Provocative-Style Game Streamer (20 years old) Accidentally Reveals His Kind Personality Due To Forgetting To End The Stream. - Chapter 15: Park At Night.

Park At Night.

“Hey…?”

It was 20:50, just 10 minutes before Haruto’s shift ended.

Ayaya, with her beautiful milky tea-colored hair and translucent cherry blossom-colored eyes, seemed a bit hesitant as she approached Haruto, who was standing at the register with a stylish paper bag, possibly from shopping somewhere.

Compared to usual, she seemed a little reserved…

“Yeah… When you act all embarrassed like that, it puts me in a difficult spot too, you know?”

“Y-You worked hard for this! But, this isn’t the right time to bring it up, right!?”

“Ah, ahaha. Sorry, sorry.”

Neither of them had forgotten. No, it was something that couldn’t be forgotten.

Haruto knew that Ayaya had feelings for him, and Ayaya knew that her feelings for Haruto had been exposed.

It was all because of that love consultation they had, which led to this strange relationship between them.

“So, what drink would you like to order? I can make it for you now.”

“Y-Yeah. Then… a large hot almond latte, please.”

“Got it. A large hot almond latte.”

“Oh, and could you also draw an illustration and write a message…?”

“Hey… If you don’t come at me all assertive like usual, I’ll really start getting conscious of it too.”

“It’s impossible not to be conscious of it!”

Ayaya blushed, her face standing out against her fair skin.

Even so, she was doing her best to “act as usual.”

During their game, she even said, “My face is turning bright red… I don’t think I can face Haruto-san anymore…”

Haruto responded with a calm smile. 

“If the roles were reversed, I’m sure Haruto-san, you would react the same way… Absolutely!”

“I wonder about that…”

With a composed reply, Haruto turned his back and started preparing the ordered drink.

First, he focused on fulfilling the request for an illustration and message.

With trembling hands, as if enduring the embarrassment, he wrote:

“Hi, Shirayuki-san! Thanks for your hard work. Let’s fight on next time!”

He didn’t mention “streaming” so that it would be fine if anyone sees it. Then, he proceeded to draw the illustration.

He put in his best effort to draw a hamster (though it didn’t quite resemble one).

Now, all that was left was to make the almond latte.

“Oh, Shirayuki-san. I forgot to mention earlier, but don’t worry about the money. You came all the way here on your day off, so let me treat you.”

“Don’t worry so much! Haruto-san, you also have a sister to take care of, right? It’s fine!”

“Oh, I can’t hear your voice all of a sudden…”

“Wow, what a terrible act…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I just want to treat you, that’s all.”

With a playful remark, Haruto completed the transaction, making sure not to forget to put 510 yen on his palm.

Since the payment hadn’t been processed yet, there was a discrepancy in the amount for one drink. However, as long as the money was deposited before closing, there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Alright, I’ll make it right away, so wait for me.”

“Ugh… So pushy!”

“Ahaha.”

“But, thank you…”

“You’re welcome.”

While Haruto started making the drink, Ayaya glanced at him and murmured to herself after a while.

“I envy Haruto-san’s sister…”

A figure that receives affection. Ayaya, being an only child, longed for a kind older brother or sister.

These interactions were precious to her.

***

“No, even now, I can’t believe it. That you, Shirayuki-san, is Ayaya-san.”

“If you say that, then I feel the same. It’s too perfect for a coincidence.”

After finishing their shift around 9:00 p.m., Haruto and Ayaya sat on a bench in a nearby park, engaging in casual conversation.

“I’m going to ask you now, but you didn’t know I was Ayaya, did you? Oni-chan… I mean Haruto-san?”

“I had no clue at all. I didn’t think Ayaya-san was a college student, and I had a preconceived notion that she lived in a different region due to her dialect. Also, I didn’t call you ‘Aya-san,’ but ‘Shirayuki-san.'”

“Haha, I see!”

While their voices did sound similar, that alone wasn’t enough for Haruto to make the connection. As he had been focused on continuing his provocative streaming style, there had been no significant interactions with Ayaya as a streamer.

“But, our assumptions were similar! I also didn’t think Oni-chan was such a young person. Appearance-wise, you look like you’re in your twenties, right?”

“I’m 20 years old.”

“Huh!? So, you’re only two years younger than me!?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Why do you seem so mature then?”

“Haha, even if you ask me that…”

Perhaps Ayaya admired being ‘mature,’ as she leaned forward, seeking advice with a serious expression.

With her face coming close, Haruto subtly distanced himself, conveying his thoughts indirectly.

“Maybe it’s because of the family environment. Shirayuki-san, you probably know, but now I’m living with my younger sister.”

