Volume 9 Chapter 2

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Life’s Hardest Data Collecting

“I-I’m always ready, so please…!”

“Um, even if you say that…”

On a certain day on our way to school,I was walking next to Suzuka like always. However, the circumstancesthis time were a bit different.

“W-What are you acting so nervousfor? This is important data in order for you to write your lightnovel. And this time, it isn’t for my own novel, but for yours,okay?”

Yes, just as Suzuka stated, we werecollecting data this early in the morning. Well, I do have someexperience with this. Especially right after Suzuka had just enrolledin the same school as I. But, since we (or more accurately, I)determined that flirting in front of the other students was a badidea, we had given up on the idea of collecting data at school. Andeven though we decided on that, this time it was even different frombefore, and the hurdle for me was even higher. After all…

“I-I’ve finished my mentalpreparations, Onii-chan. No matter how you want to collect data, I’mready!”

Uuu… This is what I mean…! Of allthe things, Suzuka is telling me to be lovey-dovey and flirty out ofmy own initiative! Normally, if it’s for Suzuka’s novel, she’sthe one who’s aggressive, and she tells me what to do. That’swhat I’m used to. Basically, collecting data for me was somethingthat just happened naturally, without me having to think too deeplyabout it.

This time it’s different, though. Ihave to create lovey-dovey flirty events by myself. And on top ofthat, I have to come up with ways of doing them from scratch, alsoall by myself.

“Hold on a second. I’m still notsure what to do now…”

“T-There’s no need to think toodeeply about it, right? You just have to act out all the thingsyou’ve thought of. E-Even now, just while talking, I’ve come upwith several ideas.”

Could you not lump me into the samegroup as you?! I’m not a genius like you! And what do you mean by’several’?!

“H-Hurry up, please. If you keepwasting your time like this, we’ll arrive at school before you cando anything.”

However, Suzuka didn’t pay attentionto my circumstances and just pressured me even further. I really wishI could tell her not to be so demanding here, but as her stand-in, Idon’t have the right to do that. Not to mention that this timearound, it’s actually for my own novel.

Ugh… This is tough. In a lot of ways.The only thing I can do is man up and pull through, though. Steelingmy resolve, I once again tried to focus on the data-gathering. Thatbeing said, I couldn’t come up with anything amazing, so I took thesafe route for now.

“U-Um… how about we hold hands fornow?”

I felt pathetic, but that was all Icould think of.

“Hold… hands…? I think that’smore like something you do before acting lovey-dovey.”

As expected, Suzuka wasn’t all thatimpressed.

“T-That being said, it isn’t bad tostart with. I do love holding hands with Onii-chan, afterall—O-Only during data collecting, of course!”

Luckily, she accepted my idea. Feelingslightly flustered nonetheless, I muttered a quiet “T-Thank you”and held my hand closer to hers. However…

“………?!”

The moment I touched her hand, it feltlike a mysterious electric current ran through my body, and Iinstinctively pulled my hand back again.

…W-What was that just now?!

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

Suzuka simply tilted her head inconfusion at me. Well, I don’t really know myself. Seriously, whatis happening with me? Also, why am I suddenly so flustered? My heartis beating like crazy for some reason, and I can feel my head burningup. I can’t even look Suzuka in the eye. W-Weird, I’ve never feltlike this during all the times I held her hands before, so why am Isuddenly being so overly conscious of her?

“Onii-chan?”

Suzuka calmly watched me, and her voicesounded more and more suspicious. Every time she brought her facecloser to mine, I unconsciously looked away.

“W-What is that reaction—Ah?!D-Don’t tell me…!” Suzuka’s eyes opened wide as if sherealized something. On top of that, her face flushed like crazy, andshe started fidgeting.

“I-I see. So that’s what this isabout, Onii-chan.”

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“That reaction just now was that,right? You’re trying to hold your little sister’s hand, but youstarted to feel embarrassed, so you pulled it away, right?”

“Ueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh?!”

I started panicking, she was right onthe mark. When I realized that Suzuka had seen straight through me, Ifelt like hiding in a hole and staying there until the day I’d die.This is bad! Suzuka is going to stay clear of me because of myreaction…! Not to mention that this time, she was completelycorrect, which left me no room to even try to make excuses! My facewent pale, my head went blank, and I couldn’t find any words tosay.

I was about to emphasize that she wasactually wrong about that, but both of my hands started to shakeuncontrollably, and I could only stutter. Suzuka watched my confusionwith a slight giggle. She opened her mouth. I mentally prepared forher to say things like “Onii-chan is a helpless pervert, isn’the?” or “You make me sick, so could you not get any closer?” orother harsh words, and I was about to drop to my knees and cry,when—

“T-That’s quite the impressivedata-collecting you’ve come up with, Onii-chan…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m—Eh?”

When I didn’t receive the response Ihad anticipated, I was left in shock.

“I was a bit surprised, yes, but nowI understand what we’re acting out here. I-It felt very natural, soI really can only praise you for becoming such a character.”

“Character…?”

“You came up with a character thatwould match this data collecting, and you’re acting them out rightnow, right? T-That’s what I was hoping for. I’m glad to see howmuch you’ve grown.”

“……”

Suzuka nodded to herself with a verysatisfied look on her face, but I was at a loss for words… Ah, sheprobably has the wrong idea about something… I didn’t think aboutacting or a character or anything at all, but Suzuka seems to haveinterpreted my reaction as such. I feel like I was saved… but alsonot really.

“During our data collecting rightnow, your reaction was very natural. I learned something new today.That’s Onii-chan for you. Working so hard for his little sisternovel, ehehe…”

“Um, but…”

Suzuka started to get all excited byherself, muttering to herself in a super pleased mood.

“With this, our data collecting laterwill be just as much of a success. That’s a relief. N-Now,Onii-chan, let’s continue just like that.”

When I saw Suzuka’s beaming smile, Iwas unable to put anything else into words. I mean, I understand thefact that she’s having a misunderstanding right now, but I myselfstill can’t really grasp what’s happening. Maybe I’m better offnot saying anything here.

Not grasping my internal confusion inthe slightest, Suzuka just asked “W-What’s next?” and stretchedout her hand towards me. After a short moment of hesitation, I firmlygrasped it. This time, the weird shock from before didn’t occur,and while I probably blushed ever so slightly, I managed to hold herhand tight. At first it was a bit cold, but her warmth immediatelyradiated to my own hand after that. Her hand felt really soft, aswell. Before now, we’ve held hands countless times during our datacollecting, but right now, I feel weirdly conscious of her.

….W-Wait a second! Why am I thinkingabout disgusting things like that?! I furiously shook my head to tryto shake off these weird thoughts. I reminded myself countless timesthat I shouldn’t become too conscious of Suzuka.

“Ehehehe… W-What is he going to donext…?”

Not to mention that Suzuka was alreadyanticipating my next move, even though I had bigger concerns. In theend, all I could do was think back and ask myself why this happened,as a last-ditch effort to escape this reality.

*

“P-Please help me collect somedata!!”

The previous evening, right afterShinozaki-san’s phone call, Suzuka rushed into my room to say thosewords, leaving me shocked.

“W-Why are you asking that all of asudden?!”

Well, I had a general idea as to whySuzuka suddenly charged in here like that. I mean, considering thetiming, there can only be one reason.

“I just saw the email thatShinozaki-san sent me!”

When Suzuka said that with roughbreathing, I muttered a fed-up “I thought so…” to myself.

“In the email, she said that it wasabout what she had just called about, so you already know, right?!That makes things easy! Let’s collect data right this instant—”

“H-Hold on a damn second!”

Suzuka was shoving her face towardsmine, so I quickly stopped her. I know what she wants from me, butwhy is she so motivated about it?

“Um… She wants the story to have abig development next volume. It’s about that, right?”

“T-That’s right. I need to work onthe turning point of the story. The course of events that willeventually lead to the ending. That’s what makes Shinozaki-san aprofessional editor, alright. A logical manner of thinking indeed.”

I totally agree with that. Well, I’dlike to argue that she isn’t as professional as Suzuka thinks sheis, but this time around, she actually gave us some valuable advice.But this didn’t seem to be the only reason Suzuka was so energetic.She continued.

“Not to mention, that isn’t eventhe best part of it! As for the idea behind this turning point, shethought that the older brother could start to grow conscious of thelittle sister! Isn’t that wonderful?! …Ahh, I’m so thankful forShinozaki-san’s guidance! This will let me write exactly what Iwant to. She’s the perfect editor!”

