Kawaikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Natte Kuremasu ka? Volume 11 Chapter 1

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Handing a girl a BL book is a simple job

9pm passed, and after Keiki had safely escorted Yuika home, he arrived back at his own safe haven. He sat on the sofa in the living room and gazed at his smartphone.

“……”

Shown on the screen was the very last picture they had taken during today’s date. The illumination of the train station was behind his Kouhai as she looked into the camera with a beaming smile.

“My lord. She really is cute…”

Keiki had her engraved in his mind as a sadistic girl, but seeing a genuine and normal smile like this from her was unbearable.

“I was confessed to by a cute girl. I’m not going to wake up anytime soon, right?”

To Keiki, it was something he would only be able to experience in a dream. He would have never imagined receiving a confession from Yuika, so waking up any second wouldn’t surprise him at all.

“But does Yuika-chan really plan on becoming a normal girl…?”

What if Koga Yuika wasn’t a super sadist, but a girl you could find anywhere? If she were to act like she did on today’s date on a daily basis, Keiki might just be able to experience the blooming youth he had always wished for. That was just how charming Yuika had been today.

“…Is that a picture from your date today?”

“Woooaeh!? Mizuha!?”

When he turned around to face the voice behind him, he found Mizuha standing behind the sofa, taking a glance at his phone. She had just come out of the bath, apparently, and she was wearing a comfy sweater. Her cheeks were slightly red from the heat. She flashed a V-sign, very much something his little sister would do.

“Indeed. It is Nii-san’s personal idol, the wonderful Mizuha-chan.”

“What kind of occupation is that? But more importantly, how long have you been there?”

“Hm? Just a few seconds?”

“I see…” Keiki sighed in relief.

Apparently, she hadn’t heard the whole part about the confession.

“And why are you still like this, Mizuha?”

Indeed, Mizuha-san was not wearing anything below. Thanks to the shirttail of her sweater, Keiki had no way of knowing for certain, but it wouldn’t be weird for her to not be wearing any panties.

“I’m wearing panties, okay?”

“Good. If you weren’t, it’d be time for an emergency family meeting.”

Keiki was relieved to hear she was actually wearing them. If she wasn’t, she’d really destroy her Onii-chan’s mental health on a daily basis. Unaware of her older brother’s worries, however, his little sister’s gaze was still glued to the picture on his phone.

“Hmmm? So you went to see the lights in town with Yuika-chan? Hmmm?”

“Eh, ah? …Mizuha-san?”

“You forced your cute little sister to guard the house and went to play with another girl, I see…”

“No, um…”

“I was really lonely, you know.”

“O-Okay…”

“That’s why this much should be allowed, right?” Mizuha said. She moved in front of her older brother and grabbed the shirttail of her sweater, slowly lifting it upwards.

“Mizuha-san!? Why are you lifting your clothes up!?”

“Mizuha doesn’t know~”

“What kind of character is this!? More importantly, your panties! I can see your snow white panties!”

“No worries. I’ll show you my bra as well.”

“You’re telling me not to be worried about this!?”

“Ah, oops. I forgot to put on my bra.”

“You’re making me worry even more!”

In other words, her bare breasts were hiding beneath that sweater. If he was shown something like that, Keiki’s reason would break down.

“Fufu. At this rate, Nii-san will see all my embarrassing spots…”

“So why do you look so happy about it?”

That’s the calligraphy club’s resident exhibitionist for you. She’s a pervert who gets excited by being seen naked.

“Also, if you try to look away or run away, things won’t end with just showing you, okay?”

“What are you planning on doing!?”

Keiki was unsure of what might happen to him, but it was apparent that nothing good would happen.

This is bad, Mizuha won’t stop no matter what I say…

Keiki could already see everything up to her navel, and her panties in plain view, so it wouldn’t take long until the dreaded moment.

I wanted to avoid this at all costs, which is why I invited Nagase-san in the first place…

That’s right, the main goal for today was to escape the frenzy of the group of perverted girls. To escape from the demonic hands that were stimulated by the charm of Christmas, and to protect his own virginity. This was why Keiki had invited Nagase Airi for a date instead. However, he had been betrayed by the girl, whom he had assumed to be his ally, and was instead set up on a date with Yuika instead, which basically ruined everything.

