Ch.31 Beware of The Happening Mass

ーWell, I guess it's fine.

In the first place, I just didn't want to be seen as patronizing her, but I had no intention of overly covering it up.

If I have the power, I will use it without hesitation when I need to.

Make a quick decision. It's nonsense to have to think of a reason every time you want to help someone.

And then there was Kikyo-senpai's reaction.

Maybe she'll just keep quiet.

Well, even if I were to confide in someone, the response would probably be something like, "... My brain!"

While I was thinking about this and skimming through social media, I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door slowly opens.

The person who appeared was Sakura.

"A- Aria. Umm, is the phone call over...?"

"Yup, as you can see. Sorry. Did I keep you waiting?"

Sakura shook her head.

"What are your plans after this?"

"Hmm, nothing in particular. I've finished all my tasks for today so I'm just going to laze around and then go to bed."

"So, um, do you want to play a game?"

Sakura timidly but with expectant eyes shows me the game package.

It's a party game for consumer that was just released recently.

"Okay. Come here."

"Yay."

She happily comes into the room, moving around like a small animal.

Since Sakura seemed to be in charge of preparing the game, I took out some drinks from the small fridge and put some bags of snacks that I had stuffed into a cardboard box on the table.

Sakura sits down next to me.

The distance between us is about the width of a softball.

Considering that when we first met, there were about half a person distance between us, I think we've become quite good friends.

It's really cute how she glances at me as if to say, "Is this distance okay...?"

"It's good to be able to play games with your family, right?"

"(Nod nod nod nod nod!) It was actually something I longed for a little bit."

"I understand~"

"Aria too? Even though you have two siblings?"

"Neither Shin-nii nor Mitsuki were the type to get absorbed in games. If it was a fighting game, I was the one who dominated. If it was a co-op game, I was basically the one taking care of them."

"Ah. Mom is not that good at it."

“But I think she has improved compared to before. Back then, she’d buy the same game as her favorite Vtuber because she was influenced by them, but then she'd give up and throw them to me soon after.”

"So that's how it was."

I was rushed into completing the game because she said she wanted to give advice to her favorite character.

So, after giving that advice with a smug look on her face, she got a serious warning after they judged it to be a spoiler and ended up bursting into tears.

That's what happens when you give advice when no one asked for it.

How nostalgic. It must be a dark history by now.

I can really feel the passage of time.

"In that respect, Sakura is the same type and at the same level as me, so I'm happy. It's fun playing together with you."

After all, the best part of a game is the repeated winning and losing.

By same type I mean that we like playing games but we're not as much of a heavy user.

We clear the game properly and defeat the final boss, but we don't complete any of the sub-events or fill out the encyclopedia.

Level means exactly that.

Sakura and my skill level... or should I say gaming IQ? -- is roughly around Platinum rank.

Well, I don't play FPS games at all, and I'm just a casual player who isn't particularly interested in online ranked matches, so I don't know the details.

Oh, by the way, this is how i feel about consumer games.

I'm confident that with VR games I can be virtually invincible, just like I was with "Korokoro Part-Time Worker."

"Uuu"

 Sakura blushed at my honest opinion.

"Oh, are you embarrassed?"

"I- I'm not embarrassed!"

"Eh... then maybe you're in love――"

"That's not the case at all!"

Phew, her timid appearance is cute too, but Sakura looks the best when she's screaming.

Also, she's able to speak out a lot louder than before.

The effects of having lessons with me almost every day are clearly evident.

When I asked Mitsuki yesterday, it seemed like the preparations were almost complete, so I think it's about time for that concert we talked about before.

"By the way, I'm collaborating with Suisen-senpai tomorrow. Do you have any advice for me?"

I ask while mashing buttons.

Sakura, who had been munching on some snacks, opened her eyes wide in shock.

"Eh? About Suisen...?"

The reaction is not like that of someone who is in the same gen.

Come to think of it, this girl is still reluctant to collaborate.

Since we live in the same house, she's fine collabing with me, but when it comes to others...

It seems like she's also thinking, "Something has to be done."

"I know Sakura doesn't collaborate much with your peers, but at least you communicate with them through text, right? You guys have your own discord server afterall."

Of course, since I have no genmate, I only have Prisma Ark's general server.

I had talked to Suisen-senpai there, but I still wanted to hear comments from her peers.

