Ero Manga Sensei

== Chapter four ==

Before my aunt could get out of the living room to go to the locked room, I hastily called to her:

"Please wait! Even if she wanted to, Sagiri can"t take your test now!"

"Why? I only wanted to see if she could rejoin society?" She replied, already holding the door handle.

I still didn"t understand what she meant by "rejoin society", but without a doubt, it must relate to making Sagiri leave her room. Of course she couldn"t, her hikikomori couldn"t be cured so easily.

"Did you…already talk to her?"

"I did. Last year, during your test, I had a talk with her. I need to see if she is ready to rejoin society."

"Really? She said so?"

She said she will rejoin society. I couldn"t believe my own ears.

"Exactly at last year, June. She was hiding behind the door when she promised me, you could check with her yourself."

June? It was when our dream was beginning.

"What exactly was that promise?"

"You can ask her yourself."

So she didn"t want to tell me.

I couldn"t allow her to meet Sagiri now - but what could I do about it? I desperately tried to stop her:

"That means her test is scheduled in June, right? Then you should wait until June, it"s a yearly test after all!"

She glared at me.

"c.r.a.p…"

I was terrified of that gaze when I was small. Trying to calm down, I said:

"Even though it"s a test, there are preparations that need to be done…beside, this is the first time I heard about it…It"s a family matter, why did no one tell me!? You are too much!"

"— Family matter, you said?"

"Yes yes! Family matter, but no one told me. I think it"s too much!"

I knew that I was just pulling excuses out of my a.s.s, but whatever

"Please! Just a little more time!"

"Okay."

"Yes?"

She agreed? I froze, my eyes widened in shock. Kyouka-san coughed, and continued:

"…I agree. I will let you have a little more time."

"Thank you very much!"

She agreed that easily?

"But…I can"t wait that long. In June, Sagiri will be going up a grade."

Up a grade? Wait, does rejoin society mean go to school? Are you kidding me? It"s too difficult! My little sister could barely come out of her room, she couldn"t possibly go out of the house!

Seeing my will waver, she raised a finger, and announced:

"The testing for Sagiri will commence on April, 1st . Not a single day later - Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Then it"s decided." She said, and began to put her shoes on. Before she left, she turned back and said:

"By the way, the love between brother and sister that you wrote about, I think it"s disgusting."

"Because I"m also a 「little sister 」."

Having said that, my aunt left.

After that, I rushed toward the locked room, both to tell Sagiri about our conversation just now and to discuss what to do next.

"I wonder if Sagiri is okay."

She was terrified of Kyouka-san, so I was a bit worried.

Taking a deep breath, I was about to knock when - with a *click* , the door opened. But no matter how long I waited, Sagiri didn"t show up.

"Sa, Sagiri?"

I peeked inside and saw her hiding under the blanket, using a long pole to open the door just now.

"…What are you doing?"

I had no idea what to say. Yes, I"m used to it by now, but this still caught me off guard.

"Because…." She peaked outside, looking back and forth and muttered "If I saw Kyouka-sama behind the door…I would probably be scared to death…."

Kyouka-sama you said!? To think she was that afraid, it looked like that accident left quiet a scar. While she looked very moe under the blanket, that accidentwasn"t something to joke about.

When I recalled her heart-breaking cry from that time, I couldn"t bear to hear it again. I entered and closed the door behind me, and asked in the most gentle voice I could.

"You knew that Kyouka-san came, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what we talked about?"

She shook her head without answering. She shouldn"t have been able to hear our conversation….but then how could she have heard the conversation between me and Elf or Megumi? Never mind, now wasn"t the time.

"About that…Sagiri…aunt said…" I trailed off.

"…She"s here to test me, isn"t she?"

I knew it! She could hear our conversation!

Sagiri probably had guessed what I thought, she shook her head:

"…That"s my guess."

Saying that, she shook her body and slowly crawled out from under the blanket. From my position, I could see that part of her clothes was unb.u.t.toned. This is how clothes are supposed to be!

I tried to force my eyes away while Sagiri changed.

"…June, last year…I promised her…that I will rejoin society …"

I finally heard it from her, but —

"Do you have any idea what Kyouka-san meant by rejoin society?"

And b.u.t.ton your clothes! I already saw too much!

"You…don"t want me to rejoin society?" She asked, puzzled.

"Yes! I want you to! But you won"t be able to! You are Sagiri! Izumi Sagiri, a hardcore hikikomori!"

"Mwu…you don"t have to say it like that…"

She pouted. I shook my head:

"I already made your situation a little bit easier. Do you have any idea how hard it was to extendyour time to April …er? Why are you smiling?"

