Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai

Volume 2 Chapter 4

I will say it clearly now! I love (my) little sister!

Part 1:

"Can’t sleep……"

I muttered as I looked up at theceiling of the room. Sleeping next to my little sister in the samebed, I was thinking about a few things for about an hour. Trying notto be too wary of Suzuka next to me, that resulted in me sufferingfrom not being able to sleep.

"Fuu…..Fuu……"

Suzuka’s sleeping sounds were enteringmy ears.

……Even though you’re sleeping rightnext to me, you really seem indifferent about this.

She probably was tired because of whathappened this afternoon. That’s the same for me though.

"Ugh….."

Can’t help it. No matter how hard I tryto fall asleep, too many things flash before my eyes. The only thingI could do now is let my thoughts wander on their own.

"Even so, loving little sisters fromthe bottom of my heart…..huh"

While remembering our operation thisafternoon, Mai’s response and Suzuka’s words, I was completely lost.

……Yup, not possible. No matter howoften I think about it, there’s no way.

Well, since it was an emergency, I wasprepared to act all flirty as I had to. But, for me to really feellike that from the bottom of my heart, that’s just ridiculous. Thisisn’t a light novel or eroge after all, so having these feelingstowards my little sister is just—-

"Mhm…..Onii-chan…."

"Ugh?!"

At that moment, I heard a voice and Icouldn’t help my body from twitching. Looking at the source, itseemed to be Suzuka, seemingly sleeping very comfortably andmuttering that in her sleep.

……Sleep-talk, huh. I thought for amoment that I had woken her up….

Even so, just a few moments before, shewas facing the other way but it seems like she turned around, facingme. Her turning around made me really nervous.

"T-This is bad. Have to calmdown…."

I closed my eyes again and returned tomy thoughts.

Uhm…..ah yeah, the problem was Maialright.

Everything would be solved if shewould’ve just believed me from the start, that I really am TowanoChikai. However, reality isn’t that nice. It even seems like herdoubts grew from before (because of her unreasonable arguments). Evenusing seductive methods….just why is she trying so hard.

Really, no matter how much I try tothink about it, the current Mai is acting really weird. If I don’tfind out the reason for that, our lovey-dovey operation will neversolve anything.

"Ehehe. That’s no good,Onii-chan…."

"……?!"

Again Suzuka with her sleep-talk. Thistime, it fit my thoughts even better which really made me panic for asecond.

Still, you’re having such a happy smileon your face. What kind of dream are you having, really. I wonder ifI managed to make her mad even in her dreams……No no no, I willnever fall asleep if I keep thinking about her. Have to concentrateon my own thoughts….

So, where was I? I forgot. Well,whatever, is there something else…? Oh yeah the light novelcontest. What should I do about the entry manuscript? With Mai’sproblem and Suzuka’s research, I haven’t been able to progress atall. Well, I know that the main problems lies with me, having writtennothing new as of now.

You can’t emphasize with theprotagonist—-that was the statement from the evaluationsheet…..and Mai also said that.

……Basically, just as I feared,there’s some truth to that. But, what exactly should I do to changethat? No matter how often I ask myself, the answer just won’t comeflying.

…..Really, what should I do. At thisrate, retreating from this contest isn’t all that far-fetch—-

"Mhm…..Onii-chan…"

"Again, huh…..wha-?!"

Even though I was really close tocoming to terms with her sleep-talk, something hindered me from doingso.

"Wha-?! Wha-!"

Why? Because Suzuka was clinging to mywhile she was sleep-talking. And the part where she was clinging towasn’t just my arm, she was practically pushing her body onto mine,resulting in me being really flustered. Really, really flustered.

"Y-You….! Suzuka?!"

"Ehe,ehehe……Onii-chan…..ehehehehehe"

Suzuka on her part was looking like shewas still having fun in the world of her dreams.

…..T-This girl….is she alwayssleeping like this?! Are you always using a dakimakura or something?!

N-No, of course I wouldn’t know of hersleeping habits! And is this even the time to think about suchthings?!

"U-Uhm, Suzuka-san? I don’t mean tobe rude but I would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind towake up….."

"Mhm…..Onii-chan…ehehehe"

Shit….she really seems to be having agood dream….my wake-up calls aren’t going through at all!

However, while I was hesitating, thesituation only grew worse by the second.

"Ah, wai-!"

Strengthening her grip onto me, she wasgradually coming closer. Suddenly surmounting my arm, our bodies wereslowly starting to stick to each other. Her head was slowly closingin on mine and when that happened a sweet aroma attacked me, makingmy head spin.

…..No no no no! What am I thinkingabout, me?! Sniffing my little sisters smell is already a big no-gobut what perverted things am I thinking?! F-F-F-Forget about thatnow! This situation is really bad! Really really bad! No good! I feellike I’ll lose something very important if I don’t get away from hernow!

"S-Suzuka….! Will you wake upalready…!"

While trying to call out to her oncemore, I gripped her shoulders and started shaking her. I reallywanted to resort to that but I had no other choice but to be a littlemore aggressive about it.

"Nya…..Onii-chan….You’re way toointense…..eheheheh"

"What are you saying?! That’s just adream! Return to reality already!"

However, as if she was disagreeing withme, her strength only heightened from before.

"Haaa?!"

And it’s not just that, she’s alsorubbing her head on my body!

Even though I let out a weird scream byaccident, I was also praying that it entered her ears and made herwake up.

"Onii-chan….that’s not good, youknow?"

"You’re not one to say that! And whatkind of dream are you having exactly?! Hurry and wake up please!"

……But wait a second? What wouldhappen if she were to wake up now? She might be a bit sleepy then butif she were to realize her own position, she might receive a hugeshock from that.

It’s true that we’re in an emergencysituation, forcing us to be all lovey-dovey with each other. However,her opinion of me isn’t all that good. She might even go "I can’tlive with this shame! I will bite my tongue and kill myself!" orsomething like that….

…No no no! There’s no way that willhappen……is not something I can say with confidence?! T-This girlis still pretty pure and it’s me we’re talking about after all!

"T-This is bad. L-Let’s not wake herup and think of something else—-hya?!" Even though I just saidthat, I let out another scream.

"Mhm….sniffsniff…..Ehehehehe,Onii-chan….you smell so good…ehe"

Suzuka was once more closing in on myneck, sniffing on my neck. Her breath was directly hitting my bodyand I wanted to break free. But, since she was still clinging to me,I didn’t manage to do that.

Ahhhhhh this is bad! The worst! Anymoreand…..! It was pretty horrific until now but this going beyond mylimits! Escape. That word flew into my mind. I don’t have any otherchoice.

"Onii-chan….mhm…."

Suzuka was still smiling next to me inher world of dreams. Being presented with this mission to escapesafely from her grasp without destroying her smile, I wasn’t so sureif I would get out of this unharmed.

Part 2:

"I-I finally escaped."

Approximately three minutes passed.After I slowly closed the door behind me, I sat down on the floor.

…..That was tiring. After trying notto wake Suzuka up during my escape, a feeling of exhaustion assaultedme.

At first, I was trying to slowly pushaway Suzuka’s arm but that soon ended in failure. After that, Irealized that if I pat her on the head, the strength of her grip onme lessened and by using that, I gradually moved away from her.Mid-way, I kept whispering stuff like "S-Suzuka is a good girlafter all" and "The best little sister there is" in a kindvoice while still patting her, resulting in her lessening thestrength of her grip even more. As I kept doing that, I managed tobreak free.

Just in case, I gave her a pillow as asubstitution for me so her sleep won’t be interfered with for now.Phew…I can finally take a breath.

"Still, who would’ve thought thatSuzuka had a sleeping habit like that….."

