Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai Volume 5 Chapter 1

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Onward to new content that hasn't been butchered in the anime!

How to raise a cute heroine

Part 1:

"…….."

"……………."

It was a certain day in the middle of December, and I was in my room. I, Nagami Yuu, was nervously gazing at my smartphone. Next to me was my little sister Suzuka, also with a serious expression on her face.

What were we doing, you may ask? We were waiting for a call from the editorial department. However, this time it wasn't from the Sumeragi Fantasy Publishing for Suzuka, but from the NJ Publishing editorial department, where I had sent my newest novel for the light novel contest.

Ring ring ring ring ring

"O-Onii-chan, it's here!"

"I-I-I-I know!!"

As that sound rang out, Suzuka started to panic as I answered the call. Suzuka leaned in closer to me so that she could listen in. I almost bit my tongue as I answered, but managed to hold it together. The content of the call went something like this.

「Hello, might you be Nagami Yuu-san? I am from NJ Publishing. I am calling because of the results of the light novel contest. Sadly, it wasn't quite enough this round. It was quite close, you know? I tried my best to push it through. Ah, the reason it didn't make it? Well, one of the judges said that the heroine's depiction was a bit lacking. To be frank, she wasn't cute enough. And that was something that I had felt too. The heroine not being cute is a fatal problem, after all. Although it didn't quite work out this time, I hope that you will give it your best the next time too. We will be waiting for your newest work—」

For a while, I spaced out with the phone to my ear, but when I finally understood what had happened I collapsed to the floor.

"…I failed…And I was so close…"

As I put it into words, I felt even more depressed.

…Ughhh, why… why do I have to suffer like this…! I've wanted to become alight novel author for such a long time. This was the first time I had made it until the last round….! Just one more step and I would've made it—how cruel! I wanna cry!

As I was writhing around on the floor….

"O-Onii-chan, pull yourself together!" After keeping quiet for a bit, Suzuka raised her voice.

Normally, Suzuka was super collected, but seeing me in this state made her panic a bit it seems. "Since I made Onii-chan my stand-in, I'm also very interested in the result…" she had said, which is why she was waiting with me to hear the result. Maybe that's why she was hesitating to speak to me right now.

"Uhm… Although it really is a shame, please cheer up!"

"I know… but this time, it was a lot of damage…"

Normally, I would cheer myself up with a "Next time, I'll definitely win for sure!" but in this situation, I just couldn't be optimistic.

…Ah, just when I thought that I had gotten one step closer to catching up with Suzuka…!

That was the main reason I usually used to come to terms with my failures. My little sister Suzuka is actually the super popular light novel writer Towano Chikai. Because of certain circumstances, I became her stand-in. However, it was still my dream to become a light novel writer too, so first I had to catch up with her no matter what.

…That was the only thing I wanted… but it still turned out like this…

"I-It's fine, Onii-chan. It's true that you didn't win this time, but you managed to get into the final round, right? At this rate, you will surely win with your next novel!" She said as she made a fist with her hand.

Although it hurt a bit to be cheered up by my (self-proclaimed) rival, she still was right about that.

"Y-You're right…."

"Yes, believe me. So please cheer up, Onii-chan!"

Thanks to Suzuka's words, I started to feel a bit better. I know that just crying about it won't change anything. And just as she had said, this was the first time I made it to the final round. As long as I keep writing novels like I've done until now, I will win eventually.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry for being so down just now. You really cheered me up. Thank you, Suzuka." I said as I stood up.

"N-No, I understand your feelings. I just didn't want to see Onii-chan being down like that. T-There's no a special meaning behind it or anything, though," She quickly averted her face as her cheeks turned red.

Well, I do keep showing her my bad side, such as when I told her that I like little sisters.

…Though in the end there was a different reason for that, and I'm glad that she didn't hate me for it.

"Well, you know. It's just like you said. In the end, I will debut eventually if I keep going like this! Ha ha ha!"

"…Please don't just assume that on your own."

"Sorry…"

Suzuka glared at me like I really was a good-for-nothing big brother.

…I can't help it. The relationship between Suzuka and I has always been like this.

"For now…" I took a deep breath, "I guess I have to start from zero—"

"You have to reflect on why you lost the contest, you know?"

Hey, I thought you wanted to cheer me up?! It might've sounded like I had forgotten about it, but I didn't, okay? I was just about to say it too…

"I know! They clearly told me that, after all! But even if you say that the depiction of the heroine is too weak…"

What should I do about that, really? And just remembering how they told me that the heroine wasn't cute makes me want to cry again.

…I really thought she was cute, you know…?

"The depiction of the heroine, huh…" Suzuka muttered, lost in thought.

I also crossed my arms, trying to think of something to improve about her character, but nothing came to mind.

"Well, there's no other choice but to continue thinking about it. It might even be that I manage to clear up the problem with my heroine and win in the next contest."

Of course, it won't be all that easy. But, for now, I have to look forward or it'd be the same as giving up.

"………"

While I was thinking that, Suzuka still looked like she was thinking about something.

..What is she thinking about? Ah, don't tell me, the super popular light novel author Towano Chikai might come up with some advice for me?

Well, receiving advice from my little sister who, even though she knew nothing of the otaku world, still managed to land a big hit like that still feels a bit frustrating… But I don't care about that anymore!

I have accepted that Suzuka's novel really is interesting to read, so if she were to give me some advice, I might even get on my knees and bow down to her.

What of pride? If it gets me one step closer to my dream, I will do anything! I don't have any pride as her big brother anyway! Although saying that out loud makes me want to cry!

"…Heroine."

While I kept thinking all these idiotic things, it still didn't look like Suzuka would return to reality anytime soon. That's why I was about to raise my voice when…

"Ehehehehehehe… Isn't this a chance…?"

"Eh? S-Suzuka?"

Seeing how her expression suddenly change, I was taken aback. Her face started getting red and she started to let out a weird laugh. Since I became her stand-in, I've seen her have that reaction from time to time. When she acts like this, it's generally because she's thought of a way to collect some data… But what is it this time?

"H-Hey, Suzuka? What happened?"

"Ehehehe, ehe…? …Ha?! W-W-W-W-What is it, Onii-chan?!"

"That's what I'm supposed to say!"

"Y-You're wrong, okay?! It's not like I'm seeing this as another chance to flirt with Onii-chan or anything?!"

"Flirt?"

"R-R-R-Rather than that!" Her face was bright red as she continued, "Do you have any idea how you can improve the heroine?"

"Not right now, no… I really have to give it some thought."

Hearing my reply, Suzuka let out a small sigh of relief as she muttered "Is that so… I'm glad."