Maybe I shouldn’t have come home today after all…

But by the time he realized this, it was already too late—

“Hey, Nii-san? Just a bit longer, and you’ll be able to see everything, you know?”

Mizuha continued to slowly lift her clothes upwards, showing the undersides of her breasts. She flashed a seductive smile.

“Ugh!? Now that it’s come to this—”

“…Eh?”

He couldn’t allow his little sister to reveal her bare breasts on a holy day like this. In order to stop this exhibitionistic play, he jumped up from the sofa and grabbed Mizuha’s shoulders. After that, he kissed her cheek without a second thought.

“…Fueh?”

Met with this surprise attack, Mizuha put her hands on her cheeks, looking up at her older brother in a daze.

“N-Nii-san…? What are you…?”

“I thought I’d pay you back for leaving you lonely… So could you just accept this for today?”

“If you do something like this, I’ll get even more excited, you know?”

“Eh!?”

“But, seeing Nii-san act flustered was pretty good in itself, so I’ll forgive you.”

“…Thanks a bunch.”

Keiki wanted to point out that both of their faces were red, but he kept it to himself. EIther way, the strip show had been stopped, and that was all that mattered. Mizuha took a moment to fix her clothes and then gave an apologetic smile.

“Sorry for going overboard.”

“Yeah, that was bad for my heart.”

“But I’m feeling refreshed now that I was able to strip in front of Nii-san.”

“Boy am I glad to hear that…”

Mizuha might look like a rational human being, but deep inside she was still a pervert. Keiki might have managed to avoid a worst-case scenario, but a rampaging pervert was something that had to be avoided at all costs. He had painfully learned time and time again that letting down your guard for a single moment could be life-threatening.

I’d better keep Yuika-chan’s confession a secret from everyone else in the club…

This was what happened after the date. If the others found out, things would go south insanely quick. Keiki’s body won’t hold out against an onslaught from the others, so he decided to keep this fact a secret from everyone.

*

“Come here, take a look! Here we have Minami Mao’s new release ‘How to eat a delicious Christmas Cake’! One book? Thank you for the purchase!”

In return for the 500 yen coin, Keiki handed over a thin book to the office-lady-looking Onee-san. After watching her walk off with a warm smile on her face, Keiki let out a sigh.

“…Why am I selling BL books here?”

A few days had passed after the Christmas date, making this the 29th of December. Keiki was attending a doujinshi convention held in the local gymnasium, and he was the sales boy in this atmosphere overflowing with heat and passion. Of course, there was only one person who would be so cruel as to force Keiki through this.

“What are you doing, Kiryuu? You’ve gotta attract more customers.”

“Nanjou…”

The person beside him bossing him around was none other than the reddish-brown-haired girl Nanjou Mao, today disguised with her hair down and a beret on her head. Around two hours ago, the girl had called Keiki. He had been summoned here and forced to sell the (R-18) BL doujinshi he had been the model for.

“You’ve got some guts calling me here early in the morning and making me work like a slave.”

“You went on a Christmas date with Yuika, so helping me here should be the least you can do for me, right? It was a lot of work making the manuscript for this after you refused to act as my model, Kiryuu.”

“What kind of absurd accusation is that? And how did you hear about my date with Yuika-chan?”

“Because the person herself bragged about it. She talked about how you two went to the aquarium, how you carried her like a princess, and all that.”

“Yuika-chan…”

Everything had been leaked already. But at least she kept the confession a secret.

“…I wanted to go on a date, too.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Anyway, I won’t let you go home today until we’re completely sold out.”

“Yeah yeah, let’s just get this over with.”

Keiki mentally hyped himself up to quickly sell all the books they had.

Then again, considering how many she brought with her, this will probably be a long battle… Keiki thought to himself, but that turned out to be a needless worry. The Shortcake Series attracted customer after customer to Mao’s booth, and the mountain of books rapidly grew smaller and smaller.

“Your books are really popular, Nanjou.”

“Thankfully, yeah.”

“Your title is as horrible as ever, though.”

