NOVEL NEXT Chapter 277: [My Lover Is A VTuber]
"Iroha, I want to hear your answer."
Taking a deep breath at that question, I smiled and replied.
"Sorry. My lover is a VTuber, so I can't spend even a second with anyone else but my oshi."
"Hey! I'm serious, not joking. Give me a real answer!"
Despite Shitenno's anger, I kept my smile and silently met his gaze.
He stared at me for a moment, then stopped moving.
"Is that… really the case?"
"Yeah."
Shitenno seemed to understand something and scratched his head vigorously.
Then he squatted down."Ugh, damn it…! Damn it all!"
His hand slipped away from mine as he sighed heavily, then muttered softly.
"That's just cheating. Because that means… you can't win."
I said nothing.
Or rather, I had no words to say.
"I-Iroha, you idiot! Fool! VTuber geek! Just go wherever you want! Get lost!"
"Haha, that's harsh. You don't have to go that far."
"Just go! Leave already!"
Shitenno's voice trembled.
He never lifted his face.
"…Sorry."
"Don't apologize! I haven't done anything to deserve an apology from you!"
"That's right."
"But… I'll say one thing. You'll regret this. Because you've made the most regrettable choice in your life right now. I'm a genius! I'll become a scholar who leaves a ‘name' in history!"
"Yeah. I know."
"Ugh!"
Shitenno lifted his face as if pushed.
That face… no.
There was something I had to tell him.
"Thank you for helping me protect what was important to me back then."
"Yeah."
"And thank you for fighting to help me get back what was important to me."
"Yeah!"
Shitenno had helped me twice before.
I had forgotten to thank him until now. And this was the closure.
"Well then, Shitenno-kun. I'm leaving now."
"Idiot, my name isn't Shitenno. Remember. Someday, my name will reach your ears whether you like it or not."
"Yeah. Looking forward to it."
I left the classroom as it was.
A female student was standing in the hallway. She ran into the classroom as I passed by.
《Shitenno! You were… you were so cool! Incredibly cool!》
《Why are you crying?》
《Because, because~!》
《I-I'm, I'm sorry!》
Voices from the classroom echoed.
Then, a muffled sob from a boy leaked out.
To avoid hearing more, I walked away.
To not waste the reason why he held back his tears.
"Goodbye."
Sheitnno was much cooler than me from a previous life, needless to say.
There are various conditions for being popular. Like being good-looking. Or being kind.
But the most important thing is "trying hard."
People who give their all in their efforts are the coolest and most attractive.
And surely, at least one person will notice and appreciate their efforts.
At least one person will realize.
This law applies to both men and women.
Surely, many VTubers are charming because they perform with all their might and enjoy it to the fullest…
"Oof."
Before I knew it, I was walking briskly.
Soon, it turned into a jog, and before I knew it, I was running at full speed.
"Oof, oof!"
And then, My, Ah-nee, Ilyena.
For some reason, I just really wanted to see them right now.
***
《I-I'm back!》
《W-Welcome ba…ck! Hmph!》
Angu Ogu, who had been working on his computer in the living room, started to greet me normally but stopped mid-sentence.
As if remembering, he hurriedly set aside the ‘Translation Girl Iroha' plushie he had been hugging.
She turned away, striking a pose that seemed to say, "I'm still not forgiving you."
Breathing heavily from running from the apartment's parking lot, I approached her.
《Angu Ogu, listen! I!》
《Hmph!》
I tried to tell Angu Ogu something important, but she didn't even look at me.
My chest throbbed with pain.
It's scary to get hurt. But it's even scarier to lose.
I sat down next to her on the sofa… her side.
《Iroha!?》
It was unusual for me to approach Angu Ogu.
She looked at me with slightly widened eyes, stealing a glance at me.
I timidly pinched the hem of her clothes.
That was the best I could do right now.
《Because, you know, I'd be lonely if you kept ignoring me like this, right?》
《!?》
For some reason, I felt like I was about to burst into tears.
I couldn't control my emotions well.
《Uhm, that's… well, it's, um, you know!?》
Angu Ogu was startled by my state.
Summoning up courage, I asked her desperately.
《Hey, Ogu. Have you… Have you come to hate me already?》
The voice that finally came out was thinner and more trembling than I had imagined.