To begin with, some people want to rule the world with nine seconds of stopped time. Some have infinite time stop, yet only want to—
I am Hayashi Yū.
A transmigrator from China, now a high school student in Japan.
Parents busy, younger sister, and a house. Recently awakened memories from my past life.
Turns out, my childhood friend's mom is Sayuri Sawamura (fromSaekano);
the single lady next door is Yui Hirasawa's mom (fromMy Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, i.e., Yui Yuigahama's mother);
and the illustrator I draw doujin with is none other than the original Eromanga-sensei…
This life? I'm set for good (lol no seriously).
Most importantly though—my little sister:
Suō Yuki.
"Dear brother?"
"Let me show you something, Yuki. This might just be a power worthy of ruling the world—Za Warudo (The World)!!!"
BOOM…!!!
Time stops. Hayashi Yū rises to his feet as a golden Stand bursts out from his side. The little sister curled up on the floor in front of him is frozen mid-motion.
A foolish mudā.
She's like a peacefully sleeping husband in a dramatic Japanese action-romance movie—completely unaware.
"A golden Stand… Let's call it The World, for now."
"So my cheat ability is probably drawing eromanga? But it seems like there's a cooldown! …For now, time stop is one of only two powers I have."
"If this were a stat sheet from a doujin game, then in raw data terms, power, speed, range, precision, durability, growth… All would be 6A-tier across the board. What kind of concept is that?"
One second.
Next door, Mrs. Yuigahama has just finished freshening up. Her long orange hair, usually tied in a ponytail, has been let down and falls gently over her chest. She's frozen mid-yoga pose, the tight fabric behind her forming a peach-like shape.
Three seconds.
In the bedroom next door, Mrs. Izumi (that is, Sagiri's mother, Eromanga Sensei) is still staring at a risqué image on her digital screen. Her pale cheeks show signs of fatigue and a faint blush. Her refined housewife appearance is completely at odds with her mischievous chuckle—now abruptly halted.
Six seconds.
The silver moon stands still. The paused sea breeze flows between Tokyo and Chiba. The sky's base tone becomes vividly clear. A Keiyō Line train halts at Inage-Kaigan Station…
Night is serene.
The air is crystal clear.
Tick, tick, tick—
Nine seconds. Time resumes… BOOM!
Time should have resumed. Once, a vampire tried to conquer the world with nine seconds of time stop. But as for Hayashi Yū and his eromanga-based power—
His time stop is: Infinite.
Yare yare daze.
His little sister is still just as cute.
Her frozen expression is blank—adorable.
Her defenseless, fragile pose—adorable.
That startled little look cut short—adorable.
Her silky black hair, tied in a loose ponytail, cascades gently like a waterfall. Because of the time stop, the strands remain mid-motion, fluttering like a firework in bloom, as though they had a life of their own…
"...Onii-san?!"
She snaps out of it.
A feeling like being reborn.
Suō Yuki's eyes fly open. She finds herself relocated to the bed, unharmed. Her hair is a mess, and… there's a convenience store bag in her arms—with meat buns inside?!
"You idiot Onii-chan! What exactly were you doing with time stop?!!"
For a moment, she stares at Hayashi Yū in a mix of embarrassment and regret.
"What's with that look?"
"Don't play dumb. Mmmmmm… Hmmph. Onii-chan, you really are a dummy. You can't just tell people about such an important ability. It's too careless. What if—"
"But you're different, Yuki."
"Nngh!"
When it came to his sister, Hayashi Yū wasn't going to hide much. She was a girl who had eyes only for him. Maybe one day, he'd even tell her about his past life.
Because Suō Yuki was special.
"…"
"…"
"Big brother… dumbass."
Her soft but stubborn voice brushed his ears. She tugged on his sleeve from beside the bed. Hayashi Yū turned his head to look at her—
Yuki had a whole arsenal of affectionate titles for him:
Onii-chan, Nii-san, Oniisama, Dear Brother…
Like a sweet little devil.
