Chapter 11

TL: Chaos

ED: Mateo

It was the middle of July.

Early afternoon at the National S University.

The student cafeteria was crowded with hungry students looking for lunch. I was also eating a beef bowl to satisfy my appetite.

At the same table were Hoshino and Tokunaga, who were also in the same faculty of education as me, and they were eating the same beef bowl as me.

“I was dumped by my girlfriend.”

Suddenly, Hoshino said with a serious face.

“I finally got into a healthy relationship with a cute JK and was raising my likability, but she got mad at me for following her friend with my eyes and dumped me.”

“You're dating a human being, don't talk about likability like it's a game. I mean, if you were transparently eyeing other girls, it’s obvious that she’d dump you.”

I obviously retorted at Hoshino, who was making a face as if he was asking if he did something wrong. Why is Hoshino such a fool despite being good-looking and good at studying?

Then Hoshino quickly repositioned his glasses with his index finger.

“Damn… if I knew it was going to be like this, I should’ve immediately made it into an unhealthy relationship…”

“Go stand under a waterfall and wash away all your worldly desires.”

I wish you didn’t make a scummy statement with a cool face like that.

I felt pity for Hoshino, who couldn’t be normal, even though he would be popular if he was normal.

“I wonder if I should stop looking for a girlfriend and live a withered life like Kamijō…”

With those words, Hoshino rested his cheek on his hands and started eating his beef bowl.

“You shouldn’t rest your cheek on your hands while eating. Also I don’t have a withered life, I’m just dormant… at least I used to be.”

In the process of admonishing Hoshino for his rudeness, I ended up slurring my words. I recalled Erika-chan proposing to me.

Tokunaga, who had been engrossed in his beef bowl, as if he had noticed my complex expression, asked me.

“Nn? What is it? You sound like something happened. Maybe you've found a girl you like?”

“Umm… I’m not the one who fell in love though…”

‘What!? Did someone fall in love with Kamijō!?”

In response to my words, Hoshino shouted loudly. I wanted him to stop overreacting, because it's rude, but more than that, I wanted him to stop making noise in the cafeteria. The female students at the nearby table were glancing at our table.

“What? Who is it?”

Tokunaga leaned forward and questioned

When I answered, “My sister’s friend,” Hoshino shouted once again, “So a JK!?”

“Hoshino, I beg of you, just shut up and eat your beef bowl.”

I picked up a chunk of meat from Hoshino's beef bowl with my chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth. Hoshino silently ate it.

“Well, well~? So then, how is it now? Do you want to go out with her?”

Tokunaga said to me while smirking.

“Honestly, I have only thought of her as a little sister, so I rejected her. And now she’s ferociously appealing…”

I didn't want him to overreact, so I omitted the part where she suddenly proposed to me.

“Eh? What kind of ferocious appeal?”

As if he was very curious about the phrase ‘ferocious appeal’, Tokunaga leaned even further forward.

“Firstly… she wrote me love letters… lots of them.”

I decided to tell them about the day after the proposal.

Erika-chan brought a large number of love letters with her that day. Perhaps she ran out of cute writing paper, but the love messages were written on the back of school printouts and even on the back of commercial flyers. I was surprised to find out that Erika-chan had such passionate feelings for me, but…

“…When I read them, I was taken aback. The contents were a bit weak, and it was full of misspellings and scribbled out letters. It was the first time I saw someone make the mistake of writing the character for ‘strange’ instead of ‘love’ in ‘I fell in love’, and the character for ‘love’ in ‘I love you’ has a high stroke count, so it was written in a messy way to gloss over it.”

[TLN: ok… where do we begin… The first mistake she made was writing ‘変’(kanji for strange) instead of ‘恋’(kanji for love), the second was about the strokes in ‘愛’]

As I was explaining the love letter I got from Erika-chan, Tokunaga frowned.

“Don’t tell me, you… Did you point those out in front of the person herself?”

“Eh? I did though? I checked it with a red pen.”

“You total idiotttttt! You really don't understand anything about a woman’s heart! This is why amateur romantics are unpopular!”

This time, it was Tokunaga who shouted. It's pretty painful to be shouted at as an 'amateur romantic' in the school cafeteria.

“I can’t help it! It’s my ambition to become a Japanese teacher! I love the beautiful Japanese language! I can't just ignore it when it’s wrong!"

As I justified my actions, Hoshino, who had finished chewing his meat, joined the conversation.

“So? What was that JK's reaction?”

“Eh? Ah, she practiced writing kanji and happily learnt how to write ‘愛’ properly though?”

When I carefully taught her how to write, Erika-chan obediently practiced. She then handed me a piece of paper with the phrase, ‘I love you’ written neatly on it, saying, ‘This is for the real thing then.’

“What’s with that extinct species of naturally positive JK… If you showed up in front of me, I would’ve made you happy instead of making you do something pathetic like that…”

Hoshino held his hand to his forehead as he listened to me.

Tokunaga nodded in agreement with Hoshino.

“So? Leaving aside the Japanese teaching, did you reply to her love letter?”

Tokunaga asked me with a serious face.

“No… I just received it and said ‘thank you’ though…?”

When I answered, Hoshino's eyes widened.

“Why though!? Do you only teach how to correct love letters or something!? Reply to her properly!”

“I've already told her that I can't go out with her because I think of her like my little sister. So how am I supposed to respond to someone who writes me love letters even when I refuse?”