Why are you glad about that?

"O-Onii-chan."

"W-What is it?"

Seeing her glance at me with an expectant gaze, I froze up.

"It's about the improvement of your heroine… I will help you."

Being completely taken aback by her unexpected words, I could only go "Eh?" in response.

I mean… well… Eeeh?

"Help you say? What do you mean by that….?"

"Like I said, to make sure that Onii-chan can create a cute heroine, I will help you out!" She said as she quickly averted her gaze.

W-What does she mean by that…? Up until now, Suzuka never helped me with my own novel, right? So why all of a sudden…?

"W-What's with that so suddenly?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"How are you planning to help me?"

"T-This is a perfect chance after all — no, not that! That's, uhm… no! Uhm!"

After a few seconds of her fiddling with her hands, she glared at me and continued.

"T-That's right. This is just me returning a favour!" She said. Her words and attitude didn't match up at all.

"R-Returning a favour?!

I really don't know what you mean by that, but I'm getting shivers because of that intimidating aura you said it with, you know?!

"T-That's right. Don't misunderstand. This is just me repaying you for all the times that you helped me out with my research. There's no other reason."

"Ahh, so that's how you meant it," I finally understood.

…I see. That makes sense.

"But that was just me fulfilling my job as your stand-in, so it's not something you'd have to thank me for, right?"

"I-It's fine. After all, the two of us are one author, so of course I'd help Onii-chan out if he's troubled. So how about it? Will you let me help you?"

"If it's like that, I'll gladly accept your help."

Actually, getting help from Towano Chikai… isn't that pretty amazing? If Mai or Akino-san found out about it, they'd be really jealous. Although they still think that I'm Towano Chikai, so it doesn't really matter.

"But how are you going to help me? I don't meant to be rude, but I still have to write the novel on my own from scratch."

Although I'm really glad that she's willing to help, there are still some things that I have to do on my own.

"That's obvious. I didn't plan on saying anything about the content of the novel, anyway. I want Onii-chan to win the grand prize with his own strength."

…If I win, I'll stop being her stand-in, though. Just how serious can you be about promises?

"And Onii-chan always helped me out without saying anything about the content of my own novel, too. I'm just doing the exact same thing."

"So you're saying—"

"Of course, I'm talking about researching."

Yep, that's what I expected. So basically, our positions had merely changed.

"Listen," She cleared her throat once before she continued, "In my opinion, we have to strengthen your image of a cute heroine so that you can properly write one."

"So that's what we'll do research on, huh? So what image do you have in mind?"

"T-That's… Onii-chan's perfect… girl."

"Eh?" With her saying ‘perfect girl' so of the blue, I could feel my cheeks getting hotter.

Even Suzuka is fiddling with her hands as she's sitting here… this is really embarrassing…

"Projecting your ideal girl onto the heroine makes the character even more cute! T-That's why you will have to tell me your ideal girl!"

"I-I see? So it's that? Is that how you always manage to write these characters?"

"No, in my case I just write my desires right into it — no, that's not it! I-I am a girl after all! There's no way I would have a favourite type of girl! Or rather, I've told you countless times that I'm possessed while writing that novel!"

"T-T-T-T-That's right?!" Being confronted with her menacing look, my whole body started shaking.

What kind of idiotic things am I asking! If she weren't possessed, she wouldn't have been able to write a little sister novel with a crazy title like ‘The story about a little sister that loves her big brother way too much to cope.'

"I-I'm not asking this because I'm interested or anything. It would be better to know it for your research, is all. If it's not a character that the author himself thinks is cute, then there's no way that the readers would think so. You have to transmit your own feelings."

"You might be right about that…" I muttered — but why is she wiping sweat off her forehead like she was panicking? It's winter right now.

"F-For now, Onii-chan has to tell me the specific type of girl he likes. That is the most important thing to make our research a success. That's the opinion of Towano Chikai anyway."

"So how we always did it, huh."

"Y-Yes. So this time, I will try to be Onii-chan's ideal type of girl, so please tell me."

"Be my ideal type of girl…"

Until now I've just been swept along by the flow of the conversation, but I was slowly starting to panic. Mostly because these words came out of the mouth of my little sister Suzuka. If she tells me something like "I'll become Onii-chan's ideal type of girl," then it doesn't matter if she's just acting out a role; it still sounds… bad.

Suzuka seemed to misunderstand my silence and repeated her words once more in a different way.

"P-Please make me your light novel heroine, Onii-chan!" She had flushed cheeks as she looked straight at me.

Being told that by a beautiful girl like her (although she's my little sister), my heart skipped a beat. To think that she would go this far just to repay a favour…! It should be pretty embarrassing for her already, so how serious can she be! To be fair, she is the student council president of the school she's attending, and she's doing most of the housework too, so I should feel bad making her help me with my novel research. But seeing how far she was willing to go for me, I couldn't exactly decline —

"I-I'm looking forward to working with you," Before I realized it, I bowed down while responding.

"Ah, please lift up your head. It was my idea from the start, after all."

"No no, you agreed to help me without any benefit to yourself, so it should be obvious for me to bow down. Really, thank you so much, Suzuka…..!"

"I-It really troubles me if you go that far… And I did propose the idea while thinking about how I would benefit too…"

"Eh? Benefit in what way?"

"N-N-Nothing at all! S-Since that's decided, I will be helping you out, Onii-chan!"

"Y-Yeah."

…Still, I never thought that she would actually help me out with my own novel.

"C-Cough So, before we start our research, there is something that I need to know from you."

"Something you need to know from me?" As I titled my head….

"S-Since this will be research for finding your ideal type of girl, I need to know your preferences beforehand," She said as she averted her gaze.

"M-My preferences, huh?"

"T-That's right. What kind of girl do you like? Do you like girls with short hair? Or more on the longer side? Should she be younger or older than you? What about her personality? Do you like them more cheerful or adult-like? W-W-W-W-What about her breasts—?!"

"Wait wait wait! Calm down, Suzuka!"

For some reason, she started bombarding me with questions. Why is she so serious about all of this?!

"I-I am calm. This information is very important for me so that I can act out my role better. And there's no other reason other than that!"

"I know that! But still, please calm down for once!" I tried calming her down as she still looked like she would overheat any second.

…Is it just me, or is she more serious about this research than any other we've done before?

"So, what is it? What are Onii-chan's preferences and favourite type of girl?"

"Even if you ask me that… To be honest, I don't know that stuff myself…"

"W-What do you mean by that? This is about Onii-chan himself, right?"

