In Japan, texting isn’t done via sms phone numbers. It’s done by email. Hence exchanging addresses is sort of like exchanging mobile numbers, except that you aren’t given their call number, only their text ‘number’ so to say.

---

Akizawa-kun’s innocent smile awaited me at cram school.

Compared to that black duo, Akizawa-kun’s smile is like a polar opposite.
Aah, he’s so soothing…

“What’s wrong, Kisshouin-san? You seem kind of tired.”

“Yes, well, various things happened, you see.”

Right. Various things.

I was supposed to be living in a way that bothered Emperor as little as possible, but to think that I would be nominated as gopher.
What the heck are you doing, me?

“I see. Are you okay?”

No, I’m not okay at all.
But I can’t get the untainted Akizawa-kun wrapped up in it.

“If I fail my mission, please pray for my well-being in the afterlife…”

“Huh?”

To begin with, even if I asked Aira-sama the questions that Emperor gave me, would she even answer?
Aira-sama treats me more closely than others, but would she go as far as to answer questions like that?
But if she won’t answer, then what the heck will happen to me?
Will I be yelled at and called a useless gopher?
Well, if it’s just that much, I don’t really care.
Being the woman hated by Kaburagi Masaya would leave me in a precarious position at school though.
Or rather, I was designated as spy in front of all the kids who were in the salon at the time, so won’t they all know that I’m a gopher now?
…The day that my in-school position falls might be sooner than expected.
Aahh, the bad possibilities keep on growing.

“Hey, Kisshouin-san. Wanna eat these?”

“Eh-”

Akizawa-kun took out individually-wrapped financiers.

“My mum gave me these in case I got hungry. Eating sweet things might improve your mood.”

After saying those words, Akizawa-kun smiled at me.

A-, AKIZAWA-KUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!

What a good kid. You’re an angel!
It’s like heaven and earth when compared to those two.
I’m so glad that I became your friend!

“Thanks, Akizawa-kun!”

After eating his financiers, I really did feel better.
I even thought that it might be okay to share my treasured kinakomochi flavoured Tirolian chocolates with him.

*imouto*

*imouto*

And so finally, the day of English school arrived.
Ever since that day, I’ve been avoiding the salon. But today, the moment that I stepped out of the classroom to leave school, I found Emperor standing in the hallway giving me a ‘You get it, right…?’ look with his eyes, so as the spy that I was, I replied ‘Yes, of course!’ with my eyes as well, and immediately headed to the shoe rack.
Honestly, now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to keep my head down and play the gopher.

After my English class finished, I waited anxiously for Aira-sama’s arrival.
I already let my chauffeur know to come a little later, so things were fine in regards to when I’d be leaving, but the problem was what time Aira-sama would be coming.
If she came just as class started, then we wouldn’t have any time to talk.
As you’d expect, I wouldn’t be able to just wait here until her classes finished.
Please, Aira-sama. Come quickly.

Perhaps the heavens were on my side, because Aira-sama appeared almost right afterwards.

“Aira-sama!”

“My, it’s Reika-san. Gokigen’yoh.”

Aah, Aira-sama, thank goodnesss…

“Um, the truth is, there is in fact something I wish to ask you, Aira-sama!”

“Hm? Ask me?”

I didn’t want anybody else to hear, so we ended up chatting on the landing of the staircase.

“The truth is, it is about Yurie-sama.”

“Yurie?”

Aira-sama’s expression turned puzzled.

“Y-, Yes. Um, just how angry at Kaburagi-sama is Yurie-sama? And when is it that she intends on forgiving him?”

There wasn’t any time so I just cut right to the chase, but Aira-sama’s expression turned more and more suspicious.

“And why would you want to know about Yurie and Masaya, Reika-san? Enough that you came out of your way to ask me.”

Well yeah, that is pretty suspicious.
When I’m not close to Kaburagi at all, I went and stuck my nose in their business, so Aira-sama’s reaction was natural.
I wonder if I seem like some nosy onlooker to her.

“I don’t know why you’re asking, but if you’re prying into this on a whim, you’ll make Masaya angry, you know?”

I’ve already made him angry.
And I’m doing this at Kaburagi Masaya’s direction.
Should I just try telling her the truth?
But if I do, there’s no way she would give information to Stalker Kaburagi’s underling.
Mm~mm…

Seeing me fall silent as I agonised over it, Aira-sama narrowed her eyes.

“Could it be that Masaya said something to you?”

Goodness!
How did you know!
Could it be that Aira-sama can read minds just like Emperor!?

“Em, umm…”

But should I just come clean? Or should I struggle to keep up my act?

“Ah, mn. Got it. It’s probably just Masaya telling you to ask about Yurie, right?”

That’s exactly it!
You’re amazing, Aira-sama. How did you see through everything!?

“Looks like he hasn’t reflected at all. I wonder if he even understands why Yurie was angry. You can just ignore what Masaya has to say, or so I’d like to say, but you’re in a spot where you can’t do that, right?”

“Yes. Exactly right.”

I nodded up and down.

“Alright. I’ll ask Yurie for you. As for how angry she is, tell him that threatening unwilling people and working them hard for his own matters like this will just get her even angrier.”

“That is…”

…definitely not something a coward like me could say.

“Huhu, but my class is about to start, and I’ll only be able to ask Yurie after I come home, so… Naturally, next week’s English tutorial would be too late, right?”

“I cannot say for certain, but probably…”

Given that he couldn’t even wait until ‘the day after next’ I can’t imagine that he’d be able to wait until ‘next week’.

“Got it. Then, Reika-san, do you have a mobile?”

I don’t have many chances to use it, but it has a GPS with it, so it’s more like a crime deterrent.
That’s why when I go to the convenience store during cram school, I naturally leave it in the classroom for alibi purposes.

“Well then, let’s exchange addresses. Once I have a talk with Yurie, I’ll send you an email.”

“Can we really!?”

Oohhh, to think that I would get Aira-sama’s address!

The truth is, Aira-sama sports an androgenous short haircut, so around here, she’s even more popular than the boys are.
There are plenty of girls who seem like they’re even in love with Aira-sama, and some of them have bewitching fantasies about the beautiful princess Yurie-sama and her gallant knight Aira-sama.

…And I’m also one of the girls who secretly admire Aira-sama!
That’s right! The one that I admire isn’t Emperor. It’s the Peony Knight, Aira-sama!
So don’t get so cocky, you damned tyrant duo!

Or so I was thinking, but there’s no way a coward like me could ever say it to their faces, so it’s more like the rant of a loser but…
Anyway, that doesn’t matter.
For now, it looks like I’ve been able to follow my directives.
After all, it looks like Aira-sama is going to help me out because she understands my circumstances.
What’s more, I even gained her email address as an unexpected reward, so I’m feeling completely pleased right now.
Now then, shall I go home?
Today Oniisama is going to be late due to prep studies isn’t he. Tsk~ That’s no fun.
I wonder if he’ll make time for me tomorrow.
Lala, la~

*imouto*

*imouto*

Watching me walking out of the English class elated with my worries gone, was a boy in front of a black car, standing with his arms folded. Kaburagi Masaya.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

I, Kisshouin Reika, have been appointed by His Majesty the Emperor, the role of ‘spy’, or in other words, gopher.

*imouto*

*imouto*

After that, the Emperor drove everybody else out from the salon, leaving me, Emperor and Enjou, at which point the strategy meeting began.

“First of all, what did you hear from Aira?”

Uuu, his glare is so scary…
I wanna run away.

“L-, Like I said, that Yurie-sama wishes to rake you over the coals…”

“Why did you hear something like that from Aira?”

“When we met by chance at the English tutoring school, Aira-sama a-, asked about you, K-, Kaburagi-sa, ma, and I replied that you did not seem well, at which point she informed me of Yurie-sama’s feelings.”

Scary, so scary. Please don’t glare at me~
Also I ended up using his name for the first time to his face.
Because I was so nervous, I bit my tongue.
Please, somebody just save me already~

“The hell do you think you’re doing, casually spreading rumours about others?”

Quite right, Your Majesty.
Anybody would be unhappy if people talked about them behind their back.
I… might be done for, even before I meet the protagonist…

“Now, now. Don’t intidimate her so much. You’re scaring her.”

‘Right?’, asked Enjou with a smile.
Can I trust that smile?

“Shaddup, Shuusuke.”