Aren’t you praising her a bit toomuch, Suzuka? This might be the first time I’ve ever seen youpraise someone else like that. Well, she’s not wrong to say thatShinozaki-san is a hard worker when it comes to to light novels, butI still feel like there’s a weird bias in there…

“Hmph, you don’t look all toosatisfied. You can’t do that, Onii-chan. Don’t go doubtingShinozaki-san’s skill. A novel is something born from the hard workof both author and editor combined. In that sense, I was very luckyto meet someone who deeply adores little sister novels likethis…”

“You’re going that far?!” I asked.

When I did, Suzuka scolded me. “Whatare you saying, Onii-chan? If you also want to be a professionallight novel author, you can’t doubt your editor, right?” Thisinflicted an even greater shock on me. I’m kind of scared now, ifgetting an editor like that would mean I’m in good hands…

“But, that isn’t important rightnow, Onii-chan! It’s time to collect data! This time for my novel!”

Suzuka’s words brought me back toreality, but very reluctantly.

“B-By that, do you mean to tell me…?”

“O-O-O-O-Of course I’m talkingabout scenes where the older brother starts to become conscious ofthe little sister! What else?!”

Although Suzuka’s face went brightred, I could see the fire burning in her eyes. I-I thought that’swhat this would be about!

“Unlike most other flirty events, inorder to depict this important story development, our data collectinghas to be even more detailed and thorough than ever before!”

It wasn’t just her eyes. Even heraura is heating up the room. It feels like she’s more motivatedthan ever to collect data. Though that’s to be expected, sincewe’re talking about an important part of her story, after all.

“T-That’s why I need Onii-chan tohelp me out even more than ever before!”

Naturally, she’s asking me forassistance yet again. That’s to be expected. It’s been that waythe entire time, and since I’m her stand-in, I have to respond tothat request. However…

“Ahhh………”

A fleeting groan escaped my mouth.Naturally, one part of it was that I couldn’t motivate myself forSuzuka’s data collecting (especially considering how tiring italways was). But I still tagged along every time, and I’ve gottenused to that by now. Also, Suzuka helped me out with my own novelrecently, so I do feel like I need to repay her somehow, so all I hadto do was agree here and everything would be fine. But, just thisonce, I couldn’t.

The reason for that was the theme forthe data collecting. “The older brother starts to grow conscious ofhis little sister”…?! As if I could tag along with some dangerousdata collecting like that?! Just recently, I’ve been feelingprecisely that way, you know! I-I don’t mean that in a weird way,though…

But anyway, since I’m in such aconflicted state of mind, I can’t go along with such critical datacollecting! Since I’m becoming even more conscious of Suzuka, itwould have the opposite effect! …Yeah, I can’t. Just thinkingabout it makes me shiver. This sounds dangerous. Even more dangerousthan ever!

“Hmph. What’s with that indecisiveattitude, Onii-chan?”

However, Suzuka had no way of knowingabout my miserable situation, and just gave me her usual displeasedexpression. But just this one time, I can’t step down. Even if I am her older brother, even if I am her stand-in, this issomething I can’t allow myself to accept. But alas, my littlesister (naturally) wouldn’t just utter an “Ah, is that so?” andlet me off the hook, so…

“W-Well, the thing is…”

I have to somehow explain this and talkmy way out of it without revealing the truth. I’ll probably lose ina battle of words against her, but that’s just how bad thesituation right now is.

“Um… I’m busy with my own novelright now.” I tried to use the first excuse that came to mind. “Ido still have time before the deadline of the light novel contest I’mapplying for, but I’m worried if I can make it in time…”

“Eh, is that so?” Suzuka’s eyesopened wide.

“Y-Yeah. That’s why I have to focuson my own novel now… It seems like your deadline is still a waysoff, so…”

“It’s true that I can still take mytime, yes.”

…A-Alright, I might actually be ableto do this! I’m not lying, after all, and at this rate, Suzukamight even agree.

“R-Right? While I’m working on myown novel, you’ll have enough time to think of a story yourself. Ifwe do that, there might not be any need to collect data.”

“Ah, that’s not happening.Collecting data is necessary no matter what.” Suzuka’s responsewas immediate.

Ugh… Why are you so adamant aboutthis damned data collecting all the time…! N-No, calm down. Even ifthe data collecting isn’t completely cancelled here, I might getpermission to at least postpone it, I think. I might be able to calmdown a bit if I’m given some precious time.

“I-I see. But as I just said, I havemy hands full with my own novel. So can we take a break fromcollecting data for a bit?”

Hence, I tried to push the topictowards that conclusion. At the same time, I pleaded a bit. This isSuzuka, after all. Since she’s so kind, she might actually besatisfied with this.

“…Is that so? So you are too busywith your own novel.”

As I suspected, Suzuka’s eyes startedto calm, and she began thinking. But just when I started thinking I’msaved! —

“Then we need to collect even moredata.”

“Why is that your conclusion?!”

I was reminded yet again that my littlesister might not be as kind and understanding as I was making her outto be. I mean, come on! Do I have to get down on my knees and beg heror something?! Considering how the conversation has gone so far, thisdefinitely isn’t a conclusion you would end up drawing, right?!However, Suzuka ignored my panicking and just continued.

“Listen, Onii-chan,” She looked atme with a serious expression on her face, “I don’t know whatkinds of problems you’re having right now, but if you can’t workon your novel, you’re probably missing a certain image or scene.”

“Y-You think so…?”

“There’s no mistaking it. If youhave the right image for it, I’m sure that you’ll be able towrite it more easily. At the very least, that’s the case for me.”

“Well, it’s true that it worked outlike that for me, as well…”

“Right? If you can’t progress withwriting your little sister novel, it means that the image that youwant to write about hasn’t solidified in your head yet, Onii-chan.How did that happen?! What is this about, Onii-chan?!”

“There’s no need to suddenly getangry at me!”

“…E-Excuse me. I got a bit excited…Anyway, the reason that Onii-chan is having trouble right now isbecause of this. That’s why you need to collect data. It’s now ornever.”

“H-Hold on, I-I feel like Iunderstand what you’re saying…!”

“Hence, if you were to tag along withmy data collecting, you’d help me out and you might be able to getover your problem! It’d be two birds with one stone!”

“Ithought so?!”

“Not to mention, this time it’s anolder brother growing conscious of his little sister! This isimportant for every little sister novel, so I’m sure that Onii-chanwill be able to use this as well! Don’t you think so?! You do,right?!”

Suzuka’s eyes were brighter than everas she closed in on me. Seeing her this desperate to gain my assent,I was left unable to say anything. What spelled my defeat was mybrief thought “M-Maybe she’s right…” , but I also knewmore than anyone that winning against Suzuka is, in fact, impossible.

Once she’s decided on collectingdata, she won’t back down. That is just Suzuka’s—TowanoChikai’s—style, and I was yet again painfully reminded of that.

“That being said, we have to collectdata. For both of our sakes! I’d love to start today, but it’salready pretty late. I’ll definitely have you go along with lots ofmy data collecting from now on, so you’d best be prepared,Onii-chan!”

Suzuka declared this as if it werefact, and I didn’t have any energy left in me to go against her.Ugh… This time it’s really bad to collect data on that… Whatshould I do…? While I was busy being as depressed as could be,Suzuka was more than pleased, and she continued talking.

“T-This might be the most importantdata-collecting ever…! Also, since this is about the older brothergrowing conscious of the little sister, Onii-chan has to be the onewho initiates the flirty events. You’d better prepare yourself!We’ll start immediately tomorrow!”

She finished with that outrageousstatement… A-All of this alone is pretty bad, and now she’stelling me to be the one who goes on the offensive? But before Icould try to object, Suzuka had already made another declaration:

“W-Well then, the theme for our datacollecting will be… The moment the older brother falls in love withthe little sister! Please treat me well, Onii-chan!!!”

*

“Onii-chan? What’s wrong? You’respacing out.”

“…Well, I just didn’t want toface reality for a second. Don’t mind me…”

While thinking back to the incident thenight before, my head started to ache yet again at the ridiculousnessof this situation. The moment the older brother falls in love withthe little sister. That is the theme we’re supposed to beresearching right now. This is even worse than anything I could haveimagined, to be honest. I mean, I know that it’s just data for bothof our series, but I really can’t do this…

That being said, it’s alreadystarted. Now that Suzuka is in the mindset of doing it, and since Iwas unable to reject it yesterday, I have to follow up on it now. Upuntil now, we’ve had some ridiculous times and events while we weregathering data. No matter how much I tried to steel myself for this,though, there’s no way I can just calmly pull this off! This is sohard to do that I can’t even put it into words!