She's completely right about that, but even I don't have a clear image of my ideal girl. I never seriously had thought about it, after all. Instead of trying to get a girlfriend, I was always busy with my light novels….

"But there should be at least something, right? Like, let's see… a girl younger than you with long hair, small body and a modest chest…!"

"Why are you being so oddly specific?! No, I really don't know! The only things that come to my mind are ‘A cute girl' or ‘A kind of girl that falls in love with me'!"

"It's not surprising to me that your heroine's depiction was insufficient if your image of her is on that level…"

Stab! It felt like my chest was pierced by her words.

I would really like to say something back to her, but I can't find anything that would make sense!

"Haah… It can't be helped, then. It seems like we have to find out Onii-chan's preferences first," She said with a displeased expression.

"S-Sorry… I've never really given it any thought. I guess I'll have to do some work before you can help me—"

"What are you saying, Onii-chan? Of course I will be helping you with that too! Fufufu, I feel very motivated all of a sudden…!"

"Ehhhh?" Seeing Suzuka make a fist, I was bewildered.

What part of the conversation we had would make her motivated like that…?

"For now, we have to find some sort of starting point, I suppose," Saying that, Suzuka started looking around the room.

Her gaze stopped at my bookshelf that was filled with light novels.

"…That's right. Let's look for a recurring character type inside your light novels. We'll perform a thorough analysis. Ah, but we'll leave out the little sister characters."

"Eh? Why?"

"Because my main goal is to make you see me as a girl instead of a little sister — no, not that! O-Onii-chan likes little sisters after all, so you'll just say you like a character because she's a little sister!"

I couldn't get any words out.

Dammit… it's been like this since she found out that I like little sisters, and it makes me want to cry. But, well, I can't help it, I guess. Her attitude seems to have changed for the better after she found out, so now she's at least not throwing me disgusted glances anymore when she's looking at my light novel bookshelf.

But I would be lying if I said that she wasn't right. And to be fair, my favourite character is ‘Yuuka' from her novel; a little sister. Still, there's no way that I could just say "The little sister you wrote is the cutest character ever!" I would literally die from embarrassment.

"Okay, I got it. Then… this and this…"

Obeying her orders, I brought out the light novels where I thought that the characters besides the little sisters were cute too.

"Hmm… There are a lot of different types, I see. It seems to be difficult to find a common point of reference," She muttered as she skimmed through the pages.

"Well yeah. Wouldn't it be fine to just look at the characters where I thought ‘Oh, she's cute' or something?"

I mean, be it a typical battle-type novel or a slice-of-life, the characters act differently anyway, so the impression might be different just because of that.

"Muu… It seems like our information is limited if we just use light novels. It can't be helped… Although I'm not exactly a big fan of it, we have to look into those obscene eroge too!"

"Haaaa?!"

"Why are you surprised, Onii-chan? This is necessary, after all!" She glared at me as her cheeks started to get red.

"I-I know but…! Why even my eroge…!"

"It is another medium where a lot of different types of female characters appear, right? Therefore, it might be useful too! L-L-Like I said, I can't exactly be happy about it, but these ‘eroge'… uhm, show the most what kind of s-s-s-s-s-sexual fetishes a person has! That's what Double Peace-san said!"

You're clearly not wrong that you use them for that but still! Dammit… to be told that by Suzuka… Double Peace-sensei really has been a bad influence on her!

By the way, Double Peace-sensei is the person who's drawing the illustrations for Suzuka's novel. Her full name is Ahegao Double Peace-sensei, but calling her that in public is pretty bad, so I decided to go with the short version.

"I-I'll just say this upfront: It's useless to hide them from me. I know that you use a different notebook PC for your games, after all!" She said as she looked towards my closet.

Just a little while ago, Sakura had stayed over at our house, and the circumstances ended up with me having to completely lay bare all my ero collection in front of my little sisters. Trying to hide it now would indeed be a wasted effort.

"Ugh… okay. This is all for our research…!"

I took the notebook PC out of the closet with reluctant movements.

This eroge character is pretty nice! — There's no way I can say something like that in the presence of my little sister…! Just imagining it makes me want to die. But this is all so that I can win the grand prize of the contest…! And I doubt that we'll play far enough to get to the erotic scenes…!

As she was peeking over my shoulder, I showed her the characters I thought were cute inside the game. Excluding the little sisters of course. Saying that a particular little sister character is cute or has good erotic scenes to my blood-related little sister would be pure torture.

"…………………………….I see, so Onii-chan likes these types of women," She calmly muttered next to me… But her voice sounded really scary.

"U-Uhm, Suzuksan?"

"All of them have big breasts, Onii-chan. But they are a big unnatural, don't you think?"

"T-That's because this an eroge after all…"

"For crying out loud! So it's all about the breasts…! If you don't have any, then…!"

"No no! Eroge illustrators always draw them to make them look bigger! It only looks that way!"

"?! S-So, if I were to enter the world of eroge, my breasts would also look big in comparison…?!"

What's up with that conclusion?!

"No, if you don't have any breasts at all, you'll be drawn even more flat than you are any— Ouch?!" As I commented on her conclusion, she pinched me with all her might.

"Onii-chan you idiot…!" She looked away from me with a pissed-off expression on her face.

…That hurt… but that really was my fault, I suppose. I've been thinking a lot about this recently, but it really does seem like she's concerned about the size of her breasts. Even though she's got a great style and looks really cute. Haaah, how troublesome it is to have such a perfect little sister.

"Hmpf, it's fine. Show me the next character."

"U-Understood."

In the next scene I showed her, there was a childhood friend waking up the protagonist.

"Wai—! Her underwear is completely visible though…!"

This would be the typical scene where she was standing on top of the bed, kicking the protagonist to wake him up, but since she was wearing a skirt, you could clearly see her panties.

In today's light novels, fanservice scenes like these aren't exactly rare, but Suzuka still glared at the screen with eyes full of disgust. But just when I thought that she would be scolding me…

"S-So, Onii-chan likes stuff like this?" She had a serious look on her face as she gazed at the screen.

"N-No, it's not like I necessarily like it or anything…"

"This is a fanservice scene for boys, right? I'm slowly starting to get the hang of all of this."

Ohhh, it looks like Suzuka is beginning to understand the otaku culture more and more.

…But this isn't the time to be happy about that. Although the protagonist in the eroge is voicing his displeasure about being woken up, he's actually pretty happy about it. The heroine's tsundere personality is also very evident, and he could catch a glimpse of her panties too.

"As always, Onii-chan is such an erotic devil…"

"I really wish you'd stop reading my mind for once…"

"It's Onii-chan's fault for being so easy to read."

