Volume 9 Chapter 3

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Investigation, and Then the Culture Festival

“…So basically, this is just amisunderstanding on Himuro-san’s part, and you don’t actuallyhave anyone you’re interested in. Right, Onii-chan?”

“Y-Yes, that’s correct…”

Confronted with Suzuka’soverwhelmingly intimidating aura, I could only hang my head meekly asI responded. The setting was the entrance of our home, and for somereason, I was being forced to kneel on the ground in front of Suzuka.Not to mention that she was looking down at me with a glare. With afeeling of oppression rumbling behind her, I could only wait and hopethat this would be over soon. As to why things had ended up likethis… well, I believe that there’s no need for any furtherexplanation here, since it was obviously because of Mai’s message.I had only heard about this a while ago, but it seems that afterSuzuka got a smartphone, she joined the same LINE group with Mai andthe others (called “Towano Chikai LINE” or whatever), and is nowexchanging messages there.

Mai had sent this extremely dangerousmessage there, which Suzuka saw of course, and she questioned meimmediately when I got home. Ugh… I never thought that Mai would gothis far! She probably didn’t mean to, but she sure is driving meinto a corner here!

But anyway, because of this message, aharsh interrogation from Suzuka’s side followed. And all I could dowas give her the same explanation I had given Mai before. Everythingis just a total misunderstanding. It’s true that I had hesitatedfor a second, but that wasn’t related to our conversation in anyway whatsoever, and I don’t have any girls I’m interested in.Sadly, I feel like this won’t be enough to satisfy Suzuka. Knowingher, the more I try to reason with her, the more severe herinterrogation and questioning will become. Indeed, from all of myexperiences so far, I’m almost certain that it would end like that.I swallowed my breath as I dreaded Suzuka’s response once Ifinished my explanation.

…She’ll probably just say “Didyou think that this would satisfy me?” and glare at me again! Or soI thought, but…

“…Is that really the case?”

Suzuka’s words surprised me to theextent that I stared blankly back at her in shock. Although she stillseems to doubt me a bit, I don’t feel like she has any intentionsof pressing this any further.

“Y-Yeah.”

“…………I see. Then it reallywas Himuro-san’s misunderstanding.”

“Eh?!”

U-Unbelievable, she is satisfied withthat?! W-What is going on? Normally, I’d receive a one-hour lecturecourse, free of charge…?

“…What is it, Onii-chan? You lookperplexed.”

“W-Well, I kinda am… Most of thetime, you’d say something like ‘I don’t believe you,’ andyou’d keep pressing me on it.”

“W-What’s that supposed to mean?That makes me seem like the doubtful type, doesn’t it?”

“………”

…Well, I can’t exactly deny that.

“Don’t just keep quiet there! Itseems that I have to correct this rude idea of yours!”

Wait, hold on, am I going to belectured on something else now?!

“C-Calm down! I’m sorry, okay?! I-Iwas just… going from previous experiences. I wasn’t trying to saythat you have a personality like that!”

“…………Haah.”

As I desperately tried to make excuses,Suzuka responded with a fed-up sigh.

“W-Well, I do agree that I might haveto reflect on that. After all, there have been occasions when I mighthave gotten a bit too fierce with my questioning in the past.”

…It wasn’t just random occasions.That happened every time… But this time, I didn’t say that aloud.I’m learning from my past mistakes.

“But that was only because there wasdubious behaviour involved. Basically, I couldn’t help it. Do youunderstand?”

Yet another thing I’ve learned isthat when Suzuka says ‘Do you understand?’, she actually means’That’s how it is.’ Because of that, I just nodded along. Anolder brother’s dignity? What’s that? Can I eat it?

“In that sense, it means that therewas nothing there for me to doubt.”

“Eh? What do you mean by that?”Unable to grasp what she was trying to tell me, I just stared back ather.

When I did, Suzuka’s face started toturn a flaming red color, and she started fidgeting. “T-That’s…!”She glanced at me here and there.

“Look, I am… Onii-chan’s idealtype of girl… right?”

“Wha—?!”

The words that Suzuka brought down onme almost made me choke.

“A-And Onii-chan is a little sisterlover who just started writing his own little sister novel, am Iright?!”

“H-Hold on a second…! Why would yousuddenly bring that up now?!”

“T-Think about it. Knowing that, Ican ascertain that there can’t be a girl that Onii-chan isinterested in.”

…Eh? ………A-Ahh, that’s whatshe meant. I finally understood what Suzuka was saying. Basically,going from her knowledge that I’m a crazy siscon, there can’t beany girl I’m interested in. It’s truly a Suzuka-like way ofthinking. I was glad that she didn’t doubt me anymore.

“…Why are you crying, Onii-chan?”

…But what is this sadness that’sbiting away at my poor soul…?! My own little sister is looking atme in such a light. This might be even worse than her doubting me…Hahahaha…

“Of course, the slim chance stillexists. That being said, it doesn’t seem like it’s the case rightnow. I can tell, since I’ve been watching Onii-chan all day, everyday.” Suzuka nodded to herself, brimming with confidence.

I’m happy that she trusts me, but Isomehow feel like I’m being treated as nothing more than a pet atthis point…

“…W-Well, I’m glad that youaren’t having any weird doubts.”

When I let out a relieved sigh, Suzukapuffed out her chest and spoke confidently. “I am your littlesister after all, so I know everything about you!” Fair enough, Iguess.

“But the problem isn’t completelyresolved.”

“What problem?”

“Since Himuro-san still has doubtsabout this, she shared this information with everyone in the TowanoChikai LINE group.”

The members of said group besidesSuzuka and Mai are Double Peace-sensei, Minazuki-san, and the Kanzakasisters. Basically everyone who knows that I’m Towano Chikai.Though I don’t know exactly what they talk about in there (and evenif I ask, they never tell me), it seems like everyone has alreadyseen Mai’s message.

“That sure is troublesome. I’mgetting really bad vibes from that.”

“That being said, this time theyaren’t doubting that you’re Towano Chikai like before, andHimuro-san just has the wrong idea about this, so we probably won’thave to think too deeply on it.”

Apparently, Suzuka didn’t feel thatthis was as grim as I did.

“After all, Onii-chan loves littlesisters… Ehehehehe…”

“W-Well, it’s fine unless it startsgetting too complicated.”

Though Suzuka started to bug out againfor some reason, if she says it’s fine, then she’s probablyright. Suzuka sent me off with the words “Don’t think too muchabout it. Just work on your little sister novel.” I went to my ownroom. Thus, I forgot about the incident with Mai, and I startedwriting on my novel.

…However, I soon learned that thisincident was actually very serious.

“We should do a thorough search!”

“Agreed, desu! This is an emergencysituation!”

“But we don’t even know if she’sgoing to the same school as him!”

“Giving up is not an option.”

“Um, I don’t really care all thatmuch…”

“…………What is even happeninghere?”

It was early in the morning, on aweekend. Barely awake, I stepped into the living room, only to walkinto a weird cult-like meeting. For reasons unknown to me, Mai,Double Peace-sensei, Minazuki-san, Akino-san, and the younger Kanzakasister were all gathered, having a heated discussion. The scene wasso out of this world that I was starting to question whether I wasdreaming.

“Ah, Sensei! Good morning! Sorry tointrude like this!” Minazuki-san noticed my appearance and jumpedup as she greeted me.

She was as gleeful as ever. If she hada tail, it surely would have been wagging back and forth like crazy.Yeah, this must be a dream… Still, it’s pretty realistic…

“Ah, you finally woke up! Having afree day doesn’t mean you can just sleep all day!”

“Seeing Sensei barely awake sure isstimulating, desu! He looks so fresh.”

“…Sensei in his pyjamas… Slurp…”

“Haaah… At least go wash your face,will you?”

The others didn’t wait long ingreeting me. Is this some lucid dream? This is the first time I’veexperienced something like this—

“Onii-chan, you’re not dreaming.Just go wash your face like Haruna-san said.”

Suzuka appeared, which made me realizethat this might not be a dream at all. Also, how do you know what’shappening inside my head?

“U-Um… What exactly is happeninghere…?”

While I was standing there, I couldn’thelp but ask that question.

“Apparently, this is an investigationmeeting about the girl you’re interested in, Onii-chan.” Suzuka’sresponse took me a second to understand.

But, before I could instigate anyfurther, Suzuka continued speaking as she let out a defeated sigh.

“…It seems like you won’t be ableto enjoy a peaceful breakfast this morning, Onii-chan.”

*

“Alright, let me once again announcethe start of the investigation meeting about the girl Yuu’sinterested in.”

After I finished washing my face andchanging my clothes, Mai gave her announcement to enthusiasticapplause. And all I could do was watch the scene in front of meunfold. The same was true for Suzuka, who shook her head indisbelief.

“…So what exactly is going onhere?” I asked.

“Huh? Didn’t you hear me just now?We’re holding a meeting to figure out who it is that you’reinterested in.”

“Wow. Thanks for the explanation, Iguess?!”

How crazy can you get?! Also, it’spretty amazing that you can say that without any ill intentionswhatsoever!

“No, that’s not important. I wantto know why such a meeting is happening in the first place!”

“Now now, calm down, Sensei. This wasthe start of everything, desu,” Double Peace-sensei said, as sheshowed me her smartphone.

Shown there was the same message thatSuzuka had questioned me about yesterday, where Mai wrote ‘Emergency!Yuu is apparently interested in a girl! Requesting information!’ inthe group chat. Well, I guess that makes sense. I had a feeling thatthis wouldn’t be the end of it. But, the question is why it turnedinto such a big deal.

“Sensei having a girl he’sinterested in is an immense problem for us.”

“Right! Who is it? What is she like?As Sensei’s future younger sister, Sakura definitely has to know!”

Both Akino-san and Minazuki-sancontributed to the ‘conversation’. Although it didn’t reallyexplain anything, they both sure acted like it did.

“Well, everyone here is your fan, sothis time, we can’t help but want to know.” Even the youngerKanzaka sister seemed to understand this whole situation.

“Even you’re joining in…? Can’tyou help me stop them…?”