“What are you on about? It’s the perfect name for the event. On this special night of Christmas Eve, Shouto gets to fully enjoy Keeki in all his glory. That’s where the title came from.”

“I’m not interested in the slightest, so please don’t give me an explanation for it.”

Keiki felt like dying already just imagining a scene where the character he had modeled was getting messed up by the character his best friend was modeled after. He would have prefered to not see it at all, but because he had a mountain of books in front of him depicting it, that was nearly impossible.

But I have to accept the fact that Nanjou is pretty famous as a mangaka.

Disregarding the content, it was admirable of her to work on something she truly loves. Even in a small local event like this, the fact that so many people stopped by showed just how talented she was.

“That reminds me, the club president stopped by before you came.”

“Sayuki-senpai did?”

“She hurried home because she wanted to read it right away, though.”

“So that’s the kind of fans you have, huh?”

Are her entrance exams going to be okay?

“Once this is over, I have to prepare for FuyuComi.”

“Eh? Wasn’t FuyuComi supposed to start today?”

“I’ll only participate on the last day. I do plan on walking around tomorrow, though.”

“Just how active are you, Minami-sensei…?”

Did she ever get a free day? The two continued their everyday banter, and thanks to Mao’s popularity, her books were all sold out in a mere two hours.

“50 books, all gone…”

“It’s a small event, but I guess I should have brought a few more with me. Either way, you really helped me out today, Kiryuu. I would’ve been in a lot of trouble without you. Here’s your compensation for today.”

“Thanks~” Keiki accepted the can of coffee. “I’ll be on my way home now. How about you?”

“I’ll go check out the other circles some more.”

“I see. I guess that means we’ll split up now.”

The doujinshi had all been sold, and the people organizing the event would clean up the table and chairs, so Keiki had no more helper work to do.

“I wouldn’t mind going on an adventure into the BL world with you, though.”

“I humbly decline.”

Keiki would rather not step into this forsaken world. He was just about to walk away when Mao called out to him again.

“Ah, wait a second, Kiryuu.”

“Hm?”

“If you have some time, could I ask you to go on an errand?”

“Errand?”

“Yeah, it’s about this…” Mao took out an A4-sized paper bag. “This is the last copy of the newest release that I have.”

“What are you making me carry…?”

What if someone saw Keiki with this in his possession? Then again, everything had already been lost when Keiki had to work as a sales boy.

“Don’t be like that. I was wondering if you could deliver that to Yuika’s place.”

“Huh? Yuika-chan?”

“Hm? Is there something wrong with that?”

“No…”

As of right now, Keiki still hadn’t told anyone else about Yuika’s confession. If the club members of the calligraphy club found out about this, the masochistic girl would throw a fit and Keiki’s exhibitionistic little sister would start another strip show. In order to avoid any risky business, Keiki hadn’t told Mao, either.

“But why me?”

“I wouldn’t mind mailing it over, but it’d be bad if someone from her family found it, right?”

“Yeah, that’d be an instant family gathering, wouldn’t it?”

Keiki could imagine all hell breaking loose if her parents found this book. The conversation at the dinner table would be more than just awkward.

“Yuika’s really looking forward to reading it. I’ll be busy until FuyuComi is over, so she’d have to wait until next year to get it.”

“………”

Keiki could understand the desire to read the newest release of a series he liked.

She’d definitely be happy if I brought it over…

Keiki could already imagine a blooming smile in his mind. He compared the mental pain of having to carry a BL book to the smile of a Kouhai. After a brief silence while his internal battle was waging, he let out a sigh.

“…Alright, just this once.”

Unrelated to the confession he received, Keiki figured that she would be happy about it, so he decided to accept Mao’s request.

Around thirty minutes after Keiki left the gymnasium, he stood in front of the Koga Household.

“I actually came here, but what should I even say when I see Yuika-chan?”

His mission was only to deliver the plastic bag. But that was the main reason why Keiki hesitated to ring the doorbell. As of right now, Keiki hadn’t given her a response to the confession. He had thought about that confession every day since, but no solid response had formed just yet. Seeing the girl like this would be terribly awkward. Now that he had accepted this request from Mao, he couldn’t exactly back down at the last second.