"Hmhm …do you think that I haven"t prepared anything?" She raised her (flat) chest, and announced "Nii-san, let me show you how I shall rejoin society."

"Wh, what?"

Sagiri satisfied by my dumfounded expression, then noticed her unb.u.t.toned clothes, and was embarra.s.sed.

"Per, pervert!"

"Sorry!" I quickly turned away.

A silence filled the room, the atmosphere was unbearable —

Suddenly, her voice came from behind:

"….You can turn back now."

"Okay."

After a moment of silence, Sagiri said:

"What were we talking about?"

"You were about to show me the results of your rejoining society."

"Nii-san….now, I want to go to school."

"…Yes?" I was stunned for a moment "What are you saying?"

"Didn"t you hear me? I will say it again: I…want to go to school."

" ———————-" My jaw dropped "Sa, Sagiri? Did you say…you want to go to school?"

"Go to school is the same as rejoin society, right?"

"Exactly! You did it Sagiri! You finally did it! I always believed in you!"

"Wah!"

She pulled back in hesitation "You scared me!"

"Ah, sorry….I was so happy."

Sagiri going to school! Just once is fine! One day is fine! We can pa.s.s this test! And one of my primary objects is seeing my little sister go to school.

"Hmhm ~" She blushed, and turned away "Crafty…how could I get mad at you…."

"As long as you are motivated. I was worry that you might not be able to leave the room —"

Hearing my question, Sagiri grinned in satisfaction, and waved her hand "Watch me go to school, alright."

"Sure."

She turned the computer on, used the web browser to get to an online map site. Her icon moved around a bit before stopping at the Adachi area - where my house is, by the way.

"I"m going!"

She happily clicked the mouse. The screen began to move toward the school.

"You…you…could it be…"

Could it be…that"s what she meant? I misunderstood something, right?

It was nerve-wracking,  butSagiri was still busy clicking. The screen already showed the main road.

"Ha…ha…just a bit more…"

Seeing her made me realize what she was trying to do: go to school — online!!!!

"I have arrived! How is that, Nii-san…am I good?"

"This is just street view!" I yelled "You…you said you wanted to 「go to school 」, but the truth is you used street view! Don"t act like it"s something great!"

"But…" She pouted "This is already my best."

"Oh…."

"I really tried my best."

"Yeah. Right right."

She was right after all. But I wasn"t wrong either - yes, she was trying her best. She really was.

"Sorry." I muttered "But what can we do now? I don"t think that Kyouka-san will accept this."

"…She won"t?"

Seeing how confused she was hurt me, but I had no choice but to tell the truth.

"No, she won"t. You need something more to show her that you are trying to rejoin society."

"Since June…after that promise…I practiced…but I couldn"t."

"…You mean…you"ve been practicing?"

You practiced going outside? I thought when she greeted me at the door it was in celebration, but to think she was preparing for this test.

"…Um."

"And why did you made that promise? I didn"t think that you could think that far ahead a year ago."

"Because…I…too…"

"Too?"

"Together…is good."

"Sorry, can you repeat that?"

I couldn"t hear her. It isn’t unusual for her to speak quietly, but just now her voice was too small, I didn"t hear anything.

Sagirihesitated, and then nodded:

"I don"t want to be a burden to you!"

"Did aunt said so?"

She shook her head, and stammered:

"No, this is my problem…no one can do it for me…and…can"t…can"t do anything…so, I -"

"I need to do something too."

Still the same words, but this time I understood her feelings.

"Is that so? I understand, do your best."

"Yes."

We laughed weakly. Sagiri continued:

"So…what can we do now? Testing… for me to rejoin society…."

"Well, we still have ten days left, let"s brainstorm something."

Although I said that, but ten days weren"t enough. To let a hardcore hikikomori like Sagiri rejoin society in ten days…maybe even a year wouldn"t be enough. It"s just a dream.

Rejoin society…rejoin society…what exactly counted as rejoining society anyway? Too bad, it all depended on Kyouka-san. No matter how hard Sagiri tried, it didn"t count if my aunt didn"t acknowledge it - but, as long as she acknowledges it —

"Um —"*2

We both tried to think of something. Suddenly, the doorbell rang -

"Izumi-chan ~ I"m here to play ~"

Megumi"s voice came from outside.

A few minutes later -

"So Izumi-chan needs to rejoin society? Is that what your guardian, Kyouka-san said? She was just here? Ah, I see —"

Upstairs, on the corridor next to the locked room, Megumi put her ears to the wall and listened in a weird pose. As soon as it was over, she raised a finger, said:

"It"s like Papakiki all over again." [1]

"I never thought that someday Megumi-sama would made that reference…yeah, that"s a nice one, but do you think that Kyouka-san is a female version of 「younge-uncle」 ?"[2]

"Yup, it"s exactly what I think."

