Well, I’m currently at a diner with Aoi-chan.

My role was to hold things together until Iori arrives.

Not long after we ordered, the parfait arrived, and Aoi-chan and I had opposite reactions.

“Seriously…”
“Wow!”

Corkscrew Jumbo Parfait.
As the name suggested, it’s screwy. It was very twisted.

The cream piled high, the strawberries and other fruits were cut into pieces, the sticks of sweets sticking out of the parfait like hedgehogs, and even the parfait’s container were all wonderfully screwed together.

And it was big.
It was the size of an unrelenting bucket.
It was hard to believe that a single junior high school girl could eat it all.

But apparently, eating the parfait was not the goal.
As soon as she saw the parfait, Aoi-chan’s spirits soared and she started taking pictures.

“Wow! It’s really screwy. Is this some kind of curse? Look, look, Souta Nii-chan-san! This is definitely going to look great.”
“Ah, yes, I see it, I see it. It’s so twisted that it’s like, ‘Did linear motion kill your parents?’ Even a unicorn in the dark wouldn’t look like this, I’m sure.”

I took a long sip of my coffee.
In the meantime, Aoi-chan was still taking pictures, squealing. She was probably going to upload it to one of those photo-sharing apps that are all popular nowadays.

I was not too familiar with those apps, since Yuika doesn’t use them, but I see a lot of girls taking pictures at school. Aoi-chan seemed to be on the bandwagon as well.

At any rate, she was smiling with a lot of excitement, so I’m happy for her.

“It’s popular in my class to post pictures of the Corkscrew Jumbo Parfait here. But I’m having trouble eating it all by myself.”
“Yeah, so that’s why you wanted to come with Iori today. But isn’t it still too much for you? Iori don’t eat much.”

“That’s right, we were talking about how it might be tough even with the two of us… But if it’s the three of us, including Souta Nii-chan-san, we can manage, right?”
“Eh, I eat too?”

“Of course! Actually, if you eat all the food, the mascot Corkscrew-chan’s finishing blow pose is drawn on the bottom of the container, and I definitely want to take a picture of that. Can you help me?”

“Of course I’d love to.”
“Yes, that would be great! Thank you very much!”
“Oh, ohh…That’s good.”

She was really excited. You said that with a sparkling smile, as your Onii-san, I’m little happy.

“You said that with a sparkling smile, as your Onii-san, I’m little happy.”

…Ah, shoot. Because of my unaccustomed happiness, I said what I was thinking.
Aoi-chan seemed to notice the tension in my voice, and instantly fell silent.

She also seemed to be slightly taken aback by my comment.
I got a wary look from across the table.

“…S-Sorry, but I was careless… I-I’m not going to fall for your perverted’s schemes, okay? It’s no use trying to get me to open up like this, you know? I’m happy with the parfait, but I won’t forgive your heart. I’m happy for the parfait, but…”

You said it twice.
It seemed that the Corkscrew Jumbo Parfait has penetrated Aoi’s heart more than expected. That was the Corkscrew. A world-class sniper.

And let’s not forget the tactless comment that it was Aoi who ordered the parfait, so it wasn’t even my idea… Instead, this was the scene where I should land a series of blows.

“Aoi-chan.”
“W-What is it?”
“Would you like to order another one?”
“Eh…!?”

The wariness faded from her expression.
Instead, I saw a glimpse of great expectations that cannot be hidden.

“What do you mean…a-another one? What the hell are you asking me to do with another one?”
“Kukuku, it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

I quietly raised my fist and twisted my arm in a jerk.

“Corkscrew.”
“King of Kings!”

Aoi-chan rised from the table in excitement.
Ah, she had read that boxing manga. Did she borrow it from Iori?

Aoi-chan sits back down restlessly, her eyes wandering.

“Double Corkscrew…sounds very good, but is it okay? It’s a godless act…”
Sure, it could be an act like the superhuman strength of 12 million in Nazo Theory. But don’t you want it? Two Corkscrew Jumbo Parfaits side by side, a divine sight!”

“Ugh, right…! No one in my class has ever taken such a divine picture. But who’s going to eat it? Even a single Corkscrew was supposed to take three people to eat.”
“Don’t worry.”

I picked up a spoon and held it up with a graceful hand with an afterimage effect.

“I’ll eat it!”
“Souta Nii-chan-san…”
“Aoi-chan and Iori can eat 0.5 cups. The other 1.5 cups are mine. And then the game is set. We are the King of Kings!”

“Cool! It’s just a story about eating parfaits, but I’m starting to think it’s cool because I want to take a picture of the Double Corkscrew! Ah, but-”

Aoi-chan, for a moment, reverted to a straight face.

“Please put down the spoon right now, I want to take a picture of the two cups together, I don’t want you to start eating already.”

“Mm, you’re right. I was about to start devouring the first cup when you said I was cool too.”

I put the spoon back with a graceful hand with an afterimage effect…

I rang the bell next to the table and ordered an additional parfait from the waitress.
The waitress, a girl about my age, said, “Oh, crazy!” and gave me a thumbs-up. This place has a lot of energy. It was like my part-time job.

When she left, the atmosphere calmed down a bit.

Aoi-chan took a sip of her tea.
She glanced at me and mumbled.

“I never thought I’d see the day when I’d have tea with Souta Nii-chan-san like this.
“Really? I had a feeling it would come someday. You’re Iori’s girlfriend.”
“…Goodness.”

The girl in front of me sighed lightly.
She was half happy, half dismayed.

“Souta Nii-chan-san is a…weird person.”
“How am I a pervert?”
“I think he is a pervert.
“We still can’t get over this misunderstanding…Ugh.”

