Chapter 132: Don’t go around telling anyone that I said this!

“Thinking about how I don’t want to go to school tomorrow, I suddenly found it quite strange.”

What was I thinking in my past life?

Right after graduating high school, I immediately started working toward finding a job.
But without any special connections, a prestigious educational background, or outstanding talents, it was incredibly difficult for someone with just a high school diploma to land a good job in this world.

However, that didn’t mean I could just stop.
I had to earn money for my mother, who had been struggling alone all these years because of me.

I cut my sleep down to 4 hours a day.
I worked at a factory from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., then worked part-time at a pub near the dorm from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., before returning home at 2:30 a.m. and getting a few hours of sleep. That was my entire day.

I tried to cram all my holidays into one day as much as possible.
Because if I didn’t rest for a full day at least once a week, my body couldn’t endure it.

I worked like that for almost two years.
Back then, I would think dozens of times a day that I wished I could go back to being a student, but…

So why, now that I’m actually going back to school, do I feel like I really don’t want to go?

…Of course, I don’t want to go back to that time.

“Hello, Kayano-san.”
“Ah, hello, Miyauchi-san…”
“Did you have a good vacation?”
“Just, uh, spent it normally at home.”

As I was lying with my head on the desk, lost in thought, Miyauchi-san entered the classroom and waved at me.

“Isn’t it tiring to always come out so early?”
“I’m used to it, so it’s fine.”
“Kayano-san, you’re really diligent.”
“Ha-ha…”

I’m not the first one to come because I’m particularly diligent, though.

Everyone in my class knows that I’m incredibly introverted, but no one knows the real reason I always come to school first.
After all, I’ve never talked about it.

Miyauchi-san seems to think it’s because I’m diligent…
It’s a huge misunderstanding, so I hope she realizes the truth quickly.

Doesn’t she understand that I come early because I hate being noticed?
It’s a typical “outcast” thing to do.

“Yawn…”
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was talking about myself too much, wasn’t I?”

As I listened to Miyauchi-san’s story, I yawned, and she quickly lowered her head in apology.
It was clearly my fault for being impolite.

“Ah, uh… No, it’s not that! It’s just… I didn’t get enough sleep last night!”

Of course, that was a lie.
But it wasn’t because Miyauchi-san’s story was boring that I yawned, and I had a reason for lying, so it should be okay, right?
I thought to myself as I spoke, and Miyauchi-san, with a worried expression, opened her mouth.

“If that’s the case, you should go to the infirmary and rest a bit…”
“It’s fine, I’ll have to wake up soon anyway.”

After all, I wasn’t really that sleepy.
But despite my words, Miyauchi-san’s expression didn’t seem to improve.

“…I thought that if it’s just the two of us, I always end up talking about myself, and I’m worried you might not like that… I know I’m not saying anything particularly interesting.”

…Ah. Was she thinking like that?

When I think about it, since entering my second year, being alone with Miyauchi-san in the mornings has become a part of my daily routine.
In that situation, when I yawned, it was only natural for Miyauchi-san to misunderstand.

But I’ve never thought of it as something I didn’t like.

“I… I like listening to Miyauchi-san’s stories…”
“…Huh?”

It wasn’t a lie.
I really enjoyed the time spent listening to Miyauchi-san’s stories.

Even though I have a tendency to avoid interacting with people, I don’t wish for there to be absolutely no connection with others.

That’s why I tried to make my high school debut.
Of course, it was a spectacular failure.

Anyway, I wanted a connection with others, and I considered the time I spent listening to Miyauchi-san’s stories as one of those connections, so I really enjoyed it.

“So… um… please keep talking with me like this from now on.”
“Ah… yes…”

“Yay~! Kayacchi!”
“Ah, hello, Tateyama-san…”

As I quietly passed the time in the now-bustling classroom, the most popular person in our class, Tateyama-san, sat down and greeted me.
After exchanging pleasantries, I assumed Tateyama-san would get up as usual to talk to other classmates, but…

“Ah, right. Kayacchi, I have something I’m curious about…”
“Yes?”

Tateyama-san said as she briefly looked around before walking over to me and whispering in a low voice.

“Did you go to Comiket this time?”
“…Eh?”
“Sa-chan begged me a lot to go with her, and I think I saw you there.”
“Ah, well, uh…”
“You were with someone who looked like your older sister, wasn’t it?”

When she said she saw me walking with someone, she must have been talking about when I was with Aki-san.
That means… she might have seen me buying various doujinshi?

“Um, did… did Onodera-san also see me?”
“Sa-chan? No, it’s not like that. I just happened to see you. And when I saw you last year in Akihabara, it seemed like you didn’t want to hide it, so I didn’t say anything.”
“Th-thank goodness…”

Though I’m not the type to hide that I’m an otaku, getting caught buying adult doujinshi at Comiket is dangerous.