Leaving that new piece of informationout for now, what to do now?

"For now….the bathroom." Idecided to wash my face for now. After all, this was Mai’s privatevilla so I couldn’t really sneak around in here. And going back tothe room where the person in question is currently still sleeping isalso not an option….

Can’t help it. Sleeping in the same bedwith Suzuka now is pretty much impossible, so I’ll just borrow thecouch in—–

It happened in that moment as I wasabout to arrive in front of the room in question.

"……!"

I swallowed my breath and stopped myfeet. There was a shadow in front of the room Suzuka was sleeping in.It looked like it was inspecting the door….

…..A t-thief? Suzuka is alone inthere…..!

"You over there! What are you doing!"

As I realized the situation, I startedwalking towards that human figure, calling out to it.

"Kya!"

I grabbed it by the arm and pushed itdown but I soon realized my error.

…..Somehow this person is reallyslender….and had no strength at all. And didn’t he just saysomething like "Kya"?

Having a really bad feeling, I decidedto check on the identity of the thief. Taking out a mini flashlightin my pocket, I turned it towards him and turned the light on.

"Wai-! T-Too bright!"

As I did, it turned out to be Mai withtears in her eyes.

"Y-You…what are you doing here…?"

"Eh? T-That’s….I wanted to take ashort walk!"

Yeah sure. As if I would believe that.

"Did you have something to do infront of my room?"

"W-What are you talking about? It’snot like I wanted to sneak into your room while you were sleeping andfind out what you’re hiding or anything!?"

"So you really where trying to dosomething like that?!"

Not bothering to retort her on herloose mouth, I was merely astonished because that evil plan of hers.

"A-And if even that would’ve turnedout no good, I would’ve never tried to seduce you with some sexyunderwear!?"

"I got it already….so pleasestop…."

Somehow I felt like crying. Withouteven asking for details, Mai spilled everything.

"For now, Suzuka is currentlysleeping in that room, so please spare me the nocturnal assault…"

"S-Since you are my target, Iwouldn’t do anything like that!"

That’s not something you should besaying with such an arrogant attitude…is what I retorted in my headwhile sighing.

"…..So, are long are you planningon doing this?"

"What do you mean…..?"

With these words, I finally rememberedthe situation we were in. After all, I was currently pushing Mai downon the floor.

"S-Sorry!"

"I-I’m fine as long as it’s Yuu. But,did I manage to bewitch you a little bit at least?"

"We should really do something aboutthat shameless attitude of yours…."

"W-What do you mean!" Mai said witha red face but I didn’t feel like answering her.

In the end, both of us stopped talkingand we were wrapped up in complete silence.

"H-Hey, what are you going to donow?" Mai asked.

"Well of course, I’m going back to myroom and go to sleep?" I blatantly answered her.

"Ah, I’ll go with you then…." Shemuttered.

"You’re coming with me?!" Ipanicked.

"Isn’t it fine?! I had planned to doso from the start anyway!"

Confronted with her incompetentattitude, I didn’t have the strength to honestly retort to that.

"Ha…..anyways, this isn’t thesituation where I would be able to fall asleep, alright."

"Ah, then, how about we go to theliving room?"

"Living room?"

"Yeah, I got a bit thirsty anyway sohow about we take a break there."

To her proposal, I merely muttered"Yeah, alright….". After all that happened, my sleepiness waswashed away completely and although my partner is Mai, it might be agood idea to change the location, mainly not to wake Suzuka up incase we got louder while talking. Like this, we started walkingtowards the living room. The moon was as bright as always, making itunnecessary to turn on the lights. While drinking a glass of water, Iwondered: What should I do now….?

Of course, the problem I was ponderingabout was concerning the person next to me, namely Mai. It somehowended up with only the two of us but she’ll probably make me spillthe beans about Towano Chikai’s secret as always. She’ll probably askme why I wanted to sleep on the couch instead of next to Suzuka onthe bed.

"…….."

To my surprise, Mai didn’t mutter asingle word. Keeping quiet that whole time, she was merely looking upat the moon as we were sitting on the veranda. Her beautiful looksbeing paired with the light of the moonlight, she had a mysteriousvibe to her. As I kept looking at her, I felt my heartbeataccelerating.

……What am I thinking about. Maybeit’s because I was talking about that with Suzuka before, I grewweirdly conscious of her. Not good not good…

"Hey, Yuu. Why won’t you just spillthe beans on that thing you’re hiding already?"

While I was taking back my priorthoughts, Mai suddenly started talking to me. I’ve heard that phrasea dozen times as of now so I merely spaced out without answering her.

No, I don’t really have theluxuriousness to do that, I thought.

"Like I said countless times already,I’m not hiding anything."

"That’s a lie."

She really doesn’t believe me. However,she merely muttered that one phrase which was pretty rare.

……Really looks like something isbothering her.

"Hey, why are you doubting me somuch."

"That’s to be expected because I am asuper duper mega fan of yours after all."

"Normally, I’d be satisfied with thatbut…..The current you is acting weird somehow."

Like trying to seduce me or sleepingtogether with me.

"I-It’s not really like that."

"After all, I showed you countlesstimes that I am that little sister loving Towano Chikai, right?"

"I do know that you are that fiendisherotic devil with poisonous fangs that assaults his little sister atevery chance that he gets, okay?"

"Well thank you very much for that!"

…..Not good, got to calm myself downbefore I start denying it again.

"But, you know, I still feel likeyou’re hiding something."

"That’s what I meant. Where does thatfeeling of yours come from? If we’re talking about hiding something,should you really be the one judging me for that?"

"W-What do you mean….."

Even though I merely said it out of awhim, Mai clearly seemed bothered by it. I stopped for a moment butthen I continued. About that weird feeling of hers. Why she’s gettingso aggressive in her attacks.

"….Hey, did something happen whenyou met up with the people of the editorial department?"

"…..?!" At my question, her bodytwitched.

So it really was like that…..? Thiswas the only thing I could think off that might’ve triggered herchange in between the signing session and the start of school. Sincemy question had some kind of effect on her, I decided wait for heranswer on that.

"…….."

She grabbed her knees and rested herchin on them, looking straight at me. I was about to ask her oncemore but she finally said something again.

"No matter my circumstances, I stillwant to find out the secret of your novel."

As if she was having a monologue withherself, she muttered that.

"Like I said, I’m asking for yourreasoning—-"

"My parents, you know, have quite alot of money, some sort of high society lineage you could call it."

"…..What? What are you saying allof a sudden?"

I was surprised at the sudden change oftopics but she continued before I even had the chance to ask aboutthat.

"It’s like a prestige or renownedfamiliy. I don’t really care about it but it’s something like that.That’s why my parents are so strict. They’re not bad people oranything, though, but tradition and social standing is the mostimportant thing for them. Again, not my cup of tea, you know?"

Being confronted with her seriousexpression, I couldn’t help but shut my mouth as she was talking.

"In the end, we’re still a family, sothey forced me to learn a fair bunch about a lot of stuff. In theend, it came to a compromise of some sort. However, I couldn’t justlet go of light novels." She smiled but it seemed more lonely thanhappy. "I don’t even remember how often they told me that Ishouldn’t read such vulgar stuff. I still loved them from the bottomof my heart, unwilling to give them up no matter what. They didn’tthrow them out though so it didn’t get any worse than getting alecture."

But the situation changed—-Maicontinued.

"They were strongly against the factthat I would be debuting after winning the grand-prize. To think thatthe daughter of the Himuro family would be writing something likethat—and so on. It turned into a do-or-die resistance from me. Ididn’t plan on just giving up on my dream, so I tried to persuadethem somehow….."

As if she was looking at somethingnostalgic, she narrowed her eyes.