“Ahh, whatever happens, happens…!” Keiki forced himself forward to ring the doorbell.

After he did so, the door opened after a brief silence.

“Yes, who is it?”

“…Eh?”

Keiki would have been more than happy if one of her parents had opened the door, but it turned out to be the very girl he didn’t want to meet. Indeed, it was Koga Yuika, with her usual blonde hair and green eyes. But the reason Keiki’s voice sounded dumbfounded was another—

Eh, what? Why is she wearing bear pajamas?

For whatever reason, the girl looked like a giant, comfy bear thanks to the pajamas she was wearing. She had the hood on, and the bear ears made her look really comfy.

“Ah, Keiki-senpai? What brings you here?”

“What happened to you?”

“Hm? Why don’t you come in for now? It must be cold outside.”

“Ahh, yeah… That would be the best.”

Talking about a BL book wouldn’t be the best idea while standing in the entrance. Thus, he gratefully accepted Yuika’s invitation and headed inside. He was guided to the living room and sat down on the sofa.

“Keiki-senpai, is coffee okay for you?” The girl asked as she headed over to the kitchen.

“Ah, yeah…”

“Understood. Yuika will brew some right away.” The girl hummed to herself as she prepared the coffee.

After watching her for a bit, Keiki was the first to speak up.

“May I ask where your parents went, Yuika-chan?”

“They’re working. They don’t even have time off at the end of the year. It’s like they’re working at some kind of black company~”

“I-Is that so…?”

Keiki wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but Keiki’s parents were fairly similar. His parents showed no signs of coming home even at the end of the year. After this, a bit of time passed, and then Yuika brought back two cups.

“Here you go. It’s still hot, so be careful.”

“Thanks.”

She put them down on the table. Keiki was thankful for some warm coffee to heat up his body, but the cup was still scorching hot. Instead, he took out his smartphone and pointed the camera at Yuika.

“Keiki-senpai? What are you doing?”

“……”

Click click click click click click!

“Why are you just silently taking pictures!?”

“I mean, I thought that I would preserve this sight. I haven’t ever seen such a cute bear before.”

“Eh? Bear? …Ah!?”

Finally, Yuika seemed to remember what clothes she was wearing. Her face turned beet red, and she frantically waved her hands around.

“T-This isn’t what you think it is! Yuika isn’t wearing childish clothes! She just happened to put it on today…!”

“It’s fine. It looks exceptionally good on you.”

“What do you mean by that!? Are you saying that Yuika is a small child who looks good in such childish clothes!? You must be think that it’s weird that pajamas from Yuika’s middle school days are still a perfect fit, right?!”

“I never said anything like that.”

“Keiki-senpai is an idiot! Yuika’s chest might be small, but she is a high school student!”

“You don’t have to be so embarrassed. What’s wrong with a high school student liking bear pajamas?”

“…Hmph, you really don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

“Yuika doesn’t want the person she likes to think she’s childish!”

“O-Okay…”

“Wait ten… no, five minutes!” Yuika said as she dashed out of the room.

“This is bad. Yuika-chan is saying such cute stuff without a moment’s hesitation…”

It was a terrorist attack using a cuteness bomb. Even with an angry face like that, Keiki couldn’t help but think that she was cute, and her words held insane destructive power. In order to hide the pounding of his heart, Keiki took a sip of coffee, and Yuika eventually returned wearing western clothing.

“T-Thanks for waiting…”

“……”

She was wearing a white sweater with a skirt and black tights, a winter-ish look that made Keiki entranced.

“Keiki-senpai?”

“Ah, no, it’s nothing… my apologies.”

“Why did you turn all polite towards the end?” Yuika tilted her head in confusion and sat down on the sofa facing Keiki.

“Still, you really surprised Yuika when you suddenly showed up in front of our door.”

“I sent you an email, but I guess you didn’t see it?”

“Oh, really? Sorry, Yuika left her phone in her room.”

“What were you doing?”

“Cleaning the house. Did you finish your new year’s cleaning already, Senpai?”

“We did it yesterday. Mizuha is constantly cleaning anyway, so all we had to do was wash the windows and that kind of thing.”

