Volume 9 Chapter 4

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And here we are, this is the endgame boys.

The Confession, and What Comes After That

“The culture festival was a whole lotof fun. Right, desu?”

Double Peace-sensei was stretching,letting her two soft bulges sway—Not that. Everyone agreed withher, making expressions that clearly seemed satisfied.

After all that happened, the culturefestival dates more or less came to a safe end. Saying I had enjoyedthem would have been a big fat lie, so I just kept my mouth shut. Ijust stood there, burned out beyond help. That being said, it’sover now, so I might as well start to cheer up a bit, I guess!

—Naturally, I was very well awarethat things wouldn’t end that smoothly. Yes, after all thathappened, I couldn’t forget the main reason why everything hadtaken place. What will follow next will be harsh questioning andinvestigation about who was the ‘winner’ here! Although I’mstill not fairly sure I understand the whole competition aspect of itall, there’s no doubt that they’ll all turn around towards me,saying things like “It has to be me, right?!” and “No no, it’sme, desu.” and “It’s Sakura for sure!” and “It can’t beanyone but me.” and “T-This doesn’t have anything to do withme, okay?!” and that sort of thing.

Normally, at times like these, I wouldjust choose Suzuka, since she always participates in this sort ofthing, and that would be the end of it. Since I’m pretending to bethe little-sister-loving author Towano Chikai, everyone would justaccept it… Well, as a result of that, there’s been a lot ofmisunderstandings going around, but that’s not important right now.The problem is that I can’t use that method right now! Why? BecauseSuzuka didn’t even participate!

What would happen if I just said “Yousee, I’m a little sister lover, so although Suzuka didn’tparticipate, I think that a date with her would have been the best”?Truth be told, the thought of it sends a shiver down my spine sointense that I don’t even want to imagine it, but I certainlywouldn’t enjoy the result, that’s for sure.

In any case, I have no choice but tochoose someone. Naturally, I don’t remember who made my heart beatthe most. I didn’t even have the time to enjoy any of it, and sinceI didn’t understand the competition in the first place, I’m aslost as ever, to be honest. Do I just choose one of them at random?Would that even work? Would it be the end of it? Unlike last timewith Suzuka, they still might not be satisfied even if I chose. Andwhat will happen then?!

…This isn’t good. Now that I thinkabout it, aren’t I in quite a pinch right now? As I grew aware ofthe situation, I felt cold sweat running down my back. If I could,I’d scram. Immediately.

“Now then, about the results of thecompetition, desu—”

H-Here it comes…! DoublePeace-sensei’s words made me twitch. This is bad! This is bad! Thisis bad! How can I get out of here…?!

“We’ll wrap it up here. It seemsthe girl who Sensei’s interested in wasn’t one of us, so it’llbe a draw, desu.”

“……Eh?”

W-What did she just say?

“Right~ Sakura agrees.”

“Sensei obviously doesn’t haveanyone like that.”

“Ahi, we all know that…”

“Eh? Eh?”

W-What? What is going on? Someoneplease explain. And why is everyone in agreement?

“U-Um, what is this about…?”

“Hm? Like I said, based on all theseculture festival dates, it’s pretty clear that there is no girl whoSensei is interested in, desu.”

“Eh… Ehhhhh?!”

Hold on! What’s up with that?! Imean, I’m glad that they finally realized it, but… whaaat?!

“Sensei is way too easy to seethrough, after all. If a girl like that really existed, we would haveknown, desu.”

“Yeah, it really shows on Sensei’sface after all.”

“It shows both in how you act and howthe atmosphere around you changes. It’s completely obvious.”

“I-It’s not like I’m watching youthat closely, okay?! Still, it’s true that you’re easy to read.”

“Wha—?!”

I couldn’t force out any words. Imean, Suzuka always tells me that I’m way too obvious about things,and that I’m easy to see through, so that’s not all that big of ashock this time. But if that’s the case, then… Why…?!

“Why did we even do these culturefestival dates…?!”

“Just to make sure? Or rather, it wasjust a pretense so that we could enjoy ourselves, desu?”

“No ill-intent whatsoever?!”

Double Peace-sensei’s response mademe want to cry. W-What’s up with that? So that means that therewasn’t any misunderstanding in the first place?! Why did you makeme suffer so much, then?! Really, can I start crying now? Though inall honesty, part of me was relieved by this sudden development.

“……”

As I was sighing in relief, I spottedMai, who was yet again staying quiet by herself. She hasn’t saidanything for quite a while now, had she? What’s wrong with her? Butbefore I could call out to her…

“Now then, since all that has beencleared up, I’d really like to stay and enjoy the culture festivala bit more, desu. But—”

Double Peace-sensei got the jump on meas she prepared to announce something. D-Don’t tell me. Are wegoing to keep going? No, since everything’s been explained, thereshouldn’t be any more reason to continue the dates, right?!

“It’s a shame, but I have to leavefor my work now, desu.”

“…Sakura as well. She was barelyable to make time out of her schedule, but it’s really time for herto go now.”

“…Same for us. Shame.”

“T-That was more than enough,Onee-chan. Let’s just go.”

Double Peace-sensei, Minazuki-san, andthe Kanzaka sisters all stated that they had other businesses toattend to. Mumbling a weak “T-Thank God…!” to myself, I let outa relieved sigh. It’d be really bad if I was forced to continuewith all these dates… Going out just once was unbearable at times,but if I went out with everyone at once, I’d definitely be thetarget of all the boys’ hatred sooner or later.

