My Sister’s Best Friend? My Female Friend Already? Then, What’s Next―? - Chapter 4

After dinner, I decided to put the ID my sister had given me into the search field of the messaging app.

My sister nailed me repeatedly during dinner to make sure I put it in properly and talk to her nicely.

I know she is proud of her friend, but I wonder how many people in the world would push their brother this far.

With this in mind, I slowly typed in her ID, a combination of letters and numbers, one letter at a time.

“Oh, here it is.”

When I searched, I immediately found an account with the name Rin.

It had a simple name and an icon of an animal photo.

I touched it to open the page, and the “Add Friend” button appeared.

“…….”

I immediately tried to touch the add button, but my hand wouldn’t move.

But since my sister has been pushing me this far, there’s no way I can fool her into thinking I’m not registered.

Slowly, I touched the button.

At the same time, I received a notification informing me that I had added a friend.

─I’ve added you. Nice to meet you.─

I sent a simple greeting.

Soon after, I received a message from the other side with a notification that I had added a friend.

─You were wondering whether to add me or not, weren’t you? I’m sorry.─

The message was very direct.

─Who knows? What do you think?─

─No, no, you’ve been dodging the exchange for a long time! ─

I tried to cover it up by pretending to be a joker, but she knew exactly what I meant.

Rin-chan repeatedly asked me if she could exchange contact information with me.

Each time, I avoided it, saying that if my sister found out, it would make me feel uncomfortable, and if something happened, I could handle it through her, but this time, there was nothing I could do.

─This time, it was Saki’s approval, and since we were the only ones in the high school, it would be better to contact her directly, right? LOL.─

─…Yes. That’s right.─

She also remembers the excuse I’ve been using to avoid her.

─We can communicate here without worrying about anything, right? ─

─I’m not sure. My sister might be looking at the contents.─

─…I can’t deny that. But if she finds out, it can’t be helped! ─

“You’ve lost all discretion.”

In the beginning, she seemed to be embarrassed no matter what she did, but whether it is good or bad, she seems to be slightly influenced by my sister’s personality.

─Well, now that we’ve exchanged them, let’s get along.─

─Of course, I intend to do so, even if Onii-san does not intend to.─

Her will is firm.

I could tell from the fact that she would not give up, no matter how many times I avoided exchanging contact information with her, but once she made up her mind, she would not bend.

─I see. So, how’s your high school life going?─

─I had my entrance exam today.─

─Hoo~, how did it go?─

─I had a lot of help from Onii-san, so there was no way I could get anything wrong.─

─It was not a lot, but─

It wasn’t that unusual for Rin-chan to study while she waited, as my sister was a habitual latecomer to meetings.

It was impressive to see her sitting at her desk and working diligently on her studies.

“Good luck. Here, drinks and snacks.”

“I’m sorry to bother you. I need to work as hard as I can, because I have a high school I want to go to.”

“I see.”

As we talked, I watched her study and was amazed at how careful she was.

Since then, I’ve been quietly watching her study, trying not to make a sound.

“Hmmm…”

She was struggling with proofs in math and sentences in Japanese.

I had been studying with the teachers at the cram school in order to get a good score on the diagnostic test.

I gradually taught her what I had learned.

“First, you need to think about what you need to do. The more time you feel you have, the more important it is.”

“Okay.”

“The proofs can be partial or negative, so look carefully at what absolutely needs to be stated. Also, be sure to take the other questions so that you don’t get deducted here.”

Looking back on it now, it may seem obvious, but I regretted it so much because I should have worked on these things earlier.

Perhaps that was part of the reason why I found myself telling her so many things.

I didn’t want her to have the same kind of regret that I did, which is something that parents tend to do to their children, and I told a girl I had little to do with.

She didn’t mind, in fact, she trusted me and we started talking more about her studies.

“Here are the results of the last mock exam.”

“I see. Your score hasn’t changed much, but you’re improving in the areas you’ve been working on. But don’t worry about it, because this level is hard for everyone.”

“But… it’s my area of expertise.”

“Sure, it’s frustrating when you don’t do well in your strong points. But the best way to improve your score is to develop your weak points to a certain level. No matter how much you improve your strong points, it won’t mean much if you’re taking a public exam at a certain level.”

Even though there was still some time left, I knew that as a student, I would be doubly anxious after taking mock exams every month and worrying about my score.

That’s why I make sure to tell her what I can tell her and also explain the mock exams.

While most of the time we were basically calm, there were a few moments where we took each other seriously.

“…It looks like today will be the last time I come here before the exam.”

“I see.”

“I don’t want to go to other people’s houses too much before the exam, in case I caught a flu or something, and I might even infect other people.”

“That’s true. It would be the most regrettable thing if you worked so hard and then underperformed because you were sick.”

“Yes. You’ve done so much for me. I want to make sure I get the results I want.”

I think the look on her face when she said that was the most uncharacteristic one.

“Let me correct one thing.”

“Hmm?”

“Exams are not for others. It’s not for your parents. It’s not for cram schools or teachers. It’s for yourself. Well, it’s true that people around you will be happy if you get accepted…”

“…If I get into the high school of my choice, will Onii-san be happy?”

“Of course. Obviously, I’d be happy if the girl who listened to everything I had to say got in.”

“Then, I’ve listened to everything you’ve said so far, but I can’t keep the last one.”

“Huh?”

“I want Onii-san to be happy that I got into that high school.”

She said with a smile and headed for the exam.

─Onii-san, are you happy that I was accepted? ─

─Of course. You must be happy, after all. You worked hard, you should have fun sometimes.─

─In order for that to happen, I need Onii-san to be more open with me.─

─If you do well on the entrance test, I’ll consider it.─

And now, here we are.

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Translator’s Afterword: Lines in between “─” are probably line messages in a messaging app.