Tokyo: Oreimo

"Can we still be friends?"

Upon seeing this message, Ruri Aragaki couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.

Even though she had said such hurtful things that day, Ling Nai was still willing to send her messages, so Aragaki Ruri wanted to reply immediately.

However, the edited text message was never sent.

She was certain that she still liked Ling Nai, even though he was an otaku, but she couldn't guarantee that she could control herself in similar situations.

That might hurt Ling Nai.

If, after school starts, I still can't get rid of the physical aversion and do that kind of thing again, then there might really be no way to undo it, right?

She opened the copy of "Kino's Journey" that had been personally signed by 'Keichi Shigsawa', and her gaze fell on that sentence.

Do you really know the other person well enough?

If that had happened before, Ruri Aragaki might have given a positive answer.

But now, she doesn't know.

Therefore, Ruri Aragaki chose to send a text message to Ryosuke and ask him to meet up.

It must be admitted that, perhaps right now, Ryosuke is the one who understands Ayano the most.

She entered the coffee shop and sat in the same spot she had always sat in. Ryosuke Takagi had been waiting for her and waved to her.

.....

"Brother, I apologize for disturbing you."

The beautiful girl, trailing her skirt, sat down opposite Ryosuke.

Ruri Aragaki's eyes darted away, unable to look him directly in the eye.

She had said some very offensive things before, and now she shamelessly asked the other party for help. This is agonizing for her.

The girl lowered her head, her fingers clenched tightly, her feelings a complex mix.

"So what brings you here today?"

Ryosuke took a sip of coffee and spoke slowly.

"In short, I need to apologize to my elder brother for saying something offensive that day."

"Well, don't worry about it. Strictly speaking, you're not wrong. Ling Nai doing illustrations for 18+ games is also related to me."

If she hadn't been asked to help draw the demo drafts, the other party most likely wouldn't have participated in the Fate project.

That way, Ruri Aragaki won't find out.

Since the problem originated with him, it's only natural to help resolve it.

Moreover, even if none of these preconditions exist, Ryosuke would still offer to help, since he's already called "older brother".

Solving my sister's problem is something I should do, right?

"So, you still want to be friends with Ling Nai? That's why you asked me out?"

Seeing that Ryosuke was silent, he took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Well, I'd like to learn more about Ling Nai, so I'd like to ask my older brother for help..."

Ruri Aragaki raised her head and looked directly at him.

"Help me find a way to improve my relationship with Ling Nai."

"But you hate otaku, don't you?"

"It's alright, Ling Nai is special!"

Ruri Aragaki looked serious, then hesitated for a moment.

“My brother is special too. Anyway, even though you’re an otaku, if you’re willing to help me, I’ll think you’re a good person.”

What the heck? It's only been a week, and they've given me another "friend zone" card.

Moreover, when it came to Ling Nai, there was no hesitation at all, but when it was his turn, he brought preconditions.

It's as if it's just something that comes on the side.

"Well, since you've put it that way, I can tell you a way. If you're interested, you can try it out."

Ryosuke paused for a moment, then took out a game disc case of "Fate/stay night" from his backpack and pushed it in front of Ruri Aragaki.

"If you want to understand Ling Nai and improve your relationship, it's better to start with her interests."

Looking at the CD in front of her, Ruri Aragaki had a complicated expression on her face. The upper right corner of the packaging had a large "18X" label.

Turn the box over and you'll see some scantily clad, obscene CG images.

"Does that mean I should play the games that Ling Nai likes?"

"Of course, if someone instinctively dislikes otaku, desensitization therapy would be fine, right?"

In Ryosuke's view, this is nothing more than a deeply ingrained stereotype.

If you want to change things, just try to integrate more. If you can't even accept a low-intensity 18+ galgame like FSN, then it's better to just break off the friendship.

"Recommending my own erotic games to my sister's best friend..."

Ruri Aragaki took a deep breath, her face revealing an uncontrollable look of disgust.

"I take back what I said earlier. Brother, you really are a pervert. You disguised yourself so well that I almost thought you were a good person."

"?"

Didn't you tell me to think of a solution?

Ryosuke couldn't help but facepalm.

If there were other ways, or rather, before the truth came out, he would definitely have chosen a gentler approach to influence Ruri Aragaki's perception of otaku.

But now the truth has been revealed, and things have escalated to the point of 'breaking up'.

Using drastic measures is sometimes the only option.

"However, for Ling Nai's sake, let's trust our elder brother this once. As long as we've played this game, that should be enough, right?"

"Well, if you can complete the game properly without skipping those parts, you should be fine."

Ruri Aragaki hesitated for a moment, but still put the CD case into her bag.

"I see."

Chapter 94 The older brother should protect his younger sister, right?

"Brother, you must keep your distance from Ling Nai. If I find out you've done anything strange to her, I will call the police."

Ruri Aragaki and Ryosuke parted ways at the entrance of the coffee shop. Before leaving, the girl politely bowed to express her gratitude and said the following words.

Ryosuke was utterly speechless.

He had already been labeled a pervert by the other party. He wasn't the type to forget what Ling Nai said; the other party genuinely considered him a pervert.

"In short, thank you very much for today, brother. I will finish this game before the summer vacation ends. If I encounter any difficulties, I can ask you for help, right?"

"Is it inappropriate for you to ask me for advice?"

Ryosuke twitched the corner of his mouth.

"I don't have any otaku around me, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ask this kind of question to normal friends. It's fine to ask you, my older brother, so please."

After finishing her sentence, Ruri Aragaki jogged away.

What kind of statement is this? A girl got stuck on an 18+ game and asked him for advice. Is this forced perversion?

Even Ling Nai wouldn't say something like that, right?

Ryosuke shook his head and could only sigh inwardly.

......

After returning home, Ryosuke planned to go back to his room to continue working on his manuscript. As he passed through the living room, he heard a series of silvery laughs coming from inside.

Peeking over, I saw Ling Nai lying on the sofa, wearing shorts and swinging her legs, holding her phone with a happy expression, chatting away as if she were on the phone with someone.

Ryosuke felt somewhat relieved to see her so lively after a while.

"Exactly, it's been so long since we chatted, it scared me."

"Oh, right, the comic I collaborated on with that guy is going to air in a couple of days, you absolutely have to watch it!"

“…”

Without even thinking, Ryosuke knew it must be Ruri Aragaki calling.

The relationship between girls is so delicate; after confirming their feelings, they can even pretend nothing happened and make up.

If they were boys, they might have to fight it out on the playground before they'd stop.

Ryosuke went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water, then turned and went upstairs. Lingna, who was on the phone, noticed his actions and muttered a few more words into the phone.

"It's a date then, see you when school starts!"

She jumped up from the sofa in one tumble, and rushed upstairs in her Buffet slippers.

...

Ling Nai pushed the door open, and Ryosuke, who had only taken off half of his clothes, looked at her speechlessly.

"Didn't you say I needed to knock before entering my room?"

He had to put the clothes he was about to take off back on.

The blonde girl blushed slightly, but quickly recovered and spat, "It's not like I haven't seen it before. Nobody cares if there's nothing to see!"

"So you came into my room just to say things like that?"

"Hmph, who told you about that? It was Liuli who called me. We made up and she just wanted to let you know."

Takashiro Ryouko stood with her hands on her hips, her face beaming with excitement, the gloom of the past few days completely gone.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

"What? You're pretending to be stupid?"