“To begin with, right now pretty much the whole school is talking about you, right? Right, Kisshouin-san?”

Please don’t look to me.
Because even if I agreed with you, there’s no way I’d be able to say it.
Even if it’s the truth.

“Shuusuke, you bastard…”

“Masaya, you want information on Yurie too, right? Then instead of threatening her, request it of her properly. Well, if it’s Aira, then I could ask for you though.”

Yes, yes please, please do.
And even a second earlier, please liberate me from this place.

“No. Aira definitely wouldn’t tell you. I’ll use this woman instead.”

“Aah, that might be right. Then, Kisshouin-san, can we ask this of you? Specifically, we want to know how angry Yurie-sama is, for example, or when she plans on forgiving him perhaps. Masaya, is there anything else?”

“…Whether or not Yurie even plans on forgiving me.”

“Hm~mm, well Yurie herself said that she just wanted to rake you over the coals, so I don’t think she’s cutting you off. If you convey to her that you’ve really been reflecting, she might forgive you.”

“I SEE!”

He suddenly got livelier.
This guy… isn’t he surprisingly simple?
GYAH-, I’m sorry for being cheeky! I’m sorry!
Don’t glare at mee~
I’m starting to think Emperor really can read minds.

“Alright! You there. When’s your next English class?”

“I have one the day after tomorrow.”

“The heck. Isn’t that still ages? Better that you go there right now and ask Aira for me.”

Don’t ask for the impossible.

“If Yurie founds out that you’ve been overbearing again, she’ll get even angrier, you know? In this case, you should quietly wait out these two days.”

“!! I see. It’d be bad if she got any angier.”

As soon as Yurie-sama’s name appears, Emperor listens obediently.
He really is simple.

“And that’s how it is. We’ll be relying on you, Kisshouin-san.

~smiiile~

It doesn’t matter what I have to say? Is that how it is?

“You there! What was your name again?”

“It is Kisshouin Reika…”

You’re asking after all this time? Not that I mind.

“Alright! Kisshouin! Become a splendid spy, and fulfil your duties!”

“Hah…”

What ‘spy’. I’m just a gopher, aren’t I.

Completely energised again, perhaps he was hungry now, because Emperor went to get sweets.

“He’s not a ridiculously arrogant person or anything.” Who was it that said this? It was me.
You really have no eye for people, me~
If this isn’t ‘ridiculously arrogant’, then just what on earth is?
Why is it that even though we’ve pretty much never spoken before, and even though he doesn’t even know my name, he uses me this much like it’s natural?
Should I just tell Aira-sama, and have her snitch to Yurie-sama?
‘He’s been threatening a helpless girl into being his gopher,’ she could say.
…Nonono, don’t do anything desperate now.
If you do that, you’ll be killed, one hundred percent. Yes. Absolutely.

“Try your best, okay? Kisshouin-san. If you succeed, your adored Masaya will be grateful.”

“I don’t particularly adore him or anything…”

Because of the ridiculous treatment, I accidentally muttered a bit as my real self.
Any adoration I had for Emperor was cleanly left behind in my old life.
Yeah, I adored a 2d character and I was a bit of an embarrassing girl. Problem?
Right now ‘Emperor’ is synonymous with ‘destruction’ for me, so I haven’t an atom of adoration for him.

“Oh? Really? I mean, I notice you looking at him a lot. That’s why I thought that you liked him too. I mean, look, all your friends loiter around us too.”

What a way of putting things. And what’s more, he noticed my secret observation.

“The two of you are quite conspicuous, and so I could not help but look your way. If I have troubled you by doing so, I apologise. I shall pay more attention henceforth.”

For now, what I need to do first is pull myself together.
Now that I’m not under Emperor’s glare, the lion big cat in my heart has returned.
As if I would lose to Enjou on his own.

“Well then, if this is all that you have to say, I shall take my leave. Gokigen’yoh.”

I want to leave this demon’s lair as quickly as possible.
I want to sprint full speed out of this place with my tail between my legs.

“Yeah, goodbye. Take care, okay?”

Enjou gave me a gentle wave.

As I was leaving, Emperor spotted me as he nibbled on a biscuit and said,

“YEAH! Gopher, make sure to do your job!”

So he even called me a gopher in the end…
Wasn’t I supposed to be a spy! Jeez.

*imouto*

*imouto*

The mouth is the mother of all calamities.
Honestly, I think I’m about to cry. About all sorts of things.
It’s said that in all times and places, spies that failed their mission were disposed of by their organisations.
Will tomorrow bring me success or failure?

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

---

TL note: Again, gokigen’yoh is a veeeeery traditional, feminine greeting. So dated and ojousama-esque that the average Japanese person will never hear it said in real life. Well, I say ‘average’ because it really depends on the circles you run in…

Think, ‘I bid you bonjour’ and ‘I bid you adieu’ for all greetings, except, you know, not French.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

I became a 4th year, and it was around the time that the weather was starting to grow warm that it happened.

A boy from another school confessed to Yurie-sama.
The news arrived just as school ended, and Kaburagi Masaya was in the Petite Pivoine salon. I had been killing time in the salon to wait for my lessons to begin, so I was present to witness the moment that a human transformed into the devil.
Enjou chased after Kaburagi who had made a mad dash out of the salon, leaving the rest of us who were left behind, wondering if it was okay to talk about it. After some silently exchanged glances, it seemed that we all decided just to wait it out and see.

The result was that the student from the other school was instantly taken down by the sprinting Emperor. The Emperor had Yurie-sama board his car, and the two of them rode off, leaving the boy behind on the floor.

Ever since that day, in order to exterminate every boy who approached Yurie-sama, Emperor would always go to and from school with her in the Kaburagi’s car. Even when he wasn’t with her he had middle school students affiliated with the Kaburagi family standing watch in class, and even during Yurie-sama’s lessons, he would try to spend as long as possible with her.

His Majesty the Emperor, the idol of all the girls, had become a splendid stalker in the making.

If it continued like that, naturally even Yurie-sama would feel suffocated by it. Even if it was just the clinginess of a cute little brother, she still had a limit to her patience.
And naturally, Yurie-sama eventually got angry at him, and partially to have him reflect, she declared that he was forbidden from approaching her.

Well, yeah. I mean, now that she’s in her second year of middle school, naturally she’d want to hang out with her friends after school once in a while, and there’d be times when she’d want to be by herself too.
Think about it; keeping watch 24-hours a day, sticking to you like glue, and on top of all that, growling like a mad dog the moment a guy approaches you.
Far from blaming her, I take my hat off to Yurie-sama for putting up with it for as long as she did.

And now, with Yurie-sama angry at him and having forbidden him to approach her, Emperor is down in the dumps.
He’s just like a wilted plant.

He’s not a ridiculously arrogant person or anything, but he normally has this confidence, and this regal aura like the world belongs to him. And today it was nowhere to be seen.
With dead fish eyes and a hunched over back, what he wore was the aura of a loser.
Apparently even Enjou didn’t have a way to revive this shell of a person, and he was just watching over from the side, helplessly.

Perhaps they didn’t want to get wrapped up in his bad mood, because for a while now, the salon has had less people than before.
Certainly, it’s what a wise person would do.
But as the careless person that I am, I thoughtlessly opened the door to the salon today, looking for sweets.
Even thoughtlessness should have its limits…

I had comrades in my thoughtlessness, so we quietly had tea together.
Today’s tea is a black tea that the British royal family uses.
The ginger cookies of the same brand are sweet. Aah, so yummy.
But lately, maybe because I quit swimming school, but I get the feeling that I’m getting a little round…
I’ve heard that your fat cells multiply during puberty.
And apparently those fat cells don’t disappear all your life. How horrific.
I’d better be careful…
I think I’ll have just one more of these yummy ginger cookies.

“I’m done for…”

I think I just heard something that I wasn’t meant to.

“Yurie won’t even pick up the phone…”

Even after all that’s happened, he’s still been persistently calling her?
Even though that’d just get her more mad…

“Yurieee…”

With his head in his hands like that, he’s the very picture of a useless husband whose wife has run away from him.
I can’t watch this any longer.

I know what Yurie-sama is actually thinking.

The truth is at the English school that I’ve been attending since April, Aira-sama shares the same classroom as me.
When my lesson finishes, Aira-sama’s begins, so we have chances to meet.
And the other day, Aira-sama told me about her best friend, Yurie-sama.

