Chapter 5

“Well, I mean, everyone knows her… Do we really need to introduce ourselves now?”

Just after the summer vacation, the incident occurred.

“I’m Akari Namiki. Please take care of me from now on.”

[……]

After the senior members quit, there were only the three of us… me, Nanami, and Yoshiki, who eventually became the head of the club.

Nanami was now the only female member of the club and I was hoping to get a new girl member if possible.

“We’ve got a new member today. Everyone, please get along with each other… We’re all a family now!”

… Sigh, how did I get into this mess?

A few days have passed since then, and our relationship has changed a lot.

First of all, my relationship with Nanami was dissolved. We were now childhood friends again.

However, she had become more aggressive in her approach.

She always asks me out on dates after club, and even on weekends, she wants to spend more time with me… I know this may seem like an extravagant concern, but I don’t know anymore.

And most of all, Akari.

After that, she said that she would stop spying on me.

She said, now that she can talk to me normally, she doesn’t need to look through the cameras anymore.

I was relieved to have solved my biggest problem at the moment, but I’m also surprised at how drastic her actions were.

And as for the note, it seems she’s still writing it.

I say 'seems” because since then I haven’t been able to sneak into her room to check, so I don’t know what’s going on in there.

Well, I’ve told Akari everything, so I can’t do what I’ve been doing.

However, because of the distant approach of the past, recently, perhaps as a reaction to this, she has become as bold as Nanami.

In her words,

“You’re the one who said it didn’t have to be normal. So I’ve stopped hiding it from you.”

As she said, she started to follow me around outside without a care in the world, and whenever I hung out with Nanami, she always followed me, literally.

Every time she does this, it creates an awkward atmosphere with Nanami. I’d be happy if they could be a little friendlier.

And the most important part is this,

“I want to join your club, Onii-chan.”

As soon as the seniors left the club, Akari turned in her application to join the same club as me.

At first, Yoshiki was quite surprised, but he agreed, saying it was a good thing because the number of female club members had been decreasing.

Thus, Akari Namiki joined our club as a new member.

It’s summer now, so there’s not much to talk about, but I’m sure it’ll be a big deal when the second semester starts. ….

I thought of all the people I’d seen the other day who were her fans to be fans and wondered what the future held.

Lastly, her relationship with Nanami, which is the most important thing… did not get any better.

On the surface, they were having a normal conversation, but it was obvious that they were giving each other fake smiles.

The three of us have been spending a lot of time together on our days off lately, but now it’s going to be in the club, and maybe more so after school too!

… Well, it was my decision. So I just have to do my best.

… So everyone. Have you ever experienced being troubled by a woman who likes you?

Well, I don’t want to ask too much because I feel like I’ll just make enemies without a second thought… You know, I mean, I experienced it, “troubled by the person who loves you.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to pick a fight with you guys.

This question is not meant to incite you, nor am I trying to brag about my popularity to an unspecified number of people. I just want you to understand that.

Yes, this is not a boast or anything like that, but I want you to listen to this purely as advice for my problems.

My sister and childhood friend have been approaching me a lot recently, what should I do?

***

“Hmm. I never expected Akari to join the club.”

I heard Onii-Chan’s voice through the headphones.

His video streamed on my monitor.

“I’m sorry, Onii-Chan. I lied to you.”

Onii-chan, who thinks that all the cameras and microphones have completely disappeared from his room, was showing me his natural appearance today.

It was only a small discomfort until now, but Onii-chan did not check his room. Maybe because he was too relaxed.

“But from now on…”

I want you to show me all of you, Onii-chan.

I want to see as you really are, not as you show me.

So I opened a blank notebook to write down my new… plan while looking at my Onii-chan.