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 - 42-43

Chapter 42: I’m Way Too Easy

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The after-school chime rang out. Normally, this would be the moment when I’d stretch inside my heart and become Haru, thinking, ‘Finally, it’s over!’ But right now, my heart felt as heavy as a gloomy rainy-season sky.

“…How unamusing.”

As I stuffed my textbooks into my bag, I glanced diagonally behind me. Just as expected, several boys and girls from other classes were gathered around Kazu—Sato-kun again today.

“Sato-kun, we’re practicing badminton with Class One this Sunday. Want to come?”

“Oh, that sounds great! Can I come watch too?”

(… … …Excuse me!? Practice? Watch? What is that supposed to mean? Kazu has plans to run an online game event with me, you know? And besides, Kazu isn’t good with crowds. When he’s surrounded by girls he doesn’t know, he just hides behind a poker face. So could you not force invitations on him?)

(… …Ugh, seriously. This is so irritating.)

I deliberately scraped my chair loudly against the floor as I stood up.

“Rin-rin, let’s go to the club! …Ah, your face is turning into a demon again.”

“…It’s not.”

Saki looked at me in exasperation. I replied shortly, “It’s nothing,” and walked right past Kazu. For a split second, I felt like our eyes met but I deliberately snorted and ignored him.

Right. I was mad.

(Getting all friendly like that…. How can he just chat so easily with other girls? Idiot Kazuma. Useless vanguard. Stay in starter gear forever!)

…And yet… Partway down the hallway toward the locker room, my phone vibrated. I thought about ignoring it, but when I saw the name on the notification screen, my finger moved on its own.

『Kazuma: Sorry. I’m behind the vending machines at the gym entrance right now. …Just one minute is fine. Can you come?』

“…!”

My heart jumped.

(W-what? A summons? Don’t tell me he decided to start dating one of those girls from earlier and is about to say he’s quitting as my partner…)

That worst-case scenario flashed through my mind, and I shouted, “Go on ahead!” to Saki before sprinting down the stairs.

The gym in the evening. A slightly quiet atmosphere before club activities fully began. Behind the vending machines, in the shadows, was a familiar back.

“…What do you want, Sato-kun? I’m busy with club activities.”

I spoke to his back, deliberately using my cold “Shinonome-san” voice. Kazu slowly turned around. In his right hand was a bottle of my absolute favorite, Fully Ripe Peach Tea.

“…Here.”

“…Huh?”

“…During the last break. …I heard from Ichinose-san. You said today’s practice menu was especially tough, and you’d been complaining since morning that you were ‘low on sugar,’ right?”

Kazu averted his gaze slightly, looking embarrassed, and held out the chilled bottle to me.

“…Here. Take it.”

He stepped one pace closer. After confirming no one else was around, he lowered his voice to that usual calm, steady “Kazu” tone and whispered.

“…You’ve been in a bad mood this whole time, haven’t you? …They invited me to practice, but I turned them all down. …I told them my after school time is exclusively for Haru.”

“——!!”

… … …

(Idiot. … … …Idiot Kazuma. Exclusively? Saying something like that… When you say it that way… )

The anger from earlier, the possessiveness, the murky black emotions… They all disappeared as cleanly as droplets sliding off this cold bottle.

“…Liar. …You didn’t actually say it was exclusively for Haru.”

“…Well, that was the general idea. …Now hurry up and go. Ichinose-san’s looking for you.”

“…………”

This was bad. I couldn’t stop smiling.

I snatched the bottle from him and after making sure no one was watching, I lightly grabbed his shirt sleeve with my fingertips tight.

“…I’ll forgive you. …To think I forgive you over something this small.. I really am such an easy partner…”

“…Good. At least you’re aware of it.”

“…Shut up. …As thanks, tonight when we log in… I’ll go mine the ‘Abyssal Ore’ you wanted with you. …It’s special treatment, okay?”

“…Yeah. …I’m looking forward to it, Haru.”

Kazu kept his usual poker face, but he lightly tapped my head once—just once, just for a second—before walking away. Left alone behind the vending machines, I wrapped both hands around the cold bottle and pressed it against my flushed cheeks.

(Ahh, seriously. I’m way too easy. I’m such an idiot…)

I’d been so frustrated. I’d been this close to declaring, “That’s it, we’re done!” And yet… Just because he remembered my favorite drink…. Just because he turned down the girls’ invitations for me…. Just because he gave it a special name—“exclusive.”

My heart had begun sparkling like it was under a full set of buffs. At school, I was the perfect Rin Shinonome. In the guild, the strongest mage, Haru. But in front of Kazuma Sato… In front of Kazu….

I was just the happiest, most ridiculously easy girl in the world.

