Ch. 86: It Just Came To Me! The Fact That She’s My Little Brother’s Girlfriend 1

It was after school.
I was on my way to Kisaragi’s house again today.
As I walked along the tree-lined street, I wondered what I should do.

“I guess I’ll just have to use the prepaid card here…”

Yesterday, Yuika and I almost stepped into dangerous territory.
But Iori came back just in time, and we avoided the danger. Since then, it has been huge waves of awkwardness.

Although I left her for a whole day, if I go to her room without any plan, it would probably cause a chain reaction of awkwardness.

So I tried to think of ways to normalize the atmosphere. …The conclusion I came to was that it would be better to tackle the situation in the most basic way rather than trying to do something different.

That was why it was time for the old weapon: prepaid cards.v
Yuika wanted to deal with the awkwardness of the situation too, so if I offer her the card, she’ll come on board as usual.

“So, well, why don’t I go to a convenience store around the corner…Mmm?”

When I came to the exit of the tree-lined street, I stopped in my tracks.
There were a lot of cheap family restaurants and karaoke places for students around here since the school was close by.

In one of them, a junior high school girl was standing in front of a family restaurant.
I could only see her back from my side, but judging from her uniform, she must be a student from my former junior high school.

She didn’t enter the restaurant, but she didn’t leave the front either.
She seemed to be in some kind of trouble. I decided to call out to her.

“Hey, you. What’s wrong? If you need help, I can give you a hand.”
“Eh? Ah, no, I’m fine. I’m just meeting up with…Ah, Souta Nii-chan?”

“Gee, Aoi-chan.”
“What do you mean by gee? What do you think me as?”

Standing in front of the family restaurant was Hoshikawan Aoi.

She is Iori’s girlfriend, as we all know.

She was wearing a junior high school blazer and skirt. Her hair was chestnut brown and fluffy, and she was as pretty as a doll.

She has a serious and kind atmosphere…but she is very hard on me.

Aoi-chan has misunderstood me as a pervert ever since she overheard me yelling at Yuika to “get naked and pee in a kitten pose” through the wall.

Furthermore, Iori had told her that I was a “reliable big brother”, and it seemed that this misunderstanding has destroyed that image.

This was the first time I’ve seen Aoi since the “peeing misunderstanding” incident…It was hard to see a junior high school girl looking at me like, “This person is filthy!” It was
very painful.

Even now, Aoi-chan was glaring at me as if she were looking at a pest…or even a pervert. Pain.

But if I were to back down here, I would have no place to stand as Iori’s older brother. I mustered up what little dignity I had.

“Ah, long time no see, Aoi-chan. Doing fine?”
“…What does it matter to you whether I’m fine or not, Souta Nii-chan?”

“I-It does matter a little…? You know, it’s not like we don’t know each other…”
“I don’t know about that. Souta Nii-chan was a pervert in a way that I never thought possible. I don’t know this Souta Nii-chan.”

She turned her face away from me.
At the same time, Aoi-chan’s school bag was facing me at a perfect angle. I felt like I’m being casually walled off, and I felt like I was going to cry.

GUNUUU, I’m getting zapped and damaged at a tremendous rate.
It was the same kind of damage that Iori did when he pushed me away.

The heck, Aoi-chan seemed to have a special skill against me.

I never thought it would be so hard to be hated by my little brother’s girlfriend. Add to that the pain of being disliked by a junior high school girl, and it was a magnifying glass.

But I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t give in. The dignity that I had was already gone, so now I mustered up what little courage I had.

“Uh, is Iori not with you today? From the looks of it, it looks like Aoi-chan is alone.”
“…Iori-kun is on the school trip committee, so he’s at the after-school meeting.”

School trip? Ah, is it that time of year already in junior high school? I’m not sure I’ve ever been on a school trip committee before.

The junior high schools around here go on school trips in the second year. Iori, I didn’t know you were on the school trip committee.

By the way, my high school’s school trip was also in the second year, but it was a little bit later. I was going to skip it, of course, because I can’t leave Yuika alone.

