Chapter 122: The charisma he has built up so far as a cool middle-aged man in his 40s…

“Alright, everyone, make sure not to cause any trouble during summer break.”

“Woaaaaah!”

The second summer vacation of my high school life had finally begun.

But if I really think about it, summer break doesn’t mean anything special.
Enjoying things you normally can’t because of summer break—that’s something only extroverts do.

For me, this summer will probably be the same as always, just spending time at home.

But that doesn’t matter.
The fact that every day is a holiday is enough to justify the existence of summer break.

“Everyone’s talking about meeting up today. What about you, Kayano?”

Just before I left the classroom, as expected, Miyauchi approached me.
Tateyama had suggested a gathering, and she was asking if I wanted to join.
I shook my head and answered.

“S-sorry. Today, I, um, just….”

After participating last time, I realized that group gatherings just aren’t for me.

I don’t sing, I don’t really talk to anyone.
All I do is zone out by myself and pass the time.

Of course, for a time-killer like me, that might seem like a fitting activity.
But a true time-killer shouldn’t wield their power carelessly.
Only when necessary should they reveal their true potential—because it’s an incredible ability….

“Then, see you next time, Kayano.”

“Ah, goodbye….”

[…Lately, Mei-chan seems to be involved with Suzuha a lot, doesn’t she?]

While ego-surfing, I happened to come across a post like that on Nater.
Honestly, from my perspective, it was complete nonsense.

[They don’t mention each other as much as before, and they haven’t done many collabs recently.]
[She didn’t even appear as a guest on Suzuha-chan’s birthday live.]
[During the 2nd-gen group collab, they seemed kind of awkward together.]

Surprisingly, that opinion was getting a massive amount of support in the community.
To the point where searching “Suzuizu” or “Pure White Sea” brought up results like “Suzuizu Conflict” and “Pure White Sea Conflict.”

But Koga literally said herself that she couldn’t join the birthday live because she was busy….

Sure, we haven’t interacted outside of our regular Pure White Sea collabs lately,
But is that really enough to spark rumors of a falling out?
The person I talk to the most is still Koga.

Even during the recent group collab, Koga made my favorite cheese hamburger steak,
And she was the one who loved my secret weapon—pork-cutlet cup ramen—the most.

I don’t get it. What’s supposed to be awkward?
But since the viewers have no way of knowing these things, I guess it can’t be helped….

When I brought it up to Koga,

[Then how about an off-collab, just the two of us, for the first time in a while?]

“Uhh…?”

She said it so casually.

[We’ve both been busy lately, so it’s true we haven’t had much interaction outside of our regular collabs. Ideally, we wouldn’t let random opinions affect us… but you’re already bothered by it, aren’t you?]

“Yeah….”

We’re this close. Koga is my first-ever friend, and that will never change.
But since people don’t know that, they just assume we’re on bad terms, and it’s frustrating.

Of course, that falling-out rumor was only getting more support than I expected—it was still just a small portion of the overall viewers.
But once I started paying attention to it, I couldn’t help but keep noticing it.

[Then come over to my place next Friday. We don’t need to prepare any special content. We can just hang out, and in the evening, we’ll turn on the stream and chat about how we spent the day together. That should be enough.]

“That… sounds good…?”

Since all those rumors stemmed from the fact that Koga and I hadn’t been interacting much lately, just meeting up might be enough without needing any special content.

“Th-then, I-I’ll come over to your place next F-Friday.”

[Yeah. I think coming around 1 p.m. should be fine.]

And just like that, as summer break began, our first collab was set.

[【Pure White Sea】A Quick Micaron with Just the Two of Us!]

“So! We’re taking some time to read Micaron!“
“Hey, e-everyone….”

-Suzuha hi!
-Hey, Izumi!
-An off-collab out of nowhere?!

Even though we didn’t announce the off-collab in advance, it didn’t take long for viewers to gather.
Koga had already been mentioning on Nater that we were hanging out since lunchtime, and she even said, ‘See you in the evening.’
So Izutomo and Soramates must have been waiting since then.

-Did you guys hang out and then come home together?

“Ah, yes! Izumi and I went out together for lunch, and now we’re back at my place.”

