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

“…S-sorry to keep you waiting…”

Today, as I mentioned yesterday, is the day of my date with Sayaka-chan. Instead of her usual pajamas or school uniform, she’s dressed up a little.

She’s wearing a black dress with a small shoulder bag.

“Um…h-how is it? I tried my best to look fashionable…”

“…”

She really is cute. I remember she got a lot of confessions from people at school, right?

She gets teased sometimes for her different hairstyle, but deep down, she’s serious and a really good girl.

“A-um, Eiji-san…if you stare at me like that, I’ll get embarrassed…”

“Oh, sorry. You just looked so cute, I couldn’t help it.”

“W-what!? J-just don’t say stuff like that in public! …If we were alone though…maybe you could say it more…”

“Huh?”

“Ugh! Let’s go already!”

Annoyed at my reaction, Sayaka-chan grabs my hand and pulls me along.

…For some reason, her hand felt really hot at that moment.

◇

“So, is there anywhere you’d like to go first?”

“Well…yeah, there are lots of places I want to visit with you, Eiji-san. You’ll come along with me, right?”

Her cheeks are still red, but she’s slowly returning to her usual self, flashing a small mischievous smile.

Well, we have plenty of time, but more than that…

“I feel like people are staring at us…”

Most of the stares are directed at Sayaka-chan, though.

If I listen carefully, I can hear things like “Wow, she’s gorgeous…” and “Her chest is huge…” Some people are even staring in awe.

She’s as beautiful as Kanna-san, so it makes sense.

…Though, because of that, all the looks I get are filled with jealousy.

“People sure are staring. I wonder what they think? Oh, maybe they think we’re a couple?”

“W-well…I don’t think so. It’s more like we look like siblings or something…”

“Eiji-san, you really are clueless.”

“Huh? Whoa!?”

She tightens her grip, and I notice her looking at me with a slight glare. Huh? What did I do?

“Sigh…Oh well. Since it’s a date with you, Eiji-san, I’ll make the most of it!”

With that, Sayaka-chan pulls me into a shopping mall.

◇

“First, let’s grab something to eat!”

She leads us to a ramen shop inside the mall.

“You sure have a big appetite for the morning.”

“What are you talking about? This is barely enough to fill me.”

“Is that so…”

Her usual large appetite leaves me speechless.

We sit down and open the menu to decide what to order.

“What are you having, Eiji-san? I’m thinking of getting the extra-large miso ramen with lots of pork.”

“Um…I’ll go with the regular soy sauce ramen.”

Apparently, you can order with an AI now, so Sayaka-chan quickly inputs the order on the tablet at the table.

“Oh, Eiji-san, can I have a bite of your soy sauce ramen? I’ll give you some of my miso ramen in exchange.”

“Sure…but don’t take too much, okay?”

“Eiji-san, what do you think I am…?”

Sayaka-chan shoots me a side-eye. I ignore it.

“Hey! You just looked away! This! This is your punishment!!”

“Ouch, ouch! Sayaka-chan, my cheek! It hurts!”

“That’s what you get for thinking I’d take too big of a bite! Accept your punishment with gratitude!”

“It hurts! I didn’t even say that much!”

As we’re playfully arguing, the food arrives. My regular-sized ramen and…Sayaka-chan’s enormous miso ramen.

“Alright, here you go, Eiji-san.”

“Huh? Oh, thanks.”

I take a bite of the miso ramen she ordered.

Hmm…it’s a classic, but it’s really good.

“Now give me yours, Eiji-san. It’s an exchange.”

“Alright, alright. Just give me a second.”

She eagerly watches as I pick up a bite of my ramen with my chopsticks and pass it to her.

“Okay, say ahh.”

“Ahh…mmm, it’s delicious…”

Huh? What’s going on? She suddenly froze like time stopped.

As I look at her, I take a bite of my own ramen.

“Ah…a-ahh…!”

Now she’s acting all fidgety, her face turning bright red as she glances between her chopsticks and me.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Y-yeah…I will.”

Sayaka-chan slowly starts slurping her ramen.

…Despite that, she’s eating it surprisingly fast.

Once we finish eating, we continue exploring the mall together.

As for how Sayaka-chan was acting during that time…well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.

◇

“Eiji-san, look! Look at this cute outfit!”

Afterward, Sayaka-chan’s energy returned, and she got excited about everything.

She tried on lots of clothes, dressed up, played tons of games at the arcade—though she lost badly, probably because it was her first time—and sparkled with excitement when she found her favorite manga and books.

…But.

“Okay, I’m done. Let’s go to the next place!”

She puts the items back where she found them and heads to the next section.

“Hey, Sayaka-chan. Aren’t there any things you want? You haven’t bought anything. Is that okay?”

“Huh? Oh…yeah, you’re right…”

Her answer sounded hesitant, which made me curious.

“Is there a reason?”

“Well, it’s not that, but…can you promise not to laugh?”

“Huh? Sure.”

“It’s just…it feels like a waste.”

“A waste?”

“Yeah. I mean, sure, there are cute things and things that catch my eye, but…we’re pretty poor, right? So I feel like buying stuff is kind of a waste…”

…I see. She and Kanna-san don’t have any family they can rely on, so they’re probably living frugally.

“I see…you’re really kind, Sayaka-chan.”

“Huh? Am I?”

“Yeah. You could’ve bought something, but you didn’t because you’re thinking of your sister, right? That’s really kind of you.”

“…R-really? Hehe.”

She smiles shyly. Was she really that happy?

“When I told people about this before, they laughed at me or teased me, so…it didn’t feel great…But…”

Her grip on my hand tightens.

“But hearing that from you, Eiji-san…someone I admire…makes me really happy…!”

“I see.”

Her words bring a smile to my face.

“Well, I’ve got good news for you, Sayaka-chan.”