NOVEL NEXT Chapter 51
[【Chat】I’m back! #YukariAkabane#Star’sFlow]
Ding!
Before the broadcast started, Yukari noticed the sudden notification sound.
A mark appeared on the Miscode indicating a DM had come in.
The sender’s name was Izumi.
[Izumi Kainoh: I saw the campfire as promised.]
[Izumi Kainoh: I’m really tired. I shouldn’t have gone. I should’ve just gone home; I regret it a lot.]
[Izumi Kainoh: …But I also think it was good to see it.]
[Izumi Kainoh: Just a little, though.]
It was 8:29 PM.
No matter how she thought about it, it was too late to have just quickly seen it and gone home.
And Yukari’s assumptions were spot on.
[Izumi Kainoh: I took some pictures too.]
Izumi sent pictures along with the DM.
A photo of the beginning of the campfire.
A photo of the beautiful flames blazing in between.
And lastly, a photo of the gray scenery scattered with ashes after the fire had completely died down.
Of course, Izumi wasn’t in any of the photos.
In fact, it looked like the photo was taken from inside a building, at quite a high elevation, so she couldn’t really see anyone else.
Yukari thought it was truly an Izumi-like photo and chuckled.
“Ah, everything’s turned out completely different than planned.”
Originally, Yukari thought Izumi would ask her to be friends today.
Even though she was envious of Suzuha for receiving such a request, Yukari wanted to get closer to Izumi too.
However, rather than receiving such a request, she ended up claiming friendship first.
So, the sight of Izumi’s silly, cute smile was just too adorable.
Before they parted ways, Yukari got to see those beautiful blue eyes.
“Suzuha had a reason for constantly bringing up Izumi.”
Well, this is fine too, she thought.
Akakak!
Akakak!
“Hm, hm. Hmmm… Shall we start?”
The time had come to 8:34 PM, and it was time to start the broadcast.
“The world will soon be painted red! I am the crimson witch, Yukari Akabane!”
Red world!
Did you enjoy your outing?
“Ah, of course. There’s no way something would happen to me in the first place.”
What kind of outing was it?
“I went out to hang out with Izumi. I’m sorry for not being able to broadcast, but it couldn’t be helped.”
??
Really?
Sounds like a fun story!
Looking at the chatroom erupting with her viewers’ reactions, Yukari grinned.
“Akakak! I’m sorry, but it’s a secret. If you’re curious, go and ask that guy in his broadcast later.”
You might think it’s childish, but Yukari just wanted to savor her precious memories with her newly formed cute friend a bit longer.
★
[Yukari Akabane: I went to the cultural festival at the high school Izumi attends.]
[Yukari Akabane: Izumi looked really good in the butler outfit.]
[Yukari Akabane: (Picture)]
[Yukari Akabane: (Picture)]
[Yukari Akabane: (Picture)]
[Yukari Akabane: Isn’t it really cute?]
[Suzuha Koga: ???]
[Suzuha Koga: No way.]
[Suzuha Koga: Don’t mess with me.]
[Yukari Akabane: It’s true!]
★
“Ah, over there.”
“Yes, Young Lady. Is there something you need?”
“Ah, yes. I heard there’s a friend named Kayanoh Mina, and I’d like to request her service when I come in later.”
With the sudden situation of choosing Kayanoh, Miyauchi scanned the woman who had come as a guest.
Her pink-blond hair flowed down from under her hat, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
She was shorter than Miyauchi but seemed to be a few years older, giving off a vibrant older sister vibe.
“Um, may I ask what your relation to Kayanoh is…?”
It was rare, but Miyauchi thought it would be troublesome if any problems arose, so she asked the woman about her identity.
The woman hesitated for a moment, then gave a slight smile in response.
“Can I say I’m the second friend candidate?”
“Ah…?”
It was a short and difficult-to-understand explanation, but just that was enough for Miyauchi to grasp.
She recognized that this woman was one of the ones melting Kayanoh’s frozen heart.
“Oh, then since Kayanoh will be working until 1 PM, I’ll keep her attached to you until then.”
“Huh? That’s not necessary. She can just receive guests and wander around until 1 PM…”
“It’s okay. Kayanoh would find it easier that way.”
Though the guest insisted it wasn’t necessary, Miyauchi’s firm decision eventually led her to give in and accept the proposal.
“…Is there no problem with this?”
Muttering words she couldn’t understand.
Miyauchi sincerely thought that pairing them up was a wise decision.
The guest sitting in the farthest corner engaged in conversation with Kayanoh.
The guest continued talking to Kayanoh, who mostly just listened.
However, she occasionally caught glimpses of Kayanoh’s smile.
It was rare for Miyauchi to see Kayanoh smile; all the smiles she had seen before seemed filled with pity.
But now, Kayanoh, while talking, was smiling a smile of an ordinary high school girl, just as one might find anywhere.
She must be sharing kind and soft memories between just the two of them.
“…I’m really glad.”
With those words, Miyauchi resumed guiding the guests, hoping the two would enjoy a warm time together till the end.
★
“Wasn’t I the one who won that bet last time?”
“Y-Yes, but the ultimate showdown story’s final, best part is chapter 6 of volume 2…”
“It’s a bit lame to still be talking like that even after losing a bet, Kayanoh.”
“But my s-spirit is saying this…”
“Speaking of which, since talking about the ultimate showdown makes me think of it, Kayanoh, you maxed out Hercules, right? I was so jealous that I also tried rolling for gacha but ended up spending all 5000 yen.”