"So, they finally gave up, telling meto do what I want and so on. Like that, I gladly debuted as a lightnovel author. That was the happiest moment in my entire life. I’llaim for the top of the light novel world—is what I was thinking."

But—-the next moment, the worstpossible situation came.

"The novel I debuted with, namely[The Ice Witch that never laughs] didn’t sell at all. When I read thereviews online, I started crying. That was probably the mostfrustrated I had ever felt. However, it’s not like my love for lightnovels disappeared just like that though."

"What about your parents…?"

"They told me to just let go and notbother with light novels anymore. Of course, another quarrelensnared. In the end, I managed to stay as a light novel author. Thatlingering discomfort stayed though."

In that moment, I remembered that Maiwas actually living on her own in that big villa.

"Although they allowed me tocontinue, they said that this was the last chance. Being driven intoa corner, I had no chance but to pull all registers and put myeverything into my next novel. What resulted in that was…."

—–Sky Magic Guardian.

The novel that made Enryuu Homurafamous, selling over 100.000 copies.

"I’m sure that you must’ve been veryhappy about that….."

"Yeah, I really was. At first thatis…..It did turn into a big hit after all but in the end, I didn’tmanage to get rid of all the negative aspects of my very firstnovel."

"Negative aspects?" I asked.

"The things that the editors thatreviewed my novel were talking about. The protagonist is weak andone-dimensional, resulting in him becoming merely a puppet to advancethe story."

Eh? Wait a second? Aren’t these thesame complains that I had gotten as well? …..You even read mymanuscript and complained about exactly that, didn’t you?!

"I was aware of that as well.Thinking that I would somehow manage to chance that in my currentseries, I paid it no mind. But, my novel turned out to be such a bighit and they even planned on turning it into an anime. Whatirony…." She seemed to be laughing at herself. Normally, she’d beso self-confident about her own novel.

"I tried everything to change theseaspects but I never succeeded in the end. Nevertheless, my novel wasselling like crazy and everyone said it was really fun. That’s why Igradually started thinking that it would be fine like this. However,at that time, I encountered something." She once more looked at mewith a serious expression.

…..You don’t have to tell me. You metwith it. H-e-r novel.

"It had an impact on me like nothingelse before. I instantly realized that this was the sort of novelthat I wanted to write. That’s just how amazing it was. Y-o-u-rnovel."

"…….."

"Even though it felt like you justwrote it for fun, it was incredibly interesting. The characters werefirm and lively as well. The exact opposite to my own novel."

"….I really do like your novel, youknow?"

"I don’t want any flattery. I justwant to write a novel like yours. That’s why I want to knoweverything about you. No….I have to know everything."

…..I see. I understand the reason whyshe became a stalker. But, there’s still something missing.

"That’s not all, right?"

"Recently, my editor changed." Herexpression got more grim. "He’s pretty straight forward with hiswords, you know. Well, he is very honest with it exactly because helikes it so much but he also told me about the impending crisis."

"Crisis?"

"With my current series, the anime isright around the corner but the popularity of it seems to bedropping."

…..Eh? That’s a first for me though?I thought that it was as popular as ever.

"That’s why we held an emergencymeeting and he clearly told me. [Enryuu-sensei’s characters, theprotagonist in particular, are very weak]"

"So something like that happened…."

"Basically, the problem that I hadpayed no mind for quite some time now was finally coming to haunt me,you could say. If I didn’t manage to erase these faults of my novel,they might even have to drop the series in general, he said. Quite acruel story, you know"

It felt like all the different puzzlepieces I had were finally coming together.

"If that were to happen, my parentswouldn’t give me another chance. They’d definitely force me to stopbeing a light novel author. But, that’s the one thing I can’t allowto happen! That’s why, I have to do everything to overcome this wallin front of me….!"

No matter how long she’d think aboutit, the answer never came. There’s no way that a miracle would havenjust like that.

……That explains a lot.

"This is why I absolutely have toknow the secret of the ideal light novel author Towano Chikai!"

Alright. I finally understood. Why sheseemed so desperate.

It was to protect the [Light novels]that she didn’t want to give up.

…..Shit, I totally get that. As aperson who also loves light novels from the bottom of his heart, Ipainfully understand….

"I beg of you, Yuu, please tell mewhat you’re hiding from me. I’m sure that it will lead to the answerthat I’m searching for!"

Saying that, she came closer to me andgrabbed my collar. With tears in her eyes and no strength at all. Onthe contrary, she seemed to be shivering.

"T-That’s—-"

I couldn’t answer.

…..I can’t after all. Telling herthat I’m not the real author would result in me betraying Suzuka’strust. But, I couldn’t just make up something on the spot just tomomentarily please her. I once more painfully realized my position asa stand-in.

"W-Why won’t you say anything?! Iknow that I’m basically asking for the impossible here! Still, I’mbegging you! I’ll let you do anything with me as you please!"

"I-Idiot! Girls aren’t supposed tosay something like that so lightly!"

"I’m dead serious about that! And,since it’s Yuu….."

"C-Calm down! You’re not making anysense!"

"That’s just how great my resolutionis! I’m begging you!"

"No! Not possible! It’s really notpossible! Please let me go!"

"W-Why! You are Towano Chikai right?!Or don’t tell me….Yuu really isn’t Towano Chikai after all?!"

"……….!"

You’re wrong!— Is what I was supposedto say here. But, the me at that time couldn’t do that. Because hercurrent situation was so serious. And also because I felt exactly thesame, receiving similar reviews on my novel as well, about theprotagonist being too one-dimensional. That was why I was hesitatingfor a moment. Wondering if I really should be denying that right now.

However, that short moment of silencewould prove to be fatal.

"…..Hey, Yuu? W-Why aren’t yousaying anything? S-So it really was like that….?" Her eyes openedwide and her strength on my chest lessened.

"T-That’s impossible, right? Yuu isTowano Chikai, right? You saying that you liked my novel wasn’t alie, right?"

"T-That’s…."

….Why can’t I just that simple phrase[That’s right], me!

Mai looked at me with eyes ofdependence. However, I still kept quiet. Then, she said so with tearsin her eyes while glaring at me:

"Whatever! …..You idiot!"

Leaving only these words behind, shedashed out of the living room as if she wanted to run away. Inreaction to that, I couldn’t move a single muscle. Finally, I managedto let out a sigh while my head was hanging down.

"I really messed up now…"

In the end, I only managed to intensifyher doubts. No, the fact that I made her cry was frustrating me evenmore.

….Shit, I couldn’t do anything forher in the end…..!

Truth is, I wanted to chase after herimmediately but the current me couldn’t come up with any words tohelp her.

"What should I do from here onout….."

No, there’s only one thing that Ishould be doing and that hasn’t changed at all. I have to make herbelieve me that I really am Towano Chikai. That’s all to it.

….That being said, I can’t continueto do it like before.

The fact that I only gave her morereason to doubt me is one thing but it was impossible for me,spilling the beans about the true identity of Towano Chikai. Thatwould result in me betraying Suzuka’s trust.

…..But, you know. I heard about hersituation after all. Because she told me the reason why she was sodesperate, I couldn’t just ignore all of that and keep on with ouroperation. Ignoring her worries would be the same as if I’d ignore myone worries.

……As if I could do that….!

"Don’t panic….don’t panic, me! Ihave to calm down at a time like this…."

Thinking about it differently, Ifinally heard her reasoning for doubting me so much. The only thingleft to do is solve her problem. For Mai’s sake….and also for myown sake….I felt like I definitely had to do that. But, what shouldI do? I can’t think of any methods.

Should I ask Suzuka? —- No that’simpossible. If I did, I’d have to tell her my own worries aswell…..That’s not good. I have to overcome the problem myself. If Ireally want to catch up with her, I can’t allow that to happen.

