Whoa...
Hard pass.
So *this* is what they call a battlefield.
A women's war, playing out right in front of my eyes.
Little Sister and Oshima-kun are putting on a death match over one man.
The look in both their eyes is terrifying.
That's the look of someone ready to kill!
Congrats, Yamada-kun!
You're popular, aren't you!
Two flowers in hand — but both of them are poisonous blooms.
One is a crazy, psycho, yandere, brocon little sister.
The other is a calculating, man-savvy trans girl.
Whichever one you pick, you're in for it.
Whichever one you pick, you're gonna end up walked all over.
Hang in there, Yamada-kun!
I'm rooting for you!
I won't actually help or do anything concrete, though!
But hey, before that — what are we supposed to do about this mess?
...
Hang in there, Yamada-kun!
I'm rooting for you!
I won't actually help or do anything concrete, though!
No, but seriously — this whole thing was Little Sister's fault, wasn't it?
So it's only right that you, as the big brother, Yamada-kun, step in and handle it!
...And so, I pass the buck.
Behind the scenes, while the truth of the classroom bombing incident caused by the previous Hero and previous Demon King was being revealed, I was dealing with a complaint.
A complaint from Little Sister, specifically.
Namely: "Let me see Onii-sama."
Little Sister had my split form with her at all times, and she kept clinging to it and whispering to it endlessly, like a curse.
"I helped you out this much — the least you can do is grant my wish," she said.
She grabbed the split form with this eerie, almost manic intensity and kept talking to it.
Creepy!
Even though it was only through the split form, it was like someone whispering horror-movie-style right in your ear, over and over.
Even with my nerves of steel, there's a limit, you know?
So, I caved and decided to grant Little Sister's wish.
Well, all I had to do was let them meet, so how bad could it be?
...There was a time when I thought like that.
Yeah.
The current Little Sister was not exactly normal.
Still, I'd like the excuse that I never imagined she'd try to kill him the instant they met.
I mean, who would think that a little sister who worships her Onii-sama above all else would try to murder that very Onii-sama?
Someone as well-adjusted as me certainly can't understand that.
Eh? You're not well-adjusted?
No, no — Actually, the real comeback there should be "you're not even human."
Anyway, I watched the fight heat up while reality-avoiding my way through it.
Little Sister's water magic and Oshima-kun's fire magic collided and canceled each other out.
"Both of you! Stop this!"
In the gaps between clashes, Yamada-kun kept trying to intervene, but even that only served to draw him into the crossfire, spreading the destruction further.
Aah...
Bringing Oshima-kun here was a mistake, wasn't it?
No, but see — I thought maybe Oshima-kun could stop Little Sister if she went berserk.
When I saw Little Sister lunging at Yamada-kun, I scrambled to bring Oshima-kun over too.
I never expected it to make things even more chaotic.
How did things end up like this?
It's a mystery!
...Can I go home now?
Like, "the rest is up to you young folks" kind of thing?
No? Why not?
I tried to deal with the troublesome problem of Little Sister, and somehow it turned into an even more troublesome situation. Incredible.
Honestly — Yamada-kun, you're her big brother. You should be holding onto the reins of this dangerous little sister of yours a lot more firmly!
Who was it that turned this already-dangerous Little Sister into the most worked-up state imaginable?
Eh? Me?
No, no, no.
That's a wrongful accusation.
See, that was Natsume-kun's doing — I had nothing to do with it.
Eh? You were the one pulling Natsume's strings?
Ah! Ah!
Can't hear you! Can't — hear — you!
Hmm...
In all seriousness, Little Sister getting this worked up is my fault, isn't it?
I mean — she shot her own father in the head. Of course she's going to feel like there's no going back.
And the Onii-sama she had feelings for was right there when she did it. So any hope of a romantic chance was dead in the water.
Ugh.
By that point, she was drowning in guilt over betraying the kingdom, so I had Natsume-kun brainwash her and set up the excuse that she'd been brainwashed all along, so it wasn't her fault.
But apparently that didn't work either.
She was pushed to the edge and acted out in the heat of the moment.
...This is why working with other people is so difficult.
I only consider efficiency and whether someone ends up alive or dead in the end.
I never factor in what people feel or think because of my plans.
I can't factor them in.
I don't understand it.
So I've ignored it.
And any inconveniences that result from that — as long as they don't hinder the plan, I don't care.
That's what I thought, anyway.
The image of our teacher collapsing, face pale.
The expression on the Demon King's face when he learned that
These images keep flickering in the corner of my mind, and I can't shake them.
It's not like I'm trying to make people wear those kinds of faces, though.
Sigh.
Even if someone calls me a comrade now, what am I supposed to do with that?
I don't know.
I really don't know.
Besides, the plan is in its final act.
This isn't the stage where I'd go borrowing the power of comrades.
For now, let's try to do something about this commotion.
I've been making Yamada-kun draw the short straw over and over.
I'm not sure if stepping in myself would actually settle things cleanly, but it's got to be better than doing nothing, right?
"Listen to me!"
But before I could do anything, the situation moved on its own.
The instant Little Sister's and Oshima-kun's blades were about to meet, Yamada-kun threw himself between them and stopped the two of them.
He caught the blades with his body.
"Nn!?"
"..."
Little Sister and Oshima-kun both gasped.
Little Sister's sword had pierced through Yamada-kun's stomach, and Oshima-kun's sword had sliced into his shoulder and embedded itself near the collarbone.
And even so, Yamada-kun grabbed both their arms, pinning them in place.
"Please. Please, listen to me. I don't want to lose any more of you. So, so—"
My feet, which had been about to step forward, stopped.
At the sound of Yamada-kun's anguished voice.
Because I, who have stolen so much from him, have no right to approach.