Ore Ga Suki Nano Wa Imouto Dakedo Imouto Janai Volume 4 Chapter 1

Discord:
https://discord.gg/e4BJxX6

Editor: Daxar

You picked up a runaway voice actress?

Part 1:

“Please make Sakura your real little sister!”

“………….What?”

My days had been fairly uneventful until this certain November evening. I, Nagami Yuu, was standing on a road close to my home when that line was spoken to me.

“Like Sakura said, she wants Yuu-oniichan to make her his real little sister!”

While I was completely lost and uncertain how to respond to that, the girl in front of me, Minazuki Sakura, repeated herself with a smile on her face.

“No, uhm, I still have no clue what you want from me, though?!”

Minazuki-san has gotten super popular as a voice actress lately, even though she is pretty new to the industry. I met her a while back when I had a signing session, and it was there that I found out that she is a huge fan of Towano Chikai. While we were there, she swore to me that she would definitely get the role of the little sister when the novel was made into an anime. She even started seeing herself as the little sister in my novel, which causes her to sometimes call me “Onii-chan” — even though she’s a year older than me. Although it’s a bit troublesome, I almost feel like she’s doing it involuntarily. That being said, being suddenly called out here this late, only to be told something like that, I had no clue how I was supposed to respond.

….Calm down. Let’s rewind time back to a few minutes prior….

After I finished my bath, I read Suzuka’s newly released light novel volume.

“I won’t stay your stand-in forever, you know!” I declared and started working on my new manuscript for the light novel contest. Suddenly, though, I got a call from Minazuki-san, asking me if we could meet up at a place close to my home. I hurried here, thinking that something might’ve happened, but when I had arrived I saw her, as calm as ever, with a giant suitcase next to her. When I wanted to ask her what she wanted from me this late at night, I had been asked that question instead.

…..Yep, even now, I still have no clue what’s happening.

“Anyway, weren’t you going to hold back on calling me ‘Onii-chan’ until you’d gotten the role for sure?” That’s why I decided to change the topic by asking that question.

“There are some things Sakura wants to talk about, including that. That’s why she called Sensei out here, hoping that he would listen to—- achoo!!!” She finished her sentence with a loud sneeze.

Looking at her more closely, her body seemed to be slightly shivering. Lately, it’s gotten way cooler, and the evenings especially have gotten colder and colder. Even now, a cold breeze was blowing as if it were the middle of winter already. Even I, who had run out of the house while only wearing a t-shirt and shorts, had started shivering slightly.

“We’ll both catch a cold if we keep talking here like this, so for now, let’s go back to my house. You can explain yourself more when we’re there.”

“Eh?! Would that really be fine?!” Seeing her expectant gaze, I smiled wryly.

It was true that the cuteness of her smile was part of why I suggested it, but , I was worried if it was really fine to just take her with me like that.

…..Well, I guess that we won’t find anywhere else this late at night, and it’s not like I brought any money with me, either. No other choice, I guess.

“Sensei’s home! Sensei’s home!” Minazuki-san hummed as she followed after me happily like a small puppy.

Although she might be a bit special sometimes, me having made such a popular voice actress happy that easily with a few words made me feel a bit glad.

“Sorry for intruding! So this is Sensei’s home, huh….” Having entered through the front door, she looked around with excitement.

By the way, she didn’t receive an answer from anyone.

“Huh? D-Don’t tell me, Sensei is alone at home today? A boy and a girl alone together through the night; this is clearly where one of those romance events would occur, right?!”

“What are you talking about?! It’s true that my parents aren’t home, but haven’t you forgotten about my younger sister Suzuka?!”

……And why does she look so disappointed now?

“Hmmm… is that so… Well, it makes sense for Suzuka-chan to be here. But it’s a shame that your parents aren’t present. Sakura really wanted to give them her regards.”

“Hearing the word ‘regards’ out of your mouth is filling me with nothing but worry—-and there’s no way that you would be doing what I’m thinking, right?! You only meant that you wanted to say hello to them, right?!”

“Eh? Of course Sakura only wanted to tell them ‘please take me as your daughter!’, you know?”

“So I was right to be worried…..”

“That should be obvious, since Sakura is trying to become your little sister! Ah….but that could also be taken as a proposal for marriage, right? If that’s the case, then Sakura will tell them more clearly. ‘Please let me be Yuu-oniichan’s little sister!’ would surely be clear enough!”

“I can’t be bothered to retort against every little thing you say, you know?!”

Minazuki-san responded with an “It was only a joke!” while smiling at me, but the look on her face is not exactly telling me that she was joking.

Still, it really is a blessing in disguise that both my father and mother are overseas— I thought as I prepared some slippers for her.

“Thank you very much, Sensei! By the way, where is Suzuka-chan?”

“Ah, she’s probably taking a bath right now.”

“Eh?! Sakura is so sorry, then!!”

“Why are you sorry about that….?”

“I mean, since you two siblings are living together under the same roof, shouldn’t there be events like entering the bath together?! And Sakura came over and interrupted that….”

“There definitely aren’t any events like that between me and Suzuka!”

My daily life with my little sister while our parents are out has never seemed weird to me, so please don’t change that!

“Is that so? But, since Sensei is a little-sister-loving author, Sakura totally thought that he would be like ‘Let’s go take a bath together!’ or something like that!”

“Ugh……!

Never!—is what I wanted to scream out, but I remembered at the last second that Towano Chikai’s novel is all about little sisters. Since I’m acting as a stand-in, I have to act like a total siscon, or else people might find out that I’m not really the real author.

Almost half a year has passed since Suzuka first asked me to help her out. I’ve had to act like a total sister-lover in a lot of situations, but since I really don’t feel anything at all towards little sisters, my acting may have seemed very forced on occasion. Developing feelings for little sisters even though I have a real-life one— that can’t happen. It’s not allowed to happen.

No matter how often I have to assume the character of a little sister lover, these feelings will never change. Yep.

“F-For now, please come in. I’ll listen to your story in my room.”

“Sensei’s room! Let’s go!”

After I changed the topic, Minazuki-san didn’t seem to give it any more thought and happily followed me. We went up the stairs and I led her to my room.

“Woah…..so this is Sensei’s room…..!” Putting both her hands in front of her chest like she was praying, she had a look on her face like she had entered the world of her dreams.

Even though I’ve had Double Peace-sensei and Mai come into my room before, I still got a bit nervous as she entered.

“And, what did you want to talk about?” I said as I sat down on my bed, motioning Minazuki-san to have a seat in my desk chair.

“Ah, that’s right. Actually, Sakura ran away from home to come here.”

“I see, ran away…….Ran away?!” The instant she spoke these words, I almost fell off of the bed. “W-Wait a second! Run away……does that mean what I think it does?!

“Yes, exactly. It’s not the kind of running away where I was transported to another world.”

“That kind of thing doesn’t happen in real life! No, there should definitely not be….? No forget about that! Why did you run away from home?!”

“Sakura had a fight with her family….” Her voice sounded less energetic than usual. “Deciding that she didn’t want to be at home for a while, Sakura gathered her most important things and left her house. Not knowing where to go, she decided to ask Sensei for help since she was close to his home—–”

“…..Well, running away just because of a fight is a bit….”

“For now, Sakura doesn’t even want to see their faces. This time, she really is mad,” This irritated version of Minazuki-san was really different from usual, which surprised me quite a bit.

“Uhm, what’s the prospect for reconciliation?”

