, while I’m just hoping to debut soon…I’ll just have to apologize mentally one more time…

I’m doing fine with my new novel.So much that it’s close to being finished!

“Woah, that’s amazing. This timeit’s a romcom, right?”

Y-Yeah… I-I was writing it usingyou as a reference…!

I see, so she was influenced by TowanoChikai, huh? She really is a big fan of Suzuka’s.

“Man, I really want to read that.”

Those were my honest feelings. I’vealways been a fan of Enryuu Homura-sensei, after all, and now thatshe’s writing a different genre, that desire to read her novel isonly stronger.

N-No, not right now! Especially notyou… of all people…!

For some reason, I was rejected almostinstantaneously. I was surprised by her somewhat unusual reaction.

“I-I see. Well, it’s not finishedyet, after all.”

…I didn’t mean it that way…A-Anyway, it isn’t at the stage where I can show you. I haven’tprepared myself yet either, and, um, it’s embarrassing…

And now she’s even saying things like’Prepared myself’ and ’embarrassing.’ I was surprised. But itmakes sense, I guess. After all, she’s writing a series in acompletely new genre. No matter how honest and straightforward she iswith people, even Mai would feel nervous.

“Then I’m looking forward to whenit’s going to be released,” I said with all honesty, but Mai’sfollowing words surprised me.

I don’t plan on publishing this,though.

“Eh?”

I’m writing this out of my ownwill, with no request or whatever from my editor, so of course theywon’t publish it.

“I-Is that so? I totally thought itwas for your job.”

N-No. I’m just doing this out ofmy own accord. I-I’m writing this because of a personal reason… She sounded like she was fidgeting.

“What personal reason?”

Ah…?! D-Don’t just ask me likethat! You have no delicacy at all!

She got angry at me yet again. Did Ireally ask something so strange?

“B-But, writing a new series withoutreleasing it sure is amazing. You’re also working on SukaMaga,right? Isn’t that pretty tough?”

W-Well, it’s a bit stressful, butI can’t help it. I mean, I wanted to write this, so all I can do iswrite it…

“……Eh?”

Mai’s words made me freeze up.

—I wanted to write this, so all Ican do is write it?

Hm? What happened, Yuu?

“Ah, no… I was just thinking thatsounds pretty amazing…”

Eh? Isn’t that normal? You writelight novels because you want to, right? On the other hand, if youcan’t write anything, then that means you’re not writing what youreally want. Don’t you agree?

It’s not like I’ve everexperienced that, though, Mai continued. It was a grave shock,and I was lost in my own thoughts.

If you can’t write anything, thenthat means that you’re not writing what you really want to…

…What’s wrong, Yuu? You’vesuddenly gone quiet.

“…Eh? Ah, sorry, I was justthinking about my own novel…”

Oh, you were in the middle ofwriting yourself… Wait, then this isn’t the time to be talkinglike this! Go and write your novel!

“Ehh?! N-No, I wasn’t talking aboutthat series—”

I really wanted to keep this callgoing until the end, but your novel takes priority! If for somereason the next volume doesn’t release… that would be really bad!In a lot of ways!

I couldn’t say anything in responseto that. Although she’s gotten the completely wrong idea, I canstill feel her love for Towano Chikai’s novel.

Ugh, I really don’t want to hangup! But I can’t bother you any more than this! Call me next timeyou’re free, alright?! Then I’ll talk with you as long as youwant, regardless of my deadline!

“Prioritize your own novel first,okay?!”

As if I’d cut a call with youbecause I’m busy! Think about this rationally! A-Anyway, I’mhanging up now, so work on your manuscript, alright?!

…Although it feels a bitover-the-top, I can tell that she’s being considerate of me. Andjust when the call was about to end—

U-Um… Yuu?

Mai called out to me again.

U-Umm… When I finish my novel, andI mentally prepare myself, y-you’ll definitely read it, right…?

Naturally, she didn’t even have toask me that, so I replied with a confident “Of course!” Inresponse, I could hear some odd sounds from across the call. Theyquickly vanished and Mai hung up. What was that about?

“No, rather than that…”

I put my phone down on my desk and letthe conversation I had with her replay through my mind.

I wanted to write this, so all I can dois write it… If you can’t write anything, then it means thatyou’re not writing what you really want.

…I decided to write a little sisterlight novel. No, I remembered the reason I fell in love with lightnovels, and just wanted to write the same. I can announce thatwithout the smallest grain of guilt. But, in reality, I’m still notwriting one. As of right now, I’m still in the middle ofconstructing the plot. And I’ve always been thinking about why.After my phone call with Mai, I felt like something clicked. I wantto write a little sister novel. But—

—What kind of little sister do Iactually want to write?

