Gamers!

Volume 4 – Aguri and Unconscious Critical, Chapter 1 – Chiaki Hoshinomori and Account Hack

Translator: your_pingas

I started making my first game when I was in 4th grade.

It’s nothing surprising, really. I checked out the Beginner’s RPG Game Maker in my console, a very traditional way to enter game development. I can say that all gamers have once walked along this path.

However, if you have to differentiate me from other gamers, that would be I actually “finished” a game.

This is just my impression, but I feel like most people will be bored with tools like these halfway. Even when they tried their best to make a wild RPG with their preferences, 9 out of 10 people will lose the will to continue after making their first village. Their hobbies will soon move to other things, I think most people are like this.

The reason that I am saying all this is because I’m that type of person. Just like the rest of the gamers, I spent my time creating my first RPG while I’m watching the tutorial. I ended up with no energy left after making the plot for the first village.

Things were supposed to stop here, but then…

I realized something afterward.

‘Eh? I spent too much time creating this village’s plot, I think that would work as a story already…”

Exactly.

Yep, although this isn’t what I’ve expected, I polished a part of the plot so much that itself can be a story when you look at it independently.

If that’s the case, I ended up utterly abandoning the whole full plot setting, and used the content I have to create a “pocket version”…This tricky idea is what made me continue making games.

As a result, this RPG is Chiaki Hoshinomori’s, or NOBE’s debut.

I can still remember the process of making my first game. I guess I really liked creating things.

This is entirely different than when I tried to draw a grand blueprint. Then the RPG making sucked because of high bars and various limitations.

When you set the goal to a range where you don’t need to put a lot of effort into it, it feels more relaxed both physically and mentally. I can be the one to control whether there’re plot twists and the time and energy put into detail. Finally, I finished a pocket version under a joyous and relaxed attitude. I really felt great about that.

However, even so, I didn’t merely mean that “Hey, I’m going to continue creating games!” While creating is undoubtedly fun, but when you consider the investment needed, it’s hard to say that game development is the best entertainment for me.

The only reason that I’m still a developer for all these small F2P games now…Put it simply, it’s because there are players that are willing to click on my games and give feedback on them.

The first catalyst is from the RPG that I spent several agonizing days making using the beginner’s tool and uploading it to the net. I’m in no way confident with what I’ve made. Although I put a lot of effort into it and was satisfied, I’m not arrogant enough to think that my work is the most outstanding when compared to others.

In reality, the game has nothing special going for it. If you had to pick something exceptional, I guess you can say it still got my style - a strange world setting for the general audience. I think it’s appropriate, though.

Even so, if I spent time making it and there’s an anonymous “Submit” function, I will do it, for my own satisfaction.

So, the problem isn’t whether or not I can get into the rankings, it’s a wild wish to even get feedback for games like this. I don’t even think anyone would play what I’ve made.

But, there’re always people with strange tastes in the world.

A few days after I submitted, that game suddenly got a comment …”It’s a little funny.”

Objectively, this is a really subtle comment, at least I won’t take it as a praise. I won’t feel surprised if the guy meant it negatively.

However, for some reason…

When I got that feedback, I’m so excited that I wanted to dance across the floor.

I’ve never felt such excitement in my entire life.

If I’m cruel to myself, it’s because he satisfied my desire to be accepted, probably. Honestly, I’ve always been a friendless introvert. The type that won’t get bullied on the surface, but was taunted or hurt behind more or less. So, I do look for entrustment on the internet or a place to fulfill myself.

But then, I don’t really care for the commotion that this background brings me. Some kind of pure happiness is blessing my heart at that time.

It’s like what your crayon doodles as a kid was praised by your parents with a smile.

The creator is happy, the players are willing to play the game as well.

I’m really attracted to delighted interactions like this.

I immediately made my second and third game, they got some responses, and I’m reveled by them. But then, the console version of the beginner’s tool fell out of popularity, so I had to switch to the PC version. I registered an account on a F2P games submission website, even making a blog to receive feedbacks.

Then I realized, I’m already a “F2P game developer.”

However, if you ask me if I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, my answer is a definite no.

It’s natural for a game development process to slowly fall into anarchy. Moreover, the most crucial part of creating things is that it’s impossible to maintain this kind of friendly interactions as the scale of the game increases.

Put it simply, there will be harsh comments. The excellent feedback will undoubtedly make me jump in excitement. In the same way, I will be really hurt and depressed whenever I got a negative comment.

I think the damage that this will cause varies from person to person. However, I’m more of a fragile type. Just a “boring” will make me depressed to the point that I’m surprised by it.

The reason is probably, I’m making games out of my “goodwill.”

Just like the example I’ve given earlier, that is like giving your mother something that you drew. All you wanted is to make someone happy, an extraordinarily innocent, and personal motive. That’s why if say there’s an art teacher comes up to me and comment. “You need to work harder on this part.” Even though I understand his/her reasoning, I’ll still be very discouraged.

Of course, if I am putting my stuff on a public platform, it’s unrealistic to hope that there will only be positive comments. I knew this a long time ago, no need for you to remind me. I’ve already realized this from my school life to the point that I don’t want to anymore.

However, that’s the reason that I wanted to go after times that can be enjoyed by both parties within the game development community.

But then, seemingly inversely proportional to my amount of investment, the longer I’m active as a F2P game developer, the less I can enjoy simple times like that.

Learn programming to prevent the same content every time. Revolutionize the gameplay mechanics while maintaining my individuality. I started to face requests after requests.

Of course, that’s the price I have to pay if I wanted to reach the next level. I understand.

Even so…even so, sometimes…like when a game that I’ve dumped months into was mercilessly complained by someone, I just don’t understand why am I continuing.

No one will accept things like this, after all. Yet, I spent months working on it out of my courtesy. This is just tragic, really tragic.

I’m here to heal my exhausted mind that dealt with everything in school so that I can have to encourage to face what is to come tomorrow, that’s why I’m interested in entertainment like this. But, once I snapped out of it, I realized that I’m being strictly and cruelly judged, even forced to compete with others. This is just…taking the branch before the root.

However, although I kept being pessimistic, the reason that I never gave up on publishing games as NOBE is because-

It’s all because of a single person.

A person that has always shared my emotions, sense of distance, warmth, and frolicked with me.

That guy will stroll around my blog. I’m always waiting for his ordinary, a bit awkward yet warm comments.

Being able to understand each other mutually but not to the point where it’s an interruption, only solidly sharing the “joyous” part. I feel really free in this relationship.