“Nonexistent,” She pouted as she looked away. In that moment, I thought she really resembled Suzuka.

Since I’m not really familiar with the circumstances, I can’t just go and tell her “How about you go home and make up?” but still, running away huh…..

“I see. So you didn’t know where to go, and your first idea was to call me for help,” I sighed as I recapped the circumstances.

It does sound like a pretty difficult situation, but I still want to help her the best I can.

“That’s right. Sakura thought that maybe she could stay over at Sensei’s home.”

“I see. At my home huh……….what?” I was crossing my arms, thinking about how I could be of help to her, when she said that. “I might have misheard you just now. Did you say something about staying at my home?”

“Yes, Sakura said that. You didn’t mishear at all.”

“No no no! What are you saying?! There’s no way we can do that?!”

“Eh? Why not?”

“‘Why not,’ you say….. I’m a boy and Minazuki-san is a girl, right?!”

“Of course! It would be way too unrealistic if Sensei’s future little sister were a boy. Mistaking a girl for a boy would be much more realistic!”

“What the hell are you talking about?! No, not that! What if something were to happen?!”

“What are you going to do?!”

“What do you mean?! And this isn’t the time to look at me with your eyes sparkling like that, is it?!”

“Sakura is joking. She isn’t worried about that in the slightest. Sensei isn’t the kind of person who would do something like that, after all, and if something really were to happen that wouldn’t be so bad in and of itself, chira.”

“This has to be the first time that anyone actually said the sound effect ‘chira’ out loud!”

(TLC: chira = remember back to panchira)

Ugh….this isn’t the time to be arguing about that! There is no way in hell that I would lay my hands on her in this situation! I do have enough decency for that, at least! Just letting a girl of my age stay over while my parents are out is bad in and of itself, but if word of this this gets out, this might even turn into a scandal that ruins Minazuki-san’s career.

“It’s fine. Since Sensei is Sakura’s future Onii-chan, it’s like staying over at a relative’s house! It’s not weird at all!”

“It totally is! Will you please think about this rationally?!” I was shaking my head furiously, “And why does it have to be my house? Can’t you just stay at a friend’s house?”

“Sakura doesn’t mean to brag, but she doesn’t have anyone like that who she could ask.”

“It really isn’t something to brag about, but it’s the same for me too, so I can’t say anything…..! T-That’s right, Minazuki-san could ask a fellow voice actress or her manager for help, right?”

“My manager went on a hot spring trip with her new boyfriend, so Sakura really can’t disturb her now….”

“That’s the first logical reason you’ve brought up…..! I know! How about you stay at a hotel that’s close by?”

“That only makes Sakura feel like she’s gone on a vacation. She ran away from home, you know? And, she’s never actually been on one, so she’s not sure what she would do….” She said with a worried expression. She then continued, “Sakura is sorry, Sensei….She knows that she’s being a bother, but she doesn’t have anyone else except Sensei…..But, if it’s still good, she’ll go and search for another place.” Seeing her say that with her face downcast, I felt a sharp pain in my chest.

….Damn it! I know that I’m only being rational here, but what good does that do me if I can’t help a friend out who needs it…..!

I glanced at the clock. It was pretty late into the night. Outside of the window, it was pitch black. And extremely cold. Kicking Minazuki-san out there while I was comfy in my own house…..There’s no way in hell that I could do that!

“….All right. I get it already. I can’t kick you out now, so you can stay here.”

“Really?!” Hearing my words, her usual energetic attitude returned.

Seeing her like that, I thought deep down that I really had made the right choice. But….

“But only for one night, okay! Once it’s morning, you have to figure out for yourself where to go!” That’s the one condition I clearly stated.

“Ehhhhh?”

“That’s supposed to be ‘Yes!’ not ‘Ehhh?,’ right?!”

“Fufu, it’s just a joke. Thank you very much, Sensei. You really are a kind-hearted person!” She had a big smile on her face as always.

….For now, it’s decided. I’ll have her stay over for just this one night and give her the room on the first floor. She’ll have to make do with a futon, but I can’t exactly help that now. Where do we keep that again? I’ll have to ask Suzuka for—–

“Ah.”

With that, I finally remembered. A cold bead of sweat ran down my spine and my body started shivering.

……O-Oh no. I decided this on my own, but how do I explain this to Suzuka? If she were to find out that I took in a girl while our parents are gone…

——Onii-chan, I called the police.

So you called them already, Suzuka-san?! In past tense?!

….N-No, calm down. That possibility might be high, and it might turn out like that in the end, but if I were to calmly explain the situation to Suzuka then she will…… probably…… maybe..… still not understand it, yup.

“Huh? Sensei? You don’t look so good,” Minazuki-san looked at me and tilted her head.

“I-I-I-It’s nothing!” I tried to calmly respond and failed.

“….Onii-chan, are you talking with someone?” Hearing a sudden knock on my door, my heart almost leaped out of my chest.

“Ah, it’s Suzuka-chan. Sakura wants to say hello to her too—- mpfgh” I quickly put my hand on Minazuki-san’s mouth as she stood up.

With a “Shhhhh,” I put one finger up to my mouth too.

“It’ll be bad if Suzuka were to find you here, so be quiet for a bit…..!”

I slowly opened the door just a little bit so that Suzuka wouldn’t be able to see the middle of the room and slipped out.

“…..Did something happen, Onii-chan?” Having finished her bath, she still had her hair down as she looked up at me.

My little sister is actually the super popular light novel writer Towano Chikai. Being a student at a prestigious all-girls middle school, she has top grades, is very athletic, and thanks to her charisma, she even got elected as the student council president. All in all, she is a superhuman with looks that would cause a lot of women to turn green with envy.

…..But, this isn’t the time to check in on her profile. The problem is the personality of my perfect little sister. Her serious eyes looked straight at me. What would happen if she were to find out about Minazuki-san in the room behind me?

Also, setting those circumstances aside, what would she think if I said that Minazuki-san would be staying over tonight?

….I’ll just start from the conclusion. She’d be really mad at me! 100% for certain!

“N-No, nothing’s wrong, okay? When you heard that voice…..yeah! I was trying to become another character for my novel! Before I realized it, I was starting to read lines!”

there’s no other choice but to cover it up! Just for this one night, I have to hide Minazuki-san. If not, this’ll be my BAD END!

“Ah, is that so. Still, I thought I heard a female voice in there, too?”

“T-That was also me! Sometimes I say lines as if I’m the heroine like this: ‘Speaking in a high voice like a girl is pretty normal, isn’t it?’”

“Can you please never do that again?” She glared at me with a freezing cold expression.

Well, I did also think that my voice was pretty weird just now.

“But, if that’s the reason for that, then it’s fine. Focusing on your writing is one thing, but please keep your voice down a bit.”

“Y-Yeah, sorry. I’ll be more careful,” I was relieved that I had managed to hide it but….

“Also, we have to go to the editorial department tomorrow, so please don’t stay up too late…..Don’t tell me, have you forgotten about that?”

Thanks to her words, I remembered.

That’s right, we were going to meet the producer for Suzuka’s anime project tomorrow.

“Of course I haven’t forgotten.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Well then, good night, Onii-chan,” Saying these words, Suzuka returned to her own room.

“Haaa…..that was close,” I let out a sigh of relief. I had managed to avoid a worst-case scenario……Still, the situation wasn’t in the clear quite yet.

