LIGHT NOVEL
LIGHT NOVEL
— Yuinas’s perspective —
“Hey, hey, Yuinas. Don’t you want to be alone with Alde?”
Naavin pitched this to me while we were resting up after the snorkeling.
Lying in wait in the corridor for a girl coming back from the bathroom—this man has not one shred of delicacy, as ever, I thought with exasperation, but his unexpected proposal swept my attention away.
“Well, I do want to be alone with big brother, but how?”
“See, I’m actually planning a test of courage tonight. And during it—”
“A-a-a test of courage?!”
At that word, I broke out in goosebumps.
“What stupid thing are you cooking up?! You’re a grown adult—isn’t a test of courage idiotic?!”
“No, being grown adults is exactly why you do it…”
“Why?!”
“Because you get to be alone together in the dark.”
“…?!”
The unexpected words made me catch my breath.
Alone in the dark, with big brother…?
Th-that’s a deeply delicious situation.
But even so…
a test of courage…
What if I run into a ghost—ah, no, no?!
There’s no such thing as ghosts!
And even if one showed up, big brother would beat it for me!
Hiding my inexplicably trembling knees, I put on a calm face and nodded.
“I-I see? You’ve got a point there, I’ll grant you.”
“What is there besides a point…?”
“Anyway! Why bring this up with me?”
“If you draw Alde’s attention, it makes things easier for me too.”
“Easier… so what are you planning to do?”
“For a test of courage, the pairs are usually decided by drawing lots, right?”
“I’d end up with big brother even without drawing lots.”
“It falls apart if Alde refuses, doesn’t it?”
“Mgh… that’s… maybe true, but…”
“But with a drawing, even Alde would accept it. Since it’s the result of a strict, fair drawing.”
“T-true.”
“Except, we rig that drawing, see?”
Naavin’s plan was this.
First, propose the test of courage to everyone afterward. Having persuaded me in advance, there’d be no one left to object, supposedly…
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I wouldn’t object either, you know. That makes it sound like I’m scared of the test of courage…!”
“Yeah, yeah, no deep meaning, just listen.”
We’d then decide pairs with a pre-prepared drawing, but the lots would be distinguishable by how they were folded.
First, each pair—numbers one, two, and three—goes into the lots.
Then number one is a lot folded once, number two is folded into a triangle, and number three is folded twice.
To anyone who doesn’t know the trick in advance, they’d look like nothing but carelessly folded slips—but to those of us in on it, which lot is which would be obvious at a glance.
And that way, we could tell even after sticking a hand into the lot box, through the touch of our fingertips. True—if a lot’s a triangle, or there’s a size difference, you’d know without looking.
After that, have big brother draw first, check the shape of his lot, and… draw the matching one!
“Hm… for you, that’s pretty well thought out.”
“You bet! I pulled an all-nighter on this after I heard about the trip!”
“It’s not worth an all-nighter, but whatever. That plan—I’m in.”
“Knew you’d say that! Now I get to be alone with Miss Tisli!”
And so we became co-conspirators—
* * *
—became co-conspirators, but.
“Hey, Naavin! Why are you and I paired up?!”
“H-huh…? That’s weird? Both Miss Tisli and I definitely drew lots folded twice, but…”
For whatever reason, the rigging ended in failure.
So I dragged Naavin to the corner of the cavernous living room and grilled him, keeping my voice low!
“You wrote the lot numbers down wrong, didn’t you!”
“Th-there’s no way! I checked properly?!”
“Then why are you and I together?! Explain it!”
“Th-that’s… why is it?”
“Because you made a mistake?!”
Ghk…!
I knew I shouldn’t have trusted this idiot!
I should have checked the lots in advance myself… but who’d ever dream he’d botch something this simple to write down…
“Just how big an idiot are you?! Don’t tell me you can’t even count?!”
“As if! I can count just fine!”
“Then why’d you mess it up?!”
“Th-that’s… why, I wonder…?”
“Because you’re an idiot!!”
But at this point, it was too late.
If I threw a fit about redrawing now, it’d look suspicious…
Wh-what do I even do…?!
As I agonized, Naavin said, pulling a sour face,
“Can’t be helped… in that case, let’s at least sabotage Alde…”
“Meaning?”
“We’re the last group, and Alde’s pair is right before us, yeah?”
“Yes, that’s right, but…”
“So we hurry after Alde’s group and scare them!”
Huh?!
I barely swallowed the scream rising at Naavin’s outrageous suggestion!
“D-don’t be an idiot?! Why would I have to do something like that?!”
“So you’re fine with it? Leaving Alde and Miss Tisli alone together?”