Still, now that I’m in, I can’thelp it. Trying my best to not grow more conscious of Suzuka thannecessary, I still have to satisfy Suzuka’s demands!

“Calm down… Calm down… Innerpeace…”

“W-What are you mumbling to yourselfabout, Onii-chan? That dead look in your eyes isn’t exactlycomfortable to look at.”

…Leave me alone! Whose fault do youthink it is that I ended up like this?!

“Really, focus on thisdata-gathering. Or you’re going to ruin the mood.”

“Mood—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Icould feel Suzuka gripping my hand even tighter. Thanks to that, Iwas reminded yet again what kind of position we were in… A-Ah,right, I’m holding hands with Suzuka! N-No, don’t get tooconscious about it! Siblings holding hands is something normal,right? Well, not as high school students, maybe… But still, it’snothing to be nervous about!

“So what kind of reaction will youhave next? I won’t be able to write everything if you don’t actit out, so keep them coming! Um… S-Show me the moment where youfall in love with me…!”

“U-Ugh…! N-Not you and me, but thebrother and sister, right…?! At least keep that in mind!”

“O-Onii-chan and I are siblings aswell, and since we’re acting this kind of thing, I can’t help it,can I?”

No no no, the two of us have absolutelyno connection whatsoever to the siblings in the novel, so could younot say something that would cause a misunderstanding like that?!

“Th-That aside, h-hurry and fall inlove with me even more…!”

But Suzuka didn’t listen to mydesperate appeals in the slightest, and only gripped my hand eventighter. Her cheeks went red, and while she seemed to be pouting, shelooked at me with an expression of expectation, leaving me no choicebut to avert my gaze, flustered.

…Ahh, for crying out loud, whatshould I do?!

Then, while I was slowly starting to gocrazy, it happened.

“W-What are you doing,Nagami-senpai?!”

“Oh my, you siblings are as close asever, I see.”

Someone behind us suddenly called outto me, and I turned around to find…

“Ah, Kaede and Kotomi? Good morning.”

Suzuka’s friends Nikaido-san andShiina-sanwere standing there. Nikaido-san just threw me a sharp glare, whileShiina-san was nonchalantly smiling as usual.

“G-Good morning, you two.”

Although I panicked a bit, I stillgreeted the two of them myself. When I did, Nikaido-san bowed deeplyfor a second, but that didn’t last long. She suddenly snapped at mewith a blushing face.

“Good morning, Senpai—Wait, thisisn’t the time for a normal greeting! W-Why are you holding handswith Suzuka like that?! H-Holding hands in the middle of the streetlike this, almost as if you’re trying to be seen! What are yougoing to do if Suzuka got unwanted attention because of that?! Whatare you thinking!?”

“Ah, well, I’m… sorry?!”

Overwhelmed by her outburst, I let goof Suzuka’s hand as I apologized. But even when I did,Nikaido-san’s glare didn’t soften. In the meantime, Shiina-sanwas just watching Nikaido-san with a soothing smile on her face.

“Calm down, Kaede. Suzu-chan’sOnii-san is just getting along with her, that’s all.”

“G-Getting along with her is fine andall, but holding hands is going too far. Such indecent behaviour! I’malways worried that one day Nagami-senpai will assault Suzuka!”

Hey hey, why is this girl having thesekinds of unnecessary worries? That being said, considering all thedata collecting and whatnot that we’ve done around Nikaido-san, Ireally can’t blame her. Nikaido-san is already quite seriousherself, and she sees Suzuka as her precious friend. As Suzuka’solder brother, I’m very happy about that, of course.

“…Ugh, I have to do something aboutNagami-senpai’s desires before it’s too late! So, is sacrificingmyself really the only thing I can do?! But if it’s for Suzuka, Iwouldn’t mind having my body sullied!”

W-Well, she might be a bit over thetop, but at least they’re good friends, I guess.

“I’m sorry, Suzu-chan’s Onii-san.Kaede is a bit old-fashioned and stubborn.”

Shiina-san spoke to me with her usualcalming smile.

“It’s fine. That’s just how sheis.”

“I’m relieved to see the two of youas close as ever, you know. I wouldn’t mind at all if you heldhands or crossed arms, ufufu.”

“Well, thanks for that… Hm?”

…I feel like I heard something reallybad in there. And that confident smile… Why do I feel like there’ssome kind of pressure behind that smile? Is it just my imagination?

“Hmph…”

Just then, Suzuka pulled on my sleeve.Not to mention that she was glaring up at me.

“…W-What do you desire, my dearestsister?” I asked in a voice too quiet for the other two to hear us.

The reason I suddenly changed to aformal tone was because the pressure from Suzuka’s glare was sointense that it left me shaking in my boots.

“…Why did you let go of my hand? Itwas such a nice atmosphere—U-Um, I mean we were in the middle ofcollecting data!”

“I-I mean, doing it in front of theother two would be pretty bad for you, right? They’ll get the wrongidea.”

“T-That might be the case, yes.B-But, even so, you can’t just stop in the middle of it.”

“…Eh? H-Hold on, we’re going tocontinue right here?”

I asked for confirmation, hoping that Ihad misheard her, but Suzuka just nodded in response.

“……No, wait, hold on. There’sno way that we can keep going with the two of them standing there!And it’s not just them, but other people as well!”

“…I-I still don’t mind at all.I-It’s important data-collecting!”

…S-Seriously? I don’t think I’llbe able to do this.

“…That being said, I know whatyou’re trying to say, Onii-chan. It’s embarrassing, and we haveto keep the time, place, and occasion in mind. However, there isn’tany problem with that right now.”

“…What do you mean bythat?”

“…Think about it. Our theme is themoment where the older brother falls in love with the little sister.Our current data-collecting is focusing on the start of that veryscene, so nothing coming from your side has to be all that impressiveright now. Of course, I wouldn’t mind if you suddenly becameextremely flirty… Just in the sense of my data-gathering though!A-Anyway, I’m saying that you don’t have to force yourself toomuch this time.”

…Oh wow. I never thought that I wouldhear those words from the data-collecting freak Suzuka. Still, shewasn’t quite done yet with her explanation, it seemed.

“…It’s true that the flirtingthis time can be reserved, because your love for your little sisterhas just started to blossom. However, in return, you have to showyour love in various ways.”

“…For example?”

“…Isn’t it your job to come upwith that, Onii-chan?”

…I know we’ve talked about it inthe past, but don’t you think you’re asking a bit too much of me?I was really relieved when she told me that we didn’t have to trytoo hard this time, but now I’m not in the kind of situationanymore where I can feel relieved. I mean, the theme is about anolder brother falling in love with his little sister. And since I’llbe pretending to be that older brother, I have to come up witheverything myself!

“…What are you hesitating for? I’vealready mentally prepared myself, so show me an older brother who’sin love with me!”

“…H-Hold on,b I don’t know whatto do…”

“You have to become the character.The same as you always do. Up until now, you’ve been pretending tobe the little-sister-loving Towano Chikai, haven’t you? Thanks tothat, you really have become a little sister lover… Ehehe…”

What do you mean ‘Thanks to that’?!I really wanted to tell her that she was wrong, but considering howmuch I’ve been acting like a siscon lately, I really couldn’tdeny it.

“…Ah?! A-Anyway, Onii-chan, youjust have to act in character like always. Act like an older brotherwho loves his little sister.”

“…You say it like it’s sosimple.”

“…You can do it, Onii-chan. This isalso for your sake. If you manage to act in-character here, it’lldefinitely help you with your own little sister novel… Maybe?Probably!”

Suzuka’s face went bright-red and sheaverted her gaze in an awkward manner. But I was too busy thinking atthat point to notice. I found myself thinking that her argument mightactually be right. The reason I’m having trouble with the littlesister novel might actually be because I have a little sister, andthat’s been driving a wedge between me and my work. In that case,if I could act in character here and overcome that wall, I might beable to write it.

…Also, this isn’t just datacollecting for my sake, but it’s also for Suzuka’s sake. So nomatter how ridiculous the content of it may be, I have to followalong as her stand-in. For now, I’ll trust Suzuka’s words.However, there is one thing I definitely have to be careful about.And that is to never become too conscious of her. I’m justpretending to be a character who’s in love with her. This is justus collecting data, so there’s no weird meaning behind itwhatsoever.