"Don"t be ridiculous. Since when was Papakiki"s「young uncle 」like that?

I don"t mind other details, but this was a major difference.

"Onii-san is like Sora-chan."[3] [note]

"I really want to hit you now."

How many volumes did you read? What"s with that ridiculous comparison?

"Ehehe" Megumi stuck her tongue out "Today Onii-san is all tsun-tsun when I mentioned your aunt, just like a female lead in a light novel. Hmhm ~ maybe it"s true? My woman"s instinct is very accurate."

"Stop raising flags whenever you want! It doesn"t sound like you are joking at all!"

"It"s just a joke, I didn"t mean to look down on Izumi-chan"s situation. Please explain it for me."

Even I have to wonder why I decided to tell her something so important. Before I opened the door, I briefly considered telling her "Now isn"t the time, go home". But instead, I let her in, and told her.

Unbelievable isn"t it? Was that Megumi"s communication skill?

"…Why did I decide to tell you again…"

I was talking to myself, but Megumi pouted:

"Ah ~ I"m sorry, I didn"t mean anything bad." A slight pause "You did that because we"re friends."

"———"

That sudden answer caught me off guard for a moment.

"I will listen carefully, and even if I couldn"t do anything, I won"t tell anyone. And if there is something I can do, I will do." She said, while making a *shhhhh* motion with her finger over her mouth.

"I see…thank you."

"Um."

So…even I was considered Megumi"s friend now…Friend huh…yeah, we became friends without realizing it…

c.r.a.p, I began to feel embarra.s.sed.

"So…."

That was all I could say before a loud *bang* interrupted.

The door swung opened. Behind it was Sagiri, bare-faced, burning with determination.

"Why -"

I knew that for her, inside the room and outside the room were too completely different concepts. A single step outside is enough to nearly drain her dry.

Paled as a ghost, she said:

"Because…I am….friend too…so I have to….myself…."

In my opinion, just those words are enough to count as a pa.s.s.

While I had no evidence, but the fact remained that Sagiri considered Megumi her friend…it was better than before already. I need a way to make Kyouka-san see this result.

"Um..Megumi-chan."

"Yes, Izumi-chan."

"I have something to tell you."

"Yes!" She happily raised a hand.

"But before that…."

"Before that?"

"There was something I"ve been hiding from you."

Her eyes widened in shock. Even I didn"t see this coming at all.

"Sagiri, are you …."

"….Yes." She nodded "Megumi-chan is okay."

She took another step towatds Megumi:

"Before we talk…do you want to hear my secret?"

"A very important secret, right?"

"Yes…very important. I will die if someone aside from my best friend knows about it."

"…I see."

Megumi looked directly at Sagiri"s eyes, then she slapped her own face, and made a funny-looking, battle-ready pose while laughing "I"m done preparing! Go on, Izumi-chan."

Sagiri also laughed "Then I will say it."

"Um um"

"I….I…." She blushed furiously, her eyes turned into >

"Yes, I have known that for a while."

A few minutes later —-

"….hmmmmmmmm"

"Oh my, are you still mad, Izumi-chan?"

"Hm ~ I don"t know any Megumi!"

"You don"t have to be that mad? There were many clues, anyone could figure it out, right Eromanga-sensei ?"

"I don"t know anyone with that name."

Megumi was trying to smooth thing over, while Sagiri just sat there hugging her knees.

The big secret that we tried so hard to hide was revealed before we even had a chance to say it. Based on what she said, Megumi already had a hunch since the time she was asked to be a model - and she knew it already by Christmas. Of course Sagiri wasn"t happy with it, all of her courage was wasted.

"But it"s still a good thing. Megumi didn"t change after learning about your secret."

"Ehehe, of course! How could I hate my friend because of that!" She proudly said

Sagiri looked up, her eyes filled with determination.

"….Do you know that I like ecchi drawings?"

"Yup. I knew it since April, last year."

"Ah, that was my fault." I said.

"……………" She glared at me with a complex expression, before sighing"…You should have told me sooner."

"You"re right."

We wouldn"t have had to hide from our friend for so long.

"Megumi-chan too…if you knew then…say something."
"I wouldn"t. Since you tried to keep it a secret, I wouldn"t say anything either. Besides…I"m happy if Izumi-chan can tell me your secret on your own."

"…I see."

Embarra.s.sed! Embarra.s.sed!

"Then…let"s have a talk."

