Chapter 107 - Too late?

“Erina nee-san, he already told you that he likes someone else. You should just—” - I said. “Give up? I will do that if he sees me as a complete nuisance and tells me that to my face. But if not, then I will wait for him in that park.” “You're just taking advantage of his kindness! Are you really okay with that? Erina nee-san, if you keep doing this, there's a chance that he'll actually start to hate you for it.” “It's okay… If he ends up hating me, then I'll finally be able to move on. Tomoki-kun, I'm not like you… I'm not strong enough to be able to settle these feelings… sob… Please, help me… I'm really serious about him, and I don't think I'll be able to live knowing that I could have been happier with him.” Seeing Erina nee-san in this state, I just wanted to forget about my friendship with Himari and my own beliefs. “Erina nee-san, do you think you'll be happy with a guy who has more than one girlfriend? Will you be okay if he spends time with his other girlfriends instead of you? Won't you feel that it's unfair that only he can have more than one partner while you can only be with him?” “Tomoki-kun… that's the reason why I really want to be with him. Just like you, he thinks the same way about polygamous relationships. And in a sense… I'm starting to understand why you fought with Dad. Sob… Tell me, Tomoki… sob… can you swear that I'll find another man like him? If it's him, I know that he'll never leave me alone.” It's hard. The more I talk with her, the more she convinces me that Hotaru is the only person my sister could be happy with. Shit! If only that damn Sebastian wasn't him, my life would be much simpler! But yeah… I already know life isn't that easy. “Erina nee-san, sooner or later, Hotaru or Himari will confess to each other. Their feelings are mutual, and even if I try something, those two will end up together anyway. This is something you should acknowledge.” “Sob… Gasp… Sob…” - Erina nee-san was breaking down in tears, trying her best not to raise her voice while crying. … … Whatever. Screw this. “That's why you need to somehow talk with Himari. If you're willing to go that far to be with Hotaru, then you definitely need to be on good terms with her. Honestly, I'm really curious how our mothers were able to share Dad. Anyways, in a sense, you need to conquer not only Hotaru's heart, but Himari's too.” “Eh?… Wait, does that mean you…” “Yeah, I want to see you happy, and if your happiness is with him, then as your brother, I need to support you, right? Though I'm confident I can talk with Hotaru, I don't know about Himari.” “It's okay, Tomoki-kun. I'll be the one to talk with Tachibana-san. It's the least I can do.” “Got it. Then tomorrow I'll have a talk with him. It's already late, so we should sleep now.” “You're right… Good night, Tomoki-kun.” “Good night, Erina nee-san.” “And… thanks. For helping your hopeless older sister.” “Thank me when everything goes well. We'll definitely need to put in the effort to make this a success.” “You're right. Then I'll go to my room.” And she went to her room… Man, this is going to be really complicated. How am I going to face my friends? No, how will I face Himari? After everything she's already been through, now I'll be giving her another headache too. Sigh~ Well, for now, let's hope everything will be okay. ♦♦♦ And so, right now I'm on the rooftop, talking with Hotaru alone again. “Hotaru, are you willing to date my sister too?” - I asked him. “It's really weird hearing this… especially from you. After all, you're basically asking me to two-time with your sister. Are you okay?” “Sigh~ I know, and I feel like this is really weird. But seriously, after talking with my sister, she really convinced me that it's better for her to date a guy like you than some unknown man who God knows what is going on in his mind.” “Well… I mean… Haha, how can I say this? I'm a reliable man, right?” - He said with a smug face. “Just so you know, there's news about a man who got killed because he couldn't treat his woman properly.” “Did you really need to mention that? Okay, seriously speaking, personally, dating two girls without any issues would be a blessing, a gift from the gods. Not to mention they're both beautiful girls.” - He started smiling again. “Good for you. So?” - I was being indifferent. “But… I know that means I need to put in twice the effort to take care of them. And excuses aren't allowed, of course, if I make a big blunder with them. After all, a relationship is about responsibility too, right? And that's why you rejected Tachibana-san, even though you could aim to date both her and Edomae-san.” “You really know me. Then does that mean you—” “Tomoki, I want to be a man who takes care of the people I love, be there for them whenever something happens, and, of course, be loyal to them since I want to be treated the same way. Just like Uncle Masaru.” I see… so this is his answer. “Just so you know, Himari seems to be open-minded about letting her boyfriend have more than one girlfriend.” “Because of how this world works, right? Anyone would want to have a fair relationship, so of course I'll stick only with Tachibana-san.” “To think you've already made your decision even after knowing that my sister loves you. I'm impressed.” “It's not like I hadn't considered dating Morikawa nee-san. After all, it's not like I'm in a relationship with Tachibana-san. But I have to make up my mind, right? So I decided to choose Tachibana-san… I'll ask her this weekend to go out with me.” Whoa, he's really serious. To think my best friend finally decided to have a girlfriend. “Then go for it. You'd better not freak out.” “The worst she could say is ‘no,’ right?” “And to add that she never saw you as a man and that maybe you'll encounter someone more suitable for you…” “……” He remained silent and stared at me. “……” I guess I joked too far. “Did she say something like that?” “No… she was really considerate toward me. It just hurts when you get rejected… A single ‘no’ is enough to crush you.” “I see.” - It seemed his spirits had dropped. “Hotaru, what I've learned is that nothing will go down as easily as you expect, or you might even fail. But it's okay. Everyone recovers from rejection or failure. That's why I never regretted confessing to her, and we know there are a lot of people who have gone through this. So don't think too hard about it. Just focus on Himari, and I assure you that everything will go well. Trust me, Himari likes you, but that doesn’t mean you can just relax, got it?” “Of course! But what about your sister?” “She’s strong, and she has me, my sisters, and my aunts. We'll all be there for her.” “You really get along with your sisters like… your actual sisters.” “Only the youngest one is still stern toward me, though sometimes she helps me when I need it. And nothing brings me more joy than being called an older brother.” “Thanks, Tomoki. I mean, if you weren't here too, I don't think I would have given this much serious thought.” “You sound like if I weren't here, you would just go on a rampage.” “Well… yeah, I would. I guess it's in my genes.” - He gave an awkward smile. “Nah, you wouldn't. But since you're that grateful to me, buy me some lunch and snacks. I mean… you've made a lot of money.” “Hey! I earned that money through work. There's a saying, ‘Who doesn't work doesn't eat,’ so yeah, no food for you!” “Do you know how expensive your butler café is!? I would be able to eat three meals if I were in a normal place.” And that's how our conversation ended. It's funny to see that Hotaru is nervous, especially since Himari is also planning to confess to him. What's the chance of actually witnessing this? Well, I just hope Erina nee-san takes this calmly… No, she won't, and maybe I'll end up in a coffin for real. But this is as far as I can help. Be brave, myself. Time to face it! ♦♦♦ “…And so I decided to date your sister.” You must be joking.