For now, I decided to return to my own room…..however…

“Hya….! So Onii-chan likes stuff like this……!” I was greeted with a red-faced Minazuki-san, sitting on the floor while she was reading something.

The moment I understood that it was a newly-bought erotic manga, my body froze up.

“Wha…..Wha………?!”

“Ah, Onii-chan? Really, you are always so kind, but now I see that you have hidden desires like this! Sakura was really surprised to see something like this in your collection….”

“I should be the one who is surprised, though?!”

Also, it seems like her way of speaking changed again, but I don’t have time for that! Just how embarrassing do you think it is when a girl finds your hidden stash?!

“So, Onii-chan really likes this? The one where the girl is being assaulted but still gives in to the pleasure in the end?”

“You’re wrong! And that’s not my preference! That’s just something that Double Peace-sensei left there, and it doesn’t have anything do with my likes and dislikes!” I told her the truth.

By the way, this person called Double Peace-sensei is actually Suzuka’s illustrator and someone who basically lives off ero stuff. She’s a blonde-haired beauty who loves fiendish stuff from the bottom of her heart. As a side note, her full pen name is A-He-Ga-O Double Peace-sensei, but for reasons that should be obvious, I don’t ever call her that out loud.

“Ah, so this is something that Double Peace-sensei likes, then. Now that Sakura thinks about it, the doujinshi of her circle looked really familiar.”

“Yes, exactly! Minazuki-san should know about that, since she came by to buy one herself, right?!”

“So, Onii-chan actually doesn’t like this?”

“Of course I don’t!” I nodded with all my might.

In response, Minazuki-san tilted her head, “Then what fetishes do you have, then?”

Being asked such a question out of the blue, I let out a weird voice with an “Excuse me?!”

“As your little sister, Sakura really thinks that she should know about Onii-chan’s fetishes.”

“An average little sister wouldn’t be thinking about that stuff! And why did you suddenly change into little sister-mode?!”

“Well, Sakura is going to bother Onii-chan if she stays over, right? That’s why, if she were to act as a little sister, that problem will be solved. That’s why, as long as Sakura stays in this house, she will act as your little sister!”

“What kind of logic is that?!”

“It’s fine! Right now, Sakura is Onii-chan’s little sister! So, will you tell your little sister your fetishes?”

“As if there was a little sister who’d ask that out of her own will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I tried to get her to stop with my scream, but she showed no signs of reflecting on her actions.

“Sakura is a little sister that wants to know everything about Onii-chan. You should have some other erotic books around here, right? Show me! Show me!”

Damn it! The fact that she looks so cute while she’s asking me is really not a good thing! Still, as if I would show a girl my erotic books out of my own accord!

It happened when I was about to open my mouth once more.

“A phone call? P-Please keep quiet, okay, Minazuki-san?” I said before answering.

「Ah, Yuu? W-What are you doing right now? You probably have time right now, right?」

“Ah, it’s Mai…..” Hearing her voice, I was relieved.

The girl who’s on the phone with me right now is Himuro Mai, a classmate of mine. In reality, she’s also the popular light novel writer Enryuu Homura. Since she’s a big fan of Towano Chikai, she ended up conducting stalker-like activities to try to find out what makes the novel so interesting. Normally, I’d be eager to be rid of her, but this time I’m glad that she called.

「A-Although I’m pretty busy, I’ll be so kind as to make some time in my schedule for you, okay?!」

Wasn’t she the one who called me first?—-is what I thought, but I decided to prioritize the situation concerning Minazuki-san for now.

“T-That’s right. I’m also pretty busy, but if it’s something urgent I might listen to you,” I said in a voice that could be heard by Minazuki-san and I looked her in the eyes with a gaze that said ‘Keep it quiet.’

She only responded with a “Muuu” as her cheeks were slightly flushed.

「What are you saying? You’re busy with something?」

“Ah, nevermind that. What did you want to talk about?”

「Eh? A-Ah, yeah. Uhm, so, what are you doing right now—-」

I wanted to talk with Mai a bit to cool my head but….

“Mu, Onii-chan! You’re not allowed to be on the phone for so long!”

「W-What was that voice just now? Did I just hear a girl talking in the background?!」

Minazuki-san suddenly raised her voice and Mai heard it loud and clear!

“W-W-W-What do you mean?! W-W-Wasn’t it just your imagination?!”

「I’m sure I heard something! That voice even called you Onii-chan, right?! It didn’t sound like Suzuka-chan at all, though…. D-Don’t tell me, you’re together with a girl even this late?!」

“O-Of course not?! I’m all alone in my room right now!”

“Eh? But Sakura is right here, you know?”

She’s doing it on purpose?! She’s clearly doing it on purpose, isn’t she?! She’s even just tilting her head innocently when I glare back at her!

「Sakura….? That reminds me, she sounds like that voice actress I met at Comiket….S-So you really are together with her right now…….!」

“Y-You’re wrong! This is just….Yeah! A voice from an eroge! Well, I really shouldn’t be on the phone while I’m playing an eroge, ahahaha! With that said, I’ll talk to you later!”

「Ah, wai–!」 I hung up the phone before she could say anything else.

“Onii-chan? Sakura hasn’t done any voices for eroge, you know?”

“Ah, yeah, that’s right….” I just needed to have an excuse to cut the call actually.

For some reason, she didn’t say anything back to me.

“Uhm, Minazuki-san? Are you mad about some—-”

“Sakura.”

“Eh?”

“Since Sakura is Onii-chan’s little sister right now, she won’t answer any more if you don’t call her by her name.”

“……………….”

Since she’s not saying that with a smile, she’s probably serious about that….

“Ah…..uhm, Sakura…..san?”

“Why would you add a ‘san’ to your little sister’s name?”

“Ahhh okay, I got it! Sakura! Asking your big brother about his sexual preferences is clearly overstepping your bounds, so any more questions about that are prohibited! Okay?”

I decided to play by her rules for now. Not having the time or leisure, this was the only option I had.

“Muu, it can’t be helped, then. Though, if Onii-chan ever feels pent up or something, please consult your little sister, okay?”

“I’d rather die than ask my little sister for something like that!”

No, she isn’t even my actual sister! What the hell am I saying?!

“Then, let Sakura see Onii-chan’s PC!”

“Why?!” She really didn’t give me any room to take a breath.

“Sakura wants to check if Onii-chan is using porn sites even though he’s still a minor! That’s also the duty of a littler sister after all!”

“There’s no duty like that?! And I’m paying enough attention to that, myself!”

….Wait, that clearly makes it sound like I’m using them from time to time, doesn’t it?

“Is that so? So you don’t use your computer for stuff like that?”

“O-O-O-Of course!”

“Then, it should totally be fine for Sakura to take a look, right! Show me! Show me!”

Guh……I normally don’t get cornered like that!

B-But wait….? I don’t use my PC on that table for eroge at all. I have another one for that, so as long as I just let her look at that one, it should be fine….right?

“O-Okay, I got it. If you’re going to be like that, I’ll let you check. It’s not like you’ll find anything anyway.”

With this, I can get this topic over with!

I was about to boot up the PC in question but….

“Huh? Another phone call….Hello?”

「Is that Sensei, desu? Good evening! I’m sorry if I interrupted you while you were masturbating!」

“Good evening, Double Peace-sensei….And no, I’m not doing that, so it’s fine….”