"Ehh~~ How bold of you, my brother. Yuki's heart is pounding—thump thump—Ah, so you're seriously trying to win me over without using time stop? I see, this must be the key event that leads into the 'Little Sister: Suō Yuki Route', huh? Skip, skip, skip…"
She started tapping imaginary skip buttons in the air, as if fast-forwarding through a galgame scene. Her fair little finger poked at the void, clearly wanting to jump straight to the juicy plot.
Are you secretly a beta tester for some Earth-themed otome game?
Hayashi Yū looked at her, dumbfounded.
"What nonsense are you spouting? We're real siblings—"
"—BAKA YARŌ!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT'S GOOD!!!!!!!"
Hayashi Yū: "..."
His sister grabbed him by the collar.
Eyes wide, she shouted adorably. Anger flushed across her snow-pale cheeks, like a storm about to erupt.
Wait a sec—
Where's my gentle, loving, perfect little sister?!
For a moment, Hayashi Yū seriously suspected—could it be that this delicate-looking girl actually had A-rank strength and speed?
That's so Suō Yuki.
Only, Hayashi Yū wasn't Suō Masachika—he was Suō Yū. Everything had carried over from his previous life, including his nationality. After their parents divorced, he reverted to the Hayashi surname, while his sister stayed in the Suō household and kept her surname.
Which made sense.
No need for confusion.
Because he had been reborn into a crossover anime world!
After their divorce, Hayashi Yū awakened to his past life memories. He understood now—he wasn't someone else. He was the brother of Suō Yuki.
That fact would never change.
This girl before him—
Suō Yuki.
"My one and only family… my adorable little sister."
"...Yū?"
Yuki noticed him staring at her. She tilted her head slightly. Her soft black hair swayed gently like petals in the breeze. She saw him glance back at his laptop screen.
The room grew still.
Come to think of it, Yuki—when calm—really was unbeatably cute.
Hayashi Yū truly believed that from the bottom of his heart.
"Hey, Onii-chan, it's about time… Let's begin."
"Actually, maybe we shouldn't? If you're uncomfortable, Yuki…"
"No, we've come this far… It's fine!"
"Alright then. Place your hands here—be careful—"
"Ah… Mm, it's a bit hot…"
"Hot?"
"Yeah…"
Watching her nod, Hayashi Yū's expression shifted slightly, pondering:
"—Got it. The laptop's overheating? Looks like this setup isn't cut out for livestreaming after all. Guess it's time for a new one."
"A new laptop?"
Yuki pursed her lips. On the surface she was the perfect elegant young lady, but behind the scenes she was almost a total shut-in. Her eyes lit up slightly with excitement. Without needing guidance, she deftly moved the mouse and keyboard, preparing for the stream.
Click click.
The screen soon showed the familiar YouTube livestreaming page and the channel named Haruhino Yū.
That's right—
This was the livestream channel of the YouTuber known as Haruhino Yū!
"Hey hey, Onii-chan, just now our conversation totally sounded like one of those scenes in anime that always lead to misunderstandings, right? Even though we're real siblings~~~"
"Stop saying stuff that'll get us demonetized."
"Hehehe~~~"
On the screen, the chat was split between the video window and the scrolling comments (danmaku).
The background of the stream was a simple blue with floating patterns and doodles of anime plushies. The red title read: "Drawing & Chatting".
Danmaku like "Hurry up!", "Can't wait!", "○○ standing by" flew across the screen.
"Oh right, Onii-chan, you said time stop is one of your two powers? What's the other one?"
While waiting for the stream to start, Yuki asked again, eyes brimming with curiosity. Under the table, her pale little feet curled unconsciously—barefoot, her soft toes tensed slightly.
"Anime intake volume."
"...!!"
As a side note—
Unlike his sharp-tongued, scheming little sister who now looked stunned—
Hayashi Yū was in fact none other than the beloved illustrator Haruhino Yū, adored by countless fans in his livestream chat!
His career was booming!
Just moments ago, he received an email from Fushikawa Library, requesting illustrations for a submission to their Newcomer Award contest.
And at this very moment—
Swish swish swish——
In the cramped single-room apartment…
The handsome young man raised his stylus and danced across the digital screen, writing the title:
"The Socially Awkward Underage Snow Woman and the Cursed Ring"