According to Aira-sama, Yurie-sama didn’t think Emperor’s excessiveness was good for his future, so she was keeping him away in hopes that he would reflect on his selfishness and grow.
Apparently just “raking him over the coals a little”.

I think those coals are just a little too hot though.

Emperor doesn’t think of Yurie-sama as an older sister. Even though it’s obvious to everyone that he’s the very picture of a boy in love, has Yurie-sama really not noticed?
Wondering that, I asked Aira-sama, but apparently Aira-sama didn’t know either.
“She probably has noticed Masaya’s feelings, but maybe she’s reluctant to acknowledge them because it would ruin their relationship~ Yurie herself can only see Masaya as a little brother after all.”

From an Oneesama in her second year of middle school, it probably would be pretty hard to do something as cruel as rejecting a little 4th grader and forcing him to see reality.
You sure have it tough, huh, Emperor.
Ah, speaking of which, in the manga he also had his heart broken by Yurie-sama, and ended up tattered as well, didn’t he.
I had no idea that he was this bad from this age though.

While I was spacing out and thinking about that, perhaps his beastly instincts noticed, because Emperor suddenly glared my way.
Geh-, this is bad.

“Oi. You there.”

“Y-, Yes?!”

Awawah, this is bad.
I stepped on the tail of a wounded tiger!

“If there’s something you wanna say, then say it.”

“S-, Something I wish to say?”

Something I want to say, something I want to say… What the heck do I want to say?
Aah, the fear is sending me into a panic.

“U-, Umm, apparently Yurie-sama wants to rake you over the coals a little!”

“HAHH…?”

UU HYOHHH! MY TONGUE SLIPPPEDDD!!

“Why do you know something like that?”

“I, I HEARD FROM AIRA-SAMAAA!”

AIRA-SAMA, I’M SORRY!

“Aira? You’re close with Aira?”

“We go to the same English tutor!”

“English tutor… I see.”

Emperor started to mutter to himself as he thought about something, but then he suddenly looked up and stared right at me.
And his eyes were filled with power, like the cicada-shell-man from earlier was a lie.

“Alright. You. From now on you’re my spy on Aira.”

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?

 

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Autumn was busy as usual with the Athletics Meet and the Learning Presentation, you see. Emperor who was the anchor for the baton relay, managed the shocking achievement of pulling the class from last place to 1st place, so it’s been really noisy with the squealing of the girls.

*imouto*

*imouto*

“It was a shame about your class wasn’t it, Akizawa-kun.”

Akizawa-kun’s class had been 1st place until Emperor overtook them.
What’s more, Akizawa-kun was the anchor.

“We were up against Kaburagi-kun so it can’t be helped. Maybe it might have been different if Enjou-kun had joined in though.”

The truth is, Akizawa-kun and Enjou are actually in the same class.
This time Enjou injured his leg before the Athletics Meet or something, so he couldn’t participate in the baton relay or any of the other main events.

“But you were the anchor, so you are fast too, aren’t you. As I recall, you participated last year as well, did you not?”

“I only got chosen as the anchor right as it started though, thanks to Enjou-kun’s injury. But running isn’t a bad feeling. When we enter the middle school section, I want to join the track and field club.”

“Oh, I see.”

I haven’t thought as far as middle school yet.
To begin with, I guess there isn’t anything I want to particularly do. Maybe if I had to say something, then eating a lot of cheap sweets?
Uu-… I’m talking about myself here, but it’s pretty bad…

“You were part of the ball-toss game, right, Kisshouin-san?”

“Yes. I was first place.”

Since ball-tossing was something he could do even with a busted leg, Enjou joined in. Though, with him there, the girls in his class were more interested in getting close to him than the ball-tossing, and a whole different kind of competition began. Because of that, Akizawa-kun’s class did really badly.
Giving all that a small glance, I diligently continued to toss the balls into the nets, and turned into a ball-tossing machine.
Since I’m not all that great with sports I wouldn’t have been able to help in the other events, so I had just wanted to try my best in ball-tossing at least.
I’m more than satisfied with 1st place in ball-toss.

“For a while after the Athletics Meet, all these girls kept barging into Kaburagi-kun’s class to see him, didn’t they? The uproar was really intense, huh? Apparently Kaburagi-kun got angry in the end though.”

“Indeed.”

But that uproar is an annual occurence.
Girls are always in an uproar around Kaburagi Masaya, but after events like athletics meets, the magnitude is on a different level.
And he flips out each year as well, so I kind of think they should just learn their lesson already, but apparently a maiden in love can’t be stopped.

“The uproar on each Valentine’s Day is also a sight to see, isn’t it.”

“Yeah, that was pretty crazy too! There was even a line of girls in the corridor waiting to give him chocolates, and it ended up as this mountain on his table, you know? Wow, it was crazy~ Someone like me only gets chocolate from Mum, Oneechan and my childhood friend.”

“I understand. I too, only gave chocolates to Otousama and Oniisama.”

Starting two years ago, I started giving handmade chocolates to Otousama and Oniisama.
This year Oniisama tried to be polite about it and told me “It must have been difficult for you to make it yourself, so just buying me chocolate is fine, okay?” but how could there possibly be too much time or effort for my beloved Oniisama!
And what’s more, this year has the all-important exams for the high school section, so I stuffed my prayers for his success into the chocolate as well, along with my love for him.
And Oniisama seemed to find it delicious too, so I’m super pleased.
Since he seemed so happy about it, I’ll definitely try my best next year as well.

“Oh? You didn’t give Kaburagi-kun any chocolate, Kisshouin-san?”

“Eh-? Why would I?”

What the heck? What a disturbing idea.

“No, I mean, I thought for sure that you were in love with him too.”

“Definitely not.”

I accidentally gave a blunt denial.
This isn’t a joke. Just who the heck would pursue such a dangerous romance.

“I see. Ah-, could it be that it’s Enjou-kun?”

“That is also not the case.”

Um, seriously though. Why are those two the only choices?
To begin with, I don’t like popular people.
Looking at them objectively they’re certainly cool, but if they’re so popular there’s gunna be too many rivals, and it’s just scary.

Mm~mm… But ‘romance’, huh…?

Thinking about it, I’ve never had a crush on anybody in this world. Maybe it’s still too early for me.
In my old life, my first love was my older cousin, wasn’t it.

Geh-! Aren’t I just like Ririna then?
But I don’t think I was such a troublesome child…

If I remember correctly, we went kite-flying on new years and he played with me, so I liked him because he was kind to me.
The fact that he wasn’t rowdy like the boys in my grade gave him a lot of points.

In my old life, when I was in primary school the boys in my grade would do stuff like play hockey with the broom sticks and accidentally hit girls with the ball, or have milk-chugging competitions (which I still don’t understand), or steal the sweets that I brought with me on excursions and even tell me “It’s cause you keep eating stuff like this that you’re a fatty, you knooow!” as they walked off with them, so they really were just a bunch of idiots.
What do you mean ‘fatty’, you stupid brats! My size at the time wasn’t ‘fat’ yet, it was ‘plump’!
I was just a bit round.
When it snowed, I packed some snow into a rock of a snowball and pegged it at those fools. And then immediately hid. They were super mad because they didn’t know who did it. Serves them right.

Thanks to that, although there aren’t any big idiots like that in Zui’ran, thanks to the shining presences of Kaburagi and Enjou in our grade, unfortunately the impressions left by the other boys in our grade are weak.
Although I think once we get a bit older and their own individuality starts to bloom, there’ll be a few other popular guys in their own right.
Endure until then, unfortunate boys.

But still, kind boys, huh?
When it comes to boys who are kind, I know basically Oniisama and…

I stared at Akizawa-kun next to me.

“Eh-? What?”

Akizawa-kun is a nice kid too, isn’t he.
At cram school he’ll talk to me without reserve, and I get the feeling that I’m more myself around him than when I’m with any of the girls at school.
And the other day when I was going home, he opened the door for me. He’s a gentleman.
His face and brown hair remind me of a squirrel, so he’s cute.

“Um, Kisshouin-san? Did I do something?”

“No, nothing of the sort.”

I smiled to blow things over.

Akizawa-kun is a kind and very good kid, but for some reason I can only think of him as a ‘good friend’.
‘Friendzone’. I think I can kind of see his future──

Having no idea of the stupid things I was thinking about, Akizawa-kun took out the learning materials with a smile.
…Sorry, Akizawa-kun.