Mizuha’s cleaning skills weren’t to be taken lightly. She even made the clubroom look sparkly clean before winter break.

“Those pajamas are fairly useful for cleaning. Yuika doesn’t have to worry if it gets dirty, and thanks to the hood, her hair won’t get full of dust.”

“Ahh, that’s why you were wearing those bear pajamas.”

Indeed, wearing stylish western clothes while cleaning the house would be a total waste, so those pajamas were no doubt the logical choice.

“So what brings you here?”

“Oh yeah, Nanjou asked me to bring you something. I totally forgot because of the pajamas.”

“Please forget about that already… Wait, Mao-senpai?”

“Yeah, she wanted me to bring you her newest release.”

“Mao-senpai’s new release!?”

The instant Yuika heard those words, she jumped forward.

“Is it ‘How to eat a delicious Christmas cake’ by any chance!?”

“Indeed it is… Here you go.”

“Thank you very much!” Yuika’s eyes brightened up, and she reached out for the plastic bag with her hand.

However, that same hand stopped only a few inches before she touched it. Instead, she directed a sharp gaze towards the plastic bag.

“Mmmm…”

“Yuika-chan? What’s wrong?”

“Well… it seemed like Yuika would look like a pervert if she just accepted this happily… Even after she said she would become a normal girl…”

“Ahh, I see.”

During the holy night of Christmas Eve, Yuika had declared that she would stop being a pervert. As a result of that, she apparently felt a certain degree of reluctance to accept this doujinshi.

“If you don’t need it, I can take it with me when I leave, you know?”

“No way?!”

“Fufufu. What will it be, Yuika-chan?”

“Uuuuu…”

Keiki playfully waved the plastic bag in front of Yuika, who turned teary-eyed.

“You don’t have to hold back if you really want to read it.”

“But…”

“I know that it’s a bit extreme, knowing Nanjou, but even normal girls read this sort of stuff.”

“R-Really?”

“And Nanjou asked me to deliver this to you, so it’d be bad if you didn’t take it.”

“Then…” Yuika hesitated a bit, but eventually reached out for the plastic bag.

After that, she tightly embraced it, flashing a beaming smile.

“Fufu. Thank you very much. Yuika will have to thank Mao-senpai later.”

“Yeah.”

“But it’s a bit of a shame.”

“What is?”

“Yuika thought you came here to give her a response, and it was just an errand. Yuika was actually pretty nervous, you know.”

“Urk…”

It couldn’t be helped that she felt that way. However, sadly Keiki didn’t have a response yet.

“……I need a bit more time for that.”

“It can’t be helped. Yuika will forgive you since you brought her Mao-senpai’s new release.”

Unexpectedly, Yuika let Keiki go fairly easily. Her sulking attitude seemed to be an act.

“To make up for it, wouldn’t you mind if Yuika joined you?”

“Huh? Ah, I don’t mind.”

“Then, if you would excuse Yuika—” She said and sat to Keiki’s left.

Then she clung to Keiki’s arm like they were lovers.

“Y-Yuika-chan? What are you doing?”

“Fufu. It’s Yuika’s self-PR time.”

“Self-what now?”

“There aren’t many chances like this. So Yuika thought she had to be more aggressive to help Keiki-senpai come to a decision easier.”

“I-I see…?”

“Basically, if you were to take Yuika as your girlfriend, you would be able to experience something like this.”

“Something like this…”

She spoke like she was promoting a new game that was about to release.

“Or at least that’s the excuse Yuika thought of, but she just wanted to cuddle with you like this.”

“Eh!?”

“Yuika loves getting spoiled, so she’ll probably be really clingy if we start dating… Do you hate spoiling others, Keiki-senpai?”

“N-Not really…”

“Fufu, perfect.”

“!?”

Keiki’s heart skipped a beat at Yuika’s innocent smile.

This is bad…! Yuika-chan smells really nice, she’s really cute when she’s acting spoiled, and her soft chest is hitting my arm!

If Keiki had let down his guard for but a moment, he might have just pushed down Yuika right then and there.

This has to be against the rules!