“I-I couldn’t do anything. It’sjust how girls work. But it’s not like I care who you have feelingsfor or anything…”

“Lies. The one who saw this messagefirst was Haruna. She was really panicking when she told me aboutit.”

“T-That’s just… because I thoughtOnee-chan would want to know as quickly as possible!” The youngerKanzaka sister blushed furiously at Akino-san’s side comment.

To think that the love gossip wouldeven ruin the logical thinking of the one person I had full trust in…

“This isn’t just normal lovegossip, desu. Since this is about Sensei, everyone is verymotivated.”

“Of course we want to know who you’reinterested in, Yuu.”

Mai spoke with a sulking manner, andeveryone nodded along with a serious expression… Everyone isserious here, aren’t they? This is on a completely different levelthan anything I’ve ever seen. To be precise, this doesn’t evencompare to when they’ve been serious about anything Towano Chikaibefore. When I realized that, a cold shiver ran down my spine. On onehand, I was actually a bit happy that they were that invested inmyself, but at the same time, I was getting very bad vibes from this.

“H-Hold on a second, I told youyesterday that there isn’t anyone like that!”

I tried to put an end to it allimmediately, yet again saying the same thing I had yesterday. Afterall, this was just a misunderstanding on Mai’s part. If I canmanage to clear that up, I can avoid the worst-case scenario here…!

“That’s a lie. You can’t deceivethese eyes with that flimsy kind of excuse,” Mai immediatelydestroyed my wishful thinking.

Not to mention that she had such astern expression on her face that even I was a bit surprised. Also,you might want to get your eyes checked out!

“I’m not trying to deceive you oranything! And what are you basing that on, anyway?!”

“My intuition!”

All of this because of your intuition?!

“Right right, desu. If Mai says so,then I have to believe her.”

“Double Peace-sensei?!”

To my surprise, someone else actuallysupported Mai’s incredibly weak evidence. Not to mention that itwasn’t just Double Peace-sensei. Minazuki-san and the Kanzakasisters all nodded along.

“W-Wait a second! It’s Mai’sintuition, you know? From that Mai!”

“W-What do you mean by that?!”

“Yes, it is from that Mai, butI believe her this time, desu.”

“Hey, dirty illustrator?! Why are youjoining in on the ‘That Mai’ trope?! Also, tell me what you meanby that?!”

In the sense that you’re a clumsygood-for-nothing! How about you grow a bit more self-awareness foronce?! Apparently, everyone else was also aware of that, and noddedalong yet again. In response, Mai grew teary-eyed, and although Ifelt a little bad for her, I decided to ignore her and get back tothe main topic.

“What do you mean by ‘this time,’Double Peace-sensei…?” I asked.

I heard a desperate “D-Don’t ignoreme like that!” behind me, but I ignored her.

“Mai is a huge fan of Sensei’s,desu. And she sees Sensei all the time at school. This is why wecan’t ignore her intuition this time, desu.”

That still doesn’t explain anything!Or so I wanted to say, but Minazuki-san got the jump on me.

“Sakura feels the same way. And if itis true, then it would be a huge problem.”

Immediately after, Akino-san and theyounger Kanzaka sister chimed in. “Yes, this isn’t something wecan ignore.”

“A-Also, the odds of it are wellabove zero. A-After all, you’re an adolescent boy.”

Everyone looked towards me with seriousexpressions on their faces. For some reason, I felt like I could seeflames burning in the depths of their eyes, and that sent a shiverdown my spine. T-This is bad. Very bad. I can’t explain exactlywhat’s bad about it, but the way this conversation is goingdefinitely won’t leave me happy.

“I keep telling you, there’s nobodylike that! All I have room to think about is light novels, so I don’thave the time to worry about that sort of thing.”

“That’s exactly why it’d be soproblematic if you found a girl you’re interested in.”

“M-Minazuki-san… But there’s noproof whatsoever here…”

“You’re right, there’s no proof.But, we have Enryuu-sensei’s conviction. Judge Ahi?”

“…Suspicious, desu.”

“Where did the laws of society go?!”

“Calm down. We’re not blaming youhere or anything. We’re just investigating.”

“That’s ridiculous! Also, youngerKanzaka sister, why do you seem angry at me?!”

“H-Huh?! I-I’m not! I-I couldn’tcare less if there’s a girl you’re interested in!”

This isn’t good. Of all people, evenshe’s getting swept along with the situation…! I have to clear upthis misunderstanding at all costs…! But how?!

“Suzuka, tell them! Tell them thatthey all just have the wrong idea!”

It should be fine as long Suzuka clearsit up! She told me yesterday that she believes in me, that Mai justhas the wrong idea!

“Eh? Ah, that’s right. I was just abit wary at how serious everyone was—And a bit overwhelmed.”

…Please don’t be overwhelmed when Ineed your help…

“… Cough! Everyone, you havethe wrong idea here. Onii-chan isn’t interested in any girls rightnow. It’s just Himuro-san’s misunderstanding.” Everyone wentquiet and started listening to Suzuka with serious looks on theirfaces. “Onii-chan doesn’t have anyone like that. Since she’s inthe same class, Himuro-san should know that already. The same goesfor me. He’s never brought any girls home.”

…Yeah yeah, that’s it. That’swhat I wanted to hear. Suzuka’s persuasiveness and poise are doinga good job here.

“A-And also, as you all know,Onii-chan is a huge little sister fanatic, right? There’s no waythat someone like him would be interested in anyone other than littlesisters! A-Although I don’t really like that!”

…Ugh, this explanation sucks! But, inthis situation, it’s fine! Everyone knows that I like littlesisters, and they’re all okay with it, so she can emphasize thatfor all I care! Gahhhh!

After that, she continued to speakusing reasoning like that (although I don’t think she needed toemphasize me liking little sisters that much…), trying to clear uptheir misunderstanding.

“That’s all. Do you understand nowthat it was just a misunderstanding?” She looked at the others.

“”””…………””””

“H-Huh? What happened?”

To Suzuka’s shock and to mine, nobodyseemed to agree.

“L-Look, Suzuka believes me, so youmust understand now, right?”

Even when I tried to help out, they alljust stayed quiet… What’s going on?

“It really is weird.”

As Mai muttered these words, everyoneelse nodded slightly.

“W-Why?! Wasn’t that convincingenough—?”

“But Suzuka-san’s explanation isweird.”

Akino-san ignored what I said, much tothe confusion of Suzuka and I.

“Yeah, yeah. Even though in timeslike these, Suzuka-chan would always be the one grilling Sensei themost.”

“M-Minazuki-san, again, that’s justbecause I already know that it’s a misunderstanding…”

“That might be the case, but there’sstill one possibility, right?”

“Even Haruna-san?!”

Suzuka panicked more and more as nobodywas showing the reaction that we were hoping for. It’s pretty rareto see her react like this… But this isn’t the time to be sayingthat, I guess.

“Yes, there’s also the possibilitythat Imouto-san is covering for Sensei, desu!”

“…E-Ehhh?! W-What are you saying,Double Peace-san?! Why would I do something like that?! If Onii-chanreally has someone he likes, I would question him all night, youknow?!”

“………”

She sometimes says crazy stuff likethat out of the blue, but knowing her, she’d actually do it, so Ikept my mouth shut. Anyway, Suzuka tried her hardest to explain.However, Double Peace-sensei cut her off. “However, desu. Normally,you would probably do that. But there might be some cases where youwould do the opposite, right?”

“A-And what cases are we talkingabout here?”

“The case where Imouto-san actuallyloves Sensei, desu.”

“W-What are you—?! I-It’s truethat Onii-chan and I have always been close siblings, b-but I don’tlove him or anything! I-It’s just… my duty as a little sister…!”

“However, you don’t just love him,but you also treasure him, right?”

“…Eh? T-That’s…”

“Yes, Imouto-san is a little sisterwho treasures her older brother more than anything. That’s why thismight be a plausible scenario. You’re covering for him preciselybecause Sensei has a girl he’s interested in, desu.”

“………Eh? Ehhhhhhhhh?!” Icouldn’t hold back my voice any longer.

…W-What is she talking about…?! Andwhy is everyone nodding along as if this is a reasonableexplanation?! T-That’s just crazy…! S-Suzuka-san, please saysomething…!

“Uuu… Th-That’s not the case…!”

“Why are you stuttering now?!”

Look! Because you’re hesitating,everyone has that “I knew it” look on their faces!

“…I-I’m sorry. I was a bitflustered because of that precise deduction! To think that she wouldeven misunderstand something like that!”

“What do youmean?!”

But I quickly realized that this wasn’tthe time to be talking to each other like that.

“I-I thought so! Yuu, you really havesomeone you’re interested in!”

“To think he could silenceSuzuka-chan that much… Doesn’t that mean that Sensei is reallyserious…?!”

“…This might be a bigger problemthan we thought.”

“H-Hmph… This time, I’m actuallykind of interested.”

Everyone went crazy just from thatbrief stutter on Suzuka’s part. Inside their minds, it’s becomean established fact that I have a girl I’m interested in. And thisis even after Suzuka’s explanation, so there’s probably nostopping them anymore.

“Now, Sensei. Spit it out. But don’tworry. It’s not like we’ll do anything once we learn of thatgirl’s identity, desu.”

“Right right, we’re not going toassassinate her or anything.”

“Neither will we be paying her tobreak off contact with you.”

“You’re just making me more worriedby talking about those things!”

Also, you really do have the wrongidea! This girl really doesn’t exist! But they won’t believe meno matter how much I try to explain it. Mai is totally excited rightnow, and while Minazuki-san and Double Peace-sensei are smiling asusual, it’s sending shivers down my spine. Akino-san is pouting,and the younger Kanzaka sister is moving closer to me… Really, whatdo you want me to do?!

Suzuka is mumbling to herself, so she’sclearly not going to be of any help. There’s really nothing she cando but try to take my side in this argument. At this point, I wish Icould just confess who that girl is—if she even existed!

“Ahaha… You’re acting prettytough right now.”

“I never thought that Sensei would beable to evade our investigation like this! He’s usually so easy toread.”