“It’s a shame, desu. If I wasn’talready skipping out on work so much, I could probably stay a bitlonger.”

“But going to the cultural festivalwith Sensei was really fun for Sakura!”

“Seeing Sensei’s normal studentlife here was fun. Please come visit my university if you ever feellike it.”

“Onee-chan, you go to a girls-onlyuniversity, right?”

In the end, we parted ways aftereveryone said goodbye. Since everything had ended more or lesssafely, I let out a relieved sigh. But why did I find myself feelinga tinge of loneliness as they left? Could it have been because oftheir liveliness, I wonder? Finding myself hoping that we could havespent some more time together… is that because of my softpersonality? No matter the reason, Mai and I were left alone.

“Phew… It’s finally over…” Istretched.

“Yeah…”

Strangely, Mai still seemed a bitabsent-minded. It was the first time I’d seen Mai acting like this.And no matter how hard I think about it, I still can’t come up witha reason why she’s acting weird. I don’t remember angering her,and she doesn’t give off the vibe that she’s angry either…Yeah, I don’t know. Maybe she’ll tell me if I just ask heroutright.

“Mai, what’s—Ah, hold on. Whattime is it right now?”

Before I finished my sentence, Istopped myself and quickly checked the time.

“Oh, this is bad. I have to hurry.”

When I said that, Mai finally came backto her senses.

“Eh? W-What’s wrong, Yuu?”

“Ah, well, it’s almost time for thetheatre club’s play.”

“Theatre club?”

“Yeah, a friend of Suzuka asked herto take a role in the play. She said I had to go watch her, so I’mgoing.”

“Oh, now that you mention it…T-Then I’ll go as well.”

When I started walking, Mai quicklyfollowed me. I arrived at the gym hall with her in tow, and manyother students had already gathered there. Most of the seats werealready filled, and it seemed to be standing room only. Our theatreclub seemed to be very impressive (in fame, that is. I’d heard thatthere are a lot of cute girls in it). The theatre club’s play isalways acclaimed as the highlight of the culture festival, as well,so that explains the mass of people present. I do feel like there’smore people here than yesterday, but maybe that’s just myimagination…

Well, that’s probably because Suzukais in it. No doubt the rumours have spread through the school,leading to the current situation. But I can’t blame them. Althoughshe’s a first-year, Suzuka has already attained celebrity-likestatus. Her grades are among the top of her year, she excels inanything she tries, she has an insane amount of charisma, and she’sa beauty above beauties. Both in her own grade and the second orthird years, boys and girls alike are always swarming around her, andalthough she has a good-for-nothing older brother like me (it hurtsme to say it, but it’s the truth), she still feels like a cheatcharacter.

Naturally, since such a person isappearing in the play, masses of people would flock to watch it. It’sabout what I expected, honestly.

“There are a crazy amount of peoplehere… So what role is Suzuka-san playing? Or rather, what kind ofplay are we going to watch?” Mai asked me. She seemed flustered bythe large crowd. I didn’t actually know the answer to herquestions, myself.

No matter how many times I asked herabout it, Suzuka never told me because “It’s embarrassing.” Shewas forcing me to watch it so I could find out. What role is it goingto be? Maybe the princess again like last year at Hakuou? Well, thatwas a role well-suited for Suzuka, I have to say…

As I was thinking to myself, the lightsin the gym hall went out, and the curtains were raised. Thesurroundings went quiet, and all attention turned towards the stage.

‘A long, long time ago, in a certainkingdom…’

The narration echoed through the hall,and the play started. The play seemed to be set in the Middle Ages inEurope, or maybe even a fantasy world. Words like ‘princess’ and’prince’ were said here and there. So that means Suzuka’splaying the princess? Or so I thought, but the spotlight focused onthe ‘Princess’ standing on the stage, and it wasn’t Suzuka.

That is… Shiina-san, right? It’samazing that she got the lead role. Shiina-san is a beauty, afterall, and her long, wavy hair really gives her that princess vibe.Fellow members of the audience agreed as they raised their voices ofadmiration. But what role does Suzuka have, then?

“Ah…”

As soon as the next person stepped ontothe stage, I swallowed my breath. Not just me, but everyone elsearound me as well. And my question was answered.

‘So you’ve been hiding here,Princess.’

It was the prince, resting one arm on’his’ sword, wearing a noble’s uniform… But why is Suzukaplaying this ‘Prince’ role?!

“T-That’s Suzuka-san, right…?”Even Mai’s eyes opened wide.

…Well I sure didn’t expect Suzukato be the prince. It’s not like a male role being played by a girlis a weird thing, but I never thought that Suzuka would do it. Icould only stare at Suzuka while she moved and talked onstage. With asmall stature, and long hair bound up differently than usual, thegirliest girl I knew, Suzuka, was playing a male character. I felt animmense feeling of discomfort.

‘Now, let us go to where the kingis…’

She was playing the prince, like shereally was one. This sense of discomfort, which seemed to be sharedby everyone among the audience, was blown away immediately. “Suzuka”and “Prince”. Those two words, previously seen as having nothingto do with each other, were a perfect fit, and that feelingintensified the longer the play went. No, it wasn’t just heracting. It was like she truly became the prince, and with everygesture she made and every word she spoke, the aura around herassimilated into his.