I have no comeback for that… But any male would totally understand me, right? Right?!

"………….." At first she was glaring at me, but now she's once more looking at the screen without saying anything.

"When I wake up Onii-chan, would it be better to wake you up like this?"

Her words had too much of an impact on me, making me swallow my breath.

"Cough Cough?! W-What are you saying?!"

"I-I don't mean it in a weird way! If Onii-chan really likes this kind of thing, I thought that as your assistant I might try it out, that's all!"

Of course I know there's no ulterior motive, but I'll happily decline!!

If she really were to wake me up every morning like that, I feel like a very dangerous door would be opened!

After that, I continued to show her the different characters, and before I realized it, she was writing stuff into her memo notebook with a difficult expression on her face.

"So, taking all of the characters I've seen into account, the type of girl that Onii-chan likes the most is—" For some reason, she stopped mid-sentence as her face flushed bright red.

"Even though they can barely hold back their love for their beloved one, they can't be honest with themselves… it feels like that was the most prominent type…!"

"Ah, so basically a tsundere."

…Mhm, yeah, it's not like I hate them. The stronger the ‘tsun' part, the bigger the ‘dere' for the protagonist.

"Isn't that wonderful… Ehehehe" Although she had a smile on her face for a bit, her cold gaze immediately returned as she continued, "Other important points were… that the breasts were almost always big…"

………U-Uhm.

I-I-I-I-I can't help it, can I?! I-Isn't it obvious that boys like big breasts? It's not like it's an out if yours are small, right?!

"For crying out loud… Onii-chan really is a troublesome person…!" She looked at me with blank eyes.

…She's clearly mad. What should I do? What if she says "I can't help such an indecent Onii-chan like you."….?!

As I was still trying to figure out how to solve the situation, Suzuka's cheeks flushed as she continued.

"This is why Onii-chan is so… Well, it seems like I now have a good understanding of Onii-chan's preferences… s-so, let's go on a date tomorrow!" She suddenly threw a bomb into the conversation.

"D-Date?! W-What's up with that so suddenly?!"

"D-Don't misunderstand me! This is just potential research! A date is the perfect chance to show the heroine's cuteness, don't you think?! That's why I think it's necessary to go on a date for research purposes! Don't you agree?!"

"Y-Yeah!" I happened to get swept along with the conversation because of her enthusiasm.

…It might be because she threw the word ‘date' into the conversation so suddenly, but my heartbeat happened to accelerate immensely.

"And even if I say 'date,' the plan was to buy Christmas presents for our Christmas party, right? So we'll get a bit flirty, do our research, and everything will be good," She said as she averted her gaze.

Now that she says it, we did plan to prepare for our winter training camp and the Christmas party by buying some things tomorrow. I remember now.

The training camp was something that Mai was planning for all the creators; basically something similar to what we did during summer vacation. But since it's winter now, we'll be going to the north. And since the camp overlaps with Christmas, we'll be celebrating with a Christmas party too while we're at it. That's why we had planned to buy some presents as well—

"I see. So that's what you had in mind."

"T-That's right. It's not like I wanted to go on a date with Onii-chan or anything, but I have to help you out now that I promised." She still didn't look at me.

Even though she's got her own novel to worry about, she still comes with me on this date research that she's clearly not very fond of… My little sister really is a great girl. She's even with me, even though I'm basically a siscon. I can't be thankful enough for her.

"…I get it. Then, although I feel bad about it, please come with me tomorrow for my research. I'm really sorry to make you go through all of this. I'm always troubling you… Thank you so much, Suzuka," That's why I honestly told her my feelings.

"Uuuuhh… if you honestly thank me like that… my conscience will start to hurt… Although I'm happy that it worked out like I wanted it to, I still feel bad now…" Suzuka muttered with a difficult expression on her face.

…Huh? I wonder if she really has some problem with going on a date with me as the type of girl that I prefer the most? No, it would be weird if she didn't have any misgivings about that.

Anyway, that's how we decided to do on a date to strengthen the depiction of the heroine in my own novel.

Part 2:

The afternoon of the following day. I was standing in front of the clock at Yotsuba park, waiting for Suzuka. Normally it would've been fine to leave the house together, but Suzuka said that that wouldn't have felt very date-like, so she wanted us to leave at different times.

"…Waiting like this reminds me of our date during our summer vacation…" I muttered as I looked at the sky.

Back then, Mai was still doubting that I really was Towano Chikai, so Suzuka and I had gone on a date to make her see how lovey-dovey I was with my little sister. This time though, it's for my own research. Still, meeting outside in this cold is really rough. Every time I felt the winter breeze, my body shivered. Wouldn't it have been much better to meet up inside?

"Mhm… Meeting up inside during this cold weather is a must."

As I was making a mental note about it…

"S-Sorry for making you wait!"

Hearing Suzuka's voice, I turned around… but,

"…Eh? Who?" Seeing the person standing there, that answer slipped out.

Why? Because that person was wearing her hair in a twin-tails style, her breasts were weirdly big and she was wearing a mini-skirt and knee socks combo. With an embarrassed expression, she gazed up at me. Because she looked so cute, my heart skipped a beat.

…But, huh? That's weird. I had turned around thinking that I heard Suzuka's voice, but all I see is this girl standing in front of me.

As I looked around for Suzuka with a huge question mark over my head, the girl opened her mouth.

"W-What happened? D-Do these clothes look weird on me?" She said, and her way of speaking reminded me of someone.

…Don't tell me, this girl is…?

"Are you….Suzuka?"

"W-What are you saying, Onii-chan? That should be obvious," She said in a displeased tone. I realized with a start that this was indeed Suzuka, but I was still a bit lost.

"Uhm… Why do you look like this?"

For now, I'll ask her the most important question.

"T-This is for our research. Since I'm aiming to become Onii-chan's perfect type of girl, I prepared something different for today," She gave me a straight forward answer.

…I see. So that's what this is about. That's good and all but—

"But… why a twin-tails hairstyle and this choice of clothes…..?"

"B-Because many of Onii-chan's favourite characters had a hairstyle like this… and I prepared these clothes with the image I had in mind from the ‘eroge' games…!" She answered as she pulled down her skirt in embarrassment.

So she's going this far for my research… Still, there is one thing I'm curious about. The thing is—would it be okay to ask her about it in broad daylight?! It feels like opening Pandora's box, but I really can't ignore it.

"Ahh, uhm, you know, Suzuka."

"W-What is it, Onii-chan? Do these clothes not fit me after all?"

"N-No, I think they really fit you and you look really cute, but…."

