After Accidentally Helping a Famous Streamer Who Forgot to Turn Off Her Dungeon Stream, I Began to Go Viral as a Legendary Explorer ～ The Introverted Me Accidentally Dominating with My Mysterious Skill 'Ignore Rules' - Chapter 39: The Cooperative Community

Chapter 39: The Cooperative Community

“This is a girl’s room…”

On the night after defeating Leaf King Chameleon, I found myself, at the age of sixteen, in Miyu’s room.

It was my first time in such a situation, and my heart was pounding non-stop. But of course, I hadn’t come just to hang out.

Given the sensitive nature of what we were about to discuss, it wouldn’t do for the information to leak outside. That’s why I was visiting Miyu’s house.

By the way, her mother was currently working the night shift, so there was no one else at home besides Miyu. That made it easier to talk without any reservations.

“Here… Cola.”

“Ah, thanks.”

I bowed my head slightly to Miyu, who had brought me a drink.

Although we had recently become comfortable talking to each other, being in her home like this made me incredibly nervous.

“So, um… it’s about Yayoi Goyama, right?”

She seemed a bit tense as she broached the subject.

“Did you also see the DM from Ristoria?”

“Yeah… I saw it.”

—Username, Ristoria.

Surprisingly, this individual seemed to be well-versed in the circumstances of the explorers, and it turned out that he (or she) was an explorer too.

Moreover, it seemed like this person had once studied under my father—Yuichi Kirishima. Their current success as a B-class explorer was attributed to learning the swordmanship from my father.

…In that DM, I learned a truth that was almost impossible to believe.

My father was said to have died surrounded by monsters, but there were too many suspicious points about that. The weekly magazines at the time had covered Yayoi Goyama as a suspect, but that information had been quickly suppressed.

And Yayoi’s son was Kento Goyama, who had been tormenting me relentlessly.

At first, it seemed that they too were hesitant to tell me about this. They questioned whether there was a need to reveal such a cruel truth about my father’s death to me, his son.

However, given that Yayoi’s malicious intentions were closing in, they couldn’t stay silent anymore. And so, they apparently decided to inform me.

By the way, I’ve already verified that this information is accurate. After doing some internet research, I found that some communities had already uploaded clipped photos of the old weekly magazines. The persistence and investigative prowess of these netizens were truly astonishing.

“It’s really… terrible. I can’t believe someone would do such a thing.”

Miyu murmured, taking small sips of her cola.

“Are you okay, Tsukushi-kun? Finding out that this happened to your father must be hard for you…”

Then she gently laid her hand on top of my right hand that was resting on the floor.

Feeling a sense of relief from the warmth of her touch, I found the words to speak my mind.

“That’s true… If I said I wasn’t shocked, it would be a lie. But you’ve told me before, Miyu. To have more confidence and to decline any invitations from Goyama…”

Having confidence—saying it is easy, but executing it is incredibly difficult.

Until now, I would’ve been terrified of both Kento Goyama and Yayoi Goyama.

“But strangely, I’m not afraid now. Knowing what happened to my father in the past, and what Yayoi is planning to do… I feel like I can face it now.”

“Tsukushi-kun…”

“That’s why I won’t run away. No matter what happens from now on, I won’t bow down to Yayoi.”

“Fufu… you’ve become stronger, haven’t you?” 

Miyu said, smiling softly at me. 

“Tsukushi-kun, you know, it’s okay…”

“Huh…?”

“I said it, didn’t I? That in exchange for helping with the streams, I want to do many things that would make you happy. Even if we leave that promise aside, it’s still… okay.”

“M-Miyu…”

Is this what I think it is? Is this an “invitation”?

To ascend the stairs of adulthood this quickly…

―Kiss.

Then suddenly, a soft touch came upon my cheek. My eyes widened in surprise. It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Miyu’s lips.

“M-Miyu…”

“Fufu, sorry. It must be confusing to hear this all of a sudden. Let’s take it slow… and get to know each other better.”

“Yeah… I guess so.”

Speaking of getting to know each other, there are some curious aspects about Miyu as well.

I’ve rarely seen her hanging out with friends at school. Lately, she’s been meeting up with me as soon as school ends.

With her being so cute and overwhelmingly cheerful, I can’t imagine her not having friends…

“And you know what? Tsukushi-kun, I…”

What’s gotten into her all of a sudden? Miyu starts fidgeting and looks down. It’s unlike her to be indecisive about whether to say something or not.

“Never mind, sorry… it’s nothing.” 

She softly touches my lips with her index finger and murmurs.

“Anyway, you better not go to any other girls. Because, you know, I’m already… I feel that way about you.”