This cuteness was the ultimate weapon that would be able to kill Keiki’s virginity. It was strong enough to make Keiki lose his excessive defensiveness towards his own chastity.

Calm down… She’s still that Queen who stuffed her freshly-worn panties into my mouth…

She was acting like a normal girl right now, so she might take off her mask the moment Keiki relaxed. For now, he had to observe her and see if he could pull through with his De-perversion plan. That’s why he had to do something about this situation right away.

“…Um, Yuika-chan?”

“What is it?”

“The stimulus is a bit too tough on me, so could we keep it a bit more mild?” Keiki said, seeking to lessen the stimulus he was suffering from.

“So then…” His Kouhai temporarily moved her body away, only to grasp Keiki’s right hand with her left. “Something like this should be fine, right?”

“Yeah, this should be…”

It was a much better fit for a beginner in love like Keiki. It made him feel relieved.

Yeah, this really feels like we’re lovers…

They sat next to each other on the sofa, holding hands and nothing more. Just with that, Keiki started to imagine them being a couple, and a soft sensation filled his heart. But why is it that…?

…Hm? Just now…

When Keiki glanced at the smiling profile of his Kouhai, he felt something like a gloomy sensation in his heart as well as a sense of discomfort. He felt a faint pain inside his chest.

*

The following day, Keiki called his kouhai Nagase Airi to a nearby cafe. It was the same cafe he had used to get Yuika and Airi closer as friends. While he was pouring some hot coffee, the girl with her beige-colored twintails entered the cafe. She was wearing a cardigan with a flared skirt, and she gently waved her hand as she spotted Keiki.

“Hello, Kiryuu-senpai.”

“Yo, Nagase-san.”

After exchanging a brief greeting, the girl sat down across from Keiki. At the same time, the waitress arrived.

“I’d like a cream soda.”

“I’ll take some more coffee.”

They gave the waitress their orders, and they quickly received their drinks. Keiki flashed her a smile and spoke.

“I’m listening.”

“I’m sorry that I stood you up on Christmas Eve.”

“Very well.”

On the 24th of December, Airi had broken their promise to go on a date, and had instead sent Yuika. Indeed, this had been Airi’s goal from the very start.

“You forgave me fairly easily. Knowing Kiryuu-senpai, I figured you’d be more agitated.”

“What kind of image do you have of me?”

“Fufu. Would you like to know?”

“…No, I’ll pass.”

If he heard that, his self-evaluation would probably take a dive, so there was no need to hurt himself like that.

“…Are you angry after all?”

“Not really. You were just doing it for Yuika-chan’s sake.”

“Is that so?”

She must have been hung up on the fact that she had basically deceived Keiki. But when she heard his response, she let out a relieved sigh and ate some of her cream soda ice.

“Leaving that aside, however, I’m angry.” Airi muttered.

“Hm?”

“Why didn’t you give Yuika a response?”

“Eh…”

“Such a cute girl confessed to you, you know? Every normal boy would give an instant okay.”

“Ah, well, I guess it makes sense that you’ve heard that from Yuika-chan…”

Airi had been tasked to set up the date, after all, so it made sense that she received a detailed report.

“I support Yuika. I heard a lot during a phone call. How she went to the aquarium with Senpai, how she got carried like a princess… All those kinds of happy stories, you know! She’s super cute, isn’t she!? She’s so cute that I was about to fall in love myself!”

“Should you really be telling me that?”

“Of course not.”

“I figured as much!”

“So please keep it a secret from Yuika.”

“Will do.”

Still, Keiki didn’t expect Yuika to talk that fondly of their date…

“Just how cute can she be…?”

Keiki writhed in agony at the thought of his Kouhai happily retelling the events of the date to her friends.

“So why didn’t you tell her okay? It’s nothing short of a miracle to get a confession from a beautiful girl like Yuika.”

“That’s true…”

After Mizuha, even Yuika had confessed to him. For Keiki, who had no experience with love and youth at all until now, it was a miracle.

“Why did she fall in love with someone like me…?”

Yuika was willing to basically kill her old self so that she could be together with Keiki. Even though he had never done anything special for her, she held this much affection towards him. It was a mystery for Keiki.

