NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87
“Hello, Izumi.”
“…Huh? Su, Suzuha?”
“Yep.”
Suzuha casually plopped down next to the kotatsu I had been sitting by.
…It’s nearly 10 PM, how did Suzuha end up here at this hour?
“Yuyika, is coffee okay?”
“Yep.”
While I was flustered and struggling to understand the situation, Utsumi naturally brought coffee to Suzuha, who also comfortably sipped her coffee while fiddling with the TV remote.
“Ren. Got any snacks at home?”
“I don’t, so we’ll have to go buy some. Want to go together?”
“If there aren’t any, it’s fine. I’ve got some tangerines, let’s just eat those.”
As I watched Suzuha quietly peel a tangerine and Utsumi bringing coffee into the kotatsu, I pondered for a moment before slowly speaking up.
“Uh, so… Su, Suzuha, how did you end up here at this hour…?”
“…Huh? What’s up, Ren? Didn’t I mention?”
“We were supposed to meet tomorrow. I was going to tell you then.”
“Aah… Then you didn’t know.”
“Wha-what does that mean…?”
Finding my flustered reaction amusing, Suzuha and Utsumi covered their mouths and chuckled.
“Izumi, this is Ren’s home, it’s a mansion, right?”
“Uh, yeah…”
And quite the new 1LDK mansion at that.
So when I first saw it, I was in awe that someone could live here alone.
“If this is a mansion, then naturally, there must be someone living next door?”
“…I suppose?”
“And that person is me.”
“…Huh?”
“That’s me living next door to Ren.”
★
Hmm. So to summarize what Suzuha and Utsumi just explained…
“So, Su, Suzuha and Utsumi are childhood friends…?”
“Yep. Our parents are friends, so we’ve known each other since we were little.”
Thinking back, there had been many hints that Suzuha and Utsumi were close.
It was clear when Suzuha played pranks on me during our first group collaboration, and even when we went to Hatsumode, they came together.
And even when we were just chatting and not broadcasting, Utsumi always referred to Suzuha by her real name.
I had thought that was a result of Utsumi’s overwhelming social skills.
“I was the first to live here, then Ren decided he wanted to live alone too, so he followed me here.”
“What are you talking about? Yuyika said it was fine here and invited me!”
“I only told you because you were being indecisive.”
Despite raising their voices slightly, they didn’t seem genuinely angry.
Rather, it was a conversation that could only happen because they were close.
…A conversation I could never have with that guy until the very end.
“Well, since we live right next to each other, if we’re bored, we can visit often, like today.”
“Most of the time, I go to Yuyika’s house though.”
“Back in the day, I would visit your house a lot, so now it’s your turn to come over.”
But even though they could easily visit each other because they’re childhood friends, it’s amazing that they both ended up in Star’s Flow together.
“How did you both end up joining Star’s Flow separately?”
“Huh? Oh, that wasn’t it. I was having a hard time when I was working at a company. My streaming as a hobby wasn’t going anywhere… That’s when Yuyika told me Star’s Flow was looking for second-generation members, so I applied too.”
“I already knew the limits of being an independent VTuber, so I figured if I was going to try again, I wanted to join a company. When I heard Star’s Flow was recruiting VTubers, I thought it would be fun to do it together. Plus, we both happened to already be doing individual streams.”
“Aah…”
Thinking back, unlike me, Suzuha and Utsumi both had accounts from their previous lives.
Suzuha did casual talks where she shared experiences from her time as an underground idol, and Utsumi did ASMR streams if I recall correctly.
“But, you two don’t really interact much on stream, do you…?”
Suzuha often connected with me, and Utsumi connected frequently with Yukari or Aki.
Considering they’re childhood friends, I thought they’d help each other out more.
“Since we see each other every day, I didn’t want to be tied to Ren on stream.”
“I feel the same way.”
I see.
Well, if they see each other every day, they can show their closeness, but going through that on broadcast might not be a good idea.
VTubers, or more precisely, internet streams, always need to present something new.
If they’re already used to each other, that might make it harder.
“Then, did Su, Suzuha come over today just to see Utsumi as usual?”
