The Key to a Breakthrough

TL: Daemon

ED: PuffyPyjamas

“Why…?”

This is weird… I thought I was right with that one…

“Senpai~ You’ve got wrinkles between your eyebrows.”

Rei-chan, who was sitting next to me, touched me between my eyebrows. Rei-chan, not as a kid, but the 20-year-old one.

… In other words, this is the present. What happened? I want you to guess.

I’m currently inside an HRG company meeting room with Rei-chan.

When I let out a huge sigh, Rei-chan grabbed my hand.

“Do you want to touch my thighs? Will you feel better like that?”

“That’s not the problem…”

I inadvertently glanced at Rei-chan’s thighs for a second. Since it’s part time work, she was wearing a short skirt today since casual clothing was okay. Such beautiful legs…!

“Wah. You’re really looking at my legs… Kufu, Senpai, you pervert ♡”

That’s right, I’m a pervert. Sorry about that.

“Senpai, you’re so stiff, even when I invite you, you never pounce on the chance… I don’t even care about who you like either. If you want to do it, just let me know, okay…?”

Don’t whisper into my ear like that. It made my heart skip a beat there. I was thinking that she said something quite mature, but I guess since she’s twenty right now, she must have a mental age of thirty by now.

While I was still making a difficult expression, Rei-chan pursed her lips as if bored.

“Geez, weren’t you ever taught that it’s shameful for a man to reject a meal set before him?”

“I was taught that. However, I was never taught to eat a poisonous meal that’s set before me.”

“Kyaah ♪ If it can’t be medicine then poison it is. You really do understand me ♪”

I grabbed the face of the poisonous Rei-chan as she tried to kiss me and distanced myself from her.

The last time, and the time before that, I had broken up with the present Hiiragi-chan.

Rei-chan had said that it was because my hesitation had caused her to worry, and so I thought me not doing anything was the reason for that.

However, that was wrong. This time, I have also broken up with the present Hiiragi-chan.

“I really made an effort to put myself out there… So why is it like this? Did that really have nothing to do with it…?”

“Ah, Senpai. It’s about time for the meeting, so I’ll head back.”

After saying bye, Rei-chan left the meeting room. In exchange, Natsumi-chan came in with documents and a laptop under her arm.

The adult version of Natsumi-chan was wearing black-rimmed glasses, and her impression was much like that of her mother, Airi-san. After turning around to look back at Rei-chan, she spoke.

“You aren’t doing something weird at work, are you?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Ever since high school, for some reason, she’s always following you.”

Natsumi-chan handed me a portion of the documents she brought in.

About the Mobile Content Division

In the present, it wasn’t just a department, but a whole division. Earlier, I confirmed the situation with Rei-chan, but I’m currently one of Natsumi-chan’s subordinates.

Moreover, I haven’t married yet, and am still just Sanada Seiji. Natsumi-chan is a new young manager of the division. I’m the assistant manager. Even so, there are only a few other people in the division other than me.

The meeting room phone rang, and Natsumi-chan quickly picked it up.

“Yeah, okay. I got it. Please guide them to the conference room on the sixth floor.”

It seems to be an internal call, as after saying that, she hung up.

I also confirmed the situation with Natsumi-chan. It seems that the acquisition plan has already been approved and the developer company, Acty Softworks is already under the umbrella of HRG.

As we were talking, the door to the conference room opened.

“… Excuse me.”

She lowered her head in a bow. The person in charge of ASW, Ii-san or rather, Kanata has arrived. Even after becoming an adult nothing has changed about her…

A suit really doesn’t seem to fit her, and it really felt like the suit was the one wearing her.

“Good work. Quick, come have a seat.”

“… Yes.”

As Natsumi-chan suggested, Kanata sat down and took out her laptop. The meeting started after an assistant brought in tea for everyone.

Since difficult words were being exchanged, and I almost didn’t understand half of what was going on, I mostly stayed out of the conversation. Currently, there’s a plan for a new social game, and there’s a few problems—I’ve got that much.

“… ASW’s ace… isn’t too enthusiastic about the cooperation, and in the worst case, could decide to go to a different company.”

Kanata glanced at me.

“Aah… I did hear rumors about that. Rather than a reason…”

Natsumi-chan glanced at me.

“Eh? Why are you two looking at me?”

“ASW-san, is beautiful and thin like a model, and is a popular up and coming character designer. Flat chested as well.”

“… Yeah. Our sales really do depend on her… if she were to pull out, it would be tough.”

Natsumi-chan’s expression made it seem like she expected me to understand by now.

“Geez, why are you guys fighting? That’s probably the reason, right? She was superclass brocon too. I thought it would be a good thing, but that doesn’t seem to be the case…”

“… Seiji-kun, make sure you make up with her soon. That will definitely be our bottleneck.”

Fighting…? A superclass brocon? “Superclass brocon”, that sounds like a monster of some sort.

“From what you’re talking about… I-it can’t be, you mean my little sister…!?”

The two of them nodded at the same time. Our Saa-chan…? Popular character designer?? It was so unexpected that my mind was in chaos.

Hmm? Wait. When she lost the game I lent to her, I did search through her closet. At that time, there was a sketchbook. I didn’t look inside though.

Since then, or even earlier than then—That’s when she woke up to wanting to become an artist or character designer.

Aaaaah… It doesn’t seem like she would say that… She’s definitely the type to do it in secret. Now that I think about it, originally, the default route was for her to become Kanata’s junior at a game company. She never did tell me what job she was accepting.

And so, I’m currently fighting with Sana?

“Why am I fighting with Sana?”

““… Don’t know.””

Their two voices overlapped.

“… It’s been quite a long time. The fight that is. You guys haven’t gotten along. As far as I know, it’s been since the summer of your senior year of high school.”

“That is a long time.”

There was a time when we lived together, but after changing the past multiple times since then, it wouldn’t be surprising for our relationship to change.

“… Even the home economics club, since Seiji-kun and I were focused on exams, we both pulled out and the club ended up shut down… That’s just how it is from the outside that is.”

In a three member club, if two of them are on bad terms, then it wouldn’t be weird for it to be abandoned. Adding on to that, one of them was dating the advising teacher and they broke up.

“I’m not asking for you to return to the same as before, but for you to just have a normal brother and sister relationship… Since it’s her, she’s probably doing her best as well.”

This isn’t about Hiiragi-chan, but a problem about me. This is the first time that after returning to the present, it’s one of my own problems.

A new pattern.

I am curious about the reason for our break up, but this comes first… I want to think that I can do something about it.

Until now, I’ve always thought the explanation would be a pain, so I hid a lot of things from Sana. I thought that it would be okay without gaining her understanding or permission. That’s why, intentionally distanced our relationship.

What if that isn’t the case though?

Suddenly, the feeling of time leaping overcame me.

When I next opened my eyes, I was on top of my bed at home. The date was two days after that night. A Sunday morning.

“Nii-san! How long are you going to be sleeping? We’re going to be watching the Breig DVD.”

Sana and I, fighting…? I can’t imagine it at this point in time, but it seems to happen in the near future…

What will lead me to a happy ending between Hiiragi-chan and I—

“Geez, if you’re already awake then respond!”

Is it possibly… you, Sana?