“…It’s not ‘someone like you’, okay?”

“Nagase-san?”

“Don’t talk badly about the person my friend fell in love with.” She spoke calmly, but she seemed agitated.

With an angry, almost sad expression, Airi continued.

“Kiryuu-senpai is always acting considerate of me, your kouhai. You tried to fix my hatred of men, and you helped me change. It might not have been anything special for you, but I was really happy.”

“………”

“That’s why I can understand why Yuika has chosen you. You’re a person who deserves to be loved, Senpai.”

“Nagase-san…” Keiki was bewildered by the girl’s serious tone.

At the same time, his cheeks relaxed in happiness.

“I think Shouma told me something similar before.”

When Keiki found the mysterious love letter, Shouma gave Keiki some confidence. Just like Airi did now, he had told Keiki that he was someone who had the right to be the target of someone’s affection.

I haven’t grown at all from back then…

He never expected to suddenly have infinite confidence. However, there are people who luckily supported him to such extent. Maybe he should face his future more confidently.

“If you get it, then tell her yes already and make her happy.”

“That’s a different thing…”

“How indecisive. What gripe could you possibly have with Yuika?”

“That’s not it, I just don’t want to rush things.”

“Indecisive bastards like you should burn in hell.”

“What did you just say!?”

What a terrible thing to tell someone.

“Really, there’s nothing I could complain about. I was really happy when she said she would become a normal girl for me, and that shows how serious she is about me.”

“Then, why—?” Then Airi raised her head like she had realized something. “Don’t tell me, do you…?”

“Hm?”

“…No, it’s nothing.” She had started her sentence, but she quickly swallowed her words. “Anyway, I’d feel bad for her if she had to wait for too long. Don’t you dare make her cry, okay?”

“I know, I know.”

Keiki couldn’t keep things up like this forever. He knew that he had to give her an answer as quickly as possible. But the answer just wouldn’t come. Even though she went so far as to say that she would become a normal girl for him, he still couldn’t choose her. Why?

“What is love, anyway?”

“Where did that come from? Are you asking me?”

“It figures…”

“I don’t know if I’m right or not, but… if you want the other person to smile, if you want them to be happy, doesn’t that mean that you like them?” Airi’s assumption of love was quite romantic.

“…Do you have someone like that, Airi?”

“I’ll hit you, okay?” Airi gave an irritated response.

Yuika said that she would be willing to become a normal girl if it made Keiki fall in love with her. If that feeling was love, then Airi’s explanation wasn’t too far off.

“Also, was that it? If you wanted to hear my opinion about Yuika, couldn’t you have just called me?”

“Oh right, there’s something I wanted to give you, Nagase-san.”

“Really?”

“Here, for you.” Keiki took out a small plastic bag from his jacket’s chest pocket. “A Christmas present. Though it’s a bit late.”

“For me…?”

“I had been planning to go on a date with you that day, after all. I had it prepared, but you never came.”

“Ugh…”

“So, I’d be happy if you could take it.”

“…T-Thank you very much.” Airi accepted the present. “Can I open it?”

When Keiki nodded, Airi slowly opened the plastic bag.

“Ah…”

Inside was a memo pad with a cherry blossom design, and a pink pen to match. It was what Keiki had bought the day prior to the date after a lot of thinking.

“It’s cute…”

“It’s still out of season, but since you always take notes, I thought it’d be perfect.”

“…You won’t get anything from me if you try to make me happy like this.”

“That threat doesn’t hold much value if you avert your gaze like that.”

In fact, that only showed how happy she was. Keiki didn’t miss the fact that her cheeks were flushed.

“If you show up in the student council room again, I’ll make you some tea.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

In the end, Keiki still couldn’t think of a response to the confession, but at least he managed to hand over the present that was long overdue. Of course, he kept it a secret that his heart beat a bit faster when he saw that Airi was this happy about the present.

*

The year was in its final stretch. It was the 31st of December. Keiki was enjoying his time under the kotatsu in the living room when Mizuha came from the kitchen with a tray.

“The soba noodles are done.”

“Finally!”

Two plates were set on the table. Mizuha joined Keiki under the kotatsu, and they clapped her hands together.