“…Alright! I’ll give practice my all!”

I took a sip from the bottle. The sweet scent of peach spread deep into my chest.

(I won’t give up this special seat to anyone. I’ll stay by my knight’s side and keep being selfish forever.)

The wind blowing in front of the gym gently pushed at my back.

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Chapter 43: The Guild Offline Meetup!

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June, night. Just barely, the footsteps of final exams had begun to echo, and this was the time of year when after-school club activities grew more intense. I logged into Eternal Legend from my room and was enveloped in the heat of the once-a-month “All-Out War.”

The guild I belonged to, Azure Sky Brigade, was a small but elite group of only eight members. Usually, Haru—Rin Shinonome—and I often dove into private quests alone, just the two of us. But once a month, there was something called the “All-Out War,” where all guild members gathered to challenge it together.

32 old Genzo-san, our lively and slightly hard-to-read leader. 28 old Marie-san, an older-sister type whose marriage-hunting had glitched out. Tetsu-san, in his forties, a bold and seasoned veteran. Yuki-san, in her thirties, a soothing housewife type. Kuma-san, a quiet, cooking-loving big guy (?). Shin-kun, 21, a flirtatious but highly skilled college student.

…And then the eight of us including me (Kazu) and my partner (Haru). I had never seen any of them in real life, so I didn’t know for sure, but judging from our usual exchanges, this was the colorful cast that made up the guild. Over the course of three years, the bond among these eight people had grown beyond mere online acquaintances. It had become something closer to “partners in crime” or even “family.”

『—Haru, reinforcements from the right! Kazu, keep the aggro! I’ll burn their backs!』

『Roger, Master! Kazu, I’m firing Burst in three seconds—sync with me!』

“Yeah, leave it to me!”

Through my headset rang the instructions of our Guild Master, Genzo-san—and the voice of my partner, Haru, a.k.a. Rin Shinonome, lowered and made cheeky through a voice changer. The full-guild raids of our small elite guild, Azure Sky Brigade, were always carried out alongside this tension-filled VC (voice chat).

And then…

『—Raid boss, completely silenced! Great work, everyone!』

With Genzo-san’s declaration, the screen filled with victory effects. I let out a breath and switched off my mic. Once the raid ended, all that remained was distributing rewards and our usual “recorded in the logs” text-chat banter.

『Marie: Greeeaaat job, everyone!! Kazu-kun and Haru-kun, your coordination was insane again today! What was that perfect unspoken timing!? Are you two some married couple who’s been together for three years or what!?』

Marie-san’s text was already dancing in the chat window at the bottom right of the screen. Marie-san was a 28 year old apparel shop clerk. Normally a lively big sister type, her noisiness practically seeped through even without VC.

『Tetsu: Gahaha! Especially at the end, when Haru slipped behind Kazu without saying a word! I got goosebumps!』

『Shin: For real though. Even with my youthful college-student reflexes, I couldn’t pull that off. Kazu, Haru, are you guys seriously high schoolers? Lol』

『Haru: Hehehe. I’m just desperately babysitting Kazu so he doesn’t make any dumb moves!』

Haru played up her usual “cheeky boy character” in chat. Not just her voice through the voice changer, even her typing style was perfectly “boyish.” No one in the guild suspected, not even a millimeter, that she was the most beautiful girl in our school.

『Marie: Geez, the way you two talk~ Are you like that in real life too?』

『Haru: Who knows…』

『Marie: More importantly, listen to this, everyone! One of my juniors at work told me today she’s having a shotgun wedding! Someone cast Resurrection on me…!』

『Genzo: Marie-san, that volume (in full-width characters) is bad for my heart at this hour.』

『Shin: Well, getting one-upped by your junior is kind of Marie-san’s signature style, isn’t it? (lol)』

Teasing her were Genzo-san and Shin-san. Genzo-san was a 32 year-old systems engineer. Once, when he uploaded a photo of his computer screen, his reflection wearing silver-rimmed glasses and smiling fearlessly had been spotted in it. Since then, among us, he was affectionately known as the “Glasses Guildmaster.”

『Tetsu: Gahaha! Master, you’re as ruthless as ever piling it on Marie!』

『Shin: Cheer up, Marie-san! I’ll set you up at a mixer sometime… Oh wait, you don’t want college students, right? (lol)』

Shin-san teased.

『Marie: “You boys shut it! Ugh, I’ve had enough! At this rate, we’re doing an offline meetup!』

『Marie: “It’s our guild’s third anniversary! Let me vent this frustration by seeing everyone’s faces! Master, I’m making this a guild order!』

…So that’s where this was going.