I sometimes even felt it’s okay to take harsh comments, as long as I get to play with this distant person.

Now, in a way, this person is closer to me than to my family. He’s sometimes a reliable partner, sometimes a spoiled friend whom you can tag along and do bad things together. I will undoubtedly treasure this person forever.

And, this person is – Yama-san.

*

“Ugh…ugh…ugh…”

“Sis, listen to me. I’m sorry to interrupt your depressed desk-slapping session, but your writhing technique doesn’t look cute at all.”

I immediately raised my head when I heard my sister, Konoha, said that. Then, I realized the window blinds of my living room is already closed without me looking. The room was filled with the LED lamp’s warm lights.

Although I feel like someone pranked me hard, I still asked my little sister dazedly.

“Um…I was playing that game of life with Uehara-kun and his friends since the afternoon…”

“Yeah, you did that. Five normies occupied the living room. I feel like this doesn’t fit your style at all, so I just hid. Man, I can use the holiday for rushing my progress…”

“Hmm? What progress?”

“The progress for my hentai- I-I mean the progress of my studying, sis.”

“Wow, Konoha, you’re still a model student. I can never catch up to you.”

“I-It’s alright. A-As the president of the student council, this is my responsibility. Yep.”

Hoshinomori Konoha, the beauty who wore flimsy clothing and glanced at me uncertainly while sitting on the leather sofa. She is my outstanding sister.

Konoha seems to have just taken a bath, she wiped her hair gently with the sports towel hanging on her neck while pouring the wheat tea in the glass down her throat. The room is filled with the clear sound of ice cubes clanging into each other.

I glanced at the TV in front of Konoha and realized it’s playing the prime time variety show. While I freaked out at how many hours have past, I still asked my sister, who doesn’t look happy, while trembling.

“Um, when did Uehara-kun and his friends went…”

“Around 4pm, I think.”

“…Eh, strange. I don’t remember anything during that time…”

I’m not kidding, my memory just paused in the middle, and I’m scared. Suddenly, I suspected whether this is the “blank time” that the victims of alien kidnapping had experienced in supernatural shows. Still, I immediately calmed down after I heard what Konoha said.

“Yeah, sis. The second half of the game…lasted for almost an hour, I think? You seemed out of it, though. Welp, I just assumed that based on what I’ve heard from the living room.”

“T-That’s why…”

Finally, I felt a bit relieved. I realized something that caused my entire world to flip over when I’m halfway through that game of life.

Yes…

Yama-san, my savior and Tsucchi, my dearest mobile game partner, their true identity is actually my rival…Keita Amano, this is the truth.

Although I think I didn’t just freak out and ran with tears on my face, I just went soulless instead. My brain just disconnected from reality.

Konoha continued explaining.

“Also, when your friends got home, you just laid down there and made weird noises…So, I watched some manga before I went to the bath.”

“Hmm, weird, how should I put it? My little Konoha, after your sis heard what you’ve just said, I realized there’s something strange that we can’t ignore.”

“Oh, about that part where you made weird noises? To put it precisely, the sounds that you made were “Hnnnnnng…” and “Fufufufu…” I can’t remember the rest.”

“T-That was quite embarrassing! But, Konoha, there’s something even more important! I can’t believe you just left your tangled sister alone and just go to watch manga and bath!”

“It’s not my fault that today is hot.”

“What about our kinship?! Konoha, can’t you just give a bit more love to your sister?”

“Sis, is there a problem with your brain?”

“Weird, what is this, this is unbelievable. I’m still pissed even when you cared for me.”

“Ah, sis, maybe that’s because you are already terminally ill.”

“Hey, don’t call your sister terminally ill.”

“Alright, Chiaki, I will call you not terminally ill, then.”

“Eh? This is weird. I somehow felt even madder.”

I went around the sofa as I spoke and mustered all my strength to clamp my sister’s head with two of my fists. After some screaming, I sat next to her, and we watched a variety show with half of our heart. The humorous interaction of the celebrities did make me smile a little. Then, when it’s ad time, I spoke to my little sister again.

“Konoha, I want to ask you something.”

“Hmm?”

Konoha took a sip from the wheat tea, which turned bland after the ice melt. She didn’t even bother to look at me.

I polished my words before speaking.

“Remember that there are always plots in mangas, the female protagonist found out that the mischievous boy protagonist helped a puppy in the rain. Then, she can’t help but fall for him? I don’t like this scenario. Don’t you think it’s unfair for those who behaved themselves?”

“Why did you bring this up so suddenly? Ah, but I do understand your point.”

“Of course, I understand that’s the standard plot setting so I won’t go nitpicking. However, what I wanted to say is that I think I will probably fall for the same trap.”

“Right…Um, so?”

“…S-So…”

Then, I blushed while clenched my fist that’s on my lap and started mumbling quietly.

“How cunning…impressing people with a surprise change of their character. I-I’m sure that this emotion is only temporary. There’s no way I’m actually falling for him; that’s the point I’m trying to make…!”

“Sis, I’m sorry. I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re saying.”

Konoha’s confused. I almost pushed her over on the couch in excitement and even forced her to agree with me.

“A-Anyway! I…I will still maintain my hatred towards “him,” Is this alright!? There’s nothing wrong with this, right!?”

“Huh!?”

Konoha’s brain is still clouded as she rolled her eyes. But, I guess she felt that she should make a half-assed conclusion. So, she suddenly nodded at me with a smile.”

“Y-Yeah, sis, I think you’re right!”

“Yeah, right!”

“Y-Yes! Although I’m not sure, um, how did that unknown person show their good side to make my sister fall for him…?”

“You mean Yama-san?”

“I think that’s fictional, or the guy’s only pretending-“

“I-It’s not like that!”

“!”

Suddenly, I pushed Konoha over without her expecting it and pressed her on the couch with a stern look on my face. Konoha freaked out at her sister’s sudden swift in attitude. However, I had already forgotten what I’ve said earlier and yelled at her impulsively.

“I-I won’t let you speak ill of Yama-san even if you are my little sister! Take back what you’ve said!”

“S-Sorry. Ah…t-that Yama-san is a total genius!”

“Very good!”

I’m satisfied with my little sister’s change-of-mind, and I nodded furiously…Eh?

…Hnnnnnng.

“…Ugh…ugh…”

“Uh, Chiaki, can you not switch to your weird noise-making mode after you crushed on me immediately?”

“…Ugh…”

At the end of the day, my noises kept bothering the whole Hoshinomori family until midnight.

