Chapter 127: Yang Koga, who covers up the filthy parts of her younger sibling like this, is truly an adult…

The area outside the room was noisy.

After finishing our meal at the dorm, Namikawa-senpai naturally took out the alcohol he had bought earlier. Everyone, including me, gave a wry smile, but that didn’t mean we weren’t going to drink.

Of course, I stuck with orange juice. And as the atmosphere grew livelier, I excused myself early, saying I was tired.

…It was true that I was exhausted, but there was actually a bigger reason.

[Uncle Satoru’s Daily Life as He Struggles to Survive in Another World]
[A Comic About Uncle Satoru and Charlotte Simply Enjoying a Sweet and Happy Time Together]

I wanted to read the doujin I had bought at Comiket today.

At first, I planned to read everything I had purchased, but I soon realized a critical issue and abandoned that idea.

If I got caught reading an R-18 doujin, it would be a disaster.
So, I decided to save all of those for when I was back home and only read the wholesome slice-of-life stories about Uncle Satoru, the ones that anyone could see without a problem.

“Hehe…”

As expected just from the title, Uncle Satoru’s main story is usually quite dark.
There’s hardly any heartwarming daily life content.
That’s why reading this kind of doujin makes me feel like I’m being healed.

“Izumi, are you asleep?”
“Ah, no.”
“Then I’ll come in for a bit.”

The one who entered the room was Koga-yan.

Her face was completely flushed, probably from drinking quite a bit.

However, she didn’t seem as drunk as she had been during the offline collab. Aside from her slightly unsteady steps, she looked fine.

“Looks like you’re checking out what you bought today.”
“Yeah….”
“Is Uncle Satoru that interesting?”
“Yeah….”

Normally, I would prioritize talking with Koga-yan.
But right now, I was at a crucial moment—Uncle Satoru was introducing modern cuisine to Charlotte.
I really wanted to focus on this part.

It seemed like Koga-yan understood my intent because, instead of saying anything further, she started rummaging through a paper bag she had left in the corner earlier.

Alright, now let’s get back to this important scene.

…Hmm. Uncle Satoru is introducing Charlotte to cheese hamburger steak.
This doujin artist must be a foodie.
Even the cooking process was described in a way that reminded me of my mom’s method, which made me even more convinced.

But it would’ve been even better if they added a slightly spicy kick to the steak sauce. That part is a bit disappointing.

“…Zumi. Izumi.”
“Yeah….”
“Do you still have today’s Comiket catalog? I can’t find mine.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s in my bag….”
“Thanks.”

…Wait a second.
Inside my bag right now…

As soon as I realized it, I immediately put down the doujin I was reading and turned to Koga-yan.

But she had already reached into my paper bag.

“W-Wait, stop?!”
“Kyah?!”

I lunged forward, wrapping my arms around Koga-yan’s legs from behind to stop her.
As a result, she lost balance and fell forward.

But that wasn’t the real problem right now.

“I-Izumi?”
“W-Wait, just wait. I’ll get it for you….”

I quickly turned my gaze toward where my paper bag had been.

“Ah….”

The entire contents of the bag had already spilled out, fully exposed to the world.

“I was just going to take it myself since you seemed busy, but….”

As Koga-yan tried to get up, she looked ahead—
And saw everything.

[The Angel Falls into the Devil’s Charm.]
[Angel! The Water Spirit is calling for you!]
[The Water Spirit is Sticky.]
[I’m Always an Idol!]
[Izumi! Can we go out together today?]
[Koga, I really like you!]
[A Story of Suzuha and Mei-chan Having a Fun Time.]

“…Huh? Izumi, this is….”

Koga’s cheeks turned bright red as she spoke.

“Ah, uh… Th-that’s, um….”

Why did something like this have to happen?
It felt like the world was tormenting me.

The only relief was that only two R-18 doujinshi had spilled out.
The real problem was that most of the ones that fell were about SuzuIzu.

And worse, one of the R-18 ones was also a SuzuIzu doujinshi.

This is unfair.
This could cause a huge misunderstanding.

It’s not like I only bought SuzuIzu doujinshi.

Before I met back up with Koga and Namikawa-senpai at Comiket, I had been with Aki, buying a variety of doujinshi.
From Shrouded Star to AyaKari and HikaIzu, I had collected all sorts of works.
SuzuIzu doujinshi just happened to be part of that selection.

But for some reason, most of the doujinshi featuring me always seemed to pair me with Koga.
That’s why I had more SuzuIzu doujinshi than other kinds, but now, in this situation, it was making things look really bad.

This is seriously unfair.