“Ah, let’s drop that topic!”

“It’s okay, really. I’ve come to terms with the fact that my parents are gone.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So, Aya-san, you moved to Tokyo, and you’re living alone now…?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty tough… Now that I live alone, I realize how great my parents were.”

“I can understand that. I have a lot of respect for parents who earn a living, do housework, and take care of their children.”

“Even though they must be tired, they rarely show their fatigue, right!?”

“That’s true!”

Haruto, who lost his parents, and Aya, who moved away from her parents to attend university, have completely different environments, but they shared similar feelings.

They chatted about each other’s family situations for a while, and before they knew it, twenty minutes had passed.

“Alright then, let’s save the rest of that conversation for another day and get back to the main topic.”

“Yeah! We’ll talk about our private stuff another time!”

Haruto couldn’t leave Aya alone at a late hour since she lived alone. Feeling that way, he smoothly transitioned to the main topic, and she nodded in agreement.

“So, the main topic is about today’s incident, right? But neither of us really faced any major backlash.”

“Mmm!”

“Huh?”

Seeing her uttering an onomatopoeia and her large eyes narrowing slightly, he was puzzled.

“Haruto-san, you did face some backlash, didn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t call it a ‘backlash’ from my perspective. I’ve gotten used to it.”

“Hehe, but generally, it was a backlash.”

Naturally, Aya responded, handing him a stylish paper bag.

“Haruto-san, thank you so much for today.”

“Huh? Uh, why are you thanking me? What’s this?”

“It’s macarons, cookies, and baumkuchen. They’re Western confections. You can share them with your younger sister.”

“Why, why again… And these are branded products…”

He didn’t examine the contents closely, but they were probably worth around 10,000 yen.

As it wasn’t something he would normally buy, he carefully placed the bag on his knees and tilted his head in confusion.

“But I don’t understand… I haven’t really done anything to deserve thanks, right? If anything, I should be apologizing for this whole incident.”

“That’s not true at all…”

“Huh?”

The night breeze blew, and Ayaya stood up.

She took a small step, then turned back and looked at him.

“At that time… When we were discussing the possibility of backlash, didn’t you say to me, ‘I will definitely protect Shirayuki-san, so don’t worry’?”

“Aha, ahaha… You mean that… But that’s my responsibility, you know?”

“No! It’s not just Oni-chan’s fault because I initiated the VC conversation. The whole responsibility isn’t on Oni-chan.”

Ayaya had thought it through thoroughly before expressing her gratitude this way.

By spending 10,000 yen, she wanted to show just how grateful she felt for him.

“Haruto-san, you’re using the money you earned from streaming to support your sister’s education, right? Yet, you still tried to protect me… That’s not something just anyone would do.”

“Well, I can’t say that for sure. With my streaming style, there’s always a possibility of making a comeback, and even if I couldn’t stream, I could work hard and make it through. It’s not as difficult as it seems.”

Haruto tried to counter with a hint of embarrassment, but Aya understood what he really meant. He casually mentioned things that weren’t easy to achieve.

“Then, what about you protecting me?”

“…”

“Haruto-san, you understood what I meant, right? How you protected me when I relied on streaming for my living and to go to university.”

Silence.

“Okay, I’ll talk alone then.”

Ignoring Haruto’s defensiveness, Ayaya continued speaking.

“Well, I don’t know anything about your sister, but I’m sure she must like you too!”

“Hold on. Why does your version involve me liking my sister? I mean…”

“I won’t fall for that act. I know what ‘Oimo_daisuki’ means.”

“That… It’s supposed to be ‘daisukiyo’… I meant it more as a joke.”

“Oh, really?”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

With a teasing smile, Ayaya noticed the overflowing sense of enjoyment in Haruto’s reaction and averted her gaze. She was aware that he was being attacked on social media.

“Well, I’ll stop here.”

Without pushing further, she conveyed her feelings one last time.

“Hey, Haruto-san.”

“Yeah?”

“I was really happy about what happened today. I still think you’re really cool, Haruto-san.”

“…”

“So, I want to learn from you and become someone who can protect others when the time comes. Become someone who can protect… protect…”

“…”

Silence.

More silence followed, and Aya suddenly realized what she had said.

Trembling, blushing, and gesturing with her hands, she spoke quickly, “Umm, d-don’t misunderstand! Th-this isn’t a confession! It’s just how I feel! I mean, if I were to confess, I’d want to meet your sister first!”

“Of course, I didn’t misunderstand, but more importantly, it ended up being the least graceful ending…”

“D-don’t be mean!”

In the nighttime park, the two of them engaged in a conversation resembling that of a couple, wrapped in embarrassment.