After I Confessed to My Childhood Friend and Got Rejected, I Threw a Game Offline Meetup to Cheer Myself Up, Only to Find Out My Long-Time Gaming Buddy Was Actually the Quiet, Silver-Haired Swedish Beauty Who's the Cutest Girl in School - Chapter 5.2: Heart Mark

Chapter 5.2: Heart Mark

When Amamiya Takaaki said that, Karina set down her mug and put on a sullen expression, her lips pursing slightly.

“That’s rude of you. We’re partners, but you’re being so formal. The Rain-san I know would say, ‘Karina, huh. Nice name. Gladly, I’ll call you that!'”

“Was my game self such an active character?”

“And Amamiya-kun, you slip into polite language sometimes, but that’s out too. We’re the same age and classmates, so there’s no need to hold back at all, right?”

“Y-yeah… got it.”

Karina puffed out her cheeks, looking dissatisfied.

At that cute gesture, Amamiya Takaaki felt a shock like being hit by a 12.7mm bullet right in his chest, but he endured without letting it show on his face and nodded.

“S-so, Takaaki-kun.”

She stared at him with a sullen gaze.

With sharp eyes just like his sister Anna.

Or rather, being called by his first name so naturally made Amamiya Takaaki almost burst out laughing.

“The other day, didn’t you consult me about love? If it’s not a problem, could I hear about the progress after that?”

It meant report back since he had listened to the consultation.

He had already reported it in the game, but maybe it meant to talk in more detail.

Amamiya Takaaki cleared his throat and, making sure his voice did not come out mumbly, told the whole story.

His relationship with his childhood friend Tojo, his own feelings, and even that the confession had failed, all of it.

“Hmm, with that Tojo-san, huh. What a wasteful person, turning down Takaaki-kun like that. If it were me, I would never refuse for sure.”

“Eh, does that mean…”

“Hehe, nothing.”

At that meaningful remark, Amamiya Takaaki felt his ears heating up.

He was experiencing a situation that he, a communication-shy introvert, had given up on as forever impossible.

The other customers at nearby tables seemed to think the same, sending him looks like “Why is a guy like you…”

“Takaaki-kun, do you want to be comforted?”

Karina asked suddenly.

“W-well. Thinking about that day makes me feel sick and get goosebumps all over my skin. It’s that trauma thing, I guess. I don’t feel like I can recover so easily. A sense of loss like an important piece is missing, a feeling like there’s a big hole in my chest, it’s been lingering all the time…”

“You did your best, Takaaki. There, there.”

Karina reached out and patted his head.

Even with the customers in the shop watching, she was completely her own pace.

Amamiya Takaaki blushed on his cheeks in embarrassment, but no boy would hate being touched by such a cute girl, so he accepted it honestly.

It might have been his imagination, but the fear from that day seemed to ease a little.

“Sorry…”

“Hey, at times like this, it’s ‘thank you.’ I’m not comforting you so you apologize.”

“Ah, thanks, Karina.”

“Hehe, you’re welcome.”

She was someone he had only had one short conversation with before, yet it felt like a date between lovers.

She might not mean it that way, but Amamiya Takaaki could not help being conscious of it.

After that, they got excited talking about the game again, and before he knew it, it was evening.

After paying the bill and leaving the shop, Karina stretched because she had been sitting for so long.

Cute, like an angel.

“So, shall we just part ways here?”

“Yeah. I wanted to talk more, but we can chat in the game like always, and from now on, we can talk at school too.”

She winked and said it happily.

Now that they knew each other’s identities, they were no longer strangers.

Their relationship might still be vague, but Amamiya Takaaki thought that if possible, he wanted to become close to her in real life too.

“Ah, right. Since we’re at it, let’s exchange contacts. Here, take out your phone.”

As Karina said, when he took out his phone, she snatched it from his hand like she had been waiting and registered everything.

When it was returned, all the messaging apps on the phone had her contact.

As “Partner Karina.”

“From now on, take care of me, Takaaki-kun. If you’re in trouble, your partner me will comfort you anytime. In the game or in reality.”

Emphasized on the last part, Amamiya Takaaki imagined something inappropriate, but remembering that he could not become the self Karina knew until the end, he cleared his throat once.

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I’m your partner and exclusive mage Rain! You too, if you need help, call me anytime. No matter what happens, I’ll definitely rush over!”

Because of his habit of expressing with his whole body, Amamiya Takaaki even struck a pose.

The passersby on the street had been paying attention to Karina’s cuteness, but at Amamiya Takaaki’s utterly pathetic appearance and embarrassing lines, people started bursting into laughter one after another.

But Karina was not laughing.

She had her eyes wide open, and her cheeks were flushing red.

“See you, partner.”

Saying that, Karina skipped away toward the station in high spirits.

Amamiya Takaaki waved his hand small and replied “See you” in a voice so soft it might not reach.

Looking at her name at the top of the contact list on his phone, Amamiya Takaaki, convinced that it was all real, headed home with a smile on his face for the first time in a while.

Karina, waiting for the train on the platform, looked at the screen showing “Takaaki-kun” with a dissatisfied expression, thought for a bit, and then added a heart mark to the end.

Satisfied, she put the phone in her bag, took out her favorite headphones, put them on.

She played her favorite song and boarded the train.