「I’m glad to hear that, desu! Perfect timing, though! I sent you another ero illustration, so feel free to use that as material for later, desu!」

By the way, she keeps sending me ero illustrations every day, hoping that they would cause me to awaken to her preferences…or something unrealistic like that.

“I won’t!…..Huh? But, I didn’t think I’ve received it yet?”

「Ahh, yes. This time it turned out to be rather big, so my phone couldn’t compress it, desu. Instead, I’ve sent you the file via email so that you could look at it on your PC!」

W-What did she just say?! So, that means…….?!

“Hey, Onii-chan? Is your phone call not over yet? Can I start it up on my own?” Hearing Minazuki-san’s words behind me, my back straightened up in surprise.

That PC is connected to my email program, so if she were to boot it up, she might see Double Peace-sensei’s email and…..!

「Hmm? Did I just hear a girl’s voice, desu? And it sounds oddly familiar….?」

“T-That was just your imagination! ……..Y-Yeah, it was a voice from an eroge! I’ll do the deed after this phone call, so I started the game up already! With that being said, I’ll talk to you later!”

Even I didn’t know what I was saying, but I had to hurry up and cut the call or all hell would break loose. Thanks to that, I barely managed to stop Minazuki-san.

“N-No!! Stop! I really can’t let anyone else see my PC!”

“What’s with you so suddenly…….Ah, so you really do have something on there!”

“Yes! That’s right! So please don’t look!” I didn’t care any more, so I pulled no punches in order to stop her.

Thinking about it, I could’ve just used the excuse of me being Towano Chikai…… Am I an idiot or what?!

“Mou, it’s Onii-chan after all. Sakura will not look at it, but instead, Onii-chan has to tell her his fetishes!”

“Why does it end up like that?!”

Acting as my saving grace was my vibrating phone, telling me that another call was coming in.

「Towano-sensei? It’s your beloved pupil, Kanzaka Akino. Good evening.」

I heard the voice of the older Kanzaka sister whom I had met during a doujinshi event. She had fallen in love with Towano Chikai’s novel, and now she wanted me to make her my pupil since she was about to debut as a professional light novel writer as well.

“Good evening….What’s up?”

「I wanted to ask about the novel I will debut with. I want to hear your opinion. What did you think?」

“Ahh, it was really interesting. The mix between mystery and fantasy worked really well.”

「Thank you. But still, I’m nowhere close to Sensei. To close that gap, I need to hear everything you thought about the novel. Good…..and also bad.」

“E-Even if you ask me that….It’s not like there were any major flaws that I could see or anything….”

「Sensei really is kind. But, as your pupil, I wish that you would be a bit more strict with me from time to time. If Sensei thinks that it’s necessary, I wouldn’t mind being tied up with a rope and hit with a whip.」

As always, she’s saying such things in a completely deadpan tone of voice.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps on the other end of the phone.

「H-Hey, you! What kind of things are you making my Onee-chan do!」

Oh, so this time it’s the little sister Kanzaka Haruna. She’s the one of the two responsible for the illustrations, and her skill is on par with Double Peace-sensei.

“No, I didn’t say anything weird though?! That was your—”

「You’re Onee-chan’s teacher, so don’t abuse your power!」

…..I won’t even listen anymore. And I don’t even remember officially becoming her teacher…

In that moment though, Sakura, who had kept quiet until this point, grabbed my clothes and looked up at me.

“Hey Onii-chan, hurry up and tell me your fetishes already!” She said in a voice loud enough that the other two could hear her. Of course she did.

「Eh? A girl’s voice? That didn’t sound like your little sister though….Y-You, are you together with a girl this late?! A-And she said something about fetishes…..!」

「I also want to know about that. Please teach me, Sensei.」

From the phone, I heard them saying things like 「What are you saying?! You have to treasure yourself more, Onee-chan!」and「This is necessary for my novel. If it’s Sensei, it will surely be alright,」but I didn’t have any time to respond to that.

“I-I-I-I’m really busy right now, so I’ll talk to you later!” Not even trying to talk my way out of this, I straight up cut the call with those words.

“Ah, is your call over? Then, hurry up and tell me!” Sakura looked at me with a bright smile.

“Ahhhh, okay, I get it already! I’ll tell you, so stop pestering me about it!”

Just as one could’ve guessed, I had to give her every little detail about everything involving my fetishes….while trying to not make any mistakes that would give away my stand-in position.

Part 2:

After that, I was continuously asked questions by Minazuki—no, Sakura. From the size of breasts to what colour of knee-socks I prefer. All things that I never ever wanted anyone else to know. As you might guess, I was really burnt out after that.

“I see…… so Onii-chan likes longer knee-socks. And of course, the breasts have to be big……”

“Uhhhh……” Her interrogation was really scary.

How do I say it, it was really a pain in the ass. Being asked questions continuously by my self-proclaimed little sister without her giving me any chance to talk my way out of it.

Just like an innocent little sister, she asked me simply because she wanted to know. Before I had realized it, I told her everything. She really is good at acting, alright.

“So even though you had such a fiendish manga inside your room, you’re more of the lovey-dovey flirty type! Sakura is glad to hear that!”

“Can you not repeat every single thing again? And, please promise your big brother that you will never tell a single soul about what I just told you, okay?”

“Okaaay! Since this is a promise between brother and little sister, Sakura will keep it!”

Being satisfied by that answer, I started patting her head without thinking. Going “Nyufufu…..” as she looked up to with a smiling face, I realized that I was completely seeing her as a little sister now. Maybe I’ve gotten weird in the head.

“….Haaaa, well it’s fine. I’m starting to get tired too, so let’s go to sleep.”

Looking at the clock, the date had already changed.

“That’s right. It’s gotten pretty late, after all. Ah…but….”

“I-Is there something else?”

“Yeah….well, Sakura thinks that she wanted to take a shower before going to bed.”

“Ahh, a shower. You can use the showers on the first floor if you want.”

“Yay! Sakura will see you later then, Onii-chan!”

I spaced out for a bit as she started grabbing her things, but the next second, I came back to my senses.

“W-W-W-Wait! A-Actually don’t! Stop!”

….I-I completely forgot! I’ve kept the thing about Sakura a secret from Suzuka! Normally, she’d be asleep by now, but in the one in a million chance that she’d go to the toilet while Sakura was there….she’d realize that the lights are on → What is Minazuki-san doing here?! → O-O-O-O-Onii-chan….what exactly does this mean….!

→ Onii-chan, this requires execution.

Of course I’d be executed immediately, right?!

“A-Actually, a shower is not a good idea! Please bear with it at least for tonight!”

“Ehhh, that’s not good though. Sakura is finally staying over at Onii-chan’s home, so you wouldn’t like it if she was sweaty, right? And Sakura also dislikes that feeling.”

“It’s not like I don’t understand where you’re coming from, but….!”

“Sakura just has to be careful of Suzuka-chan, right? It’s fine!” So she says, but the risk is way too high here…..!

It seems like it’s impossible to stop her.

“Damn it…! I get it already! But we’ll do it like this….!” Having no other choice, I came up with an emergency plan.

“Fuuu, taking a bath at the end of the day is really the best!”

“I know already, so just hurry up and get this over with!”

The only other choice was that I had to enter the bath together with her—-you weren’t thinking that, were you?!

Instead, while Sakura was taking her time, I was acting as a guard in the room in front of the actual bath.

….In case Suzuka came in here, I would just tell her that I was using the bath right now.