Naturally, that’s a question sobasic, so elementary, that I had never thought too deeply about it.But as soon as I ask myself that very question, I find myself unableto answer. Back when I tried writing a sci-fi story, or a fantasystory, or any other genre, I always had a general idea of thedirection I wanted to go in. But the second I figure out what type ofnovel I really want to write—a little sister novel—I’m leftunable to do that.

Feeling something was odd, I startedthinking. When I did, Suzuka once again came to mind. In response, Ifuriously shook my head. Again, I can’t…!

“…But just what kind of littlesister novel should I write…?” I muttered to myself. Just then…

Ring ring ring ring ! My phonevibrated and I heard the sound of an incoming call. My thoughts wereabruptly halted, and my body twitched in surprise. When I looked atthe caller ID, I saw Shinozaki-san’s name, so I immediatelyanswered.

“H-Hello?!”

Oh Sensei, did I interrupt you whileyou were doing that ? If so, I’m sorry. I’llgive you some special service another time, so please put up with itfor today.

“I see that you’re making up weirdthings again, but you’re wrong, okay?!”

Every phone call with her alwaysstarted the same way, so I immediately shot her down as per usual.This person is really something else…!

Now, now, you don’t have to hideit. I know that you’re an adolescent high school boy, after all.I’m just happy that you’re healthy. Fufu~

“…Is that so? If you don’t haveanything important to say, then I’ll hang up right now, okay?!”

Why is it that she has to torment melike this when I’m already backed against a wall with the wholelittle sister novel dilemma!

Wait a second, will you? Today Ihave something important to say. She sounded strangely serious.

“It seems like you’re aware thatyou’re not serious most of the time…”

What might you be talking about? Butanyway, I want to talk about your current series, ‘The story abouta little sister who loves her big brother way too much to cope’,okay?

Her words made me tense up… Is theresome trouble going on right now?! No, I didn’t hear anything fromSuzuka, and I don’t feel like anything has changed over there…Still, I have a bad feeling about this.

“U-Um, is there some sort ofproblem?” I asked carefully.

Hm? No, not really? Your series isas popular as ever, which allows me, as an editor, to boast all daylong about you. Even in your last novel, the flirty scenes betweenthe older brother and younger sister were wonderful…!

“……Huh?”

Hearing Shinozaki-san go on and onabout how much she liked the novel itself, I was a bit surprised.

“U-Um… Then why did you want totalk about the series?”

Ahh, that’s right. I thought thatit was time to talk about the future of the novel, since you’vecome this far.

“T-The future of the novel..?”

Of course, I’m talking about thepath to the finish line—the progression that leads towards theending… Well, if it were me, I was hoping that this series couldcontinue for all eternity, and having it become a new gospel to leadhumanity, but…

“We’re still talking about a lightnovel here, right?!”

That being said, every wonderfulseries has to come to an end sooner or later. Naturally, Sensei’snovel is no exception. Of course, that’s still quite a ways in thefuture, but as your editor, I’d like you to be conscious of that.

…I see. So that’s what she meant.So move the story towards the ending. Well, that makes sense.Suzuka’s novel is super popular right now, but people will startwanting a conclusion sooner or later. And that indeed is a seriousmatter. Even something that I, the stand-in, need to hear.

I was thinking that causing a hugeamount of development in the next volume would be a good startingpoint. For example, the older brother starts to become consciousabout the little sister, with lots of events that would fit thatidea.

“Eh… Ehhh?!”

Hm? Why are you so surprised?

When I heard the part about the olderbrother starting to grow more conscious about his little sister, Ialmost felt my heart jump out of my chest. At the same time, Suzuka’sface yet again appeared inside my head, which left me in so much of ashock that I was left almost unable to properly listen toShinozaki-san.

She was saying things like “Aturning point would be good here~” and “Finish it upthere~” and so on.

But well, I’ll also send you anemail with these details, so maybe you could give me some ideas ofyours later as well.

Eventually, Shinozaki-san left thosewords behind and cut the call. Luckily, it seemed like she would berelaying that information to Suzuka as well. I’d feel bad if Imissed something important out of shock…

Even after I put away my phone and tooka deep breath, my heartbeat still wouldn’t calm down. Is it becauseI was reminded that the series would end eventually… Or maybe…?

“…No, I have to think about my ownnovel, so I don’t have the time to act all flustered like this. Ihave to calm down!”

Telling that to myself, I tried to takesome deep breaths, but that method only ended in failure…

“O-Onii-chan!”

Probably have seen the email fromShinozaki-san, Suzuka stormed into the room. And the next words thatSuzuka said to me finally made me realize the gravity of thissituation.

“P-Please help me collect somedata!!”