"C-C-C-C-C-Cu—?!"

Seeing Suzuka blush to her hears made even me feel embarrassed about it.

B-But, I can't help it! My little sister looks cute no matter what kind of clothes she's wearing! No, it's not about that anyway, there's something other than her clothes!

"Uhm, so…"

"W-W-W-W-What is it?! I-Is there something else you might want to praise—"

"How did your breasts end up like that?"

"………………………………………………….Now, let's start our research, shall we."

Hey!! At least try to change the topic a bit more smoothly!

"What kind of things are you asking a girl in broad daylight, Onii-chan! T-This is sexual harassment! P-Pervert! We'll take this to court!"

"C-Calm down! It's true that it might've been a weird question, but still! You can't really blame me, can you?! They really are weird!"

"So you mean to tell me that it looks weird if I have big breasts?!"

Why did you have to make it worse, me! Uhm… I'm not trying to say that she's flat-chested or anything but she definitely has more than she had yesterday, right?!

"O-Onii-chan is so mean……! Even though you clearly knew, you still asked me…!" She glared at me with a pouting expression.

"S-So…..you used ‘them', huh?"

"…………" Instead of answering, her lips were slightly trembling.

So basically, since I like big breasts, she's just trying to fit my tastes…?

"Uhm… Well, thank you? For going so far just for me."

"I-I only did it for Onii-chan's research. And, please stop talking about my breasts. F-For today, I will be a big-breasted girl. I have the so-called ‘huge breasts' attribute today! So please treat me well!" Being scolded like that, I nodded a few times.

Suzuka and huge breasts, huh… It really doesn't fit her image, but I'm thankful that she's going so far for the research. I was a bit surprised at first, but I can't ignore the effort she put in… Suzuka has huge breasts… Suzuka has huge breasts…!

"I-I will be acting accordingly. Cough Ahh, my shoulders feel so heavy. Probably because my breasts are so big~"

"Isn't that a bit over the top?" I retorted without thinking.

"W-What do you mean! Himuro-san and Double Peace-san say stuff like that from time to time, you know?! I am incredibly envious because of that!"

"You really were envious of them… Rather, girls really talk about stuff like that with other girls, huh…"

Although they might have problematic personalities, they never say stuff like that in front of me.

By the way, this Himuro-san is actually my classmate Himuro Mai that keeps stalking me, thinking that I am Towano Chikai. I think her stalker-like tendencies show what I mean by "problematic personalties."

"Uuuuuu… that doesn't matter right now! Like I said, I am acting as Onii-chan's perfect girl today, so let's start our date research immediately!"

"Ah, hey!" As Suzuka started dashing off with a red face, I hurriedly chased after her.

"Really, Onii-chan has no delicacy at all…!"

Hearing her mutter that under hear breath, I once more tried to see Suzuka as a normal big-breasted girl.

Though in that moment I realized something: What if Suzuka was actually just a normal girl like that? As I asked myself that question, I immediately arrived at an answer.

…Of course, she'd go from a super cute beauty to a super mega ultra cute beauty. Easy as that.

"By the way, about the concept behind our date today," Suzuka raised her voice just as we were about to leave the park. "Today, I am… a big-breasted girl that can barely keep her feelings in check for Onii-chan, so please treat me like that as well," She once more put emphasis on the ‘big-breasted' part.

"That's what I've been planing to do but…"

"But… what?"

"Shouldn't you be doing something about that ‘Onii-chan' of yours? Calling me like that would completely destroy your image of being a normal girl."

"Ah." Hearing my complaint, her face went bright red in an instant.

If the heroine called the protagonist ‘Onii-chan', that would basically make her another little sister, which we clearly tried to leave out for our research.

"T-That's right. T-Then… Then…? What should I be calling you then?"

Why do you have such a shocked expression on your face? Something other than Onii-chan, huh? Hmmmm, for now… what have the other people around me been calling me?

Nagamin, Sensei, Teacher, Comrade… it feels like none of them really fit.

"That's right… Since we're on a date, shouldn't we just call each other by our first names? That would be the most natural thing, I think."

"F-First names?! S-So… Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y-Yu!" With a red face, she repeatedly stuttered a short "Yu."

…Can you not play around with my first name?

"Y-Yu———-Yuu."

"Yeah. That's the best choice."

"……..Onii-chan."

"Hey… Adding an ‘Onii-chan' after it kinda defeats the purpose."

"Y-You're wrong! It's just… Onii-chan is really only Onii-chan to me…"

"I know. But this is for our research, so I really think you should do something about it."

"I-I'm well aware of that! Please let me practice for a bit!" She repeated my first name several times to calm herself down.

Why is she having so much trouble calling me by my first name?

"Cough! Then, here I go… Uhm, the weather is pretty nice, isn't it… Yuu?"

"T-That's right," Suzuka's tension seemed to be starting to affect me, also.

Actually it's pretty cloudy today, but I did my best to hold back that retort, or else she might get mad at me again.

"The spring birds are chirping very energetically, aren't they, Yuu?"

"They clearly aren't though?!"

"I-Isn't it fine? That was just an example."

"It's still weird to hold a conversation with example sentences!"

"Really, you have to be nitpicky about everything, Yuu……..Onii-chan."

You're adding the Onii-chan again!

"Ahhh, I can't do it….Onii-chan really is only Onii-chan to me, so I can't stop myself from calling Onii-chan Onii-chan…..!"

Seeing Suzuka in despair like that was a pretty rare scene to behold.

"I know, I know. I guess we'll leave it like this. I would feel bad forcing you, anyway."

"I'm sorry… B-But, you still have to treat me like a normal girl okay?! O-Only because of our research though!"

You're really asking the impossible of me as always… but since this is all for my sake, I'm not in the position to say anything back. I don't know if I'll manage to succeed, but I guess I'll have to try to help Suzuka start calling me ‘Yuu' instead of ‘Onii-chan'.

As I was thinking that, our destination entered our sight. It's the same shopping mall we went to last time, though. Since our goal was to go shopping today anyway, we had to choose a fitting place. But we can still make it date-like, even though it's just shopping.

"Onii-chan, did you give any thought about what we're going to do today other than shopping?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, our goal was to go shopping for the Christmas party gifts, but I also think that it would be a good idea to buy each other some presents right now."

"Buying each other a gift, huh? That's something that lovers would do, isn't it…?"

"O-Our goal is to flirt after all!"With these words, she suddenly grabbed my arm.

Her sweet smell entered my nostrils and a soft feeling attacked my arm.

…Well, I know that particular feeling is fake, but I still can't stop my heart from beating faster.