After that, she told Megumi what we were talking about earlier - still stammering sometimes, but at least she was able to get it out

Hearing her friend"s story, Megumi wondered for a while then looked directly at Sagiri"s eyes, and asked:

"Izumi-chan….this…must be a success, right?"

"Yes. No matter what."

"Then…."

"Megumi, do you have any ideas?"

"I do, actually."

"..Really?" We asked in a hopeful tone. She wagged her finger:

"Come here for a second — *blah blah blah* "

" —-What do you think?"

"!" *2 We both stared at her in shock

"Impossible, Megumi…it"s impossible! We only have ten days left! We won"t make it intime."

"Yes, indeed."

"Then why did you…."

"But this is the only way to make sure you will be acknowledged."

"——–"

"Kyouka-san is a serious woman, right? You two need to convince her that Izumi-chan has successfully rejoined society, don"t you? I think that you need to show her how much Izumi-chan tried, there is no other way."

Megumi"s idea will caus a tremendous pressure for Sagiri, I would have vetoed it under normal circ.u.mstances.

But her reason was solid, this is, after all, Sagiri"s test. But -

I was about to suggest another way —

"…Let"s go with that." My little sister said in a low but determined tone "I don"t know if I can pull this off…but I will do my best."

"Yes, you will."

"Sagiri, are you really alright?"

"….Yes!"

"Okay, don"t push yourself too hard."

If she has decided, then as her elder brother, there is nothing I could do but support her.

Time pa.s.sed - and April 1st arrived. The summer break ended and everyone went back to school.

I"m now in my second year of high school. Sagiri entered her first year of middle school - of course, on paper only.

In the last ten days, Sagiri managed to do two very important things. What were they? The answer will be revealed shortly.

Ten A.M, the door of the Izumi"s house slowly opened, Kyouka-san entered in formal clothing.

"Morning, Masamue-kun. Let"s begin with the Sagiri"s test."

"Yes." I quickly answered.

"Hm? Shoes? There is…someone else in the house?" She asked, looking at the cabinet.

"Yes…but please, pay it no mind."

"Okay." She looked up "So now what? Let me see how Sagiriwill rejoin society."

"Yes. Please wait, Sagiri will show you the effort she made this year."

"Right here?"

It"s understandable that she would be puzzled. Normally Sagiri never left her room when there was someone else in the house - but this time, I called to the second floor.

"Sagiri, you can begin now."

"…Masamue-kun?"

My aunt asked….actually, even I had no idea what will happen next. I knew what Sagiri was about to do, but only heaven knew whether she would have success or not.

I pointed at the stairs, and announced:

"Look…this is how Sagiri will rejoin society!"

"—————-" Seeing "that" happen, her expression stiffened.

With a series of footstep coming from the stairs — Sagiri, showed everyone how hard she tried.

She came down from the second floor, just like when she came to greet me - no, compared to that time, she was paler, her legs was trembling harder, but she kept walking. Not to mention —-

"Sagiri-san, that was…."

My aunt stared in shock. I already knew why, but even I couldn"t help but swallow.

Today she wore a middle school uniform. She was supposed to wear it to go to school with friends  – or not, since she didn"t go to school at all. Oh well, even if she didn"t, thanks to Megumi she did experience the feeling of wearing a uniform - if our parents were alive, if our relations.h.i.+p were better, maybe we would become closer as siblings.

In that moment, I couldn"t but imagine what it would be like "if" things were different - I looked at my little sister, a melancholy feeling rose in my heart.

What would Kyouka-san"s reaction be? I wanted to know, but I couldn"t tear my eyes away from my little sister.

"…..Phew….phew….."

Finally, Sagiri managed to reach us. The distance from her room was only a few meters, but she was breathing hard, her shoulders trembled, and her strength drained. With a pale face, she pushed herself a few more steps toward Kyouka-san

She looked up and greeted:

"Good…good morning."

In an interview, a stammered greeting would mean game over for the partic.i.p.ant, but now that was her best. What would aunt Kyouka"s reaction be?

"….Morning, Sagiri. I"m surprised, you can go out of the room now."

I couldn"t see any hint from her ice-cold expression.

"Just, just a bit."

Sensing that my little sister was about to faint from my aunt"s aura, I quickly added:

"She was training everyday."

This was the result of her ten days long training. My heart was racing when I saw her come to me like this.

"Just a bit…but you could go outside now."

Kyouka-san didn"t say anything else. Her eyes narrowed, like she was angry with something. Sagiri didn"t say anything either, she looked like she could collapse at any moment.

Then, my aunt said:

"And?"