"Still, what can I do all on my own?"

Dozens of thoughts were swirling aroundin my head.

Ah, for fuck’s sake. Better cool downmy head….

Leaving the veranda, I put on mysandals and made my way towards the beach. Being confronted with thecool sea breeze and bright moonlight, I took a deep breath. I felthow I was calming down.

"Mai’s worries, huh…." I mutteredwhile looking at the night sky.

Her problems. The protagonist is tooweak. The exactly same worry that I have.

This problem, that even I was trying toovercome for a long time now. The current situation that slowlycreeps up on me, namely that I still haven’t come up with an answerfor my next entry novel for the contest. Paired up with Mai’sproblem, it felt like a two-headed snake was strangling my neck. But,the root is basically the same, it has only one body. If only Imanaged to get rid of the main body, everything would turn outalright.

"……."

But, I can’t find the method to that atall. I’m still at a loss.

"What should I do about a weakprotagonist…."

Facing upwards to look at the sky oncemore, for some reason Suzuka’s voice reverberated in my head.

"How would I know about that? Imerely wrote my novel while I was being possessed after all!"That’s what she would say probably.

How nice it must be. To be able towrite such a novel because of that. Every character in her novelseems so real and the protagonist isn’t flat at all.

"…..Wait a second?"

Thinking about it calmly, isn’t there aprime example of a protagonist right next to me? Why don’t I justlook at how the protagonist in Suzuka is written?

"….No, no, Suzuka doesn’t have anyspecial skill with that. She was merely possessed….."

Producing something of that quality isindeed terrific but it doesn’t help me if she doesn’t have any memoryof it. Also, asking her about that would bring the risk of being seenthrough concerning my own troubles. She can be really perceptiveafter all.

In that moment, I stopped and reflectedon my words just now.

"Being possessed…..what exactlydoes that mean?"

I didn’t really give it any thoughtbefore but….being possessed means that you stop being yourself,right? Yeah, that’s how it is. After all, Suzuka wouldn’t be able towrite such a [I love my big brother] novel……So basically, youbecome something else while writing….? Now that I think about it,Suzuka said that she felt like SOMETHING possessed her…. Of course,that doesn’t necessarily mean something occult related but merelybecoming the character you’re writing…?

"Become…..the character…?" Imuttered, absent-minded.

That’s not necessarily a new concept oranything. Trying to become the character you want to write issomething very basic.

But….wait? Think about it.

Did I ever really become the characterfrom the bottom of my heart? At a level that I would stop beingmyself?

"………No"

I never did. Not once did I think aboutdoing that. Until now I merely used the characters as pieces to drivethe story forward it seems.

"Ah…."

I realized that my heart was beatinglike crazy. I felt my breathing get rougher by the second.

……C-Calm down. You have to calmdown, me. Telling someone to become your own character…..that’s anadvice even a kid from grade school could give you. That’s howfundamental it is.

Trying to calm myself down, I made funof my own thoughts. However, these ridicules were washed away shortlyafter and only the truth remained.

"The ting Mai and I were lacking…."

Become the character. That simple yetefficient truth.

…..But, but wait! That’s still notenough! The main problem is—

"Can I really do something likethat?"

Erasing myself and take the role of mycharacter. Using words, it might seem pretty simple but is it reallythat easy to pull off? I can’t help but worry about that.

"N-No no no no…..!" I shook myhead.

This isn’t the time to worry aboutthat. I can’t stop now. For the embittered Mai’s sake, for Suzuka’ssake that had to put up with all these things during our operationand finally for my own sake. If there’s something I haven’t tried yetthen I have to pull through with it.

"….Haa"

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myresolution.

Become the character. From the bottomof my heart…..But, which character?

Normally, it would be the protagonistthat I wrote in my own novel—-but for some reason, the big brotherRyou from Suzuka’s novel flew into my mind. The big brother of hislittle sister Yuuka. The thickheaded idiot that doesn’t realize howhis little sister loves him even though she shows it right in frontof him. Still putting her on the top priority in any event and alwaystreasuring her, the perfect [Onii-chan]. Reading Suzuka’s novel adozen times more than my own, my attachment to her big brother figurewas way bigger than to my own protagonist. And I completelyunderstood that character from head to toe. There’s no othercharacter that would fit me more.

"………" Closing my eyes, Itraced Ryou’s everything.

An ordinary first-year high schoolstudent. But, as a big brother, he treasures his little sister morethan anything else. I’m being toyed with my little sisters words anddeeds, always failing to realize her true intentions, still actinglike a gigolo with a sister complex.

The exact opposite of my ownpersonality. But, that doesn’t matter right now.

….Suddenly, all the sound in theworld vanishes. The sound of the waves completely disappeared.

Currently, I’m on a trip at the seawith my little sister. But that little sister is currently sleepingalone in her my room. I’m the reason for that. It’s my fault that mylittle sister was sulking.

In this situation, what would Ryou do?

"That’s as clear as day to me rightnow."

I returned to the villa on fast feet,stripped off my sandals and headed up the stairs.

Part 3:

"Feh? Onii-chan…?"

As I opened my eyes, I realized that Iwas sleeping alone on the bed, hugging a pillow. Actually, I was theonly person in the room which should not be the case.

…..Onii-chan isn’t here? As Irealized that, I rapidly woke up.

"O-Onii-chan…where are you?!"

I checked the time as I slowly stoodup. It has been 2 hours since we went to bed.

….Did he go to the toilet per chance?…..No, that’s probably not it. Onii-chan’s warmth has completelyvanished from the bed. Judging from that, he should’ve been gone forabout 30 minutes.

"D-Don’t tell me…"

A certain possibility entered my mind.

…..Did he possibly go to whereHimuro-san is? A rendezvous?! Without laying is hands on me eventhough I was right next to him?!

"S-So Onii-chan really does likeHimuro-san….!"

I won’t allow that!

The moment I was about to leave theroom in order to search for Onii-chan—it happened.

"Suzuka!"

Opening the door in a rush, Onii-chanreturned to the room.

"Oh, you were awake. Perfect."

"O-Onii-chan? Where did you go!" Iasked. As I did, Onii-chan answered "Well, I couldn’t sleep, yousee…." , probably trying to evade the question. That’ssuspicious!

"Rather than that, are you still mad,Suzuka?"

Huh? Is this about the conversation wehad before we went to sleep? Well, of course I still am but rightnow, I am more irritated at Onii-chan’s suspicious behavior!

"….Yes, I still am. While I wassleeping, you went to see Himuro-san after all."

"Huh? How do you know about that?"

So they really had a rendezvous!?Uwuuu…..what a shock. Of course, that won’t shake my love forOnii-chan but it seems like he really has feelings for Himuro-san….

Suffering from the shock, I returned tothe bed, sat on top of it and faced the wall, putting the blanketover my head.

"…Are you sulking?"

"I-I am mad! Don’t treat me as akid!"

I really am sulking actually. I wanthim to take a hint though. Naturally, I do realize that I’m actingdishonestly. However, I can’t do anything else because of the shock.Although I’m painfully aware that, in order not to lose toHimuro-san, I have to be more honest with my feelings, so why can’t Ido that right now….? Just how weak am I really….

"……Eh?"

Thinking that, I realized thatOnii-chan was sitting down next to me. Confronted with such anon-Onii-chan like behavior, I couldn’t help letting my voice out.

"W-What is it? I do think that you’rea little bit too close…."

"Suzuka, I’m sorry. I’m the one atfault."

F-For some reason, Onii-chan isapologizing….? Don’t tell me, did he do something so horrific thathe has to apologize right here and now?!