"I-I know. T-Then, I'll be counting on you."

"Y-Yes."

With both of us feeling nervous, we entered the shopping mall.

…But still, if I managed to go on a date like this with a tsundere, I would probably ascend to heaven. Especially if she were clinging to my arm like this. And if she were my perfect type of girl, I wouldn't need anything else in life. With this feeling, I have to write the next heroine for my novel! I can do this!

With these thoughts, we arrived at the shopping area.

"So, what kind of store will we check out first?"

"Let me think… What would be a good present…" I pondered as I looked around at the different stores.

"Um, how about we go look at a Western clothes shop?"

"I'm fine with it, but do you have some clothes that you would like in particular?" I asked, trying to coerce a gift idea out of her.

Since she's a girl, I'm sure that she wants some new clothes— is what I thought.

"N-No, uhm….I just want to be told that I'm cute by the person that I like… Ah, but you're wrong, okay?! That was just my opinion as your perfect girl, okay?! It's not like I'm wishing for it myself or anything, okay?!" She started fiddling with her hands, her face bright red.

I know very well that she herself didn't mean it, but that one phrase had quite an impact on me.

…Dammit, why is she able to act every role out so perfectly…! It's like this every time we do any sort of research. This time too, her acting is clearly not half-baked. Even these words just now sounded extremely real.

"Y-Yeah, that makes sense. I've always wanted to pick out some clothes with a cute girl… Okay, then let's search for some clothes first."

As I said that, Suzuka responded with a "Yes," with a happy smile on her face.

And, like this, we entered a shop for both male and female clothes.

"N-Now, Onii-chan, what kind of clothes do you think would fit me…? I-It's not like I'm looking forward to this or anything! I-I just want to get some reference for my own novel as well!" She used a perfect tsundere phrase as if it were nothing.

"H-Hmm…"

This isn't good… I have absolutely no idea! What should I do? I'm really not all that familiar with that kind of stuff, even when it comes to my own clothes…

"Umm…………….how about this?"

I couldn't exactly say ‘I don't know' to her after seeing her expectant gaze. And since this is my own research, I can't just leave everything to her. That's why I pointed to some random clothes that caught my attention, but…

"It's not bad, but it looks a bit childish," She said with a worried tone as she looked at the one piece with a flower pattern that I had pointed out.

"Onii-chan, today I'm not your little sister but a normal girl, you know?"

You say that, but you're still calling me Onii-chan……— I weakly retorted inside my mind.

But now that she says so, it does look a bit childish. Since I still see her as my little sister right now, I keep picking stuff that actually fits her. Though I still feel like those clothes really fit her — hey, don't glare at me! It makes it seem like you really can read my mind!

"Umm, then…"

Trying to fix her mood, I was about to pick out another piece of clothing but in that moment…

"Ah, I'm sorry."

From the shadow of a shelf came a person, and we happened to bump into each other. Said person was an older woman, and she also lowered her head with an "I'm also sorry."

She was a nice person, so it ended without incident, but for one moment my eyes were glued to a certain part of her body.

…Huge.

Maybe it was because of her clothing, but her wobbling chest area really pulled my eyes towards it. It's not like I was checking her out with an erotic gaze, but this is a natural reaction for any male so please cut me some slack.

As the woman disappeared out of my sight, I once more resumed my search for some clothing but—

"….Onii-chan? What were you looking at just now?"

Hearing a freezingly cold voice from behind my back, I tensed up. As I turned around, Suzuka was glaring at me with crossed arms… She had realized where I was looking in that short period of time?!

"W-Well, it's not like my eyes were glued to them or anything. They just happened to enter my sight."

"No, you were practically staring at her chest area. Let's hear the reason for that."

As if I could honestly say ‘Because they were huge!' now?!

"L-Let's just return to our research, okay? I have to search for some fitting clothes for you after all!"

"Yes. But before that, I will listen to your reason. The reason that you looked at another girl during our date, not to mention at her breasts."

…Come on, that was a completely natural reaction as a man, so can't you forgive me for once…! And, you're also big-breasted right now, so you shouldn't be scolding me—

"Ah."

In that moment, I realized something. It wasn't something that could save me from this situation, but my instincts were telling me to say it.

"What is it? Are you finally ready to give me a satisfactory explanation?"

"Y-You're wrong. That just now was… I thought that it might be useful for our research!"

"And how does looking at a woman's chest turn into research! J-J-J-J-Just how much of a perverted erotic devil are you, Onii-chan—"

"It's not that! Right now you're also a big-breasted woman, right?! It occurred to me that I have to look for clothes that fit you right now!"

"Eh?" Hearing my words, her movements stopped.

And, as if she remembered something, she looked down towards her own chest.

"C-Clothes that would fit my big breasts…?!" She touched her (fake) breasts.

Seeing that from the sidelines would turn it into quite the scene, but Suzuka didn't realize that at all.

"I-I-I-I didn't think about that at all…! Good idea, Onii-chan…!"

Normally, I could be going to court for sexual harassment for that phrase. Luckily, it seems like I managed to satisfy Suzuka. I couldn't believe it.

"T-That's right…..! S-So, what kind of clothes do you think would fit a big-breasted woman like me?!" Her eyes started shining.

…I didn't expect that answer at all. That being said, her mood will surely change quickly if I don't find some clothes for her.

"U-Uhm….! Oh yeah! How about this one!" Luckily, there was a piece of fitting clothing pretty close to us so I took that in my hand.

It was a turtleneck sweater, that really emphasizes the bodyline….the perfect piece of clothing for a big-breasted woman……I hope!

"I-I see! I remember Himuro-san wearing something similar to this. At the time I was really jealous, but right now, it will surely fit me!"

…So she really was jealous. It felt like I had uncovered a bit of the darkness inside Suzuka's heart.

"I'll immediately try it on!" Grabbing the sweater, she walked towards the changing room.

I also came with her, waiting in front of said changing room until I heard the curtains open again.

"H-How is it?"

Just as I thought, the sweater really emphasized her breasts, forcing me to stare at them. Not to mention her embarrassed face was also incredibly cute.

"Ahh, it really suits you…"

"I-I-I-I-Is that so……! Ehehe……..!"

I just wanted to complement her, but seeing her reaction made me feel a bit embarrassed too…..

Suzuka for her part stood in front of the mirror, taking several poses. It seems that she likes it.

"Fu fufufu, just what I would expect from clothes for big breasts…! If I didn't have any breasts, I wouldn't be able to wear this—"

It happened in that moment.

With a weird sound, Suzuka's big breasts disappeared.

No, rather than disappeared, they seemed to have moved.