“…D-Despicable…”
★
“I’m so tired…”
Right now, I was so exhausted that I just wanted to jump into bed without even showering.
The campfire, it was a mistake to see it.
A campfire is supposed to be an event where boys and girls dance together in a hot atmosphere, or friends sit around the campfire sharing silly stories, right?
But what about me?
An opposite? None. I’d flat-out rejected such an idea.
Close friends? Of course, there were none. There’s Suzuha and now Yukari, but both of them aren’t students from my school. They are older than me.
In the end, I watched the campfire alone in the (former) science room…
So what does the last event of the cultural festival mean to me?
…Nothing, right?
Of course, I thought it was beautiful and cool while watching.
Seeing people who worked hard and prepared enjoy the scene was a bit touching, so I could somewhat understand the meaning Yukari mentioned.
However, feelings are ultimately fleeting.
When I returned home, the exhaustion I felt was greater than the emotion brought by the campfire.
You might ask, “Isn’t that way too realistic?”
But turning a blind eye to reality leaves nothing behind…
This exhaustion won’t just vanish either.
What’s more, if a mere ultra-beautiful girl like me were to say such things, it would be more emotional than realistic.
Know that empathy is necessary for girls during these times.
“I should go to bed soon…”
After a quick shower, I changed into my pajamas and threw myself onto the bed.
Tomorrow’s Saturday.
Naturally, I have no plans, so I should rest well.
I also need to broadcast, so…
And then upon waking, I saw.
“Uh…”
[Suzuha Koga: I heard you invited Yukari to your cultural festival?]
[Suzuha Koga: I kept helping you during the preparation, but you didn’t invite me.]
[Suzuha Koga: That’s too much (｡•́︿•̀｡)]
[Suzuha Koga: I really wanted to go, you know?]
[Suzuha Koga: But I let it slide because it was Izumi.]
[Suzuha Koga: And then Yukari went and said she had fun at the cultural festival…]
A furious message from Suzuha flooded my DMs.
★
[【Membership Exclusive】Help Wanted #KainohIzumi#Star’sFlow#ChatBroadcast]
“I-I’m really in danger right now.”
-What on earth is going on?
-You’re probably just saying that about some trivial topic, right?
“No, it’s real…”
Why won’t they believe me?
Sure, it’s true that I usually come in with silly and trivial stories, but I hope Iza-tomo believes me this time…
More importantly, this is a real crisis.
-What’s the problem?
“Suzuha won’t talk to me…”
-Oh.
-That sounds really dangerous. LOL.
-If Suzuha-chan isn’t talking to you, then it is indeed dangerous.
Of course, as soon as I saw Suzuha’s DM in the morning, I immediately apologized.
And I should; after all, I had relied on her throughout the cultural festival.
Suzuha must have wanted to attend our high school’s cultural festival since she helped out, but I completely missed that and just sent her a set of iced chocolate and desserts from a famous cafe.
It was all my fault, completely 100% mine.
“So, what should I do?”
-What exactly happened?
“Uh, um…”
How am I supposed to explain this?
I really want to avoid spilling the whole truth.
“Just think of it as my fault…”
-That’s only obvious.
-If something happens to Suzuha-chan, it’ll definitely end up being Mei-chan’s problem.
“That’s too much…”
But the fact that I can’t refute that makes it even sadder.
Honestly, this whole situation is entirely my fault too…
-‘Pure White Sea’ is no longer a thing, huh?
-Collaboration Unit (one broadcast only)
“No way…”
…What, me?
I mean, if I think about it, isn’t this really dangerous?
“If, if, if that really happens, what should I do?”
-Just calm down.
-It’s not set in stone yet.
That’s true, but there’s no proof that it isn’t either.
Most importantly, I know.
People as kind as Suzuha tend to disappear without saying anything when they’re cutting ties with someone.
I learned that from the internet!
“Wh-what should I do…”
Ding!
[Suzuha Koga: What on earth are you saying to the viewers! (╯°Д°)╯]
“Huh?”
-?
-What’s going on?
“I just got a DM from Suzuha…”
[Suzuha Koga: For now, let’s talk on the phone in a bit!]
“…Why do I feel like I’m going to get scolded? I’ll end the broadcast…”
-LOL.
-Why does this feel so familiar? LOL.
-Goodbye, Izumi!
★
[If I talk about this in the broadcast, rumors of discord are going to spread for sure!]
“Ah, I won’t do it anymore…”
[Didn’t you think that I couldn’t contact you because of other promises?]
“I’m sorry…”
[Of course, I was a bit upset, but to suddenly cut ties over something like that? That’s a little extreme.]
“…I-I feel like I got scolded last time too.”
[What do you mean by that all of a sudden?]
“N-no, it’s just that…”
I wanted to say that it feels kind of comforting to be talking like this with Suzuha.
But I guess now is not the time for that.
Still, I’m glad it wasn’t a complete falling out…
[Of course, I never even thought about it…]
[But why am I in the middle of this?]
[Yukari, be quiet.]
[…Got it.]
As friends, it’s about sharing the tough times together; that’s how it is for you, Yukari.
Given that she doesn’t seem to know that, Yukari must not have many friends.
[No way, I have more than Izumi!]
[What are you talking about?]
[There’s this thing…]
…That’s too much, Suzuha.