“But, wouldn’t it have been better if Onii-chan also took a shower?”

“Y-You’re already in there! A-And that’s not something a girl of your age should be saying!”

“I was only joking~” She said through the closed door but I really wished that she would hurry up.

From said shower room, I could hear the sound of splashing water and happy humming. Turning around, I saw the faint silhouette of Sakura standing up. Even though it was merely her shadow, her bodyline was clearly visible. Every time I looked at her silhouette from head to toe, I felt like I was charmed by Sakura even more than I was ever before, and the sound in the background made me think of what other dangerous things might happen after—–what the hell am I thinking about?!

“Onii-chan, are you still there?”

“Still here! Please hurry up though!”

C-Calm down! Sakura is my little sister after all, so I shouldn’t be thinking about her like—-Wait?! She’s not my sister at all! Don’t get led astray by her act, me! She’s actually not my sister but instead a super popular voice actress! …..Doesn’t that make the current situation even more dangerous?! Maybe I should just think of her as my little sister then! But won’t that make me a perverted big brother for looking at my little sister taking a shower?! I really should not think of her as my little sister, after all!

The incident happened when I was lost deep in my thoughts.

“….Onii-chan? What are you doing here this late?”

“Hawaa?!” Hearing Suzuka’s voice from the other side of the wooden door, my heart seriously stopped for a second. “S-S-Suzuka, huh?! W-W-Why are you here?!”

“I heard weird sounds from here so I wanted to check. Realizing that the lights were on in the bath, I came here and heard Onii-chan’s voice.”

It was probably what I just said to myself….but that’s not important right now!

“Y-Yeah! I-I just thought it’d be nice to take a shower right now or something like that!”

To tell the truth. This was the worst-case scenario….!

If Suzuka were to take one step in here, everything would be over. My whole life, to be precise. For that reason, I steeled my heart and tried to cover it up as best as I could….but….

“….This late? And, Onii-chan took a bath before me, right? Why would you take another one?”

“That’s…..! It suddenly got colder, so I wanted to warm myself up again!”

“Wouldn’t you feel chilly after taking a shower?”

“W-Well, I also felt a bit sweaty, so there’s that too!”

“First you’re feeling cold and then sweaty?”

“T-That’s what happens to boys, okay?! A-And also….yeah! You wouldn’t want to live under the same roof as a big brother who smells of sweat all the time, right?!”

“W-What are you saying all of a sudden…?! A-And, if it’s about Onii-chan’s smell….it’s not like I necessarily hate it or anything….actually, it’s the other way around….”

Suzuka was mumbling something, but I didn’t have the leisure to confirm what she said.

“A-Anyway, that’s how it is, so there’s no problem, right?! Pay no mind to me! Feel free to go back to your own room and go back to sleep!”

“….You’re acting weird.” It seems like I was acting too rashly, making her more suspicious of me instead. “Onii-chan, are you hiding something from me?”

Hearing her spot-on assumption, I felt the cold sweat on my forehead.

“T-There’s no way that’s the case, you know? What reason would I have to hide something from you?”

“Thinking about it, you were extraordinarily noisy when you were talking in a high voice earlier…..Onii-chan, is there somebody else in the house?”

“Wha?!” I screamed out in surprise because of the pinpoint accuracy of her deduction.

….Suzuka was always really sharp, but what’s up with this critical hit of hers!

“W-W-What are you saying?! O-On what basis are you assuming that!”

“I don’t have any basis for that. I just thought of it. Since it’s Onii-chan, maybe he is hiding another woman from me…or something like that.”

Perfectly on point. And what does she mean by ‘Since it’s Onii-chan’…..?

“T-T-There’s no way I would do that, right?! B-But, if that was the case, theoretically speaking, what would happen?” I tried asking. Maybe we could still talk this out.

“….I would be very mad.”

Uwa, I don’t even have to ask any further. She sounds so scary!

…..This is bad! Very bad! Extraordinary bad! I have to keep all of this a secret or….my life will end….and the last thing I will see before my eyes will be the message ‘Little sister End (Death)’!

“It seems like I really have to come in and check.”

“W-Wait Suzuka! You have to trust me! I really recommend you to go back to sleep right now!”

“…That sounds really fishy. Now I’m sure that you’re hiding someone!” Suzuka said and it sounded like she was about to open the door.

Even though I tried my best to keep her from opening it, she started to overwhelm me in terms of strength…..What is going on?!

……W-What should I do?! I’m really done for at this rate!

In that moment, my head went blank and I blurted out something really bad.

“I-I’m completely naked right now!”

“…….Eh?”

“Like I said, naked! Completely! If you were to enter, you would see me in my birthday suit! Do you really want to see me like that?!”

Ahh, I’m really done for now!—is what I thought after I realized what I had said.

For some reason though, the strength that was pulling on the door weakened.

“W-W-W-What are you saying, Onii-chan?! I-I-I really want to see Onii-chan’s naked body! …No, not that! Of course I wouldn’t want to see that! T-That m-m-manly part of yours….! Y-You’re muscles that aren’t visible through your clothes…! O-Of course it’s not like my body is burning up merely from imagining it or anything—–”

“U-Uhm, Suzuka-san?” I asked with a worried tone.

The moment she head my voice, she swallowed her breath with a “Ha?!” and she stopped.

“U, Uuuuu! O-Onii-chan you idiot! Idiot idiot idiottttttt!!!”

Leaving only these words behind, her presence disappeared with loud footsteps. After everything went silent again, I slowly opened the door to make sure she really was gone.

“W-What was that about?”

….I don’t really know what happened but…..

“I-I’m I saved….? Haaaa…….” Having confirmed that she was gone, I took a deep breath.

For a second, I thought that everything was over, but thank God…..

“Huh? What happened, Onii-chan? Sakura heard another voice.”

Hearing Sakura’s voice behind me, I turned around without thinking. In that moment, I was painfully reminded both where I currently was and in what situation I was in.

“……….!”

“Ahahaha….Sakura is still a bit embarrassed wearing these clothes….”

My eyes wandered all over her body, not knowing where to look. She was barely covering up the important parts with a towel. Her face was flushed since she had just stepped out of the bath.

“I-I-I’m so sorry!!!?!?!?”

Panicking, I took a bigger towel off the shelf next to me and hurriedly handed it over before dashing out of the room. Behind my back, I heard Sakura’s nonchalant voice saying, “If it’s Onii-chan, then it’s fine!” but the only thing I could do was apologize repeatedly in my head.

……I wonder why, but for some reason, between all these apologies there was another phrase I thought of. “Thank you very much!” I thought but….I wonder what that was about?

Well, as long as nothing bad happens anymore then I’d be very happy with that….but….

“I completely forgot about that.”

After that incident, Sakura had changed into into a pyjama (that she apparently brought with her) and returned to my room. At the time, though, I was too busy thinking about the problem at hand.

“Where should I sleep?” There’s no way that I can tell Sakura to go sleep in some other room of the house.

However, there’s only one bed in my room. And we are two people.

“Everything would be solved if Onii-chan and Sakura were to sleep in the same bed,” She said with her usual demanding smile, but there’s no way that I could just go “Yeah, you’re right,” here.

“…Well, I guess I’ll just sleep on the floor and Sakura will sleep on the bed,” It was actually pretty simple now that I thought about it.

Well, since we’re siblings, sleeping the same room shouldn’t be too bad.

……Is what I wanted to think here, but I had given up on seeing Sakura as my little sister.