…..N-No way…I finally got him to bemy stand-in, thinking that I might be able to make him fall in lovewith little sisters…..

"S-So you spilled the beans aboutbeing my stand-in and chose Himuro-san in the end?! You really hadfeelings for her, you liar!"

"What are you talking about? Are youhaving another misunderstanding? I don’t feel anything for Mai and Idon’t plan on stopping being your stand-in either."

I looked him in the eyes, only to turnaway a few seconds after, continuing.

"Y-You’re lying. Even though you saythat, you’re probably only thinking about Himuro-san."

"Of course I’m worried about Mai, youknow? But even more than that, I’m worried about you, Suzuka."

"Fue?! W-What are you saying all of asudden?"

"I really regret making my preciouslittle sister so anxious."

"Fua?!"

Hearing these words, I turned around toface Onii-chan in one quick motion.

…..W-W-W-What? W-What did Onii-chanjust say….?

"P-P-Precious little sister….?!"

"Of course? Why are you so shockedabout that?"

"N-Naturally I would be shocked! Tothink that Onii-chan would say something like that…..! I-Is this adream or something?!"

"Nope, as far as I can tell, this isnot a dream."

"Ha?! I-I see! Y-You’re saying thesethings to distract me from the fact that you love Himuro-san, right?!I-I won’t be deceived?!"

"Like I said, it’s not like that. Youare always my first priority."

I-I am Onii-chan’s top priority?!Onii-chan does….love me….? That means…..I am his numberone….Ehe, ehehehehehhehe.

"Ah?! N-No, something as lucky asthat isn’t possible! You’re trying to make me relax with an ulteriormotive in mind, am I right?!"

Ah, that was close…You won’t lull mein with these words!

"….That’s a problem. How can I makeyou believe me?"

"Hmpf! Talking big won’t convince me!You would have to show it with your actions!"

"Actions?"

"Y-Yes. If you really feel nothing atall for Himuro-san and cherish your little sister as you say, youshould be able to be all lovey-dovey with me!" I said.

Judging from Onii-chan’s actions thisfar, he shouldn’t be able to do something like that.

"I see….So, what should I do?"

"Haha, you see now—–eh?"

What did Onii-chan just say?

"I’m asking you what I should do tomake you satisfied."

"Eh? Eh? A-Are you…serious?"

"Of course I am? If I can satisfy youwith that, I will do anything."

L-Like I told you, don’t say somethinglike that please! My heart won’t take all the fantasies that willcome flying into my head!

"W-What happened with you,Onii-chan….? But, if you ask me like that….how about you pat myhead….?"

"Oh, if it’s like that."

Putting his hand on my head, he startedpatting me.

"F-Fuwaaaaaaa?! W-W-What are youdoing?! N-Normally, you would be more awkward at this?!"

W-Why is he doing it so smoothly now?!This is totally different from the time on the boat! It felt goodthat time too but this is on a whole other level! Haaa……..!

"Patting my little sister on the headis pretty normal, you know? I’d do something like this anytime youwant. Here…pat pat pat"

"Fuwa?! Nya?!"

"How’s this? Will you finally forgiveme?"

Onii-chan looks at me with a soft smilebut I am too happy right now, rendering me unable to answer him.

Ha……Funya…….Onii-chan is actingweird….This is exactly like the situations that I wrote in my[Onii-chan notes]…..

"Oh, is it still no good? What elseshould I do then? Just tell me and I’ll do it for you."

While I was still spacing out,Onii-chan went even more on the offensive.

T-This is really weird….O-Of course Iam really happy right now and I never want this to end! But it’sstill weird! I-Is it that? Some sort of operation to make me let myguard down?! I-It must be! If not, then thisOnii-chan….ehehehe…..Ah, n-no good! Pull yourself together, me!

"If you say that…. Then, how aboutyou hug me while patting my head? I-I’m sure that you won’t be ableto do that so it’s alright for you to tell me what you’re planningand—-"

"OK, I got it."

"Eh?"

Just as I thought that I finally hadhim cornered, he answered me as relaxed as before. In that moment ofmy carelessness, Onii-chan wrapped his arms around my back as if hewas trying to calm down a child. With one hand, he continued to patme on my head, saying….

"Is this fine? Suzuka really is aspoiled child, haha."

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!" I shrieked without thinking.

"Nya?! W-Why?! This?! Onii-chan is?!Hau?!"

Ignoring my sudden outbursts, Onii-chankeeps on patting me.

"What happened, for you to become soflustered."

"Ah, well, you know?! Something asblissful as this is happening in reality and not just in my fantasy?!Why is this?! Hauuuu……..!"

I realized that my face was gettinghotter by the second and it felt like I was melting. On the contrary,Onii-chan was acting as if this doesn’t affect him at all.

"But Suzuka told me to do thatright?"

"T-T-T-That might be true butstill?!"

"A big brother can’t just turn downthis precious little sisters request, right? There are limits ofcourse but something like this is no big deal. It really seems likeyou’re a spoiled child, hehe."

"Haaaauuu….."

My hole body is filled with a sugaryfeeling and it feels as if my heart was about to burst. Still fearingthat his might be just an act, I looked up at Onii-chan….

"I-Is it really true?"

"What is?"

"T-That I’m your most importantperson……that I am your number one….even more thanHimuro-san….."

"You’re still not believing me?"

"N-No…. T-Then, uhm, if you were todo one more thing, I might be able to believe you…."

In reality, I am so happy right nowthat I don’t care about all that though! B-But, since this is a goodchance…I might give in to the temptation….."

"T-T-T-Then, uhm, on myforehead….."

"Mhm? On your forehead?"

"I-I-If you would kiss me on theforehead…….?!"

"Eh….?"

He had a shocked expression on hisface…..Ah, ah, what am I saying!

"Auuu! P-Please act like you didn’thear that! Forget about it!"

"No, it’s fine. I got it."

"Eh?! No, uhm, like I said!?"

"Since we’re brother and sister, Ican’t do the real thing but a kiss on the forehead is no problem atall, I think."

"A-A-A-Are you serious?!"

"Yeah. It’s something like a goodluck charm. Also…"

"A-Also?"

"I can’t turn down a request from myprecious little sister, right?"

The moment I saw that smile of his, allthe strength left my body.

…..I can’t think about anythinganymore. Onii-chan, please do as you see fit with me…..

Onii-chan carefully pulled away mybangs. Then, as I realized that his face was coming closer, I felt asweet, soft feeling on my forehead.

"Uhm, was that okay?"

He said so with his usual beamingsmile. My reaction was……

"—————————————————————————————-?!?!"

With this, I completely broke,resulting in me letting out an inaudible scream.

Part 4:

"Ehe, ehehehehehehe, eheheheh,Onii-chan thinks of me…….ehehehehe"

"………"

Currently, I am sitting besides Suzukaon the bed, remembering my previous behavior, And I won’t be able toforget it either. I became the protagonist, Ryou, of Suzuka’s novel.A character that doesn’t realize his feelings for his little sisterat all. Nonetheless, he treasures her from the bottom of his heart,resulting in a lot of situations getting more flirty and lovey-doveyevery time. My actions from before were the exact same as Ryou’s,making me want do die every time I remember it.

Ah, not only patting her head but alsohugging her and kissing her forehead….!!! C-Calm down. Just leaveit like that for now! What’s important right now is the fact that Imanaged to become a character I wanted to be. The feeling, thoughtsand the actions I took. Merely writing these things down wouldprobably turn into a good novel alone.

If you were to enter the story of yourworld as the protagonist, it would make it more real than ever. Thatbeing said, really being able to achieve that was an importantexperience. If I was to become the protagonist, he wouldn’t be endingup as merely a puppet for the story. Realizing that I managed to makesure of that, my body was softly trembling of excitement. It feltlike I was able to climb up the wall in front of me a bit higher thanbefore. Being filled with determination, I formed a fist with myhand.