“Nagami-san is so cool…”

“Yeah,she’s so beautiful…”

I could hear faint voices of admirationfrom the girls around us. It truly felt like everyone’s gaze wasfocused on no one other than Suzuka. I don’t know how to properlydescribe it, but it felt like it wasn’t her role in itself, butSuzuka alone who had pulled all the attention towards her. Normally,the fame and attention an actor garners depends on the role theyplay, but this time it was the opposite. The prince was getting allthe attention because Suzuka was playing him.

Onstage, Suzuka, as the prince, tookthe hand of Shiina-san, the princess, and they started walking.Although the prince was a bit shorter than the princess when theywere lined up next to each other, nobody paid any heed to that.Everyone was completely entranced by the play itself. To becompletely honest, it was all because of Suzuka’s talent. If itwere possible, I wanted to keep watching forever. That’s howbeautiful it was.

…Really, just how much of a perfecthuman being can my little sister be? She’s a beauty above beauties,and I feel fulfilled just by watching her like this. When I realizedyet again how great Suzuka was, a quiet laugh escaped my lips. Buteven then, my gaze was glued to her, unwilling to leave. Before Irealized it, my heart was beating like never before. Even moreintense than during the culture festival dates. Yet, at the sametime, it was almost soothing.

…N-Naturally, I didn’t mean that ina weird way. I was just so surprised to see Suzuka acting sodifferently, and the role of the prince was so fresh, that I was abit lost, that’s all…

‘I wish to walk alongside you towardsour future.’

Even while muttering mysterious excusesto myself, I kept staring at Suzuka. My eyes didn’t budge a singlebit. My heart kept beating as fast as before, and I started to spaceout, unable to think about anything other than Suzuka on stage.

…This might end up beingmisinterpreted… No, it’ll definitely be misunderstood, but I needto say this as objectively as I can. My little sister… Suzukareally is unbelievably cute. Probably more than anyone else in thisroom. Call me a siscon for all I care. I just needed to get this offmy chest. This doesn’t have anything to do with being her olderbrother or anything else…

“Suzuka…”

With my gaze focused on her, and my head filled with such thoughts, I was unable to see the face that Mai gave me from the seat next to mine.

*

“H-How was it, Onii-chan?!”

After a long applause and standingovation, the curtains fell. While the people around us were stillexcited, Mai and I headed towards the back of the stage, where Suzukaspotted us and came running over.

“Y-Yeah, it was amazing…”

Albeit slightly overwhelmed by hermomentum, I gave her my honest impressions. Naturally, as an aspiringauthor, I should have found a more eloquent way of phrasing it. Butcan you blame me after all that, really?

“Ehehehe, th-thank goodness…”

Suzuka seemed to relax after hearing myimpressions, but she quickly regained her composure and spoke upagain. “B-But wasn’t it weird for me to play that role…?”

Suzuka seemed a bit flustered, as sheasked about her own role.

“N-No, I think that it really suitedyou. How do I put it… it felt like you became the prince. It wasreally, really good.”

“Wh-What’s up with that…”

Although Suzuka looked like she sulkedfor a second, her smile returned a moment later.

“Ah, Suzu-chan’s Onii-san, and evenHimuro-senpai. So you two came to watch.”

Shiina-san, who had played the role ofthe princess, spotted us then, and she came walking over.

“Yeah, it was really good. You playedthat princess role perfectly, Shiina-san.”

“Fufu, thank you very much. Though Ithink that it would have suited Suzu-chan even more than me.”

“That’s not… Ah, I remember. Iwanted to ask something. Why did Suzuka end up as the prince? Eventhough she’s not a member of the theatre club?”

“I mean, wasn’t it more interestingthat way? Orthodox casting just makes things boring. Rather thancasting based on appearance, being interesting and fun while actingis more crucial.”

I feel like I get it, but at the sametime, I don’t…

“S-Suzuka! Kotomi! That wasfantastic! I am yet again reminded of how grateful I am to be yourfriend…!”

This time it was Nikado-san who stormedinto the backstage. She pushed me aside to hug Suzuka and Shiina-san.As a side note, she was still wearing her maid uniform. But who was Ito complain? She looked good in it.

“H-Hey, Kaede, you’reover-exaggerating.”

“Fufu, thank you Kaede.”

Suzuka might have appeared to becomplaining, but deep inside, she was probably really happy. Andwatching Suzuka happily spending time with her friends like this mademe feel happy as well. I continued to watch over the three of themfor a bit, when…

“Ah, I-I’m sorry, Onii-chan. I haveto help put everything away, so could you wait a little bit?”

“Oh, yeah, sure. I’ll kill sometime somewhere.”

When Suzuka told me that, I left thebackstage.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Let’s go.”

“…Yeah.”

I pulled Mai, whohadn’t spoken all throughout the conversation, along with meas I left, and we exited the gym hall. I lifted my head up towardsthe sky. Its color was fading to a vivid orange, and the school hadcalmed down since most of the visitors had left.

“Now then… It seems like theculture festival has finally come to an end. We don’t have to goback to our classes anyway, and I’m not interested in the upcomingafter-party, so I guess I’ll just go home,” I muttered as Istretched.

Our class exhibition really didn’tneed much help, so there was barely anything to do besides the usualpreparing and cleaning up afterwards. Since we were in the preparinggroup, there was no need to stay any longer. With all of that done, Imight finally be able to focus on my manuscript. Although I stillhave to work out just what kind of little sister novel I really wantto write…

“H-Hey, Yuu.”

