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 - 46

Chapter 46: Suddenly Taken Away

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After that, we finished eating and moved on to a time where everyone nibbled on sweets and fruit. Even though she should have been full from the buffet, Marie-san popped a macaron into her mouth as if to declare that sweets went into a separate stomach. However, her eyes were locked onto Shinonome-san and me, like a ferocious beast targeting its prey.

“Well then. Now that we’ve caught our breath, how about we finally get to the main topic?”

Marie-san placed her teacup onto the saucer. The sharp clink sounded to me like a gong signaling the start of a battle.

“…What do you mean by ‘main topic,’ Marie-san?”

I asked, putting on a calm front despite the bad feeling creeping up on me. Beside me, Shinonome-san, perhaps still flushed from being treated like a married couple earlier, gently pressed a cold hand towel to her cheek.

“Isn’t it obvious!? How long have you two really been dating!? Be honest. Onee-san isn’t letting you escape!”

“…………No, I mean. We’re just close friends. We’re just partners. We’ve been saying that for three years, haven’t we?”

When I denied it a bit too quickly, Shin-kun sitting across from us snorted.

“No way, Kazu. That excuse doesn’t fly anymore. You saw what just happened at the buffet, right? Sharing food with perfect unspoken coordination and that bugged-out sense of distance… And you still call that ‘just close friends’? You’d be making enemies of every couple in the world.”

“Gahaha! He’s right. Even Uncle Tetsu was shocked. Not just that Haru turned out to be such a pretty young lady, but the way Kazu takes care of her. That’s already past ‘close friend’ territory! It’s straight-up devotion.”

Laughing loudly, Tetsu-san patted my shoulder. The warmth coming from his large hand felt like it was telling me, Just admit it already, and I found myself at a loss for words.

“…Shinonome-san is, well… She’s kind of dangerous when she’s alone, so I’m just supporting her as her partner.”

“Dangerous!? In the game, I’m way more reliable than you, Kazu, aren’t I!?”

Shinonome-san shot me an irritated glare. That expression wasn’t the polished smile of “Shinonome-san” she wore at school. It was unmistakably the “Haru” I knew.

“…Do you realize how that argument looks to Marie-san and the others?”

“…………!!”

Shinonome-san gasped and covered her mouth. Just as expected, on the opposite side of the table, Marie-san let out a shrill, “Hyaaaahhh!!” and writhed in agony.

“It’s too precious…! She’s such an unparalleled beauty, yet her expressions change this much just in front of Kazu-kun!? Hey, Master, what do you think would happen if we recorded this and sent it to their school!?”

“Marie-san, that would be a crime. …But, Kazu-kun.”

Genzo-san pushed up the bridge of his glasses with his middle finger and looked at me with gentle eyes.

“I think I understand how precious the relationship you call ‘close friends’ really is. …Do you remember when you first joined this guild three years ago, Kazu-kun?”

“…Yes. Of course.”

“You were honestly terrible back then. Your equipment was all over the place, and you had no idea how to use your skills. And yet, Haru-chan, who was already the strongest at the time, somehow took an interest in you and started teaching you one-on-one. We all talked about how rare it was for Haru to pick up a beginner like that.”

As Genzo-san reminisced fondly, Yuki-san nodded gently as well.

“That’s right. Even though Haru-chan was so strong, she was sometimes surprisingly mean only to Kazu-kun. …But on the days of our monthly guild raids when Kazu-kun wasn’t there, she always looked incredibly lonely. From our perspective, this scene right now was… Inevitable from three years ago.”

“………………”

Adults’ words mercilessly dismantled our defenses. For three years, we thought we were simply sharing time together because we “got along.” But to the adults watching from the outside, it had looked like a special bond, one that couldn’t exist without the other.

“…At school, Shinonome-san is really popular. She won the ball sports tournament, and lately even girls from other classes dote on her… Having a background character like me next to her normally wouldn’t make any sense.”

When I let my self-deprecating honesty slip out, Shinonome-san abruptly stood up, her chair scraping loudly.

“Kazu, cut it out already!! Who ever said you were a ‘background character’!? To me—no, to everyone in the guild, you’re the one and only greatest knight in the world, you know!?”

Her heated voice echoed through the private room. Her face bright red, she grabbed my shoulders with both hands and stared straight into my eyes.

“Everyone can look at my surface and make a fuss, calling me an angel or whatever but you’re the only one who knows so many sides of me and still stayed with me for three years, right!? So don’t ever call yourself a mob character again!!”

It was the proof of Shinonome-san’s raw emotions. The pride of Haru, my partner, that she would never show at school and a hint of… Sadness. The private room fell into a hushed silence. Even Marie-san held her breath, overwhelmed by her intensity.

“…I’m sorry, Haru. …I won’t say it again.”

When I apologized quietly, Shinonome-san, who had let her emotions spill out under the comfort of a family-like sense of safety, snapped back to hersel. She released my hands, and sank back into her seat, burying her face on the table.

“…Idiot Kazuma. …I hate you.”

Her mouth spoke of “I hate you.” But the tremble in her voice and her bright red earlobes looked, to everyone else, like nothing more than the sweetest display of affection.

“Gahahaha!! Man, that was perfect! Thanks for the meal!”

Tetsu-san burst out laughing, while Shin-kun shrugged and said, “Kazu, you’re already checkmated, man (lol).”

Marie-san pressed at the corners of her eyes and groaned, “Ugh, I’m such an idiot for not recording that ‘Idiot Kazuma’ just now!!”

“…Alright then. I think I’ll step out for a bit.”

Suddenly, Marie-san stood up.

“Huh? Marie-san, where are you going?”

When I asked, Marie-san gave me a grin. It was an attractive smile full of adult composure, something you wouldn’t expect from her usual rowdy self, and yet, somehow frightening.

“I’m going to take Haru-chan out for some girls’ talk. …A secret ‘life consultation’ that the boys aren’t allowed to hear.”

Leaving behind a wink, Marie-san took the hand of Shinonome-san, who still couldn’t lift her face, and half-dragged her out of the private room.

“Eh—ah… Kazu!?”

Her eyes looked to me for help. But Yuki-san followed with a gentle smile, saying, “I’ll come along too. Kazu-kun, please chat with the men for a little while,” and the door quietly closed.

Left behind were me, Genzo-san, Tetsu-san, and Shin-kun. And Kuma-san, who hadn’t said a word the whole time, but kept nodding deeply as he looked at me. The sweet-and-sour atmosphere from before vanished completely, replaced by a calm yet serious air of “men’s talk” among us.

“…Kazu-kun. Let’s have another drink. This time, let’s talk properly, man to man.”

Genzo-san handed me a glass filled with ice. Inside was nothing more than oolong tea, but right now, it felt heavier and more grown-up than any alcohol.

“…Yes. Please.”

Sensing the presence of my precious partner just beyond the door… I straightened my back and quietly took my first step onto the “next stage” the adults had prepared for me.

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