Still not pa.s.sing? It still needed to continue? Was that what you meant? While I did prepare for this situation, my head was clouded with anger for a moment. In that moment, I completely forgot about what she had done for me and nearly let out an outburst —

"Nii-san, there is more.."

Yes. There is more.

"Kyouka-san…this is…all I can do now."

That was the truth. Sagiri could only go to the door. She couldn"t even leave the house.

My aunt nodded, and coldly said "Then it"s the end?"

Sagiri took a deep breath, shook her head

"While…I can"t go outside."

"But…I want to go to school."

Her words were conflicting, but she said it out loud.

Kyouka-san was even more puzzled, and she asked:

"You couldn"t go out…but you want to go to school? What"s that mean?"

In another time, I might have enjoyed the sight when "the Ice Queen" was confused.

"Ma, Masamue-kun, explain! I don"t understand anything!"

"Sagiri was showing her effort this year."

"I knew that she wanted to go to school, but…"

How could she go to school without going out of the house? Not to mention no school opens this early in the year.

"Just like you see, going to school without going outside." I said and blinked, and signaled toSagiri "Just come with me."

"Masamue-kun, is there anyone else in the living room?"

I showed the living room and other souls inside.

"———This is?"

"This is - Sagiri"s cla.s.sroom."

My living room had changed. All furniture was moved aside, replaced by chairs,tables like in school and a blackboard. Of course, there were students too.

Kyouka-san looked at the living room - no, cla.s.sroom in surprise. From our position, our place was at the left side of the door - the place where adults usually sit.

"Please take a good look."

"Masamue-kun, are you messing with me?"

The surprise disappeared from her eyes, and was replaced with coldness. But I can"t show any weakness now.

"That"s not what I meant."

Ten days ago, Megumi"s plan basically came down like this:

Sagiri barely could managed the first, and the second…I thought we couldn"t do it at all. But since no one had any better ideas, we had no choice but to try.

"Please, just watch." I begged and bowed down.

"Alright" She sighed.

"Thank you."

I went to the blackboard and coughed, and said:

"Alright, cla.s.s begin."

I looked at the living room (cla.s.sroom), my eyes stopped at aunt Kyouka, and I said:

"First, all students please introduce yourself."

"Me first me first!" Megumi happily raised her hand, and turned to Kyouka-san, bowed "I"m Jinno Megumi, first year! I"m a cla.s.smate and the cla.s.s rep of Izumi-chan! Pleased to meet you!"

"….Pleased to meet you too."

"To tell the truth, this cla.s.sroom was my idea! Last month, Izumi-chan asked me to find a way!"

"….Asked you? That child asked you?"

"Yes!"

My aunt"s face hardened, her eyes terrified everyone in the room, Megumi included.

"Umm…can I continue?"

"….Please do."

Megumi closed her eyes for a few seconds, when she reopened them, all doubt had disappeared. She said in a tone that drew people in:

"I first met Izumi-chan last year, in April. At first, I came to ask Izumi-chan to go to school. I wanted to become her friend, go to school together, and go to cla.s.s together…that was all I intended to do."

Is that how she controls the flow of a conversation?

"But then I meet Onii-san and speak with Izumi-chan, I know that things aren’t that simple. My teacher said that I shouldn"t rush into anything. Actually, I felt a bit down back then. I thought we could quickly become friends…"

Yeah, that"s how Megumi was.

"Then…many things happened…" She blushed, and looked down.

Yup. Stripped panties are so cute.

Her panties were taken, she read a light novel for the first time, her Christmas party - many things had happened.

"I asked her for a book, we exchanged presents…sometimes she even let me in to talk. Then suddenly last month, she told me about herself…now we are super close!"

She closed her eyes, and raised a finger "Next time, it"s my turn to tell Izumi-chan about my problems!"

Then she sat down with a grin.

After Megumi finished talking, Kyouka-san glared at me. She seemed to have understood the intention of this cla.s.sroom. I nodded slightly and signaled the next student.

"…Next is me."

That was Muramasa-senpai. I didn"t think that she could manage to get a middle school uniform like Sagiri, probably thanks to Elf.

….By the way, since the size was wrong, three of her top b.u.t.ton were unb.u.t.toned…really, this senpai of mine…

"Ma, Masamue-kun, where are you looking at."

"I didn"t see anything! Really! Now isn"t the time."

I immediately rebuked. She quickly covered her chest and turned to Megumi.

"…Jinno….did you purposely get a small uniform for me?"

"Nope! I even asked the girl with the biggest b.r.e.a.s.t.s in my cla.s.s!"

"Kuh….!!!"