When Mai suddenly called out to me, Iturned around and looked at her. “What’s wrong?” I asked. But,upon seeing her expression, I was immediately taken aback. Unlike herusual red-faced glare that I was used to, she almost looked hesitant,like she questioning whether she should speak up or not as shefidgeted.

“U-Um, I have something to talkabout. Could you come with me for a bit?”

“Will here not work?”

“I-I’d like a place with no peoplearound. Let’s go to the rooftop.”

“Ah, hey!”

Without waiting for my reply, shegrabbed my hand and started stomping off. Not knowing what she wantedto talk about, I just kept quiet and followed her. Once we arrived infront of the door, Mai completely ignored the ‘No Entry’ sign andwent out onto the roof. While we were up so high, the evening sunfelt more intense than before, and the scenery beneath us looked likea different world.

“…So what did you want to talkabout?” I asked, since she hadn’t said a word while we made ourway up.

However, Mai ignored me yet again andjust fixed me with a sharp gaze.

“U-Um…”

Mai had problems speaking up, as if thewords wouldn’t come out of her throat. However, after a shortbreak, she seemed to have finally mustered up her courage to speak.

“Who is the girl you’re interestedin now…?!”

…Eh? N-No, hold on?

“W-What are you talking about?Everyone agreed that it was just a misunderstanding, right?”

They all said that such a girl didn’texist, and that was supposed to be the end of it. Even so, you’retelling me that you’re still not satisfied?

“I-I’m not convinced yet!”

“Ridiculous! Even if you say that, Ican’t name anybody if they don’t even exist in the first place!”

I desperately denied her assumptions asMai closed in on me. Why are we talking about this again?! I thoughtwe were done!

“And why are you not convinced yet?!Everybody else was! Double Peace-sensei, Minazuki-san… even theKanzaka sisters!”

“…I-It’s because they didn’tsee your face up close like I did!” Mai said, averting her eyes.

…Is she referring to the time shefirst had that misunderstanding? I-It’s true that Suzuka’s faceflashed through my mind for a second, but that still doesn’t changeanything! There isn’t anyone I’m interested in!

“Back then, you really seemed weird.Though I can’t properly express it in words… Even still, I justknow. Your atmosphere was completely different from usual…”

Although Mai didn’t dare look me inthe eye, her words held a certain strength. A part of her seemed tobe aware that she was probably just imagining things, and she lackedconfidence. The proof was that she didn’t try to maintain eyecontact with me.

“Are you sure that’s not just yourown imagination? Even if you close in on me like that, you should beable to see that I have nothing to answer you with.”

“Ugh! B-But my intuition is tellingme that there is! I can’t help it! The intuition of this beautifuland graceful maiden says otherwise!”

Don’t make it sound like you’re agoddess! Also, what can I do if you suddenly bring up yourintuition?! You’re totally fixated on that, so what can I do tochange your mind?!

Then, I realized something crucial.Something that I’ve always been told, so I figured that I could usethis for argument’s sake.

“Also, isn’t it way too easy tofigure out what I’m thinking? If so, shouldn’t you be able totell if I’m lying or not?”

Though I didn’t feel all toocomfortable speaking ill of myself just to prove a point, I had noother choice this time. Mai snapped back. “It’s especially fishy because of that!”

But then, “Uuuu…” Unexpectedly,Mai suddenly went quiet. “I-I can’t help it, can I? It’sespecially troublesome this time because I don’t know…”

“Because you don’t know?”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right, this istotally different from usual! Normally you’re so easy to seethrough when you’re staring at my breasts, or when you’re lookingat my thighs, and you immediately avert your gaze to think aboutsomething perverted!”

“Ehhhhhhhhh?!”

H-Hold on?!Am I like that all the time?! I-I don’t mean to stare at them oranything!

“…But this time, I really can’ttell. There really might not be a girl that you’re interested in,but the chances are equally high that there is… I’m having somuch trouble precisely because I don’t have any proof…”

“Even if you say that, I’m the onewho’s troubledhere… I can’t convince you no matter what I try…”

“Ugh… That’s…”

Normally, she would force me to giveher proof in order to be satisfied. This time, however, she’s notbeing quite so ridiculous, leaving me with the feeling thatsomething’s off. She turned teary-eyed and fixed with a glare, butI was unable to react in any way.

“…Haaaah, even if you’re a fan ofTowano Chikai… What are you planning by prying further when theperson himself is saying that there’s nothing there?” I let out asigh.

No matter how much of a stalker she is,there’s gotta be a limit.

“Y-You’re wrong.”

But, instead of giving in, Mai quicklydenied my words.

“T-This isn’t related to TowanoChikai at all…” She continued.

…It’s not related to Towano Chikai?Is this really Mai I’m talking to? The Mai who’s always going onand on about being Towano Chikai’s biggest fan, or his one truerival? But she wasn’t done yet. She stared at me with a bright redface, making my heart skip a beat out of surprise.

“H-Hey? Yuu…”

W-What? The atmosphere around Mai iscompletely different from before…? She’s been acting weird upuntil now, but… how do I say it… Not like this?But after hearing the bombshell she dropped next, my previous worrieswere forgotten in an instant.

“…U-Um, Yuu… W-Were you ever inlove with somebody…?”

“…Eh? Ehhhhhhhhhhh?!”

My confused scream rang out on therooftop illuminated by the setting sun. I-In love with…? Ehhh?!

“W-W-Wha—?! W-Why would you askthat…?!”

I was panicking, but so was Mai.