I repeated these words mentally, overand over, and I somehow managed to clear my mind again. Well, to acertain degree. But who can blame me in this situation? I don’teven know what to do now.

“Umm…”

“…What’swrong? I-I’m ready anytime.”

“…E-Even if you say that, I can’tthink of anything…”

“…You don’t have to think aboutanything special. Right now, I just want to have a taste of what itfeels to have an older brother who loves me—O-Only because I wantto use it as a reference for writing, of course! All you have to dois act in character and do whatever you think of. I-I’m excited tosee what you’ll do. Ehehehe…”

There Suzuka goes again, bugging outlike always. Act in character, huh? That’s not all too differentfrom all the times before, but the character this time around ispretty tough to act out… Well, I’ve decided on it now, so there’sno turning back…

I am an older brother who loves hislittle sister. Normally, this would totally be unthinkable, but rightnow, I have no other choice but to do it!

“By the way, Suzuka.”

“Ah, yes, what is it, Kaede?”

As I was thinking that, Nikaido-sancalled out to Suzuka. She broke in between us as we whispered to eachother and stepped to Suzuka’s left side, while Shiina-san walked upto Suzuka’s right. Although I enjoyed the sight of them beingfriendly like this, Suzuka kept sending me glares. She was clearlyurging me to do something. But no matter how much I thought about it,I couldn’t come up with anything.

…Ahhh, to hell with it! I justcan’t…! As I hung my head in resignation, I realized that thenumber of fellow students around us grew by the minute. The schoolwas close, so everyone was probably starting to meet up around here.Not to mention that more and more of Suzuka’s fellow first-yearstudents came swarming towards her to greet her. She’s as popularas always, I see.

And it wasn’t just fellow girlfriends. Both male and female students came to greet her. Shereturned all their greetings like it was nothing. Since this hadbecome an everyday occurrence as of late, I was already getting usedto it, but at the same time, a certain idea came to mind.

“Eh…?”

Before I realized it, I had alreadywrapped my arm around Suzuka’s shoulder and pulled her closer tome. At first, Suzuka was confused by that, but she finally looked upat me and started to panic.

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

“S-Sorry!”

I started panicking, as well. I-I wasjust acting in character, okay?! Before I realized it, I had already…S-So basically, this is the result of me focusing on the datacollecting! Yes!

“S-Suddenly taking my shoulder likethat…! A-And so forcefully…!”

“N-Nagami-senpai! What are you doingto Suzuka?!”

From next to the wobbling Suzuka,Nikaido-san gave me an angry glare as she stepped forward.

“Th-That’s not how it is! This justnow was… I-I realized that a car was coming up from behind us, somy body just moved on its own!”

“There’s no car coming, though!There’s not even a bicycle!”

“I-I did feel some danger approachingher from behind, though! Um… it was like someone was gazing at uswith killing intent!”

“What?! I didn’t realize it at all,but Nagami-senpai did…? N-No, do you really think I would believean excuse like that?! You were thinking about doing somethingindecent to Suzuka, right?!”

I tried to come up with a lame excuse,but she saw through me immediately. I’m not thinking about anythinglike that, okay?! The indecent thing here is the whole theme initself, so complain to Suzuka, will you?!

“I’d anticipated that Nagami-senpaiwould sink to that level one day, but I never imagined that he’dactually do it in public like that! Now that it’s come to this, Ihave to offer myself as the victim! I will accept all your desires,N-Nagami-senpai, so please refrain from sullying Suzuka any more thanyou already have!”

“I’m not going to sully her inanyway. I don’t need your sacrifice, either, and there aren’t anydesires of mine that you would have to accept anyway, so calm downthere for a second, alright?!”

Nikaido-san just continued to glare atme. Her body was shaking furiously, and tears were dripping down hercheeks. Is it just me, or is there a slight glimmer of happinesshidden inside there?!

“O-Onii-chan, what are you planningon doing to Kaede?!”

“Nothing?! Just as I said mereseconds ago?!”

Don’t glare at me like that! This isyour fault to begin with!

“…Can you help me calm Nikaido-sanhere…?!” I whispered to Suzuka. In response, she came to hersenses. Finally.

“…T-That’s right. That just nowreally was only data collecting… B-But even so, it was a wonderfulidea! The older brother, after falling in love with his littlesister, felt jealous of all the people around him and went on theoffensive, right?!”

Stop! Don’t state that so calmly!I’ll bite my tongue and kill myself right here, I swear! I didn’thave any intentions like that at all! It’s just that I was thinkingthat I had to act in character, and I just moved on impulse. In thatsense, Suzuka’s opinion might not necessarily be wrong, but the waythe character thought isn’t related in any way whatsoever to my ownfeelings, okay? Please believe me.

“That was the most natural actingI’ve seen so far, Onii-chan. It felt very real and genuine, yes.Keep going, just like that!”

Weirdly enough, Suzuka responded withonly words of praise, but I’m not happy at all.

“It feels like a new world has openedup in front of me… It was so soft, and yet so impactful… Andthere was a hidden ulterior motive, as well…!”

“N-No,there wasn’t any ulterior motive or anything… But if it ended upbeing some good reference material, then that’s fine… That aside,about the other two…”

“A-Ah, that’s right. Um… it’sfine, Kaede. This is just how close we are as siblings, so you don’thave to worry about anything.”

“…Don’t worry, Suzuka. If it’sfor your sake, I’ll give my own body to Nagami-senpai, even if itresults in me getting defiled…!”

“Are you listening to other peoplewhen they speak?!”

While I watched the two of them, Ireflected on my actions just a minute ago. Just as Suzuka had said, Iwas only acting in character. I could clearly tell, since it was afamiliar feeling I had experienced before… However, this timearound, my response was complete reflex. It was like my body reallyjust moved on its own. Does this mean that I’ve grown better atacting in character, or is there a completely different reason?

No, there shouldn’t be. Instead ofoverthinking it, I should accept the fact that I’ve succeeded atacting more naturally. This will be of great help for my futureendeavours. I fiercely shook my head to rid myself of any weirdideas. I had to focus on our current data collecting, both forSuzuka’s novel and for mine. I need to be able to write my littlesister novel as if it’s second nature. If I don’t focus, there’sno way that I’ll be able to act like an older brother who hasromantic feelings for his little sister.

“Fufu.”

“…Shiina-san?”

While I was thinking that, I realizedthat Shiina-san had suddenly appeared next to me, letting out ajoyful giggle as she watched Nikaido-san and Suzuka talk with eachother.

“The two of them are in a good moodas always.”

“Well, they might be taking it a bittoo far…”

“But Suzu-chan is the happiestwhenever she’s with Onii-san, you know?”

“Eh?”

“Suzu-chan really loves Onii-san. Andon top of that, you seem to really treasure her as well.” Sheflashed me her usual smile as she continued. “I’m a bit jealous.Just as Suzu-chan says, you two really are close siblings.”

Leaving those words behind, Shiina-santrotted to catch up with the other two. Left alone, I pondered herwords.

…Close siblings, huh? Suzuka likingme or anything is just a misunderstanding on her part, and we mightlook close, but this is all just because we’re currently collectingdata. Well, our relationship has improved compared to the past,though. However, she is right about the fact that I treasure Suzuka.Naturally, because she’s my little sister. There’s no otherreason behind it. But even so, her words kept floating around in myhead for some reason.

…Ahh, damn it all… I’m havingweird thoughts again.

Letting out a deep sigh, I tried toclear my mind of these thoughts. Instead, I decided to focus on datacollecting while trying not to grow more conscious of her. Even ifthis data-collecting lasts the entire day.

*

“Ehehe, ehehehehe…”

………Ah?! Th-This isn’t good. Assoon as I relax, I can feel my face loosening up. Every time I scoldmyself, it only lasts mere seconds before I start laughing again.That being said, I feel like I can’t help it in such a situation.There are some special circumstances behind this. This is like agreater force that I can’t control! After all, the reason for mylaughing is…

That our data collecting this timearound has been wonderful! I mean, it’s the moment when the olderbrother falls in love with the little sister, you know?! From themoment that this theme was decided, I knew that I would be able touse this to my advantage, but this is going even more smoothly than Iever dreamed. I was a bit worried in the beginning. Even if the themeis so amazing, I was worried that our flirting this time woulddecrease.