“…Kind of.”
“Liar! You came to see Izumi, didn’t you!”
“Haah?!”
…Wait, what?
“I wanted to talk a lot with Izumi today! Since I already said we’d hang out tomorrow!”
“If we’re going to hang out tomorrow anyway, what’s the point of coming over to chat now? How does that mean you came to see Izumi?”
“If Yuyika never comes to my house, and she does today, that’s the only reason!”
“I, I just came over, okay? I felt bad since you’re always the one coming here…”
“Since when did you start thinking like that?”
I feel like I’ve opened a can of worms here…
…Not that I care.
I should just sleep.
I’m already tired, and with the kotatsu’s warmth, I could fall asleep right now…
★
“Izumi, you fell asleep, huh?”
“Yeah. Sleeping under the kotatsu gives you a cold…”
“Lay down some blankets in your room. I’ll wake you and take you there.”
“Okay.”
Ayaka immediately got up from her seat and went to the room to lay down the blankets, while Suzuha gently shook Izumi to wake her.
“Izumi. The blankets are laid out in your room, so go sleep there. You’ll catch a cold sleeping here.”
“Mm… It’s a hassle… I’ll sleep here…”
“Quickly.”
“Yeah…”
Suzuha and Ayaka supported the swaying Izumi to lay her down in the room before returning to the kotatsu.
“Now that Izumi’s asleep, want to have a can of beer, Yuyika?”
“Sounds good.”
Even though it was well past 10 PM, that fact didn’t matter to the two of them.
They were already accustomed to drinking late into the night.
“Haah…”
“But really, why did you come over today? At first, you said you’d just come tomorrow.”
“…I told you earlier. I just came because I was bored.”
“Really? I thought you came over with that ‘Izumi shouldn’t hang out with anyone else!’ kind of feeling.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ayaka’s remark made Suzuha chuckle lightly.
“Honestly… I was just worried and came over.”
“Worried? What’s there to worry about when I’m here?”
“No idea.”
Although Ayaka interrogated her, Suzuha just shook her head and didn’t respond.
In fact, she couldn’t answer.
Ayaka was her sister who she had known for over 20 years.
If she made up something to answer here, Ayaka would catch on in no time.
But just like how Suzuha was perceptive, Ayaka was no slouch either, having spent so much time with her.
“Well, it’s true that you came because you were concerned about Izumi, right?”
“…I can’t deny that.”
“Yuyika has been like that since we were kids.”
“That’s true…”
“But Yuyika, you didn’t really like being teased for your height, did you? Izumi teases you quite a bit, but since you’re so worried, it’s a bit unexpected.”
“Well, it’s because someone cuter than me is doing it. I don’t really mind.”
“But she’s taller than you!”
“Uh-oh.”
When Suzuha lightly slapped her shoulder, Ayaka burst into laughter.
It was clearly a joke and a response possible because they were comfortable with each other.
“When other people comment on height… I can feel a bit of malicious intent. But with Izumi, I don’t feel that at all. There’s something so pure about her.”
“So you liked that?”
“Yep.”
“Izumi’s in trouble now. If Yuyika gets obsessed, it’ll be tough~.”
“Haah? If someone heard that, they’d think I really am like that!”
Of course, Suzuha knew.
She was aware she had some tendency to obsess around her surroundings.
But she thought that it never reached a level that was hard to deal with.
“Joining Star’s Flow has really been a relief. Everyone is great.”
“…Right? I hope we can keep this up for a long time.”
★
“Ugh…”
After waking up in the morning, I had breakfast with Suzuha and Utsumi, and after wandering outside until 3 PM, I returned home feeling like my whole body was screaming.
Thank goodness I had dance lessons skipped yesterday.
I would’ve probably fainted halfway through if I had gone like this.
How can those two, being older than me, run around like that?
Trendy people really are hard to understand…
By the way, it’s so interesting that Suzuha and Utsumi are childhood friends.
I often hear stories of close people working together, but thinking that they are the ones next to me is quite a strange feeling.
If there had been a chance, would I have had a future working with that guy too?
…Well, it’s meaninless talk now, but.