……That being said, though…..

"Ehe, ehehehe"

I turned around to face Suzuka, who wasgoing "Funya funya" for quite some time now. Doing all that stuffto her without explaining anything really left behind a bad feelingin my chest.

…Well, it makes sense. It’s not likeSuzuka was a character that loved her Onii-chan after all. Eventhough it wasn’t an operation like before, I forced her to put upwith all these lovey-dovey things I did. It would be nice if thisdoesn’t end up as a trauma for her…..

"Uhm Suzuka?" Thinking that Ishould apologize to her, I raised my voice.

"Ehehehe, what is it, funya?"

It seems like she’s still not up toit….will she really be fine?

"Ah, uhm, I’m really sorry aboutbefore. But, it would make sense that you wouldn’t forgive me likethat. I had my reasons for it, so please let me explain."

"Eheheh, is that so, nya."

"…….I was always thinking aboutwhat it means to have a weak protagonist and just now, I came up witha sort-of answer. How about I just became that character, somethinglike that.

"Eheheh, is that so, nya."

"T-Then I thought of thinking like acharacter would. The character that came to my mind was theprotagonist of your novel. With my viewpoint being the same asRyou’s, I realized that I had made you mad before and my body startedmoving without thinking."

"Ehehe, is that so, nya."

"What I want to say is, these actionsbefore were things I did in my pseudo-Ryou state. So it’s definitelynot like I really love little sisters or anything, you can trust meon that. However, I realized that my train of thought was right andif I started thinking like them, I would be able to create a strongprotagonist."

"Ehehe, is that so, nya."

"Also, if I was to teach Mai aboutthat, I’m sure this would clear up the troubles she stillhas……But, to tell you the truth, I still have doubts. Mai is aprofessional writer after all. Would it really be okay to give her anadvice like this?"

"Ehehe, is that so, nya."

"…..Hey, are you really listeningto me?"

"Ehehe, yes, I’m listening, nya?"She answered with a loose smile.

……I do really think that you didn’tlisten at all though? And what’s up with that "nya" of hers…..?

"I don’t undestant why Onii-chan isstill hesitating, nya."

"Nya….what does that even mean….?And also, I’m wondering if someone like me does have the rightto—-"

"Onii-chan isn’t [someone like me]."She was till going "Nya nya" all over the place but her voice wasas clear as day.

"Onii-chan is my Onii-chan. And evenmore than that, nya, Onii-chan is Towano Chikai. I’ve been tellingyou countless times, didn’t I, nya?"

"But still….."

"No buts, nya. Have someself-confidence. You showed me countless times how much you lovelittle sisters but you didn’t manage to [Become] Towano Chikai yet."

[Become] Towano Chikai—-at thosewords, I swallowed my breath.

…..I see. Becoming the protagonist ofthe novel and also becoming the author, doesn’t that mean the exactsame thing when acting as a character…..!

Looking at it that way, I really didn’tbecome Towano Chikai yet. Even in all those operations, it doesn’tfit together at all. It’s because I don’t actually like littlesisters—-is what I always thought in the depths of my heart, whichresulted in my awkward behavior. That explains why Mai was neverreally satisfied.

"I see…..so it was like that…. Soyou realized that and told me that I didn’t mange to act as TowanoChikai yet, right?"

"Ehehe, eh? What is it, nya?"

"I understand it now,Suzuka….Because I was always so thickheaded, I put you in a lot oftrouble….It’s fine now, though. The me right now will become TowanoChikai, I’m sure of it!"

"No no, you didn’t trouble me at all.On the contrary, I am extremely happy right nyaow."

It seemed like she was mumblingsomething again with a smile on her face but I wasn’t listeninganymore. I was focusing on becoming Towano Chikai right now.

…..I don’t feel any resistanceanymore. There’s no doubt anymore that I am Towano Chikai. I feltlike I really became the one and only Towano Chikai.

"Alright….Then, what should I bedoing now?"

No need to think about that. Clear upMai’s doubts. Clearing up Mai’s problems. Teaching the answer to theperson that has the exact same troubles as I do.

…..Teach me the secret of TowanoChikai, you say? I’ll teach you anything you want alright!

"I’m going to Mai’s room for a bit."

Standing up from the bed as I said so,I made my way towards the door.

"Ehehe…., eh? O-Onii-chan? Going toHimuro-san’s room, you say—-" She said as she looked like shewould be trying to stop me.

….I know I know. You’re worried if Ireally was able to become Towano Chikai, right?

"No need to worry, Suzuka. The meright now is Towano Chikai. It’s fine."

"No, uhm, it’s not about that but whyare you going over to Himuro-sans’s room so late at night?"

"Oh, so you’re still anxious aboutthat? ….Then, I’ll give you the proof right now."

Facing Suzuka head-on, I lookedstraight into her eyes and opened my mouth.

"Right now, I can say that I lovelittle sisters from the bottom of my heart!"

That’s a phrase only Towano Chikaiwould be able to say. Being able to get that out of my mouth withouthesitating, I really felt like I became him.

"Fue? L-Love….., L-L-L-L-Love?!Onii-chan does?! M-Me?! Fueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?!"

Letting out a scream after hearing mywords, Suzuka looked at me with a red face.

……Mhm? That’s not the reaction Iexpected. I totally thought that she would be saying something like[Onii-chan is properly acting as Towano Chikai now!]…..Wellwhatever, with this, she should believe me.

"Alright then, this time I’ll get ridof Mai’s doubts for sure."

Leaving Suzuka behind, who was onlymaking inaudible noises, I left the room.

Part 5:

"Heeey, Mai! Are you still awake?!"I knocked on Mai’s door without holding back.

Although it has gotten pretty late intothe night, I didn’t have the time to be bothered by that.

"Oi, don’t make such a noise!"Immediately after that, Mai came out.

She looked at me with an unpleasantexpression. Doesn’t look like she was sleeping until now and thelights are on. Did she work on her manuscript possibly? Perfecttiming.

"What’s your business, coming herthis late?"

Being suddenly visited by the personyou just had a fight with, Mai seemed to be baffled. Withoutanswering her question, I entered her room with an "I’m coming in".

"Ah, what, why are you coming in!Hey! What do you want?"

Mai was clearly confused because of myactions. Without sparing any thought to that though, I startedstating my business.

"Right now, I will make an exceptionand tell you the secret of Towano Chikai’s, my novel."

"…..Eh? Secret…? Ehhhhh?!W-What’s this all of a sudden?!"

"Why are you so shocked? Even thoughyou said that you will definitely reveal my secret?"

"T-That might be so but still! No,not that! Yuu isn’t Towano Chikai, right?!"

"I am the one and only TowanoChikai."

Closing in on her, I slammed my handbehind her on the wall. The so-called kabe-don.

"Eh? Eh? W-What is this?! Y-Yuu?!"

"Listen carefully now."

Mai seemed to be really perplexed asher cheeks seemed a bit flushed but I still continued without payingany more attention to that.

"The secret of Towano Chikai that youwanted to know….Basically, the thing you’re lacking is….you haveto become the character that you want to write!"

"W-What?! Just when I wandered whatyou were planning as you entered my room in the middle of the nightand pulling a kabe-don on me….just what the hell are you talkingabout?! That’s such a basic thing to be doing when writing a novel!I-I even had my hopes up…..! Ah, only because you told me that youwere telling me your secret okay?! Not because you did a kabe-donwith me!? But never mind that, I am doing that all the time I’mwriting, you know!"