However, that worry was just wastedenergy on my part. It’s true that the flirting itself decreased.But that’s just because of the theme. This isn’t at all the placeto do things like sit on Onii-chan’s lap, take a bath together withhim, have him lick chocolate off my fingers, or have him softlyembrace me as we sleep together (Uuuu… My face is starting to burnup just from remembering it…) After all, I couldn’t help but feela bit concerned at the start, but now that we’ve started, thatconcern has completely dissipated.

After all, considering that the settingis that Onii-chan is falling in love with his little sister, everysingle action and move of his will end up being some kind offlirting! I believe that this might be humanity’s greatestdiscovery to date! If there existed a nobel prize in the Onii-chancategory, I would without a doubt be the winner of it! That’s justhow great of a revelation this is!

… Cough , excuseme. Anyway, I hope that you can understand why I’m going crazy likethis. This time, I’ve learned that the data collecting doesn’talways have to be jam-packed full of nothing but flirting.

For example, back when we were walkingto school, Onii-chan tried to hold my hand, but panicked, and pulledback immediately, right? And there was a really awkward atmosphereafter that. At first glance, that might look like a failure of datagathering, but in reality, it wasn’t. Remember the prerequisite.

At that time, Onii-chan was acting likean older brother who was falling in love with his little sister. Whenyou add that to what he did, there is something else there that hasnever happened before. Basically, he was yearning for me and wantedto hold my hand, but the second we touched, his love awakened and hepulled his hand back from embarrassment. After that, he realized ithimself and went silent, which caused that awkward atmosphere. He wasworried that his beloved sister would start to think badly of him,but he was also unable to completely ignore his desire to hold handswith me, so he kept shooting glances at me! While admiring hisacting, there was but one word that came to my mind.

Moe!

For the longest time, I had been unableto comprehend exactly what that word meant. Since I became a lightnovel author, Onii-chan has taught me lots and lots about otakuculture, and he had given me a long lecture on this ‘moe’.However, I was unable to grasp the meaning of it, no matter how muchI thought about it. He called it another form of liking something,but intense in a different way. At first, I thought that it wassimilar to my feelings for him, but that turned out to be wrong. Iwent on with my life, still unable to understand what he meant.

However, I finally understood it forthe first time today. Liking something is one part of it, but it’san emotion that expresses itself differently inside your body, whichalmost makes you writhe in agony…! That moment I saw Onii-chan’sreaction, I unconsciously thought ‘Cute…!’ to myself! Yes, thatmust be the true meaning of the word ‘moe!’

…Ahh, what a wonderful discovery. Ilove Onii-chan more than anything in the entire world, so much sothat I can’t even put it into words. So intensely that I want to behis wife in the future—Even so, I had never felt this moe before.

That being said, it finally changed.I’ve finally awoken to Onii-chan moe! He’s trying to hide hislove for his little sister, and is still unable to hold it back. Thiswonderful acting has awoken this ‘moe’ inside of me! Until now,Onii-chan often used the terms ‘little-sister-loving’ or ‘littlesister moe’ before, but he always meant that his heart was skippinga beat because of little sisters, right? How wonderful! Onii-chanmoe… it indeed is a wonderful-sounding phrase! I had found anotherway of appreciating Onii-chan, and I was feeling delighted as aresult.

That being said, this wasn’t the timeto feel all joyful, either.

“Suzuka-san, you seem to be in areally good mood today.”

“…Eh? T-That’s not true!”

That voice called me back from mythoughts. When I looked over, Himuro-san was eating her sandwich asshe gave me a dubious look. Trying not to seem suspicious, Icautiously reached out my chopsticks for a bite of my lunch.

It was during lunch break. Onii-chanand I were eating together, as well as Himuro-san, Kaede, and Kotomi.

“Don’t you agree, Himuro-senpai?There’s no way that Suzuka could be in a good mood after beingforced to play along with Nagami-senpai’s ridiculousdata-collecting.”

“Fufu, but she doesn’t hate it, sothat’s why she’s helping Onii-san.”

Kaede responded to Himuro-san’swords, while Kotomi watched over them with her gentle smile.Naturally, the two of them were talking about the data collectingfrom before. We had already explained to them that Onii-chan is alight novel author, and that I’m helping him come up with ideas forhis novel. That was why they didn’t say much about the flirtingthis morning. Although Kaede won’t stop glaring at Onii-chan as aresult of it… Well, it’s because she’s worried about me. She’spretty understanding of our data collecting, I think…

“Y-You had Suzuka-san go along withyour data collecting again? Not to mention at school? What were youthinking?! Do you not have any common sense!?”

“Can a stalker really talk aboutcommon sense?!”

“Ugh…! So you’re saying that youcan’t write a good light novel without doing away with rationalthought?! You really aren’t Towano Chikai just for show!”

“Why don’t you accept it from thevery beginning instead of making me out to be the bad guy?!”

“T-This and that are completelydifferent!”

Onii-chan and Himuro-san were having afierce verbal battle. Naturally, Himuro-san had known about thiswhole data-collecting thing before, so there’s no problem withtalking about it here. However, Himuro-san has been asking Onii-chanto help her gather data recently, so I can’t let my guard down…

But, putting that aside, the reason Ican’t truly be happy is because of the data collecting. Of course,not in the sense that the results were poor. On the contrary, it wentfar too well. As I said before, the theme about the older brotherfalling in love with the little sister is a wonderful idea. I’vemanaged to awaken to Onii-chan moe, and just remembering the sight ofOnii-chan this morning makes my heart almost jump out of my chest.The expression on my face is growing looser by the second, and it’seven becoming visible to Himuro-san.

And therein lies the problem.

The impact and stimulation was almosttoo great, spelling great trouble for my reasoning! Up until now,there have been countless times during our data collecting when I wasabout to overheat from all the stimulus, but this time, this statehas continued even until now! This is the first time I’veexperienced something like this! Just looking at it objectively, thatevent this morning wasn’t all too lovey-dovey or flirty. And ittechnically was a failure. I should be more dissatisfied with thisresult, really.

But this still is too much for me! Evenif we take all the aforementioned problems into consideration, on theflip side if I imagine that all of his actions originated out of histender love for me, I feel like I’d start saying ‘Ehehehehehe’any second. I would have never anticipated that a situation like thiswould have had such a great impact on me. One part of me wants toexperience this forever and ever, but the more sane angel on myshoulder keeps telling me that my rational thinking won’t last atthis rate. Nevertheless, I have to decide now.

Should I cancel this data collecting?

…No no no… No no no no no no! Ican’t allow myself to do that! No matter how much my will bends, mybody won’t allow it! However, continuing with brute force isimpossible. My heart is beating so quickly that I fear I mightcollapse at any minute. Although that in and of itself isn’t thatbad of a thought, I don’t want Onii-chan to see me in such adepraved state.

Then what should I do? Yes, my answeris a simple, logical one. I have to ration this data collecting toonly a few times a day until I get completely used to it. I can’tpanic here. Also, the longer this continues, the happier I willbe—No, not that! I can’t think too selfishly about this. This isall necessary for both my novel and Onii-chan’s dream. I want tohelp him, too.

A-Anyway, now that it’s decided, anymore data collecting for this will be impossible for today. It’s ashame, but I’ll just use what we’ve gathered already today andplay it back in my head over and and until I can write it down in myOnii-chan notes. Then we can keep going with our normal datacollecting.

What? Did you think that I’d stopdata collecting for today? No, no, no. What I’ll do for today isjust normal data collecting that we’ve done up until now, withoutthe theme of an older brother falling in love with his little sister.After all, I can’t let any chances of being lovey-dovey withOnii-chan slip through my hands.

Naturally, I’ve already toldOnii-chan about this. At first, he had his usual surprised expressionon his face, but that soon changed into a disheartened gaze, though Idon’t really understand why.

“…Onii-chan, we’ll be startingnow.”

“Uuu… We’re really doing this?”

I called out to Onii-chan, as he lookedlike he was about to cry. What we’re about to start now is datacollecting titled ‘Being lovey-dovey during lunch break at school.’Originally, we had decided not to do this at school, but almost theentire student body knows that he’s a siscon by now, and Kaede andKotomi are already well aware of it as well, so there’s no problemat all. It’s important for writing the next volume, after all. I’vegotten Onii-chan’s consent, so there’s no need to hide it anylonger!

“What are you whispering about withSuzuka-san, Yuu?”

In that moment, Himuro-san interruptedus.

“Ah, w-well, we were just talkingabout some data collecting.”

