I Got Dumped by My Childhood Friend Fiancée Who I Didn’t Even Like, I Thought I Could Finally Have a Peaceful School Life… But Then I Got Targeted by SS-Class Beautiful Young Ladies

Chapter 23: [Two-Faced Brocon] The Ice-Cold Student Council President Is Way Too Sweet Only to Her Little Brother

The sister who turned her face toward me with that sharp, composed expression—Kirishima Yuzuka.

Because of her natural cat-like upturned eyes, even when she’s just going about her day, people around her can’t help feeling intimidated.

Right now those eyes piercing me still look plenty sharp, but that’s probably just her unconsciously radiating that intimidating aura again. I really hope it has nothing to do with me ignoring her calls.

“I called you forty times and you didn’t pick up once, so I got worried something happened—like maybe you’d been in an accident or whatever.”

“Forty times……”

My sister said that ridiculous number with a completely straight face, totally calm.

Still, the way her tone got just a tiny bit sharper told me she was at least somewhat holding a grudge about the missed calls.

I stuck an awkward, forced smile on my face to dodge the real topic and cautiously opened my mouth.

“……Um, so, Yuzuka…… why exactly are you here?”

“……? Is it really that weird for a worried big sister to come check on her unhealthy little brother who lives alone?”

She tilted her head just a fraction and stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Her voice sounded exactly like the one I’ve always known, yet for some reason my stomach was twisting into tight knots.

—I mean, this person has literally never once come to my place because she was “worried” about me…… the whole premise feels off from start to finish……

But after years of experience I’ve learned that arguing pointlessly here is a terrible move.

So instead I kept things safe—basically just going along with her—and continued the conversation.

“……No, well…… it’s not exactly weird, but”

“……But?”

“……I would’ve appreciated at least a heads-up beforehand…… or something.”

“Ehh. That’s why I called forty times?”

“…………”

As expected from my sister. That sticky, sarcastic way of phrasing things is so perfectly Kirishima-family.

When I couldn’t say anything and just looked away, she let out a small sigh, pushed herself off the wall, and

“Anyway…… let me in already? I’m not here to stand around chatting in the doorway.”

She gave a look that clearly ordered me to unlock the front door.

Seeing that, I took a short breath. Then, with a sliver of hope, I tried the weakest possible pushback.

“……Uh～, just asking, but…… how about you head back for today and we talk properly another time at an appropriate place……?”

“No way. This one is urgent. Besides…… you haven’t forgotten whose help let you live alone in a place like this, right?”

“That’s…… yeah……”

“Good boy. So…… can you open the door now?”

“Yes……”

In the end I gave in to the familiar quiet pressure. Under my sister’s watchful eye I unlocked the door and let the uninvited guest into my room.

＊

“Hmm…… surprisingly tidy in here, huh? Even without any staff.”

“W-well…… turns out I have at least a decent level of solo-living skill……”

“Right. You’ve got the bare minimum life skills, at least.”

Was that a compliment or a dig? The evaluation was so perfectly balanced I couldn’t tell.

While delivering that ambiguous judgment, Yuzuka slowly scanned the whole room.

The shelves, the desk. The kitchen area, even into the bedroom. It was like she was tracing every trace of daily life.

“……Mind if I open the fridge?”

“You actually ask for that one……”

“I’m opening it, okay?”

“Yeah…… you’re already opening it anyway, aren’t you?”

I threw in a half-hearted little jab at her usual my-pace attitude.

She didn’t seem to care at all. With a clack she pulled the fridge door wide.

After checking inside for a few seconds, she quietly closed it again.

“……Well, it’s at least on the ‘won’t die immediately’ level.”

“Can we please not use that as the standard?”

A short, matter-of-fact exchange wrapped in that unique older-sister-younger-brother atmosphere.

I’d tried to reply in a light tone, but the air didn’t lighten even a little.

After wandering around my room for a while like she was inspecting everything, she seemed to get bored of that too.

Her previously drifting steps suddenly gained clear purpose and headed straight toward one spot.

Then, just as abruptly, both feet stopped dead.