“Now this is definitely suspicious.It seems that we’ll have to get aggressive.”

Akino-san?! Can you not say that withsuch a scary expression on your face?!

“Hm? What’s wrong, Ahi? You’vebeen quiet for a while now.” The younger Kanzaka sister said, andeveryone turned around towards her.

“Hmm…” Double Peace-sensei had aserious expression, as if she was lost in thought.

“Maybe we really did make amisunderstanding here, desu.”

Umm… I’ve told you countless timesalready? H-Have you finally decided to believe me?

“W-What do you mean? Don’t tell meyou’ve actually started to believe Yuu’s excuses?”

“No Mai, that’s not it, desu.”

H-Huh? It’s not?

“Then, what kind of misunderstandingdo you mean?”

Double Peace-sensei’s glassesglinted. When I saw the blame burning in her eyes behind them, I knewthat something bad was about to happen. And that bad feeling turnedinto reality seconds later when she continued speaking.

“This person that Sensei isinterested in definitely exists… But what if that person isactually one of the people here right now, desu?!”

“…Huh?”

“””””E-Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!”””””

Myself aside, everyone else let out ascream at her words.

For some reason, even Suzuka’s voicewas mixed in there, but leaving that aside… W-What kind of crazything has she come up with now…?!

“T-The girl Yuu is interested inmight be one of us?! S-So there’s a chance that it might be me…!”

“M-Maybe it’s Sakura?! Sensei!Sakura is always ready to become your little sister!”

“From pupil to just a normal girl…Ah, this isn’t good. My nose started bleeding from excitement.”

“W-W-W-What are you thinking?!!A-Also, don’t mix me in this, okay?! I-I’m not thinking about youat all, so don’t start thinking you have a chance with me!”

“W-What is this about, Onii-chan?!I-Is that true?!”

Now even Suzuka was joining in on thechaos, closing in on me.

“C-Calm down, Suzuka…!” I wasn’teven allowed to breathe.

“D-Do you really think I could calmdown here?! W-W-Who is it?!”

“Nobody, just as I told you! You ofall people should know that!”

And you were on my side just a secondago! Have you forgotten about that already?!

“Ah, th-that’s right… Excuse me…”

Suzuka finally returned back to realityand grew flustered as she apologized. Good grief, why did the bloodrush to your head like that? And Suzuka calming down was just one ofmany hurdles, because…

“No matter how I think about it, itcan only be one of us, desu!”

“It’s just as the pervertedillustrator says… I don’t ever see Yuu talking to other girls atschool…”

“So basically, the girl that Senseiis interested in can’t be someone that we don’t know!”

“…That is what it would boil downto.”

“Y-You! Leaving myself aside, I won’tforgive you if you try to lay a hand on Onee-chan, you know!”

…Woah, they’re just saying whateverthey feel like at this point. They’re all getting even more excitedthan before, and I can almost feel the tension. Please let this bejust a dream…!

“””””So! Who is this girlthat you’re interested in?!”””””

“Woah?!”

Alas, my wish wasn’t to be granted.Everyone relentlessly closed in on me, and I was backed against acorner. There was a weird fire burning in their eyes, and they allhad rough breathing. I felt like a small animal cornered bypredators. I cursed my luck that caused a normal day like this toturn into hell.

“M-Me? Is it me?! I-I’m not happyabout that at all, though! No, it’s nothing but a bother actually!B-But I am your number one fan, after all?! So accepting yourfeelings is my duty, kind of?!”

“I know that Sensei is a fiend, desu!So there’s no need to hide your desire for me. As your number onepartner, I will accept whatever perverted orders you give me, desu!”

“Is it Sakura?! You wanted her tocall you ‘Onii-chan’ that badly?! Then just tell her and she’llbecome your little sister immediately!”

“No, both my heart and body alreadybelong to Master. If you were to order me to, I would obey anyembarrassing request you have for me… But I’d be happy if youwere kind to me…”

“I-It’s not me, right?! E-E-Even ifyou suddenly tell me it is, I haven’t mentally prepared myself, sowe should consider the steps that would lead up to it…!”

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Don’t talk atthe same time!!!”

Everyone is just saying whatever comesto mind, and because they aren’t giving each other any time totalk, I can barely understand what they’re saying! Not to mentionthat I feel like there’s some really suspicious comments mixed inthere!

“Like! I! Said! I really don’t haveanyone I’m interested in! So I’m not interested in any of you!It’s still a misunderstanding, so can you finally stop getting thewrong idea here?!” I desperately pleaded.

I’ve told them this countless timesalready, but no matter how much I try to reason, they won’t listen.Even so, all I can do is say it again and again.

“It seems like Yuu isn’t planningon spilling the beans anytime soon…”

Sadly, all my effort was for nothing.Why? Why won’t they listen? Are my words not getting through tothem? Is my everyday Japanese not good enough? Can I start cryingnow?

“If he’s not willing to talk afterall this, it must be a really important secret, desu.”

“Can you not make things up that veryclearly aren’t true?!”

“T-That just means that his feelingsfor her are really strong, right?! Awawa…”

“This might actually be more thanjust him being interested in a girl. It’s potential love interestfor him. A lover, even.”

“L-L-L-Lover?! J-Just how much do youlike that girl?!”

…Nobody’s listening. Is thisbullying? Is that what this is? I can cry now, right? Bullying isn’tgood, okay?

“It seems we definitely can’t leavethis alone.”

“That’s right, desu. This is biggerthan we anticipated. But what should we do?”

“Maybe if we…!”

“No, we have to use harsher methodsto reveal the truth…”

“O-Onee-chan, what are you saying…?!”

As I was wondering how my life hadtaken such a turn for the worse, everyone gathered in a small circle,whispering to each other. I couldn’t grasp what they were saying,but I knew it couldn’t be anything good, that’s for sure.

“Suzuka, what is going on here…?Please help me. I can’t deal with this on my own anymore…” Isought help from Suzuka.

The only person who could stop them nowwas her. No, even if she does try, it might turn out to be difficult.

“………Umm.”

But instead of showing a strongopinion, she seemed unsure as she gazed at me.

“J-Just to make sure… You reallyaren’t interested in any of them, right? R-Really really…?”

“Why are you doubting me again?!”

That’s totally not a reaction showingtrust in me, you know?!

“N-No, Onii-chan likes littlesisters… B-But what about the ever-so-slim chance…?! N-No no,that shouldn’t be possible…” Suzuka started talking to herself.She seemed fairly conflicted.

After all that big talk, Suzuka hadfinally been dragged into the others’ craziness. What should I doabout this? Maybe I should just run away? Run away and start a newlife in a rural area… Yeah, that doesn’t sound too bad…

I decided to stop thinking about thischaos, and thought that I might as well go to Akiba for someshopping, but just when I was about to try to sneak away…

“Y-Yuu!”

“Huh?”

Before I realized it, Mai was standingin front of me. Her face was flushed red, and she was glaring at melike she was trying to pick a fight. But I could also tell that hereyes were getting a bit watery, and I felt no vigor coming from herin the slightest. W-What’s with her? Oh wait, they’ve all stoppedtheir secret planning or whatever. Then again, why are they alllooking over here with sharp gazes?

“W-What’s—”

—wrong, I was about to ask,when Mai suddenly took a step forward and covered my mouth with herhand. Although we had been pretty close before, our bodies werealmost touching now… Um, isn’t she a bit too close?! I feel likesomething is tickling me. It’s her breath?! And she smells reallynice! What’s happening here?!

“M-Mai…?!”

I somehow managed to force my voice outfrom behind her hand, but Mai was staring at me so hard that Icouldn’t say anything else. She’s keeping her lips tightly shutand she’s shaking. But she was gazing deeply into my eyes, moreserious than ever. I felt no emotion but embarrassment. Soon, Iturned as red as her, and she started blushing even more. No,seriously. I have no idea what’s happening right now!

“H-Here I go…!”

“Uwah?!”

Before I realized what she was doing,Mai had already jumped into my arms. She then started rubbing herhead against my chest. Because of how suddenly it happened, Icouldn’t even react to the tickling feeling and embarrassment. Iwas barely able to take in her softness and the sweet aroma attackingmy brain cells.

“Wha… Wh-Wh-Wh-What…?!”

And just when I was about to lose mymind…

“L-Look! Yuu’s heart is beatinglike crazy!”

Mai separated from me in an instant andlooked over at the others with a joyful expression on her face…Wh-What is this about?

“I-I-I-Isn’t this already decided?!There’s no mistaking it, right?!”

“M-Mai, what are you…?”

“I mean, since your heart is beatinglike this, it’s already decided that I have to be the girl you’reinter—Ah.”

Mai turned around to explain, but assoon as she realized what she was saying, her face started to burnup. Steam started rising from her head, and she stopped mid-sentence.

…H-Hold on, don’t just stop talkinglike that! What kind of reaction should I have here?! This is reallyawkward, you know?! Also, my head isn’t working properly because ofall this chaos, so what did Mai even say just now? Something aboutthe girl I’m interested in, or something…!

“Now now, Sensei and Mai. Let’scalm down a bit, desu. We’re still in the middle of verifying it,”Double Peace-sensei joined in.

…V-Verifying…?

“It’s just to check who the girlyou’re interested in is out of all the people gathered here. Ifyou’re overly conscious of her, naturally your heart will beatfaster, and you’ll also have other reactions. We just thought we’dtest that, desu.”

“E-Exactly! A-And since your heartwas beating crazy just now, it must mean that I am…!”

Seemingly unable to say anything moreout of embarrassment, Mai quickly went quiet and her face startedburning red. H-Hold on! No no no! I don’t even know what to respondto here! I can see where you’re coming from, but there’s a lot ofproblems with that line of reasoning, you know?! This doesn’t haveto do with being conscious of her or anything. I feel like any normalboy would react this way if a beauty like Mai suddenly clung to themlike that.

“I-It really is just a bother, okay?!I-I’m not about to cry out of happiness or anything, okay?! But, asYuu’s number one fan, I have to respond to your feelings…!”