Erika-chan was so naive that she wouldn't have been able to do anything if I hadn't advised her. It was my brother's heart that wanted to do something for her.

When I imagined going out with Erika-chan, hugging her, and eventually kissing her… I felt kind of guilty.

He must have noticed the subtle expression on my face. Tokunaga looked at me and smiled calmly.

“Well, Kamijō is just too serious. Your biggest concern is that she’s a JK isn’t it? If so, you can ask her to wait until she’s no longer a JK. If that happens, then maybe Kamijō will be able to see her as a member of the opposite gender.”

It's true that what I'm most concerned about is the fact that Erika-chan is still in high school. Is it fine for me to make it clear that it’s impossible until she graduates?

As expected of Tokunaga, who has a high level of love. Thanks to him, I think I know how to explain it to Erika-chan.

My heart felt a little lighter.

However, Hoshino frowned

“It’s weird that you’d prefer her to not be a JK…”

“You need to be more self-restraining.”

After retorting to Hoshino's questionable comment, I started eating the rest of my beef bowl.

That evening.

When I came home and went to my room, I found Erika-chan lying on my bed for some reason. She even went to the trouble of covering herself with a futon and was completely relaxed.

“Welcome back~. Onii-san.”

Erika-chan looked happy as usual. I was a little relieved to see her like that

I was worried about Erika-chan after Hoshino and the others lambasted my handling of her love letters today. I was wondering what would happen if Erika-chan was actually shocked…But it seems that concern was unnecessary.

I scratched my head and spoke to Erika.

“I'm back. Um… Erika-chan. That's my bed…”

“If you want to use it, why not use it with me? Here…”

Saying that, she rolled up the futon. Erika-chan beckoned me to join her on the bed. Her shirt was unbuttoned more than usual. Her cleavage and light purple bra were slightly visible.

——She’s definitely doing it on purpose…

Instantly, my brain ordered me and said, “No looking! She has no awareness!”

“Nn? What’s wrong? Onii-san. Your face is red, you know? If you have a fever, why don’t you sleep with me?”

“Thanks for your concern. But I have to write a report for university, so I don't have time to sleep.”

“Eeh~? Aren’t you straining your body too much~?”

“Don't worry about it.”

If I seriously keep her company, I'll be doing exactly what she wants.

I went to my desk and started preparing my report. As I was about to start up my computer, I saw Erika-chan's figure creeping up behind me reflected on the black screen.

Erika-chan tightly snuggled up to my back and peered over my shoulder at the computer. Something warm and soft was pressed against my back. Naturally, it was impossible for me not to feel them.

[PR: WOOO]

“Are you going to write that report on the computer?”

“That’s right.”

“Amazing… You look cool like an adult man.”

If someone called me cool next to my ears, it’s natural that my body temperature would rise. It's a physiological reaction, regardless of my will.

“Huh? Onii-san, your ears are red, you know? Wouldn’t it be better to rest with me on the bed after all?”

“If you’re worried about my ears turning red, could you please stop whispering in my ear? Also while you’re at it, I’d appreciate it if you moved away from me….”

I was unconsciously speaking in a polite manner.

“I don’t wanna. It somehow feels good and warm clinging to Onii-san. I don’t wanna move away…” [TLN: once again there’s no way i did this justice, so imagine it about 15 million times cuter.]

This time, Erika-chan put her arms around me from behind and hugged me tightly.

The closeness increased.

“Um Erika-chan. I can’t move my arms.”

“I'll let you go if you marry me.”

“Erika, about that, I'm definitely not going out with you until you graduate from high school.”

“Why not? Why not while I’m in high school?”

Erika-chan pouted.

“That’s because… you’re still a child in high school. You can’t do a lot of things then…”

“What do you mean by ‘a lot of things’~?”

“T-that is… like kissing…”

At that moment, I felt something soft on my cheek.

I was so surprised that I was speechless.

“Haa? Even high schoolers can kiss just fine though~?”

The lips that touched my cheek were smiling happily.

Seeing this, something inside me snapped.

I stood up abruptly from my chair, and Erika-chan looked up at me with a slightly surprised expression. I stared down at Erika-chan in silence, and then closed in on her. Surprised by my unexpected action, Erika backed away and was driven against the wall.

I trapped Erika between my body and the wall and put my face close to hers.

“Don't tease an adult too much. You may think I can't do anything about it because I don’t have any experience in love, but a man can act on instinct if he wants to.”

When I said it in a lower voice than usual, Erika-chan's face turned red. Her neck and the skin peeking out from the chest of her shirt became beautifully crimson. Because her original skin tone was white, I could see the change clearly.

Erika-chan's reddened face and moistened eyes were quite a sight to behold. But this was just a performance. I wasn't trying to be serious at all.

I immediately moved away from her and patted her on the head.

‘You're like a little sister to me, so I’ll get along with you as much as you want, so cool your head a bit.”

I said, and Erika pursed her lips in frustration. Her face was still red and her eyes were still moist.

——I may have gone a little overboard.

As I was reflecting on whether I had scared her too much, Erika-chan suddenly grabbed me by the collar.

Erika-chan pulled me closer, and her lips met with mine. [PR: This girl is aggressive…]

“—Baka. There’s no way I can cool down after that. Rather… I’m burning up.” [PR: If any of you don’t know what ‘Baka’ means I’ll be disappointed]

Her eyes sparkled sharply.

Not good. These are not the eyes of someone who has given up.

Erika-chan quickly let go of my hand and left the room.

“Well then, see you later~”