Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai

Volume 2 Chapter 2

It was my fault that my little sister and I went on a date

Part 1:

"Really now…..How careless can yoube, Onii-chan….?"

"I have no excuse……"

Suzuka was looking down at me withcrossed arms. I was sitting on my knees, trying to beg forforgiveness while she lectured me. Of course, the reason for thelecture was the incident after which Mai started to question if I wasreally Towano Chikai.

After that, I failed to clear up herdisbelief and ran way home. And greeted with Suzuka’s face, I decidedto spill the beans.

……..And of course she was pissed.No, this is even worse that just being pissed.

"Haaaa, it feels like the one thing Iwas afraid about finally happened….."

"Sorry….This is all on me."

"We can’t help it at this point.Rather than that, we have to think of how to deal with thissituation."

It’s really reassuring that Suzuka iskeeping a calm head in this situation but isn’t that the duty of thebig brother….?

As I thought about that, I felt liketears started to build up in my eyes.

"Let us reorganize the currentsituation. Onii-chan, please explain the details how it went down onemore time."

"A-Ah, yeah. I took my new manuscriptwith me to school. Mai happened to find that and asked me why TowanoChikai’s writing style and the one in the manuscript didn’t matchup."

"Taking your manuscript to school isone thing but why did she happen to see it so easily?"

"Well, I didn’t expect her to sneakout of gym class and look into my bag……"

Thinking about it, I really wascareless to assume that she wouldn’t go so far huh….

"Isn’t Onii-chan too soft when itcomes to Himuro-san in the first place?"

"I don’t mean to……"

"No, looking at it objectively, youreally are spoiling her. You are always together as classmates afterall….and to add to that, she is always clinging at you….Even I amalways together with Onii-chan but…."

"Even I am….?"

"Ha?! N-No, it’s nothing! Never mindthat! My point is that you should be a lot stricter regardingHimuro-san!"

"Even if you say that……You knowhow it went down with her becoming a stalker right?"

—If I don’t let her research me, shewill leak the fact that I am Towano Chikai to the whole student body.

As she decided upon that rule, I had nochoice but to give up and let her conduct these stalker activities.

"Ugh…..B-But, I still think thatOnii-chan is too kind to Himuro-san…."

I don’t particularly think that I amreally forgiving regarding her activities but it seems like Suzuka isstill unsatisfied. I mean, looking at the fact that Mai is basicallyjust trying her best to write an interesting novel (even though hermeanings to do so are a little bit questionable), I can’t help but bea little bit resistant to acting cruelly towards her. Maybe I canclear that up if I just tell her honestly….

"D-Don’t tell me….Onii-chanis….uhm….being conscious of Himuro-san….?"

"Eh? Well, of course I would be,right?"

I can’t just ignore the fact that sheis a total stalker, you know?

"I-It can’t be…?! So Onii-chanreally does……?!"

"You’re looking a bit pale there, areyou okay? And what was that last part? I really do…..what?"

"D-Don’t make me say something thatterrifying!!!"

"What the hell are you on about?!"

Suzuka on her end just kept onmuttering stuff like "C-Calm down, me…." or "Something likethat is impossible….". What’s up with her….?

"A-Anyway….For now, we will have tofocus on the problem lying in front of us. And….What was herreaction when you tried to talk your way out of it, Onii-chan?"

"For now, I apologized to her andsaid that it was a manuscript from a long time ago and so on…."

But, as she answered to that with"That’s why the quality is so low here", that really left behindsome scars….

"Seeming like she still wasn’tsatisfied with that, she kept saying the same things again andagain."

"If Onii-chan really is TowanoChikai……you mean?"

As I nodded, Suzuka seemed to bethinking about something.

"I see. Judging from these words, shewas feeling that something was off but didn’t have any definite proofon that, right?"

"Exactly as you say it. I think thatshe was still at the level of [Something is off] but nothing more. Ifshe had some proof or the confidence, she would’ve never let me golike that."

If it really was like that, I doubtthat I would’ve made it home in one piece.

"Yes, that makes sense. It would’vebeen taking it a bit too far if she was assuming that you weren’tTowano Chikai just because of the literary style. However, once theseed of doubt has been planted, it will only start growing if wedon’t do something. The existence of a reasonable basic doubt forthat might not even be that important anymore."

Yeah, Suzuka might be right about that.Even if she doesn’t have a solid reason for her disbelief or if it’sjust out of a whim, it’ll only bring us problems in the greater run.It doesn’t matter if it’s logical at all. No matter how much onetries to ignore it, it’ll always stay in the back of your mind. It’sreally apparent in this case, since I couldn’t dispel her doubtscompletely.

"So that means that no matter whatOnii-chan says to convince her, the chance that’ll she willcompletely trust you is pretty low…."

Listening to Suzuka’s reasonablededuction, I could only grind my teeth.

What should we do then….? No matterhow much I tried to think about that, I couldn’t come up withanything.

"I understand."

Still, it seems like Suzuka came upwith something.

"So, before she really finds out, wehave to clear up her doubt completely."

"And what are you thinking about?"

"Yes….Ehe, ehehe, ehehehehe……"

"S-Suzuka?!"

All of a sudden, Suzuka startedlaughing weirdly as she was spacing out.

"Isn’t this a chance….rather than aproblem….? If this works out, then I will….withOnii-chan….ehehehehehe…."

"H-Hey Suzuka?! Return to your sensesplease?!"

I took both her shoulders and shook herslightly.

"Ha?! W-What is it?! W-What happened,Onii-chan?!"

"That’s clearly my line though?! Ithought that you suddenly went tripping because of your laugh….Andwhat did you mean about that chance thing from before?"

"W-What do you mean?! I clearly saidthat rather than a pinch, this is clearly a pinch though?!"

"That’s both the same?! So we arestill in a pinch after all?!"

"No need to mind these minor things!R-Rather than that, I thought of something that might help us out inthis situation!"

"Say what?!"

Seriously…? I wouldn’t expectanything less from my super human little sister.

"Certainly! With his method, we willsurely dispel any doubts that Himuro-san has and it will also resultin me being all flirty with Onii-chan…… Ehehehehe, two birds withone stone!"

"Eh…? Two birds with one stone…?What exactly is the second bird in this situation…?"

"I-It’s just a saying! You don’t haveto pay attention to every little detail, okay?!"

"EEEH?! Now it’s my fault?!"

I’m not really satisfied like thisthough?!

"L-Let’s forget about that now. LikeI said, there is a method but it will strongly depend on Onii-chan."

"Yeah, it was my fault to begin with.I’ll do anything."

"Eh? A-Anything?! T-Then how about ak-k-k-k-ki…….ss on the forehead?!"

"Forehead….?"

"Noooo?! I-It’s nothing! I can’t rushthings here, me! And Onii-chan! Don’t say stuff like [I’ll doanything] so easily!"

"EH?! It’s my fault again?!"

W-What did I do?!

After she glared at me with flushedcheeks, she put one hand on her chest and started taking deepbreaths. She said stuff like "Really, Onii-chan is just…."again….did I say something wrong…?

"And? What exactly is this method?What am I supposed to do?"

"Simply put, you have to showHimuro-san something that can’t be transferred verbally."

"I see. And what would that be?"

Listening to my question, Suzuka took adeep breath with flushed cheeks. And—

"O-Onii-chan should just be flirtingwith me…..please!"

…………………..What?

What….did she just say? I think Iheard something about flirting right now…?

"…..Flirting?! With flirting youmean….being all lovey-dovey with each other and so on?! W-W-What doyou mean by that?!"

"P-P-P-P-Please calm down! I-I-I-I-Iwill explain myself immediately!"

She might be saying that but sheherself doesn’t seem all that calm either?!

"D-Don’t jump to conclusions! Thereis a big reason for that! F-For now, please listen carefully!"

"Y-Yes!"

As soon as Suzuka asked for that, Istraightened my back and focused on her voice.

"A-A-Alright! To make sure thatHimuro-san believes you that you are Towano Chikai, you have toperfectly act like Towano Chikai would. A-Are you still with me?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"O-Okay! So the only logical thing todo is act like the author Towano Chikai that wrote such a littlesister novel would. To be precise, you have to act like you lovelittle sisters, really really love little sisters…… act like youlove little sisters the most in this world!!!"

"Yes!…….Eh?"

"Basically, you have to showHimuro-san how you love little sisters so much that you can’t helpit, just like Towano Chikai would! Like this, there’s no mistake thatyou’ll clear up Himuro-san’s doubts! T-To achieve that, you will haveto be all flirty with your real little sister! A-Although it is notin my best interest, I have no other choice but to help you as thereal author!"

"W-Wait a second, please?"

"What is it!"

"So you’re saying that….to dispelMai’s doubts, I will have to do flirty stuff with a littlesister…..to be precise, you…..and make Mai see that?"

"Y-Yes, that would be the gist ofit.", she agrees with a red face.

So it really is like that? Truth betold, her idea really makes sense if you think about it but….beingall lovey-dovey with my real little sister is a bit……

No, no, in the end, it is my fault thatit turned out like this! I don’t have any right to disagree. I willflirt with Suzuka then if it needs to be done!

However, there’s one thing I shouldn’tget any weird ideas about—

"Suzuka, are you fine with that?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"Being all flirty with me, even ifit’s just acting?"

To Suzuka, I am always a non-reliable,troubling big brother after all. Well, even though our relationshipsomehow changed for the better after becoming her stand-in, before weweren’t that close at all. It was my fault to begin with, so itwouldn’t be all to weird for her to dislike the idea of acting soclose to me.

"T-There’s no problem! Thinking thatI would be able to act all flirty with Onii-chan, I couldn’t be anyhappier……"

"Thinking what?"