---

<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Uh, in Japanese you don’t need to say ‘I’, ‘I’, for every little thing. They only occasionally use it. For that reason, even when mothers refer to themselves as Okaachan or sisters refer to themselves as Oneechan or this little girl here refers to herself as Riri, it’s nowhere near as annoying as in English.

How it sounds in JA: Riri went to the shops today. (I) saw a great big bear, and (I) thought to (my)self, wouldn’t this be perfect in Riri’s room?

How it sounds in EN: Riri went to the shops today. Riri saw a great big bear, and Riri thought to herself, wouldn’t this be perfect in Riri’s room?

And so, like I’ve done in Tilea’s worries and other translations, I’m just going to go halfway. You’ll get used to it in no time, I swear. >_>

---

Summer break is a gathering of troublesome relatives.
Naturally they bring children, or rather, sometimes I think children is all they have, but amongst the children is my natural enemy.

“Taka-niisama~ I’ve missed you!”

Hugging my Oniisama was the daughter of my father’s younger sister, and a girl 1 year my junior, Kotou Ririna.
In other words, my cousin.

“Riri’s wanted to meet you allll this time, but Taka-niisama, why didn’t you ever come visit me?”

“I was busy with school, you see.”

“Ehhh~ But Riri wanted to meet you! In exchange, stay with Riri for all of today! Okay?”

…

“Yeah. With Reika too, okay?”

Ririna finally looked this way after 100% ignoring me all this time.

“Ahh, Reika-san. So you were here.”

“Gokigen’yoh, Ririna-san.”

Of course I was. Right next to Oniisama!
Didn’t you purposefully push me away when you ran to hug Oniisama?

Damnitt~ This girl isn’t cute at all!

Ririna’s an only child, and she apparently wants an Oniisama, so she’s always been clingy with my Oniisama.
Incidentally, she apparently doesn’t need an Oneesama (me).
Hmph!

“Hey, Taka-niisamaa. Let’s have a chat over there. Riri has plenty of things she wants to tell you.”

With that, she pulled my Oniisama away.
With Oniisama taken away, I was suddenly by myself.

Endure it, endure it. I’m an adult. I’m an adult.
It’s childish getting angry over a little girl’s selfishness.
It’s only for today after all, so it doesn’t matter. I’ll lend him to you.
My Oniisama!

“Reika, you come too.”

Oniisama turned his head to call for me.

Waa~hh, Oniisamaa!

The enemy skilfully chose a two-seater sofa and secured the position next to Oniisama.
The topic of conversation is nothing but Ririna’s bragging.
About where she went, the various things she bought, how she was praised at a recital…
And the kind Oniisama listened to her with a smile.

“Honestly, Riri wished she went to the same school as you, Oniisama. Then we could have been together.”

One of the requirements for the Zui’ran primary section is living somewhere less than an hour commute away, so Ririna couldn’t get in.
Honestly, I’m relieved about that. I’d absolutely hate to go to the same school as her.

After that, Ririna’s boasting continued.
While completely ignoring my existence.

When I first met Ririna, I was thinking of getting along with my younger cousin.
But the moment she saw me, she registered me as an obstacle and enemy, so I gave up on getting along before long.
Aahh, I got completely ignored and refused.
At the very least I don’t respond when she picks a fight, but I can’t stop the sparks silently flying between our eyes.

With his gentle and refreshing looks, and his gentle personality as well, naturally Oniisama is popular amongst the other children amongst our relatives as well.
Children steadily started gathering around him, and Ririna’s mood took a nosedive.
She started glaring in every direction.
Amongst them were distant relatives in middle and high school, who were Ririna’s biggest rivals.
There were those who genuinely dreamt of Oniisama, but some of them might have also been spurred on by their parents, because they looked like they were aiming to become the wife of the Kisshouin heir.

“Takateru-sama, it has been a while. Do you remember me?”

“Of course I do, Kasumi-san.”

“I’ve looked forward to meeting you as well, Takateru-sama.”

“I see. Thank you very much, Maya-sama. It seems you’re doing well.”

“Hey! I was talking to Taka-niisama! Don’t butt in!”

Ririna clung to Oniisama’s arm and barked at them.

“I see you’re the same as always, Ririna-san. Don’t trouble Takateru-sama so much.”

“Huh! There’s no way that Riri is troubling Taka-niisama! Taka-niisama loves Riri! Don’t say whatever you want! Go away already!”

Ririna became really irritated.
In the end they could have just ignored it as the nonsense of a child, but everybody was more or less troubled by her normally selfish behaviour and many found it irritating. Given how often Ririna tries to monopolise the precious Oniisama, she often butts heads with the older girls who don’t back down.

“Takateru-sama, there is some summer homework that I don’t understand. Could you please teach me?”

“Hahh? Go ask your tutor or cram school!”

“Nobody was speaking to you. Takateru-sama, is it no good?”

“Mm~mm, well, just a little is fine. I guess we’ll do it together with anybody else who has problems.”

“Taka-niisama!”

“You didn’t bring any homework, Ririna-san? Then perhaps you should go read a picture book somewhere.”

“What was that!? I’m not at the age where I read picture books anymore!”

The smaller kids were frightened by their fighting, so I’ll call them over and play with some toys prepared in advance.
Fights between women are scary so I immediately retreated from the frontlines. Oniisama, try your best.
Now then, should we go with something easy like playing cards?

“Calm down, Ririna. You can stay by my side, but only if you behave, okay?”

“But Taka-niisama! You’re Riri’s Taka-niisama! Why do we have to be with these people!?”

Apparently Ririna couldn’t endure the fact that she couldn’t monopolise him.

“Riri’s Taka-niisama, you say? Takateru-sama has a proper young sister in Reika-sama. Takateru-sama is Reika-sama’s Oniisama.”

Ah-, the taboo words.

After hearing the number one thing she didn’t want to be told, Ririna trembled in mortification then for some reason sharply glared my way.

Whoa, whoa, it’s not like I said it, right?

“I definitely won’t forgive you lot! I’ll tell Okaasama on you!”

After screaming that, Ririna flew out of the room with a bright red face and teary eyes.

“I’ll talk to Ririna, so everybody, please study first.”

Saying that, Oniisama chased after Ririna, and everyone left behind started to complain at once.

“What’s with that girl. Even selfishness should have its limits.”

“She’s being spoilt because Takateru-sama is kind.”

“Whenever there’s something she doesn’t like, she immediately thinks she can just go tell her parents!”

It was an explosion of displeasure at Ririna stealing away their long awaited chance to get close to Oniisama.

“With that girl treating Reika-sama as an enemy, even Reika-sama must be angry, right?”

“Right, right. Just now she was clearly ignoring Reika-sama, wasn’t she.”

Oop, the conversation turned my way.

“Well, by no means does she visit each and every day, so I personally do not mind. Ririna-san must be lonely from being an only child.”

I’ll give a safe reply just in case.
If I joined in on their badmouthing here, things’ll probably get annoying later.

Although the girls seemed dissatisfied that I didn’t join in, even without me, they began a huge Ririna Badmouthing Festival.
Scary.
Ririna really is younger after all, so honestly I should be trying to persuade them to stop, but no matter how much I think I can’t come up with any good points about her, so I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear anything.

This is exactly why family gatherings are so tiring.

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

 

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

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I think everybody knows already, but Japanese schools go
Primary: Years 1~6
Middle: First to Third Years
High: First to Third Years
Uni: First to Fourth Years　(Generally)

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“Uu huu~”

Opening the box in front of me, I smirked.

It was the middle of the night, and I was alone in my room.

There’s a box I keep in the depths of my closet, and occasionally I take it out to examine the contents.

“I’ve saved up quite a bit, haven’t I.”

Inside the box were rolls of banknotes.

I’m currently saving up money at home.

In the Kisshouin family, the pocket money I get is an unthinkable amount going by my common sense.
Each month (although it’s not like there’s some set amount), I usually get x0,000 Yen from my parents.
It’s not money that you’d be giving to a primary schooler as pocket money, right?
If you give somebody this much money from their childhood, I don’t think they’ll grow into a decent adult.

It seems like it’s in case I ever need money while hanging out with friends, but to begin with I go to lessons after school and basically never go out to play, so there’s nowhere for me to use it.
My family buys me what I need for school after all, and when I need something from outside, our chauffeur-cum-helper goes out to buy it.
Thanks to that, I’ve done nothing but save it.
I’m keeping this money in case our house falls into ruin by some chance. I want it to help pay my tuition.