*

Two days after the game of life gathering, early August, and the middle of the summer holiday.

“…Sigh.”

I, Hoshinomori Chiaki, is still locking myself in the darkroom where the sunlight is blocked by the filtering blinds. I wrapped my hands around my feet while sitting on the office chair as I stared at the bright PC screen.

The screen is showing…NOBE’s blog. It wasn’t frequently updated, but I tend to make a development progress report on my games once a week.

However, it’s been 10 days since the last blog update.

I felt like I should write something, so I forced myself to get up and turned on the computer. I logged into the blog…and yet all I have typed is a “Long time no see” before stopping completely.

Another reason for this could be that there’s no specific progress made for this week, so I can literally write nothing. But, if that’s the case, all I need to write is “I’m having trouble developing my game this week.” To be honest, I have written that down on the blog a couple times in the past.

This time…I can’t even do that, and it’s because of…

“…I feel like…I’m writing a letter to Keita…”

I plopped my head between my feet as soon as I realized this again.

When Yama-san is still a distant and unknown person, I can chat with him freely on the blog.

Now that I realized who Yama-san really is. Yet, I have to pretend like it’s nothing and continue writing to Yama-san…I’m not calm and resilient enough to do that.

“…Ahhh, that’s enough!”

I spun the chair around and stepped onto the floor loudly. Then, I walked out of the room.

I stepped into the bright living room and opened the fridge aimlessly, only for me to close it because I’m bored with it. I glanced at the digital clock above the utensil shelf at the corner of my eyes. 2:03pm, and the date-

“…Oh, right.”

I stood there for a moment because I realized something. Then, I decided to lighten my mood by wandering around the streets. Right, I made up my mind, let’s not hassle.

I groomed my hair in the mirror and changed to my usual clothes, not modern but good enough to take to the streets. Got my bag, put my phone and wallet in it. Then, I walked to my sister’s room, who’s very quiet, probably studying hard like she’s always has been. I knocked on the door.

“Konoha?”

There’s a loud “Bang!” coming from the room. It sounds like someone’s legs accidentally hit the table. After a moment of silence, I can hear slow yet heavy footsteps are coming my way. Then, the door finally opened.

My little sister poked her head out of the room…She’s probably tired, her breaths are out, and she looks exhausted. Looking into the room via the gap of the door, I can see that her laptop’s green battery light is blinking. Wow, she’s hard-working to the point that she needed a computer. My little sister is really different from me. She’s an elite. I would just open my notebook and copy whatever’s on the blackboard to give people the impression that I’m studying.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SQFoDvVxLW0/Xr6BQ9yc6tI/AAAAAAAAO0E/01Lt0RJgTyA7qNBHCwspyfxtNvBwwcoVACNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/00005.jpeg

“W-What’s wrong, sis?”

Konoha asked. She still got the dark circles around her eyes today. Konoha looks way more worn out in the summer holiday, it’s almost like she’s a different person than the perfect student she is. However, her eyes are giving off a strange sparkle. This tells me that she’s cutting her sleeping time to do something that she’s passionate about.

“Sigh, my little sister is always giving her best, and now she’s even become the president of a great high school. Yet, I’m still here…”

Although I’m a bit depressed about the situation, I managed to muster up a smile at Konoha while concealing some of my personal information.

“Hey, I’m going to the convenience store to get some stuff, you want something?”

“Sis, you’re going to buy the Fami magazine, right?”

I just said I want to get some stuff! She saw through it immediately. My elite little sister already knew that I’m a loser that only contacts sunlight when the new edition of Fami or games is out. Oof, I’m so ashamed right now.

However, my kind-hearted little sister didn’t look down upon me even though she’s studying so hard. Instead, she asked her sis politely.

“Um…if you are going out, I might need some energy drinks. Ah, b-but, you don’t need to buy it if you’re busy! Just get it when you have time!”

She seems very sorry when she frantically asked me that. This child…! You don’t need to feel guilty when you’ve worked so hard. This isn’t a problem for your Fami-getting and lazy sister! Konoha is really an angel! She’s way ahead of the gaming otaku in front of her!

I patted my chest even though it’s not my style and answered, “I got it!” Then, I choked and coughed as I walked towards the door.

During this time, I heard Konoha’s voice again.

“Right, sis, can I borrow your PC while you’re out?”

“Huh? Um, sure, but why? How about your laptop?”

I tied my shoelaces as I asked, and then Konoha answered with a sigh.

“Right. Actually, I wanted to watch videos, but my laptop won’t behave when the video got too much action happening in it.”

“I got it. By the way, Konoha, what videos are you watching?”

“Oh, I’m watching the BALDR series’s OP-“ [Note: Not sure what that is, but probably hentai.]

“BAL…?”

Strange. Konoha just said something that a model student probably wouldn’t know. I turned my head to her, and then Konoha freaked out for some reason. She explained to me once again while blinking weirdly.

“I-I want to watch my favorite band’s new promotional video! Yes!”

“Ohhhh…a band’s promotional video…”

My little sister’s hobbies are entirely different than mine. She’s relaxing from all her hard work by watching promotional videos from a band. I feel like we don’t even have the same parents.

“A-Anyway, sis, stay safe!”

“Ah, okay…then I’m off.”

She hurried me out of the door. Right, I guess it’s hard for her to immerse herself in the world of music while there’s a procrastinating sister at home. *sobs*

Once I’m outside, the sunlight from midsummer is blasting onto me. I immediately sighed while putting on my straw hat. However, perhaps the concrete below is too reflective, I don’t feel that much cooler.

I guess this is what it feels to be on the receiving end of an attack that penetrates your DEF stats. My imagination started to run wild as I walked across the steaming concrete road slowly.

Even though it’s just a walk to the nearest convenience store, but in a remote and rural area like this, it’s going to take 15 minutes with my walking speed. It’ll be a bit faster if I’m riding a bicycle. Still, after it was stolen for once (that was retrieved back immediately), I don’t really want to go cycling anymore. This is far from emotional trauma. However, whenever I remember how depressed I was when my bike was gone, I can’t help but feel that this isn’t a situation where I need to take the risk.

“Sigh, I’m just as apathetic as I’ve always been, I hate myself.”

The game developer that wishes people to accept her by publishing her work while being extremely repulsive to intrusions in her daily life. This is who Chiaki Hoshinomori, or I am.

Anyway, I can never deal with things when I either didn’t expect or mentally prepared myself for them. This is not just things that will get me in trouble, even joyful and exciting events are the same.