To me, the only image I have of the live streamer Yukino Suisen is that of a gloomy, mysterious girl.

I did look around at some clips, but I think my level of understanding is inferior to that of listeners who support the whole group.

All I know is that she has the most potential as a Vtuber out of all the members of "Autumn, Summer, Spring, Winter."

She's good at games, and her singing and dancing are at a pretty high level.

As expected, Momiji-senpai is still better at singing, but her other skills are disastrous.

"Hmm, hmm..."

Sakura becomes engrossed in her thoughts, thinking about things that only they know.

I was in the middle of a mini-game at the time, so I paused and waited for a reply.

"Um, well... I can only tell a little bit, is that okay?"

"Of course. It would be helpful if you could let me know."

"I- I understand. Well--"

Sakura slowly explains her thoughts about Suisen-senpai.

"Well, something like that... I guess."

"Hmm, that's surprising. So she's the type that cares about that sort of thing."

"And her parents are divorced."

"...You guys, isn't your divorce rate a bit too high?"

 [Sad news] Three out of four people in "Autumn, Summer, Spring, Winter" Have their parents divorced.

What about the home environment then?

Moreover, the only one whose parents still intact is Momiji-senpai.

"Even if you say that to us kids..."

"That's true. Incidentally, I have been subjected to sexual gazes from some men related to me, as well as from the servants who were involved in my education since I was a child."

"Eeek..."

If this was an ordinary girl, she would definitely have Androphobia.

I can't understand how that feels at all though.

"My voice, face and body are Tier SSS."

"You say that yourself."

"TS characters are destined to be born as extremely beautiful girls."

My silver hair is very conspicuous. And I had a loli figure.

I now have great style though.

My charming points are my voice, face, chest, waist, and plump thighs that are not too thick.

In fact, my entire body may be a charming point.

I won, I'm going to take a bath.

"...What's the inside though?"

"It might smell like an old man."

I lost.

No matter how SSS the exterior tier is, the contents are inferior.

"But I won this mini-game."

"Eh? ーAhh! That's cheating!"

And so the lively night continues.

Furthermore, due to Sakura's miraculous play, who ended up landing on a random square, all my assets were confiscated. The winner was an NPC.

No, after all that you're going to lose too?

◇◆◇

The next day.

"Hm! Welcome!"

Wow.

The one who greeted me with a downer voice but high spirits was a half-beast with pure white hair and lop-eared ears.

Her red eyes, which usually have a dim look by default, somehow seem to shine.

Maybe if I did some makeup - that is, updated her avatar - I'd make her look like a shiitake mushroom with a cross slit eyes in it.

Although she wasn't as young as Momiji-senpai, her body was slightly smaller than average and she was wearing a traditional Japanese outfit with a white and blue base.

By the way, her twin hills are slightly larger than average.

Transistor glamor ー Or something along those line.

Just as the name and the concept suggests.

She's a girl who looks good in the snow.

She is the last of "Autumn, Summer, Spring, and Winter," Yukino Suisen.

"This is the first time we've met. I'm Alpheria Linker. I look forward to meeting you today, Suisen-senpai."

"Hm!"

When I held out my right hand, she happily shook it back and shook it vigorously.

"Your excitement is really high."

I say with a wry smile.

From what I saw in the streams and clips, she was just as gloomy as she looked.

"Hm. I'm a fan of Alphery. A Reincarnator."

EhーAh, I see.

Come to think of it, my fan name was "Reincarnator."

I completely forgot about it because I just call them listeners normally.

It's a bit late now, but it's confusing.

They should have at least made him a reincarnated folk or something.

"I like people who shine. That debut stream. I was really moved."

Hmm, now that you mention it, I guess I should give her a fan service. That's what Idols do.

I took three steps back.

Take a light step and then make a graceful turn.

Rotation speed. Minute movements right down to the fingertips. Angle.

Everything is calculated and it's a perfect dance.

Hundreds, thousands of times, the movements were hammered into my body――no, into my soul, without a single flaw.

I was confident that I could reproduce the same movements no matter when or where, no matter how many times.

"---I'm your Valkyrie. Are you ready?"

I sing one phrase and then gives a big wink at the end.

"Whoooooaaaah!"

Suisen-senpai was waving her imaginary glowstick around with all her might.

She's an interesting woman.

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