Yuika and I are sitting across from each other at a glass table.

One was working on a school assignment and the other was writing a novel on her laptop…but neither of us is making any progress.
This was because Yuika was teasing me with a huge grin on her face.

“Fufufufufu. Souta was so cute yesterday, sticking his cheeks on my lap. What do you call it, a newborn baby bird that wants to eat? Or something like that?”
“Ku…Mikami Souta, has made a lifetime mistake.”
“Again again, you had so, much, fun, in my lap yesterday♪”

At the end of the sentence, she poked my foot under the table.
She has been like this ever since I came to her room today.
It was right after I declared that we were just childhood friends, but now that I’ve borrowed her knees and relied on her, Yuika’s excitement was at an all-time high. She has completely taken control of the situation.

“Hey, hey, Souta boy. Why don’t you call me Yuika Onee-chan? If you call me Onee-chan, it’s safe to say I love you, right?”
“R-Really, please don’t do that again… I feel like my face is on fire just thinking about yesterday.”

“Eh, it’s fine. You were cute.”
“Calling a boy cute is not a compliment.”
“What about Iori?”
“Iori is an exception. Ku, Iori…”

My eyes are starting to warm again.
I haven’t seen my cute little brother since yesterday’s riverbed. I don’t know what he’s up to now…

As soon as I started to feel depressed, Yuika immediately started to get excited.

“It’s here, it’s here! Here you go. Here’s your onee-chan!”

She came right in front of me, sat on her knees, and smiled at me.
She went out of her way to open her arms to me, and her aura of “I’ll spoil you” was on full display, which was really bad. It makes me want to forget everything and just jump in.

“Ku, I can handle this… I can’t just play into Yuika’s plan. No matter how much Iori’s declaration of rebellion is hurting me, if I keep doing this, I’m sure a lot of things will come crashing down…!”
“Oh come on, it’s fine. Don’t worry about the details, boy. Your Onee-chan’s lap is waiting for you.”

She came up to me in the same sitting position and pinched my knees with her kneecaps while I was sitting on my knees.
Her hands were still outstretched and fluttering towards me. Her br**sts are swaying as well.

“Ah. I just saw your b**bs. That’s three for today’s glimpse count.”
“Eh, three!? Isn’t that only the first time?”
“One when I first came into the room, one when I lifted my laptop, and now one, for a total of three.”
“Now that you mention it, I’m starting to think so! I’m scared for myself!”

In many ways, I’m scratching my head.
It was still Yuika’s pace. It was not very favorable.

As we were talking, suddenly — really suddenly — there was a change.

On the other side of the wall, I heard the door of Iori’s room open with a bang.
I had never heard such a clear sound of a door before. It sounded as if it was intentional for us to hear.

Yuika must have felt that it was odd, too.
The goofy mood went down, and we looked at each other.
Immediately after, I heard Iori’s voice, which made us shiver.

“‘This is my room. Please, don’t hesitate to come in.’”
“Wha…!’
“Eh…!?”

—He was bringing someone with himr!
Yuika’s expression instantly turned pale, and I immediately hugged her shoulders.
I leaned in to support her and hugged her tightly.

“It’s okay. Yuika, calm down. It’s okay. I’m with you…!”
“S-Souta, but…”

Her shoulders were shaking slightly.
For Yuika, a recluse and a shy person, unknown people are an object of fear. This was why she was trying to work on her novel little by little, but the thought of a stranger visiting her house, which she considered to be a safe zone, must be an unprecedented fear. Iori must have known that.

Iori, what are you thinking!?
I don’t care how rebellious you are, you’ve gone too far…!

A feeling that could not be described as confusion or anger ran through my heart.
—However.
Such a serious mood dissipated in the next moment.
A voice from the other side of the wall turned everything upside down.

“‘S-Sorry to bother…Kisaragi-kun’”

It was a voice even higher than Iori’s.
It was something that could not possibly come from a boy’s throat, in other words, it was a girl’s voice.

The two of us broke away from our embrace.
“Awawawawa,” we whispered loudly and shouted at the same time.

“(A-A girl! Iori has a girl in his room!)”
“(It’s a girl! Iori’s bringing a girl into his room!)”

Fear, confusion, and nervousness all exploded, evaporated, scattered, and turned to ash.
Driven by the biggest onlooker spirit of the century, we instantly moved to the wall.
Facing each other, we pressed our ears tightly against the wall.

“‘…I think, it’s the first time I’ve ever been in a boy’s room.’”
“‘AHaha, I’m sorry about the mess.’”
“‘T-That’s not true. The manga and light novels are lined up in order of numbering, and I think it’s neat and tidy.’”

From the sound of her voice, she must be in middle school.
She was probably one of Iori’s classmates.
But I was surprised. I never thought that the day would come when Iori would bring a girl into his room. I never thought that the day would come when I would hear it next to me!

But I have no idea what kind of girl she was. I’ve never heard of anything like that from Iori, and even though we’ve been together since we were kids, this was probably the first time I’ve ever heard of his having any kind of relationship.

“(Hey, Yuika! Do you know anything about this? Our army is overwhelmingly lacking in information!)”
“(How could I, a recluse, know anything about this? The only thing I know is that Iori’s first love was Souta!)”
“What!? Hey, didn’t you just drop a bombshell?”
“(Shhh!? Your voice is too loud! Shh, shh!)”

Yuika’s palm flew at me and covered my mouth at full speed.
This was certainly not the time to be talking about the past.

We were now in an unprecedented state of confusion.
Iori, what the hell are you thinking…?