“Ehh? That’s not good. Sakura doesn’t want to bother Onii-chan anymore.”

“You’ve been having fun doing that until now, though.”

“And we’re siblings after all, so let’s sleep in the same bed!”

“And now you’re saying dangerous things!”

Why are you saying that like it’s perfectly normal!

“Well, it’s true that it’s not exactly normal, but if it’s Onii-chan and Sakura, there won’t be any problems! Sakura knows how kind Onii-chan is, after all!”

“I still don’t get your logic, and —-hey!” I was formulating a retort to her statement when she suddenly took me by the hand and pulled me to her.

Just like that, I collapsed onto the bed next to her.

“Fufufu….Onii-chan is so warm….”

Before I even realized it, she was hugging my arm and laying down in a sleeping position.

“H-Hey! Let go! I beg you!”

Hearing my desperate request, she declined it with a cute “Don’t wanna!”

With that, she closed her eyes. Soon after, her breathing became an even rhythm and she fell asleep. Suddenly, I had the urge to ask “Are you a kid or something?!” but I held my tongue.

“….What should I do about this?” Being assaulted by both a soft feeling on my right arm and the sweet aroma of a girl that had just finished taking a shower, I was panicking.

There’s no way that I could fall asleep like that, and it wasn’t the situation for that either.

“And why did you just fall asleep like you have no worries at all…?” I muttered as I looked at Sakura’s sleeping face.

….Well, I do get that she’s mistaking me for the big brother in Towano Chikai’s novel, but I am really not an ideal big brother like that.

To hell with it! The next time she wakes up, I’ll talk her out of this!

“Nnn….Onii-chan…..”

“…”

However, when I see her happy sleeping face like that, I start faltering immediately. Seeing a girl like her so happy and thinking that I could actually be of help to her, I don’t actually think of it as a nuisance at all.

“And…even though it’s just provisional, Sakura is my ‘little sister’ right now….” —– I might’ve said that, but it doesn’t have any deeper meaning, okay?

It’s just, you know, I’m trying to take decisions that a light novel protagonist would, so this isn’t all that different from it.

“And who am I making these excuses for…?” Saying that, I slowly pushed away Sakura’s arm.

Having finally broken free, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

“Somehow I feel like this has happened before…..” Reminiscing about our time at Mai’s villa last summer, I sneaked out of the room while trying to not make any noise.

Of course I couldn’t sleep with her, not mention stay in the same room as her. That’s why I mentally prepared myself to spend the whole night on the sofa in the living room downstairs. Suzuka will come to wake me up after all, so I have to be awake at that time or she’ll find Sakura.

“Ahh, how did it come to this, really….” Trying to fight the sleepiness that was assaulting me, I started thinking about Sakura’s situation again.

…..Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to get her to tell me her family circumstances tomorrow. Before I had held myself back, but now that I’ve provisionally become her “big brother” and she my “little sister,” I have all the right to know.

“And since she came to ask me for help, I can’t just ignore her circumstances, either……”

Like that, I spent my time fighting drowsiness until Suzuka arrived.

Part 3:

“Really…. I told you not to oversleep today, but you didn’t have to pull an all-nighter because of that. It’ll damage your body, so please refrain from doing that.”

“Well, I was a bit nervous, so I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Suzuka and I were walking towards the editorial department and she was scolding me like always.

After what happened, I spent the whole night trying to stay awake, but thanks to that I managed to keep the situation with Sakura under wraps. Having left the house in the morning, Suzuka and I had travelled all the way to Tokyo in order to meet with the anime director. Originally, I had planned to question Sakura that morning about her circumstances and so on, but when I went to wake her up…..

“Mhm…..Yeah, I got it, Onii-chan….Nyaa…..,” was the only thing I got out of her.

Well, it probably won’t be a problem if I leave her alone for a bit.

“Onii-chan, stop walking like a zombie, please,” Maybe Suzuka was worried about me being sleep-deprived like this because she grabbed my hand.

“Onii-chan really is a no-good Onii-chan after all,” She said with a displeased expression.

To answer her, I said, “Sorry for being such an unworthy big brother,” and I meant that from the bottom of my heart.

“This is the first time that I’m going to the editorial department like this, so please pull yourself together.”

“I’m still amazed that you’re getting an anime adaptation so soon after your debut…..”

“Well I don’t particularly care about it, but since I’m together with Onii-chan, I don’t really mind.”

“Because you can keep my act as Towano Chikai in check?”

“W-Well, something like that. I doubt that I have to tell you again, but please act accordingly,” Her cheeks were slightly flushed.

I answered her with a “I got it.”

Walking like this, the two of us arrived at the building of Sumeragi Publishing. After we spoke to the person at the reception desk inside, our editor Shinozaki-san immediately came to meet us.

“Hello Sensei, thank you very much for coming here today. And also, it’s nice to see your beautiful little sister again. Are you happily accepting all the love he gives you?”

“Eh? Ah, yes…”

“Don’t greet us in such a ridiculous way! And Suzuka, you don’t have to play along!”

“Fu fu fu, you don’t have to be so bashful about it. Even though you say that, you’re still bringing her with you today, after all. How about you act a bit more open about your feelings?”

Being unable to tell her the truth, I just ground my teeth in frustration.

“T-That’s right, Onii-chan. Just like Shinozaki-san stated, you should show your love for little sisters more! …O-Of course I don’t particularly enjoy that, but it’s also my duty as a little sister, so I’ll just have to put up with it!”

“Ohhh, how splendidly said, Imouto-san! From now on, I hope that you’ll take care of Sensei too!”

“I-I know. As his little sister, I will try my best for Onii-chan. Leave it to me.”

…..Why do these two get along so well with each other?

“Well then, follow me please.” Shinozaki-san said and she guided us towards a meeting room inside the editorial department.

A man was already waiting for us there with their back towards us.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Shinozaki-san called out to them.

However, without turning around, he let out a big sigh as a response.

“Hey Sakurada, what happened?”

“….Eh? Ah, I’m sorry, Senpai. I was lost in thought because of something,” The man who turned around seemed to be in his early twenties.

His hair was styled neatly, and he had a calm yet masculine-looking face. The gaze coming from behind his glasses made him look like an intellectual. In general, he gave off an invigorating aura.

A typical ikemen, I see—-is what I thought as Shinozaki-san turned to face us.

“Sensei, this is the person that will act as your anime director, Sakurada.”

Having been introduced, the young man bowed his head.

“Nice to meet you. I will be responsible for the anime production. My name is Sakurada Itsuki. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“T-The pleasure is all mine. I’m Towano Chikai. I’m glad to be working with you.”

While my tension was rising because of his formal introduction, I realized something.

“….Huh? Sakurada…..don’t tell me….?”

“Exactly that, Sensei. This guy is that Sakurada.”

Hearing Shinozaki-san’s words, the tension inside me increased even more. That’s because this Sakurada was a director that everyone in the otaku world knew about.

……S-So that famous director will be working on Suzuka’s anime production…..?!

“I was really looking forward to meeting Towano-sensei. As a fan of Sensei’s book ‘The story about a little sister who loves her big brother way too much to cope,’ I am really happy that I was chosen as the editor.”

“I-I’m really happy to hear that,” Being praised like that, I panicked even more.

In that moment, Suzuka warned me in a quiet voice.

“Please act more confidently.”

“Also, I don’t think that I’ve met that girl beside you before.”