Muramasa-senpai blushed, then she turned to Kyouka-san, and elegantly greeted:

"My name is SenjyuMuramasa. I"m Masamue-kun"s friend. My hobby is writing."

That was the first time I saw her speaking in such a polite tone.

"In the near future, I planned to become Sagiri-kun"s sister-in-law…."

I take that back. She still said whatever she wanted.

"…..Are you Sagiri"s friend too?"

"To tell the truth, I"m not sure. But….."

"But? What do you mean?"

"Sometimes she asks me to wear revealing clothes in her room."

"Masamue-kun! What"s the meaning of this!!!"

Senpai! Are you trying to kill me or what? Can you please not say that part?

"Model! She was asked to be a model! She is my senpai, we asked her to be our model!"

"Is that so? What kind of model?"

"Well…I was asked to wear swimsuit…Sagiri-kun happily drew…. Masamue-kun was there too….."

"Masamue-kun? What are you doing when I"m not present?"

It"s not my fault, really! Why are you treating me like a crimeboss?

Oh well, fine, crimeboss is fine too! Fine!

"It was a reference for my novel! I needed to write a scene with lot of girls in swimsuits! All for my novel! For my future story! Is there a problem with that!"

"I absolutely forbid you from writing about that! And we will have a family meeting soon!"

After I took a bunch of shame, finally Muramasa-senpai"s introduction was over. By the way, in volume three there is scene when girls appeared in swimsuits.

"…Sorry…I haven"t finished practicing…I was so nervous."

Senpai sat down full of regret.

Next was Army. Today she changed her hair style again. She was the oldest among us, so she looked like a cosplay foreigner — but it"s cute.

"h.e.l.lo."

"…..You are…."

"America, Kyouka-chin. It has been two years."

My aunt"s eyes narrowed. So those two knew each other. Army is "Sagiri"s mom"s student", of course it"s possible for her to know "father"s little sister". When my father remarried my aunt was one of the loudest voicesagainst that decision.

"I"m taking care of the manga of 「The Cutest Little Sister in the World 」, you can say I"m her co-worker. I bring some of her drawings with me here". She said, while holding a stack of colorful paper.

They were all of the drawing that Eromanga-sensei made, from ill.u.s.tration, private drawing….which included her achievements.

"….Let me take a look." Kyouka-san took them from Army, added "No need to be afraid. While I rarely read those kinds of novels, at least I knew that many people like them. We can"t rate Sagiri"s achievements last year without them."

She looked at all of them. While some could arguably count as ecchi drawings, I still think that we should let her see them all.

Finally, she put them into her bag, and announced "They are worth considering."

Army nodded and sat down. Next to her, another cla.s.smate didn"t looklike she could wait anymore.

"Finally it"s my turn!" Elf yelled and stood up. She was wearing a uniform too, it suited her a lot.

She made a full 360 dramatic turn, then looked at Kyouka-san, and raised her (flat) chest:

"I"m Yamada Elf, Sagiri"s…friend, but sometimse we argue with each other…and we are rivals with the same goal…you can call is「neighbors」."

"Yamada-san lives next door, right?"

"….Kuh" Elf clicked her tongue "Yes. Now I will present to you by intriguing back story."

"There is no need for that, I have investigated it myself, Yamada Elf-sensei."

"Wait wait! I practiced it a lot yesterday! Just let me talk!"

"No need."

"Fine…." Elf was depressed, but she quickly came back to life "Then a short version is like this - what I wanted to say is — this is the test prepared by Sagiri"s home room teacher. All subject included. Masamune, take a look."

I followed and gave my aunt the test. It was part of the plan. In ten days, Sagiri (staying at home, inside her room) took the test and showed that she really was capable of entering middle school. What a surprise, she (although barely) managed to pa.s.s.

I thought that she knew nothing but drawing, but turned out she still studies…Impressive, still trying so hard.

"Just like you see here, Sagiri can enter middle school." Elf proudly announced.

By the way, Chris-aniki suggested that Elf take that test too. If I remember correctly, she got three 0s. The image of that girl was destroyed completely.

My aunt looked at the test, then slowly glared at everyone inside the "cla.s.sroom". Her eyes began with me, then Elf, Muramasa-senpai, Army, Megumi. No one dared to say anything, until Elf finally managed to say:

"You can see that - while each of us has our own reason for being here, we all trying to help Sagiri" She closed an eye, glanced at me, and added "I leave the rest to you, Masamune-sensei."

Nice. Sensei can be used both for "teacher" and "novelist".

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, I turned and walked toward my aunt:

"Kyouka-san, Sagiri didn"t hide in her room this year. She has friends now, friends close enough to steal each other"s panties."