“Y-You’re wrong, okay?! T-This isjust…!”

Mai seemed to be struggling to come upwith an explanation for her own words.

“Y-Yeah! This is just one step ofcollecting data! I-I-I just wanted to hear about your experiences forreference?! L-Look, I’m writing a romcom, aren’t I?!”

“B-But even so…! Asking someoneelse… W-W-W-What about you?!”

“M-M-Me?! I-I-I’m… Um…!”

Both our shadows, flailing our handsall over the place, were dancing on the roof… W-What’s going on?!Why would Mai suddenly ask me that?! I don’t understand at all!

Just then, it happened.

“………Is this fine?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s okay here.”

“”?!?!?!?!””

We suddenly heard voices coming fromthe door connecting to the roof, so we quickly hid in the shadows.Given the circumstances, on top of the two of us not actually beingallowed up here, I have to say that our reaction wasn’t half bad.While hiding like that, we listened in on the conversation betweenthe two people.

“This might be my first time comingup here.”

“M-Me too.”

When I looked closer, I could see thatthey were a boy and a girl. Luckily, they hadn’t seemed to havespotted us, and they continued their conversation… T-Thankgoodness. What would have happened if they did?! W-Well, even I’mnot sure what was happening before they got here! My heart was aboutto jump out of my chest! B-But disregarding that… Why did the twoof them come up to the rooftop? Coming up here is forbidden, andthere’s nothing to see, you know? Well, not like I’m one to talk…

Anyway, all that we could do was waituntil the two of them leave again. Better tell Mai—

“…Hm?”

But, in the moment I thought that, Irealized what kind of position we were in.

“…Ah… Uu…”

I was holding Mai in my arms,completely embracing her.At the same time, two soft bulges were directly pressing against mychest. Mai’s face was as red as a tomato, and her eyes were dancingall over the place… Eh?

“S-S-S-Sorry?!”

“Idi—?! Shhhh!”

As I reflexively apologized, Maihurriedly closed off my mouth. When she did that, she pressed herselfagainst me even harder than before. She gave off a sweet scent, and Icould even feel both of our heartbeats overlap. I could feel thesoftness of her whole body, and… Ugh…! My reason seemed to beclose to its limit, and my head started spinning. When I looked ather, Mai was going through something similar, and she was red-faced…T-This is bad! How long can we even hold this position—?

“I-I’ve always liked you! Please goout with me!”

……………Eh?

When that voice entered my ears, I wasunable to process what just happened. When the scene grew quietagain, my head went blank. But Mai reacted before me. She peeked outof the shadow, ever so slightly. I quietly followed suit, and ourheads poked out beside the building. The girl was looking straight atthe boy, her face flushed. The boy was clearly taken aback, his eyeswide.

…T-This is—A confession?! N-No,this can’t be anything but a confession, given what she said!A-Although it wasn’t on purpose, we still happened to eavesdrop onthem… Even while I was starting to feel guilty, I was still unableto tear my eyes away. The same held true for Mai. She tightly graspedmy sleeve as we watched the two of them. But she looked more seriousthan flustered to me…

Anyway, we were all waiting for theboy’s response.

“..I-If you’re fine with me, thengladly.”

Finally, he accepted the confession. Inresponse, the girl started crying tears of joy. After that, theirexchange continued for a bit, and they left the rooftop soon after,hand in hand.

“……”

Left behind, Mai and I remained silentfor a while, even after they left. I-It feels like we’ve seensomething amazing. My heart’s still beating fast even now. I neverthought that I’d watch a confession happen live, and with Mai ofall people—

“Ah.”

We realized at the same time that wewere still in the same hugging position as before, hiding in theshadows, holding our breaths.

“S-Sorry?!”

I quickly tried to get up. Therenormally shouldn’t have been any reason to apologize, but that justnaturally happened to leak out.

“……!”

“H-Hey?!”

But I was unable to move. The reasonfor that was Mai, who was still desperately clinging to my clothes.What’s going on? Or so I wanted to ask, but…

“………Y-Yuu.”

Seeing her intense gaze directed at me,I swallowed my words. For some reason, she’s shaking now, almostlike she’s close to crying, with her lips tightly pressed together.Deep in her eyes, though, I could see a sparkle of determination,which left me speechless. The words she said next blew away anyexpectations I had.

“W-What if…! W-What if I said thatI l-l-l-liked you, w-what would you do…?”

“……Eh?”

For a second, I was unable tocomprehend her words. However, as her words echoed inside my head,and when I finally understood them, my heart almost leapt out of mychest, and I could feel my face burning up.

“W-What…?! W-What… Eh? Why?Huh?” I was left in a panic.

So much so that I thought this might bethe first time I had ever been this confused.

“U-Um… that’s… because…”

For some reason, the same seemed to betrue of Mai. I really wanted to ask her why she was so flustered oversomething she had brought up herself, but I wasn’t able to.

“B-Basically… I’m just askingtheoretically… That’s why I said ‘What if’…! It’s notlike—!”

Mai was still in my arms, desperatelytrying to explain herself as she held onto me. Maybe. What if. Bychance. Those words appeared countless times in there, but she’snot denying the basic meaning of the question.

…M-Mai has feelings for me…?! N-No,hold on! Calm down! Mai is just talking about a what-if scenario! Sobasically that’s just… Yeah! A joke! Since the scene she justwitnessed shocked her so much, she’s trying to lighten up the mood,right?! …Y-Yeah, that has to be it… She’ll definitely snap atme soon, saying things like “W-Why are you taking it so seriously?!Are you an idiot?!” and so forth. She’ll clear things up soon,right?!