"S-Suzuka. Suzuka….."

"What is it, Onii-chan? Don't tell me… are you entranced by my marvellous breasts?"

Seeing her saying that while embarrassed did indeed make my heart beat faster, but this isn't the time to be saying that —

"Umm, your breasts………they're dropping."

"Excuse me? What are you saying Onii-cha——" As she put her hands on her breasts, her smile disappeared immediately and she froze up.

Tap tap tap, she patted her chest, but there was only a hollow sound in response. And when she looked down to see where the sound was coming from—

"Ah……..Hauuuuuuuuu…………!" Her face went bright red and she crouched down right on the spot.

"Ugh……..Just when I'd finally found something…….!"

After that, Suzuka had changed into her previous clothes, although she seemed a bit depressed. Having gotten rid of her (fake) big breasts, she was now the usual Suzuka.

"T-That was an accident after all. Let's just forget about it and continue our research."

"But….Onii-chan saw me like that…..Ughh…..!"

It seems like Suzuka has quite the complex about her breasts, and she received quite a lot of damage from that.

"I-It's okay. A girl's cuteness isn't determined by the size of her breasts, after all," I said, seeing the black aura emanating from Suzuka.

"B-But Onii-chan likes them on the bigger side, right?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

Although I gritted my teeth at that question for a moment, I answered in an even tone.

"It's true that they might have a bigger impact on boys… But we're not only looking at them, you know? If we really think that a girl is cute, it doesn't matter if she has big breasts or not. That's why you don't have to feel down so much. Even if you're not big-breasted, you're doing a great job in your role as the heroine," Those were my honest feelings.

Although seeing a big-breasted Suzuka made my heart skip a beat, that doesn't change the fact that she is plenty cute without them already.

"O-Onii-chan…..!" Hearing that, Suzuka lifted up her head as her face went red like crazy.

…Here, see. You're plenty beautiful already.

"F-For now, let's forget about that and I'll pick out some clothes that fit you right now!"

"Y-Yes…..! I'm looking forward to it, Onii-chan….!" It seemed like her mood finally improved, and she showed me a big smile.

Even while I was saying that, I already had something in mind. As Suzuka was changing into that sweater before, it had piqued my interest.

Maybe this'll fit her even better~is what I had thought.

"How about this one? I'm sure that it'll fit you perfectly," I said as I pointed towards a mannequin that was wearing a white blouse and a black jumper skirt. Some black stockings completed the mannequin's outfit.

"Ah, this…." Her eyes opened wide, making it look like she was surprised.

"Well, judging from my fashion sense, it might not be the best idea to trust me……"

"T-That's not true….Uhm, is it okay if I go change immediately?"

As I nodded once, Suzuka dashed off towards the changing room again. And after a short amount of time, the curtains opened.

"………..Ah."

"H-How is it, Onii-chan….?"

Suzuka looked a dozen times cuter than usual, completely robbing me of my ability to speak.

"…What is it? Say something, please."

"Ah, sorry….! I was just a bit captivated…..!"

"Eh?!"

Woah, what am I saying to my little sister! N-No, today, she's just another normal girl….! But, these words just came out of my mouth completely naturally, without me thinking about acting at all…..!

"U-Umm….it really fits you. Though it makes me a bit anxious since I was the one who chose it…."

"There's no need for that… I also thought that these clothes looked really cute and I would've loved to get them anyway…" She gently patted the clothes she was wearing. "And for Onii-chan to choose exactly them… for my sake…! I couldn't be any happier…!" With a red face, she gently smiled at me.

Seeing her smile, I felt my own cheeks getting hotter too.

…This is just for our research. I'm well aware of that. But still — seeing her like this, I couldn't stop my heart from beating like crazy. Making a girl happy like this, not to mention a cute girl like Suzuka…..of course my heart wouldn't be able to take it…

Thinking that, I gazed at Suzuka, who was grinning happily as she looked at her clothes.

Part 3:

"Ehehehe, we went and bought it…"

After that, Suzuka bought her new clothes. Although I had wanted to buy it for her as a present…

"N-No, this doesn't have anything to do with the Christmas party, it's something I want to buy with my own money. T-These are the first clothes that Onii-chan picked out for me after all."

Really… Suzuka is so good at acting sometimes that it's almost terrifying.

"Ah, I didn't choose any clothes for Onii-chan," Having left the store behind us, she said so.

"It's fine, really. It was plenty of data already for me. Let's just go to another store instead."

At first she pouted a bit, but she then nodded, saying "Yes."

Taking the bag with Suzuka's new clothes, we started walking… Now, where should we go to next? We still have to buy presents for the Christmas party—

"Oh?" The perfect store entered my sight.

"Suzuka, let's check this store out."

"An accessory store, huh. That seems like a good idea, yes."

Having received permission from Suzuka, we walked towards the store. We might be able to find some nice accessories here, and we might get a good date-like atmosphere out of this… It seems like I'm also learning.

"Wow, they really have a lot of stuff in here. Pendants and broaches… even necklaces," I said as I looked around inside the store.

There were quite a few females in here, so I was sure that I could find something for Suzuka.

"I wonder if Suzuka is interested—"

In something like that — is what I was about to say, but when I turned around, Suzuka was staring at a specific object.

….That's…a ring?

"….Haaah," Suzuka let out a sigh as she kept staring at it.

Normally, she doesn't wear this kind of bling, but I guess she's still interested in it. She's a girl after all.

"Do you want that ring?"

"Hya?!"

As I raised my voice, Suzuka let out a weird voice and stiffened up.

"I-It's not like I would like an engagement ring from Onii-chan or anything?!"

"Y-You—! Engagement ring?!"

It looked like she didn't mean to say that, because she started panicking even more.

"Y-Y-Y-You're wrong! I was just saying that in my role as the heroine! T-There's no way that I would actually want an engagement ring from Onii-chan…..!"

"I-I know, so calm down already!"

As if there would be a world where a little sister would want an engagement ring from her big brother! I was just a bit surprised because she said ‘Onii-chan' is all!

"…F-Fu. B-Basically, I-I am just acting out my role as a girl that loves you so much that she can barely cope with it but she can't be honest about it. Since it would be the girl's dream to receive an engagement ring from her loved one, I happened to say that out loud! There's no other reason!"

"I-I get it already."

"How about a matching pair of rings?!… Mhm that would be very interesting indeed…!" With these words, she returned to her act and kept gazing at the ring.

I see, that reaction would make sense if she really was acting it out… But still, a pair of rings, huh. Having a matching pair of rings would really make them seem like engagement rings…

"And since we wanted to buy presents, wouldn't this be the best idea ever…!" She glanced at me with an expectant gaze.