“Ah, um, t-this is, uh, not what it looks like….”
“Hmmm… So, Izumi, you bought these today, huh? Did you get them while you were walking around with Nekoto?”
“Ah, yeah….”

…Huh?

Koga spoke casually, a slight smile on her face.
I had expected her to find it weird.

“It’s only natural to be curious about how people see us.”
“R-right?”

She even said the same thing Aki had told me earlier.

…Well, of course. Koga is a full-fledged adult.
It’s not like she’d get flustered or think strangely about this.

And the reason her face was red was probably just because of the alcohol.

“But you do know that, as a student, you shouldn’t be looking at things like this, right?”

Koga pointed at the R-18 doujinshi titled The Water Spirit is Sticky and Izumi! Can We Go Out Together Today?

“…Yes.”
“Well, I guess it’s only natural for you to be curious about these things at your age. You were probably seeing them everywhere while walking around, so it’s understandable that you got interested. But if someone else finds them, it could cause trouble for both of us, so make sure you keep them properly hidden.”
“Yes… T-thank you….”
“Alright. I’ll be taking the catalog.”

After gathering the scattered doujinshi and handing them back to me, Koga took the Comiket catalog and quietly left the room.

Thank goodness.
She’s such a mature adult, covering for a younger sibling like this….

“Haa….”

I let out a sigh and placed the paper bag right next to me this time.
That way, if someone asked to borrow something again, I could hand it over myself.

“Yuika, why did it take you so long? The catalog is just—”
“Ah, sorry. I… I need to go to the bathroom for a bit….”

At Ayaka’s call, Suzuha simply waved a hand before quickly heading toward the restroom.

“Wait, sis? The catalog is heavy, you can just leave it—”

Right now, she wasn’t in a state to think properly.

“Haah….”

Suzuha slumped onto the toilet seat and let out a deep sigh.

Feeling her body heat rising, she glanced at the mirror, only to see her face flushed bright red.

And she was fully aware that the reason wasn’t alcohol.

‘What the? What the heck?!’

Suzuha recalled the contents that had spilled out from Izumi’s paper bag earlier.

[The Angel Falls into the Demonic Allure.]
[Angel! The Avatar of Water is Calling You?]
[The Avatar of Water is Sticky.]
[I’m Always an Idol!]
[Izumi! Can We Go Out Together Today?]
[Koga-chan, I Really Like You!]
[A Story of Suzuhachi and Mei-chan Having a Fun Time.]

Except for three of them, the majority were doujinshi about herself and Izumi.

And to top it off, one of them was an R-18 doujinshi.

Of course, Suzuhachi already knew that Izumi hadn’t bought them with that kind of intent.
That’s why she had been able to act nonchalantly and speak calmly in front of her.

But logic and emotions were two different things.
Just the fact that Izumi had bought such books made Suzuhachi feel embarrassed.

She had expected it.
Given Izumi’s full-blown otaku tendencies, she figured he would definitely buy doujinshi featuring the StarsFlow members.

But to have them laid out in front of her, and for the vast majority of them to be about “SuzuIzu”…

It made her feel unbearably flustered.

“Haah….”

Suzuhachi let out another sigh and glanced down at the catalog in her hands….

[203X COMIC MARKET CATALOG]
[The Angel Falls into the Demonic Allure.]

“…Huh?”

Along with the catalog was a doujinshi that had spilled from Izumi’s paper bag earlier.
And unlike the ones she had seen before, this one didn’t seem to be about SuzuIzu—it appeared to feature “Koga Suzuhachi” alone.

The cover had a disheveled outfit and exuded a sultry atmosphere, but since there was no R-18 tag, it probably wasn’t anything explicit.

“…Well, sometimes covers can be misleading.”

Muttering to herself, Suzuhachi naturally flipped through the pages of the doujinshi.

This belonged to Izumi.
She knew she shouldn’t be doing this.
But in that moment, her curiosity won out.

And what she found inside was—

[Koga-chan. I really like you….]
[…Yeah.]

“Izumi” was giving a seductive smile while confessing, and “Suzuha” was blankly accepting it with lifeless eyes.

In other words, it was another SuzuIzu doujinshi.

“…Ah, seriously!”
“What’s wrong, Yuika-nee?!”

Seeing that, Suzuhachi could only scream—so that’s what they meant by “demonic allure”?!

Before she knew it, summer vacation of her second year of high school was coming to an end.
And today was the day her sister was coming home.

Her sister had mentioned bringing back a gift, so she had been eagerly waiting.

[Manager: Izumi-san, do you have time to meet today?]
[Manager: I’ll come by near your house.]

And then, a message arrived from the manager.