Imari’s Sermon

After chatting with Imari for a bit, we resumed our studies. Concentrating on our books for about an hour left our heads feeling tired, so we decided to take a break at Imari’s suggestion.

As we rested and sipped the tea Imari had made, I casually broached a topic.

“By the way…”

“Hm?”

“About the story of not being able to sleep because of studying for the test last night, that was a lie, right?”

“…Huh?”

Imari’s sudden question caught me off guard, and I couldn’t help but make a strange noise. She continued with an expression that seemed to see through everything.

“Miyoshi-kun, you’re really bad at lying.”

“Wha- you knew? Geez…”

To be honest, I didn’t expect Imari to be fooled by my lie. So while it wasn’t surprising, I was curious why she brought it up now.

“Then why did you agree to have a study session with me if you knew I was lying?”

“Because you tried so hard to hide it, Miyoshi-kun. It seemed like you were hiding something suspicious. Like… maybe something to do with your little sister.”

Imari wore a confident smile, seemingly sure of herself. Ah, so Imari really can see through everything, huh?

“I guess I can’t hide anything from you, Imari.”

“That’s not true! There’s still so much I don’t know. I barely understand anything, including you, Miyoshi-kun.”

“Is that so? From my perspective, it feels like you know everything.”

As I said that, Imari let out a small chuckle.

“If I really understood everything about you, I wouldn’t have to struggle so much…”

She muttered softly with a slightly downcast expression.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

When I asked, Imari quickly returned to her cheerful demeanor.

“Oh, it’s nothing. But more importantly, what happened? Tell me about it.”

“…Yeah, I guess I can’t fool you, Imari.”

“I know right?”

Imari proudly puffed out her chest.

I resigned myself and began recounting what happened last night.

“So, you see, there was quite a commotion…” 

Imari, who had been listening silently the whole time, finally spoke up.

“What are you doing?”

“Hiiiiiii!!”

Imari’s voice had a weight to it.

I trembled in fear and quickly assumed a prostrating posture.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! I’ve really messed up!!!”

“You know, Miyoshi-kun, you want to be like a big brother, right? You’ve always wanted a sibling, haven’t you?”

“W-Well, yes, that’s correct. But, you see, yesterday, Yukine brought out her full determination…”

“It’s the right thing for a proper onii-chan to scold and firmly reject such things, isn’t it? Why didn’t you reject her seriously? Isn’t the problem the lenient way you’ve been handling things until now?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

Her argument was so overwhelmingly logical that I couldn’t even come up with a counterargument.

Imari’s sense of justice was undeniable, but sometimes it manifested like this, showing its teeth.

Once again, I felt the terrifying power of Imari Asami.

“Come on, Miyoshi-kun, get it together.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Imari sighed deeply.

“What do you want, Miyoshi-kun? Do you really want to be siblings with Yukine-chan?”

“I really do! But, I don’t want to make Yukine sad, you know? There’s a part of me that wants to spoil her, to give what Yukine wants…”

“That’s not going to work!”

“I’m sorry!!!”

Imari’s preaching mode intensified rapidly.

“It has to be one or the other! Is Miyoshi-kun going to properly settle things as a big brother, or are you just going to marry Yukine-chan?”

“W-What?! M-Marriage with Yukine, that’s…!”

“In the end, isn’t that how it’s going to be? Because Yukine-chan genuinely likes you, Miyoshi-kun.”

“Well, you know, isn’t it like… common? When you’re little, you say, ‘I’m going to marry Daddy!’ or something like that. Isn’t there a possibility it’s that kind of pattern?”

“She’s been blatantly given you an aphrodisiac and practically proposed, even kissed, right?”

Imari said, looking exasperated.

“I knew it’s excessive love!”

“So, don’t you think it’s better to be clear about it? What do you want, Miyoshi-kun?”

Asked by Imari, I pondered in my head.

“Well, I…”

Until now, I had just gone with the flow, never really considering Yukine’s feelings seriously. 

Now, I had to think about it properly. 

What did I want? Who did I want to become? What future did I desire?

And the answer was…

“I want to remain close siblings with Yukine.”

As I reached my conclusion, Imari smiled softly.

“Yeah, if that’s how you feel, stick to it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s my fault for being so wishy-washy. I’ll try to communicate it clearly to her.”

“Hehe, sounds like a plan.”

With Imari’s somewhat stern yet valuable advice coming to an end, the atmosphere relaxed.

“Anyway, I wonder how I can get Yukine to give up on me romantically…”

I stretched, trying to relax, and casually mentioned.

To which Imari took a sip from her cup before saying, 

“Well, how about dating me?”

“―Huh?”