Those were the softly spoken words of Nayuta Kani as she stood up.
Around a year after You Tomorrow Is All I Need.’s publication, Itsuki Hashima was at a first-class hotel downtown to attend a certain event—the first annual Reiwa Entertainment Awards. This was a new thing, devised by a consortium of TV networks and book publishers; it gave prizes in manga, anime, games, movies, light novels, and more, recognizing “products that deserve to be seen the most by people worldwide.” Itsuki’s You Tomorrow Is All I Need. had won the Grand Prix prize in the light novel category, and the award ceremony was today.
He’d get interviewed by assorted TV and newspaper outlets, and all the Grand Prix winners would have their speeches streamed online. He had already shown his face in magazine and online interviews by now, but he had never given a long speech to a large audience before, so he was extremely nervous.
“D-do you think you could give this speech for me, Miyako? I think a lot of winners have people speaking for them…”
He was talking to Miyako, who was with him as his editor.
“Why’re you freaking out now? You said you were gonna wow everybody earlier.”
“Right. You beat me for this prize, remember. Quit acting like a wimp about it.”
Haruto Fuwa was there, too, picking on him and acting like the stereotypical rival from a kids’ series. His Leviathan Revive missed out on a prize, but it had been nominated at least, so he was invited to the ceremony.
“I really don’t need you calling me a wimp, Haruto… Prince Sister Complex.”
“What does that have to do with it?!”
Haruto was clearly flustered by this jab. “Keep it up, Itsuki,” Miyako added, staring at Haruto. “That sister-obsessed fool!”
Not long after You Tomorrow Is All I Need. was released, Miyako kept her promise and agreed to make her relationship with Haruto official. They were pretty much already together anyway, so things went exceedingly well. If it kept going this smoothly, marriage seemed like all but a given—except half a year ago, when Haruto announced he was leaving his family house to live with Miyako as a test run for marriage, his sister launched an intense resistance to it. Only then did she finally reveal the love she had for her brother, going so far as to say, “I’ll die if you leave here, bro!” So the plan was hurriedly called off.
Haruto still hadn’t been able to convince his sister to let him go, so Miyako was still sharing an apartment with Kaiko. Once Miyako told her roommate that she was planning to live with Haruto, Kaiko and Manaka went through all the work convincing their parents to accept their own relationship…and right now, they were both giving Miyako serious “get out of here” vibes.
“Heh… Okay, from now on, I’m calling you the Little-Sister Novel Hero. Or maybe I could call you Kyosuke or Masamune instead?”
“Those are both characters from novels where the little sister’s the big star, man! Please, anything but that!”
Haruto looked genuinely concerned about his future. Miyako just sighed at her boyfriend.
“Ui and Chi both took a step back from you, you know. I wasn’t expecting the ultimate hidden boss to step in now of all times… Why don’t you just marry your little sister, huh?”
“Wh-whoa, Miyako! I’ll work something out with her, all right?! Please don’t dump me over this!”
Miyako laughed at the earnest request. “Yeah, yeah, like I can do anything else… I mean, she’s had a crush on you for, what, nearly twenty years? I know you can’t work all of that out in one day.”
“Ha-ha!” Itsuki laughed. “You guys had a good unrequited-crush streak going, too.”
“Whose fault do you think that is?!” “And whose fault was that?!”
Itsuki’s attempt at a light joke was greeted with stereophonic spite from Haruto and Miyako. “S-sorry,” he added, although he internally wondered if that was really his fault.
“B-but hey, why don’t you maybe have Chihiro and Ui visit your sister and let them try to persuade her?”
“That’s a good idea!”
Miyako agreed with Itsuki’s offer, but Haruto visibly paled. “All I can picture is this hellish situation where all three of them are tearing into me at once…”
“What’s this about Chihiro?”
They were interrupted by Setsuna Ena, a handsome young man in a fetching blazer.
“Oh! Setsuna! You came!”
Setsuna calmly smiled. “It’s your big night, sir. Again, congratulations on winning the prize.”
“What’re you talking about? I only won it thanks to your artwork. You gotta keep helping me make excellent books!”
“Of course. I look forward to that, sir.”
Itsuki and Setsuna, now both fully grown men, shook hands to settle it.
“By the way, sir…”
“Hmm?”
“Is Chihiro seeing anyone right now?”
“I don’t think so. She said she’s had it with love for now.” Then Itsuki realized what he was saying. “Setsuna, you…!”
“Yeah.” Setsuna nodded back.
“You and Chihiro…?”
Here was a handsome illustrator, so vastly changed inside and out, all but assured a great career ahead. Maybe, Itsuki thought, Setsuna as he stood today would be suitable for Chihiro after all.
“Over the past several years,” Setsuna calmly stated, “I’ve been doing a lot for my art, and it made me realize something. I really do want to see Chihiro’s rear end in real life. If I can catch sight of her once-in-a-millennium ass, that’ll help me reach even greater heights.”
“…And you want to be her boyfriend for that?”
“Yes!” Setsuna nodded, eyes pure as a clear sky.
“Are you…interested in anything about her apart from her ass?”
“Huh? I like her face and her personality a lot, too, but…yeah, I guess the ass is the main thing.”
“Get the hell outta here! If you loved her from the heart, that’s one thing, but I’m not gonna give my precious little sister to someone who just wants a peek at her butt!”
Itsuki slapped away the hand he was shaking a moment ago as he shouted.
“Hey, it’s all right! I promise I’ll find a way to love the non-ass parts of her, too! Sooner or later!”
“Don’t bring this up with me again until you do!”
Perhaps Setsuna’s internal transformation was more wishful thinking on Itsuki’s part than anything. This guy was still just an idiotic, ass-obsessed illustrator. And for an idiotic novelist like Itsuki Hashima, there couldn’t have been a better partner out there.
Once the start time for the ceremony drew near, Itsuki went away from his friends and toward the seating for the prize winners. Sitting among the other stars of the evening, he took a deep breath to calm himself. As he did, his phone vibrated to notify him of a message from his wife.
Almost time, isn’t it? Sora and your whole family are waiting in front of the computer~