What's Wrong With Interfering With My Childhood Friend's Love? - Chapter 26 : How Reality and Virtuality Overlap!

Chapter 26 : How Reality and Virtuality Overlap!

Hearing my words, Kozuka-san dropped the drink she was holding onto the floor. 

She visibly flinched and trembled, then shrank back as if trying to escape from me.

“N-na… Na!!”

“Wait, I didn’t mean to startle you that much.”

“How did you know…? Since when?”

“…Sorry, Rinrin. I know you have androphobia.”

[TL/N : Androphobia – Fear of Men]

The sheer honesty in her voice, confessing something most would try to hide, matched exactly with the Rinrin I knew.

I picked up the fallen drink and handed it to her, but her trembling hands made it hard to take, so I placed it beside her instead.

I intended to show that I had no hostility, but it was clear—she still had trouble with men.

Well, that made sense… After all, I had barely spoken to Kozuka-san today.

To her, I must have felt no different from a complete stranger.

“The voice… Yes, the voice! It should be different…!”

“Even if your voice is different, you can’t hide the fact that you’re androphobic.”

I wasn’t sure how exactly she had changed her voice, but her voice now was clearly different from when she was acting as Rinrin. The real reason I recognized her had nothing to do with the voice—but I chose to dodge the topic.

Unlike Amagishi, I was a coward.

As soon as I spoke, Kozuka-san, who had been trying to keep some distance, suddenly turned deathly pale.

“That’s true… but… everyone said I was just lying….”

I see. Looking back at the time Rinrin got caught up in controversy, she must have been torn apart by those accusations.

I had said it offhandedly, but it turned out to be an unexpected stroke of luck.

“Well, I’m a fan who always believed in Rinrin.”

“…A fan?”

“Yeah. I never blindly believed what the haters said.”

“You… still…?”

Kozuka-san looked at me as if she were seeing something unbelievable.

Huh? I had been avoiding social media, but had the backlash been even worse than I imagined?

Or perhaps—

“Rinrin, did you… read the tweets from your fans?”

“…Yeah. Because… they’re all important opinions.”

“Are you serious…?”

“I read them all… so… please… don’t hate me…”

Her voice trembled as she spoke, on the verge of tears.

I had assumed she hadn’t been looking at them.

Since she was naturally timid, I thought she would have turned away from it.

Until today, I knew Rinrin hadn’t tweeted anything at all.

So I had assumed—wrongly—that she was okay.

But when I looked deeper, it was the worst-case scenario.

Rinrin’s streaming platform had a feature called “Memberships.”

It was a paid subscription meant for dedicated fans, but that wasn’t the problem.

That streaming platform had integrated multiple SNS features, including one that allowed streamers to filter tweets so only subscribed members could see them.

A sorting tool for influencers, basically.

At first glance, filtering tweets to avoid third parties or haters seemed like a reasonable idea.

However — ex-fans who turned into haters were the exception.

I knew of at least one case like that — Akito.

Although Akito never became a full-blown anti-fan, his distrust toward Rinrin was clear.

He hadn’t posted anything or moved on to another streamer, meaning his account remained inactive.

Still, he had confided his doubts to me in private.

If even former fans could unintentionally hurt someone with casual tweets—

Then full-on hate tweets were undeniably weapons.

Social media was filled with those kinds of threats.

The best way to deal with them was to ignore them completely.

That’s what I had done.

I had decided to ignore everything except Rinrin’s tweets.

As a fan, even if those words weren’t directed at me, they were hard to digest.

And worst of all—

Someone might start believing in baseless rumors just because they saw them enough times.

It’s not impossible for a fan to suddenly turn against someone they once supported.

For the person being attacked, it must be unbearable.

Despite being pushed this far, she had managed to suppress all of that pain today.

No—

It was probably because she had been having fun in the real world that she was able to forget about social media.

And when she remembered it again, the emotional backlash must have been devastating.

That meant—this was my fault.

And I had to take responsibility.

“It’s okay, Rinrin. The tweets you see aren’t everything.”

“…Huh?”

“There are still plenty of fans who love and support you.”

“Really…? Where…?”

“For example, Akito—the guy you paired up with — he’s still your fan, too.”

“…He is?”

Of course, that was a lie.

But as soon as I mentioned Akito’s name, she calmed down, as if she could finally process my words.

‘I see… What Kozuka-san needs right now is someone she can rely on.’

I thought it was too soon for her to have feelings for Akito, but—

Maybe in her desperate state, he had become a source of hope.

If that was the case, I had no reason not to use it.

“That’s right. So you have to trust your fans, too.”

“Trust them… but—”

“They’re all waiting for some kind of sign from you. Seeing you sad like this makes me sad, too. And I bet if Akito were here instead of me, he’d feel the same way.”

“Akito… would… too?”

As expected, she reacted to his name.

If much of what she saw was false, then I just had to replace it with a new truth.

“Yeah. That’s why I think you should let your fans know you’re okay.”

“Let them… know?”

“Just tell them you’re doing fine. I’m sure you’ll get tons of replies from fans who still believe in you.”

“…Okay.”

Without hesitation, Kozuka-san pulled out her phone and started typing a tweet.

I hadn’t meant for her to do it immediately, but it was better sooner than later.

That’s how desperate she must have been.

“Ah… they’re really… still here for me…”

“See? They’re all supporting you.”

Rinrin had a large following, so replies flooded in within seconds.

Since it had been a while since her last tweet, her most dedicated fans were naturally quick to respond.

I also sent a simple “Welcome back” from my own account.

Even my reply got replies.

Yeah, it is best to ignore them for now.

Whether they were positive or negative, it made no difference.

Casually, I turned off my social media notifications.

“Um… Kaidou-san.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Akito-san’s account… which one is it?”

Wait—not words of gratitude, but that?!

I was a fan, too, so I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by her reaction.

But—if she was feeling better, then that was enough.

A true fan supports without expecting anything in return.

Still—if she got too forward about her feelings, even her fans might not take it well.

Best to keep it subtle.

“Sorry. Even as a fan, I can’t just tell you that without permission.”

“I see…”

“If you want to know, you’ll have to ask him yourself. If you reveal that you’re Rinrin, he’ll probably answer right away.”

If she did that, Akito would have no choice but to say he was her fan.

He had a weakness for cute girls.

Even Ayase Iyo, whom he should have called out directly, had gotten off easy.

So no matter how much I lied, he would have to play along.

“Right now… it’s embarrassing… but someday… if we get closer…”

“Yeah, you can do that. Well then, I should get going.”

“Huh…?”

“This is taking longer than I expected. If Amagishi asks what I was doing, I won’t have a good excuse.”

“O-okay. Kaidou-kun… thanks…”

As I turned my back, Kozuka-san murmured a quiet word of gratitude.

I pretended not to hear it.

But truthfully—maybe I was happy.

Because to me, Rinrin was more than just a character.

She was someone I truly cared about.

☆☆☆☆☆☆

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TL : zenon_xt