How a Defeated Subheroine Can Be Rewarded

I sipped the oolong tea poured into a cheap cup.

The coarse taste irritated my tongue, lashed my throat, and made my stomach cramp.

Is this really tea?

It tastes so horrible that I wouldn't be surprised if it were called rag squeezed juice.

But it's not bad.

Sometimes it's good to douse your pointlessly bloated tongue with cold water.

Otherwise, I'm going to get fat and bloated, even my tongue. It's enough to get plump only around the b*tt, b***sts, and so on.

"Nggggg, nggggg."

On the other hand, Azusa next to me was gulping down her orange juice like she was enjoying it.

The cute way she slurps her drink makes her look like a kitten drinking water.

The charm that makes you want to pet her unconditionally is a natural talent.

She can be seen as a counterpart of me, who is whip-smart and specializes in arousing passionate desire. Her meager body, her sheltering gestures, her friendly smile, everything about her is perfect as a sister character.

"If Ryoma had a sister like Azusa,... he might have been able to choose a different path."

When I muttered this, Azusa stopped moving with a snap.

She stopped drinking her orange juice and turned her gaze toward me.

"Ryoma Onii-chan... wasn't it? Ryoma-kun, what's wrong?"

Azusa is no longer idealistic about the person she once admired who overlapped her real brother.

Ryoma is 'Ryoma' and not Azusa's brother who has passed away. She understands this thanks to Kotaro and is growing up a lot.

She still has the habit of calling him 'Onii-chan' when she is not careful, but... now she was trying her best to distinguish Ryoma as a person.

That is, in other words, 'the distortion is gone'.

The more I looked at her, the more she was back to being a normal girl.

Kotaro must have spent a long time healing Azusa's wounds.

To smear such mud on her again - just the thought of it sends a shiver down my spine.

Prying open old wounds, rubbing salt into them, and smearing them with mud.

I loved the human nature that oozes out through this process.

I will carefully go through the process to achieve this.

"Ryoma confessed his feelings to Yuzuki, but was rejected."

First, I'll open up an old wound.

"... Confess."

She seemed to remember the pain of her lost love, and her expression turned a little bitter.

That's when.

“Do you know the difference between what is right and wrong?"

The mob character who had been at my and his stepsister's mercy until now, suddenly bared his fangs at me.

"Don't bring my family into this for your own pleasure, okay?"

Sharp. After all, he is not just a mob character.

Perhaps it's because of Shiho, but his keen senses become unusually acute at just the right moment.

But I am a trickster with a reputation for disrupting the story.

I had it in my head that you would do the same, you know?

I had this situation in mind when I came up with the idea of involving Azusa.

I was not calling myself a creator just for the sake of it.

In terms of the bird's-eye view of the story, Kotaro... you must not forget that I am better than you.

"...Are you always going to be overprotective. Azusa is Koutarou's stepsister, but at the same time, she is also a classmate. ...I don't think she will be able to be independent in the future if she keeps being protected by a family member her own age."

"Uh...that's..."

I'll give you the sore point.

He may have been dimly aware of it.

He choked on his words in response to my point.

Kotaro's love is only overprotective when viewed from a different perspective.

Even blood-related family members are strangers in the extreme.

Azusa's life should be decided by Azusa.

She is no longer a child that Kotaro can protect forever.

"Of course, this is my hobby, but it is something that Azusa would want to know, wouldn't she? The person you once loved is in pain, waiting for help. At that time, it is Azusa who has the right to decide whether or not to extend a helping hand."

And this is not a story that benefits only me.

It is an important turning point in Azusa's life as well.

“This may be a hard story for the rejected Azusa. But think about it. ... This is a 'possibility' too, right?　Azusa's unfulfilled feelings may come true now. You can even rekindle the passion you gave up on. I just want to present that option to you."

I pried open the old wounds of a broken heart, rubbed in the salt of past failures, and poured the mud of new possibilities on top of it.

The result - Azusa's expression instantly lost its color.

"Possibility…"

It was as if she suddenly remembered the pleasures of a drug she was addicted to.

...How could I, myself, have such a quick tongue?

In just a few minutes of conversation, the subheroine-chan who had been stabilized over a long period of time became unstable all at once.

Will she use the rebound to her advantage and become happy?

Or will she break down, unable to bear the rebound?

I guess it's up to Azusa from here on out.

If she does nothing, she might have been a normal girl and had a normal happiness.

But I think ... that would not reward Azusa's romantic comedy, you know.

Kotaro, you are too overprotective.

Azusa is not looking for a normal happiness.

So, I have presented the possibility of an unusual happiness, right?

... Well, that's all just a front.

(Nihihi♪ I'm not sure what to expect, but I'm sure it's going to be interesting.)

Of course, my pleasure is the only reason for all of this.

I really think I have a very bad personality...

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