But well, even I have something I want to buy in secret (mostly cheap sweets), so I’ve decided on my own my monthly spending money. It’s 500 Yen.
I think this is about right for a primary schooler’s pocket money.
And the rest of the money, I place in this locked, and slightly largish jewellery box.

It would be too weird for a little girl to want a safe, so while I was looking for something else with a lock, I came across this in a jewellery shop.
It’s small enough that a child can carry it in their two hands, and it’s perfect for putting notes into.
Okaasama had come with me, and I immediately pestered her for it.
I’m sure everybody around me thought I was a little girl drawn to it because of how sparkly and pretty it was, but I chose it entirely for practical purposes.
It was a miscalculation that she bought me a pink sapphire necklace to go along with it though.

*imouto*

That night, I tore out the soft velvet dividers without hesitation, and turned it into a normal rectangular box.
And then, I took out all the notes I’d been hiding in dictionaries until now, and moved them into the jewellery-box-turned-safebox.
Just as expected, there was plenty of room left afterwards, and it looked like it would do just fine as a safe.
I sure found something good.
To make sure I absolutely don’t lose the key, I keep it taped far inside my drawers.

*imouto*

And now, sometimes at night I’ll take open it up and chuckle, like an evil governor looking at his urn of gold coins.

“One note, two notes…”

U hu hu hu hu… I can’t stop the laughter.

*imouto*

*imouto*

Although it’s still a bit vague, each time we go up a year, the caste divisions become clearer and clearer.
The ones at the top are, naturally, the members of the Pivoine. There are only about 10 of them in each grade, so this never changes.
As for the rest, the very fact that they entered Zui’ran during the primary section means that they’re all members of the upper class to a degree, so the division into middle and bottom castes is more about the person themselves rather than how powerful their families are.
The upper-middle caste are the followers of the upper caste, and behave conspicuously.
The lower caste kids are all meek children who pass the time quietly.

And as for me, I’m the top member of the top faction amongst the girls.
Thanks to that I don’t get bullied or anything, but it’s saddening that the quiet kids are afraid of me. If I had to say it, I’d prefer to spend my time leisurely talking to the meeker kids.
Despite being children, the girls in my group are quite haughty already.
They’re all girls that would never ever buy cheap sweets from a convenience store.
We have a few members of the Petite Pivoine too, so the group values tradition and social status. The followers are more proud of it than the actual Pivoine members are, so it’s pretty tiring.
When I consider that one day they might catch me without my fake Ojousama mask, it sends chills down my spine.
I can’t hurt the honour of the Kisshouin family, so I smile along with my surroundings.
Even though I’m only a primary schooler, interpersonal relations are already pretty tough.

While I was walking with those girls in tow as usual, I found Akizawa-kun coming down from the opposite side of the hallway.
Noticing me, he smiled and was about to wave, but perhaps he was overpowered by the girls around me, because he averted his eyes and walked past me looking a little frightened.

…Uu, I knew it.
A group of girls is scary, isn’t it. But my group is particularly so.
I’m really sorry, Akizawa-kun.
Recently we’ve always been getting along next to each other at cram school, so I finally thought ‘Male Friend GET!’ but if he got scared of me and avoided me at cram school because of this, it would be really sad.
Today when I go to cram school, I’ll apologise.

*imouto*
“Nah, don’t worry about it. I ignored you too, so aren’t we even?”

When I got to cram school, I immediately said “Sorry about making it hard to talk to me. I’m sorry about ignoring you.” but Akizawa-kun forgave me with a smile. What a good boy.

“It requires courage to call out to somebody amongst a crowd of girls, doesn’t it.”

“Yeah. And especially for your group, Kisshouin-san.”

Thought so.
Akizawa-kun belongs to a group in the middle caste in our grade. He doesn’t follow around somebody in the upper caste, but isn’t meek like a lower caste either. Truly smack bang in the middle.
As for me, I think being in that kind of the position seems the most fun and free, so I’m envious of him.

“Do your friends know that I got to the same cram school as you?”

“No. To begin with, I have not spoken about the fact that I attend one.”

“Ah, I see. Would it be better not to say? I’ve already told a few of my friends though.”

“I am not particularly concealing anything, but… Well, I suppose it might be better not to speak of it.”

I lied. I’m totally hiding it.

I mean, if I told somebody, what if they wanted to come as well?
In that case, my original goal of going to the convenience store would be out of reach.

“Hmm~ Then maybe it would be better not to talk to you at school, Kisshouin-san. I wouldn’t be able to explain why I knew you after all.”

“I don’t think it is necessary to go that far.”

It would be like shunning him, and I’d feel bad.
And also, because he’s already here in cram school I’ve already given up on the convenience store, so it isn’t that much of a problem even if they find out I’m going now.

“Mn, but well, I think it’s better like this. You’re kind of different at school after all.”

“Oh? I am?”

“Yeah. To begin with I was the one who spoke to you first. I didn’t think you’d be this easy to talk to. Like, I thought your attitude would be a bit more like, ‘Hmph. I don’t want to be spoken to by the likes of you’.”

“Ehhhh!?”

“Ahaha.”

Is that the kind of image I had?
No, I mean, I did have a faint idea, but… it really is a shock.

“Do I appear that unpleasant a person?”

“Eh-? Sorry, did I hurt you? I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just like, the Pivoine members are sort of in a different world to me, I guess. Your friends call you Reika-sama after all.”

“Ahh…”

Using ‘-sama’ is just like ‘gokigen’yoh’, and is something left behind in Zui’ran as a remnant of the past.
It’s particularly easy to be called ‘-sama’ if you’re a Pivoine member.

“Ah-, would it be better if I called you Reika-sama as well?

“Absolutely not.”

‘Well you never know without asking,’ he said with a laugh.

 

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

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Escalator schools are Japanese (usually private) schools that have associated sections. For example, it might have everything from primary school to high school, meaning that unlike other high schools, there aren’t any tests to get in, and it’s easy to not get kicked out. In Japan, getting into good middle schools or high schools involves testing, and schools where you just go straight up are thus compared to an escalator.

---

I entered Year 3.
In the primary section of Zui’ran, we change classes in Years 3 and 5.
The praying I did every night during spring break seemed to work because I ended up in a different class to Emperor.
I won against the 1:4 odds.

Oniisama graduated from the middle school section and entered the high school section.
Now that he’s a high schooler he seems more busy than ever, and he spends even less time at home now.
That’s no fun.

Both Yurie-sama and Aira-sama graduated from the primary section and became middle schoolers.
For some reason they suddenly looked a lot more mature once I saw them in their middle section uniforms, and I ended up feeling the difference between primary schoolers and middle schoolers.
I wonder why. It’s only been a month since summer break.
Is it the magic of uniforms?
Mm~mm, the middle section uniform sure is cute.

Because Emperor visits a different salon to Yurie-sama now, his mood has been pretty bad.
They say to leave sleeping dogs lie, so I decided just to watch.
With such a dark aura around him, basically only Enjou can talk to him without a problem.
As expected of Enjou. It would be absolutely impossible for me.

When I look at how beautiful Yurie-sama is becoming, I can understand Emperor’s anxiety about their age difference though.
When you’re an adult, 4 years difference isn’t a big deal, but to children it’s much too wide a gap.
There’s no way a 1st year middle schooler could look at a Year 3 kid romantically, right?
Maybe it’s because Emperor understands that quite well. Whenever there’s a guy who tries to approach Yurie-sama, Emperor just silently threatens him with eyes filled with bloodlust.
From Yurie-sama’s point of view, she probably doesn’t feel anything except a cute little brother’s jealousy, which is yet another tragedy for him.
Sometimes he goes to the middle school section to wait for her, apparently. What a loyal one you are, Emperor.

*imouto*

*imouto*

Also, the cram school that I’ve been attending since Year 1 had a few Zui’ran students enter.
Zui’ran is an escalator school, so as long as you aren’t exceptionally bad, you’ll go straight up into the next section. Thanks to that, there isn’t really any sense of crisis pushing the students to study.
What’s more, almost everybody hires a private tutor instead of cram school.
And despite all this, a number of Zui’ran boys started going to mine.
It felt like the thing I’d been dreading all along had finally came around.

“So you were going to this cram school too, Kisshouin-san.”