“Ah, that’s right. This is my little sister Suzuka. She, uhm, wanted to come with me because she was interested in all of this. I’m sorry for not informing you earlier.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Nagami Suzuka. Since Onii-chan will be in your care from now on, I hope that we will be on good terms.”

Following my words, Suzuka perfectly introduced herself.

“Towano-sensei’s….little sister?”

“Yes, Sensei’s little sister is an important person for his novel. She is sacrificing herself to accept her desires for her big brother, and she’s always helping him out with his writing. So please treat her with the same respect that you would treat Towano-sensei.”

“What kind of bat-shit crazy introduction is that?!” I retorted without thinking while completely forgetting about my position as a little-sister-loving stand-in.

…Still, I think that introduction deserved a retort like that! Acting like a siscon is one thing, but she basically labelled me as a pervert with that introduction!

I was about to follow up on that, but I realized that Sakurada-san was spacing out, staring at Suzuka.

“Did something happen?” Suzuka asked and tilted her head in confusion.

“Ah, no! I’m sorry, I was spacing out for a second,” Sakurada-san returned to his senses.

….What was that about?

After everyone sat down, Shinozaki-san once more introduced Sakurada-san in a bit more in detail.

Being a 22-year-old anime producer, he had countless big hits in the anime industry, even earning him the title of a genius. Since I was fairly familiar with famous anime staff and so on, I knew his name from countless works. Those were, for example, the adventure into the unknown universe of a young boy and girl, called “LaGrange,” and the very sensitive but still comical awakening of a young girl’s love in “Falling in love in the summer.” Not only that, but he also had success overseas with his dark fantasy “Iron gods” and other titles that Shinozaki-san listed after that.

Even though they were extraordinarily well-known titles for anime fans, Suzuka never had heard of any of these. Still, since she’s not familiar with anything otaku-related, I can forgive her for that (Even though most otakus out there would disagree with me).

“Still, I’m astonished that you managed to get someone like Sakurada-san for my anime production.”

“Come on, this is Sensei’s novel we’re talking about. Someone other than him wouldn’t have been enough. And also, since this is Sakurada’s first work with such a little sister novel, he’s really motivated,” Shinozaki-san said it like it was nothing special to get such a famous director. “Well, we’re in for the long haul now anyway, so it’s fine as long as we can make your novel known to the entire world. As an editor and also as his senpai from university, I can guarantee his skill.”

“Now that you say it, Sakurada-san also called you senpai. So you two graduated from the same university?”

“Exactly. Even back then, I caught glimpses of his actual skill—-”

While I was listening to Shinozaki-san, I picked up bits and pieces of Sakurada-san talking to Suzuka.

“With you being Sensei’s little sister, is he making you help out with the novel at all?”

“Yes, that’s the case.”

“But, Sensei’s novel is a straight up little sister novel, you know? So you still…..?”

“A-Although I’m not particularly fond of it, as his little sister I have to help him. Well, Onii-chan is a little sister lover so it’s nothing but trouble for me!” Listening to Sakurada-san’s question, Suzuka answered the same way as always.

Well, in Suzuka’s case, I can see that I don’t have to worry about anything. And it’s not like she’s overdoing our act that I like little sisters.

After that, Sakurada-san started talking to me too.

“Towano-sensei, can I have a moment?” He looked at me with a serious expression.

It looked like the atmosphere around him changed.

“There is something I want to ask of you. What do you think is the origin for the cuteness of little sisters?”

“Eh? Cuteness?”

“Yes. As I am responsible for the anime production, I wanted to hear Sensei’s thoughts about that.”

“Ah, it’s about that….” I was a bit shocked after hearing that question. So he meant it like that…

In times like these, I have to put on my act as Towano Chikai so that they won’t be suspicious of me.

“Well in my opinion, I think that the fact that it’s a younger member of the family is very important. Also, being called ‘Onii-chan’ has a very strong impact.”

“I see. So, there are lots of variations of little sisters, but what kind does Sensei prefer?”

“Probably a little sister that resembles Yuuka from my novel.”

“With all of these different attributes that girls have, why was it that it was the little sister that took your heart?”

“…Even if you ask me that, it just sort of happened.”

“Can you try to elaborate on that ‘sort of happened’ part a bit more?”

“E-Elaborate?” Sakurada-san’s rapid-fire questions really were throwing me off guard.

…..All of a sudden, it felt like he was getting way more intense the more questions he was asking.

I felt Suzuka pull on my sleeve again and she whispered a quiet “Keep it together please!” at me, making me realize that I have to try even harder here.

“W-Well! Since it’s our fate as big brothers to protect our little sisters, it gives them a more mysterious feeling than other kinds of girls. Adding that to the aforementioned cuteness of little sisters, it’s no surprise that I would be more interested in them!” I somehow managed to put that together in my head.

…..After all, this isn’t the first pinch where I had to get through with acting.

Something of this calibre will be no problem!—-is what I thought, but….

“Even in today’s society, blood-related marriage is legally prohibited, so you wouldn’t even be able to marry your little sister. What do you think about that?”

“Eh? T-That’s—”

“But recently, in eroge and so on, these boundaries are slowly starting to break away. What’s your opinion on that?”

“Well, uhm—-”

“Even in our religious myths, marriages between blood-related family members are frequently mentioned. What’s your standpoint on that?”

“L-Like I said—-”

“And keeping in mind that you love little sisters, would you be able to fall in love with different variations of that attribute? An alien little sister, a flower-girl little sister, an insect little sister, or even a neutron little sister? Did you ever think about that?”

“Ehhhh?!” Confronted with that barrage of questions, I was at a loss for words.

Even though I have to act as Towano Chikai, it’s not like I actually have any feelings towards little sisters. Until now I had to keep it on the level of “Yes, I love little sisters~” but neither Suzuka nor I imagined that I would have to answer so many weird questions.

….And what the hell was that last question about?!

“Hey Sakurada, what’s up with you so suddenly? You’re clearly troubling Sensei.”

“But, Senpai, Towano-sensei wrote such a little sister novel after all, so of course he should be able to answer these questions with ease.”

Shinozaki-san merely muttered a “That might be the case but still,” in resignation.

“Or do you mean to tell me that this is the level of love for little sisters that Towano Chikai possesses?”

“T-That’s clearly not the case!”

In that moment, Suzuka jumped into the conversation.

….For some reason, it looked like Sakurada-san’s atmosphere changed even more dramatically.

“Let’s see. Since he was the one who wrote that magnificent novel, that shouldn’t be the case, yes. That’s exactly why I have to make sure how much Towano Chikai-sensei actually likes little sisters.” Listening to these words, I couldn’t move a singe muscle. “Towano-sensei, I will have to ask you one more question. Nagami Suzuka-san is your little sister, right? Then, as a little sister lover, Towano-sensei surely lays his hands on her every time he gets the chance, right?”

“Eh?! N-No, there’s no way I would do that to my real-life little sister?!”

“If you really were a little sister lover like you say you are, something like that wouldn’t hold you back. As long as she has the ‘Little sister’ attribute, it should be obvious for you to do that, don’t you think?”

“Still, there are some lines that I definitely can’t cross!”

“…..I didn’t expect to hear that from Towano-sensei.”

Why do you sound so disappointed?!

“Rolling around in your sister’s bed and sniffing her scent, taking a shower together, feeling the warmth of her knee-socks immediately after she takes them off…these acts should be a daily routine for you, right?”