“I won’t tell anyone, so don’t worry. I was just curious if it was really you I saw there.”
“P-please keep it a secret…”
“Yeah. Don’t worry.”

I guess it’s true that popular people are really nice, because from Tateyama-san, I could easily see that it was true.

And she didn’t even tell Onodera-san.
That means…

“So… it’s a secret between us, huh? Hehe…”
“…Kayacchi.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to go out with me?”
“…Eh?”
“I’m just kidding! You were so cute just now, I wanted to tease you.”

…That surprised me.
She did the same thing last year in Akihabara, huh? Tateyama-san seems to like these kinds of jokes.

“By the way, what were you buying there?”
“Ah, um, that’s… a secret.”
“Was it something naughty?”
“N-no, absolutely not…!”

Though, it was the truth!

★

Tateyama and Miyauchi were sitting in a quiet café.
Tateyama took a sip of her cappuccino before speaking quietly.

“I realized something today… Kayacchi, aren’t you just a total femme fatale?”
“…Do you think so too, Tateyama-san?”

At her words, Miyauchi also nodded lightly and responded.

“Not just her looks, but when you talk to her, it’s obvious, right? She says embarrassing things as if nothing’s wrong.”
“The scarier thing is, it seems like Kayano-san has no awareness of it.”
“…Yeah. I think so too. If she had that kind of personality, there’s no way she would have acted like that last year.”

“That’s scary…”
“Yeah, really scary…”

In Class 2-A at Shiodome High School, the two people who talked the most with Kayano were sipping their cappuccinos and iced chocolates, truly thinking this in their minds.

★

[【Drawing Broadcast】I’m going to draw another version of me! #StarsFlow2ndGeneration #KainoIzumi]

-─(≧▽≦)>ZumiZumi!
-─(≧▽≦)>ZumiZumi!

“Co-conzumi. The atmosphere maker, Kaino Izumi…”

-HiZumi!

“Today, as I mentioned last time, I’m going to draw another version of me that came out in the fateful showdown.”

Right after the last update, I had uploaded another version of me and another version of Akabane-san to Nater, but I felt something was missing.
How should I put it? It wasn’t quite the illustration I was looking for?
When I actually did some ego-surfing, I found a lot of reactions that seemed to express that something was lacking.

• Are you going to draw the first awakening version?

“Of course, I’m drawing the third awakening version…”

The illustration I posted last time was the first awakening version.
So, this time, it’s only natural to draw the third awakening version.

I first opened the pre-drawn concept art in the left corner of the screen, then casually moved the tablet pen around to warm up my hand.

The contrast between the lifeless red eyes and the gorgeous blue kimono.
If I touch this part just right, it looks like I can create a great illustration…

While I was thinking about this, a particular chat message caught my eye.

• Isn’t AneZumi absent today?

“…My sister, oh, it’s not just today, she’s going to be absent for a while.”

I found out through ego-surfing yesterday, but my sister’s popularity is no joke.
There are already more than 500 fan arts tagged under AneZumi.
And that’s probably just from the tags when searching under my fan art, so it’s probably much more when combined.

“My sister lives alone, so she’s not home most of the time.”

It’s not that I’m jealous of my sister’s popularity.

Of course, some people are probably genuinely attracted to her, but most of the Izutomo (my fans) just want to see me and my sister together on stream, doing ‘tee-hee’ things.
I’m not so dumb that I don’t know that.

But even so, my sister is an ordinary person.
She’s a reader model in real life, but in this industry, she’s still just an ordinary person.
However, if the Izutomo start to take it for granted that we’re always broadcasting together, that perception of her being a regular person is slowly starting to break down.

Just yesterday, when I searched, I saw some slightly risqué fan art, and once that perception breaks, there’s no doubt the fan art will start crossing the line.
Even if it’s not her real appearance, it still bothers me.

And more than anything, this is my broadcast.

“In the first place, it’s my broadcast, so why do they keep looking for my sister?”

• Well, AneZumi is more attractive.

• Are you jealous of AneZumi’s popularity, Mei-chan?

“It’s not like that… Anyway, my sister won’t be appearing on the broadcast from now on, and just in case, I’m saying this… uh… drawing sensitive fan art of my sister is prohibited!”

• So, is it okay to draw fan art of Mei-chan?

“…Well, I’m on the side of drawing, so it doesn’t really matter to me.”

I’ve seen so much of it that I’m practically sick of it.

“Anyway, you’re watching MY broadcast! Your number one favorite is ME, so you should obsess over ME!”

• Ah!

• If you say that, I can’t help but value you more!

In order to divert their attention from my sister, I said something a bit extreme, and naturally, the chat exploded.

Aah~ I didn’t want to say that!
Now they’ll all try to value me more!