Chapter 6

Hello? Maa~kun?

Yep, I’m working with Yuuta-kun on the staff, just like you asked.

C’mon, praise me~ It’s a pain in the ass, but I’m still doing work. For free, too.

Yep yep. You and Anzu are on your way to the base, right?

Yeah, I know… I’ll tell you if anything happens, so keep your phone turned on.

Out with the demons, in with the fortune~ ♪

Ouch—Hey, don’t throw beans at me.

It’s not like they hurt when they hit, but something about it pisses me off.

Ahaha. Well you’re a vampire, aren’t you Ritsu-senpai? Vampires are a type of demon, so wouldn’t you die if you got hit with the beans?

Tsk tsk tsk… In this case, demons are more incorporeal things, like ghosts. They’re the personification of negative emotions like malice and sorrow.

It’s not the name of a species, okay? So I’m fine.

The physical body isn’t actually destroyed when it gets pelted with beans. It’s just like when a vampire gets caught in sunlight.

All it does is purify the bad feelings in me~ Yep, this theory’s bulletproof ♪

You’re pretty well-spoken, huh. It really does feel like you’re Sakuma-senpai’s brother~!

Don’t compare me to that thing. You don’t like being compared to your brother, right Yuuta-kun? Anija is Anija, and I’m me~ ♪

Mm~… I used to hate being lumped together with Aniki too, yeah. But these days it’s not so bad. Actually, I might even like it.

I mean, Aniki is amazing. He was born into this world at almost the exact same moment as me, so it’s like we both set off together…

And yet, he can do everything way better than me.

He’s just on this whole other level when it comes to singing and dancing and, well, everything. He’s always one step ahead of me. He’s a social butterfly and really knows how to talk…

You could say I’m jealous, or like… resentful?

Because he was always doing all sorts of things to take any burden off my shoulders… So now whatever he does, he does it better than me.

So now when you put the two of us together, it feels like people are overestimating me…

I guess I’ve been trying to hide in his shadow lately.

I’m only ever holding him back. Really, if I weren’t here, Aniki could have been anything he wanted…

He’s the kind of person who stands out from the crowd no matter where he is.

So maybe it would have been better if I weren’t there… Haha, just kidding~ ♪

You’ve got it all wrong, Yuuta-kun.

Gwah? Wh–what’s up? Haven’t you heard of personal space?

Hmm, let me explain this in a way even an idiot can understand…

That thing we know as an “older brother” has no value in life without the existence of a “younger brother.”

They’re poor, pitiful creatures who don’t even have the right to take in oxygen and let out carbon dioxide.

Uh… um? Well no, they should at least have basic human rights?

No they don’t. No way they do. They’re slaves to the “younger brother;” they belong to them. And it’s all thanks to us that they’re able to live so shamelessly.

That’s the gist of it. Are you following so far?

Yeah um, no, not really…?

So anyway, we don’t have to feel guilty even a little bit.

Those miserable people live and die for their younger brothers. They toil away and cough up blood, all for us.

And we can just lie back and order them to do this and that. We can work them to the bone.

Those foolish, pitiful older brothers will give us everything, and we can just accept it wholeheartedly.

Ritsu-senpai… There’s an age gap between you and your brother. I can’t really understand your perspective here.

That guy—Aniki is just a big brother by chance.

It was just luck of the draw that he came out of our mom first.

And even that isn’t set in stone, either. When I asked our mom about it one time, Aniki just declared himself the big brother.

And that was that. We don’t really know the truth.

I might even be the older one. But by sheer coincidence, I ended up being the younger brother.

But in another world, I could have been the older brother, and he could have been the younger brother.

But despite all that, he still acts just like an older brother should. He gives me everything I could ever want, and then some.

This whole time up to now, he’s always made sure I got the better end of the deal.

Even though I could have been the “onii-chan” here. I took away everything that he—that “Hinata-kun” might have been able to have.

And if that’s the case… then I really do feel guilty.

(Hmm~ Looks like this goes deeper than I originally thought. How annoying…)

(Anzu was worried about it too, and then even though I never asked, Anija went and told me all about it. So thanks to that, I know what’s going on.)

(He came to me all like, “He’s my beloved child; don’t you feel sorry for him? Please, help him…”)

(Sorry, no can do… I’m just as bad at dealing with humans as Anija is.)

(Well, I’ll give it a shot. It’s such an eyesore watching Anija sulk around the house all the time…)

(It’s better when siblings are on good terms, after all.)

What’s wrong, Ritsu-senpai? Uh, sorry—I started saying some weird things, didn’t I…?

Mm~ Anyway, let’s keep moving to the next spot. We scattered all our beans, so we need to refill now.

I also want to get a parasol or something. It’s rough being outside in the direct sunlight.

Right. Sorry for having you help us out. We’re still shorthanded, so it doesn’t look like it’s smooth sailing anywhere.

It’s fine. It was a request from Maa~kun, and it helps kill time.

It’s been a while since Maa~kun asked me to do anything…

He’s always doing everything on his own. He complains about it, but he never ever asks for help.

He’s younger than me, so he should let me spoil him sometimes too… Anyway, it made me happy, so I’ll help out wherever I can.

Just leave it to me~ I can do anything if I put my mind to it ♪

Ahaha, that’s what Sakuma-senpai told me ♪