“As if I would do something like that!”

“W-Why? You are Towano Chikai, right? Drinking the bathwater that your little sister just used should be obvious, don’t you think?!”

“I’m not that much of a pervert that I would do that!”

While I was denying everything he had just accused me of with all my might, I felt Suzuka grab my clothes, whispering a quiet “O-Onii-chan….!”, but I didn’t care about that.

…..It’s true that I’m Suzuka’s stand-in and that I have to act accordingly…..! But there have to be limits! I won’t stand being accused of being such a hardcore pervert and there’s no way that I would stand by while Suzuka is being made a victim of that. Acting or not!

I was about to tell Sakurada-san my opinion but—-

“…It really is a shame, Towano-sensei….”

My words proved to be a fatal error.

“It seems like you don’t understand what it means to be a little sister lover,” Sakurada-san said with a sad expression as he dropped his head.

“How disappointing. To think that the person who wrote such a godly novel had only feelings of such a degree…..how utterly frustrating.”

“….Eh? What do you mean by that?”

“Towano-sensei, I don’t feel any love for little sisters from you at all. It really is hard to believe that you wrote that novel…..Reality can be so cruel….” Sakurada-san said, making Shinozaki-san panic.

“H-Hey, Sakurada, what happened all of a sudden?”

“Senpai, I’m really glad that you brought these people here today. Thanks to that, I was able to decide on the plan for the anime.”

Plan…?—I tilted my head, just like everybody else did as well.

“I can’t let a person that doesn’t feel anything towards little sisters describe a little sister character. Regarding the anime production, I will take some liberties and change the little sister character.”

Change—that’s the worst-case scenario for the fans of the original work.

“Eh? B-By change, do you mean….?” Of course, Suzuka was oblivious as to what exactly those words meant.

“W-Wait a moment, please! W-Why would you do that?!”

“That is clearly your fault, Towano-sensei,” He responded calmly, “Your novel is magnificent indeed. However, you don’t know what it means to be a little sister lover. That’s why I have to make changes before we can work on the adaptation.”

“D-Don’t joke with me! I really love little sisters—-”

“Can you swear that from the bottom of your heart?”

I wanted to immediately scream “Of course I do,” but somehow the words wouldn’t come out.

I’m well aware as to why that is. It’s a straight-up lie after all. I feel nothing at all towards little sisters. Yes, I could probably hug Suzuka right now and say “See how much I love little sisters?!” But I don’t think that he would be satisfied with just that.

“Onii-chan….?” Suzuka’s grip on my hand tightened as if she was worried.

However, I still couldn’t move a single muscle.

“I will excuse myself now,” With these words, Sakurada-san left.

Shinozaki-san chased after him in a hurry. As for me, it felt like I was frozen in place.

Part 4:

“So he meant it literally like that?! He can’t just modify the character! With that he’ll nullify my feelings—-no, he’ll change the entire story!”

We were currently on the way home from our local train station.

After I had explained what Sakurada-san meant by ‘changes,’ Suzuka was acting like that the whole way back.

“…Yeah, I completely agree. Modifying the story a slight bit during the anime production isn’t all that rare, but actually doing that with a specific character is absolutely unacceptable…..”

As Suzuka’s stand-in and as her fan, I can’t allow that to happen. However, she was glaring at me for some reason.

“If you really think that, then why didn’t you keep up your act at that moment?”

“Ugh…I explained that to you already, didn’t I….?”

I’m not a little sister lover after all. Even with my acting, there is no way that I could’ve satisfied Sakurada-san.

“If acting was impossible, why didn’t you just awaken to your love for little sisters right on the spot!?”

“Don’t ask for the impossible! I’m not a shounen manga protagonist where I can develop a new power when I’m in a pinch!”

“….Is it really the time to be saying that?”

Feeling her cold gaze, my shoulders dropped with an “It isn’t the time to be saying that, no….”

No matter the situation, it was clearly my fault that it had come to this. Because of my ineptitude, I troubled Suzuka. I had to somehow turn this around. That’s why….

“Now that it’s come to this, you just have to honestly fall in love with little sisters!”

Normally, I’d retort with an “As if I could?!” but I couldn’t myself to open my mouth.

“And you have to achieve that before next week. Thanks to Shinozaki-san, we received a final chance. Before that day, you have to fall in love with little sisters from the bottom of your heart!”

“Somehow, it feels less like you’re mad and more like you’re enthusiastic.”

“Wha?! W-W-What are you saying, Onii-chan! I definitely don’t see this as the perfect chance to make you fall in love with me or anything?! I see this only as an opportunity to fix your acting as a stand-in, okay?!”

“I got it already, so calm down!”

“If you really understand, then don’t get any weird misunderstandings….!” With these words, she let go of my hand and looked the other way.

For a second, it looked like her face was red.

“But, for me to become a little sister lover……”

Merely saying it out loud made me realize once more what kind of a tremendous thing that exactly means. I never exactly understood the appeal of a little sister. Sure, as an otaku, I do think that little sister characters are often cute…..for example, the little sister, Yuuka, of Suzuka’s novel. However, that’s just a fictional character.

…..I wonder if I could really fall in love with little sisters from the bottom of my heart….?

“This is no time to be hesitating. We only have one week left, after all.”

At the end of this week, we will once more meet up with Sakurada-san. After what had happened, Shinozaki-san came back, saying that she managed to get us one last chance to show Sakurada-san that I really am a little sister lover.

“Also, I do think that it’s weird! Why can he just modify the character without the author’s consent?!”

“Well, as an anime producer, he does have certain rights….”

…..Still, I don’t have any right to complain. For Suzuka’s novel, I have to do this no matter what. Even if it ends up in Suzuka starting to hate me…..I have to other choice but to accept her feelings head on!

“…Alright, when I get home, I’ll immediately go buy another little sister novel—-”

“Once we get home, we’ll start the special training, Onii-chan.”

“Huh?”

“What are you spacing out for? I just told you that I will make you fall in love with little sisters no matter what.”

“N-No, well, you’re helping me?”

“O-Of course! Since we’re talking about little sisters, I have the duty to help you out!”

“But, uhm, I have to be a little sister lover, you know? Won’t you feel bothered by that?”

“Actually, I’d be very happy about—–Excuse me! T-T-That might be the case but this is an emergency! And it involves Towano Chikai, after all! Don’t you think?!”

“Y-You might be right about that?!” I nodded violently.

……Well, it’s true that she’s not exactly a bystander in this situation.

“Thank you, Suzuka….And I’m sorry for forcing you into this mess….”

“N-No, this is just an emergency situation! Rather than that, I hope you’re ready for your training!”

With these words, we arrived in front of our house. Suzuka averted her eyes with a red face and put her hand on the front door. In the meantime, I was strengthening my resolve for what was about to come—-but in that moment, I felt an uncomfortable feeling crawling up my back.

….Huh? It feels like I’ve forgotten something very important….?

In that moment, I realized exactly what it was….but I didn’t even have the time to think of a solution.

“Welcome home, Onii-chan!”

The moment I saw Sakura standing there in the entrance, I remembered everything. And the clothes she was wearing only made things worse. She was wearing nothing more than an apron above her naked skin.

“….Onii-chan? What is the meaning of this….?” Suzuka said as she turned around with stiff movements like a robot.

In that moment, I muttered these words deep in my heart.

“It’s the beginning of hell…….”