Though we hung out, we didn’t do anything particularly special.
We just had cheese katsu for lunch, watched a newly released movie, did some shopping, and then came back.

But that alone seemed to be enough for the viewers.

-Suzuizu teetee~

The chat was flooded with reactions like that.
Well, I wasn’t one to talk. I used to spam similar comments whenever Nacchan and Kurokami-senpai did their Jet-Black Stars collabs, just from hearing small anecdotes like these. So I couldn’t say I didn’t understand.

-What are you having for dinner?

“When we were heading back, Izumi suddenly said she was craving curry. So we bought ingredients before coming home.”

I didn’t really have a reason for saying that to Koga… it was just one of those moments.
Like when you suddenly think, I want something fancy, like pork-cutlet cup ramen today….
It was the same. On the way home, I just happened to want curry.

Honestly, even I thought it was a bit sudden, so I figured I’d just order some for myself when I got back home tomorrow….

[You’re staying over anyway, so I’ll make it for you at home. Cooking is healthier than ordering takeout.]

That’s what Koga said as she bought the ingredients.
She really has such a mom vibe….

“And in a bit, Ayaka and Yukari will be joining us, and we’ll be playing LasStar together.”

LasStar.
Short for Last Stardust, a game available on the handheld console PlayBox Switch.

To put it simply, it’s like AvenXers—a game where various anime and game characters all come together to battle.

And with this update, Uncle Satoru and Charlotte were finally added.
As soon as those two were announced, I begged M-chan to approve a stream for it, and the permission finally came through the day before yesterday.

–If it’s LasStar, Mei-chan definitely suggested it.
–Is Neko-chan not coming?

“I did reach out to Nekoto too, but she said she had to play a newly released eroge today….”

–LOL
–That’s so like Neko-chan…

Well, to be precise, today’s collab was originally just going to be the two of us.
But when Akabane heard that Koga and I were meeting up, she asked if she could join us too.

[Akabane Yukari: Since I won the gacha duel last time, my wish this time is to hang out together next Friday.]

…Asked? More like demanded.
Then, Utsumi, who lived right next door, said she wanted to join us after finishing her work today.
And so, the group grew to four.

Aki wasn’t coming because, well, as Koga just said, she was busy with her eroge….

But since this off-collab was originally meant to counter the rumors about Koga and me, we settled on having Akabane and Utsumi join us later in the evening.

“Alright, let’s start reading some Micaron!“

[Suzu, hi! Hi, Izumi!]
[It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve had an off-collab with just the two of you.]
[Since you’re together, are you finally going to finish Dawn?]

“H-huh?! No way! Absolutely not!”
“Izumi. To be honest, about half of today’s Micaron messages were about that game.”
“….”

Why are these people so obsessed with making me play that game again?!
It’s been almost a year! Just let it go already!

…No matter what, I am never touching that game again.
If I did, all the charisma I built up as a cool 40-something middle-aged man could come crashing down.

“Honestly, I’d like Izumi to finish Dawn too, but… it doesn’t seem possible for now. Still, I’ll definitely make you play it again someday. Alright, next question.”
“…Huh?”

Did Koga just say something weird, or was it my imagination…?

[If you were to go on a trip this summer, would you choose the mountains or the beach?]

“For me, obviously the beach? I hate the mountains because of all the bugs.”
“K-Koga… you hate bugs?”
“How could anyone like bugs?”
“…W-well, when you put it like that, I guess I have nothing to say.”

–Bugs are a natural enemy for girls.
–I want to see Suzu and Mei-chan in swimsuits!

I mean, I don’t like bugs either.
But I wouldn’t rule out the mountains entirely just because of them.

Actually, this question is kind of flawed.

“So, what about you, Izumi? Mountains or beach?”
“…N-neither. I’d rather just s-stay home.”

Going on a trip at all was already a no-go for me.

“…Oh, I see.”

And so, we spent about an hour reading through Micaron messages.

[Akabane Yukari: Almost there.]
[Utsumi Ayaka: I’ll be at your place soon!]

“Alright then, see you all in a bit!”
“Bye-bye, e-everyone….”

With Akabane and Utsumi nearly here, we ended the stream.