However, Mai was already lost in theland of her own misunderstandings… Wait, this isn’t the time tobe calmly analyzing things! Things will be bad if I don’t correcther! I feel like this might be the most dangerous misunderstandingthus yet…!

“Wait a second, Mai. It’s far tooearly to come to a conclusion, desu.”

“Dirty illustrator?! W-What do youmean?!”

Before I could protest, DoublePeace-sensei got a jump on me, and Minazuki-san and Akino-san noddedalong.

“Even if Sensei’s heart was beatingfaster because of Mai, that doesn’t mean that you’re the girl heis conscious about, desu.”

“Yeah, yeah! His heartbeat might beeven faster if Sakura does it!”

“We’ll have everyone do it and theone who gets his heart beating the most must be the girl.”

“I-I have to do it too…?”

As everyone joined in, Mai grit herteeth. But I was thinking about something else during that time.

…Everyone is going to do it…? S-Sothat means…!

“So then, next is my turn, desu!”

“So you’re all really going to doit, huh?!”

Ughhhh… I hate myself for havinganticipated this! But Double Peace-sensei gave my self-loathing noheed. She just traded positions with Mai and stood in front of me.

“It’s fine, Sensei. Calm down andlet your heart beat even faster with me, desu!” Double Peace-senseigrinned as she closed in on me.

Her smile was beautiful yet alsochildish, and her scent was different from Mai’s. Together, theymade my heart beat faster yet again.

“Ahh, having Sensei stare at me fromthis distance is kind of exciting! I’d love to stay like this, butI have to check your heartbeat, desu~”

“U-Um, being hugged like before is abit… you know…!”

If she did that, certain things wouldpress against my body, and the stimulus would be a bit too much tohandle…!

“Ohh, is that so, desu? Then I’llgo from behind.”

With these words, Double Peace-senseiwalked around my back and wrapped her arms around me so that herhands touched my chest. When I felt her hands, my body writhed fromthe tickling feeling. But it’s better than being hugged from thefront like before—or so I thought.

“Wha—?!”

“What’s wrong, Sensei? It’s a bitdifficult to check if you move like that, desu.”

I felt something incredibly soft pressagainst my back, making me arch my back in response. T-These twohumps of softness are…!

“D-Double Peace-sensei…! T-They’rehitting me…!”

“Ehhh? What’s hitting you, desuuuu?I won’t know if you don’t clearly tell me~ Hehe…”

She definitely knows! No, she’s doingthis on purpose, right?! Ah, she’s hugging me even tighter…?!

“Fufufu, Sensei, I can feel how fastyour heart is beating, desu. This means that I’m the girl you’reconscious about, right?!”

After getting touchy with my chest andpressing herself against my back, Double Peace-sensei finallyseparated from me, satisfied. Behind me, I could hear heatedarguments between Mai and Double Peace-sensei, but I was too busytrying to calm myself down.

“Next is Sakura’s turn, then!”

Naturally, I wasn’t even given thetime to calm down. Minazuki-san energetically stepped in front of me.

“…Ah, but, Sakura doesn’t havebig boobs like the two of them… What should she do now…?”

“You don’t have to do anything!Doing it normally would be fine! Or rather, I would be totally happyif we just skipped all of this…”

“Ah! Then, Sakura will feel yourpulse!”

Minazuki-san actually listened to myrequest. Thanks to this, I might actually be able to calm down abit—

“Hya?!”

Or so I thought, but as soon asMinazuki-san’s fingers touched my neck, I let out a shriek.

“Ah, Sensei, don’t move, please.Sakura can’t take the pulse if you squirm like that.”

“Y-You meant to take my pulsethere…?! Don’t you normally do it at the wrist…?!”

“Isn’tthis way a lot cooler? Sakura has always wanted to try this!”

…I-It’s not like I don’t getwhere she’s coming from, but that surprise attack really worked,you know. Also, in this position, we can look each other in the eye.

“…Mmm. There it is! Sakura can feelyour pulse! Then let’s start!”

“Eh? Start what?”

The very next second, Minazuki-sanbrought her body forward and put her face right to the side of myhead…

“…Don’t move, Onii-chan…”

“Wha—?!”

She suddenly started whispering into myear?!

“Ah, your pulse went up! It’sbeating like crazy!”

“N-No, um…! W-What was that justnow?!”

“To make Sensei become conscious ofSakura, she has to act like a little sister!”

Minazuki-san was saying that with asparkle in her eyes like it was the most natural thing in the world,but I had no idea what she was saying. However, Minazuki-san wasn’tquite done yet. “Fufu, you’re embarrassed, aren’t you,Onii-chan? Onii-chan sure is warm…” They were all lines befittingher title as a professional voice actress. I could almost sense a bitof flirtatiousness mixed with the sweetness of her words, which mademy head spin. Not to mention that she was right in front of me,pressing something soft against me…! She did say that hers weren’tas big, but she really shouldn’t be ashamed with those—Ahhh, whatam I thinking?!

“Ehehe, your heart is beating sofast! This means that Sakura is in the lead now!”

Minazuki-san finally seemed satisfied,and she separated from me with a joyful expression on her face. Maiand Double Peace-sensei wore expressions of defeat as they grit theirteeth.

“Ugh, that’s a voice actress foryou…”

“How clever, desu!”

But I wasn’t given the time to paytoo much attention to that.

“Next, it’s our turn then.”

“Uuu… I really don’t want to dothis, though…”

I quickly realized that this was,unfortunately, far from over. This time it was the oddly motivatedAkino-san and the unmotivated younger Kanzaka sister who steppedforward… Hm? Both of them?

“Since Haruna is so shy, we’ll bedoing it together. But don’t worry, you can get a two-in-one dealin the future if you want to.”

“As if?! O-Onee-chan, don’t sayweird stuff like that! And you! Don’t get the wrong idea! I’mjust feeling your pulse, that’s all!” The younger sister screamedwith a red face. She moved forward to grab my arm and put her fingerson my wrist.

Akino-san approached me ratherdirectly.

“Eh, um… Ehhhh?!”

“No moving. There, there…”

She suddenly hugged my head and startedpatting me…?

“U-Um, Akino-san…? What is thisabout…?”

“I don’t have any big breasts, andcan’t make a cute voice like that, so I decided to put faith in myOnee-san attribute. Now, I’m spoiling you.”

Onee-san attribute… I see… Yeah, Ican see this being very relaxing. No matter what I do or say,Akino-san seems the type of person who would forgive it all. Althoughshe might not look completely like an Onee-san, I can tell that she’solder. She gives off this soothing atmosphere, after all…

“Fufufu, I will make Sensei fall headover heels for me with my grown-up charm. Your heart must be about toexplode, right? Haruna, how’s it looking?”

“………For some reason, prettynormal. It’s almost like he’s relaxing.”

“Eh?!”

Apparently, the younger Kanzakasister’s words inflicted quite the shock on Akino-san (although herexpression remained the same) and she stared at me… Um, could younot? This is making me feel rather uncomfortable.

“T-That’s not good. We have to makehis heart beat faster… Ummm, ummm… I know. Haruna, strip.”

“”Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!””

Naturally, the younger Kanzaka sisterlet out a perplexed scream. As did I.

“W-W-W-What are you saying,Onee-chan?! T-Telling me to strip…!”

“It’s to get him excited. Look,I’ll be stripping as well, so it’s fine,” said Akino-san with asparkle in her eyes. She started to take off her clothes with aserious expression on her face.

“Hold on! Stop stop stop! Why are youdoing that out of the blue?!”

“Don’t stop me, Sensei. This is allfor your sake. I don’t care what I have to do.”

“Ah, O-Onee-chan, hold on! His pulseis getting faster! Y-You little! Getting excited the moment Onee-chanstarts to strip! Just how much of a pervert are you?!”

“Those are false accusations! I’mjust panicking, that’s what it is! Also, Akino-san, don’tactually start stripping here!”

While I panicked, the younger Kanzakasister glared at me with a red face. Next to us was Akino-san, stilltrying to take off her clothes, as chaos ensued. Thankfully, Isomehow managed to stop her at the last second, and succeeded incalming down the younger Kanzaka sister. With that, I thought that Iwould be released from this hell of weird events, but…

“””””So who got your heartbeating the most?!”””””

Alas, that wasn’t going to happen…This isn’t good. Everyone’s dead serious. But I don’t evenremember who it was, and I don’t think I would be safe if I justblurted out a name here!

“……Onii-chan.”

But right then and there, I heardSuzuka’s voice behind my back, and I saw a glimmer of hope in thispitch-black darkness. I know! If I ask her for help, she might beable to calm them all down! Thinking that, I turned around to faceher, but…

“W-What have you been doing witheveryone while I was thinking about things…?!”

“Ugh?!”

What greeted me was the sight ofSuzuka, shaking furiously as she glared at me. When I saw that,despair finally closed in on me.

“H-Hurry up and say it! It was me,right?!”

“No, it has to be me, desu! Now,Sensei! Don’t hold back!”

“O-Onii-chan, you have a properexplanation for this, right?!”

“N-No, um…!”

I was being attacked from the front,and the pressure behind me was driving me into a corner. Now thatit’s come to this, I knew best of all that this would be the end ofme. Hence, I just resigned myself to my fate and closed my eyes. Iwas ready to accept whatever happened, and tears started running downmy cheek.

“W-What are you doing, Onii-chan?!You can’t run away from this! Hurry up and explain yourself!”

Well, it’s not like that wouldactually lessen the hell that’s about to rain down on me!

Thus, after around 30 minutes hadpassed, the storm of questions and accusations passed, and peace sortof returned. If I can, I’d really rather not go into detail aboutwhat happened… it still pains my heart even now. All I can say isthat nothing was resolved in the end, and nobody was willing tobelieve me.

“Hmph… In the end, we still didn’tfind out anything about the girl he cares about…”

“It should be one of us, desu, so wedefinitely have to figure it out no matter what! Well, let’s take atemporary break here and gather again tomorrow!”

In the meantime, everything was movingforward, and I was hoping to deny their plans before it was too late.Really, nothing good comes from being with them…

“I keep telling you countless timesthat you have the wrong idea. Also, tomorrow won’t work. Afterschool we’ll have culture festival preparations.” I explainedwhile letting out a sigh.