“Data collecting?! Y-You’re goingto do it right now?!”

“Absolutely, Himuro-san. We have tocollect data for a scene that’ll be in the next volume, or soOnii-chan told me. Right?”

I looked over at Onii-chan to receiveconfirmation, and received a weak “Y-Yeah…” in response as hisshoulders dropped in resignation for some reason. Hmph, I really wishthat he’d be more enthusiastic about it.

“Hmm! So what are you going to do?”

“T-That’s… I’ll be feedingOnii-chan the lunch that I made. Naturally, I really don’t enjoythis at all, but this is all for his novel, so I have to help him.It’s my duty as his little sister, after all.”

When I responded with that, Himuro-sanlashed out at Onii-chan.

“You! Just what are you making yourlittle sister do for your own desires?!”

It wasn’t just Himuro-san. Kaedejoined in as well, her face bright red.

“F-Feeding…?! S-S-Somethingindecent like that…!”

Kotomi for her part just smiled andgiggled. “You two are as lovey-dovey as always. Fufu.”

“I-I can’t help it, it’simportant data I need for my novel!” Onii-chan said. He seemedslightly fed up, and he shot me a spiteful gaze. I quickly averted myeyes.

F-For now, starting our data collectingis more important, ehehe… Himuro-san responded with a “Hmph…”Kaede also didn’t look too happy about it, and she glared atOnii-chan. I ignored her, though, and opened Onii-chan’s lunch box.The idea is that I’ll pick up different side dishes from inside hislunchbox and flirt with him by saying ‘Open wide~’ and feedingthem to him. Naturally, this won’t at all be to show off to thepeople around us or anything. This is all for both of our novels!

But just when I was about to reach outmy chopsticks towards Onii-chan…

“…Hold on.”

Himuro-san suddenly interrupted me witha serious expression on her face. This was the first time I had everseen her like this, and I was taken aback.

“W-What is it?”

I froze, my chopsticks in the air. Iwaited for a while, and her face kept getting redder and redder.

“I-I’ll do the data collecting.”

“………Eh?”

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?! W-What are youtalking about?!

“Y-You’re going to… W-W-What doyou mean?!”

“A-Again, I’ll take your place.I’ll feed Yuu his lunch.”

…Wha—?! W-Why?! I wasn’t the onlyone surprised. Onii-chan and the other two also suddenly went silent.

“W-What are you saying? This is forthe sake of Onii-chan’s novel, so, as his little sister, I must bethe one to do this!”

“T-That’s true, but it should befine if I do it, right? He can understand the feeling either way,anyhow… A-And I also wanted to try this out for my own novel, aswell. This… ‘Open wide~’ thing?”

“W-What did you say?!” I wasshocked.

I never thought that she would be thiswilling to openly show her feelings for Onii-chan!

“D-Don’t get the wrong idea,okay?!” Himuro-san’s face went even more red, and she franticallywaved her hands. “A-Actually, I’m writing a romcom novel rightnow. I thought that I should write a scene like that, so I might aswell practice it with Yuu, right? That way we’ll take two birdswith one stone, and Suzuka-san won’t be forced to help Yuu.”

Himuro-san stated her reasons. It wasfairly logical, and it was easy to agree with, so my response wasdelayed. Naturally, I couldn’t allow her to actually do that, but…

“S-Sorry, Suzuka-san. I’ll beborrowing this.”

“Eh? Ah—”

Because of said delay, Himuro-sansnatched the chopsticks I was holding. While I was still too confusedto stop her, Himuro-san picked up some omelette from the lunch boxand pushed it towards Onii-chan’s mouth.

“H-here, Yuu… Open wide…!”

“H-Hey, calm dow—Mguh?!”

Onii-chan actually immediately bit downon it?!

“…Nom… Nom…”

“H-How is it? Is it good?”

“Eh, ah yeah, it was… d-delicious…”

Both of them went red immediately.Himuro-san mumbled a flustered “I-I see…” In response,Onii-chan said “Y-Yeah…” Both of them were clearly unable tohold a decent conversation.

…W-Why is there such a goodatmosphere between them?! Nevermind that, I was the one who made thatlunch! Why is Himuro-san acting like she’s the one who made it?!Isn’t this a bit weird?!

“T-This is my first time feedingsomeone else. It’s pretty embarrassing, isn’t it?”

“Y-You wanted to do it, didn’tyou?!”

“B-But I feel like this will be somegood reference material. W-What about you?”

“Eh? W-Well, I think that I alsolearned something… maybe?”

No no no, you haven’t! Because Iwasn’t the one doing it! Or at least that’s what I was thinking,but the scene in front of me was too peaceful, and I couldn’t bringmyself to do so. However, when I realized that Himuro-san was goingto continue, I snapped back to reality. I can’t allow any morethan this to happen! This is supposed to be my datacollecting!

“W-Wait a second!”

But someone else got the jump on me.And it was… Kaede?!

“H-Himuro-senpai, I will take thatduty upon myself!”

“What? What do you mean?”

I wasn’t the only one confused.Himuro-san and Onii-chan were also taken aback. However, Kaedeignored them, and, with a face as red as ever, she continued.

“I can’t keep watching like this!A-Although I can’t stop this whole data collecting thing, I can atleast bear the shame that would befall Himuro-senpai or Suzukainstead. S-So I will take upon myself the role of bearing Senpai’slust…!”

“””Ehhhhhh?!””” “Oh my.”

Everyone was surprised by her words.A-Are you really saying that, Kaede…?

“Uuu… I have to offer my own body…For Suzuka and Himuro-senpai’s sakes… But this might be the thingthat will cause my body to be unable to bear living withoutNagami-senpai! N-No, not just my body, but eventually my heart aswell!”

“I feel like I’m being indirectlyinsulted here?!”

“T-This is all because of yourinsatiable desires, Senpai! A-Anyway, here I go!”

“Can you not glare at me like I’myour nemesis—Mguh?!”

Before Onii-chan could finish hissentence, Kaede stole the chopsticks from Himuro-san and stuffedsomething else from the lunch box into Onii-chan’s mouth.

“I-I did it! Something as indecent asthat! I can’t become a bride anymore! S-Senpai, please takeresponsibility!”

“On top of being the one who did it,you’re treating me like the bad guy?!”

“Y-You have no room to complain! Nowwhat do you want to eat next?!”

“W-Wait, we’re continuing?!”

She seemed like she had calmed down abit, because now, she actually said “O-Open wide…!”, as shepicked up a meatball. I could only stare blankly at the scene infront of me, but…

“Fufufu, Kaede is so happy.”

Kotomi’s voice brought me back toreality.

“T-This isn’t the time to be sayingthat, Kotomi. We have to hurry and stop her!”

“Hmmm, you’re right. Leave it tome. Hey, Kaede.”

“W-What is it, Kotomi… Ah.”

Kotomi put one hand on Kaede’sshoulder with a smile and stole the chopsticks from her. Wonderfullydone. Now I can relax—

“Then next is my turn.”

……Excuse me? Eh? What did she justsay? Flashing her usual smile, Kotomi calmly picked up another itemfrom the lunch box with her chopsticks. With calm and collectedmoves, while everyone else was left speechless, she held it outtowards Onii-chan.

“Here, Onii-san. Open wide.”

“Eh? Ah, eh?”

And, as if it were the most naturalthing in the world, she started to feed Onii-chan. After being a bitsurprised…

“Here you go.”

Onii-chan seemed unable to withstandKaede’s beaming smile anymore as she held the food out, so heopened his mouth.

“Fufu, so this is what it feels liketo feed a man.”

As Kotomi commented on this newexperience she had gained, Onii-chan was too flustered to sayanything, just blushing.

…Hold on!

“K-Kotomi?! W-W-W-What are youdoing?!” I exclaimed.

“R-Right! Why would you do that? Ialready sacrificed myself!”

Both Kaede and I returned to reality atthe same time and started questioning Kotomi.

“Fufu, I just thought it might begood if I did it as well.”

However, Kotomi responded as calmly asever, with the same smile on her face.

W-What kind of reason is that?! I’vealways felt like she lives above the clouds, but I can’t followthis at all?!

“Y-You! What are you making yourKouhai do?! A-Are you not satisfied with me or something?!”

“I didn’t make her do anything,though!”

“A-Anyway, I’ll do it one moretime, okay? Unlike her, I actually have my own data to collect, so Ishould be the one doing it!”

“And you’re just saying thatbecause you want to, right?!”