For example, even when there’s a close friend that invited to me go out, I will still reject once out of my reflexes. No matter the causes, I just hate disruptions in my daily routine. However, after I think for a while, my mind will suddenly change to “Hey, it’s not wrong to go out for once…” But after my first rejection, I don’t dare to say that I want to go. I ended up being the girl that no one can invite her out.

That’s why I spent a lot of time alone. I filled up my schedule with either gaming or making games. Now that I realized it, not even I know when did I surround myself in such a towering fortress.

A fortress that I don’t know how I should walk out, both externally and internally.

My inner wall is so tall that even I’m scared of it. That one guy who shared my personalities and yet he entered my fortified heart bravely and found me, Amano-

“No! That doesn’t count! None of that counts!”

My brain is starting to go haywire under the hot weather.

I pulled the straw hat onto my head tightly once again as I walked along the road while trying to polish my ideas for a new game in my head.

I ended up not coming up with a single idea before I arrived at the store.

“Welcome.”

I was greeted by the lazy cashier and a wave of freezing wind coming from the AC unit as I walked into the store.

I turned right after a couple steps before I cheered myself up and dashed to the magazine area. The reason I’m acting like this is that this store doesn’t have that many Fami magazines in stock, sometimes it’s sold out even on the release day. There’s no way I can withstand the heat while walking to a far-away convenience store.

So, I observed the magazine shelf intensely and found the Fami book mixed between others. I reached my hand toward it.

But then, suddenly…

“Oh.”

Someone tried to reach for the Fami as well, his hand overlapped with mine.

My white and pale hand is cover with his (which is just as white and pale).

“…Eh, Chiaki...?”

“K…Keita…why are you here…?”

The rival who looked at me nervously, Keita Amano, is standing right in front of me.

“………….”

Both of us are ultra introverts with practically no social skills, so none of us know what to do besides staring at each other silently as if the time has stopped.

In summary, the scenery is a boy and a girl reaching their hands for the same book, while this seems like what you’ll see in a romantic comedy…

In actuality, it’s just two otakus fighting over the Fami magazine, what a ramshackle scene.

*

“I’ve been suspecting this before, you really have the potential of becoming a stalker…”

On the road back to Hoshinomori’s home after I quickly bought my stuff, I’m enjoying my double freezie while holding a bag with energy drinks and a magazine.

“Um, I’ve said this before, it’s not like that! You overly self-conscious seaweed girl! Ah, but thanks for the freezie.”

Although Keita spoke ill to me like he always had, he still thanked me nonetheless while chewing on the freezie I gave him.

I didn’t bother to turn my head to him before replying sulkily.

“Don’t get it wrong. I just want to try out this brand of freezie, but two are too much for me. I just had to give one to you, it’s too hot for it to last all the way until my home, anyways.”

“Yeah, I understand. Although its portion is the same other popsicles, I feel guilty to just swallow the entire double freezie. Perhaps I’m used to sharing them with my little brother.”

“Exactly! Um, ahem, you’re annoying, stalker.”

“Hey, I-I told you it’s not like that…”

Bean sprout short winter melon, or should I say bean sprout short winter melon stalker walked next to me depressingly. He’s wearing a pair of loose jeans with a polo shirt. Looks pretty casual to me, doesn’t look like what a boy will pick when he’s heading to a girl’s room…I can’t stand it.

“No, wait! I-I’m not hoping for him to dress appropriately!

That will probably just make the whole situation more awkward. From this perspective, this is the most appropriate dress code for the guy. But, I’m irritated for some reason. After all, he’s going take his dress code more seriously if he’s heading to Tendou-san’s place. No, whatever, it’s useless to be trapped in all these thoughts. He’s my rival, and he’ll piss me off no matter what he does, anyways.

Keita is holding his freezie while mumbling. I think he’s trying to explain something to me.

“It’s true. It’s just that this isn’t the best moment. Honestly, I knew that this is an unpleasant situation, so I won’t retort back. However, think about this. There’s a reason for this, just like my simplified explanation.”

“…You’re saying that you forgot something at my home from the last time, right?”

“Yeah, e-exactly.”

I stared at him fiercely. Keita started to rub his arms like he’s cold on a summer day and even looked away from me as he answered.

“Um, I get it. It’s weird for me to take something I forgot from a girl’s house without contacting beforehand. But, allow me to explain.”

“What? I’ll really call the police if I feel offended-“

“Let me ask you this. Chiaki, did you turn on your phone?”

“-Eh?”

After I heard that, I snapped back to reality and slowly grabbed my phone out from the pocket before I pressed the power button for a few seconds. No response, the battery ran out completely.

Keita let out a big sigh after he saw what I was doing.

“I wanted to contact you from the day before. I texted you at first, but I didn’t get a reply for a day. Then, I tried to call you to no avail. I thought there’s no way for a situation like this to happen, but here we are…By the way, Chiaki, I can’t believe you just left your phone uncharged for two whole days. Perhaps it’s because you don’t have any friends, but don’t you play mobile games as well?”

“Eh? Welp, um, no, how should I put it…”

“?”

Keita tilted his head dumbfoundedly when he saw I’m stuttering. While I just stared at my dead phone’s black screen, it is reflecting my startled face clearly.

“Crap…! After I realized that Yama-san and Tsucchi are both Keita, I distanced myself from mobile games entirely to try to calm myself down to the point that I didn’t touch my phone…!”

“Um, b-beauties like me has to date many boys during the summer holiday, so I don’t have time to check out my phone. I’m busy going to the mountains, to the beaches, and to the theme parks. Phew…”

“Um, your excuse is kinda bullshit.”

“Keita. D-Don’t act as if you know me!”

“Your body.”

“Wha-“

I blushed at his bluntness and nearly dropped my freezie, while Keita gave me a cold stare.

“Your unhealthy and pale skin doesn’t look like someone who’ll play everywhere during the summer at all…”

“W-Why are you so sure about that!”

“…It’s because I’m proud of having the same skin as well…”

The friendless, bean sprout boy looked at the far-away clouds.

“I feel like…I should apologize.”

I apologized, no matter how fierce our rivalry is. We just chewed our freezie depressingly while walking silently for a minute.

I tried to make small talks again.

“Let’s move on from my phone! To be honest, I have no idea what did you forget at my home.”

“Hmm?”Oh, about that. I initially thought that you’ll realize what I’ve left behind immediately when you’re at home…But after a while, maybe this is not the case.”

“You mean you forgot something tiny? Like a 1:1 Keita Amano’s stand board or something like that.”