"T-Thinking about it, the twin-tailshairstyle is pretty good in his own way, right?! That’s why there’sno problem at all!"

I didn’t really get her point but shesaid so with flushed cheeks.

Basically, she isn’t really a big fanof it but still puts up with it for my sake….? Of course….if evenI had a problem with us being all flirty, that must be even more sofor Suzuka. Yeah, it totally makes sense.

…..Sorry, Suzuka. I’m sorry that youridiot big brother pulled you into this situation. And if she’s goingso far just for me, then I have to do my best as well!

"I got it. If it’s come this far,I’ll give it my all. Let’s show Mai how lovey-dovey we can be!"

"J-Just what I would expect fromOnii-chan! I like your spirit! Let’s flirt to our hearts content!"

"Yeah, I’m probably troubling youwith that but please put up with it since it’s just an act…."

"N-No, it’s not like it’s troublingme…..and it doesn’t have to be an act as well…."

"Eh?"

"It’s nothing! Onii-chan has to actlike he really loves little sisters….and flirt with his littlesister all day! That’s how we will do it!"

"Y-You’re right. Since it’s justacting, there’s nothing more to it!"

"Y-Yes! Being all flirty with one’slittle sister happens all the time after all!"

"Yeah!" - "Yes!" is what weboth said to each other while laughing.

Somehow it feels like we were talkingpast each other but this is probably caused because of the hightension of this situation so….can’t help it! Ahaha! For now, gottafocus on solving the problem! No need to think about the small stuff!

"W-Well then, we should probablystart putting up a detailed plan, including all the scenes andscenarios we have to show Himuro-san! Before all of that, we have tothink up a name for our operation!"

"Eh? What do you mean name?"

"From this point onward, we will callthis operation [It’s obvious that the little sister novel author issomeone that loves little sisters plan]! I-I hope you will agree withme on that, Onii-chan!"

"O-Okay….? But, is something likethat really necessary?"

"O-Of course it is! We have to sum upthe current situation in one short phrase after all! Now, how aboutyou say it out loud as well, Onii-chan?!"

"Y-Yeah. It’s obvious that the littlesister novel author is someone that loves little sisters!"

"Ahahahaha." Once more, Suzuka andI were laughing at each other again.

While keeping the same atmosphere, ourmeeting continued until the late evening.

Like this, the curtains to our joinedoperation opened up.

Part 2:

"Nagamin, Nagamin, it’s fine here soplease take care of organizing the bookshelves~"

Next day in the afternoon, I was at mypart-time job again in a certain bookstore while Esaka-san wasclinging to by back, probably slacking off.

"Isn’t this the job of Esaka-san?"

"Shifts often change in the heat ofthe moment, you know~"

The person that was spouting thesesirresponsible words was a certain loli and the daughter of theshop-owner, making her my senpai. Even though you could barely seeher as a kid from grade school, she was a university student inreality and with her loli appearance plus sometimes weird attitudefrom time to time, she really was a person you’d better take yourdistance from if you didn’t want any weird misunderstandings from thepeople around you.

"Since a customer is personallyrequesting you, I have to answer them~"

"Since when did this bookstore changeinto a host-club?!"

"It’s a request from our lovelyMai-chan after all, so it’s only natural for her Onee-chan to makeher wish come true~"

It really troubles me that she kind offis an Onee-san, even though she looks like a grade school kid…..

Rather than that, it really is Mai whocame, huh. I hurried over here after the ceremony at school ended,seems like it’s all going according to the plan.

"I understand. I wouldn’t want totrouble the other costumers anyway."

With these words, I made my way to thebookshelves. But, for some reason, Esaka-san was still clinging to myback. So you’re not here to trade shifts with me after all….

Leaving Esaka-san behind at thecounter, I turned around towards the bookshelves and not one minutelater, Mai appeared in front of me.

"You won’t get away anymore, Yuu! Youclearly hiding something, aren’t you? Today is the day that you willtell me everything so prepare yourself!"

…….After that incident, Mai wasalways like this. She always came running to me, saying "You’rehiding something from me!". And she probably won’t stop until shefinds out…..or if I get her to believe me once and for all. Let’sstart the operation then.

"No, really, I told you alreadyright? That I wasn’t hiding anything."

"How naive! You won’t convince mewith these shallow words!"

"Even if you say that….Oh Iremember!"

While putting a book in a bookshelf, Iacted like I remembered something and took out my smartphone.

"Ohh yeah! Today is the day that Ihave to pick up my little sister, ahaha. I completely forgot aboutthat, ahaha."

"Didn’t Suzuka-san’s school ceremonyend already? She should probably be at home by now."

"N-Nah, since she’s the studentcouncil president, she has some other stuff to finish up after all."

"Is that so? Isn’t it too early to gopick her up then? It’s not even close to getting dark outside."

"R-Recently, a lot of bad thingshappened around this time as well…."

"….Sounds fishy."

Even I thought that my acting waspretty bad……Can’t help it. I have to keep up the act and smile.

"Anyway, I’m sorry Esaka-san but isit alright if I leave a bit early today?"

"Mhm~? Oh yeah you mentionedsomething like that. I’m OK with it~ I’ll even forget your debt ifyou let me meet Ahegao Double Peace-sensei~"

"I told you that would be impossible,ahaha. I will take an extra shift then."

"Mhm, even though Nagamin is a superpopular author, he really is stingy sometimes~"

Listening to her childish "Stingy~Stingy~" in the background, I hurriedly put off the apron and said"I’ll take my leave then" while almost running out of the shop.

"H-Hey, wait, will you?!"

Of course, Mai followed after me. Itwould be a problem to our plan if she wouldn’t, though. Somehowavoiding to get caught by her, I arrived at the prestige all-girlsschool Hakuou that Suzuka attends. Since the shop is pretty close toit, it didn’t take me that long at all.

"…….Mou! Yuu really is hidingsomething after all! It must be something related to the secret ofyour novel….if only I knew of it….. then…."

"I-I don’t know what you are talkingabout, ahaha. I am the Towano Chikai in flesh and blood, aha!"

Like this, the school gate of Suzuka’sschool entered our vision. Just as planned, Suzuka was waiting nextto it and went stiff for a second as she saw me.

"T-Thank you very much for coming topick me up, Onii-chan. And Himuro-san as well, good day to you."

Maybe because of her nervousness, hercheeked seemed a bit red. Picking Suzuka up is something that we dida long time before but this is all an act we want to show Mai, so wecan’t help it. Nearing Suzuka, I whispered in a small voice and….

"It’s finally time. We’ll start now!"

"Y-Yes. Let’s do our best…..Startthe operation!"

With that, we started with our firstactivity.

"N-Now, let’s return, shall we? Oh,all of a sudden, I took Suzuka’s hand, ahahaha?"

Making it seem as natural as possible,I reached out with my hand. As I did so:

"I-I will do so as well, hoping thatwe walk home like that, all lovey-dovey, haha."

With stiff movements, Suzuka alsoreached out with her hand and connected it with mine. Although itseemed a bit weird, we didn’t have any time to care about that alltoo much. We will go home together like this, to show Mai that Ireally love little sisters.

"….You too….why are you suddenlyshaking hands?"

"N-No, this is not a handshake…!We’re holding hands while walking home together, ahaha."

Mai’s expression didn’t change one bitand she kept on looking at our hands. As I followed her gaze, Irealized that both Suzuka and me were using our right hand….we’rereally only shaking hands, oi!

"Oops, you were right, haha! Just asmall mistake. Now, let’s go home, shall we, ahah?"

I frantically took Suzuka’s left hand.Why are you getting distracted like this, me.

Suzuka on her end was just blabberingto herself, saying "I-I’m holding hands with Onii-chan…ehehe".She must be suffering after all….please put up with it….!

"Suddenly holding hands withSuzuka-san…..what happened to you?"

"W-Well, recently, I just have theurge to do so, you know. I mean, I am the author of that littlesister novel after all, so that’s to be expected, right?"

I answered just as we plannedbeforehand because we expected Mai to ask something like that.

"D-Don’t tell me, that’s how….withSuzuka-san…?"

"Yeah. Normally, we’re only thisflirty in places where no one will see us after all. Lately, I’vebeen thinking that since I am that little sister novel author -Towano Chikai, it might be okay do to in public as well?"

"Wha-?! I knew beforehand that youliked your little sister….but you’re going this far…?! So you’rereally putting your poisonous fangs into her young body?!"

While looking at us with a frightenedexpression, she took out her [Nagami Yuu research notes] notebook outand started writing something in it.

"Nagami Yuu is….an extraordinaryfiend after all….using his little sister to improve the quality ofhis novel…..", was what she was mumbling, while taking notes witha disgusted expression….

Shit….! Do as you please! If thisresults in you trusting me that I am Towano Chikai, I will be afiendish big brother or whatever you want!

"S-Suzuka-san? Is what Yuu just saidreally the truth…?"

Lifting her head up from her notes, nowit’s Suzuka’s turn to answer her questions.

"Ehe, ehehe….Onii-chan’shand….ehehehehehe"

However, Suzuka was still spacing out.Her laugh was something that I’d never expected to hear from her andshe looked up in the air.

"S-Suzuka….!"

Trying to bring her back to reality, Istrengthened my grip on her hand. As I did so, Suzuka let out a weird"Hya-?!" and brought her head down to look at Mai.

"Eh? …..Ah, yes! That’s right!Onii-chan is always like this!"

"So it really is like that…."

Yeah, looks like it’s working! Now thefinisher….!

"S-Still, it really is hot outsidetoday, ahaha. Once we get home, let’s take a nap together likealways, haha?"