“………”

However, those words never came. All Iwas met with was complete silence as Mai looked up at me. She lookedlike she was desperately trying to get her embarrassment undercontrol, and was showing no weakness at all. On the contrary, shelooked so serious that I gulped unconsciously.

“S-So how would you respond, Yuu…?”

And then, when Mai closed in on me evenfurther, I was certain. Certain that she was serious. Certain thatthis wasn’t just a joke! Neither was it the shock, nor was it alie. She was earnestly asking me. Asking what I would do if she saidthat she had feelings for me. The moment I understood that, myheartbeat accelerated even more. It grew so noisy that I thought shemight have even been able to hear it. My world started to shake. Theinsides of my head turned into a mushy mess, and steam might as wellhave been rising from my head from how hard my mind was working.

W-Why is she suddenly asking me that?!I panicked. I panicked like never before. But even so, I forcedmyself to camly think it through. I thought through the suddenconfession, and I realized something.

As of recently, I could feel affectioncoming from Mai. It was overflowing from her words and actions. Itwas the exact same the first time I got in contact with her, and evenI am not so much of a dense idiot that I didn’t notice.

However—

Yes, that’s it. Mai’s affection isdefinitely directed towards me, but that’s just me as TowanoChikai. And that’s perfectly normal. Towano Chikai is anindescribably important existence to Mai, so much so that she refersto herself as his number one fan. The problem is that I’m nothingbut a stand-in. I’m nothing like the real deal. Basically, I’m afake. I’m the kind of person who would never receive any affectionfrom Mai under normal circumstances. That’s why I can’t acceptthis confession.

Still, I can’t explain thecircumstances either. I just can’t, for Suzuka’s sake. But havingher confess to me because I’ve been deceiving her like this makesmy heart ache from the guilt. I can’t let this continue.

“A-Are you really sure…? That’sonly because I’m Towano Chikai, right? I feel like there should besomeone else…”

That was all I could muster. Althoughit would end up hurting Mai, I definitely have to turn down thisconfession no matter what. Naturally, I was prepared for her to hateme for making light of her feelings like this. But her feelingsaren’t directed at me, so I can’t accept them.

“…Y-You’re wrong.”

“Eh?”

“I’m not saying this because you’reTowano Chikai… I mean, at first, it might have been the reason Iwas trying to get close to you, but…”

With a serious and sincere gaze, Mailooked straight at me and continued.

“But it’s not like that anymore…After spending all this time together with you, I understood lots andlots about you. You’re indecisive, dense, but at the same timeyou’re very kind, and whenit comes down to it, you’re good-looking as well…”

“M-Me?Myself?”

“Y-Yeah… That’s why… Um… Thisdoesn’t have anything to do with me being Towano Chikai’s fan…Just… before I realized it… I fell in love with Yuu himself…!”

The moment she finished her sentence, Icould feel my face starting to burn up. Mai was red as well, but I’msure that her face couldn’t compare to mine. I-I can’t believeit. M-Mai likes me… and it doesn’t have anything to do withTowano Chikai…?! My head couldn’t function properly anymore.

After all, this was the first genuineconfession I had ever received. Not to mention that it was from abeauty like Mai. Although she had her stalker tendencies, when itcame down to it, she was giving it her all. She was a wonderful girl,really.

“W-W-W-Why… someone like me…”

Still, I had doubts lingering in mychest, which caused me to blurt out those words. When I did, Maistarted sulking, and she puffed out her cheeks.

“D-Don’t ask me that… I don’tknow myself! I just told you that it happened before I realized it…!”

Ugh…! D-Don’t say it in such a cuteway! And it’s not just that. Every gesture she keeps making isplaying with my reasoning here…!

“E-Even if you ask me why… I’venever fallen in love before, so I wouldn’t know…!” Mai quicklyaverted her face, as cute as could be.

I-It’s the same for me, you know!That’s why I’m so lost as to what I should do! Also, from whatI’m hearing, it sounds like I’m Mai’s first love? M-Me?!Th-This isn’t good. The blood is rushing to my head!

“A-And, what is your answer? How doyou feel…?”

With a worried expression, she grabbedonto my clothes. Both her weak gesture as well as her gaze lookedincredibly cute all of a sudden, making my heartbeat accelerate evenfurther. So much so that I had to look away in order to calm myselfdown. Naturally, that wouldn’t end this situation any quicker.

…W-What should I do?! How should Irespond here?!

Since this was the first time a girlhad confessed to me, I looked for a response with the few remainingbrain cells that hadn’t been deep-fried yet. It was unlike any ofthe other situations I had been in before where I had to act asSuzuka’s stand-in. This is my own problem. That’s why I have toanswer her feelings directly.

Thus, I asked myself. Taking away theshock and embarrassment, how do I feel about Mai’s confession? Theanswer was simply a feeling.

—Happiness.

I was honestly happy. Someone sayingthat they like me this much makes me so happy I could cry. My heartis beating at a wild speed, I’m really really happy, and my chestis so warm I’m starting to sweat. I’m pretty sure that… this ishappiness. Honestly, with my head being an absolute mess right now, Ican’t say what I feel about Mai. Of course, it’s not like I hateher or anything. Frankly speaking, there was no real reason to rejecther and her feelings. There shouldn’t be any problem in accepting.

“…Ugh.”