“You just had to insult me whenever you got the chance. You’re wrong, it’s not tiny.”

“An object with a medium volume that I’ll miss…what is it? Don’t tell me it’s your sealed devilish magic remnants in your body that can only be seen whenever you opened your third eye.”

“You don’t insert some half-assed edgy settings in me. Is that a new way of messing with me?”

“Actually, I think it’s almost time for you to prepay for some simple little magic.”

“Prepay?”

“Isn’t this what people kept saying? If you are still a virgin by 30 years old-“

Keita slapped my head lightly when I said that. To be honest, tis but a scratch since he managed his force very well. However, I’m still pissed at the fact I was just hit. So, I slapped my hand on his weak arms as well. Keita Amano turned unhappy as he armed himself with his tricky theories.

“I slapped you because I wanted to quickly halt you from saying something nasty in public. I don’t understand why I should be hit by you.”

Keita quibbled as he gently knocked my head, this is pissing me off.

“Yeah, while I can tolerate you picking on me verbally, there’s no need for me to tolerate your violence as well.”

I slapped his arm as I spoke. His face twitched for a second.

“The only rather violent thing I did was touching your hair. Comparatively, you just violently contacted my skin.”

“But, a girl’s life depends on her hair.”

“Your’s are just dry seaweed.”

“The short winter melon next me, you’re really violating the taboos now. This is sexual harassment. Sigh, what a pain in the ass. This is what a bean sprout little winter melon stinky otaku that talk down a girl looks like…”

“Then, you should be conscious of you speaking ill of me as well! By the way, you exerted a bit more energy in your counterattacks! It’s hard for me to complain about this kind of “1.2 times more powerful” retaliations, you do manage your strength well!”

“Ayyyy, you really are a narrow-minded guy in every bit…O-Of course, I bet your size below is just as narrow as well.”

“That’s too nasty! You even flinched after you made that comment!”

“Oh, I wanted to say something irrelevant, don’t you think your tone of “nasty” sounds like “publishing on time” a bit?” [Note: I have no idea what’s the context of this, so I just translated it literally.]

“That’s too irrelevant! Do you really need to mention that now!?”

“So, where were we? I remembered you were saying something along the lines of “If you wanted to know how powerful my bottom is, you have to witness it yourself!”. Then, you prepare to sexually assault me, right?”

“Woah, this seaweed head is finally making slanderous accusations.”

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I went a bit over there, that one doesn’t count.”

“Yeah, I think my reactions are too ridiculous as well. Sorry, I was complaining too much.”

“…Then, Keita, please stop attacking immediately!”

“Nonono, that’s my line!”

Although we were bickering, our hands never stopped at slapping each other. This is going to hurt my brain if it evolves into another misunderstanding. Still, I’m not usually the type of girl that has physical contact with boys frequently. Keita is the only boy that I dared to, which I guess it’s the same for him. If Tendou-san is in my position, Keita will never react like that. In this sense, Keita and I are meant for each other.

“Oh? W-What’s wrong, Chiaki? You are not…fighting back anymore?”

Keita just yelled, “don’t fight back” a while ago. He suddenly started freaking out when I stopped.

I turned my head away from him and mumbled.

“W-Welp, I-I found out that it’s so disgusting to touch you for the sake of hitting you, I stopped because I can’t take it anymore.”

“A-Am I an Lv.1 enemy that counterattacks with poison…!? You know how damaging a girl is when she yells that “he is too disgusting to even touch on” to a lonely otaku!? …Ouch.”

Keita plopped his head down depressingly.

…Honestly, I didn’t mean that, at all. But, I accidentally won the argument. That’s rare…what should I do now?

We ate our freezie silently as we walked for a while. Almost not a single person could be found in the residential area during the day, and the cicadas are not even singing today. So, the silence is so heavy to the point that it gives me a headache.

At this moment, Keita finished his freezie and began to swing the stick leisurely before speaking again, seemingly trying to sweep the negative mood away.

“R-Right, I feel like we went off-topic there. So, about the thing that I left at your home.”

“Y-Yeah, we were talking about that. What did you end up forgetting? I really have no clue.”

No matter how insignificant that object is, I should at least notice that there’s something that doesn’t belong in my house.

Keita gave me an unexpected answer, as I’m thinking.

“I forgot my IC transport pass and its holder.”

“Your pass holder? I should be able to see right away if there’s something like that in my house…”

Someone’s pass holder showed up in my home. It’s only logical to be able to tell right away.

Keita only said that while what I said was true, then he told me this embarrassingly.

“I’m just guessing here, but I feel like that thing will not stand out in your home at all.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“Well. Chiaki, although I’m extremely unwilling to admit this, don’t you think that you and I are alike in every way aside from a couple differences? So…”

“…Oh, I get it…”

I suddenly what Keita was trying to say. So, I took the last bite of the freezie before leaning towards him slightly and try to confirm.

“…Don’t tell me your pass holder is deep blue and foldable-“

After I described the appearance of my pass holder, Keita nodded at me while smiling bitterly.

I put my hand on my forehand as I mumbled.

“…What the hell, even the scratches, and the marks are the exact same…”

“Really. Although I did kind of expect this at the start, I still can’t believe what you’ve just said. What do you think then? Is my pass holder in your place?”

I started thinking after he asked me.

“…Now that you’re mentioning it, I did remember finding one in the living room and putting it away earlier. I think I discovered that on the utensil shelf. Well, I realized that I never took public transport since the summer holiday began, so it’ll be strange if my real pass holder isn’t in my bags…”

“Right. Ah, it could be left somewhere else as well. But, I guess it’s right to look for it at your place first. However, I should apologize for the sudden intrusion.”

Keita lowered his head and apologized. While we called each other rivals usually, we often behaved politely in times like this. Both of us are nobody.

I started provoking him out of my awkwardness.

“B-But, a lonely otaku like you don’t need to use the pass in the summer holiday either, why do you want to take it back that urgently?”

I meant to start a fight with him, but then he didn’t take the bait. Instead, he scratched his head embarrassingly.

“Yeah, you’re right. But…I think this year’s summer holiday will be a bit different than last year’s, so I wanted to take it back ASAP.”

“What do you mean by different than the last year- Oh.”

Right, Keita belongs to the “Couples” class now, so I shut my mouth. Keita looks like he still isn’t used to mentioning that, so he got too embarrassed to say anything. A subtle silence flowed between us.

I secretly glanced at Keita’s face before thinking again.