『Genzo: Oh, I like that idea. I was just thinking it’s about time I saw the faces of Kazu-kun and Haru-chan, who’ve been flirting like a ‘married couple’ for three years. …So, you two, how about it?』

…

 It had finally come. I stopped typing and sent a private message, one only Haru could see. Haru used that voice-changed “foul-mouthed boy” voice even when talking to the whole guild.

Everyone believed Haru was just “a slightly cheeky high school boy.”

『Kazu: What do you want to do, Haru? …Your voice changer and everything will be exposed.”

A few seconds later, a reply from Haru—Shinonome-san.

『Haru: I want to go. …But I’m still scared. If everyone says, ‘Wait, Haru-kun was actually a girl? Were you lying to us?’ and they’re disappointed… I might not be able to log in anymore.』

I understood Shinonome-san’s anxiety well. For her, this guild was the only place where gender and the name “Rin Shinonome” didn’t matter. This place was a haven where she could simply laugh as a “gamer.”

『Kazu: It’ll be fine. There’s no way those people are that small-minded. …Besides…』

『Haru: …Besides?』

『Kazu: …I’ll stay by your side the whole time. At school, we pretend to be strangers but in the game, and at the meetup, I’m your one and only knight, right?』

…

Through the screen, I felt like I heard Shinonome-san let out a small breath.

『Haru: “…………Hehehe. Idiot. No making my heart race through text. …Okay, I’ll go. Let’s go surprise everyone together, Kazu!』

After confirming her resolve, I tossed a 『We’ll participate』 into the guild chat.

『Genzo: Alright, it’s decided! You two are high schoolers, so we’ll keep it wholesome. I’ll reserve a lunch buffet at the city hotel near the station.』

『Genzo: No alcohol, daytime disband! That way you can tell your parents, ‘They’re online friends, but it’s a first-class hotel, so it’s safe,’ right?』

『Marie: As expected of Master, you’re quick! Kazu-kun, Haru-kun, I’m looking forward to it!』

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The next morning. I headed to my mom, who was setting breakfast out in the living room.

“…Mom, can I talk to you?”

“Hm? What’s up, Kazuma?”

“…There’s an offline meetup for my online game guild next Saturday. …Master Genzo-san reserved a buffet at the city hotel near the station. …Shinonome-san’s going too, so I was thinking I’d walk her there.”

Mom’s hands stopped.

“Oh my! The people you’ve been chatting with for three years, right? Genzo-san was that dependable guy with glasses, wasn’t he? If it’s a city hotel buffet, that’s reassuring. And going with Rin-chan? That sounds like a lovely weekend! Go on, have fun!”

“…Got it.”

As soon as I got Mom’s approval, an icy stare pierced my back. It was my little sister, Futaba.

“…Onii. …You’re taking Rin Shinonome-san to an ‘adult social venue’? ……If you stand next to her with that self-deprecating face of yours and ruin the mood… I’ll delete all your data.”

“…Have you made threatening me your hobby lately?”

At this point, I’d decided to treat it as a running joke. Why? Because if I didn’t convince myself of that, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. If she truly meant all those insults…

Onii-chan would wet himself.

“I’m just stating facts. …Shinonome-san’s probably nervous since it’s her first time. So you’d better take the lead properly. …And if your clothes are lame, I won’t forgive you.”

In the end, even if she lined up prickly words on the surface, most of what she said came from genuinely caring about me and Shinonome-san.

That’s why rebellious little sisters are unbearably cute.

…At least, that’s what I’ll tell myself.

“…Onii, got something to say?”

“N-no, nothing.”

After receiving Futaba’s (unique) encouragement, the preparations were set.

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And then, the night before the meetup. Shinonome-san and I spent a short time before bed messaging on LINE.

【Rin: Kazu. I’ve decided what I’m wearing tomorrow. If you look at me in the lobby like I’m a ‘stranger,’ I’ll never forgive you.】

【Kazuma: Like that would ever happen. I’m the one who’s been closest to your voice for three years. I’m looking forward to seeing it.】

【Rin: Hehehe. You’d better. I’m not coming as the school me, and not as voice-changer Haru either. I’m coming as the cutest version of me, just for you. Good night, partner.】

I closed my smartphone and lay down on my bed. On the other side of the screen were Glasses Genzo-san, shouting Marie-san, veteran Tetsu-san…

What kind of expressions would they make when they saw Rin and me? And when the magic of the voice changer was undone, what kind of face would Rin wear as she stood beside me? Expectation and anxiety rode the June night breeze, stirring my chest.

(…I’ll protect you, Haru. …From the closest place by your side.)

I stared intently at my right hand. Tomorrow, that hand wouldn’t tremble.

As if telling myself that, I fell into a deep sleep.

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