"T-That sounds good. I look forwardto using Onii-chan’s arm as a pillow to sleep on."

With this, she should finally realizethat I love little sisters. How’s that, Mai? Do you finally believeme that I really am Towano Chikai?

"Y-You too….you even do somethinglike that on a regular basis….?!"

"Y-Yeah, I am Towano Chikai afterall. I like little sisters after all?"

As I answered her question, Mai onlymuttered "Even if you’re siblings, there’s no need to report thatto me…." but I was fine with that if she just believed us.

This should be enough to clear up anydoubts that Mai had about me, right? I looked at her facialexpression to check. However, Mai still had an expression that seemedto be lost deep in her thoughts, I couldn’t get a clear answer fromthat.

"H-Hey, Mai."

"What is it?"

"You….are you still doubting methat I am Towano Chikai…?"

Going "There’s no way, right?Ahahaha" in my head, I decided to ask her directly.

To my surprise, Mai wasn’t looking allthat relieved and still kept on taking looks in her notes.

"…..It’s true that Yuu really loveshis little sister…"

"….That so."

Even if you say that, I never rememberclearly stating that though?

…..No, no! It’s fine if she justbelieves that I do! Yeah!

"Still, something doesn’t quite fityet."

"Eh? And what is that?"

"You should be satisfied with beingall flirty with your little sister like this, right? There’s no needto write such a light novel then. When I think like that, somethingreally doesn’t add up….Yeah, you’re still hiding something fromme."

"How?!"

Listening to Mai’s reasoning (?), I wasastonished.

Why?! Normally, you would be agreeingwith me here, right?! Why are you thinking like that?!

"And, the both of you are actingweird as well….like you’re words and actions are reallymachine-like."

Ah, I can’t really deny that.

"Yeah, it really is fishy! It reallyhas to be something connected to the secret of your novel! Spit itout already!"

"Again, I’m not hiding anything!"

I tried my best to hide my irritationbut I think that I kind of failed at that.

Shit…. so our operation is stillno-good after all?!

"Onii-chan, you’re shoelaces aren’ttied together."

At that time, Suzuka’s small voice wokeme up and she strengthened her grip on my hand.

As I was about to scream "W-What?"back to her while crouching down, I realized that her head was closeto mine.

She followed up with a "Please keepyour voice down for a bit."

("W-What happened? My shoelaces aretied together, though?")

("I know I know. Rather than that, itseems like Himuro-san isn’t quite convinced yet.")

("A-Ah yeah, to think her doubt wouldbe so deeply rooted… I feel like rather than having one or tworeasons, she’s probably basing it on a feeling.")

("Feeling….So basically, she’sseeing right through our acting.")

("I can’t give you any proof for thatbut it feels like she can’t shake of that feeling of doubt yet.")

("We’re being seen right through now,is it. Since Onii-chan isn’t showing his love for little sisters fromthe bottom of his heart, Himuro-san isn’t satisfied yet, you know?")

("I-I do think that I’m doing a verygood job at appealing to that, though?")

("It clearly isn’t sufficing. Justlike Himuro-san says, you gave out a weird vibe during our acting.")

("No, it’s the same for you as well,right?")

("I am very aware of that. In mycase, it’s not necessarily my feelings for Onii-chan that I’m lackingbut rather my inability to honestly show them….")

("Feelings, you say? Amazing. You’rereally giving it your best here, aren’t you….")

("Y-Yes! That’s why, Onii-chan has tostrengthen his feelings for little sisters as well! Keeping that inmind, you have to make it seem like you love nothing more in thisworld than your little sister!")

That’s some enthusiasm. So my thoughtsweren’t enough, it seems. Apparently there’s some sort of wall in myheart that hinders me from giving in to loving little sisters.

…..Listen? This is an emergencysituation okay?! Remember that!

("Sorry Suzuka, our failure goes onme this time.")

("N-No, the blame belongs to the bothof us. We just have to show Himuro-san how much more lovey-dovey wecan be!")

("I got it. We’ll keep this failureas a reference to make our next plan a success the next time!…….But, even if I say next plan, we’re almost homealready…..Ah, don’t tell me.")

("Yes, that’s right. Let’s go withPlan D.")

—Plan D. Hearing that term, Iinstinctively swallowed my spit.

Last night, we simulated all thedifferent possible outcomes of our plan. If it succeeded, if itfailed…..and what we would do if we did indeed fail. Plan D is oneof these possible derivations.

("G-Got it. I will burden you againwith that, is that really fine with you?")

("O-Of course. I am a alsoresponsible for all of this and looking after Onii-chan is the dutyof a little sister, right? …..And rather than burdening me, Ishould be thankful to Himuro-san for creating another chance to beall flirty with Onii-chan—")

("Eh? Thankful?")

("I-It’s nothing! We will do it asplanned and—")

"Hey? How much longer are you tryingto fix your shoelaces? Is there a problem?"

However, as soon as Mai raised hercomplain, we stood up in an instant.

"N-No, it’s totally fine!"

"Really? ……Huh? Were there anyshoelaces on your shoes, Yuu?…."

"R-Rather than that, let’s hurry onhome, okay? It won’t do us any good to stand in the middle of thestreet in such a heat!"

Switching the topic, I started walkingagain. Of course, Mai followed us shortly after with an "H-Hey,wait for me!", adding "Now I’m convinced that your hidingsomething!".

"Muu! If you’re not going to confesssoon, I’ll search through every little thing in your room!"

Arriving at the crossroad near ourhome, Mai said something very ominous.

Mai’s mansion and our house are veryclose to each other, so normally this would be the point when we’dseparate but it seems like she’s keen on coming with us today.

….Well then, now or never.

"N-Nope. We have to make preparationsfor tomorrow, so I don’t have the time to play with you."

"Preparations, you say? …. You havesome plans for tomorrow?"

That was the starting sign for Plan D.I calmed myself down and said the phrase that I had prepared for thissituation.

"I-It’s a date."

"And? …….D-D-D-Date?! H-Hey! Withwhom?!"

"O-Of course, with Suzuka!"

"………..Eh?"

Mai was fiddling with her hands. Shewas blushing crazily but her movements came to a sudden stop after Ihad revealed my date partner.

"Our plan was to conduct someresearch as well, so we decided to do so while being all lovey-doveyon a date! We were going to prepare for that today, so I can’t hangout with you."

Yes, the content of Plan D(ate) was tomake Mai see us being all flirty on a date together to clear up thedoubt that’s still lingering in her heart! It’s going to be a full-onassault alright!

……Going on a date with my littlesister because of that and flirting all the time. With that, even Maiwould believe me that I am indeed Towano Chikai!

"D-Date…with Suzuka-san….are youreally doing that?"

"Y-Yes! Our relationship as siblingswas pretty close from the beginning anyway so going on a date isnothing unusual! Ehe, ehehe….."

Well then, time for the finishingtouch!

"Anyways, since this a research aswell, we won’t take you with us!"

"H-How come?!"

"If you were to follow us on ourdate, the secret techniques of Towano Chikai would be revealed! It’sa top secret research after all!"

Of course, I only said that tostrengthen her curiosity, making sure that she will come after us.Though, knowing the girl named Himuro Mai, that would’ve probablyhappened without my previous statement anyway.

"I-I can’t pass on something likethat! I have to hurry and make the preparations to follow you!"

Seems like she took the bait. She’seven admitting it….

"Now that I’ve told you, we’re goingto be on our way now. You should go home as well."

"I-I can’t help it, I guess! Since Ihave other things to attend to, I will let you go for today!"

"I’ll just say this now but don’t youdare follow us, alright? By the way, we are going to meet up inYotsuba Park at 1 pm and start our date from there on out but don’tyou never ever follow us, okay?!"

I was basically telling her to come atthis point, saying stuff like that.

"I got it already! …Ah, wait! Whattime are you guys meeting up again? I’ll put it in my notes so tellme one more time please!"

Since we have to make sure that Maidefinitely follows us on our date, we told her again but…. somehow,seeing her take notes so seriously and everything makes me kind offeel bad….

"A-Alright! I’ll go home for now! Seeyou tomorrow!", she said, seeming very excited.

Did she even realize that she said "Seeyou tomorrow"?…..

"Anyway, with this, we can be prettysure that she’ll follow us on our date tomorrow."

"Well, we basically declaredeverything she has to know so…."

Being only the two of us now, we weretalking more openly about our plans.

"Still, I really gave it my bestthere but it still resulted in failure, huh…..?"

"T-That’s right. I do think thatOnii-chan really gave it his best today but you will have to try evenharder tomorrow!"

Looking at it with a calm state ofmind, I’m doing something really bad, ain’t I? Going on a date withmy real-life little sister Suzuka and being all flirty…..this won’tend well for me, I assume…..

"Onii-chan, are you listening?"

"Ah, yeah. I’m listening."

……Oh, I don’t have the time to bethinking about that.

I didn’t manage to clear up Mai’sdoubts, so things would end bad if the date tomorrow didn’t work outas well.

"….Yeah. I will make sure that Maibelieves me. Suzuka, I’m sorry but I will have you be all flirty withme tomorrow, okay?"

"O-O-Of course! You don’t even needto ask me for that……!", she says with flushed cheeks.

You, are you really alright? Wheneverything is over, I’ll do anything you want me to!

"Ah…..to think that Onii-chan wouldbe asking something like that…. I really have to be thankful toHimuro-san. Thank you for doubting Onii-chan…."

Suzuka seems to be muttering somethingin a small voice but she probably has to mentally prepare herself fortomorrow.

"Alright, let’s go home now and comeup with a detailed plan, okay? Let’s show Mai how close we are!"