“…By the way…looking at the current situation, I feel like this is different than what I’ve expected…about Keita and Tendou-san’s relationship.”

I thought Tendou-san accepted her role as girlfriend reluctantly out of sympathy, to let Keita escape the evil grasp of that she-devil Aguri.

However, when everyone gathered in my place to play that game of life, I feel like it’s something beyond that, and that’s a fact.

“Aguri-san is still there, after all. Keita could just be pretending…but it’s really natural for an act.”

At least from what I know, Keita Amano can never act that perfectly. I don’t know the perfect role model, Tendou-san, though.

“This plot…don’t tell me they grew closer to each other when they are pretending to be a couple…”

I never thought that such a cliché plot for a romantic comedy can exist in reality. Even though it’s just a show, I guess it’s not that weird for both to grow closer when the couple got more time to be with each other by going on dates.

…Yeah, there’s nothing wrong. Nothing strange’s happening…

“W-Weird, what’s going on? What’s wrong with this conclusion? The more I think about the interaction between Keita and Tendou-san, the more goosebumps I get in my chest for some reason. What is this…?”

When I’m trapped in a labyrinth of thoughts, Keita spoke again with a bitter smile on his face to try and lighten up the mood.

“Sigh, I still haven’t come up with a plan for our date, though.”

“Really, w-well…Keita, you being overly self-conscious is disgusting.”

“Y-You’re wordy, Chiaki.”

While this looks like what’re we arguing typically…this time it feels awkward for some unknown reasons. So, Keita and I kept arguing as we walked through the desolate residential area.

I unintentionally grabbed out my phone and sighed at the dark screen.

Keita looked at me confusingly as I’m doing that. Then, he seemed to have realized something and asked me abruptly.

“Ah, right! I don’t have the chance to ask you while we were arguing. Chiaki, are you playing the same mobile game as I do?”

My heart skipped a beat. My whole body turned stiff as Keita’s sudden jump to the main point.

“W-What are you talking about?”

I pretended that everything’s fine while freaking out intensely inside as I asked. So, Keita grabbed his phone out of his pocket and clicked on a mobile game.

“Ah, it’s hard to remember the title of the game. So, I just opened it for you. Ah, this one.”

Keita conveniently showed the title screen to me.

It shows the mobile game that connected Tsucchi and NOBE…Keita and I together.

Although my heart is beating vigorously right now, I turned away from Keita and took a second to calm down before I-

“N-No, I’ve never played this! Yes, I didn’t play it in the least bit.”

-I just accidentally said no to him.

Keita frowned confusingly.

“Eh, really? Hmm…but I remembered you received the notification at the same time when we were playing with everyone…”

“I-It’s just the one from my other game, that’s all.”

I don’t understand why I am lying either, and I’m not even sure this is a good or bad thing for both of us. But, at least I can tell that I’m not ready to reveal the truth to Keita yet…

“Hmm…really, that’s a shame.”

Keita stopped asking and turned off the screen of his phone…

“S-Strange, what’s going on? I felt so regretful just then…”

…N-No, that’s wrong! I-It’s got to be due to my desire to chat with other gamers! T-This has absolutely nothing to do with my hope for Keita to discover his fateful bond with me. There’s no way I will have a girly idea like that. Yes, it’s totally impossible!

“W-What’s wrong, Chiaki? You’re suddenly clenching your fist!”

“It’s nothing, everything’s fine! I’m just expelling my feebleness away!”

“Why are you suddenly so hyped up in leisure times like this? What’s happening?”

Keita seemed to be confused with what I’m doing and even looked at me like I’m a ghost…That’s what you get. It’s unfair for me to feel flustered only…

“But then, if that’s the case…is it better for me to just explain everything?”

I started reviewing how viable this option is.

In the past, I will just hide everything as the situation evolves…In actuality, there shouldn’t be anything to hold me back from telling the truth.

While I do feel a bit uneasy and embarrassed since a close friend is a fan of my games, but it’s nothing to me already. If there’s a chance to chat with Keita…to chat with someone that understands me about creating games, mobile games, or NOBE’s works, the benefits should far outweigh the consequences.

But I…I just can’t take a step forward no matter what.

“Why…?”

When I’m struggling as I walked, the distance from my home is gradually closing in. 2 minutes after and I’ll be there. Then, I will return Keita’s pass holder to him and say goodbye. There wouldn’t be any opportunities for us to see each other alone until the end of the summer holiday.

After all, this is the relationship between Keita and me. We will gather around in the Game Hobby Club with other people and pick on each other when we meet, but that’s all we do. I think we barely count as friends, not to mention couples or BFFs.

Rival. Opponent. These are the closest terms to portray our relationship. However…

…With a situation like this…I…I…

“I wish to change where we are currently as well.”

“!”

Keita faced forward and started talking suddenly. My heart skipped a bit since I thought he read through my mind, and I didn’t answer back. So, he scratched his cheeks embarrassingly before continuing.

“Exiling your feeble side…Chiaki didn’t you just mention that you are weak or something?”

“T-That’s what you mean…”

I realized what Keita just said isn’t about me, and I sighed in relief.

He’s clearly embarrassed, but he continued.

“Just like the pass holder. It’s like what you’ve said, that wasn’t something that I need to use right away. Moreover, I just mentioned that I don’t have a plan yet. So, honestly, there’s no need for me to just barge into a girl’s house this suddenly. But, even so, I still mustered up the courage and did something that doesn’t fit my style…”

Keita turned back and looked at me as he finished, his face seems a bit different. Although it still looks unreliable, he’s giving off some kind of strange mettle.

My heart is starting to beat quickly…So, the guy gave me a bitter smile.

“It’s because I want to…get closer with Tendou-san.”

“…With…Tendou-san…”

I can feel a tinge of pain is stinging my heart. Keita seemed to have interpreted my reaction as “being pissed off because someone’s showing off that they’re a loving couple.” He freaked out and continued.

“Ah, no, you got it wrong! Um…I-I guess you’re right. Well…I-It doesn’t matter much to me when I don’t have my pass holder. After all, I might use that as an excuse to not go out with Tendou-san or just straight-up rejecting other’s invitation…The only reason that I’m taking the pass holder this deliberately Is because I don’t want to have an excuse. Haha, to be honest, even I felt that was a shitty reason.”

“…I…”

I don’t feel like that at all- I immediately stopped myself from spewing that out…It’s because no matter how you think about it, that’s not something a rival would say. But…but…

“Being able to admit your weakness, and even trying to overcome it…that’s not something a true coward can do…”

I sincerely and truthfully admired the boy in front of me…But, it’s difficult for me to express my feelings with such a relationship between us.

