The Story About How I Was Fired From My Company and Then Picked up by a Possessive Streamer With Over 5 Million Subscribers - Chapter 114-115

Chapter 114: Threats

“…Wait a minute.”

For the first time that day, a note of panic could be heard in the flashy girl’s voice. Rinmei smirked slightly, while Haruka, watching them, remained stunned.

“Where did you get that?”

“…From someone my sister knows. She has a wide network of connections. I asked her to help me look into a few things.”

In truth, Rinmei had been gathering various pieces of information and photos to prepare for dealing with the flashy girl, with the help of Sayaka—or more precisely, Sayaka’s friend.

Rinmei remembered Sayaka’s distant gaze as she had said, “There are people out there with hobbies like that…”

“…And this isn’t all. Look, here’s something else.”

As Rinmei scrolled through her phone, she showed a series of pictures to the girl.

“…You criticize Haruka, but you’re much more lenient when it comes to yourself, aren’t you?”

The usual Rinmei would’ve been met with anger or mockery, but now the flashy girl’s face was pale. It was an unusual sight.

Curious, Haruka leaned over to look at the phone.

“…W-What is this? Why is she with such an older man?”

“…Exactly. In short, that’s the kind of thing she’s been involved in. Compared to Haruka, she’s the one doing questionable things.”

The photos on Rinmei’s phone were shocking. Each one showed the flashy girl with unknown men, mostly in their 40s and 50s, accepting money from them.

“…Is this what they call ‘sugar dating’? Honestly, I think you’re the gross one here.”

Rinmei turned off her phone, her gaze fixed firmly on the girl.

“…What do you think would happen if this ended up on social media? Instagram? This school uses those apps a lot, so a ton of people would see it. And once it’s out in the open, there’d be no way to cover it up. Isn’t this what they call a checkmate?”

“You! How dare you! Do you think you’ll get away with this!?”

“…Whether it’s cowardly or not doesn’t matter to me. I just can’t forgive someone who hurts my friend. That’s all there is to it.”

Her words were devoid of emotion, yet there was an overwhelming intensity behind them. That pressure began to gnaw at the flashy girl.

“…What do you want?”

Her voice was defiant, but her trembling arms betrayed her fear.

Rinmei, calm and composed, stated her demand plainly.

“…Never involve yourself with us again. I don’t care what you think about us. I have no time to waste on that.”

“…F-Fine. I won’t bother you anymore. So, those photos…”

“…I’m not deleting them. I can’t trust what you might do. But don’t worry. I’m good at keeping secrets. Let’s just pretend none of this ever happened.”

Rinmei walked past the flashy girl, who stood frozen, and headed toward the door.

“…Haruka. Let’s go.”

“Ah… O-Okay.”

Snapping out of her daze, Haruka followed Rinmei, and the two left the classroom together.

“…Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT!”

The flashy girl’s angry screams echoed through the empty classroom.

“…That little brat… She’ll regret ever crossing me! I’ll make her pay!”

She stormed out of the room, muttering threats under her breath.

Despite Rinmei’s confidence, the flashy girl was far more tenacious than she seemed.

Left behind in the now-empty classroom was only a lingering sense of unease and foreboding.

—

Chapter 115: A Selfish Friend Who Helps You

Leaving school, Haruka and Rinmei walked home together for the first time in a long while.

Rinmei seemed happy to be walking home with Haruka again, her steps light and cheerful.

“Um, hey, Rinmei-chan?”

“Hm? What’s up, Haruka?”

Rinmei turned to face Haruka, who looked like she wanted to ask something but couldn’t quite find the words.

“It’s okay. You can ask me anything.”

“Oh… okay, then.”

Encouraged by Rinmei’s words, Haruka finally asked her question.

“Why… why did you help me?”

“…?”

“Wh-why do you look so confused!?”

“I don’t really understand what you mean. I just did what anyone would do.”

“Th-that’s nice to hear, but… still… Didn’t you feel anything after hearing my secret?”

“… Honestly.”

“H-honestly?”

“I… didn’t think you were the type to break school rules. That was unexpected. A delinquent, even.”

“Did you really need to go that far!?”

Haruka protested at the sudden insult, bewildered by the behavior of someone who had just gone out of their way to help her.

“… I’m kidding. Just a little joke.”

“A little joke…?”

“I figured there must’ve been a reason for what you were doing, so it didn’t really surprise me. Well… I was a bit surprised when I first heard it.”

“I don’t know whether to feel happy or not…”

Haruka couldn’t feel fully happy because of Rinmei’s unnecessary comments, even though the sentiment itself was reassuring.

Still, deep down, she felt relieved and happy that Rinmei treated her the same as always.

“… Haruka, you said you were thinking about quitting school. Is that true?”

“Oh… yeah. I feel bad for my mom and dad, but I’ve been thinking that’s what I want to do.”

Haruka spoke with a liberated expression, as if free from some burden.

“Actually, the manager at work officially asked me to take on a job there. I turned it down because of school, but now… I think I might give it a try.”

“I see. That’s amazing, Haruka. You’re a genius.”

“Haha… Thanks, Rinmei-chan.”

“Then I’ll quit school too.”

“What!? No, no, no! You can’t do that!”

“… But I realized something. Being in school leaves me with so little time to sing… and it’s stressful.”

“W-well, I understand how you feel, but… are you sure about that?”

“… I’ll expose the school’s corruption, convince Kanna, and figure something out. Absolutely.”

“Is that really the best idea…?”

Couldn’t she just transfer schools instead? Haruka secretly thought to herself.

It would be such a waste. Rinmei was smart, talented at singing, and as a content creator, her skills were incredible.

To Haruka, it seemed unthinkable for someone with such talent to quit school.

As if reading her thoughts, Rinmei spoke up.

“… I want to decide my own path and pursue what I want to do. I don’t want to have regrets.”

“… Rinmei-chan.”

Those words struck Haruka as undeniably cool. Compared to her own rash idea, Rinmei’s conviction felt dozens of times more impressive. For some reason, Rinmei’s back looked larger, more reliable.

“… Oh, right, Haruka.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“… How much debt do you have?”

“Eh? Well… it’s… in the hundreds of thousands…”

“I see. I’ll pay it off. I think I can cover it.”

“W-what!? No, that’s not okay! You’ve already helped me so much!”

“… But I’ll pay it anyway.”

“No! I can’t let you do that! I can’t repay you for something like that… I just can’t!”

“… Then I’ll tell everyone at school you were working.”

“W-wait, no!!”

“I’ll force you to let me pay it. I know I’m selfish, but I don’t want my friend to suffer.”

This was Rinmei’s way of expressing her feelings.

Haruka couldn’t deny that she felt guilty. Even though she had betrayed Rinmei, Rinmei still wanted to support her, no matter what.

“… But, really—”

“Then let’s make a deal.”

“… A deal?”

“… Just stay friends with me. I’d feel lonely without you, Haruka.”

“… There’s no way I could say no to that.”

“… Good. Then I’ll insist on paying off the debt.”

“E-eh… Can’t we work something out?”

“… No. That’s just how I am.”

Selfish and seemingly unchanging, Rinmei’s face rarely betrayed her emotions.

But to Haruka, Rinmei was a treasured friend who had come to her aid time and time again.

That was who Rinmei Sumeragi was to Haruka.

And so, the two of them walked home together, heading back to their respective houses.

A few days later, Rinmei disappeared.