"No, you’re not! Your efforts arestill lacking!"

Cutting of her words, Mai becamespeechless.

"Listen here, becoming your characterisn’t really that simple, alright? Even for me, it feels like I’lllose it as soon as I relax for a second! The proof of that is thatmanuscript of mine that you read at school!"

"Eh? W-Was it really because ofthat….?"

"Exactly. As a lesson, I took thatfailure of a manuscript with me. Not forgetting the things you lackare an important trait of a professional writer after all. Also, Iwanted you to realize that as well."

"Eh? What do you mean….? Ha?!D-Don’t tell me, me seeing that manuscript was your plan all along?!

"Yeah, it went just as planned. Thetruth is, I knew that you were basically stalking me from the verybeginning. Still, as a fellow professional light novel writer, Icouldn’t just teach you everything without having you achieve it onyour own. In the end, I brought my manuscript with me to make you seeit and announced that I would be flirting with Suzuka."

"S-So that date was also because ofthat….?"

"Of course. Even this training camp,it’s not because of my research but I planned it for you."

"I-I didn’t realize at all…."

"You kept talking about my secret butit’s not that big of a deal. Only, when I write on my novel, I tendto become the character—particularly the protagonist."

"B-But, it’s not that easy—"

"Yes, it’s not merely on the level ofbecoming the character. When I’m writing, I fuse together with thecharacter and adapt his personality. Even if it’s a character thanyou can’t sympathize with, it’s your duty as a professional lightnovel writer to power through that."

"The duty of a professionalwriter……" She muttered and I continued.

"I’m sure that you can do it as well.After all, you’re novels are plenty fun to read already. There’s noway that you can’t do it. That’s why, don’t give up! Have someself-confidence! You are Towano Chikai’s rival, aren’t you?!" Withthat, I closed my mouth. I said everything I wanted her to hear.

Mai doesn’t answer me. She just keepssilent. It felt like eternity until she opened her mouth.

"…..Why?"

"Why what?" I asked.

"Why is Yuu going so far….sayingthese things for me?" She looked at me with moist eyes.

"Why you ask…..I can’t really leaveyou alone when you’re on such a tight spot, right?"

"Why are you going so far for someonelike me….? Coming to my room this late…..and also…..doing akabe-don…..!" She seemed to be in total confusion.

"You’re a light novel writer with thesame ambition as me. Also—"

You were facing the same wall that Ihad…..but, I can’t say that as Towano Chikai.

"Also…..?"

"Because I love your novel so much, Iwant to read the continuation!"

For some reason, those were the wordsthat I said with the most force behind them.

…..These were my true feelings,probably.

"You love my novel….?"

"….Yeah. I said it before but I’mnot lying."

Mai once more kept quiet. After a shortwhile though, she put both hands on my chest, and pushed me awaysoftly. I stopped the kabe-don and looked at her. As I did, shesuddenly looked up, tears were building up in the corners of her eyesand she daringly smiled at me with a red face.

"….I got it."

"Eh?"

"I said that I got it! I’ll try! IfTowano Chikai—no, Yuu is going so far, I can’t pull back now!"She said with a strong voice as she booted up her notebook PC on herdesk. "Becoming the protagonist…..you say. No problem! I’ll doit, so just watch me! I’ll show that to my editor, making him regretusing the word [one-dimensional] related to my characters!" She satdown on her chair and started typing on her keyboard.

"….Are you fine now?"

"Of course! I did receive a directadvice from you after all! I won’t let that go to waste! As yournumber one fan and as your rival!"

Taking away my eyes from the notebookPC screen, Mai said so self-confidently. Looking at her now, I letout a sigh.

I was about to leave the room as sheonce more started talking to me.

"Hey, Yuu."

I turned around to face her whileholding the doorknob in my hand.

"Y-You said before….that you likemy novel, right?"

"Mhm? Ah, you’re still doubting me?"

"I-I trust you. After all that yousaid….you know. For the next volume, I’ll make it even moreinteresting than before….That’s why, look forward to it, okay!"

Without looking towards me, her cheeksseeming slightly flushed. Having a really pleasant feeling in mychest, I answered "Alright" and left the room.

"Thank you….for saying that youlike my novel, Yuu."

The moment I closed the door, I feltlike I heard these words from Mai.

Part 6:

"…..Well, to think that you wouldbe able to say these things."

The moment I left Mai’s room, I heard avoice calling out to me, making me twitch in surprise. Looking forthe source, I saw Suzuka calling out to me with an astonishedexpression.

"Y-You….don’t tell me you werelistening?"

Saying these words, I felt that Iturned back to [Nagami Yuu].

"Y-Your voice was so loud that it wasaudible from the outside. Going to a girls room this late into thenight would be a big problem if something bad happened after all."She said as she looked the other way.

"A-Ah, alright…."

Is she in a bad mood…?— I wonderedas her expression loosened up for some reason.

"W-Well, it’s not like I was worriedor anything…. You said that you like little sisters with thatconfession earlier…..ehe, ehehe……." She was mumbling aboutsome weird stuff again.

"Uhm……"

I didn’t bother with that though. Themoment I came back to my own self, I remembered all the things that Isaid before and a horrible feeling assaulted me.

"Ahh, I said some unbelievablethings, didn’t I….?"

"Regarding the incident of her seeingyour Manuscript and even the date operation, you said that it was allfor her sake, didn’t you. Without any hesitation…."

"Ugh….I’m sorry about that, Ireally am. That time I became Towano Chikai, so I didn’t realize whatI was saying…."

"No, there is no need toapologize…..Also, Himuro-san was satisfied by your words, wasn’tshe? It’s fine then. That is the definite proof that you managed tobecome Towano Chikai." Hearing her say that, it raised my mood alittle bit.

However—-there still is one thingthat I must apologize about.

"Sorry, Suzuka!"

"Eh? No, there really is no need forthat…."

"Nay, I do have something I have toapologize to you for. If I had managed to become Towano Chikaisooner, there wouldn’t have been any need to force you into theseoperations and troubling you…."

"That’s not something you have toapologize for…..Also, I was really happy, being able to be alllovey-dovey with Onii-chan…."

"Also….what?"

"It’s nothing! R-Rather than that, Ididn’t think of it as trouble at all, so don’t be bothered by it."She broke eye contact with me, her face getting more red by thesecond.

…..Really now, my little sisters issuch a good girl. Normally, she doesn’t hold back at all but at timeslike these, she says such encouraging words….

Thinking like that, I felt my body wasgetting heavy. It’s probably because I was constantly on edge thesepast few days and that exhaustion is catching up with me. And alsobecause all these problems are finally cleared up—-

"Huh? No, wait….?"

—–No, that’s right. I forgot onecrucial thing. There’s still something missing that was plaguing mebefore coming to this training camp.

"Ah, Onii-chan? Where are you going?"

"I’m going back to the room."

Just like I said, I returned to theroom, booted up my notebook PC and opened up the writing software.That’s right, I didn’t make any progress with my own entry manuscriptat all. The deadline is right around the corner after all. Besidesthe plot, my progress is zero. Although it might look like a lostcause, I wasn’t stressed out in the least. Since I managed to conquermy troubles, I’m sure that I can write it. That’s the confidence Ihad.

"You’re going to write on yourmanuscript at a time like this?" Suzuka asked, also following meback to the room.

"Well, I said all these big words toMai after all. I would feel really bad if I didn’t go beyond mylimits as well….Oh, yeah. Sorry. I’m sure that you want to sleep,right? I’ll just go to the living room then—"

"No, that’s not a problem." Shesaid while sitting down next to me.

Just when I thought what she was doing,she put down her own notebook PC next to mine.

"I will work on my own manuscript aswell, so there’s no need for you to change location."