"J-Just what I would expect fromOnii-chan! Such splendid enthusiasm! Ahh…..being able to hear suchphrases out of Onii-chans mouth…. I couldn’t be happier….."

"H-Hey! You’re face is really red?!Are you alright?!"

I know that I’m asking a lot from youbut please put up with it!

"I-I’m fine! A fine chance like thismight never occur again after all! I will definitely make our datethe best date ever!"

Taking my hand, she adds "It’s timefor a meeting! Let’s hurry on home!".

Suzuka started walking ahead and pulledme after her. Seeing her profile from behind, I felt my heart beataccelerating.

…..She really is cute, huh. Ofcourse, there’s no deeper meaning to that….

"What are you spacing out for,Onii-chan? We don’t have that much time!"

"I-I know!"

Being pulled after her, somehow Iunderstood the feelings of people that actually like littlesisters…..a really tiny bit, okay?

Part 3:

The following day, approximately 10minutes after 1 pm in the afternoon.

I was standing beneath the big clock inYotsuba Park, waiting for Suzuka. Looking at the people taking a walkand the street workers next to the park, seeming pretty happy withtheir lives. I, however, didn’t feel that great at all. I was in abad mood because it was the day that I would go on a date with myreal-life little sister, although it was just an act. Still, I hadmade up my mind to do this, so I couldn’t just pull out last second.

Then, because of what else am I sodisheartened you ask?

"……… stare…….."

Well, that’s because in the shadows ofthe tree a few meter away from me, someone is hiding……basically,stalking me in broad daylight. Of course, I was talking about Mai.

….Do you really think that I cannotsee you? I can see you perfectly, you know? The tree isn’t even bigenough to hide your body completely…are you taking this serious ornot? Why even bother taking a tree that’s in clear sight for me? Oris showing yourself to the person you’re stalking a new technique?

……is what I would normally retortbut I’m really not in the mood. You’re wearing private clothes I’llgive you that but other than that, you’re not really secretive.Thinking about the fact that we did our utmost to make you follow usin secret….this is somehow really frustrating.

"Onii-chan! I-I’m sorry for makingyou wait!"

As I was thinking that, I saw Suzukacoming towards me with small steps. Even though I see her privateclothes every day, she looks even more dressed up in this situation.

"N-No, I just arrived myself.", Ianswered with an all too-well known phrase.

Saying it out loud in a situation likethis, it’s pretty embarrassing alright. You might wonder why wearrived at a different time even though we live in the same householdbut that’s because acting out a scene like this makes us look evenmore lovey-dovey.

"It seems like…. Himuro-san hasarrived as well."

"It looks like she thinks she’sperfectly hidden from our view….."

"It doesn’t matter. N-Now, let’sstart our date, Onii-chan."

She takes my arm with her usual stiffmovement while she says so. Feeling the warmth of her hand, followedby the softness of her skin, I straightened my back in nervousness.

"Weeeell, I’m really happy to go on adate with Suzuka like this, ahaha."

"M-M-M-M-Me too! It still feels likea dream, being on a date with Onii-chan!"

An old couple passing us looked at uswith a pleasant smile but I can’t get that to my head right now.

How is this? We’re really flirty,right? I am the light novel author Towano Chikai that loves littlesisters after all! Something like this is to be expected, ahaha!

Trying not to be distracted by Suzuka’ssoft feeling, I focused on Mai that was starting to move closer tous. Just as planned. And like that—

Our weird date started.

Part 4:

"So, where are we going now?"

Having left the park behind us, I askedSuzuka. That’s because I have no clue what places we’re going tovisit. Originally, I was the one that was supposed to put up a plantogether for our date, since I was the main reason the wholesituation came together. However, Suzuka mentioned that it would bebetter if she would decide on the places since that would create amore natural atmosphere, rather than simply acting out a scene. Likethis, we would act more natural when certain incidents might happen.

The first time I listened to thatreasoning, I thought "That’s really like Suzuka."

"S-Since this is our long-awaiteddate, we have to make it a real one and not just acting!"

I really admire her enthusiasm, yeah.

"I have decided on a worthy place forour date after being troubled, trying to think of one. This is ourfirst real date after all, so it should be a memorable place where wewould be able to flirt all we want. It really was hard work."

"I see…..Mhm? Memorable?"

"At first, I thought of somethinglike an amusement park. Going on a Ferris wheel together would be thebest situation for that after all. However, it seems like it might beimpossible this time.", she answered.

As she said so, Mai showed some sort ofshocked expression, followed by a whistle. Of course, there was nosound of that whatsoever.

…..At least try to hide behind thatlight pole please…

"There’s also the possibility thatMai might lose us when we’re paying the entering fee for theamusement park."

"Yeah, you’re right. And even if wewere to ride the Ferris wheel, Mai wouldn’t be able to see usanyway."

To my statement, Suzuka muttered"Ferris wheel…..such a shame."

"So, what place did you chose in theend?"

"You should be able to see it now.Look, over there."

Looking at where Suzuka was pointing, Isaw a big shopping mall in front of the train station. It was onlyrecently built as well, being one of those combined businessinstitutions.

I see. We can go shopping there, eatsomething while taking a break and go around in a couple-likeatmosphere.

"It might not be the best choicethere is but I couldn’t help it this time. However, if it’s thatplace, I can be as flirty as I want with Onii-chan….!", she sayswhile her grip on my hand strengthens a bit.

"……You’re right. Let’s finishthis today."

"I’ve been thinking that I didn’tmind if we were to stay this close though……"

"Eh?"

"N-Never mind! Let’s hurry up! Thefirst thing to do is shopping!"

Just as she said, the first thing wewere facing was a long line of little shops. Knowing beforehand thatthere would be shopping event in any way, I merely nodded inagreement.

Accessories and other small things,normal and western clothes and also miscellaneous goods paired withfurniture. A perfect place to execute our operation.

"W-We will go into that store."

However, I froze up at the shop thatSuzuka was pointing at with her finger.

"An underwear shop for women….?D-Don’t tell me…. we’re going to go in there?!"

"Y-Yes. I will say this beforehandbut my selection is solely based upon the best result for ouroperation. At first, I thought of just going for western-clothes butthe flirty impact with that might not be enough to convinceHimuro-san after all. On the other hand, if we were to go to anunderwear shop, the appeal of you being a little sister lover wouldbe transmitted way stronger! I-I mean, you get to decide theunderwear for your little sister!"

S-She might be right about that but Iwas a bit hesitant, confronted with such a out of the ordinarychoice.

……We never talked about somethinglike this?!

Before I could voice my doubts though,I heard the voice of Mai from behind me.

"Mhm? This seems weird….Yuu’s faceseems to stiffen up?"

…..R-Right. I can’t be such a cowardnow. We are in the middle of our date operation!

"I-I got it. With this, our appealwould be much greater than just with normal clothes!"

"S-Since this is a date, deciding onthe underwear of the partner is only natural! That being said, let ushurry up!"

Being pulled after Suzuka, we enteredthe shop. The eyes of the employees and other guests were fixated onus but I couldn’t be bothered with that now.

"….So, what should I do?"

"N-Nothing special. Onii-chan onlyhas to decide on underwear that might fit me. That would be plentyflirty."

I understand. "Something like thismight fit you pretty well, don’t you think?" or "Eh, that’s nogood!" or "Wow, that’s really cute!" like phrases would giveoff a good appeal.

—-The problem is, doing it withunderwear is one thing but….

"Yuu is going to decide on theunderwear that Suzuka-san has to wear? A fiend through andthrough…"

Mai is also keeping her eyes on us….So since we’re here already, I got to pull through.

"Mhm, stuff that might fitSuzuka…..Uhm…."

Being confronted with all thesedifferent variations on colors, shapes and types, my head wasstarting to hurt.

Since this is the first time for me, Ihad no idea what to choose…

"H-How about this one?"

Deciding on one pair of panties, Ihanded it towards Suzuka.

"L-Let me see?! ……Eh?"

When she turned her view on thepanties, her body started trembling. The panties I chose were plainand white. However, the one thing that made it special was the faceof a cute bear printed onto it.

"W-What is this? What do you meanwith that…..Onii-chan?"

"Eh? It gives off a wholesomecuteness and I thought that they might fit you pretty well…?"

"They are clearly made for littlechildren! I graduated from these after entering middle-school!"

Ah, now that she says it….

"Saying that this might fit me…..soyou really think of me as just a kid….!"

"No you’re misunderstanding! I didn’tmean it like this!"

"…..? What happened? It seems likethe atmosphere changed around them…..?"

Seeming to realize that we were closeto breaking out in a dispute, Mai voiced her surprise again, whichentered Suzuka’s ears as well.

"Woooow, they are so cute! I wantedyou to chose something like this!", Suzuka tried to smooth over.

However, as she said so to me, her facewasn’t smiling at all and she muttered "Repeat it!" under herbreath.

"I’m happy to hear that! But, theremight be something even better for you, right?"

Connecting the conversation, I gave into the pressure Suzuka was emitting.

…..T-Thinking about it, the bearpanties really were a bit too childish. It seems like I got tooconfused with all of this. Got to think calmly.

"Think calmly…..", I continuouslywhispered as I was searching for another pair that might fit her.

And…..

"Oh? H-How about this one?"

The next pair I chose was striped withwhite and pink— the so-called shimapan.

"This one is a bit better but whyexactly this one?"

"You were wearing similar ones thatone time we were doing the research on panchira, right? They werefitting you that time so—"

However, I hurriedly closed my mouth.

"O-Onii-chan….! You still rememberthat time….!"

"N-No! It’s not like that!"

T-This is bad…..! Not to mention theact, even remembering the type of panties makes me too much of apervert doesn’t it?!