A boy from my Year 3 class called out to me.

“Yes, well…”

“Um, would it be okay if I sat next to you?”

“…Please help yourself.”

I get it. That feeling when you’re heading somewhere new for the first time, and while you’re anxious about not knowing anybody, you suddenly spot an acquaintance. You unconsciously want to stay near them.
It’s reassuring, right? It’s relieving, right?
But to me, it’s a terrible development.

“Some other guys are going to start going as well, but they’re going on different days to me. I thought I was going to be alone, but to think that I’d find you here, Kisshouin-san. Ah, are you starting this year too?”

“No, I have been attending since Year 1.”

“Ehhh!? Really!? That’s surprising. I didn’t know you were such a studious typ-… ah, no, umm,”

Mn. I don’t mind, so don’t worry.
As the de facto leader of the ojousamas at Zui’ran, I probably don’t look anything like the studious type who’d join a cram school in Year 1, right?

“I wished to attend because of Oniisama’s influence.”

Well, I suppose I’ll just give him a safe answer here.
At some point I already had the label of brocon stuck to me after all.

“Wow, I see. By the way, how is this place? Is the work harder than the stuff at school?”

“Hmm. This cram school is focused on preparations for entrance exams, so I suppose it is quite difficult after all.”

“I seee.”

After that he asked me various other things as well, but naturally he was somebody who already knew me, so it got harder and harder to ask.

‘What’s your name?’ that is.

This sure is troubling.
Even though he’s being so friendly, if I told him that I didn’t know his name, he’d feel hurt, right?
Isn’t there some kind of hint…? Ah-, I know.

“Class is about to begin, so it would be best if you took out your exercise book. Have you taken a look at the contents of the textbook?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

After rummaging through his back, he took out his Japanese study books and placed them on the table.
Let’s see, let’s see. The name written on the exercise book is──

“秋澤匠(Aki-Sawa Takumi)”-kun.
Alright, got it.
I’m not sure if his surname is read Akizawa or Akisawa though.

“What class did you end up in during the class changes, Akisawa-kun?”

I casually emphasised that I already knew his name.

“Ah-, Kisshouin-san, you knew my name? I was sure that your group had no idea who I was. Um, I’m in Class 4. Also, my surname is read as Akizawa, not Akisawa.”

…If you were thinking that I didn’t know your name, then introduce yourself first, dammit.

Here I was, worrying over whether a classmate would have his feelings hurt because I didn’t know his name.
Is this boy actually a bit of an airhead?

Class began before long, and brought an end to our conversation.
The contents were a little difficult for a Year 3 class, but for now I’m still fine.
Sitting next to me, Akisawa-kun, now known as Akizawa-kun, looked nervous, but he was trying his best to listen to the classwork and answer the questions in the exercise book.

After that came break time.

“Aah, I was so nervous! It’s a lot further ahead than our classes at school, isn’t it.”

Akizawa-kun stretched as he spoke to me like it was natural.

…Of course, right~?

This was what I was afraid of.
If a Zui’ran student entered my cram school, then naturally they would notice me. And then after that, they would pay attention to me.
Either that, or like Akizawa-kun, they could come over to talk to me.
I didn’t expect that there would be someone so friendly from our first conversation though.
But like this, it gets in the way of my original purpose of going to the convenience store!
Aahhh~ I knew this would happen…

“I think so too. In exchange, the classes at school become easy though.”

“I seee. Your grades have been good, haven’t they, Kisshouin-san. You didn’t seem the type at all, you know.”

This boy really is an air-head. His tongue slipped.

“Do I appear that lax a person?”

I decided to give him a jab.

“That’s not what I meant! Umm, how do I say this, it felt like you lived in a different world to hardcore students, I guess? The girls around you are like that too. And also, you’re a member of that Pivoine, after all.”

Well, that’s true.
Even amongst my peers, my family is quite powerful, so in a school that emphasises tradition, being descended from a noble family really gives you influence. Because of that, those kind of girls gather around me, and I naturally end up with the most intimidating group amongst all the girls.
Everyone feels more like followers rather than friends, so it’s a little sad though.
Rather than “Reika-sama”, it would be great if they called me “Reika-chan”, huh~
I wonder if I actually have any friends in that school…

“I’m pretty surprised! Kisshouin-san, you’re hard to approach and I thought you wouldn’t give me the time of day, but to think that you’d be this easy to talk to.”

Akizawa-kun laughed happily.

Mn, so I really am hard to approach after all.

“Do you think it would be okay if I sat next to you next week as well?”

I suppose I won’t be able to go to the convenience store either way now, right?
What’s more, there aren’t that many people I can talk to so closely.

“Yes, of course.”

I wonder if Akizawa-kun will become my friend.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

In Japan, the piano song, The Flea Waltz, is known as ‘I stepped on a cat’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHeJPArUR9I
Sometimes it comes with lyrics.

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Kisshouin Takateru

I have a sister 7 years my junior.
Lately she’s been acting strangely.

Because of her upbringing at the hands of my pampering parents, my sister was a wilful and brazen child.
Because mother was always around her, mother’s influence affected her tastes and thoughts, and she turned into a miniature version of mother. As I watched all this happen with slightly cool eyes, I thought, ‘At this rate she’s going to to turn out like those haughty rich girls at the school that I go to, isn’t she’.

I do respect my parents, and I cherish my family too.
But my parents, and the way they look down on people below them is just something I can’t get used to. Even though, it’s those same people that they look down on who are the ones supporting our company, you know?
I’m the first son, and one day I’ll take over the family and company.
When it happens, I might oppose my father’s way of doing things.

Anyway, about my sister.
The girl that I thought was a miniature version of mother changed around the time she entered the primary section of my school.
How do I say this, she turned into an idiot. In a good way.
Should I call it innocent instead?
And she seems to be sneakily up to something.

Apparently her grades aren’t bad. She’s even diligently attending the lessons that she used to skip because she felt like it.
Even though she’s only six, she knows right from wrong now, and occasionally she even says things that would be difficult for a child her age.
Seeing just this, you would think that she’s a talented girl.
But well, she really does do weird things on occasion, and I find it a little funny.
Recently I’ve taken to observing my little sister.

My sister has always been attached to me, but recently her attachment has become quite intense.
Whenever she sees me, her face lights up and she runs to me. She’s kind of like a puppy.
Her invisible tail wags about.
And well, she’s being this open about her attachment to me, and she’s my real sister after all, so as you’d expect it’s quite adorable.
And when I’m kind to her because of it, she gets even more attached.
The spot next to me on the sofa has basically become her default seat.

One day she suddenly said that she wanted to go to cram school.
She insisted that she wanted cram school, and not a tutor. The reason she gave was a fishy one.
But that enthusiasm was real, so I just helped convince our parents a little, and she thanked me with a broad smile.
When I questioned her a little because I felt like teasing her, as expected, her eyes began to swim.
So she really did have some other motive. Well, that’s fine though.
When I told her that her eyes were giving her away, she stiffened enough that anybody could tell.

My sister’s reactions are really too interesting.

Because she looked foolish with her mouth hanging open like a haniwa statue, I couldn’t help but laugh.
The next time she turns into a haniwa statue, maybe I’ll try throwing candy into her mouth.

I was telling the truth about her looking upwards to the right, but there’s actually another habit that she doesn’t even notice herself.
When my sister tries to bluff through something with a smile, her dimples twitch.
It’s something I’ve noticed because we’ve been spending more time together recently.
I’m pretty sure she has no idea herself.
But I’m not going to tell her.
It’s more interesting this way.

On our summer trips so far, under my mother’s influence, my sister would avoid the beach because she didn’t want a tan. This year, that same girl ran to get there first.
Perhaps she wanted to show off the results of swimming school, because she enthusiastically started swimming, but immediately drowned.
It was such a perfect example of drowning that it’s a mystery why she was so confident.

What the heck are you doing, little sister.

I became worried about her after that so I was always keeping an eye on her. At some point she discovered the technique of climbing onto my back to make things easier.
Because she conceitedly told me to go here and there while clinging to my back, I occasionally sank into a wave on purpose.
She looked like an idiot being drenched by the waves, and was quite funny.
When I apologised for not noticing, she told me that the wave was the bad one, not me.
It really is true, what they say about stupid kids being cuter…

Even though up until last year, she almost never went to the beach, this year she did nothing but, and got darker and darker.
I thought that mother was going to get angry later, so I told her to properly reapply her sunscreen, but she just said ‘yep, yep’ and went back into the sea.
As expected, she flew into a panic because of mother’s shock at her black skin though.
That’s why I told her. Honestly, what an idiot.