I’m sure there will be some meddlesome people who will try to get me to go on the trip, but I think I can get through it.

…Well, I’m sure some meddlesome people will try to get me to go on the school trip, but I’ll probably be able to get through it.

No, if I think about it, it could be both. It was hard enough to deal with a miraculous alliance of two major powers and a sycophantic patron with unlimited financial power all at once. …Ah goodness, I’m getting a headache from it. I’ll think about it later when the time comes.

I shake my head lightly and set my mind back.

“So you’re going to meet Iori at this diner after the meeting?”
“Well, yes, but ……
“Why don’t you just go into the restaurant and wait?”
“…I know, but…”

Aoi-chan averted her gaze and mumbled.

“…I forgot it. It’s in my locker at school.”
“What is?”
“…Wallet.”

Ah, I see.
I clapped my hands. So that was why she was in front of the store.

“Why don’t you send a message to Iori on your phone? Tell him you’ll be waiting for him at the bookstore or somewhere else.”
“No. Iori-kun is supposed to be in a meeting…If I send it, I’ll interrupt him.”
“Oh, that’s one way of thinking.”

Aoi-chan was a serious and kind girl after all.
So, there was only one thing for me to do.

“Okay. Aoi-chan, let’s go.”
“Heh? Ah, hey…Eh? Eh? What are you doing?”

I pull Aoi-chan and start walking.
Of course, I’m grabbing the strap of her school bag. It was rude to touch a girl of her age casually.

I took Aoi-chan and went into a family restaurant.

“Welcome, how many of you are there?”
“There are three of us. One more person will be coming later.”
“Please wait a moment while we prepare your seats.”

It seemed to be a busy time, so the waitress hurriedly went to clear the table.
Aoi-chan pulled back her bag with a puzzled look on her face.

“I told you I forgot my wallet.”
“It’s okay. I have my wallet.”
“Eh?”
“Here.”

I took out my own wallet and put it in front of Aoi-chan’s face.

“It’s my treat today. You can have all the food you want.”
“…”

Ah, what an amusing expression!

“There’s no reason for you to pay for me, Souta Nii-san.”
“Yes, there is. I’m Iori’s big brother, so in my spare time I treat him to drinks and buy him things. Aoi-chan is Iori’s girlfriend, right? So she’s right in the Iori bracket of my spending.”
“What’s with that messed up logic…?”

She looked a bit happy, though I thought it was a…dumbfounded face. She was happy to be called Iori’s girlfriend. That reaction was so cute.

Okay, one more breath.

I deliberately made a mean face.

“I’ve got plenty of money, so don’t be shy. High school students can get part-time jobs, you know. It’s different from junior high school students who are still children.”
“Who’s a child?
“Oh, excuse me. I just told the truth.”

I shrugged my shoulders excessively and Aoi-chan made a face of disgust.

“I’m mad… I’m really not afraid to order, you know!? Like the Corkscrew Jumbo Parfait!”
“Have it your way. ..,Corkscrew what?”

What even is that name?
A parfait?

When I was tilting my head, the waitress came over to me and said, “Here you go.”
Well, I guess I’ll know a parfait when I see one.

“Aoi-chan. Order!
“I’m really, really going to order it.”
“Please, please, do as you wish.”

After successfully persuading Aoi-chan, we were ushered to our seats.

Now then, until Iori comes, this brother would take over the place.
It would be fine if we just paid and left first, but I’m sure Aoi-chan would feel uncomfortable being alone without her purse.

As I was thinking about this, Aoi-chan mumbled something as she walked behind me.
But her voice was too quiet to be heard properly.

“…and the way you get pushy when you think you’re doing them a favor, just like the Souta Nii-chan I’ve always imagined… He’s a pervert, but…it’s not fair that he’s suddenly helping me out like this.”
“? Sorry, I didn’t hear you well. What did you say?”

“—! I didn’t say anything! Souta-chan’s a pervert!
“I was just asking, but isn’t calling me a pervert too much?”

I was hoping that I could interact with her in a friendly way, but…this seemed to be a difficult way forward.