"I-It’s fine, isn’t it?! Forming thisinto an appeal of [Isn’t the type of panties that you always wearjust fine?] makes it even better, don’t you think?!"

"No I really think that we shouldthink of something different, Suzuka-san?!"

Trying to get away from the shimapantopic, I once more turned back to the panties in front of me.

Of course, the appeal of that mightactually work out pretty good but I don’t feel like my soul wouldkeep up with that. No other choice but to change the topic!

"A-Aren’t these ones a pretty goodfit as well?!"

Without even making sure what I wasgrabbing, I took another pair and showed them to Suzuka. As Idid…..

"S-So Onii-chan really like the moreadult-like panties?!"

"Eh? Adult-like…?"

I turned my head to look at the pantiesin my hands.

They were black, very small and almostsee-through.

"Ah! No, you’re wrong! I took thewrong ones!"

"….No, it makes sense. It isOnii-chan after all. Panties like these would fit Himuro-san orDouble Peace-sensei much better…..But, they really are lewd….."

Seemingly not listening to my excuses,Suzuka keeps on looking at the panties.

At that time, I heard the words of Maiagain behind my back.

"What are they doing, I wonder? Theatmosphere suddenly changed?"

These words woke me up and reminded meof our original goal of coming here in the first place.

"W-Well, sometimes it’s fine to go alittle bit further beyond, right? They would really fit you. Yeah."

Although I tried my best to be allflirty will her, recommending such erotic panties to my middle schoollittle sister is really a fiendish act, right?

Instead of answering me, Suzuka wasjust standing there with flushed cheeks. She then continues to lineup all the previous panties and asks me:

"So, which one of these doesOnii-chan like the most?"

Of course, finally deciding on a pairis the perfect scene for making us look like we’re flirting but….

I really upset Suzuka with the bearpanties….The shimapan would be a safe choice but that would hurt myhonor and the black erotic ones are still too early for Suzuka.

—-Isn’t every possible choice goingto end bad for me?!

"Uhm….."

In front of me was the face of Suzukathat had an expectant expression.

Behind me was the gaze of Mai that feltlike she was saying "What are they doing?"

No choice but to chose somethingnow….

Shutting my eyes and saying "Thisone!", I reached out with my hand. In that moment, I felt anominous feeling next to me.

"S-So Onii-chan really is anero-devil after all…."

The panties that I had in my hand werethe erotic black ones, explaining why Suzuka was glaring at me withflushed cheeks just like before.

….Shit! Of course it had to be these!But, never mind that!

"Well, since it’s you we’re talkingabout, I thought that the more adult-like ones would fit you muchbetter!"

"I-I see. Onii-chan really ispervert. But….if you say they fit me…"

"Of course! They perfectly fit you! Ican guarantee that! There’s no problem if you’re still a middleschool student! That’s why…. uhm….take these!"

While raising my voice to make theappeal even more clear, I felt like crying deep within my heart.

Shit….Even if you think of me as afiendish perverted big brother, it’s fine if this clears up thedoubts that Mai has! Don’t falter, me!

Turning around to look at Mai’sreaction, I saw that she was shaking her head like she was agreeingto something while taking notes in her notebook. Was my appeal asuccess?! Then, time to finish this!

"Since I am your big brother as well,I would really like to see you wearing them sometime—"

"U-Uhm, excuse me. You are botheringthe other guests so I kindly ask you to leave."

At that point, a shop employee come tous and threw me out of the shop.

…Thinking about it calmly, that was alogical decision, huh. Saying such stuff out loud in a shop for womenmakes me look like a degenerate. It might’ve even been at the levelwhere they could’ve called the police…..

Contemplating about that incident, Isaw Suzuka coming out of the shop. However, she just passes mewithout saying a single word, her face being as red as a tomato.

"Uhm…Suzuka?"

"Please wait here for a moment……Iwill go to the toilet to calm myself down."

I-I see. Well, it must’ve been reallyembarrassing for you right? Makes sense….

Waiting for a short while, Suzuka comesback, still as red as before and takes my arm without saying anythingagain, maybe because she still was irritated.

….I gave it my best just now….butwas that enough to make our operation a success? I was about to turnaround to check for some sort of reaction but….

"Of course it is a failure. You weretrying to hard for that appeal so there’s no way that Himuro-sanwould be satisfied with something like this."

Yeah figures…..

Leaving the underwear ship behind us,we made our way to our next event destination. Still having a stronggrip on my arm, Suzuka whispers "Please pull yourself together forthe next one."

"…..Well, can’t be changed now, Iguess. We just have to give it our all for the next occasion. Let’sshow her how flirty we can be."

"You’re right. Time for a recovery."

As soon as she finished her words, wearrived at a row of food shops and stands. Various shops were linedup next to each other and in the middle was a wide open area. Therewere also a lot of other couples walking around so we won’t stand outhere if we were to be flirting.

"Since we came here, it’s got to bethat right?"

Just to make sure, I checked thecontent of our next event.

"Yes, you can’t have a date withouteating something together. This is something that I have wanted to dofor a long time—-No, never mind that! This is the standard [Feedeach other] event that is necessary for dates, making it the perfectchange to appeal to Himuro-san!"

"Understood. Since this is our firsttime, how about we pick something that is easy to feed to someoneelse, right?"

Mhm, something easy…huh? That is…

"Uhm, Suzuka, how about someice-cream from that store over there?"

"Ah….Yeah….Being fed withice-cream from Onii-chan….."

"Alrigh, I’ll buy some then. Whatflavor do you want?"

"Ah… I would like chocolate then."

"OK. I’ll get some vanilla then."

Buying two portions of ice-cream, I satdown on a bench next to Suzuka."

"Alright…"

Preparations clear. Looking at myportion, I thought about our following actions. Just like Suzuka saidbefore, I have to make an appeal this time so adding the phrase "SayAhh" is a must. But, how will I find out the timing for that?

"Hey, Suzuka?"

"H-Hya?!"

Raising my voice, Suzuka let out aweird voice.

"W-What happened?"

"N-N-N-Nothing at all! Thinking aboutfeeding each other…..with Onii-chan made me nervous…"

"I-I see. I’m sure that you’reuncomfortable but this is a do-or-die situation. I’m giving it mybest as well."

"Y-Yes. So…for now, I will starteating the ice-cream…", she said and started licking her portion.

For now, I’ll follow heractions…..Yeah, it’s sweet and delicious.

" Stare………."

I could clearly feel the intense stareof Mai, which was still following us.

Alright, now’s the time. Making surethat Mai can hear me, I raised the volume of my voice.

"Hey, Suzuka. Would you mind if I gota taste of your chocolate ice-cream?"

"N-No it’s totally fine!W-W-W-W-W-Would it be fine if I got a taste of yours as well?"

"Ah, yeah of course. I’ll take somethen"

"O-O-O-O-Okay. T-Then… say a-ahhhh"

Suzuka reaches out with her hand whilesaying the phrase that was necessary in this situation. The ice-creamwasn’t in the original state anymore, indicating that she alreadytook a bite from it.

…..Isn’t this….a so called indirectki—–hey, what am I thinking about?! Put yourself together me! Thisis for our operation! For our appeal!

"A-Ahhh"

I took a bite from her ice-cream aswell.

A-Alright! I don’t care about theembarrassment or the taste! I manged to pull through this time!

"Y-Yeah, very delicious. Now, it’sSuzuka’s turn. Here, say ahh"

I reached out with my ice-cream in handtowards Suzuka.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuu…….!"

However, Suzuka’s face has gotten redlike never before and it looked like she was close to crying.

"W-What happened, Suzuka? Everythingokay?"

"Onii-chan’s ice-cream……….!Onii-chan’s ice-cream……!"

Is she really fine, I wonder?! I wasstill concerned about her when I heard Mai’s voice.

"Hm? It looked like they had a niceatmosphere but isn’t Suzuka going to do it as well?"

It seems like her voice also enteredthe ears of Suzuka as she straightened her body once more and said:

"I-I will do it. If I don’t do itnow, when will I…! Ah but…. an indirect kiss with Onii-chan!Indirect….!", she muttered with a small voice.

She looked at me with earnest eyes.

"H-Here I go then…! A-Ahhh….!"

She seemed to have made up her mindbut…she didn’t open her mouth enough and the distance between uswas to big to feed her.

"M-My body won’t move how I want itto because of my tension…."

"Ehm…should I come closer then?"

"I-It’s okay. Just…give me sometime please…. And, would you mind if you held onto this for amoment…"

As she said so, she handed me herice-cream and repeatedly took deep breaths.

"D-Do your best, me…..A chance likethis might never come again….! Going on a date withOnii-chan….feeding each other and an indirect kiss….!"

"U-Uhm if you don’t hurry up….theice-cream will…"

"I-I am well aware of that! T-Thistime for sure….!", she says, trying for a second time.

She was looking at me full of vigor butit looks like she can’t do it in the end. When I thought that shewould take the one lick, she immediately pulls back with flushedcheeks, forcing me hold out my hand over and over, making me feellike I was in some sort of tease-play.

Continuing like that for some time, theexpected result happened.

Plopp

"Ah….! N-No!?"

The melted ice cream cruelly dropped onthe floor.

"The indirect kiss withOnii-chan…!"

Just when I thought what she was aboutto do, she reached out with her hand for the ice-cream until Ihurriedly stopped it.

"W-What are you doing?!"

"D-Don’t stop me, please! Have younever heard of the three-seconds rule?!"

"That’s not the point! It doesn’tmatter now that it had melted anyway!"

In that moment, Suzuka’s chocolateice-cream met the same fate.

Plopp

"A-Ah…."