The time I have for working on my novelhas lessened, I’m being investigated on false charges, I’m notmaking any progress with my little sister novel… Is there evenanything good that’s happened to me recently?

“Hm…? What’s wrong?”

But then I saw that Double Peace-senseisuddenly went quiet in front of me and was just staring at me. Shealmost seemed like she was panicking, ever so slightly.

“Sensei. What did you just say,desu?”

“Eh? I was saying that it’s all amisunderstanding…”

“No, after that. I feel like I heardthe words ‘culture festival’ in there. Are you talking about theone at your school?”

“Y-Yes, we have one a week from now.What of it?”

“Why didn’t you say so sooner,desu! Also, Mai, how cruel of you to keep quiet about that!”

“Ehhh?! I-I mean, the culturefestival isn’t that fun anyway, and our class does this boringexhibit…” Mai was slightly flustered by Double Peace-sensei’ssharp gaze.

But Double Peace-sensei wasn’t quitedone. “How naïve, desu. Even if that were the case, it’s theculture festival, you know? Even outsiders like us can get in there,right? If so, isn’t this the perfect opportunity to make it thesetting for our current situation, desu?!” As for me, I couldn’tmake sense of her outburst.

“Ahi, what do you mean by ‘currentsituation’?”

“Right now, we’re trying to figureout which of us is the girl that Sensei is conscious about. But wehaven’t uncovered any clues, so further investigation is necessary,desu. I was wondering how we’d proceed with that, but the culturefestival is perfect!”

Perfect…? Ah, I have a really badfeeling about this…

“If everyone were to go on a datewith Sensei during the culture festival, we would be able tounderstand clearly who he’s conscious of, desu! It’s a nice idea,if I do say so myself!”

“I thought so!!!”

Why are my bad feelings always on pointas of recently?!

“Ah, that really is a good idea!Sakura also wants to go to Sensei’s culture festival!”

“Sensei’s school. Sensei’s dailylife… Slurp.”

“Onee-chan, you’re drooling…”

Everyone gave enthusiastic responses toDouble Peace-sensei’s idea. But Mai, who would normally be thefirst one to jump in and agree, suddenly became quiet as if she werelost in thought, a serious expression on her face.

“…A-A culture festival date withYuu…”

“Oh? What’s wrong, Mai? Is there aproblem with that plan, desu?”

“…Eh? N-No, it’s nothing! It’sabout going on a date with Yuu, right?! S-Sounds good to me!”

However, her expected reaction followedsoon after… What was that about just now?

“P-Please wait a second! Why are youdeciding that by yourself like this?!”

Suzuka finally rejoined theconversation, panicking quite a bit.

“A-A culture festival date…! Y-Youcan’t! I won’t allow that!”

Ohhh, Suzuka is trying her hardest tostop that ridiculous idea! …Which is great and all, but why is sheglaring at me while she’s doing it?

“But Imouto-san, if we don’t dothis then we won’t find out who Sensei is interested in, desu. Ordo you have an even better—hopefully perverted–way of tickling itout of Sensei?”

“W-Why would you think that’s agood idea?!”

“U-Um, Sakura is prepared foranything, Sensei!”

“Same here.”

“I-I’m not joining in on this,okay?!”

…I thought that we’d gone throughenough chaos already today! Suzuka is really bad with people withunreasonable personalities like Double Peace-sensei and Minazuki-san.

“Onii-chan! This is about you, sodon’t just space out!”

Don’t be ridiculous! If I were ableto change anything here, things wouldn’t have even come this far!You should know that already!

Even as she tried to fight againstthem, in the end, Suzuka was overwhelmed by Double Peace-sensei andthe others.

“…Uuuu, we can’t help it then…But I’ll be participating in this as well, and I’ll have to getmy own date!” Suzuka blurted out with tears in her eyes.

Wait, hold on?!

“Didn’t you say that you were busyhelping out Shiina-san with her play for the culture festival?”

“A-Ahhh?!”

That expression tells me that you’dforgotten about it until now.

“Uugghhh… T-That’s right…Kotomi was really desperate, so she asked me to help! I never thoughtthat it would come back to haunt me like this…!”

“It seems like Imouto-san sadly can’tjoin in this time, desu.”

“Don’t worry, Suzuka-chan. Sakuraand the others will take good care of Sensei!”

When Double Peace-sensei andMinazuki-san told Suzuka that, she turned to glare at me, tears inher eyes.

“Uuuuu, why did things turn out likethis…?! O-Onii-chan, you definitely can’t fall for theirtemptations! Instead, just get a cold on that day!”

You sure can ask for ridiculous thingsat times!

Anyway, as you can see, Suzuka wasunable to stop them. If that was the case, I had no chance ofachieving anything better. Thus it was decided that I would be goingon a culture festival date with everyone. Needless to say, I wasgetting bad vibes already.

“How did things end up like this?!”

Suzuka held her head in her hands, andI mentally agreed. And just when I had started to despair, I realizedthat Mai was standing a little ways off from everyone else. Theserious mood she’d hinted at before was back, so I couldn’t helpbut stare at her in confusion.

“…Eh? Ahyahu?!”

The moment our eyes met, Mai’s facelit up, and she let out an embarrassed shriek.

“W-What’s wrong with you? You’vebeen acting weird for a while now.”

“I-I-I-I-It’s nothing! Ummm… wewere talking about the culture festival date, right?! That’sperfect timing, since it’ll turn into good data for me! Y-You’dbetter prepare yourself, Yuu!” Mai pointed at me and turned away.

…That’s the usual Mai, alright.Maybe that just earlier was my imagination? Well that’s fine, then…I decided to forget about it. My opinion was completely disregardedlike usual, and it was decided that there would be culture festivaldates. Having learned from past experiences, I knew that I wouldn’tbe given the right to disagree since we’d reached this point, sothe only thing I could do was play along. Just as Mai said…

“…Y-You’d really better prepareyourself, Yuu…”

I heard her muttering to herself. Icursed this cruel reality, where the boring culture festival haddowngraded to an even worse event.

*

“Ohh, the culture festival atmospheresure feels good, desu!”

“So this is Sensei’s school! Sakurafeels moved!”

“Sniff. Sniff. So this is the smellof Sensei’s private school life.”

“…H-Hmpf, so this is what co-edschools are like.”

And thus, the day of reckoning arrived.Sadly, I wasn’t sick and still had to come to school.

“…Um, would it be possible if you all relaxed a bit…?”

Naturally, now that I’m here, I can’thelp it. I don’t have any choice of quitting now. All I can do ispray that things will go smoothly—but alas, not even that was to begranted.

“H-Hey, look at that!”

“Woah, there’s so many beauties atonce.”

“It’s Nagami again!”

“Even a foreigner?”

“What relationship do they have withhim?”

“A-Amazing…”

As expected, we were immediately at thecenter of attention, and both normal students and outsiders weregazing at us in interest and confusion. When you consider the jealousand resentful glares of the boys, I couldn’t really feel at home atall. Ughhh…

“O-Onii-chan, I have to be on my waynow, but please, please… Don’t get lured in by their tricks,okay! Did you get that?!”

Suzuka walked with us as far as shecould before her duties, and even after she left those words behind,she continuously looked back at me with a worried expression on herface. Really, why can’t I just go home? For now, in order to avoidthe intense gazes of the people around us, I took everyone with me tothe back side of the school building. Naturally, Double Peace-senseididn’t miss the chance to blurt out “What are you going to do tous after dragging us out to this deserted place? Heheh, desu…”but I chose to just ignore her.

“…S-So are we really doing this?You know, a culture festival date…”

Even though things had barely started,I already felt extremely tired and grumbled about it, but everyonejust energetically nodded along. Give me a break.

“This all to find out the identity ofthe girl who Sensei is interested in, desu! So of course!”

“And we get to walk around theculture festival with Sensei, after all!” Minazuki-san was clearlyin high spirits.

“I-I’m not really looking forwardto it, nor am I necessarily nervous.”

Yep, everyone was going to do this. Atthis point in time, Suzuka would probably try to hold the reins but…I guess I can’t hope for her help this time around.

“………”

In the middle of them, Mai was the onlyone who, yet again, was keeping quiet. Normally, she would be thefirst one to drag me along.

“What’s wrong with you? You’reacting really out of it today.”

“…Eh? I-It’s nothing! T-The date,right? Yeah!”

Yeah, something is definitely weirdabout her. Although I have no clue what it is. She’s been actinglike this since a while ago—or rather, since pretty recently. Iteven seems like she’s more motivated for the date than everyoneelse, but she’s being quiet about it. It’s really weird. But,setting that aside…

“U-Um, what exactly are we doing onsaid date…?” I gingerly asked.

To be completely honest, I’d rathernot hear how it was going to go, but not hearing about it at allwould put even more stress on my nerves.

“Of course every one of us is goingto walk around the culture festival with Sensei, one at a time, desu.We’ll use that to find out who makes your heart beat the fastest!”

With a smile, Double Peace-sensei toldme the answer that I didn’t want to hear, although I had expectedit. Really, can I cry now? I’ll get inundated with all thosepiercing gazes again, but now they’ll just be spread out more…

“Now then, let’s enjoy this culturefestival date battlewith Sensei, desu!”

“”””Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!””””

Double Peace-sensei put one fist up andmade her proclamation, and our supposedly enjoyable culture festivaldates began…

“…T-The girl who Yuu is interestedin… Someone among us… M-Maybe me…?!”

Mai was the only one acting weird,which left a certain level of discomfort in my mind.

“Fu fu fu, I’ll be number one then,desu!”

Thus, it was time for the real deal.After a rigorously fair lottery, Double Peace-sensei emergedvictorious, and thus it was decided that she would be the firstperson who I’d be forced to go on a date with.

“I see. So this is what a culturefestival is like.”

Double Peace-sensei lined up next to meand looked around as we walked. Exhibitions, events, and even normalstores for food and drinks filled the classrooms, with countlessstudents and non-students passing through the halls past us. It wasjust like any other culture festival, but for Double Peace-sensei, itmight have been more like a special event.