Keita sighed helplessly and lowered his shoulders.

“Chiaki, I mustered up the same courage to come up to you earlier.”

“Oh, you mean the time where you tried to talk to me? You were quite sneaky back then.”

“H-How annoying. You should know how hard it is to send a friend request to someone from the opposite gender when you haven’t interacted with them at all, right?”

“…It’s true. I’m already trembling when I think about it.”

“See? While I was just doing that because Uehara-kun pushed me, I still can’t believe I completed the mission…”

“Yeah, Keita, that doesn’t seem like what you would do, now that I’m thinking of it.”

“You’re right. Sigh, luckily, it was you…”

“Eh?”

I slowed down my pace, and Keita continued like it’s nothing.

“After I saw how much you are enjoying yourself in that game, I just forgot how hard it is to talk to a girl. Honestly, I was thrilled there, it’s like I’ve finally found my soulmate.”

“…………”

“Ah, but then I immediately realize that was a misunderstanding- Eh? Chiaki, what’s wrong?”

Keita looked back at me confusingly since I’m falling way behind.

After I snapped out of it, I looked at him and quickly brought out the usual, vicious words.

“Hmph. I-I felt harassed there. Keita, do you know what it’s like to be stared by a disgusting male when a girl’s enjoying gaming?”

“Ouch! The damage! You just went ahead and completely ruined my glorious little moment there! I’m really hurt! I’m sorry, Ms. Chiaki! I feel like this is my fault!”

“Well, I did meet with Uehara-kun, so I guess I can forgive you.”

I laughed as I saw Keita mumbling while pressing his chest. Suddenly, I made up my mind.

“…Perhaps…I still…wanted to change myself…”

I clenched my fist in front of my chest. From the looks of it, I have to admit.

I still wanted to chat with a person like Keita Amano more.

Right now, I can’t think of where this mindset will bring me to at last. However, I believe this feeling can’t be easily categorized into things like love or friendship.

But, I’m sure of my hope of going forward. Although I don’t understand whether that’s right or wrong, I still wanted to follow my heart, maybe it’s because I can’t explain this feeling.

“If that’s the case…now that we have time to be alone, I have to act fast and not waste this precious chance…”

I have to act fast, right. The only trump card that I have, the one that can cause a sudden change to our relationship. Yes, I have to tell Keita who NOBE and Mono really are before we reach home…!

“…Right!”

I made up my mind and raised my head. I won’t be at a loss anymore! Keita is the same type as me. If a weakling like him can show this amount of manliness! I can explain everything to him before we get home if I put in the effort-

“Hey. We’re here, Hoshinomroi’s home.”

“Eh?”

I snapped back to reality when Keita said that.

So, I looked at where he pointed and realized the sign wrote “Hoshinomori” in front of me.

…………

I silently pushed the door open and smiled blanky before urging Keita to come in.

“…Welcome…please come in…”

“That’s the least welcoming “welcome” I’ve heard since I was born!”

Well, I’ve also never felt more disappointed with seeing my home since I was born.

*

“E-Excuse me.”

Keita Amano politely greeted as he took off his shoes.

I, the one who entered first, turned around and told him.

“You don’t need to be so nervous, none of my parents are here right now.”

So, Keita suddenly stopped walking to the corridor for some reason. I glanced at him, thinking that is there a problem. His face suddenly turned serious.

“…Although we are talking about seaweed here, does this constitute as being disloyal to Tendou-san when a guy enters a girl’s home alone…?”

“W-What do you mean by disloyal…Sigh, relax, my sister’s in her room as well.”

“Oh, really. Phew, I’m in luck. Then, excuse me.”

Keita pressed his chest in relief as he stepped to the corridor and put his shoes down. Then, he followed me to the living room.

“…Actually, if a guy walking into the home of two young ladies, that’s even worse than just me alone. But, it’s a pain in the butt if I brought that up anyway, I should keep it to myself.”

I can’t go off and imagine things now.

I put the bag with the magazine and the drinks on the table. Keita kept looking around suspiciously after he entered the room.

“Uh, Keita, you can take a seat.”

“Um, but, as I’ve said before, you don’t really need to go out your way for me. I will go home right away after I got my pass holder.”

Keita looked for his pass holder as he said that…Hmm.

“I-It’s going to be a big problem if you leave this early! I have to tell you everything, at least!”

I silently took away Keita’s pass holder on the utensil shelf and hid it behind me. Then, I suggested to him with hands behind my back.

“K-Keita, why don’t you get a cup of wheat tea before you leave?”

“Eh…? Let’s see, where did you put your chloroform…?”

“I’m not going to prank you by adding that! Do you really dislike me that much!?”

Our relationship is hopeless! I didn’t really care in the past, but now that I wanted to close our distance, this is a tricky situation.

Keita smiled bitterly and apologized.

“S-Sorry, I really don’t know what I should do here…”

“Please just be yourself.”

“Heh, seaweed.”

“Correct, that’s what you sound like usually- I’ll punch you in the face if you do that again.”

“Sorry.”

Keita sat down with his back straight after he said that. He looked at the balcony, and then he turned away suddenly, he seems embarrassed.

I looked outside as well since I’m confused. Then, I realized…

Our family’s clothes are drying outside. Of course, that includes me and my sister’s underwear as well…

“Don’t look, you hentai!”

“I-I’m sorry! Uh, I should just grab my pass holder and leave-“

“You know what, I’ll allow it! View it to your heart’s content!”

“That doesn’t make any sense! N-No, I won’t look.”

Then, we stared at each other silently for a few seconds.”

“…Oh, Keita, s-so you don’t want to spend even a second looking at my underwear, is that what you are thinking right now?”

“Dude, what drugs are you on right now? You are going haywire today.”

“N-None of your business.”

“Honestly, I would rather see that you’re drying kelps outside.”

“Being a seaweed isn’t my feature! You’re the same, Antman has been getting all your fame lately.”

“I’m not proud of how tiny I am!”

We just stared at each other before turning away angrily.

…………

“..Eh, weird! Didn’t I want to get along with Keita!?”

Why are we so incompatible with each other? It’s just as natural as breathing for us to start fighting each other, but is it still too difficult for us to play nice?

I took out a glass from the shelf and reached for the fridge. But then…

“No, if this goes on, Keita will just chug the wheat tea and go home…But, I haven’t made up my mind yet…I-I need to drag this out first…!”