"E-even being close friends is not an excuse to steal my panties!"

"I haven"t forgotten the time when she tricked me to wear a swimsuit!"

Megumi, senpai. Be quiet, please.

Yes. They are all Sagiri"s friends. If we include some people who couldn"t come here, that number is higher.

All of them are close friends. At least, I myself think that this is enough - not because Sagiri is my little sister. For example, if I had to put up with four of them for a year, I probably couldn"t.

Maybe others might not agree, but to me, friendsare a very important, they are a very precious thing.

"Her studiesare good too. Barely pa.s.sing is still pa.s.sing. She could even go out of the room now. You see, she has friends already! Compared to Sagiri in the past that counted as rejoining society already don"t you think so?"

"Ah, I see. So this play is for Sagiri? I see."

She calmly answered. Then with a sigh, she asked:

"Hm…how should I put it…its quiet hard to say…but what exactly does all of this mean?" [4]

I thought I misheard her! I did prepare myself, but I didn"t think that I would hear something so heartless. Our feeling had no effect at all. It"s like from bad to worse.

"….So this is the end?"

…..Actually, I understood that since it"sSagiri"s test, Sagiri herself will have to end this. No choice then, this is our last card to play.

I turned back to the blackboard and then asked outside:

"Now, our newest cla.s.smate will come in."

The door opened, revealingSagiri. At that moment, Kyouka-san knitted her brow.

She stood at the door and tried to come in, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn"t. Her arms and legs were trembling, she looked like she was about to cry - she must be terrified and in a lot of pain.

"….U….u…."

From the moment the training began, Sagiri never managed to finish this last step. Everytime, she would fall before that door. Ten days is only enough to bring her to everyone, not going outside.

But even so, I didn"t stop her. Sagiri herself said she would try her best, so I could only watch in silence.

At this moment, she looked up at me. Biting her lips, with teary eyes, she took the first step. And another. In that moment, she reached the highest achievement until now.

"………..Oh…"

Seeing Sagiri holding back her tears made me so worried.

"…Phew….phew…."

I can"t drag this out. The longer it is, the harder for her. I tried to remain calm and announced:

"Finally, everyone, let"s celebrate the first time Izumi Sagiri goes to school!"

I pattedSagiri"s shoulder. Elf. Army. Megumi. Muramasa-senpai. Even Kyouka-san was clapping.

" ~~~~~ Ack…that.."

She was blus.h.i.+ng and breathing hard. Maybe standing here made her nervous. Normally, just going out of the locked room is already hard enough, it"s untestable she would be that way.

But no one, not a single soul laughed at her. Even the bigmouth Elf said nothing, waiting patiently. The cla.s.sroom felt so peaceful.

"…Th-thank you, everyone…thank you very much."

Her words were filled with many, many emotions.

"I, I…was always unable to go to school. I couldn"t…go out of my room….in two years…I was troubling Nii-san."

She put a hand over her chest, and said what was on my mind:

"But, Nii-san said…it"s okay…it"s fine if I don"t go to school…I shouldn"t push myself…even if I can"t go out…I"m his precious little sister."

Hm? Wait, how could she knew about my conversation with Megumi — Hey, did you tell her? You dare to break our promise? I will give you a perverted punishment! I will really do it!

Seeing my anger, Megumi hastily waved her hand, denied: It"s a mistake! I still kept my promise. I didn"t tell anyone!

Then how could Sagiri know? d.a.m.n, it"s so embarra.s.sing! So d.a.m.n embarra.s.sing! She knew now!

The voice of Sagiri pulled me back to reality.

"I"m very happy."

Tears started to overflow

"Really, really happy…back then…I doidn"t know what to do…I felt that I was so useless…I felt that I only…only did what I wanted to."

Make live videos. Drawing ill.u.s.trations online —

"All of that was fun…but it"s meaningless for Izumi Sagiri…no one see her at all"

They only saw Eromanga-sensei.

"…It was very lonely." She cried "But…Nii-san…showed me a dream…he said…to make it together."

She glanced sideway at me.

All of that wasn"t part of the script - originally, Sagiri"s line wasn"t that long, so even I was a bit confused. But I can"t hide here - my little sister tried so hard to say it, so it must be important. I needed to be here.

"And then…suddenly…and then…."

She put her pure white hand over her red face, closed her eyes, and yelled from the top of her lungs:

"Nii-san said….he liked me!"

"Eh? Eh?"

Why are you talking about that now?

"He even said…he liked me since our first meeting."

"Heyyyyyyy!????"

What kind of messed up script was that!? Sagiri….did you even think about what you just said? That was something I said to you in private, but now, when repeated to someone else, do you understand what they would think? I only said that because I didn"t think it through!