I took out a pocket tissue and cleanedup the floor, throwing the tissue away in a garbage bin after I wasfinished.

"Uhhh…… Why am I always alwayslike this….at an important time like this…"

When I returned to the bench, Suzukawas seriously depressed. It even seemed like an aura was building uparound her. Feels like the atmosphere around her is affected by hermood…..

"D-Don’t be so down onyourself….You gave it your best, right?"

"No, I am disgusted at myself…."

"No worries, I messed up as well. Thefailure is on the both of us. And thinking about it, it was finesince I was the doing it, remember? We just have to show that to Maiafter all."

"N-No, if we both don’t succeed, wecan’t call this a true date!"

Really, your sense of responsibility issomething else….

"Also, we don’t know if we convincedHimuro-san with that yet."

I slowly turned around to look at Mai.She was writing something in her research notes but it was unclear ifit was positive for us or not.

With all our troubles thus far, Iseriously hope that she is finally convinced. That would take a bigburden of Suzuka’s shoulders and mine.

"I-It’s no good. At this rate, wewill fail!"

As I was lost in my thoughts, Suzukasuddenly stood up.

"W-Woah?! W-What’s with you?!"

"Onii-chan, let’s go to the next one!Even though the goal was to be all flirty with Onii-chan, I haven’tmanaged to do it once yet! I won’t let it end like this! I have to beall lovey-dovey with you or else…..!"

"D-Don’t push yourself too far, okay?With our last event, we might have even convinced her after all."

"No, that isn’t the problem! We bothmade mistakes, you know?! Only if we both work together and flirtwith each other, then our mission will be a success!"

……She’s right. My little sister issomeone with a strong sense of responsibility and a ideologist.

And also, not wanting it to end likethis is the correct answer here. We don’t know if we cleared up Mai’sdoubts yet and giving in won’t change anything.

"Sorry. I was wrong. Let’s finishthis with our next event and satisfy Mai, alright?"

"That’s my Onii-chan! Let’s flirt toour hearts content!"

Going "With that being said!",Suzuka took my arm once more and started walking.

"H-Hey, Suzuka?! Where are you goingnow?"

As I asked her, she merely answeredwith "Isn’t that self-explanatory?" and continues.

"The place where I can be as flirtywith Onii-chan as I want!"

As a result, we went to a game centerin the shopping mall.

"Since we came here, that means thatnow it’s the [Play together]-part of the date, right?"

Originally, we thought of threeessential parts to our date: Shopping - Eating - Have funtogether. However, I didn’t imagine Suzuka to chose a game center forthe last one.

"That’s right. There’s something Iwanted to do here."

Suzuka wants to play a game….? iswhat I thought of at that moment but Suzuka pointed to somethingcompletely different.

"Ahh, a photo booth? I see."

"It’s a machine where couples oftentake photos together, right?"

"Photos huh….good idea."

"Fufufufufu, ever since I have knownof their existence, I always wanted to take a photo withOnii-chan….I can’t let this chance slip away!", she said as shestrengthened her grip on my hand.

S-Somehow, it feels like her enthusiasmhas gotten even higher?

"Ehm, so we have to stand in front ofthe machine and close the curtains, right?"

"Wait a second? It just came to mymind but if we close the curtains, Mai won’t be able to see us beingall flirty, you know?"

"We just have to talk like we wereflirting with each other loudly enough for Mai to hear it!

"R-Really?! Sure, such an atmospherewould be recognizable from the outside but…."

"Rather than that, how do you usethis machine?"

Having never been in a game centerbefore, she sure was lost on a lots of things. Using a photo booth isa first for me as well but I’m familiar with the handling of one.

"Stand here. You will be on thatscreen there, you see? After deciding on a pose, you just have topress that button and it will take a picture. It’s like a photo foryour identity card or something like that."

"What is this pattern that goesaround the screen?"

"Ah, that’s the frame. There’s agreat variety of them so you can choose whichever you want."

There really are a lot that are shownhere. A simple white one, cats and dogs and other animals, stars,falling snow, game characters and so on. Since this is a date, wereally have to pick this one.

"How about the one with the hearts?It’s perfect for couples and it perfectly fits for our plan, Ithink."

"J-Just what I would expect fromOnii-chan! You really know a lot. Please take that one then."

Hehe, I am taking this operation veryserious after all.

"Ehe, ehehehe…..If I were to showthis to Himuro-san, she will have to admit defeat! Ehehehe….."

"Yeah, with this, she has to believeme that I love little sisters and—– …..Huh? Defeat?"

"H-H-H-H-Hurry up and take thepicture please!"

"A-Alright alright"

Being urged by Suzuka, I put in all thesettings….. Alright.

"I’ll take it now, okay?"

"W-Wait a moment, please."

However, I was about to press thebutton when Suzuka suddenly stopped my hand.

"Just now, Onii-chan was talkingabout deciding on a pose, right? I think we have to decide on onethat really shows our lovey-dovey atmosphere, right?"

Oh…now that she says that, it reallymakes sense.

"E-Ehm…. Then in this case…."

After hesitating for a moment, I put myarm around her shoulders.

"Hya?!"

"S-Sorry! This is a very basic thingto look all lovey-dovey though!"

"I apologize. It’s not that. I wasjust surprised that’s all. And I think that this is still lacking!"

"Eh? Lacking….?"

"N-Not just the shoulders but….mywhole body…."

"Whole body, you say? That would meanthat I would be giving you a hug…don’t tell me, you want me to dothat?"

"I-If we want to look allflirty….something like this is a must-do!"

Even though her cheeks were flushed redfrom the embarrassment, she looked at me with serious eyes.

"I-I got it. You’re right. Somethinglike this is a basic thing to show that I love little sisters!"

"Y-Yes! It’s obvious!"

"Makes sense" – "Yes, it does."

"Ahahaha",we laughed awkwardly.

"T-Then, I’ll do it now…."

"P-P-P-P-Please do!"

She was faintly shaking as I slowlypulled her closer to me. Finally, I wrapped my arms around her smallbody. A nice smell. N-No! She’s really soft. That might be true butno! I was confused.

What exactly am I doing? I’m hugging mylittle sister. I see—

………………………….UWAAAAAA?!

"A-A-A-A-Are you okay, Suzuka?!"

This is bad. I don’t really know whathappened but my brain cells melted there.

"Onii-chan……Onii-chan?……Ehe,ehehehhehehehe……"

It seems like it’s the same forSuzuka?! But this is the perfect lovey-dovey scene, no mistaking it!

Look at us Mai! Burn this into youreyes! Realize that I really love little sisters!

……………..No no no no! She can’tsee us through the curtain?! Then what should I do?!

R-Right! This is a photo booth! Acertification photo!

I started reaching out with my handtowards the button…..however…

"Ehe, eheheh, ehe?"

I only moved a little bit but it lookedlike Suzuka might collapse at any moment. It seems like all strengthleft her body and she was about to fall back with a smile on herface.

"Ah, that wasrisky…..and….woah?!"

While holding up Suzuka, I lost mybalance for an instant.

"Kya?!"

That was close. I barely managed to getmy arm between the ground and Suzuka.

However, as a result of that, Irealized that I was looking at her from above, making it look like Iwas holding her down.

"….Eh? Onii-chan….? Eh? Eh?!"

After a few seconds, it seemed likeSuzuka realized the situation we both were in at the moment. Shestarted shaking as she look up to me with a red face. I was trying topull back but my gaze was glued to a certain spot. In that moment….

"O-Onii-chan…? What areyou…..Kyaaaa?!"

Suzuka’s skirt was lifted up where shewas lying, making her panties very visible to me.

I-It’s not like I am captivated by herpanties though?! I was looking at her panties before when we did thepanchira research so there’s nothing special about it okay?!Still…you know. The circumstances now are a little bitdifferent….

Y-You….why are you wearing theseblack erotic panties?! Thinking about it, they are the ones that Ichose in that underwear shop, right?!

"H-H-H-How long are you planning onstaring, Onii-chan you idiot!"

She fixed her skirt in panic when shescreamed that. Hurriedly standing up, I asked her.

"Y-You…..why are you…."

"Asking me something like this socalmly…..Onii-chan, you’re the worst!"

"No you’re wrong! This is amisunderstanding! It was an accident! I was trying to help you! It’snot like I was interested in your panties or anything! Still, theyare a bit…."

These aren’t things that a pure 3^rdyear middle-school student should be wearing, you know?!

"Y-You’re wrong! It’s not becauseOnii-chan told me that they would fit me or anything! This is…forour operation!"

"O-Operation?! Why for something likethat?!"

"O-Our goal for this date is to belovey-dovey after all. I thought that it would help if I bought theunderwear that Onii-chan specifically chose for me! That’s why Ibought them at the store and changed into them when I was in thetoilet."

Now that I think about it, you went tothe toilet…..for something like this….?

"I was just mentally preparingmyself. It’s not like I was hoping for a situation where Onii-chanwould be able to see them or anything!"

I-I see. So basically, she was tryingto set the mood for herself….

I don’t really know why but I feelreally relieved. There’s no way that she would wear them on a normaloccasion. Such strange….and erotic ones…..

"…..Onii-chan? What are youthinking about?"

Being called back to reality bySuzuka’s freezing voice, I suddenly stiffened up.

"O-Onii-chan really is apervert…..!"

"Y-You’re wrong?! It’s not whatyou’re thinking!"

I was trying to erase the scene frombefore from my memories. However, no matter how much I try to eraseit, it gets carved into them even more……..doesn’t this reallymake me a pervert after all?!

"…..Uhm"

"S-Sorry Suzuka! I’ll definitelyforget it so please forgive me!"