I hold my eyes in sorrow.
Then Aoi-chan shook her fluffy hair and gave a small laugh.

“…I actually have very mixed feelings about this. About Souta Nii-chan-san.”
“Mixed?”
Yes. Souta Nii-chan-san is…my rival.”

A somewhat melancholy chuckle.
I blinked my eyes, unsure of her meaning.

Aoi-chan traced the edge of the cup of tea with her fingertips.
Her bangs swayed, and her eyes looked this way.

“Do you know who Iori-kun’s first love was?”
“Ahh…That’s what you mean?”

I understood.
I was still skeptical, but I’ve heard something like that from Yuika before.

She said Iori’s first love was me.

“So we’re rivals. I see. …But now that you’re together, Aoi-chan’s already winning, right?”
“Yes, we are dating. But I’m not sure…if all of Iori’s feelings are for me, to be honest, I’m not confident.”
“Hmm?”

I raised my eyebrows.
Aren’t you two lovebirds?
Yesterday, Iori was on the phone with an aura of happiness, you know?

“I’ve had a crush on him since elementary school… Iori-kun, on the other hand, always thought of me as a friend. The fact that we are now dating was largely due to good luck. It’s also thanks to Souta Nii-chan-san and his Onee-chan…”

I looked down at the surface of the tea.

“I’ve known about Iori-kun’s first love since I was in elementary school. Iori told me that he was a really good-looking, dependable older brother. …I was an only child, so I’ve been trying to tell myself that my ideal brother was the same as his and that I can’t help it if he’s the one that Iori-kun likes.”

…I see.

As expected, I felt bad.

“When you met his ideal brother, you found out that he was a…’normal brother who was appropriate for his age’.”
“That’s a very roundabout way of saying that he was a ‘pervert who likes to pee’.”

The relentless words gouged my heart a bit. It was painful.
Well, anyway…

“I’m not confident if all of Iori’s feelings are for me, or…”

This was a serious matter.
I took a sip of my coffee and put the cup down.

My eyes go to the younger girl.
The after-school sunlight streamed through the window, gently illuminating us.

“Let’s talk about the past. It was a year and a half ago, though.”
“…Eh, a year and a half ago?”

Her expression changed. She was surprised and mildly nervous.
Aoi-chan knows that Yuika was a recluse. She must have heard about it from Iori. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited her home.

The time of a year and a half ago indicated the time when Yuika started to become a recluse.
In response to Aoi-chan’s nervousness, I relaxed my shoulders and opened my mouth.

“It was not easy to be in a situation where you can’t see the other person’s feelings. I remember that too. After all, she’s in her room and doesn’t even show hre face.”
“Iori-kun’s sister…”

“That’s right. I’ve been with her since we were kids, and we both knew what we were getting into. But it was not a confirmation. So, well…I have to admit, I was a bit taken aback. The first time I visited her room after she became a recluse, I wondered if it would really be okay for me to pry open her door.”
“Even Souta Nii-chan-san?”

I shrugged my shoulders lightly.

“I mean, I like her, but if she didn’t like me, it would be weird wouldn’t it? No, really, I was troubled. I was at the door for about three minutes.”
“Three minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time, but…what did you do with it?”

Almost unconsciously, Aoi-chan leaned forward.

“How could Souta Nii-chan-san decide to move forward if you weren’t sure of the her feelings?”
“It’s simple. —I stopped worrying about it.”
“What?”

I clenched my fist tightly against the younger girl.

“If she doesn’t like me now, I can make her fall in love with me in the future. That’s what I realized, so I stormed into Yuika’s room.”

Aoi-chan looked as if scales had fallen from her eyes, “Ah…”.
I slowly twisted my wrist and stuck it out.

 

“Go for it, Iori’s heartbreak shot. Hit it like you’re digging in.”

 

Aoi-chan was dumbfounded for a while. But after a while, she started to gush.
It was a girlish, carefree smile.

“I don’t know what you mean. But when Souta Nii-chan-san says it, it has a mysterious persuasive power. What the heck is with it?”
“But it’s not wrong, is it?”
“It’s not wrong, but it’s fundamentally wrong. Unlike Iori-kun, who thought of me as a friend, his sister probably has always been in love with Souta Nii-chan-san.”

“Eh, I-I don’t know if that’s true. Haha.”
“The embarrassed look on your face pisses me off. You extrovert!”
“I don’t want to be told that by someone who has a boyfriend, you extrovert.”

We stared at each other. But the air was calm and we both laughed at the same time.

“Well, If you don’t think Iori is completely in love with you yet, make him fall in love with you. You’re already dating. It’s a win-win situation, no matter how you look at it.　You can be confident, Aoi-chan. I guarantee it.”
“I feel like I’m being told the hard way, but…yeah, it made me feel a little better.”

Aoi-chan placed her hand on her chest and took a small deep breath.

“I feel like…the brother I had in mind was like this.”
“Aoi-chan?”
“So, just in case, I’d like to say thank you properly. Thank you very much. Umm…”

Aoi-chan said.
Her brown hair swayed softly.
She looked up at me as if she was trying to see my expression.

 

“…Souta, Onii-chan.”

 

Zukun!
My heart was shot out of my chest by the raging impact.
It was a splendid heartbreak shot.

“Oh, oh, ohh..”
“Eh?” Why did you suddenly hold your chest? What’s wrong, Souta Onii-chan?”
“Wuha!?”
“Waa, you’re about to cough up blood!?”
“It just came to me…”
“Heh?”

I clenched my fists and looked up at the sky.
It just came to me!
She’s my little brother’s girlfriend, which means she’s my…

 

To Be Continued.