I came back home one day, and found that my parents were out. When I headed to the piano room, I don’t know why, but my sister was playing Der Flohwalzer, ridiculously happily.
She even added “Bun cha cha~” and weird lyrics like that, and cheerfully swayed her body to the music.
But later that evening when mother asked her what she was doing, she nonchalantly said “I practised my piano. The music set for my piano recital.”
Liar! What you played was Der Flohwalzer!
When did that turn into the recital piece!

When my sister is by herself, I have no idea what she’s doing, but it’s incredibly suspicious.

On Valentine’s Day, she was careful to check through the chocolates I brought home.
She demanded that I show her our grade photo, but definitely not.
She kept smirking at me. It was a little gross.
I also got what was allegedly a hand-made chocolate from her, but because I was preparing for my year-end exams, I was hesitant to eat it.
She insisted that it would be okay because she got one of the maids to help, so I found my determination and ate it but…
…it didn’t have any taste.
What the heck is a tasteless chocolate.
My sister waited for my impressions with a completely confident smile. For now, I just decided to tell her that it was delicious, and thanked her.

I wonder if next years’ is also going to be hand-made…
Next year I have my high school section entrance exams as well, so if possible I want to find some skilful way of avoiding it.

The clincher for her weird behaviour was this:
One night, I woke up and went to get a glass of water.
The door to my sister’s room was a little open, and I could hear a weird voice from inside.
Wondering what was going on, I peeked through the gap and found that in the room with only the bedlight on, sitting on the ground between the bed and closet with her back to me, was my sister, laughing eerily.

…I thought it was a youkai or something.

Not realising I was there, my sister was muttering something as she laughed.
It was scary, so I just quietly shut the door and went back to my room.

I wonder if something weird has taken ahold of her.

I’ve decided to watch over her for now.
And make sure to absolutely never go near her bedroom at night.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

Tsukemono are a Japanese pickle used as a side dish.
Also Japanese apparently have a dish that’s basically leftovers and bread. Sometimes it’s eaten like a sandwich, but recently(ish) they have taken to selling it as its own dish, and baking various ingredients into the dough itself.

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With the summer break over, I entered term two and began going to cram school like I had hoped.
Oniisama used to go here so it should be quite good. Apparently it’s a really high level cram school, filled with students from private schools and high level national schools.
Completely different from the cram school I went to in my old life, which had but flyers going for it…

At the moment we’re only learning Japanese and arithmetic so following the lessons is no problem at all. Rather, this feeling of invincibility is amazing.
Well, it’s just Year 1 work after all. It would be a problem if I didn’t understand.
One of the reasons I wanted to go to cram school was of course in preparation for my future, but it was the other reason that was the important one.

Eating sweets.

I do go to a few different lessons, but the Kisshouin chauffeur takes me to all of them.
They drop me off in front of the classroom before the lessons begin, and pick me up in front of the classroom when the lesson ends.
Indeed! I have no time to move about freely!
To begin with, I can’t even walk outside alone. Somebody is always by my side.
But that’s troubling.
Why it’s troubling is because I can’t buy sweets to eat.

If you want to laugh at me for my gluttony, go ahead and laugh.
However! Each and every day, the sweets I get are all high class, and even my meals are always a menu like some high class restaurant’s.
I am thankful, you know? It really is delicious, you know?
But this commoner’s tongue from my old life wants junky snack food. It wants to eat simple stuff like tsukemono on plain rice. It wants to eat leftovers baked into bread!

And so I started thinking.
‘Wouldn’t it just be fine if I just went to a lesson where I didn’t have an attendant?’
Cram school has a Japanese class, and then an arithmetic class; between those two classes is breaktime, you see.
‘Couldn’t I use that time to sneak out and secretly buy snacks?’ I thought.

If possible, I wanted the cram school to be close to a convenience store.
If I sneak out too often, the teachers at cram school might find it a problem and report it to my parents, so I need to be careful when doing so.
I’ll only buy things small enough to fit between my cram textbooks and into my bag. No way will I ever get greedy and try buying something as big as potato chips. Even small packets are bulky because of the air in them.
And one day I’ll buy onigiri too.

Whenever I started daydreaming about that, it became impossible to stop.
That’s why I wanted to go to cram school no matter what.

There was a convenience store about 2 or 3 minutes walk from the cram school that Oniisama used to go to.
How splendid.
I was a newcomer, and on top of that a student from the famous Zui’ran, so I couldn’t slip out due to the attention at first.

I go to cram school once a week now, and it was two months since I started attending that I was able to somehow sneak out to the convenience store──

*imouto*

The first thing I bought were two Tirolian chocolates and caramel.
I obviously couldn’t leave the cram school with my bag, so I was limited to buying things that I could fit into my pockets.
We only get fifteen minutes break, so I had to hurry back.
The following 2 hour lesson didn’t sink in at all.

When I returned home, the Tirolian chocolate that I secretly ate in my room tasted so nostalgic that I cried.
I took care to slowly enjoy the other Tirolian chocolate and 8 caramel pieces as well.

Cheap food, banzai.

*imouto*

*imouto*

In autumn we have stuff like the athletics carnival or the Zui’ran presentation day so it’s busy. As for my private life, I have a piano recital as well. It’s so hectic.

Naturally, the two tops of our grade, Kaburagi and Enjou flourished at the athletics carnival. They even overwhelmed some upperclassmen. Thanks to that, their fans increased, in the upper grades as well.
Unfortunately I couldn’t become our class’ hero. I’ll try my best in other fields.

The Zui’ran presentation day is something like a cultural festival, so the place will be decorated with artwork created by the students, and we’ll have a choir contest and a bazaar and stuff too.
It was much harder to prepare for presentation day than the athletics carnival, and so in order to replenish my body, I would eat snacks at the Petite Pivoine in between preparations.
Being able to eat sweets on school grounds really is a special privilege.

Lately at the salon, it’s all been talk about the choir programme or the artwork that each class has been creating.
The class artwork becomes harder as you go up a grade, so it’s tough. Apparently in the upper years of the primary section, they even create dioramas and stuff.

“Reika-san, today we have Pierre Evan macarons, you know. Will you eat some?”

“Gosh. I definitely shall.”

This person is an Oneesama in Year 5, Minazuki Aira-sama.
Unique for a girl in Zui’ran, she has short hair and a bit of a boyish appearance, and gives the impression of growing up to be the lead male-role actor in an all-female theatre troupe somewhere.
Ever since Aira-sama saw me waltz with Oniisama at the summer party, she’s been on good terms with me.
Apparently seeing me try my very best to dance was cute. I’m thankful that she feels that way.
She said stuff like “You have such a kind Oniisama. I sure am jealous.” and although I didn’t know where she got it from, she gave me a picture of Oniisama and I ringing the bell as a present.
As it turns out, apparently an acquaintance of Aira-sama had been there to take the picture.
“They were a lovely couple, so I wanted to give them a picture later.” apparently.
Oniisama, they’ve decided we’re a couple, you know?
I had thought it was a needless and huge embarrassment in front of Kaburagi Masaya and Enjou Shuusuke, but when one door shuts, another opens, huh.

──But there’s just one very big problem with Aira-sama. That is…

“Yurie. This limited-time macaron is delicious, you know.”

Right. Aira-sama is that Yurie-sama’s good friend.

“Mn, then perhaps I’ll have just one more. What about you two, Masaya, Shuusuke?”

“I’ll have one.”

“Hmm, I think I’ll pass.”

The spot next to Yurie-sama is almost always occupied by ‘I ♥ YURIE’ Kaburagi. And Yurie-sama and Aira-sama are close friends. And recently, there’s been this underclassman that Aira-sama has taking a liking to; me.

I’m in a pretty dangerous position.

Lord Emperor basically pays no attention to anybody but the people he has an interest in, so up until now he’s been completely disregarding me.
But one time when Enjou Shuusuke said “Oh, aren’t you the girl from the summer party who did the waltz in the middle of the dance floor?” and Emperor went “Ah… That time.” and looked my way.
Enjou Shuusuke, don’t say unnecessary things!

“Masaya, are you making sure to properly help with your class’ presentation?”