"I-It’s not like that. Well, I wishyou would forget about it but…I’m sorry.", she said whilelowering her head. "I-I remember now. Because Onii-chan was huggingme, I got so happy—-No! I got so nervous and you saved me when Icollapsed, right? And I even called you an idiot…."

"N-No, it’s my fault for seeing yourpanties….Let’s both just forget about it!"

We were both nodding to each other withflushed cheeks. What were we doing again?

"Ah! The photo! What about thephoto?!"

I remember. As I checked for it…

"Ah, it already took one. Seems likeI happened to press the button by accident."

As I explained the circumstances toher, I realized that there was a print-out button. As expected, theinside of the heart-themed frame was empty. Is this a photo of aghost or what?

"I-It can’t be…. The first phototogether with Onii-chan….something like this…", she was whiletrembling. "O-Onii-chan. Let’s take one more! This time, we willtake a good one and—"

But, at that time, a heard the voicefrom Mai from beyond the curtain.

"I heard a scream just now but whatmight you two be doing…? D-Don’t tell me….Yuu is attackingSuzuka-san…? Is that it?! Should I report this to the police….?!"

T-This is bad….! I have to talk myway out of this!

"N-Noooo, we were taking alovey-dovey photo! How about we leave now, Suzuka?"

As I said so with a loud voice, Maisaid "I-I have to hide!" and it seemed like she was running away.

"Now’s our chance! Come, Suzuka!"

"B-But….my commemoration photo ofour date….!"

"At this rate, our operation willfail! We have to hurry!"

Taking the hand of Suzuka, we passedthrough the curtain.

"Ah………why did it have to turnout like this…..Even though I have to be all lovey-dovey withOnii-chan…."

"No, I really think that you gave ityour best just now…. Seems like it worked on Mai after all."

It worked almost so good that I wasalmost labeled a criminal.

"I don’t care about Himuro-sananymore! It’s finally our first date together but we didn’t manage toflirt with each other at all, right?! Something like this…..",she muttered with tears in her eyes. "I don’t want it to end likethis! Onii-chan! Let’s keep going! The next one will work for sure!"

"Huh? The next one? I thought thatour operation would end here?!"

"Our operation isn’t over until wewere flirting with each other!"

As she said so, she once took my armonce more and pulled me with her.

"C-Calm down! Where are we even goingnow?!"

"T-The ultimate place to gatherflirting experiences!"

Even though she didn’t really explainanything, I was pulled along by her enthusiasm and decided to keepquiet and go with her.

"There is no other tool that makes iteasier to flirt with each other!"

Her cheeks being slightly red, shepointed at that ting in front of us.

After what happened before, Suzukapulled me with her to a certain cafe inside the shopping center.Having ordered what she wanted, it was currently standing in front ofus on the table we were sitting at.

One glass, two straws. In the truestsense, a drink for couples.

"T-That makes it easy to understand,alright. Rather, almost too easy….."

If we were to drink something like thistogether, we’re basically declaring to our surroundings just howlovey-dovey we are. Although this is the best item we could’ve askedfor, really drinking it is a bit…..and even with my littlesister….

"I’m surprised that you knew of ashop that had something like this."

"I-I’ve always wanted to do somethinglike this. I didn’t have any experience with that before."

"I see. I’m sure that if we were todo something with so much impact, we’ll eradicate the last bit ofdoubt that Mai might still have."

"E-Exactly. This time for sure, let’sflirt with each other!"

Suzuka muttered "It’s fine as long asI calm down….." with a small voice.

"….Then, let’s start, huh?"

"Y-Yes. I-I am in your care."

Suzuka and I started drinking at thesame time.

Who was the first person to think ofdoing this? Must’ve had a screw loose in their head— is what Ithought, trying to hide my embarrassment and I somehow managed topull through.

Although Suzuka’s expression seemed tobe plagued by nervousness, she actually managed to pull through thistime.

"Ehehe, we finally managed to belovey-dovey….."

Fazed with Suzuka’s cute smile, Icouldn’t mutter anything besides "Y-Yeah."

W-What is this weird feeling…. Myheart is beating even more than when I was being fed by her or when Iwas hugging her…..? C-Calm down, me! The operation isn’t over yet,so stop thinking about that.

Oh right. What about Mai? Is shelooking at us? With this, you have to finally be satisfied right?

Thinking that, I turned my eyes towardsher. The last time I checked, she was in front of the fast foodrestaurant across from the cafe we were currently in, watching us.However, the scenery that entered my eyes made me forget about thatweird feeling from before.

"Isn’t that…..?"

Just as I thought, there were to men,having a conversation with Mai. She seemed to be saying somethinglike "Go somewhere else" with a bothered face, additionallywaving with one hand as well. However, the two men merely smiledfrivolously and kept on getting closer to her. They were clearlytrying to pick her up.

"Wait here for a moment."

Only saying these words to Suzuka, Ileft the cafe and walked towards Mai.

"Hey, hey, it’s fine right? It’sboring to be all alone, don’t you think?"

"Yeah, yeah, have some fun with us."

"Like I said, I’m not interested.Leave me alone…."

Mai was trying her best to make themleave her alone but the two guys were merely smiling at that. Themoment one guy was trying to land his hands on her shoulders, Istepped in.

"Sorry, I made you wait. Mai."

"Eh? Y-Yuu?!"

Without answering her, I turned towardsthe two guys and said,

"Sorry about that guys but she’s withme." while looking at them with a face that said "And get lostalready."

The two guys were a bit confused at mysudden appearance but they clicked their tongues and went their ownways again.

……Haaa, I’m glad that this wasresolved without any trouble.

"Why are you here…."

Mai was opening her eyes inastonishment. Having a tear in her eye, she must’ve been scaredright?

"Listen here….you have to be alittle bit more cautious. You know that guys like these appear morefrequently during the summer vacation, right?"

As I was lecturing her, she didn’t seemto listen at all and merely hurried to take her ribbon off her hair.

"I-I don’t you who you are but thankyou very much!"

"….What? You…..what are yousay—-?"

"To save a woman you have never seenbefore, you can really be proud of yourself. Just what I would expectfrom Yuu—–no, from a stranger like you!"

"What are you on about now?!"

Don’t tell me…is she trying to actlike we don’t know each other so that we wouldn’t be suspicious ofher?! And just changing your hairstyle a little bit won’t make itless obvious for me to recognize you?!

"W-Well then, I have some urgentbusiness to attend to so…."

"Ah, Wait!"

Without giving me a chance to stop her,Mai was running away at the speed of light.

You know, aren’t you trying a littlebit too hard here? We already knew that you were following us afterall…..

Well, whatever, I decided to head backto the cafe but as soon as I turned around, I heard a familiar voice.

"What exactly does this mean?"

"Suzuka? Why did you come here, Itold you to wait, right?"

Although she should’ve been waiting inthe cafe, Suzuka was currently standing in front of me.

"I saw that Onii-chan was talking toHimuro-san after all. We didn’t even finish the drink……Andalso….."

Before the situation went south evenmore, I explained the situation to Suzuka.

"…..I understand. What a good thingto do."

"What happened? Your facialexpression is still pretty dark……."

"No…. Even if it couldn’t have beenhelped, you went to Himuro-san’s aid in the middle of our preciousdate…..So, you really do feel that way towards her….?"

I couldn’t hear everything she saidbecause she was muttering something with a small voice but her faceseemed to be very uncomfortable.

……Don’t tell me, is she mad becauseI showed myself in front of Mai while she was following us?

I couldn’t really help it this timethough?

"A-Anyway, what should we do now? Maiprobably isn’t around anymore."

I was trying to change the topic butSuzuka merely answered "That’s right…".

"Really, what’s wrong with her?"was what I wondered when it happened.

"Ah, if it isn’t Sensei and theImouto-san, desu! I’m so happy, desu!"

"He? D-Double Peace-sensei?! Why areyou here?!"

Just when I thought that I recognizedthat blonde-haired beauty, she already came walking towards us. Ofcourse, it was our illustrator Ahegao Double Peace-sensei.

"Well, I came here to buy somethings, desu. And I happened to see Sensei as I was walking around.What a coincidence!"

Coincidence one way or the other, hertiming really is on a different level.

"By the way, why are Sensei andImouto-san here? Ah, might this be a date?!"

"N-No! Y-You’re wrong?!"

In fact, it was a date but since DoublePeace-sensei isn’t involved in all of this, there’s no need to tellher the truth.

"T-That’s right. This isn’t a date.We merely came here to buy some stuff."

Maybe thinking the same as me, Suzukajoined in as well.

"I see, desu. Since we’re alreadyhere, how about we go shopping together?"

"N-No that’s a bit….there are somecircumstances…."

We are in the middle of our operationafter all and being all lovey-dovey in front of Double Peace-senseiis something I really wanted to avoid. And where the hell did Maiwander off to?

"Mu? Come on, desu~ It seems like Maialso came here so let’s all go together!"

"Eh? Y-You saw her?!"

"Yes. I saw her over there at thestairs, looking like she was close to crying, you know? I’ll bringher here, so wait a moment, desu."

Just as she said that with a beamingsmile, she walked away, only to return shortly after with Mai in tow.

"See! Since we’re all together here,let’s go, desu!"

While Double Peace-sensei seemed to bein a good mood, the same couldn’t be said for the rest of us. Maididn’t even fix her hair yet….

However, even though her ribbon wasstill missing, her way of talking was the same as usual.

"To meet you all here, what acoincidence!"

Well….yeah, we didn’t exactly haveany other chance but to go along with that….but how do I say it,you really are incompetent sometimes….

