I can no longer hold you in my arms?

    ?

    Ryuzaki was not too far away.?

    ?

    He was leaning against a tree, nodding off.?

    ?

    Azusa was slowly walking up to him.?

    ?

    “Ryoma Onii-chan ……, are you okay? You weren’t looking well, so I chased after you. Did that …… something happen to you?”?

    ?

    I had to hide myself from view a little farther away to get a better look.?

    ?

    Ryuzaki was still nodding off with a pathetic look on his face, even though Azusa had come to see him.?

    ?

    “…… It’s nothing.”?

    ?

    “It’s not nothing, is it?”?

    ?

    “I said it’s nothing!”?

    ?

    I guess he has no room in his heart. Ryuzaki, who is usually kind to the sub-heroines, is yelling at her.?

    ?

    It seems that the sound of a man yelling is more frightening to women and children than we can imagine.?

    ?

    But Azusa was unfazed as she stared at Ryuzaki.?

    ?

    “……Ryoma Onii-chan, you look very uncool right now.”?

    ?

    “What!?”?

    ?

    Azusa’s voice was firm and strong.?

    ?

    Ryuzaki glared at her in anger, but Azusa did not flinch at all.?

    ?

    “It’s no wonder Shimotsuki-san doesn’t like you when you look like that.”?

    ?

    Ryuzaki was severely unnerved by these words.?

    ?

    “Why are you talking about Shiho ……?”?

    ?

    “I know, I know. I didn’t need to be told that Ryoma Onii-chan was in love with Shimotsuki-san, I was aware of it. Because Azusa had been looking at Ryoma Onii-chan for a long time, you know? You’ve been thinking about her all the time. How can I not understand~!”?

    ?

    And finally, it began.?

    ?

    The biggest and saddest scene of the sub-heroines opens now …….?

    ?

    “Because Azusa loves Ryoma Onii-chan.”?

    ?

    –At last, Azusa confessed.?

    ?

    Even the most insensitive of protagonists would not be able to misunderstand something when it is said so clearly.?

    ?

    “…… What? What did you say?”?

    ?

    But then again, …… the protagonist also had the skill of hearing loss.?

    ?

    Thanks to this, he can trample on the affections of the sub-heroines without them noticing his thoughts.?

    ?

    But that skill seems to be useless now.?

    ?

    “I said I love you ……, not as a friend, of course. I love you as a boy. I want to spend all my time with you, Ryoma Onii-chan. I want to go on dates with you, I want to touch you, I want you to touch me, and I want to make out with you. I want you to give me everything you have. That’s how much I love you!”?

    ?

    Without the slightest room for doubt, Azusa blurted out her feelings of “I love you”.?

    ?

    Even the most insensitive of protagonists can’t pretend not to notice when someone says something like that.?

    ?

    “…… Oh, you’re kidding, right? I can’t believe …… Azusa likes me. …… You must be joking, right?”?

    ?

    “I’m serious. I love you, Ryoma Onii-chan. …… If you can’t hear me, I’ll tell you as many times as you want. If you don’t believe me, I can give you a hundred reasons why I like you. So, believe me, …… I’m not kidding, listen to me. Accept Azusa’s feelings. …… Let me at least say I love you!”?

    ?

    Azusa’s pure feelings echoed in the forest at night.?

    ?

    In the distance, I could faintly hear the voices of my classmates. Maybe the campfire is about to start……. Little by little, it’s getting noisier.?

    ?

    On the other hand, things were getting more and more exciting here too.?

    ?

    When the protagonist heard Azusa’s words, he slowly raised his head.?

    ?

    “So, it’s true……”?

    ?

    “Yes, but I don’t want to see you now. But I don’t want to see Ryoma Onii-chan’s face right now. …… I don’t want to see his face when he’s whimpering and miserable. Azusa’s favorite Ryoma Onii-chan has a much better face, you know? Even though Azusa tried her best to approach you, you were still trying to look cool by saying, “Oh dear.” …… I don’t know how many times I wanted to punch you.”?

    ?

    …… Honestly, I want to cover my ears.?

    ?

    I can see where this is going.?

    ?

    It’s like a farce. It’s a terrible game, and it’s not even funny.?

    ?

    Although she said a lot of things, what Azusa wanted to convey was just one point, “I like Ryuzaki.”?

    ?

    And Ryuzaki, thanks to being told over and over again, seems to have finally come to realize this.?

    ?