But thenand there, my thoughts came to a sudden stop. Before I arrived at myconclusion, a certain wall built up in front of me. It was the word’But’. But why is there a ‘But’ there?I don’t know. I really don’t, but it stops me from movingforward. A certain unknown something is keeping me in place.

“…Yuu?”

Before I realized it, I had fallencompletely silent before Mai. That happy feeling I had just beforewas gone, and all that was left was unease as to how I should respondto her feelings. Why am I feeling this way? Why am I… hesitating…?

I was feeling lost at the unease thatwas continuously creeping up on me. It felt like an eternity hadpassed in complete silence. But, eventually, Mai grabbed onto mysleeves and looked up at me, calling out with a hesitant “Hey…”,only to grow silent immediately after. For some reason, it lookedlike a very sad smile.

“…Can I become the girl youtreasure most in this world…?”

My heart almost leapt out of my chest.Not because of her words, but more because of the image that cameflying into my head.

“Eh…?” I was floored.

After all, the person who appeared inmy mind after I heard Mai’s voice was none other—none other thanmy own little sister, Suzuka.

“The most… in this world…”

Ahhh… I see. So that’s what this isabout. In that moment, all my confusion was blown away, and I finallyunderstood. It didn’t have anything to do with logic or reason. Itwas nothing more than the answer that appeared inside my head, and Iwas content with that.

…How laughable. It’s always been sosimple. Why I’ve been so conscious of Suzuka as of late. Why Icouldn’t accept Mai’s confession. Why… I didn’t realize itany sooner. Really, I can only laugh at this.

—I like Suzuka.

But I thought that I couldn’t look ather with those sort of eyes. Even now, this holds true. However,those feelings remain, and they are the reason that I can’t acceptthis confession. Thanks to Mai’s words, I’ve finally realized it.Treating her as the member of the opposite sex, her being my littlesister, love, being siblings, being a siscon, all of that doesn’tmatter. There is but one unmistakable feelingthat I have.

—Unrelated to her being my littlesister, Suzuka is the girl I treasure the most in this entire world.

It was a simple answer. And now I’vefinally realized it. But weirdly enough, I feel like this feeling hasalways been floating around in my head. Maybe even since the day shewas born. Almost… like it was so simple and obvious that I hadforgotten about it.

“I… see…”

All the strength left my body. At thesame time, a feeling of understanding and clarity replaced it. Itfelt like all my worries had disappeared, and all the loose endsfinally began to connect.

“…Yuu?”

“Ahh, sorry.”

When Mai spoke up, looking up at me, Iapologized with a bitter smile. That’s right, I have to give her myresponse to her confession.

“Mai, I—”

“…N-Nevermind!”

As I was about to give her my response,Mai quickly covered my mouth, stopping me mid-sentence. She made aflustered expression.

“…I feel like I know your answeralready, so it’s fine…” She muttered as she separated from me.

“H-Hey, Mai?”

I didn’t know why Mai had suddenlyasked that, but I thought that she should at least have the right tohear my response. But she just turned around to look at me with asmile.

“It’s fine. I already understandyour feelings completely, after all.”

“…Mai?”

She was smiling. At the same time, shelooked relieved, and yet also close to breaking out in tears. Eitherway, I didn’t know what she was playing at.

“I’m going home… Ah, but, can Iask one thing?”

She was about to step inside thebuilding, but she turned around one last time.

“U-Um… You don’t… hate me oranything, right?”

“O-Of course not… Of course, I dowish that you’d tone it down a bit with your stalker activities,and there are times when I’ve felt a bit troubled because of you,but… I’ve never once hated you, and I never will.” I respondedwith my serious feelings.

“I see… T-Then one more thing…Will you treat me the same way as before…?”

“That’s what I should be asking…Of course I will.”

“T-Thank you…! Ah, one last thing!”

Although I felt like making a retort tothat, I felt like she deserved to ask as many questions as shewanted.

“…I still have a chance, right?”

That being said, I really didn’texpect a cheeky question like this one.

“U-Um… I don’t know…”

I started thinking about the confessionjust now, and my face started to burn up again.

“I-I see. So it’s not impossible…”She gave a faint smile, and left me behind with a “S-See you” asshe stepped inside.

“U-Um, Mai!”

But, before that, there was one thing Idefinitely had to tell her.

“Well… I’m sorry.”

Even I wasn’t quite sure what I wasapologizing for. Still, I definitely had to say this before it wastoo late. After hearing my words, Mai was a bit surprised, but then…

“It’s fine. I already knew, yousee.”

This time she showed me a cheerfulsmile as she entered the building, leaving me behind. I let out along sigh and looked up at the sky. I then started reminiscing aboutall my thoughts, and started thinking about what would happen in thefuture. That being said, I immediately came to a conclusion. No,rather, it had already been there from the start.

Nothing will change. The present willstay the same, forever. All that I’d realized just now was my ownproblem. Nothing will change. It can’t. We’re siblings. Suzuka isa light novel author. I’m her stand-in.

After I stood there dwelling in mythoughts for quite some time, the door to the rooftop opened oncemore.

“Ah. Onii-chan, so you really werehere.”

Suzuka came walking towards me, seemingangry. As far as I could tell, she had finished changing and cleaningup in the gym hall, because she was wearing her usual uniform whenshe greeted me.

“What are you doing in a place likethis? Trespassing is prohibited here, you know? If I hadn’t metHimuro-san a second ago, I would never have known where you went.”