This isn’t good. Himuro-san is goingto try to feed Onii-chan again…!

“Y-You can’t! This is to collectdata for a little sister novel, so there’s no meaning to it if Idon’t do it!” I rushed to take back the chopsticks from Kotomi,and when Onii-chan realized what I was trying to do…

“Eh, so you’re going to do it aswell? H-How about we just take a quick break…?”

“W-What are you saying? We can’tstop here when I haven’t even done it yet…”

“I-I mean, by now we’ve alreadygathered the attention of the people around us…”

When Onii-chan told me that, I lookedaround. We weren’t eating inside. Instead, we were out in thecourtyard, and although there weren’t too many people around us,several people were staring at our group. Even so…

“T-That doesn’t matter. Collectingdata is more important.”

“No no no, I’m already getting alot of jealous gazes here, so if this continues any more, I feel likeI’ll get stabbed at some point. You have to understand that…”

“T-This isn’t the time to behesitating because of other people. Your novel will be seen by evenmore people, right?”

“That comparison really doesn’twork here, though!”

I agree, but that doesn’t mean that Ican just back down here! I picked up yet another side dish from thelunch box and held it out towards Onii-chan. Ahh, for crying outloud, my emotions are all over the place today!

“H-Here, Onii-chan. O-Open wide…!”

With my face flushed to the limit, Iprepared myself.

“………?!”

“Eh?”

In that exact moment, Onii-chan’sface went as red as a tomato. Looking like he was about to explode,he quickly jumped backwards.

…E-Eh? W-W-W-What was that reaction?!Isn’t this a similar response to the one he had this morning? I-Itlooked like he had grown conscious of me and subconsciously tried toevade me, right…?!

I was taken aback by this sudden changein attitude. W-Why? We decided to stop that kind of data collectingfor the day… Auuu… If he shows me that side of him, my heart willgo crazy again…!

“O-Onii-chan…?” I carefullyasked.

With his face as red as before, a briefword tumbled out of Onii-chan’s lips. “S-Sorry.” A-Again, canyou not make my heart leap out of my chest by having reactions likethat?! I mean, I don’t mind it, but it’s a bit troublesome rightnow!

“…I-I thought we decided that wewere going to take a break from that kind of data collecting fortoday?”

“…Y-Yeah. Sorry, it seems like Iwas too focused on getting into character this morning, and I’mjust falling back into it without realizing… Yeah, that must beit…”

For some reason, it sounded like he wasmaking excuses to himself. So he managed to get into character thismuch? I see. That explains his reaction just now. I had panicked fora second there. Yes, that is the only logical conclusion to drawhere. After all, Onii-chan would never act like this. It’s notpossible for him to actually be in love with me right now… Butthat’s fine. It’s fine because my feelings for Onii-chan willnever change. I have to keep becoming more lovey-dovey with him sothat I’ll be the only girl for him in the future!

“What are you doing, Yuu? …Ah,don’t tell me. Do you want to collect data with me and notSuzuka-san?!”

“Why did you arrive at thatconclusion?!”

“Nagami-senpai, I’ll offer you myeverything, so please don’t sink your teeth into Suzuka’sinnocent body…!”

“Why can’t you ever listen to aword I say, Nikaido-san?!”

“Fufu, you sure are enjoyingyourself, Onii-san.”

“And how can you just laugh in asituation like this?!”

Ignoring everyone’s complaints, Ionce again tried to feed Onii-chan. Since I’m the true TowanoChikai, this is my data collecting here, and that’s not the onlyreason. The only person in this world who is allowed to collect datawith Onii-chan is me!

“N-Now Onii-chan this time for sure…O-Open wide…!”

“We’re actually going tocontinue?!”

Of course we are. Do you think I wouldlet a chance like this slip away? It’s time to be lovey-dovey withmy beloved Onii-chan!

But, while I was thinking thatmentally, I had but one daydream… I just said that it wasdefinitely impossible, but… if Onii-chan were actually in love withme… Naturally, something like that was impossible, so I quicklycleared my mind of those thoughts and continued with the datacollecting right in front of me.

*

“Ughhh… That was tough…”

On a certain day, after classes hadended, I gazed up at the orange-colored sky as that sigh escaped mylips. It sure has been tough recently, in a lot of ways. The firstthing that came to mind was the constant data collecting with Suzuka.Normal data collecting would already strain my mind and body, butthanks to the current theme, it’s been so much worse than before.

…What’s up with that idea? “Themoment the older brother falls in love with his little sister?” Whydoes that theme have to pop up now of all times? Still, collectingdata is something I can’t run away from, since I’m Suzuka’sstand-in, and also for my own sake. I’ve been trying to not growmore conscious of her, but that’s been all for nothing, at least onmy end. I try not to be conscious of her, but end up more consciousthan usual and stiffen up. Because of that, I can’t make anythingout of all the things we’ve done.

…Still, Suzuka always seemssatisfied, even if it ends in failure. Even this morning, when Ithought that I had done a bad job, she just told me “T-The datacollecting was a success. T-T-T-T-Thank you very much.” It wasreally weird. At first I thought she was just being considerate, butit sure didn’t seem like a lie. As proof of that, she went to herroom to write at the end of the day, like always.

Hmm, it really is a mystery. But atleast it’s better than having her say “It was all for nothing! Wehave to redo it!”, so I guess I shouldn’t complain too much. Ifsomething like that were to happen, I’d probably collapse at somepoint. That’s just how stressful the current data-collecting is.That’s one of the reasons why my life is so tough right now. But itisn’t the only.

The main reason I’m so depressedright now is because of my own novel. As always, I’m having troublewith the novel I’m planning on sending in for the light novelcontest. Even now, I’m still not sure what kind of little sisternovel I want to write. I was thinking that I could get some sort ofidea for it thanks to my data-collecting, but reality hasn’t beenthat gentle on me.

This type of slump, where I have towrite something, but I don’t know what, is something I’ve neverexperienced before, so I don’t know how to fix it, either…Thinking about the situation again like this, I always get even moredepressed…

On top of that, there’s a thirdreason. Although I’m in such a dire situation, I’m forced towaste my time away. In a certain sense, this might be the toughestreason of them all.

“Ahhh, what a pain it is to gathermaterial like this…!”

In that moment, Mai, who was sittingnext to me, voiced aloud the feelings I had. She must have beenthinking about something similar.

“We can’t help it, you know. It’sway better than the exhibition hall being in the classroom, right?”

“Well, that’s true… Ahh, culturefestivals are only fun if they happen in light novels. In reality,they’re nothing but a lot of work and pain.”

Although I didn’t like the way shewas grumbling about things, I did agree with her about that, so Idecided to keep my mouth shut. Anyway, as you probably understoodfrom our conversation, Mai and I were in the library office,gathering material for the exhibition we’ll be doing for theculture festival. Yes, our school’s culture festival was rightaround the corner.

But, just as Mai had said a second ago,it isn’t a very fun event at all. Every single class is planning anevent or show, but not many of them are showing any great enthusiasmabout it. As a result, our class decided to do something that tookrelatively little effort: An exhibition.

…Well, the focus of the culturalfestival is on the culture-related clubs, so it makes sense thatindividual classes would make attractions like that. Since I haveabsolutely no interest in the cultural festival anyway, I’m finewith something boring like this that’s easy to do. In that sense,I’m actually thankful to be able to work on the exhibition. There’snot much to prepare, after all. But doing nothing at all isn’t aviable option, so we offered to work on the boring material-gatheringpart of it all. Naturally, our motivation to do it was extremely low,so our efficiency while working wasn’t too high, either.

“I really don’t have the time to dosomething like this at all. I have the noble duty of writing on mynew manuscript to fulfill.”

“…Yeah. I also want to get home andwrite on my own novel.”

Though I don’t feel like I’ll makeany progress even if I do go home and work on it…

“This culture festival is clearlybad! It’s robbing precious writing time from Towano Chikai! It canburn in a fire for all I care!”

“Don’t you dare go arsonist as wellas stalker, okay? That’s a serious crime.”

“W-Why are you looking at me withthat serious face?! I was joking, of course!”

I knew that already, but there wasalways that slim chance… Especially considering that she’s astalker and so on…

“It’s just that if your new releasewere to be delayed, I’d have to march into the editorial departmentand file a formal complaint.”

“You really don’t have to do that,alright?! Well, there’s no need to worry. The deadline is still aways away, so it’ll be fine.”