“This certainly will be a greatreference when I will work on my next school-related eroge, desu!”

…Or so I thought, but her head wasfull of eroge as per usual. Why am I so relieved about that? Well, Ikind of know why…

“Um, can we not talk about eroge in aplace like this…?”

“Ah, that’s right, desu. I’msorry.”

When I gave a small warning to her,Double Peace-sensei stuck out her tongue at me and apologized. Ifsomeone actually recognized her here, though the chance was slim,they would probably find out about our relationship (that we werelight novel author and illustrator), so I had to be aware of that. Asof right now, she was nothing but an acquaintance to anyone else.Double Peace-sensei already stood out enough because of her blondehair and glamorous body, so I had to be careful about that.

“Calling you ‘Sensei’ is also nogood, right, desu?”

“Yeah, people will probably ask whyyou call me that, and I probably wouldn’t be able to come up with agood answer.”

“Is that so, desu? You should be finesaying something like “I’m her teacher at night, if you know whatI mean. Heh heh heh.”

“There’s absolutely nothing goodabout that, so let’s not!”

“I’m joking, desu. Calling you’Sensei’ is no good. And, I also want a better nickname for ourprecious date, desu… That being said, let’s go, ‘Yuu-kun’!”

“…Eh?!”

When she suddenly called me that, Ifelt heat rushing to my face. It wasn’t like Double Peace-senseiwas acting all that different, but having her call me that felt crazyembarrassing.

“Fu fu fu. You’re flustered, aren’tyou, Yuu-kun?”

“W-Why are you calling me that?”

“This is a date, after all. Yuu-kun~”

…Ugh, you sure are enjoying yourself.And she showed that she wasn’t quite done by suddenly clinging tomy arm. When I felt the overwhelming softness and volume closing inmy arm, I reflexively arched my back.

“This is a natural position for adate, right? Now, now. There’s no need to be nervous. Let’s enjoyourselves, desu~”

E-Even if you say that, my thoughtscan’t keep up right now! Not to mention that I could already hearpeople from our surroundings cursing us, saying things like “Eventhough he already has Himuro-san…!” and “He even keeps hislittle sister all to himself…!” All I could do was let them talk,though.

“Hmmm… But where should we go,desu? What did Sensei’s class do again?”

“It’s just a boring exhibitionabout this local place, so it’s not interesting at all. Nor is itreally worth checking out.”

We really only gathered some materialsand documents, that’s all. The reason I can walk around like thisat all is because we really only needed a few people to man thebooth. While I was thinking that, Double Peace-sensei mumbled a quiet”Where should we go, then?” She once again looked around. Theconcrete details of the date were all to be decided by the personthemselves, so I can’t speak for myself. Although I’d really liketo spend time in a place with nobody around…

“Hm?”

Double Peace-sensei suddenly made asound like she had spotted something. When I followed her gaze, Ifound a big billboard that said ‘Photography club – CommemorationPhotoshoot’, and beneath that a small paper that added ‘Couplesare free! Immediately good to go!’—Wait, hold on…!

“A commemoration picture withYuu-kun, huh?! And for free? That sounds nice, desu!”

“But, it’s only free for couples,right?”

“Since we’re in the middle of ourdate, we basically count as a couple, you know! And we’ve nevertaken a picture together before, desu, so this will be a nice memory!We might as well take some lewd pictures while we’re at it!”Double Peace-sensei started pulling on my arm.

Although I was a bit hesitant about thecouple part of it, taking a picture together was something normal fora date, so I kept quiet and obeyed. I thought that she was going toask for some perverted photoshoot in the changing room or whatever,but something of this level is doable. Probably.

“Welcome! Ah, you’re a couple,right?”

When we entered inside, a girl from thephotography club greeted us.

“We want to take a commemorativephoto! Make it as lewd as possible!”

“L-Lewd…?”

“D-Don’t mind her. We’d like anormal picture.”

When I quickly followed up, the girlstared at the two of us as we stood there with our arms linked, butshe finally guided us inside.

“Come on, I wanted to try a lewdphotoshoot to make your heart beat faster for me, desu. But it’sfine. I will just do that by flirting normally, desu!” said DoublePeace-sensei. She stood in front of the white panel, laughing toherself. “Fufufu.” Naturally, that didn’t exactly make me feelcomfortable, so I gingerly asked her, “What are you planning?”Suddenly, though, I heard a weird sound like something had snapped. Ilooked around for the source, but when I was unable to find it, Ijust stepped next to her.

The girl from the club said “Now,decide on your favorite pose please~”, and the photoshoot started…

— Squeeze.

“……?!”

I suddenly felt two soft bulgespressing against my back, making me stiffen up. T-This feeling is…!Is she doing that again…?! She’s probably trying to surprise meagain. Hence, I tried to turn around to tell her to stop, but…

“…T-This sure is troublesome,desu.”

Her smile was the same as always, buther expression looked more troubled than ever, and her eyebrows wereknitted. Her face was slightly flushed, as well.

“W-What is it? S-Step away from mefor a second, so I can—”

“No, if I don’t press myselfagainst you, Yuu-kun, it will slip off.”

“Slip off…? What, exactly?”

“My bra, desu. My bra’s hook seemsto have snapped…”

It took me a second to understand themeaning behind her words. Snapped? The hook? Of her bra…?! So ifshe doesn’t press against me like this, they will…!

“It seems like they’ve been growingrecently, desu. But I didn’t expect the hook to just snap likethat. Then again, this is quite the lucky pervert’s event, isn’tit…?”

Although it was quite rare to seeDouble Peace-sensei acting flustered like this, I didn’t have thetime to admire it. The exact moment I understood our currentsituation, my mind went blank. W-Wait, they’re still growing…?!

“U-Um, is that pose fine with you?”

Thankfully, the photography club girl’svoice brought me back to my senses. I-I have to endure it for now…!

“W-We can’t help it. We’ll takethe photoshoot like this and quickly get away from this placeafterwards…! All the while making sure that nobody notices…!”

“Um, I don’t particularly mind.Sure, it’ll be a bit embarrassing, desu…”

“Ehhh?! Aren’t you taking this abit too lightly?!”

“I was a bit surprised, but thisisn’t too bad, desu. I have Yuu-kun with me, after all, and thanksto this happening, I can make your heart beat faster for me, desu~Fufufu…” Double Peace-sensei laughed as she pressed her bodyagainst mine even harder.

Not to mention that she was using herhands to wrap around my body, hugging me from behind.

“We are fine with this pose, desu.You can start anytime~”

While I was being careless for amoment, she gave the girl an OK sign. Feeling her soft bulges on myback, her hands on my chest, and her warm breath next to my head, Icould only tense up.

“Fufu, you can’t move. Okay,Yuu-kun? If you do, my bra will fall down, desu~”

…W-Why are you threatening me now?!It should be the other way around! But there’s no way that myinternal screams will reach her, and she just continued to enjoy thesituation. All the while, the photoshoot continued…

“I-I’m already tired…”

The date with Double Peace-sensei hadfinished, and I felt like I was already done with everything. Idrooped my shoulders and sighed.

After that happened, DoublePeace-sensei asked “How was that, desu? Your heart was beating sofast that there’s no mistaking that it was my win, right, Yuu-kun?”She grinned at me. To be honest, my heart was beating like crazy, butthat was more from the thrill of possibly being found out, so itreally wasn’t all that enjoyable.

“Come on! You’re on a date withSakura now, so focus please!”

I heard Minazuki-san speak to me with asulking voice as she walked next to me, puffing out her cheeks.Th-That’s right. The second one was Minazuki-san, and my culturefestival dates were far from being done.

By the way, Minazuki-san and I wereholding hands as we walked down the hallway. The students around uswere all ogling us, but I was already done with everything, so Iwasn’t paying very much attention anymore.

“I-I’m sorry. So what do you wantto do, Minazuki-san?”

“You mean ‘Sakura’, right,Onii-chan?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s right, Sakura.”

After I corrected myself, Minazuki-sangave a happy laugh. “Ehehe.” From this exchange, you can probablyalready guess, but Minazuki-san is currently pretending to be mylittle sister. The reason for this is because I asked for a fakerelationship so that the others wouldn’t get any weird ideas, andshe immediately said “Then we can be siblings!” I agreed. But,thinking about it now, this might end up being even more complicatedthan it normally would have been…

“What are you spacing out for,Onii-chan? You know, Sakura didn’t think of any date plans oranything. She’s just happy to be able to spend time with Onii-chanand walk around with him like this.”

Unexpectedly, Sakura said somethingthat I was very grateful for.

“Also, Onii-chan is getting flusteredjust by going on a date with his little sister! It seems like thisbattle is already decided as Sakura’s victory!”

Well, leaving out the second half ofwhat she said. What do you mean by even mean by ‘victory’? Thatbeing said, she really didn’t seem like she was planning anythingweird, which really made me feel relieved.

“I-I see. It seems like I might beable to enjoy myself as well.”

“Yeah! Sakura will be lovey-doveywith Onii-chan, look at the various stores, eat something, and we’lljust enjoy ourselves doing things like that!” She said, grasping myhand even tighter.

Just as she said, we just walked aroundthe culture festival, looking at things that piqued our interest.While I really enjoyed the time together, I still felt a bitflustered having Sakura with me, since she normally wouldn’t behere at our school.

…Though she can be a bit extreme attimes, Sakura—No, Minazuki-san—is really cute. I should be happythat I’m able to go on a date with her, to be honest. But while wewere just walking along normally…

“Oh, it’s Nagami-kun.”

“Huh? Who’s that girl?”

“Woah, she’s so cute…”

A group of three girls from my classspotted us, and in response I reflexively let out an “Ugh.”…N-No, running into someone I know while we’re walking aroundschool grounds is perfectly normal. At times like these, it’s bestto just walk along and give a short “She’s just an acquaintance~”to cover it up. Although I was slightly taken aback by it, I quicklydecided how to act, but…

“Are you all classmates of Onii-chan?Nice to meet you! I’m Onii-chan’s little sister, Sakura!”