    “So, don’t be depressed, okay? You can still be Azusa’s favorite Ryoma Onii-chan. …… You love Shimotsuki-san, don’t you? If so, it would be a shame to give up, wouldn’t it? Azusa’s favorite Ryoma Onii-chan is a very weak man, but when he wants to do something ……, he does it.”?

    ?

    That affirmation becomes a medicine.?

    ?

    This is a great way to energize the protagonist who has lost his confidence.?

    ?

    “You’re right……. I haven’t done anything yet. I haven’t even told Shiho how I feel about her, and it’s …… disgraceful to give up and slump over.”?

    ?

    The voice of the protagonist, who had been sullen until a moment ago, regained its strength.?

    ?

    “It’s not like this is me. …… I’m much cooler now that Azusa likes me. …… So, yeah. I’m going to confess properly!”?

    ?

    Finally, the time had come.?

    ?

    The harem protagonist’s biggest flaw, has been eliminated by the subheroine’s confession.?

    ?

    This is the unique “awakening” of the protagonist.?

    ?

    No one can stop him now.?

    ?

    The story is only going to rise. Every wind that blows from now on will be a tailwind for the protagonist, and he will become the rightful owner of opportunism.?

    ?

    “Azusa……Thank you for loving me like this. I’ll try my best to be the Ryoma Ryuzaki that you love.”?

    ?

    “Yeah … I love the cool Ryoma Onii-chan the most.”?

    ?

    And once awakened, the subheroine is no longer ‘useful’.?

    ?

    “… But I’m sorry. I can’t accept …… Azusa’s confession because I have someone I like.”?

    ?

    And so, Azusa was rejected.?

    ?

    Even though she had tried so hard to confess, her …… feelings were easily trampled upon.?

    ?

    This is a natural result.?

    ?

    There was no way she could confess to Ryuzaki, who was troubled about Shimotsuki, and have him accept her confession.?

    ?

    Even so, Azusa wanted to cheer up Ryuzaki.?

    ?

    Even though she knew she would be rejected …… and hurt, she kept her ‘love’ to herself.?

    ?

    “I see…….  but it can’t be helped. The campfire is about to start, you know. If you’ve decided to confess your love, you’d better go now. There’s a jinx that says if you confess your love at the campfire, you’ll succeed.”?

    ?

    “Really? If that’s true, then …… it’s good timing. Thank you for letting me know. Azusa, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had!”?

    ?

    –It is a sin to be insensitive.?

    ?

    It’s …… very cruel to hurt someone so easily without malice.?

    ?

    I think Azusa had reached her limit.?

    ?

    “Yes, yes. Then hurry up and go! Make sure you tell her how you feel…… Bye bye, Ryoma Onii-chan.”?

    ?

    She pushed Ryuzaki’s back and made him go to the square.?

    ?

    “Hey, okay, you don’t have to push ……, I’ll go. Totally …… Azusa loves to touch me, doesn’t she? I’m glad you did, thank you …… so I’ll see you later.”?

    ?

    And then Ryuzaki left the place.?

    ?

    At that moment, Azusa slumped down as if she had lost her mind.?

    ?

    “Hey, Onii-chan? You’re here anyway, right?”?

    ?

    “…… Yeah, I’m here.”?

    ?

    She called out to me, so I showed my face.?

    ?

    But she didn’t look at me, she turned her head down.?

    ?

    The sight was so painful that it …… made my heart ache.?

    ?

    “Azusa, you did your best, right? You don’t have to hold back anymore, do you?”?

    ?

    “…… Yes. No need to hold back anymore. Azusa is a strong girl.”?

    ?

    I hope it makes her feel better. I know it’s naive of me to think that, but I can’t help but say kind words to her.?

    ?

    My stepsister, who once cut me off, …… is still family to me.?

    ?

    She was in too much pain to look at her now.?

    ?

    “Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!”?

    ?

    Immediately, Azusa began to cry.?

    ?

    She did not wipe her tears, but continued to cry painfully, shedding large tears.?

    ?

    “I loved you so much. …… This was my first love…why won’t you love me back, Ryoma Onii-chan? I loved you so much, so much……!!”?

    ?

    There was nothing I could do about the sad wailing.?

    ?

    The only thing I could do was to be there for her.?

    ?

    We were no longer close enough for me to hug her.?

    ?

    The truth is, of course I want to comfort her. I want to comfort Azusa, who is in pain.?

    ?

    But I can’t do that.?

    ?

    I could not, and would not, be the ideal Onii-chan that Azusa envisioned, so I have no right to …… hug her.?

    ?

    This is the result of the choices that Azusa has made.?

    ?

    Now, the only person who can comfort Azusa is …… her acknowledged “real Onii-chan”.