Ch.68 Going out with Kikyo-senpai ②

"I'm sorry, senpai. Wasn't that pretty difficult?"

"Seriously. It took a lot of courage for me to do it, you know."

I ask, feeling dazzled by the sunlight filtering through the trees lining the street.

Although I didn't specify , it seemed to get across to Kikyo-senpai perfectly well.

She slumped her shoulders and let out a deep sigh.

"The stares are so painful. I was seriously considering going home."

"Or rather, it's still happening now" said Kikyo-senpai, glancing around briefly and her cheeks twitching.

The detail goes without saying.

The amount of attention being paid to me.

Aside from people who were looking at their smartphones or something, almost everyone walking around looked back at me when they passed me.

Even celebrities don't attract this much attention.

By the way, it's not good to walk while using your smartphone.

"Has it always been like this?"

She asked with a timid look on her face.

"That's right. I think this is a typical anecdote for beautiful girls."

"Typical anecdote?"

"You see, students from other years and classes would randomly pass by my classroom, there were students who came all the way from another schools just to see me, and there was a student who pretended to have business with the person sitting next to me while casually taking a deep breath. Those kind of anecdotes"

"Uwah, so that kind of stuff actually happeー wait, that last part."

"It's surprisingly common."

I said, gazing into the distance.

They just casually looks right at me, flares their nose, and takes a deep breath.

And then they go home with a really big smile on their face.

What's more, it's not just boys that are doing it, which makes me feel a darker side to this.

Of course, Kaede, who was sitting next to me, was completely disgusted.

And when Kikyo-senpai heard this story, she was also shocked. lol.

I wonder how the two of them will react if I tell them that Sakura is also somewhat like that.

"...It must be hard to be popular."

"It's the sad fate of a beautiful girl."

"You say it yourself..."

"With this face and body, is there anyone who would believe me if I said, 'Oh, I'm not popular!'"

"Your tone of voice! ...But aren't there a lot of idols who say things like that?"

"Of course they're lying. Being an idol is the end result of girls who have become obsessed with the pride of being popular and an inflated desire for approval."

I give a serious answer to an innocent question.

"Eeek!" exclaims Kikyo-senpai in fear.

I wonder why Kikyo-senpai, who is a pure-bred woman, is the one who knows nothing about this.

... Ah, I see (remembering her childhood friend)

Given Kikyo-senpai's family circumstances and the fact that they were childhood friends, it was probably an unusual relationship.

Idols are just girls who are confident in themselves.

Well, in that sense, Vtubers are ideal.

Even girls who don't have confidence in themselves can take on the challenge, and as a fan, I think it's more worth supporting girls like that.

I'll admit there's a bit of bias though.

I'm not interested in real idols.

"By the way, Alphe--"

Kikyo-senpai, who was about to call my name, quickly shut her mouth.

"Oh, that was close. I was about to call your Vtiber name."

"Aria is fine."

"Eh? Is that okay?"

"Yes. It's my real name."

"Hmm, I see...! Is that s― your real name!?"

Kikyo-senpai's eyes widen in shock after her strangely happy reaction.

"Um, is that okay?"

"It can't be helped. Ouka accidentally called me by my real name."

"Wow, so that's how it happened. Ouka-chan... I'm sorry about my genmate."

“It’s not something you should be apologizing for. In any case, there is a risk involved, so I’ll call you “Senpai.”

"Oh, okay, I get it."

Why does she look a bit sad?

"It seems like you wanted to say something."

"Oh, that's right. Where are you planning on going today?"

"About that……"

As I'm thinking about it, I looked at Kikyo-senpai's outfit.

Even I could tell that it was out of fashion, and more than anything, I could tell at a glance that it was worn out.

Hasn't Kikyo-senpai just turned twenty years old now?

Even I thought it was strange to dress like that at that age.

That's why,

"Senpai, how much money do you bring today?"

It's a little hard to ask thia, but just in case.

Then Kikyo-senpai puffed out her chest with confidence.

"Since I'm going out with Alphe - Aria-chan today, I splurged and brought quite a bit!"

"Oh!"

Considering Kikyo-senpai's past, it could be 5000 yen... no, if she's being generous, I'd say 10,000 yenー

"Look, 1,000 yen!!!"

My whole being cried.

◇◆◇

For now, the initial plan has been decided.

Something needs to be done about this person's sense of money.

I often hear about ways to prevent excessive use, but I never imagined there could be cases where the opposite could happen.

Now that she's been freed from debt hell, she should acquire a normal sense of money and add some comfort to her life.

The place we headed to was a large shopping center with a variety of tenants.

First, we're going to arrange her clothing at the boutique there ー but...

"Senpai, aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

"E-e-e-even if you said that."

I couldn't help but give her a dirty look.

Kikyo-senpai held the bag tightly in both arms, as if she was determined not to let go.

"Such a large sum of money...! If I were to drop it or get it snatched, I'd be shocked to death!"

"It's 30,000 yen."

Yes, ever since she withdrew 30,000 yen from the bank, Kikyo-senpai had been like this ever since.

She was overly cautious of her surroundings and overly sensitive to everyone we passed, behaving so suspiciously that it made me wonder if she had stolen it.

"I wouldn't call it 'just', but from a working adult's perspective, I don't think it's that unusual."

I think it's perfectly appropriate if you're planning on going a little further away for fun on the weekend.

Even though I said that, Kikyo-senpai's behavior didn't change.

"But it's 30,000 yen! 30,000 yen is two months' worth of food expenses!"

"Two months..."

Umm, I'm sure Kikyo-senpai lived alone with her father, right?

So for two months, that would be about 500 yen per day?

For the two of them? ... For the two of them?!

"The world is cruel. The world is too cruel...!"

Oh no. I feel like I'm going to cry again.

Seriously, seeeriooously, something has to be done.

Actually, I feel bad for Kikyo-senpai, but her father is a toxic parent who has misunderstood kindness.

My current parent, who is related to me by blood, is also rare trash who get his son rock hard in front of his own daughter, but to be honest, I think her father is just as toxic of a parent, just in different directions.

I often hear stories of people dying as a result of helping others.

When it's about family, I don't think self-sacrifice should be made into an uplifting story.

In my head, Licia says "You're the one saying that? "

In my head, Kaguya-senpai: "(eye highlights off)"

Yes, as you'd expect...

So please forgive me for making some slight changes to "Twilight Aria."

Anyway, let's start with the clothes.

Pushing Kikyo-senpai who was taking heavy steps, we headed towards the apparel shop and spoke to the clerk.

"Excuse me, we have an emergency! Please help this person."

"Eh?" asked Kikyo-senpai.

"...! This is serious. I won't be able to do this alone. For this Goddess, I request your immediate support!"

"Eh?" asked Kikyo-senpai.

"This is the True Goddess. support request accepted, Sewer Rat-senpai."

"Please ー wait, did you just call me a sewer rat???"

After exchanging such messages over the radio, we exchanges looks with the store clerk who arrives later and sends Kikyo-senpai off to the fitting room.

I spoke to them with a sad look on my face.

"Ummm... Senpai is..."

The clerk looked puzzled, but nodded firmly.

"It's true that she is in serious condition. If we had been one step slower it would have been too late. And if it hadn't been at this time of day, we wouldn't have been able to call for help..."

"No way...!"

"ー But, not now! squeeze"

"squeeze"

"I promise I'll turn her into a stylish beauty."

"P-please... sensei!"

I bowed deeply.

Then, just before being slammed into the fitting room, Kikyo-senpai shouted.

"No, What kind of farce is this!?!?!"

squeeze.

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