Also, Suzuka is already working on it.Knowing her, it might actually be done tomorrow. It’s scary how Iactually believe that.

As a side note, Suzuka isn’tparticipating in this culture festival with her class. Instead, she’shelping out with the theatre club at the request of Shiina-san.Though I haven’t heard much about what they’re doing.

“Really? That’s good, then.”

“And what about you? How’s your newvolume coming along?”

“I already finished the newestSukaMaga volume. Right now I’m working on the new romcom.”

Oh right, the one she’s writing butnot planning on releasing. That reminds me, I wanted to ask her aboutit before, but I couldn’t find the right timing.

“Hey, Mai, can I ask you something?”

“What? You want to know how much Ilove Towano Chikai’s novel? Well then let me start with—”

“I didn’t ask about that. Don’tjust start with your rant!”

Also, you’ve told me that a milliontimes already!

“I wanted to ask why you started towrite a romcom all of a sudden.”

Mai’s eyes opened wide in response tomy question, as a delayed “…Eh?” escaped her mouth.

“Why are you so confused? There’sgotta be a reason why you started writing a romcom now of all times.”

“T-T-T-T-That’s… um… I justfelt like writing one, so I couldn’t help it.”

“But, that’s way outside the scopeof your SukaMaga series you’re writing right now, isn’t it? Ijust wondered if there was something that made you choose a romcom,of all things.”

My question left Mai in silence, andshe tightly shut her lips. What a weird reaction. She’s justblushing and staying quiet about something she’s writing? D-Did Isay something wrong? No, I shouldn’t have… While I was wonderingabout that, Mai remained quiet. She even started fidgeting.

“U-Um… the reason is… becauseyou’re… sort of an influence…” She finally mustered up herstrength and responded.

“Me…? Ahh, because of my novel.”

“A-Ah, that’s not it, um… Youyourself were the influence… or something like that… Ahh forgetit! Yes, I was influenced by your novel, Towano Chikai!”

“Why are you getting angry at me?!”

Mai suddenly glared at me with tears inher eyes, and I took a step back. Still, I guess that makes sense.Suzuka’s novel is a romcom, after all, so I guess that a diehardfan like Mai would want to try writing one as well.

“But isn’t it pretty tough to writea genre you’ve never tried before?” I voiced the next questionthat came to mind.

One of the reasons for that was that Imyself had already experienced that after suddenly deciding to workon a little sister novel.

“…W-Well, yeah. This is the firsttime I’m writing a light novel with this sort of feeling. It’sfun, but there are things I’m uncertain about.”

…Ohh, I never thought that astraightforward person like Mai could actually worry about somethingin her life. Well, that’s to be expected, I guess, when trying towrite a new, unfamiliar genre.

“Since it’s a romcom, I have towrite about love and so on, right? B-But I don’t really have muchexperience with that…”

When I saw Mai like this, actingcompletely different from usual, I couldn’t help but think that shelooked a bit cute. She’s already a beauty, so I’d reallyappreciate it if she didn’t show me that side of hers. It makes myheart race.

“”……””

Weirdly enough, the two of us dared notspeak. T-This feels really awkward… Finally, though, Mai’s wordsbroke the silence.

“H-Hey, Yuu… Do you, um… haves-someone you… like?”

“Wha—?! W-W-W-Why are you askingthat all of a sudden?!”

“T-There’s no deeper meaning behindit! I-I just felt like asking that! I-I mean, you’re a romcomauthor, so I thought that you might have someone you like!”

“What does that have to do with mebeing a romcom author?!”

Both of us were panicking equally much,and we were furiously waving our hands all over the place. I neverexpected that a question like that would me throw off guard thatmuch… R-Really, why is she asking me that all of a sudden…?!

“…I-I just felt like that would bea normal question given the flow of conversation…”

Although Mai had calmed down ever soslightly, her face was still quite a bit red. She pressured me toanswer. “S-So hurry up and answer me!” It almost seemed like shewas at her wit’s end. Maybe she was panicking so much because eventhough it should be a simple question to answer, I was hesitating.But there’s only one way to answer this, right?

“I-I don’t have anyone like that…”I gave an honest answer.

That was the truth. I don’t haveanyone I like. I don’t understand much about love either, and I’mpursuing the dream of becoming a light novel author, so I don’thave the time for it.

“…………Hmmm?”

But Mai clearly didn’t believe mywords. She was giving me a very dubious gaze. I couldn’t help it,though, since it was the truth. Also, why do you look like you doubtme so much?

“…Then…” Mai spoke again,though she still seemed just as nervous as before. “Then… even ifyou don’t have feelings for her, is there no girl you’reinterested in?”

“Interested in…?”

“Like, um… you’re being overlyconscious of her…?”

The moment Mai’s words reached myears, I felt like my heart was about to leap out of my chest. Aroundthe same time, an image came to mind. It was unmistakably an image ofSuzuka, so I quickly shook my head to clear it.

…W-What am I thinking about…?! No,seriously, what is wrong with me?! Why did her face suddenly appearin my mind?! It’s all because of our data collecting, isn’t it?!D-Don’t get the wrong idea, alright?! It’s not what you think!

Making excuses to myself, I tried toregain my composure. Still, what kind of timing was that?Unbelievable! I took a deep breath, calming down. Or so I wanted to,but Mai didn’t allow me to.

“…Y-You… Don’t tell me…!”

Mai herself started shaking, and shestared at me with wide eyes. I’m getting a really bad feeling fromthis reaction!

“S-So there’s a girl like that?!That’s what this means, right?!”

“N-No! That’s not it!”

“Then explain why you hesitated!”

Mai’s words made me even moreflustered. I didn’t hesitate because I have someone like that. Iwas just a bit perplexed as to why Suzuka’s face appeared inside myhead, that’s all! But of course, actually saying that was somethingI couldn’t do. Otherwise, Mai would double down with a series ofeven more dangerous questions. And while I was still panicking as towhat I should say next, Mai took a step towards me.

“W-Who?! Who is it?! Who’s theperson you’re always thinking about?!”

“Aren’t you exaggerating a bit?! Idon’t have anyone like that!”

“L-Lies! Your reaction just nowclearly says otherwise! There’s no need to hide it! Just tell me!”

“I’m not hiding anything! And evenif I had someone like that, why would I have to tell you!?”

“T-That’s… B-Because I’m yournumber one fan! And as a fan, I need to know!”

“That’sridiculous! That doesn’t explain anything!”

But alas, reason never worked on Mai.No matter how many times I tried to pacify her, she just counteredwith “Don’t hide it!” or “Tell me!” which left me thinkingthat I was talking to a brick wall.

What’s wrong with her? She’s beingeven more obstinate here than when she was doubting that I was TowanoChikai, for some reason. She almost seems… desperate. But, even so,I really don’t have any other answer. I don’t have anyone I’minterested in or conscious of. Suzuka’s face appeared in my headjust now for no real reason, so I can’t change anything. Still,some excuse like that wouldn’t satisfy Mai. Instead, she grew moreand more assertive. Until finally…

“…! It’s the bell! Our work fortoday is over, so I’ll be going home now!”

With perfect timing, the school bellrang, so I quickly got up from my seat.

“Ah! H-Hold on a second, Yuu!”

As if I would! I dashed out of thelibrary office and somehow managed to lose Mai as I ran home.Although this might seem like a bit of an overreaction, having anormal conversation with Mai when she’s like this never works, soall I can do is wait until she’s calmed down.

“Haaah… Why did Mai suddenly asksomething like that…?” I took some deep breaths as I made my wayhome.

I had no clue as to why that topic cameup out of the blue like that, but it’s probably better to forgetabout it for now. I really have to just get home and work on mynovel. When I arrived, I opened the front door and stepped inside,but…

“I’m ho—”

Before I could finish my sentence, thewords caught in my throat. As for why, it was because Suzuka wasalready standing there at the entrance, looking at me with adispleased expression. She suddenly held out her smartphone towardsme.

“U-Um, Suzuka-san…?”

“Look at this, Onii-chan.”

She urged me to take a look at thesmartphone screen. When I did, I was baffled. Shown there wereseveral messages from an all-too-familiar LINE group. The sentencethat started it all was the following:

Emergency! Apparently, Yuu has agirl that he’s interested in! Requesting information!

When I read that, I felt all the blooddrain from my head, and a shiver ran down my spine. At the same time,Suzuka’s hand, holding the smartphone, started to shake in fury.Immediately afterwards, her voice echoed across the neighborhood.

“WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?!”