D-Damn it, I completely forgot we werepretending to be brother and sister! I didn’t give it much thoughtwhile we were walking around, so it completely slipped my mind!

In response to Sakura’s words, thethree girls all had dumbfounded expressions on their faces as theymuttered a confused “L-Little sister…?” That much is to beexpected. But I still have to cover it up somehow…!

“D-Don’t pay it any mind. This girlis just a relative. A second cousin. Our relationship has been justlike real siblings ever since we were little…!” I quicklyfollowed up.

Sakura might complain about that. Butjust for now, please play along…!

“Ehehe. He said ‘relative’…!Ehehe…”

But for some reason, Sakura seemed veryhappy, and her cheeks grew slightly flushed… I-Is that really theright reaction for what I just said…? I mean, as long as shedoesn’t complain, then that should be fine…

“Is that so?”

“But you sure don’t look anythingalike.”

“Also, she doesn’t really look anyyounger than you?”

The three of them were still dubious.And their doubts were so on the mark that I couldn’t argue back.

“That’s not the case. Sakura isOnii-chan’s little sister!”

But, Sakura completely ignored them andrepeated herself. Her little sister act was normally nothing buttrouble, but this time it was actually pretty reliable. Hence, Icheered her on inside my heart to keep going, but…

Squeeze.

“…? ……?!?!?!”

My head was suddenly moved by a strongforce, and my face was pressed inside a really soft valley… Eh?W-What happened? Wait, is this…?!

“Since Sakura is his little sister,doing something like this isn’t embarrassing at all. This muchskinship is normal for siblings like us.”

I heard a voice from above my head, andI finally realized what kind of position I was in… I-I’m beingwrapped between Sakura’s breasts…?!

“Mghuh?!”

Once that realization set in, Ipanicked and quickly tried to escape. Sakura for her part justflashed her usual innocent smile. “Right?” She looked towards thethree girls.

“Ah, y-yes…”

“I’m satisfied now…”

“P-Pretty amazing…”

In response, they were flustered beyondbelief, and they quickly separated from us, but not without somefinal remarks.

“S-Sorry for bothering you two likethis…”

“Even though Nagami already hasHimuro-san…”

“You also have a little sister who’sone year younger than you, right? You’ll probably be stabbed sooneror later. Just saying.”

Their words struck home, and I couldonly watch them until they went out of our sight.

“Good. It seems like they understoodthat Sakura is your little sister. Not to mention that they didn’tfind out about our date, a-and we even got to flirt a bit…”Sakura said with a slightly flustered smile, her cheeks red.

Normally I’d gush on and on about howcute that smile makes her look, but I was too busy thinking aboutsomething else… My student life might actually come to an endtoday…!

“Hey, Onii-chan…? Is your heartbeating fast from this date with Sakura?”

While she happily stared at me, I wasleft unable to argue, and just nodded along frantically. When I did,Sakura happily jumped into the air. “Sakura did it! This means thatit’s her win!”

As for me, I just thought to myself.

…Yeah, my heart is beating fast…And at this point, I don’t even know the reason that it’s doingit anymore…

“It’s finally our turn.”

“…And why do you look like you’reabout to die?”

The third ‘contestant’ was the pairof Kanzaka sisters. The younger Kanzaka sister already looked fed-upas she complained, but I didn’t even have the energy left to reply.That being said, the dates were far from over, so I couldn’t stayhalf-dead like this forever.

“Well… Anyway, it’s you guystogether again, huh?” I commented as I tried to motivate myself.

In response, Akino-san spoke up. “Thisis something we have to do.” She continued, “Haruna said thatshe’s too embarrassed to go on the date alone, so I have to comewith her.”

“I-I never said that. I justcomplained and said that I wasn’t going to do this… A d-date, Imean…”

“I really wanted to go on a datealone with Sensei. We’d storm the broadcasting room, barricadeourselves inside, and announce our engagement to the whole school.That’d make Sensei’s heart beat faster.”

“That’d do the trick! Althoughmaybe not in the way you’re hoping!”

“But for this date, I’ll giveHaruna the main role. While she’s making Sensei’s heart beatfaster, she should also use this as a chance to learn. Haruna doesn’thave any experience in this, after all.”

“B-But Onee-chan, you’ve never goneon a date with a boy before either!”

“I’ve already gone on a date withSensei at least a hundred times. In my fantasies, that is. Hmph.”

For whatever reason, the Kanzakasiblings were busy fighting each other.

“Anyway, Haruna will be the focus onthis date. So you’ll be holding hands with him.”

“Ughhh…! I-I get it already….!”

Although hesitant, the younger Kanzakasister grabbed my hand grumpily. Following that was Akino-san. Shegrabbed my free hand saying “I’ll take this one~”. Thus, westarted walking through the school. But boy is this embarrassing,having a flower in each hand…

“S-So where are we going?”

I stopped thinking about it all anddecided to try to finish this date as quickly as possible.

“H-How would I know that? I’venever gone on a date before. We just have to walk around and enjoyourselves, right?” The younger Kanzaka sister responded with a redface.

Well, that’s an orthodox solution,and I’ll be thankful if things come to a nice end without gettingtoo crazy.

“That’s not good enough. You shouldaim for things where you can be more aggressive. For example, youcould go into that haunted house over there and pretend to be scaredas you push Sensei down.”

“A-A-A-A-As if I could do that?!”

“Then you could take a lovey-dovey picture over there at the photoshoot.”

“Again! Doing something lovey-doveywith this guy is…!”

The Kanzaka sisters started fightingyet again… Also, I’ve already taken pictures there with DoublePeace-sensei… It’s not like I can say that, though. In the end,we couldn’t settle on anything, and the three of us just continuedto walk around the culture festival.

As we went, we bought some crepes, andAkino-san tried to force us to feed each other. The younger Kanzakasister was too embarrassed, though, so she shot that down. Althoughthere were some hurdles along the way, I was relieved that it wasmostly a normal date. Though Akino-san kept on complaining that theromantic part was missing, and that her sister should focus on makingmy heart beat faster, I was more than happy with things going likethis. Not to mention that I was already plenty flustered just fromwalking around with the two of them like this.

…I mean, they’re two beautifulsisters. No wonder the boys around us are shooting us more and morehate-filled gazes.

“Hmm… At this rate, it’ll justend without anything happening. I know, we’ll go over there tofinish it out.” Akino-san pointed at a certain location with herfinger.

It was the handicraft club’sclubroom. For the festival, it had been converted into an accessoryshop of sorts.

“Sensei will buy a present for Harunafrom there. Naturally, in the sense that she’s your girlfriend.And, Haruna will have to beg for the one she wants.”

“B-Beg? I have to? Him?”

“Of course. This is a date, afterall. You have to act like a girlfriend all the way to the very endand make his heart flutter for you.”

When Akino-san emphasized this harshly,the younger Kanzaka sister swallowed her words, and agreed, albeitreluctantly. Shortly after we entered the clubroom, and gazed at theassortment of accessories they offered. There were some made out ofsilver, and even I could tell that they were quite high-quality. Itseems like our handicraft club isn’t half bad.

“U-Um… Which one do I want…?”

The younger Kanzaka sister’s gazenervously wandered between me and the accessories, until it froze ona certain item.

“…You want that ring?”

“Fueh?! G-Getting a ring from you…Something special like that… It’s not like I want it…!”

When I asked her about it, she suddenlyexploded on me, her face bright red. At the same time, a member ofthe handicraft club, or rather an employee, came over towards us.

“Your girlfriend? If you want, wehave a matching set of rings that you might be interested in.”

When she heard these words, the youngerKanzaka sister’s face burned up even more, and I was expecting theusual “Y-You’re wrong!” from her. However…

“…Y-Yes… If he’s… fine withit…”

She actually stayed calm and gave aflustered, yet confident nod. Not to mention that she’s tugging onmy sleeve and looking up at me with teary eyes, clearly asking forhelp. Seeing that reaction from her was so out of place that it mademy heart skip a beat… T-This is the first time I’ve ever seen hermake a face like that…!

“Is that so? We have several designsthat you can choose from—”

As the employee continued to explainand showed us the goods, a rather comforting atmosphere filled theroom between me and the younger Kanzaka sister.

It really feels like we’re on adate right now… I thought, as my heart started beating faster.

“…Not a pair. We’d likeaccessories for three people.”

“O-Onee-chan?”

Akino-san suddenly appeared behind us,and both of us were so surprised that we twitched.

“F-For three people? We do havematching designs, but…”

Naturally, the employee was a bit takenaback by her sudden appearance. She seemed slightly hesitant, butasked “Um, who are you…?”, as she looked over at us.

“My relationship? If Haruna is thegirlfriend… then I’m the mistress.”

With her usual deadpan expression onher face, she said something as crazy as usual.

“M-M-Mistress?!””O-O-O-O-Onee-chan, what are you—?!”

Both the younger Kanzaka sister and Icouldn’t hold back our confusion. W-What is she trying to pullnow…?! Look, everyone around is staring at us. They’re clearlygetting the wrong idea! However, Akino-san completely disregarded hersurroundings. It was almost like she disrespected them.

“I did give Haruna the role ofgirlfriend for now, but I’m still lonely. Therefore, I’ll alsoparticipate. I’ll make your heart flutter with the charm of anadult. Hmph.”

Rather than stopping, she justcontinued rambling on, almost like she wanted to make things worse.

“Y-You! What are you thinking, makingOnee-chan your mistress?!”

“Why are you getting angry at me eventhough I wasn’t even the one who said it?!”

“So with that out of the way, we’dlike accessories for a boyfriend, girlfriend, and mistress, please.”

The younger Kanzaka sister and I werecompletely lost as to what was happening. Akino-san for her part justcalmly continued her shopping tour, accompanied by the employee, whowas cleary forcing a smile. Even though everything had been movingalong smoothly just a second ago, it had all fallen apart into chaos.Then again, based on all my experiences so far, I should haveexpected that things wouldn’t go smoothly…

On a side note, I somehow managed tocool down the situation by getting matching keychains for everyone,but that didn’t prevent all kinds of weird rumours spreadingthrough the school… Uuu…

“Just ignore all those rumours. I’lltell them off if they overdo it.”

