“Don’t be surprised. Listen, Iori…”

My eyes stared at the bandages peeking out of his sleeves.
Come on, tell him.
I raised my voice in a determined tone.

“You are now suffering from chuunibyou. Kisaragi Iori, you don’t…have the ability to summon beings from another world—!”

rld— rld— rld—…
The words echoed in the sunset.
Then — a teardrop…spilled from the eyes of the beautiful boy.

“Souta Nii-chan, why did you say that…?”

Iori shook his head violently.
His tears bursted and glittered like stardust.

“I thought that Souta Nii-chan was also a Chosen Summoner! I thought you were going to disclose the Forgotten Records today in order to guide me! “
“Iori…”

Ku, I knew it…
I am a big brother. If Iori was to have a mid-life crisis, I knew I would certainly bring him into the picture.

There are two options.
One is to go with the setting and let it end gently.
The other is to persuade them sincerely from reality.

The former is easier to do. But…I dare to choose the latter.

“Listen to me, Iori. I want to affirm the things that give you strength in your heart. Whether it’s Yuika’s recluseness or your cross-dressing, if it’s something you’ve found yourself, it’s something you need. But this time, your chuunibyou is an…accident.”

I could feel myself tensing up.
I clenched fists and scolded myself through the pain.

“If you still choose to go that way after knowing the truth, fine. I will support you and watch over you with all my heart. But I have a responsibility to you for causing your accident. I’ll tell you the truth and clear up the misconception that you’re the ‘Chosen Summoner’!”

“What are you talking about, Souta Nii-chan! It’s not a misconception, we’re the Chosen Summoners who will save the 8th dimension Renso world! Because at that time, I heard the voice of the Cat’s Rays Gabriella in my room!”

Uwaaah, I don’t want to say it!
But I have to say this to clear up the misunderstanding!
I stifled my nerves and drummed my nails up even more. And then I said it.

“That’s…Yuika’s voice.”
“Huh?”

Iori blinked, and in the next moment, he gasped.
In an instant, the highlights had disappeared from Iori’s eyes as the sunset illuminated them.
The Beautiful Boy tilted his head awkwardly with dead eyes.

“What are you talking about…You’re always joking, Souta Nii-chan. You can’t possibly make that kind of pink voice that’s beyond pink. It’s the voice of Cat’s Rays Gabriella. It’s the voice of the summoner that resides in me, you know? Ahahaha.”
“That reaction! Iori, you…”

…He noticed!

No…I was actually wondering that myself. Iori is an intelligent boy by nature. It’s just too unlike him to hear a mysterious voice and then connect it to a fantasy setting in no time.

Iori was actually aware that the voice belonged to Yuika. But he refused to admit it through unconsciousness, and replaced it with a chuunibyou setting in his brain.

…A sensible adult might say that the right thing to do here is to leave it alone. If the person you are confronting right now was Yuika, for example, I would have chosen to take the time to care for her.

But I’m Iori’s big brother. If Iori has lost his way because of me, I have no choice but to confront him head on. That is the sincerity of man to man.

I’m going to bring Iori back to reality.
No matter what means I have to use!

“Iori! Stick out your fist!”
“—? So-Souta Nii-chan! Y-Yes!”

It was a game we used to play since we were kids.
When I thrust out my fist, Iori jumped and reflexively brought his fists together.
The fists of the men overlap each other on the riverbed at sunset.
It was the hot blood flowing in the air.

“Sect, Undefeated Sugar!”
“Ah, the Champion’s Wind!”
“All new!”
“Series!”
“Breakthrough, chivalry!”
“Behold! The sugar is burning red!”

The riverbed in the background flared up in my mind.
We raised our fists and performed our respective moves.

“Rock, paper, scissors!”
“Rock, paper, scissors!”

I was paper. Iori was rock.
I’m the one who won.

“Turn around and whistle!”
“Hoi!”

It doesn’t matter where my finger is pointing.
The important thing is that Iori turned to the right. That means his left ear is now unguarded!

“I got it!”
“Eh, what, what!? —Ah.”

I grabbed Iori’s shoulder and closed the distance between us in an instant.
I blew into his unprotected left ear with a full breath.
At that moment.
A sweet voice gushed out.

 

“Gyaaaaahhhh, kyaahhh!”

 

It was as if his voice changed, so he sounded almost like a girl.
Iori turned over violently, convulsing with a jerk.

I knew from experience that he would lose balance, so I quickly held him before he collapsed.
When I put my hands around his waist to support him, Iori was stunned with a bright red face.

“T-That now…was my voice?”

I guess he still can’t believe it. He was holding his mouth and puckering up.
He hadn’t lost his mind like Yuika had. It was probably a good thing that I had learned from the last time that I blew on him at a more gentle angle.
I nodded gravely to the unsettled beautiful boy.

“Yes, it’s your voice. The voice you heard back…was also not that of a summoned beast. Do you understand?”

Iori was stunned for a while.
But eventually, he…nodded shyly in my arms.
Her cheeks flushed and she whispered in a muffled voice.

“…yes, I understand.”

Oh, thank goodness.
All is well now.