" ————————"

See!? While Elf and Muramasa-senpai could be called "normal", Army, Megumi and Kyouka-san looked like they wanted to say "is this guy serious!?"

The heck? How could this happen to me? Why did "greeting in a new cla.s.s" turn into this? What was my little sister trying to do?

I looked at Sagiri, crying. She clenched her hands, and then…

"….Me too."

Her tone was very small, but it hit me like a truck. My head was thrown into chaos.

"Wh, wh, what?"

"…Me too! I like him too! Just like he likes me, I like him the most!" Still crying, she leaned forward and confessed to me.

Both she and I blushed madly, our faces couldn"t get any redder!

"So, I want to try harder with you! I want to …try together! I want to live with you! That"s why I toldKyouka-san!"

"Because…me too….together…is good."

That was what she said, what I didn"t hear back then.

Still blus.h.i.+ng, Sagiri turned to Kyouka-san, said:

"…While I can"t go outside now…while it"s all I can do now…but there will be a day that I can go out, can go to school! Can fulfill our dream!"

In the past, Sagiri could never say it like this.

"And then…and then…"

The next part was spoken in a very low tone, so I couldn"t hear her anymore. By her mouth"s motion, my guess was she said "reach our dream", that"s all.

"Please! Please….just a little more time!"

This is the end. Sagiri has done everything she could. If even that didn"t work, we were finished!

We were waiting for Kyouka-san"s reaction. The atmosphere was unbearable, ten seconds felt like an hour.

Without changing her expression, "Ice Queen" knitted her brow, and looked at Sagiri:

"…You two really are something. What can I say to you?"

"——————–"

I felt a hint of despair. My aunt said "hmm",

"Don"t make that expression. It"s not like I like to torment you or anything."

An unimaginable pressure surrounded me. She waved a finger at my face, and added:

"Kuh….there was something I didn"t say earlier, so listen well. On this test, the condition for pa.s.sing is 「Even if she has to drag herself step by step, Sagiri has to meet me outside of her room. 」."

"….Yes?"

"As long as she can do that, Sagiri pa.s.ses."

"…That…that means?"

So your "so this play is for Sagiri"didn"t mean not enough, rejected —–

"Of course she pa.s.sed. She pa.s.sed the moment I met her at the entrance."

——- We pa.s.sed without that play?

"A play which is both ridiculous and naïve, a very child-like play. Good, that"s how a child should be." She nodded, but glared "But you went overboard. Who forcedSagiri to go through this? It was too much for her!"

"Who…"

You asked? Why are you angry for?

"You, you are."

"Me? When?"

"You said 「and? 」and 「Then it"s the end? 」! You are like a demon!"

"I was about to say 「pa.s.s 」."

Are you kidding me? Your aura basically said 「I will fail you all! Prepare yourself! 」. You were like a final boss."

"Look like we had a very big misunderstanding…after 「that time 」, do you think that I didn"t reflect on my actions?"

And just like a final boss, the pressure I felt from her increased. I could even see black wind coming from behind her.

"After that time…not only did I not reflect on a mistake, I did not listen to the doctor"s advice regarding you two, cruelly oppressed Sagiri - do you think of me as some kind of tyrant, a heartless guardian?"

Yes I do. Of course, I don"t have the b.a.l.l.s to say it right, but…my expression probably said it anyway.

"—————————"

Creakkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

What a terrifying teeth-grinding. Absolutely terrifying! Am I going to die!?

"I finally ~~~~~ know what you think ofme!!! ………….. Masamue-kun……..I hate you the most!!!" My aunt started to cry.

….Is this my fault? She never tried to give me trouble? I couldn"t even believe my eyes, could it be that she really cared for us?

"So, sorry. Sometime I cause people to misunderstand me…"

With a depressed expression, she wiped her tears and smiled with Sagiri

"Alright then…you have tried your best, Sagiri."

Seeing her (somewhat) twisted smile…I finally felt at ease. Sagiri probably would agree too.

"……..Hah…"

And then, my little sister dropped on the floor with a satisfied smile.

[1] Also known asPapa_no_Iu_Koto_o_Kikinasai (), a light novel about a guy who lives together with his three (non-blood related) nieces.

[2]「おいたん」: The main character of Papakiki, SegawaYuuta () , was called that by his youngest niece, which is an incorrect form of Ojitan (uncle)

[3] The oldest niece among Yuuta"s, who also had some non-family feeling toward her uncle

[4] I have to agree here, what the heck does that mean anyway? Heartless? What the h.e.l.l with you Masamune?