"Eh? But it’s already prettylate….and I will take the all-nighter course, you know? Also, youshould’ve been finished with your manuscript, right?"

"I still have to put all that datafrom our training camp into my novel after all. Isn’t that obvious?"She said as if it was completely natural.

"That might be true but still…whynext to me?"

Just like one would suspect, we werereally close to each other. If I was to move only a little bit, ourshoulders would touch.

"Because I want to be at Onii-chan’sside."

"……Eh?"

I was bewildered after hearing thatunexpected answer. Still being red-faced, Suzuka once more moved herlips.

"R-Right now, I am writing a novelwhere the little sister loves her Onii-chan so much she can’t copewith it, right? T-To become that little sister, being next to myOnii-chan is a given, don’t you think?"

A-Ahh, I see, that’s what she meant.

"….Mhm? But, weren’t you possessedwhen you wrote on your novel?"

"D-Don’t mind the small stuff. Ratherthan that, please start working."

"O-Oh yeah…."

It’s just as Suzuka said. I won’t beable to make it until the deadline if I don’t start now. Once Istarted focusing on my manuscript, so did Suzuka. For a short, onlythe sound of keyboard could be heard.

"……."

However, something was stopping me fromreally concentrating. The Suzuka right next to me was always on mymind. I didn’t even have to think about it. I forgot the mostimportant thing.

"Hey, Suzuka." I called out to herin a quiet voice. No answer. She’s probably too concentrated on hermanuscript right now. But, that didn’t matter. I continued.

"Well…..thank you."

What came out were words ofthankfulness. That’s right, I did apologize to Suzuka but I neverthanked her for all she had done for me. I just had to tell her that.Although it felt pretty awkward because there were so many things Iwas thankful for.

…..Not that it matters, I guess. Theme right now isn’t anything like the siscon big brother in her novelnor the little sister loving Towano Chikai. These are the words of noone else than her ordinary big brother Nagami Yuu.

I returned to my manuscript whileSuzuka still hasn’t said anything. Did she hear me? Well, there’s noway for me to check anyway.

This time for sure, I focused on mymanuscript. In that moment I felt like I heard a soft laughter fromright next to me.

Part 7:

The only sound remaining in the roomwas the tapping of keyboards. While I was working on my manuscript, Iremembered back to the incident a few hours prior.

Maybe Onii-chan really loves Himuro-sanafter all—-these thoughts were a misunderstanding on my part. Hedenied that straight up with his actions and words.

…..At first, I didn’t really trusthim, remaining anxious that whole time. But right now, these doubtsare completely gone. Right now, as his little sister….no asOnii-chan’s beloved little sister, I have plenty confidence in that.

B-Because, Onii-chan told me thatrather than Himuro-san, he loves little sisters, basically me, muchmore!

—–I really love little sisters!

Are there any words more beautiful thanthese, I wonder? No, there aren’t. For a while now, these words areconstantly reverberating in my head. I don’t need any other wordsthan that from him. That’s what I’m thinking.

"Ehehe"

Oh, no good. If I let my guard downjust a bit, I’ll start grinning endlessly. Right next to me isOnii-chan, so I have to pull myself together. This isn’t the time tobe submerged in that happiness. In fact, I am Onii-chan’s bride,specifically his wife, so there’s no need to be rushing.

…..That’s right, just a few hoursbefore. I became his wife. We married and became a couple! Of course,this time it is not only my imagination though? He properly proposedto me after all! It feels like the fantasy that I wrote about in my[Onii-chan notes] finally came to life…..

My light novel is the novelized versionof these notes. And his proposal was exactly like that one scene. Butthat lovey-dovey scene from before wasn’t fiction at all!

"Onii-chan lovesme…..ehehehehe….."

…..That being said, I didn’t expectour relationship to advance this much during our training camp. Iwonder how our newlywed-life will turn out from her on out? Living alovey-dovey lifestyle with Onii-chan is just like I wanted it to bebut if the stimulus is too great, I probably won’t be able tosurvive.

….Suzuka, I love you. Yourpersonality, your body….everything—–

He would probably say things like thatright?! W-What should I do!? Ha…..! Just imagining it made meshiver all over. O-Of course, I still wouldn’t say no to that at all!It is the duty of the wife to fully accept the love of her husband!Ahh….but if he really was to say these words, I would certainlyfaint! N-Not good, me! I have to carve these words into my heart andremember them for the rest of my life!

Haaahaaa…..not good. Somehow, itfeels like my head is burning up. To make sure that we will spend avigorous newlywed-life together, I have to hold myself back now, asdiscipline!

"Haaauuu…"

Trying to calm myself down, I took aglance over at Onii-chan who was still sitting next to me. With aserious expression, he was still working at his manuscript.

…..Ahhh, you really are toogallant…Onii-chan is always plenty cool but at times like these,it’s really unfair how cool he looks! The sight of him, havingconquered his worries and earnestly writing his manuscript withoutfaltering.

….This is bad, just looking at himmakes my thoughts go rampant. Ah, for crying out loud, how much is hetrying to lead me astray until he is satisfied…This must be acrime. Randomly patting me on the head, hugging me, followed up by akiss on the forehead….. Somehow, I feel like it wouldn’t be too badif he was to keep leading me astray….Ah, I have to stop! I wastrying to calm myself down so why am I already thinking about thatagain!

….Fuuu, in the end, it’s Onii-chan’sfault for being too cool. I wanted to avert my eyes from him but Icouldn’t….He really is a bad person. Making such an pleasantexpression….it makes me want to kiss you on the cheek, doesn’t it!?

…..No no, like I said, stop thinkingabout that, me. I was really about to do that but I can’t bebothering him now. He’s finally immersed in his manuscript. Thatbeing said, I really am glad that he is finally back on his feet.Well, since we’re talking about my Onii-chan, I always believed thathe would be able to do it.

It’s true that he can be unreliablefrom time to time but that’s another cute aspect of him. Still, ifit’s something that even involves the troubles of other people, hewill surely pull through it. Just like this time. He helpedHimuro-san by becoming his character—exactly what I always do.

Although I do not know if that is theright technique, it is something that he came up with, being TowanoChikai, so it is without fault be the right way. When I’m writing onmy manuscript or my [Onii-chan notes], I’m always being troubled byhow much I love Onii-chan after all.

….Well, it would be nice if I wasable to sincerely show that though….Oh but this isn’t the time tobe in low spirits. We finally became a married couple after all solet’s leave the improvement of myself for later. For now, I should behappy with the fact that Onii-chan arrived at the answer thatoverlapped with my own thoughts. It means that both our hearts areconnected with each other.

Just what I would expect from mysoulmate! The only thing that we still lack is to have a marriagethat is accepted by society and connect physically with ourbodies—–what am I thinking about?! It’s still to early for that!

Haaa…..I have to stop. It always endsup lie this. The moment I get excited about that, my thoughts driftoff in all sorts of places.

"…….."

Without knowing about them, he’s stilldevoted to his writing. In front of my eyes right now are thestrong-willed shoulders of Onii-chan.

…..He probably won’t realize if it’sjust a bit…..— Thinking that, I softly leaned against hisshoulders with my head.

Hauu….this position really is thebest. Feeling his warmth, it seemed like my consciousness was aboutto drift far way.

Now that I think about it, just now,Onii-chan was thanking me, right?

…..Even though I should be the one tosay that. For always giving your best for the never honest me. I amwell aware of the fact that all the fault lies with me for making youmy stand-in but you never said anything to me about that….. That’swhy I will say it. I have to say it.

Before I drowned in happiness, Imustered all the courage I had and thanked my beloved Onii-chan

"Onii-chan, I’m so thankful foreverything you do for me….."