““Thanks for the food!!””

They both started working on their soba noodles.

“Delicious!”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“I wonder about this every year, but consuming carbohydrates this late at night feels like we’re doing something bad, doesn’t it?”

“………”

Keiki’s little sister froze in place.

“It’s fine… I held back during dinner, and tomorrow is the first shrine visit, so after lots of walking, I’ll work off that bit of extra fat… yeah, it’s fine…”

“Um… I’m sorry…”

Keiki had apparently said something he shouldn’t have. After he told Mizuha not to sweat the small stuff, she continued her late-night dinner.

“The year’s about to end, huh?”

“Yeah. A lot happened, didn’t it?”

The biggest event that left an impression on Keiki was the love letter with panties attached. Ever since he had found Cinderella’s written confession in the classroom, more and more girls had revealed their perverted tendencies, and abnormal circumstances filled Keiki’s daily life.

“…Yeah, a lot happened.”

Thinking back on it, the year had been filled with perverts.

“In the end, Mom and Dad never came home.”

“Well, it’s the same as ever.”

Their parents were an existence that even their own children rarely encountered. During the year, they were basically never home, and there were times when they didn’t even come home at the end of the year. Of course, their parents couldn’t be blamed. Both Keiki and Mizuha often spoke with them over the phone.

Keiki thought about his parents, who were probably employed at a black company, during his dinner. The countdown on the TV started. A female announcer stated that the last minute had arrived. And then, once only five seconds were left…

‘Five, four, three, two, one—Happy New Year!’

The new year began with the announcer and audience clapping their hands. With a pleasant mood, Mizuha and Keiki celebrated the new year.

“Happy New Year, Mizuha.”

“Please treat me well this year too, Nii-san.”

They exchanged a few words and smiled.

“Oh, everyone’s sending me messages.”

“I’m getting them, as well.”

Shouma and Koharu had already sent Keiki a message, and Ayano was the starting point for the student council. After that followed the others, and Sayuki and Mao soon after.

“Ah, Tokihara-senpai sent me a calligraphy picture.”

“Same here.”

While responding to each of the messages, Keiki received yet another.

“Oh, from Yuika-chan… Hm? A picture?”

Along with a message, Keiki received a single selfie. She was sitting on her bed, taking a selfie from above, throwing a kiss at the camera in her pajamas. The text underneath read ‘Does this get your heart racing?’

“That Yuika-chan…”

Of course it made Keiki’s heart beat faster. Ever since the confession, that little devil had gotten much more aggressive.

“Phew, a thrown kiss. Yuika-chan sure is bold.”

“I don’t appreciate you peeking at my phone all the time.”

“It’s because you were grinning to yourself.”

“I wasn’t grinning!”

“You totally were.”

“No way…”

“Yuika-chan is really cute, after all. I’m a bit surprised to see that she sent that picture to you. Did something happen that made you two get closer?”

“W-What might you be talking about?”

Staaaaaaare…

“………”

Keiki was weak to the stare of his little sister. The atmosphere made it seem like she already knew everything. Even though Keiki hadn’t done anything bad, he subconsciously averted his gaze in guilt.

“Well, it’s fine. We’ll be visiting the shrine together with everyone from the club tomorrow, so we should probably head to bed now.”

“Y-Yessir!” Keiki sighed in relief.

From outside his gaze, Mizuha spoke up.

“Hey, Nii-san, could you look over here for a second?”

“Hm?”

“Peek.”

“Pfft!?”

When Keiki turned his gaze over towards Mizuha, she was sitting on the sofa, both her hands on her skirt as she showed her panties. Since she was wearing kneesocks and not tights today, the pink underwear was totally visible.

“Wah! Mizuha-san!? What are you doing!?”

“Your first view of the year.”

“I never said I wanted anything like that…”

“Nii-san will probably see lots of panties this year, as well, so I thought that I’d at least be your first.”

“I’m not looking at them because I want to, okay?”

“Fufu, I took your first panty view.”

“What even is that…?”

Mizuha had created a new word, and she giggled. It seemed like this year would be another busy one, with Keiki being dragged around by the perverts even more.