“Ahh, sorry. I just needed to calmdown a bit in a quiet place,” I returned a bitter smile.

“T-That’s one thing, but were youtogether with Himuro-san until now? You haven’t done anythingweird, right?!”

She gave me a dubious glare.

“…No, nothing happened.”

I gave a simple response. I can’t lether know about the incident just now, in a lot of ways, and there’sno need for her to know in the first place.

“……”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Suzuka?”

“Ah, well… I just thought thatOnii-chan looked a bit different than usual, but it must have been myimagination.”

Suzuka kept quiet for a second, but shequickly shook her head. Seeing this innocent gesture of hers, Icaught myself smiling… Yeah, Suzuka really is cute. The cutest girlin the world… Although that sure sounds creepy coming from me.

“Onii-chan?”

Yet again, I confirmed that feelinginside me. At the same time, a kind of resolution was fortifiedinside my mind.

—Nothing will change. Nothing will bedifferent from what we have now.

“Really, what’s wrong with you?Well, it’s gotten late, so let’s hurry home.”

As Suzuka still looked a bit dubious, Iresponded with a calm “Yeah.” With this, we left the rooftopbehind us, leaving the school grounds as the students around us stillgave us sidelong glances like always. Even on the way home, Suzukaconstantly had that suspicious expression on her face, but I justtold her that nothing was wrong. When we finally got home, Iimmediately went up to my room and sank down onto my bed. Naturally,I was yet again thinking about what happened on the rooftop.

…I really think that Mai had a lot ofcourage to do that. I wouldn’t be able to confess. I respect herfrom the bottom of her heart for that, and I’m thankful that shedidn’t pry any further into my true feelings.

“True feelings, huh…?” I mutteredas I sat up on the bed.

I started thinking about my feelingsfor Suzuka, and the resolution that came with it. Well, I say’resolution,’ but it’s not that big of a deal. All I decidedwas that I’d never lay bare these feelings I’m holding. I’vecome to terms with them, and there’s no feeling of discomfortthere. However, whether those feelings should even exist or not inthe first place is a completely different problem. After all, I cannever ever openly share these feelings that I’m harbouring. I haveto seal them off forever, and never let them even touch the surface.

Suzuka’s happiness takes the utmostpriority. There are no other choices here, and there’s no need towaver away from the expected outcome. The time when I realized myown, true feelings, this outcome and resolution had already come withit. There are no objections here. However—

“……”

There is, but one exception.

“…At the very least, this.”

I got up from my bed, and headedtowards my desk. Turning on my PC, I booted up my writing software.During that whole process, I kept repeating the word ‘At least’inside my head. The thing is, when I realized my own feelings, Irealized yet another truth that I was wavering about. That was thatboth my feelings for Suzuka as well as the direction for the littlesister novel I’m writing are going in the exact same direction.Basically, in order for me to write a little sister novel, I’llhave to put all my feelings for Suzuka in there.

Just a second ago, I said that I haddecided to never let those feelings of mine reach the surface.However, a voice inside me keeps repeating this ‘at least’,ordering my fingers to move over the keyboard, almost without mycontrol. Yes, I know I should be sealing those feelings away, but I’at least’ want to put my feelings into a worthwhile story, andmaybe even deal with them that way, and I can’t hold this desireback.

I want to write. I want to write my ownstory right now, from the bottom of my heart. Right in that instant,I felt like the little sister novel I wanted to write had taken itsfinal form inside my head, finally enabling me to write.

“……”

I just continued to write, not utteringa single word.

It was like I was possessed bysomething. Maybe this is what Suzuka was talking about when she saidthat she was possessed while writing. In the meantime, my fingersdidn’t stop moving. As I wrote those feelings that I was supposedto seal off, the guilt and disgust almost overwhelmed me. But—

—O-Onii-chan, will you become mystand-in?

Suzuka’s words from back then echoedin my head, making me chuckle. There’s no need to worry. Iunderstand everything now. Even if I finish this novel, things won’tchange.

“…I really am an idiot.”

While making a bitter smile at myself,I still continued to write. That night, I didn’t get a wink ofsleep, and I finished my novel in one session.

*

The days after that flew past, andthere were real changes to speak of. That being said, it was alsolike there was no change at all.

“Hey, Yuu, come help me collect datafor my romcom.”

“You still haven’t finished it?It’s been quite some time, you know?”

“W-Whose fault do you think it isthat I have to rewrite it? I’m not giving up yet, though, so youhave a duty to follow through… right?”

“Ugh…”

Mai was treating me the same as always,while sometimes sneakily pulling off some approaches here and there.Well, thinking back on it, she’d already tried some differentapproaches before, but I’d never realized it… Don’t call medense, please.

“W-What are you doing? Himuro-san,you’re way too close!”

At the same time, Suzuka realized this,and would often get between us. Well, it was pretty much the same ashow it was before, but the more Mai approached me like this, the moreSuzuka grew disgruntled. But this was about all the change thatoccurred. Besides that, I was still tagging along with Suzuka’sdata collecting as her stand-in, I was still being played around withby Mai, Double Peace-sensei, Minazuki-san, and the Kanzaka sisters,and I was still being teased by Shinozaki-san and Esaka-san.As time passed, the season changed from fall to winter… But therewas one thing that definitely changed during this time.

“The final round, huh?” I looked atmy smartphone.

The novel I had finished that day hadactually managed to get through all the preliminaries, and it endedup making it all the way to the final round…