“…Well, I get around.”

“That’s no good. You have to do it properly.”

“Aahh… Mn.”

“What’s with that response? I’m going to see you all the way to class. You know what to do, right?”

“I get it, already. You sure are noisy, Yurie.”

“What was that!?”

“Joking. Geez, sorry. You get angry so easily.”

I sneakily watched them as I munched on a macaron.
Despite his abusive tongue, he looks quite happy, doesn’t he. I see, I see. So that’s what you like?
Emperor is always smiling when he talks to Yurie-sama. Plenty of expressions, like a completely different person from that bored-looking and expressionless Emperor everywhere else.
Geez, look, isn’t he blushing too? Hey, your love is leaking outside, you know?
While I was observing this incredibly funny Emperor, I met eyes with Enjou.
I’m sorry, I won’t look anymore. I’ll still be eavesdropping on their flirting though.

Anyway, while all that was happening, my busy, but peaceful, autumn passed by.

 

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

---

“Unique for a girl in Zui’ran, she has short hair and a bit of a boyish appearance, and gives the impression of growing up to be the lead male-role actor in an all-female theatre troupe somewhere.”
I added in the ‘all-female’ part because she’s referring to the Takarazuka Revue, which English readers might not immediately understand.

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<Previous Chapter | Imouto | Next Chapter>

In Japanese, you refer to other people’s family members by their title. Like, “How is Okaasan?” means “How is your mother?”. Imouto-san and Otouto-san are standard polite-ish ways of referring to other people’s younger siblings.

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We finished the one dance we agreed on, and as I was thinking about how fun that had been, my gaze clicked in place with someone else’s.
And in that instant, I turned to stone.

I tripped on my own legs because of the shock and almost fell, and then Oniisama immediately caught me, but more importantly,

WHY IS KABURAGI MASAYA HERE――――!!

Even though they weren’t supposed to be in Japan for the entire holiday, standing right here were Kaburagi Masaya and Enjou Shuusuke──.

How long have they been there? How much did they see?
Weren’t you two supposed to be in the Mediterranean?
It’s because I thought you weren’t in Japan! It’s because I was relieved that you wouldn’t be here that I casually did something eyecatching as being the only little kid dancing here!
If I knew you guys were gunna come I definitely wouldn’t have stood out so much!

“Reika?”

Calm yourself. Calm yourself.
For now let’s leave aside the reason why they’re here even though they’re not supposed to be, and figure out how to naturally leave the area.
First I’ll remove my gaze from those cursed eyes, and undo the Petrification spell.
Naturally, naturally…
GYAH-! Even though I was supposed to move just my eyes, my neck turned by itself―!
Doesn’t this look like I turned my head in scorn now? Will he think I’m picking a fight with him!?
Can’t be helped. What’s already been done can’t be helped. I’ll just naturally leave the area.
GYAH-! My knees won’t bend! I’m walking like a soldier now―!
Maybe those cursed eyes attacked my brain because I can’t stop all these involuntary movements.
Aahh, what do I dooo?

“Reika, are you listening? Reika―”

Anyway, I need to slip into the crowd and disappear, or else. I’ll make a beeline for the drink corner since it has the most people.

[Monotone:] I am not particularly paying any special attention to you, all right? My throat has simply become parched from the dancing, and I have begun to desire a drink.
[Monotone:] Indeed. That is simply it.
[Monotone:] You, over there. May I have some juice?

“Reika!”

Somebody struck me on the back and dispelled the Confusion spell.
Aahh, I went completely weird just now.
Thanks for returning my sanity, Oniisama.
Casting both Confusion and Petrification at once. As expected of a last boss.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been a little strange.”

Mn, I’m more aware of that than anyone.

“Oniisama, I am going to make a small trip to the restroom.”

I want to be alone for a little to reset myself.
I want to hole up in the toilet and calm myself down.
All the reflecting I need to do comes after that.

“Are you okay? Are you not feeling well? Should I have somebody go with you?”

“No, I am fine.”

“Hmm, but…”

Perhaps I was being pretty suspicious because Oniisama seemed to be worried.
I’m sorry for worrying you, Oniisama.

“Sup, Takateru.”

“Imari.”

With good timing, somebody who seemed to be his friend called out him, so I’ll leave while I can.

“It is nice to meet you. I am his sister, Reika. Oniisama, I will be fine by myself, so please excuse me for a little.”

Giving friend-san a quick bow, it’s now time to GO!

“What’s wrong with Imouto-chan? She seemed to be in quite a hurry.”

“Ahh, the toilet.”

Don’t say it!

*imouto*

I rushed into the dressing room, and after entering a private room, I collapsed onto the seat.
Haah――.
I suddenly felt tired.
It was like the excitement from just now had been a lie.

…That surprised me.
Why were they here?
Was that stuff about them staying in the Mediterranean all holiday just nonsense?
I even heard at the Petite Pivoine that they were going to miss out on the summer party.
Still, that expression.
It suure was scary.
It was like he saw me happily dancing the waltz and thinking, ‘What the hell is this girl doing?’.
I definitely came off as some ugly chick who thought of herself as hot stuff!
If I knew he was going to come, I wouldn’t have gotten ahead of myself and waltzed!

*imouto*

“Hey, Masaya-sama was there, wasn’t he. Wasn’t he supposed to be skipping this party?”

While I was in the pits of depression, I heard the voices of some girls who were probably older than me.
I think they might be from the middle or high school section.

“Right. He was actually supposed to spend the whole holiday overseas, but I heard he came back early enough to make Yurie-sama’s birthday.”

“My, is that so? My younger sister was making a huge fuss about Masaya-sama being there. But with Yurie-sama as the rival, she really doesn’t stand a chance.”

“Huhu! Isn’t it still too early to say? She’s your own sister, so you need to cheer for her. It looks like there are lots of rivals though.”

“True. My, Maika-sama. Gokigen’yoh.”

“Gokigen’yoh.”

Apparently they stopped talking because yet another acquaintance came in, but with this, the mystery was solved.
So it was Yurie-sama’s birthday!

Suzushino Yurie-sama is Emperor and Enjou’s four years elder childhood friend, and shockingly, Emperor’s first love.
In 『you are my dolce』, Yurie-sama was a dignified and radiant beauty who was admired by all the girls in Zui’ran.
Kisshouin Reika admired her as well.
Since Reika also admired Yurie-sama who detested the unjust, I don’t think it would’ve hurt if she learnt from her example a little, but Reika was a villainess character, so I guess it can’t be helped? How pitiful, Reika…

And so, Emperor loved her up until high school, but Yurie-sama had always thought of him as just a little brother.
In the end his love ended in an honourable defeat, and there was also a scene where he lashed out at the protagonist to vent, but before long his interest in the protagonist turned into love, and he completely got over his first one.
But even so, Yurie-sama was a childhood friend who was like an older sister, and as a special existence to Emperor. Being a person filled with independence, when she graduated from university she stood her ground against her parents, and when she decided on her own to go overseas to look for work in an American company, Emperor lent his help in convincing them.
When Yurie-sama was about to leave for America, he said, “If you ever need me, I’ll always come to help. No matter where you are, Yurie,” and the readers remembered her as somebody who would always be special to him.
When the protagonist saw this, she did get nervous and say “Is he actually still in love with Yurie-san?” though.

Being who she is, if Yurie-sama had a birthday, of course he came back. I understand it now.
Even in the Petite Pivoine, whenever he speaks to Yurie-sama he always breaks into a smile after all.
He always goes Yurie, Yurie, and tries to get her attention doesn’t he.
First love, huhh? It sure is bittersweet. Mmn, but that love never bears fruit, does it. Aah, how sad.

Considering how I sneakily observe those two and get all excited about somebody else’s love affairs, my personality is pretty bad, isn’t it.

But wellll, at any rate, I now know why Kaburagi Masaya is here when he isn’t supposed to be.

There’s no use crying over spilt milk.
I can’t change the fact that he saw me doing the waltz.
…Let’s forget about it.
I’ll consider this some dark history and sink it into the swamps of my heart. Mn.

“Upsie daisies.”

Now then, I’ve probably worried Oniisama as well, so I’ll head back.
I spent too long in the toilet, didn’t I. What am I going to do if they get the wrong impression, and my honour as a maiden is besmirched?
Should I really drive in the fact that my stomach is completely fine?

*imouto*

*imouto*

*imouto*

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