Well, I guess she's right that we wanted to buy presents for the Christmas party, but…..

"But didn't Mai say that we're going to exchange the presents randomly?"

"Hah?!" As I said that, it seemed like Suzuka remembered something and her face changed into a more serious look. "T-That's right. If we buy that, somebody else might get the ring and have a matching pair with Onii-chan…?!"

"Who said we're going to buy a pair?! And also, I think that the possibility of me getting a ring is very slim to begin with…"

"N-No! T-That's still way too dangerous……!" She panicked.

Her acting really is on point as always.

"Well, buying a matching pair of rings would really be a bit over the top… I mean, we're here only for research after all, so let's not."

"Muuu……" Suzuka glared at the rings.

But, she didn't show any intention at all to look way… She really wants them that much, huh.

"Ah, then, how about you try one on?"

"Eh?"

"I mean, buying it would be impossible, but you can at least put the ring on once to try it out. You seem to have taken quite the liking to it."

As I said that, her eyes opened wide, only for her to nod with a bright red face.

We called an employee over, who checked the size of Suzuka's finger and went to bring a ring that would fit.

"O-Onii-chan, s-since it's come to this, will you put it on for me…?"

"Eh? M-Me?"

"D-Don't misunderstand me! It's only for our research! Umm, at times like this, I think that the boy should put it on the girl… that's what I think as the heroine…!"

S-So she meant it like that…..

Nodding, I took the ring. Suzuka presented her left hand, but what finger should I put it on? The ring finger, right? But, that finger should be reserved for her real marriage… Is it really fine when we're just doing this for research?

In that moment when I was hesitating…

"Ahh, what the hell are you doing?!"

Just when I thought that I heard a loud voice, two familiar faces appeared in front of us. A red-haired beauty and a blonde-haired beauty—

"Mai and Double Peace-sensei?! W-Why are you here?!"

"We came here to buy supplies for our training camp! And rather than that, Yuu! What are YOU doing here?! Together with this beauty that I've never seen before…! And with that ring…!"

"You're misunderstanding!"

"Just what I would expect from Sensei, desu! Your sexual desire really is endless! Sensei really is a top-notch fiend, desu!"

"Can you not say such things about me in broad daylight?!" Having to explain myself in front of these problematic two, I started to panic.

To think that those two had to run into us right at this moment…!

"And who is that beauty next to you!? Every time you leave your number one fan behind and go play with another girl…..!"

"I'm clearly not?! And that doesn't have anything to do with you being my number one fan, right?!"

"H-Himuro-san, please calm down. It's me, Nagami Suzuka!" As Mai started crying, Suzuka stepped in front of her.

"…Eh? S-Suzuksan? W-Why? Your hairstyle is completely different from usual…"

"Oh, so it really was Imouto-san, desu. But, why did you change your look? Not to mention be all lovey-dovey with Sensei?"

"We weren't lovey-dovey at all!" — Both Suzuka's voice and mine overlapped.

"This is just, uhm, research!"

"I knew that you took Suzuksan with you on your research before… but aren't you taking it a bit too far with the rings?! Don't tell me— you finally sank your poisonous fangs into her…..!"

Hearing her assumption, I happened to blurt out "As if I would!" but in that moment, Suzuka pulled on my sleeve with an "O-Onii-chan….!"

…T-This isn't good. Right now, we're performing research for my own novel… what if they found that out…?! Worst case, they could find out that I'm not actually the real Towano Chikai. It seems like I have no other choice but to cover it up with all my might. Of course, my pride as a human being will greatly suffer because of this, but I don't have any other option available…!

"W-Well, it really is research, you know? I just thought that there might be a scene where the big brother puts an engagement ring on the little sister's finger, so I wanted to gather some data for that. That's why I had Suzuka come with me to act that out…"

"I thought so! So you really forced Suzuksan! There's gotta be limits to your research, right?! At this rate, I could report you to the police, you know?! A case of a young man sinking his poisonous fangs into his little sister… something like that!"

"What's with that weird case name?! And I'm really not doing anything like that, so could you please refrain from calling the police?!"

"Really, my respect for Sensei is only growing, desu. So when are you going to do your research with Imouto-san on your next erotic scene? Please don't refrain from inviting me either, desu!"

"There will never be any plans for that! Don't just decide on that on your own!"

But it seems like I managed to cover up the real goal of the research… with a certain number of sacrifices though. Thinking that I did a good job, I looked to Suzuka, but…

"You didn't have to deny it that forcefully, you idiot of an Onii-chan…"

Why are you glaring at me with that pouting expression? I do think that I did a good job here for your sake.

"But what a coincidence to meet you here, desu! Let's buy the essentials for our training camp together. And while we're at it, you can tell us about your research in more detail, right, desu?"

"Are you serious….?"

"Yes, that's a good idea. No matter what kind of little sister novel you're writing, you're flirting with Suzuksan way too much! You really should pay more attention to the other girls around you! This is a good opportunity for me, so I'll gladly talk you out of it!"

I'm really not going down the little sister route though… But I couldn't just say that out loud right now.

"Fu fu fu. You can't run away now, can you, Sensei?"

"Yes… That being said, I guess our research is over, Suzuka."

"I know that we can't help it but still… Muuuu…..!" Although she seemed to be complaining, she nodded at my words.

I wonder if I was just being a bother like always… Either way, I can tell that this is going to be dangerous… my experiences during these past months is basically screaming that into my face.

"Now then, let's change the location. Maybe we'll also take a quick break where we'll be able to listen to all that Yuu has to tell us."

With Mai's words, our group left the accessory store behind us. Merely imagining what was about to come, I let out a sigh.

In that moment…..

"Ah." I stopped my feet as I remembered something.

"What's wrong, Yuu?"

"Ah, sorry. There's something I have to do first, so go on without me. I'll catch up with you all soon."

Without waiting for her answer, I separated from the girls.

"You don't have to hide it from us if you're going to buy eroge, Sensei. We don't mind, desu!"

"As a girl, you really should, though!" Retorting with that, I walked away.

What I remembered just now — Suzuka's birthday, which is the 26th of December, right after Christmas.

A long time ago, we had always prepared a huge birthday party for her every year, but after our relationship took a turn for the worse, it got awkward and we stopped. But this year will be different. Although our relationship hasn't changed all too much, since I became her stand-in she's warmed up towards me. That's why I definitely have to make her happy on her birthday.

"That's my duty as her big brother!"

Muttering that to no one in particular, I headed towards the place I had in mind.

Chapter end