And Mai was the last of them. I wasclose to breaking out in tears, but she listened to me, unexpectedlytrying to cheer me up… Ahh, she’s so dependable now… Or so I’dlike to say, but I’m still the most worried about her. With all theothers, I could cover it all up somehow, since the guys from ourschool don’t know them, but Mai is different. Heck, she’spractically a celebrity at our school. What will happen if people seeme and her together on a date? And what if it’s more extreme thannormal? Just thinking about the hell that could await me after thatis…!

“I-Is that so…? Thanks for that…But to make sure that no more rumours are born, how about we keepthis at a normal level?”

Naturally, I’m not expecting Mai tojust stay calm like that. Knowing her, she’ll just say ‘It’s adate, so we have to be lovey-dovey!’ or whatever, and it’ll makethe remaining days of my student life hell, so much so that I don’teven want to imagine it. When you consider that incident involvingSuzuka, and all the dates before, it’s already at a dangerouslevel, but if they get the wrong idea about my relationship with Mai,it’ll all be over.

“W-What’s up with that? I won’tdo anything weird. I-I’m not here to collect data or anything ofthat sort.”

…Really? I’d really appreciate itif that were the case.

“…Also, everyone else might just behaving fun with this, but I definitely have to make sure…”

“Eh? Make sure what?”

“N-Nothing! A-Anyway, I’ve alreadydecided what we’ll do, so you just stay quiet and tag along!” Maiannounced. She had already stomped ahead on her own, so I quicklyfollowed after her.

Mai slipped past the masses of peoplejust as always, ignoring the gazes of the people around her. It makesme once again realize how amazing people like her are…

“Right here.”

While I was thinking that, Mai’s feethad come to a stop.

“This is… A maid cafe?”

It was written on a sign out front, andmaids (wearing normal skirts, not the otaku-type ones) were standingat the entrance. Well, this is pretty much standard fare for aculture festival, I guess.

“What are we going to do here?”

“N-Nothing special. We’re justgoing to take a short rest here… H-Hey, what’s with that dubiousexpression?!”

“I-I mean, there’s no way you’dbe happy with something like this.”

“What do you mean by that?! …I justchose this place because it’s pretty convenient. Anyway, just getin!”

Mai just grabbed my hand, not allowingany complaints, and we entered the store. Although I was still a bitwary of her true intentions, that thought was immediately blown awaybecause…

“W-Welcome back… M-Master…!”

“………Eh? N-Nikado-san?”

Yes, it was because Nikado-san, wearinga maid uniform, suddenly appeared in front of me.

“N-N-N-Nagami-senpai?! AndHimuro-senpai?!”

Nikado-san even one-upped me in shock.Her eyes opened wide, and her face flushed bright red.

“W-W-W-Why are the two of you here?!”Nikado-san panicked as she asked.

“N-Nikado-san as well. These clothesare…”

“I-I was forced to help out myclass…! Uuu… to be seen by the two of you, wearing something likethis…!”

“Class… So this is Suzuka’sclass?!”

“Exactly. Did you not realize?”

Mai said that like I was supposed toknow it beforehand, but I had no idea… I didn’t even know thatSuzuka’s class was doing a maid cafe…!

“H-Hold on. So Suzuka is also wearingone…?”

“N-No, Suzuka and Kotomi are busypreparing for their theatre play later, so she doesn’t participatein our class’s cafe. Also, I couldn’t allow Suzuka to wearembarrassing clothes like this…!”

While trying to bear her ownembarrassment, Nikado-san made a fist with her hand as if it were forSuzuka’s sake… Well, I’ve already seen Suzuka in maid clothesduring our data collecting. But still, I completely forgot thatSuzuka was busy with the theatre club… When I found out about that,I let out a relieved sigh… But why am I relieved? I’m not sure,myself…

“…Hmph. Anyway, we came here ascustomers. Can you show us to a free table?”

“Th-That’s right. Although I’drather commit seppuku right here on the spot out of embarrassment,this is my duty as a maid…! Well, if you would follow me…”Nikado-san grit her teeth at the humiliation and urged us to followher.

To be completely honest, it reallysuited her, and the boys around us seemed to agree, since their gazeswere all glued on her. I think she could be a bit more confidentabout it.

“W-What would you like to order? Umm…Master, Mistress…!” She tried her best to stay in character as amaid.

Feeling that I needed to free her asquickly as possible, I tried to order some simple coffee, but…

“W-We’ll take this one.”

For some reason, Mai ordered for bothof us.

“Wha—?! A-Are you sure about this,Himuro-senpai-ojousama?!”

While panicking, Nikado-san messed howshe addressed Mai as she blurted that out… Hold on, what did shejust order?! While Nikado-san walked away with a burning red face, Iquickly questioned Mai about it.

“T-This is necessary for our date.Just keep quiet and play along…” She muttered as she averted hereyes.

Before I could check the menu to try toguess what she had ordered, it had already arrived at our table.

“H-Here you go, the couples’drink…! Really, how indecent can you be, Nagami-senpai, to drinkthis with Himuro-senpai…?!”

One glass, with two straws. The twostraws joined together and made the shape of a heart. There was alsosome magnificent verbal abuse coming from the maid—Wait, this isn’tthe time to be saying that! What’s going on here?! Why is somethinglike this on the menu?!

“S-S-Since this is a date, doingsomething like this is completely normal, right?!” Mai wasflustered, even though she had ordered it herself.

I really was an idiot for trusting you,damn it!

“N-No, this is a bit…!”

“J-Just shut up! It’s just tocheck, so hurry up and drink it!”

My attempts at resisting werecompletely ignored, and while Mai’s face was so red that it lookedclose to exploding, she quickly put the straw in her mouth. Wait,what are you checking?! Although I really didn’t like where it wasgoing, I knew better than anyone that resistance was futile, so Iwent ahead and did the same as Mai. I forced my eyes shut throughoutthe ordeal, and obviously I couldn’t enjoy the taste at all.

Uuu… I can hear cheers of joy comingfrom our surroundings. Some of them were even filled with killingintent, like “So the two of them really are…!” and “I’m sojealous…!”, but I decided to ignore those for now. Mai, you’dbetter clear up all the rumours after this!

“…Y-Yuu, open your eyes.”

I heard Mai’s flustered voice, andopened my eyes. When I did, I was greeted by her face right in frontof mine. She was gazing directly at me.

“I-Is your heart beating faster rightnow?” And she asked that question.

…Yeah, of course it is! So hard thatit almost hurts! Thinking that, I nodded. But…

“………I guess it really isdifferent,” Mai puffed out her cheeks as she said this, clearlysounding dissatisfied.

“W-What do you mean? What’sdifferent about what?”

“L-Like your atmosphere from before…A-Anyway, I’m observing you right now, so look at me! No avertingyour eyes!”

Or so she says, but she’s staring atme so hard that it feels more like a glare than anything. I was aboutto complain about her confusing choice of words, but her gaze was soserious, and the sparkle so deep within her eyes, that I was stoppedfrom doing so. W-Why is she so serious about this? At the same time,I realized that her expression was similar to the one she had at myhouse before. She really is acting different from usual.

“…Hey Mai, are you having a problemwith something?”

Hence, I had already asked her withoutthinking twice about it.

“Eh? W-What do you mean? There’snothing, really… Why? Does it look like it?”

“W-Well, I just thought thatsomething was off, and I didn’t know why you were going this far.”

“It’s just to figure out theidentity of the girl you’re interested in.”

“I keep telling you that there’snobody like that…”

“…A-And also, the girl might be oneof us, right? Then I definitely have to be serious about this… A-Asyour… fan, that is.”

When I heard these words, I felt thesense of discomfort inside of me growing even stronger. Whenever shesays that she’s doing things because she’s a fan of TowanoChikai, she’s always brimming with confidence and energy. Thistime, though, she almost sounds lackluster. Something really weird isgoing on with her.

“A-Anyway, since it’s like that,you’d better focus on the date. Come on, drink some more. Whilelooking at me…!”

While I was busy being confused, Maiurged me, and she took a sip herself. Seeing no other choice, I onceagain put the straw in my mouth, with my eyes directly looking atMai’s. It was as embarrassing as always, the gazes of the peoplearound us really hurt, I couldn’t even taste it, and everything wasreally just awful… But that feeling of discomfort didn’tdisappear.

“…Ah, i-it’s almost completelygone!”

Mai’s words snapped me out of mythoughts, and I realized that the drink was almost completely empty.I was thankful that the embarrassing event was finally over, but…

“I’ll go order a new one!”

“Hey?!”

But Mai didn’t seem to agree with me.She was about to storm off before I stopped her.

“Why would you order a second one?!Wasn’t that enough just now?!”

“W-We still have some time left, andI haven’t fully checked yet, so what’s wrong with continuing likethis?!”

And what do you so desperately need tocheck?! I can’t keep up with this much longer, you know?!

“D-Do you want a refill…?!Nagami-senpai, just much are you planning on embarrassingHimuro-senpai like this?!”

“You should know that I wasn’t theone who ordered it, so why are you making me out to be the bad guy?!”

“Ahh, we don’t need the drinkanymore… Next, we’ll have this couples’ omelette.”

“Couples’ omelette?!?!”

What is this bizarre menu here?! Andwhy are you just ordering it like it’s the normal thing to do?! Isthis really Suzuka’s class?!

“N-Nagami-senpai really is a beast…!And I’ll end up as his prey eventually…!” Nikado-san cursed meas she walked away with the order.

At the same time, Mai glared at me andsaid “We’re still far from done…!” Apparently she wasn’tcontent with how much she’s made me suffer… R-Really, what isgoing on with this situation?! I have no clue what to even complainabout. Nor do I understand what’s going on with Mai.

However, there was one thing I wascertain of.

“I definitely won’t give up,okay…!”

For some reason, Mai looked even moremotivated than everyone else. Almost desperate. I got a strangefeeling that I might soon find out the reason for it.