The place she ended up——only a few centimeters away from me. Literally right in front of my face, nose-to-nose……

……Yeah, of course it ends up like this. I mean, the second she stepped inside I kinda knew……

“So then…… Yoichi. The usual…… is that okay?”

“If we’re calling it ‘the usual,’ then no, it’s really not okay……”

While saying that, I took one small step backward.

But that tiny bit of resistance was pointless. Yuzuka closed the gap with an even bigger step and——

“Yaaan! ♡ Yoichi after so long～!! ♡ My cute little brother～♡”

A super-sweet, syrupy purr came out—nothing like the flat tone she’d been using until a second ago.

She threw her arms around me hard, burying her face in my neck and sniffing loudly like she was enjoying every bit of it.

“Hey, Yuzuka…… that hurts, you know. And I’m not ‘yours,’ okay……”

“Why would you say something so mean～! Big sis is sad now? Back in the day you used to tell me ‘When I grow up I’m definitely gonna marry big sis～!’”

“That was seriously forever ago……?”

“Eh!? That was a lie!? Wait, does that mean Yoichi’s a little player now……? But but! A Yoichi who’s learned how to play around with girls has way more depth as a man! Still the best little brother in the world～♡”

“No, stop!! I’m not a player or anything!! Stop creating weird misunderstandings!?”

Even putting that aside, hearing the actual words “learned how to play around with girls” from my real older sister is mentally rough…… please just stop……

I let out the heaviest sigh of the day and gently pushed her shoulders back.

“……Yuzuka. You do realize what position you’re in, right?”

“What do you mean～?”

“You’re the only daughter of the Kirishima family, a promising young lady with a bright future. At school you’re the student council president at that fancy elite academy, and your popularity—especially among the girls—is insane. You’ve even got a fan club. So how exactly does it look for someone like that to be sniffing her little brother and squealing……?”

When you actually put it into words, the current version of my sister looks even more pathetic.

I grimaced awkwardly while offering that gentle criticism and question. She paused for a second, thinking, then tilted her head with a genuinely puzzled look.

“……Huh? Is there some kind of problem??”

“In general, yeah, huge problem.”

“Oh…… But I can’t help being a total brocon, you know……”

She said it so lightly, so refreshingly straightforward.

Yeah. This person is fully aware she’s a brocon. And because she’s aware and not even slightly embarrassed about it, she’s incredibly troublesome.

—Well…… I can’t exactly complain too much since her liking me has gotten me a ton of benefits……

Living alone is one thing, but the only reason I can even attend that school is thanks to Yuzuka putting in a good word. No question.

That’s exactly why I can’t push back against her too hard……

“Don’t go announcing it, though.”

“It’s not something I need to hide, is it? Besides, outside I’m my usual self, you know? I never mix public and private!”

“Haa…………”

If the girls at school saw this scene right now, what would happen?

—They’d probably die of shock.

The person everyone calls the Ice Queen student council president, rubbing up against her little brother like a cat—who could even imagine that?

“……Your brand value’s about to crash hard.”

“Who cares about that. I decide my own value. And besides……”

There. I could feel the temperature in her voice drop just a little.

She took a small breath, then

“When it comes to anything about you, I don’t care what anyone thinks. Really…… if it weren’t for the Kirishima name, we could be together all the time, even outside……”

Those quietly spoken words sent a real shiver down my spine. She definitely meant every single one.

For a while after that she petted my head, pinched my cheeks until they squished, treated me completely like a pet toy—until finally, when my spirit was just about worn out, she let go.

Yuzuka took one satisfied deep breath and sat down on the sofa.

“……Okay then. Time to get to the real reason I’m here.”

“Huh? Everything up till now wasn’t the main topic?”

I asked back in an exhausted voice, eyebrows scrunched.

She smiled at my reaction and

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? There’s an urgent matter.”

The sweetness from just seconds ago had vanished completely from her tone.

I could clearly feel the atmosphere shift color.

“The current head of the Kirishima family—Father—told me to bring you to the family dinner.”

“…………What?”

“And it’s today.”

“Today!?”