I Confessed My Sexual Preferences to My Online Game Best Friend, and the Person Who Showed Up at the Offline Meetup Was the Cute Girl from My Class - 11

Chapter 11: My (Disguised?) Online Game Friend Came Over!

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Saturday, 1:00 p.m. Outside, the sky was a clear, endless blue. It was the perfect weather for going out or rather, perfect weather for logging in. But as for me, Kazuma Sato, my state of mind was no different from that of a criminal awaiting public execution.

“Onii, you’re in the way. Move.”

With that icy remark, my younger sister Futaba nudged my foot with the vacuum cleaner. Her ponytail swayed carelessly as she meticulously cleaned in front of my room like her life depended on it. In her eyes, I could see deep suspicion and just a hint of curiosity toward the “sketchy online friend” her otaku older brother was inviting over for the first time.

“…Futaba, you don’t have to go that hard. It’s just some guy coming over.”

“Hmph. He’s one of your very few friends, right? I just figured it’d be sad if he thought our house was gross and cut off your only connection. Mom’s been overdoing it in the kitchen since earlier. It’s kind of scary.”

She really was a good little sister who cared about her big brother, even if she acted prickly on the surface. From the living room came Mom’s cheerful voice—“Oh my, maybe this plate would be better!”—along with the sweet scent of cake drifting from the oven.

…This was hell. Both Mom and Futaba were completely convinced that the person called “Haru” who was about to arrive was the same type of “plain gamer guy” as me.

If that Rin Shinonome stepped through this doorway, what would happen? Last night on voice chat, I’d made one last futile attempt and suggested, “Maybe we should call it off after all.” But she’d replied, humming lightly:

『Nope. I already picked out my clothes and everything. My disguise is perfect. I’m really looking forward to meeting your family, Kazu.』

She was absolutely doing this on purpose. She knew my house would descend into chaos, and she was enjoying it. And worst of all, I still had her ultimate blackmail message.

『I might just tell Saki about your little nape poem, you know?』

I had no right to refuse from the very beginning.

—Ding dong.

My heart leapt so violently it felt like it would burst out of my throat.

“Oh, she’s here! Kazuma, hurry and get the door!”

Mom rushed out of the kitchen in her apron. Futaba stopped the vacuum and, though pretending to be expressionless, fixed her gaze firmly on the front door.

“…Yeah. I’m going.”

I walked toward the entrance as if climbing the steps to a guillotine. My hand gripping the doorknob was slick with cold sweat.

One deep breath. …Okay. I’m ready to die.

Slowly, I opened the door.

“—Mornin’, Kazu! Sorry to keep you waiting!”

Standing there was someone dressed in unfamiliar clothes of a “pretty-boy”–style. Of course, that someone was actually a girl. An oversized black mountain parka. Baggy wide pants. A cap pulled low over her head. Glasses. She must have been consciously aiming for the “male friend Haru” image. I could tell she was trying to suppress her usual aura as the queen of the school with a boyish look. I could tell the effort she had put into her disguise, but…

…You’re not hiding anything, idiot!!

Her skin was too white to conceal. The glossy black ends of her hair spilled out from under the cap. And behind the glasses, her jewel-like eyes sparkled brilliantly. More than anything, the slender silhouette peeking from beneath the hem of the parka was, no matter how you looked at it, not that of a “grimy male gamer.” If anything, the boyish outfit only amplified her natural beauty, creating a devastating contrast that made her even more dangerously attractive.

“…Haru, you…”

“Nihihi, what do you think? My version of ‘Partner Haru’ style. This should keep me from being found out, right?”

Shinonome-san said it in a whisper only I could hear, puffing out her chest proudly. At that moment… I felt two presences behind me, frozen solid.

“…Huh?”

The first voice came from Mom. The tray she was holding for “hospitality” rattled loudly in her trembling hands.

“…What?”

Then Futaba. She scanned the “disguised Rin Shinonome” from head to toe before turning to look at me as if I were some unknown pest species.

“…Onii. Didn’t you say Haru-kun was a guy?”

“…I… well…”

Of course there was no way this wouldn’t be obvious!!! As I stood there speechless, Shinonome-san casually switched expressions, as if thinking, “Well, guess I got found out!~” From mischievous Haru to the “angel of the school” Rin Shinonome who captivated the entire student body.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Rin Shinonome, Sato-kun’s classmate, and I go by ‘Haru’ in our online game. I’m so sorry for dropping by so suddenly today!”

She removed her cap and bowed deeply. Her black hair flowed smoothly down. And with that motion, the nape of her neck was revealed. The “forbidden sacred domain” she had used as blackmail was in plain sight.  It wasn’t Ichinose-san’s, but her nape was just as pale as moonlight, the soft baby hairs illuminated not by a streetlamp this time, but by the lightbulb in the entryway.

My brain short-circuited instantly.

“M-my… my goodness!!”

Mom practically erupted.

“Kazuma! What on earth! You made it sound like ‘a male friend’ was coming over when such an adorable young lady was coming! We’re completely unprepared! Our hospitality preparations are nowhere near enough!!”

“W-wait, that’s not—!”

I never actually said a male friend was coming.

“Rin-chan, is it? Come in, come in! No need to stand around talking out here!”

Overwhelmed by Mom’s unstoppable energy, Shinonome-san laughed cheerfully. “Ahaha, excuse me!” and stepped smoothly inside. As she passed by me, she whispered softly into my ear.

“Kazu. Your mom’s funny. …Also, you were totally staring at my nape just now, weren’t you?”

“…!!”

As I stood there frozen and red-faced, Futaba passed by me last and muttered in a subzero voice.

“…Onii. Since when did you learn to tell such an ‘advanced lie’? Rin Shinonome… She’s that ace from the basketball team, the number one girl in the school… Unbelievable. You’re so gross I kind of want to report you.”

“Wait, Futaba! It’s not like that! This was unavoidable…!”

“…Why don’t you just go to your room already? I don’t know what you’re planning to do alone together, but just so you know, the walls are thin.”

With that, Futaba returned to the living room. In the now-quiet entryway, I let out a despairing sigh. Mom’s misunderstanding had begun to spiral into a runaway “happy delusion.” Futaba’s evaluation of me had plummeted from “just a gross older brother” to “a gross older brother one step away from being a criminal.” And from the living room, I could already hear Shinonome-san chatting cheerfully with Mom.

“Rin-chan, I’m surprised you’re into games. Is our Kazuma causing you any trouble?”

“Not at all! I’m the one who’s always being helped by Kazuma… I mean, Sato-kun. He’s my very best ‘partner.’”

My once peaceful home had suffered catastrophic damage in mere minutes from the typhoon named Rin Shinonome.

…Am I even going to make it to my room alive?

With trembling legs, I took a step toward the living room that had turned into chaos. The first home visit from the partner who shared too many secrets with me… It was the beginning of a disaster and a thrill far beyond anything I had imagined.

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