Part 5:

In the end, we all went shoppingtogether without mentioning the date. Suzuka herself seemed to haveacknowledged the fact that continuing our operation would beimpossible.

So, did we manage to clear up thedoubts of Mai in the end or not? While Suzuka and Double Peace-senseiwere chatting about something, I started talking to Mai with a smallvoice.

"Hey, Mai. Are you still doubting methat I really am Towano Chikai?"

"What are you on about so suddenly?"

Maybe remembering the thing frombefore, her cheeks were slightly more red than a second ago.

"Well, it’s painfully clear that youreally love little sisters….Ah, I saw that from time to time, soit’s not like I was tailing you guys or anything!"

"Thanks for that….."

In my head I was screaming "Just asplanned!" but I had to conceal my true feelings in front of her fornow.

"But…..something is stillmissing…."

"What exactly?"

"It’s true that the Towano Chikai Ihave in mind really does love little sisters but it feels like Yuu isstill hiding something. I don’t know what exactly that is but itgives me an uncomfortable feeling."

After all we did, she still doesn’ttrust me?!

"…..I know! D-Don’t tell me yourlove for little sisters is so big that you forced Suzuka-san to writea little sister moe novel while you were snickering behind her? Ifthat’s the case, that would mean that Suzuka-san is TowanoChikai…..?"

"Wha-?! T-T-T-T-That’s justridiculous!?"

No matter how much I try to cover itup, I almost collapsed because of her words.

Why is it that although her reasoningis wrong most of the time, she always arrives at the correctconclusions?! As always, she really only goes after her feelings andshe looks at me while saying "You’re hiding something". Shereally has me in the palm of her hand now.

If she was thinking something like thateven before our date, why did we even have to go through all thattrouble today?!

"O-Onii-chan? What are you talkingabout with Himuro-san?"

"Oho, your secret talk is reallysuspicious, desu!"

Maybe because we were whispering toeach other, Suzuka looked at us with a doubtful expression.

For now, we shouldn’t be talking aboutthat topic.

"N-No, it’s nothing. By the way,Double Peace-sensei said that she wanted to buy something but whatexactly would that be?"

"A swimsuit, desu! Thinking aboutSummer, there has to be a swimsuit event after all! I came here tobuy one for my research, desu! Wouldn’t that be useful for Sensei’sresearch as well?"

At that moment, Suzuka started tostrengthen her grip on my clothes.

"Are swimsuit scenes in light novelsthat important?"

"A-Ah, yeah you could say that. It’stypical for that time of the year and it’s pretty useful as afan-service scene after all, so it’s not an understatement to saythat it is basically essential."

"Exactly, desu! What good luck tomeet Sensei here! I would really appreciate it if Sensei would pickout a swimsuit for me, desu!"

Double Peace-sensei suddenly saidsomething like that out of the blue.

"Eh? Why would I have to?"

"Since there’s a high chance that aswimsuit scene will happen in Sensei’s novel as well, you have to putsome research into that now! Additionally, I want to know the tasteof Sensei regarding swimsuits."

At that one phrase, both Suzuka and Maishowed a reaction.

"No, it’s not like I need that—"

"Like Double Peace-sensei said, thiswill surely turn out into a good research. That being said, I willjoin in as well. It’s my duty as a little sister."

"S-Suzuka?!"

"Yuu’s taste in swimsuits?! I can’tignore that, being his number one fan!"

"Hey, why are you suddenly somotivated?!"

"Fufufufu, alright, desu! Let’s makea competition on who will hit the taste of Sensei the best!"

"Alright!" where the answers of thegirls, completely ignoring my own opinion.

……It feels like every time thethree of them are gathered in the same place, stuff like this alwayshappens…..

Part 5:

Currently, I am waiting in front of thedressing room in a swimsuit shop. Since my own opinion was completelyrejected, I had no choice but to give up. At the very least, thiswill probably turn into a good research for Suzuka’s novel so Ishould cooperate with her, since I am her stand-in.

"Sensei, are you still there, desu?"

From beyond the curtains, I heardDouble Peace-sensei’s voice.

In front of me were three stalls forpeople to try the clothes. From the left, it was Mai, Suzuka and thenDouble Peace-sensei.

"Fufufu, I will be the first onethen, desu"

At that exact moment the curtainsopened, I couldn’t hide my embarrassment and almost choked.

"Wha-, Wha-!"

"How is it, Sensei? I thought thatSensei might enjoy something like this, desu!"

Double Peace-sensei was striking a posein front of me with a big smile on her face, wearing nothing lessthan a school swimsuit. The color was not blue like it was withnormal ones but a clear white and on her chest area was written[Ahegao Double Peace].

"W-What’s up with that swimsuit?"

"W-Well, thinking about swimsuits,school swimsuits are a must, desu!"

"I’m not talking about that! Why dothey have something like this in their shop?!"

"Fufufufu, I thought that somethinglike this might happen, so I brought it with me beforehand, desu!"

That doesn’t explain anything though?!And what do you mean with something like this?! Why would you come toa swimsuit shop with a swimsuit?!

"Fufu, judging from your reaction, itseems like you really like this one, desu!"

Since the swimsuit was a pure white, itreally emphasized Double Peace-sensei’s body line so I was reallytroubled on where to look.

"Well, since we are talking aboutSensei here, it seems like I took the right fetish route, desu!"

"What do you mean by that?!"

While I was still busy retorting herstrange statement, Mai suddenly raised her voice.

"Yuu! Now it’s my turn!"

The curtains opened in one motion,leaving me with a mere "Ugh…." as a reaction.

"Hehe! How’s this? Since I, yournumber one fan, chose that, I’m sure that I must’ve hit your liking,right?"

As always, she was puffing out herchest. However this time, that’s really bad, in a lot of meanings!

Although one could classify Mai’sclothes as a bikini, the size was way to small. The bikini was barelycovering her chest area and you can almost see everything!

"Y-You-! W-What clothes are you–?!"

"I can’t help it! This is acompetition after all! In light novels, swimsuits like this are oftenused after all…..And what clothes are you wearing?!"

Looking at Double Peace-sensei’sswimsuit, Mai clearly seemed irritated.

"What’s this?! Putting your name onthat is totally unfair! I thought we would only use swimsuits fromthe shop here?! Cheating! You’re cheating!"

"No no, we never decided on a rulelike this, desu? It was supposed to be a pure swimsuit contest afterall, so this is totally fine, desu! Rather than that, aren’t youtaking it a bit too far with that swimsuit, Mai?"

"I don’t want to hear that from you!"

"No, you both need to listen to yourown words here….", I muttered, trying to break up the conflict.

……Really, I was worried alreadywhen you were talking about a swimsuit competition but it’s reallytroubling me how far the both of you are taking this.

The only person missing was Suzuka butI really hoped that she won’t take the direction of the other two.

"It has gotten really noisy…didsomething happen?"

As soon as I thought about her, sheraised her voice and opened the curtains, leaving the dressing room.

Seeing her appearance, I muttered "Eh?"without thinking. For some reason, Suzuka was also wearing a schoolswimsuit. In contrast to Double Peace-sensei’s hers was the normalblue color and without a name tag.

"Why are you wearing one aswell….?"

"T-This is….Double Peace-senseitold me that Onii-chan would like something like this, so I couldn’thelp it…..It is a competition after all…."

"I don’t really have a schoolswimsuit fetish or anything though?!"

It’s not like I dislike it though. If Ihad to choose, then of course I’d say that I like them!

Looking at Suzuka, fiddling with herhands and flushed cheeks, I suddenly felt that weird feeling frombefore again and I hurriedly averted my eyes. Ugh….is this thepower of a school swimsuit?!

"Then, since everybody presentedtheir choice, can you tell us which one fits your tastes the best?",Mai said.

E-Even if you ask me to choose here….

Looking at it with a calm mind, not oneof them was wearing a "normal" swimsuit. That being said, therewas only one choice.

"From all of you, it’s Suzukaalright…….It’s cute after all….."

"Eh?! It’s Suzuka-san’s victoryagain?! I even chose something that looks fine in public!"

"I wouldn’t really call this aswimsuit you could wear in front of other people though?!"

"You would be able to wear my cosplayin front of others though, desu?"

"No you can’t! And you even called ita cosplay just now!"

Mai seemed to be quite dissatisfiedwith the result.

Looking at the winner, Suzuka was…..

"Ehehe, ehehehehe"

She was fiddling with her own hair, herface as red as a tomato.

Part 6:

Well, like this, the swimsuitcompetition ended rather safely. After that, the three of them testedout a few other swimsuits and bought one in the end.

Thinking about it, I also bought onefor me but I doubt that there will be a chance where I get to useit….

"Hm, we came here originally to testout swimsuits for our research but how about we go somewhere with ournewly bought ones?"

It seemed like Double Peace-sensei wasthinking the same thing as me.

"That’s right. A pool event or thelike would probably turn into great research date for a light novel."

"If we’re thinking about aresearch…we really have to go somewhere."

"Yes, a pool might be a good idea,desu. However, since it’s summer right now, I really want to go tothe sea! That would surely be an even better resource of data, desu!"

"Again, why are you so sure ofthat…."

It’s true that the sea was a goodsuggestion but there would be a lot of problems in regards to that.

"…………….."

I realized that Mai wasn’t sayinganything for a while now.

……She even seems to be staring inmy direction, what’s up with her?"

"Hey….you’re basically saying thatit should be a place where we can play with our swimsuits, right?"

"Y-Yeah, why do you ask?"

Instead of answering me, she was merelymuttering to herself:

"If we were together for a whole day,I would probably find out something about his secret….."

I should’ve realized it at that pointbut her next words blew all my caution away.

"Then, how about coming to my holidayvilla?"