I exclaimed upon the realization, “Oh, right!” Then, I looked at Keita again.

“C-Can I go back to my room to charge my phone first? Um, there could be some important messages waiting for me!”

“Eh? Oh, okay, that’s fine…Um, if that’s the case, I really don’t need any wheat tea or anything, I will leave after I got the pass holder…”

“Then, please wait here for a moment! I promise it’ll be quick!”

“Eh? Hey, Chiaki-“

I ignored Keita, who’s clearly confused and left the living room while secretly carrying his pass holder. ????n????????e????????. ????o????

I opened the door to my room in the middle of the corridor, it’s still just as gloomy as usual.

The bright screen illuminated the dim room due to the filtering curtains.

I calmed down immediately. At the same time, I can feel that I’m incredibly depressed now.

“Do I really…want to show…who I really am?”

I walked towards the computer desk frustratedly and put my phone on charge. Then, I looked at the screen saver on the monitor.

This room basically symbolizes who I really am. Usually, this is not something that I wanted to show to the others actively. But, if the person in question is Yama-san or Tsucchi…

“…If the person is Keita…”

My mumbling voice gradually disappeared in the darkness.

…………

I pressed the power button of my phone and waited for it to turn on. Then, I clicked on that mobile game.

“…Oh, I missed the daily login reward.”

In the past, I’ve never abandoned the game. I would always complete the missions even if that meant I need to reject my friend’s invitation. That’s who I truly am.

Now…Keita Amano is slowly taking my time away in all aspects, and my heart as well.

I clicked on the menu of the game and opened the messages with Tsucchi.

“Give it your all!” “Thanks.” “We’re saved.” “No problem.” “Sure.” ”Yeah!”

Concise words. Extremely simple. An interaction with as few letters as possible.

However, for some reason-

“…Haha.”

My mouth curved as I stared at the screen, and my chest is feeling a tinge of warmth.

“…Alright, I shouldn’t tell the truth right now.”

Naturally, I made up my mind.

“…This is because I treasure everyone, no matter its Yama-san, Tsucchi, or Keita Amano. While I’m unwilling to say this, but they are really precious to me. That’s why I should treat them differently. The worst thing I could do is to put our relationship on the bet for the sake of closing our distance, right.”

I didn’t back down from my passiveness. Instead, I…made this decision myself. Right now, I’m not going to push myself…I should follow my own pace.

“…Yes, I’ll wait for the day…where I can smile naturally at him and reveal who I am…we can do it at that time. So, this is enough for me right now…I need to prepare for that day in my own way, with a pace that suits both of us. Then, I can slowly grow closer…with Keita…with Keita Amano-“

I cherished at my phone’s screen as I made up my mind. Suddenly-

“Hey, Chiaki? It just rained for a bit, I think you better get all your clothes back first…”

“!”

I got startled as I turned around because someone suddenly talked to me. Then, I saw Keita peeked inside sheepishly from the opened door-

“Ah? Uh, ehm, I-I-I…I got it!”

To block the screen, I quickly flipped my phone over and put it on the computer desk. However, it seemed to have moved the mouse, which caused the screen saver to stop. As a result, the monitor showed NOBE’s half-edited blog…

“?”

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Why does this happen right after I decided to keep it a secret!

I swung my arms violently to block him from seeing the monitor. However…

“Oh.”

This time, I accidentally threw my phone outside.

So, I sent the phone flying which caused the charging cable to disconnect, and it even sild across the smooth rug towards Keita-

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

I cursed all the gods as I scrambled after my phone. However, I accidentally tripped over and was temporarily paralyzed on the floor.

“A-Are you okay, Chiaki?”

Seeing a friend in such a miserable state, Keita picked up the phone naturally as he walked towards me to try and help me out.

“Wait, um, t…t-t-the phone, and the PC, don’t…”

I gaped and told Keita not to look at my phone and the computer. However…

“Eh? Oh, you want me to make sure your phone and PC are fine? Alright, just a second.”

That became the last push needed.

“Oh, n-no, don’t do that…!”

Before I even finished my protesting, he kindly checked my phone and computer screen. So…

“…Eh?”

Keita seemed to have realized something and just stood there, frozen.

“NOBE…and Mono…? Eh, these are…”

…It’s over.

“…!”

How can things be this ridiculous? This is literally out of a romantic comedy…No, stupid miracles like this are even too rare in romantic comedies, not to mention that this is reality!

I blushed as I plopped my head down. Keita is looking down at me, hoping for an explanation.

“There’s only one way left…now that things have taken a turn like this…!”

I have to tell Keita the truth…Yes. Perhaps this is a good chance. I’m scared to interact with people from time to time, this had to be God’s attempt to push me to talk. This situation doesn’t allow me to slowly build up the relationship with Keita anymore. After all, all of this seems a bit too late anyway. Even though I’m not sure what I feel, I have to step on the gas and drive our relationship to the next level.

That should be God’s instruction.

…Alright, I got it. I’m a woman, after all.

Now’s the time to show a woman’s bravery and pride!

I stood up immediately…and grabbed my phone from Keita’s hand as I stared with him, my eyes are filled with determination.

“…Keita!”

“Y-Yes! W-What’s the matter…?”

Keita got scared and straightened his back right away.

A boy and a girl are staring at each other in a gloomy room. It’s raining outside, but those washed clothes are no longer relevant…Just like Keita’s pass holder, I don’t want to use that as an excuse to escape from this situation.

I took a deep breath. Then, I showed my phone and computer screen at Keita clearly before I spoke.

“I don’t want to say this initially, but you found out already. It can’t be helped. Now’s the time to clear everything up.”

“A-Alright…”

“Keita, I think you’ve realized already…It’s just like what you see, the true identity of NOBE, and Mono is actually…”

“Yeah…”

Keita came to his senses and gave me an “I’m ready!” look. I glared back at him confidently-

“…Hmm? Phew…that was a good nap…”

-Suddenly, at the corner of my eye, someone yanked the quilt away and woke up slowly on the bed at the dark side of the room.

Just as Keita and I are staring at each other shockingly, that person...even when she’s wearing pajamas and looks tired, still retained a sense of cuteness that’s different from me. My sister, Konoha Hoshinomori, stretched her back with a big “Phew…!” and started mumbling without bothering to look at us.

“Hiya…Sis, you’re back. I’m sorry. I wanted to watch videos initially, but I got too tired from playing hentai- I mean studying. So, I borrowed your bed to take a nap-“

Konoha finally noticed there’s