Chapter 9 – Selfies

To get straight to the point, Nii-chan wasn’t home.

“Ah, welcome home, Otouto-kun~”

But Nii-chan’s girlfriend, Hidaka-san, was there.

Could this be that classic rom-com development — the 【Brother’s Girlfriend Who Gets the Hots for the Younger Brother Instead and Aggressively Comes On to Him】 trope? That’d be a problem. I’m a bit wary of older women. I mean, I already have to deal with someone like Wano-sensei.

“Huh? What’s going on? Nii-chan came home, right?”

“Hm? I just got caught up talking with Kazu-kun’s mom. Plus, I had some business with you, Otouto-kun.”

See? I knew it.

“What is it?”

“My little sister is transferring to your school soon, Otouto-kun, but she’s really shy, so I was hoping you could be friends with her.”

Ah, I see. So it’s that.

“I don’t mind trying to get along with her, but you know I don’t have any friends, right?”

“It’s fine. My sister doesn’t have any friends either.”

I don’t know what part of that is supposed to be fine, but if she’s Hidaka-san’s sister, she’s definitely going to be cute. A perk is a perk.

“She’s a slightly weird girl, but please don’t hate her, okay?”

I suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over me. As it is, I’m already surrounded by weird girls lately.

“Oh, looks like my manager is here to pick me up. I’m taking off. If I don’t hurry up and wash Kazu-kun’s clothes and hang them out to dry, they won’t dry by tomorrow. Oh, right — about my sister, is it okay if I bring her over next week?”

“That’s fine. Wait, you’re washing Nii-chan’s clothes?”

“Hm? Didn’t you hear from Kazu-kun? Actually, we’ve been living together for a little while now. We’re planning to get married once my current job settles down, so make sure you call me Onee-chan then, okay?”

Eh? What’s with that? My brother, who lost weight and became a total ikemen, is marrying a popular voice actress, and that voice actress is going to be my sister-in-law? I love you, Nii-chan. Nii-chan is the best.

“Understood. Onee-chan.”

“J-Jeez~! I told you it’s too early to call me that! But I’m so happy! Ehehe~”

I take back what I said. Getting to marry someone this cute with such an adorable voice is way too enviable. I hate you, Nii-chan. Nii-chan is the worst.

“I’ll get going, then.”

“Okay.”

Hidaka-san lightly patted my head before leaving through the front door.

After seeing her off, I went to my own room.

“Now then.”

Alright, first things first — let’s take out my smartphone.

The screen read 【22 Unread Messages】.

The last message was received 15 minutes ago. Looking at the clock, it’s currently 18:27.

The sender, Wano-sensei, commutes by car and is single, so right about now she should be driving or shopping and definitely not looking at her phone. Now’s my only chance!

I opened the message screen at the absolute fastest speed I could muster. I didn’t want to leave read receipts if possible, but I’m the type who hates having unread notifications, so that it couldn’t be helped.

Then, looking at the messages she’d sent — alongside a photo of her wearing a school swimsuit that was riding up aggressively — I started deleting them, even as a dizzy spell washed over me.

Alright, at this pace, I’ll make it. I can close the message screen before she realizes I’ve left a read receipt.

Ping!

“Ah…”

“You finally looked at my school swimsuit pics. I’ve been in my car in the parking lot this whole time, charging my phone and watching the screen until the read receipt showed up. Hey, what do you think? Did your heart race? Are you aroused? Did you experience thermal expansion? As for Sensei? I’m already in a siphon state, you know.”

Scary. Way too scary. Just imagining her staring at her phone in a dark car this whole time is scary enough, but not understanding what she’s even talking about is the scariest part of all.

But the biggest problem right now was that this message had also been marked as read.

“Still no reply~?”

“I’m still waiting in the car, you know?”

“You don’t have to hold back just because I’m your Sensei, okay?”

“Tell me if there’s anything you want me to do.”

“By the way, this is the kind of underwear I have on today.”

And what came through next was a photo taken from above, with the neckline of her top pulled open.

It showed her cleavage illuminated by the smartphone’s light, along with a faintly see-through black lace bra.

Guh… good grief. I hate to admit it, but that angle is playing dirty, Sensei. I ended up saving it without thinking.

“I have this kind too, you know?”

And the next thing she sent was a selfie taken while she was on all fours in what looked like her bedroom.

One of her pajama buttons was undone, exposing her cleavage and revealing breasts hanging downward due to gravity. The peaks, however, were hidden.

Does Wano-sensei know that I have a weakness for the gap that forms at the neckline when someone leans forward? Is that why she’s sending me photos like this?

M-My heart won’t be swayed by photos like this! I haven’t forgotten how I was almost eaten alive in the chemistry prep room!

Ping!

“I even tried styling my hair like this, despite my age. It’s a little embarrassing.”

And the photo that arrived showed Wano-sensei sitting flat on her bed, still in the same pajamas.

Wearing pigtails!

“I think you look very cute.”

Ah, crap.

“C-Cute!? Eh, really!? Yayyy~♪ Akasaka-kun wasn’t replying at all, so I thought I was being ignored, but for you to say I’m cute… I really love you…”

I messed up.

No, I’m not in the wrong here. It’s the pigtails’ fault for being so cute.

I really don’t want to go to school tomorrow…