“Th-that’s…”
“A man and woman with an iffy sort of distance between them, alone in the dark. Who knows what could happen…”
“Nothing would happen!”
I resisted Naavin’s strange threats with all my might.
“There’s no way that big brother of mine would do anything! When he can’t even make a move on a beauty like me!”
“No, there’s way too much to unpack there, but for now… you’re siblings, so making a move’s off the table, isn’t it?”
“Why?! Being siblings is no reason not to make a move!”
“I’d say it’s plenty of a reason… but anyway.”
Naavin said, looking over at Tisli,
“I can sort of see Alde—not just an oblivious blockhead but practically a fossil—not making a move… but what about Miss Tisli?”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
“I’m saying Miss Tisli might make the moves herself.”
“…?!”
Th-that’s… true…
That shameless Tisli might very well bare her true nature in the dark!
So I looked over at Tisli, and—
—she’s totally giddy and restless?!
Throwing annoying little glances at big brother, and even though he doesn’t notice at all and gives her nothing back, she’s openly blushing?!
S-so that’s it, Tisli…
She means to take advantage of the dark and pounce on big brother?!
“F-fine…”
So I said, glaring at Tisli,
“It does seem Tisli’s plotting something… I absolutely have to stop her…”
And I clenched my fist with renewed resolve—
* * *
— Naavin’s perspective —
—Yuinas was supposed to have clenched her fist with renewed resolve.
I said to her, exasperated,
“Hey, Yuinas… you can’t catch up to Alde clinging to a tree trunk, can you?”
“I’m not clinging!”
“No, you’re clinging on for dear life…”
Within minutes of entering the forest that served as the test-of-courage venue, Yuinas couldn’t move a step.
A single rustle from beyond the bushes, and Yuinas leapt up and latched onto the nearest tree trunk.
“Look, Yuinas… that was definitely some small animal or something. Not a ghost, so relax.”
“Th-there’s no way there’s a ghost, what are you talking about, are you stupid?!?!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m stupid, fine, let’s just go. We’ll lose track of Miss Tisli.”
Well, I’d known it’d turn out like this, which is exactly why I pitched the rigging to Yuinas…
I’ve known Yuinas is a scaredy-cat for ages.
So if Yuinas opposed the test of courage, the plan would be ruined. Kind soul that Miss Tisli is, if even one person were scared, she’d never have gone along with it.
And it’d be a pain if Yuinas griped about the pairings too.
Which is why I persuaded Yuinas in advance. With her, you just dangle Alde and she’s satisfied.
And yet… my plan, which should’ve been perfect, somehow failed…
leaving us stranded in the forest.
“Then head back, Yuinas. I’ll chase after Miss Tisli alone.”
“Wha—?!”
As I made to run off, Yuinas grabbed a fistful of my shirt hem.
“W-w-wait! You’re going to leave me behind?!”
“Leave you behind… it’s a single path, you can turn back, can’t you?”
“I’m telling you because I can’t!”
“Why can’t you?”
“Th-that’s…”
Unlike her usual self, Yuinas darted her eyes around with a timid expression.
Hmm… she says it herself, but Yuinas really is a beauty… the moment her usual selfishness goes quiet, even I, who know her true colors, feel a little woozy.
In fact, back in our village, for a while there were factions formed around Mia and Yuinas. But since the village’s two great beauties were both stuck to Alde, those factions broke up in no time.
I mean, Mia I could see, but Yuinas is a no-go, right? They’re blood siblings—she ought to give up on Alde already.
As I was recalling all this, Yuinas, having apparently thought up an excuse, said,
“My—my ankle! I twisted my ankle! So I can’t head back alone!”
“Your ankle, huh…”
I looked at Yuinas’s legs stretching out from her miniskirt.
They were trembling so hard it was honestly almost pitiful.
“Haa… fine, fine… we head back together, that’s what you want, right?”
“Th-that’s right. You should’ve done that from the start.”
“So, want me to carry you piggyback?”
“Huh?! Why would I get carried by you?!”
“I mean, you twisted your ankle, didn’t you?”
“It’s not bad enough to need carrying, so I’m fine!”
And with that, Yuinas headed back the way we’d come, perfectly normally—and at a brisk pace.
“What are you doing?! We’re going back, hurry up!”
“Yeah, yeah, got it…”
Haa… so I don’t even get the nice memory of a piggyback, bodies pressed together, her chest against my back…
Well, with Yuinas’s chest, I might not feel it on my back anyway?
“Hey! Don’t look at me with those lecherous eyes!”
“I-I’m not looking at you like that?!”
And so, bickering, I had no choice but to see the willful little princess home…
(To be continued—)
Copyright(C) disolo Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.