Chapter 247 - A Message from Four to Four
"—Okay, that's enough. If you say that one more time, I'm going to get genuinely angry."
"Ehh…?"
It was a ridiculously surreal situation she couldn't have imagined even yesterday. Hiding a friend who became a global celebrity overnight—a sudden, dramatic turn of events straight out of a story.
Kaede slipped away from the group discussing 'his' future, and as she prepared snacks and more drinks for what was sure to be a long haul, she gave her clingy older sister a look of uncharacteristic coldness.
"We're not dating, and I don't have a crush on him. It's not that I'm unworthy… it's just that Haru—I mean, Nozomi-kun is just a very dear friend."
It was probably the first time her sister had seen her interact with a boy like that, so she couldn't blame her for getting the wrong idea.
Still, she wished her sister would just believe her after she'd said 'no' once.
They weren't lovers, nor did she have any romantic feelings for him—after last night, that was the only 'truth' in her heart.
She thought he was a wonderful person.
She even thought he was a charming boy.
But her feelings had never developed into anything special; that was the simple fact. On top of that, if he had now become more of a 'favorite' to her than a friend—
"I can say this with certainty: I will absolutely never be in that kind of relationship with Nozomi-kun."
A person she wanted to watch over. A person she wanted to cheer for. A person she wanted to see succeed—and Kaede's desired position in all of this was none other than on the 'outside.'
The proof was that, despite being able to have her wish granted, she chose to watch that virtual world as a spectator rather than a player.
Kaede simply wanted to watch that dreamlike world… to watch the adventurers within it from the outside. To watch, to cheer, and to receive just a little bit of their 'passion.'
That was her own way of connecting with [Arcadia].
And now that Nozomi had entered that framework as [Haru], Kaede would not cross the line she had drawn for herself.
She wouldn't deny those who dreamed of that sort of thing… but at the very least, Kaede had no desire to step between the hero of the story and his heroine—
In other words,
"I, the outsider, don't matter…! Is it Ui-sama, or is it Iris-sama…?!"
Without a thought for anything else, the most important thing to her right now was who the heroine for her favorite protagonist (Haru) would be—
"…I don't really get it, but, Kaede?"
"What is it now? I'm busy…!"
Her sister, slightly taken aback by her younger sibling's unusual excitement, gestured with her finger. Kaede followed her gaze—
Her sister must have brought it in from the entranceway where she'd left it. On the living room sofa, inside her bag, the screen of her phone was lit up, announcing an 'Incoming Call.'
These days, it was rare for anyone to call out of the blue.
Family and friends, unless it was an emergency, would just send a message. Having never even had a part-time job, the only people who would contact her, besides school-related matters, were—
"—…"
A bad feeling washed over her, and she scrambled for her phone before the call could end.
Sure enough, displayed on the screen was a familiar number that the well-behaved young lady had dutifully saved.
The contact name was that of the university she and her friends attended.
What could it be? Before she could even form the natural question, an unidentifiable, indescribable anxiety filled her chest.
She had already called in absent for the day. So, what reason could the school have for contacting her now?
"…H-hello?"
She decisively tapped the call icon and put the phone to her ear. Her sister was meddlesome and attention-seeking, but not inconsiderate. As she started the call, her sister quietly moved away. Watching her go, Kaede sat down on the sofa.
"—This is Kunori from the university. Am I speaking with Shijo Kaede-san?"
"—…Yes, this is Shijo."
It was a woman's voice she'd never heard before. But the name was familiar. Flustered by the call from such an important figure, she exchanged a greeting or two—
"…!"
Haruka Nozomi—as expected, the name came up in conversation, and she instinctively held her breath.
—He's been absent from lectures since this morning.
—We can't get in touch with him.
—Do you know his whereabouts?
Every part of the conversation was just as she had predicted.
In other words, it was probably that kind of thing.
It was hard to imagine a university—an educational institution—capturing a player and doing something to them.
So, to make an extremely convenient assumption… perhaps the school, having quickly grasped the situation like they had, was moving to protect its student.
Conversely, a more realistic assumption was—they were 'relaying' a message they had received from somewhere else.
Either way, it wasn't a bad thing.
But if it was one of those two options—it meant that, beyond any doubt, Nozomi's identity had been exposed to others besides them.
"………………"
Again, there were no 'bad guys' in this exchange.
Her feeling of being interrogated for some reason,
her throat being inexplicably parched,
her restless heartbeat—all of it could be called meaningless, self-imposed tension.
But still,
"Um…! Why are you asking me?"
Before deciding whether or not to reveal his location as requested, she figured that finding out the reason for the call would be for his benefit. With that in mind, Kaede voiced her question.
"Shijo-san and Kasuga-san are in a close group of friends—"
"Y-yes."
"We received information that you are not just friends… but are in a relationship."
"Wha—"
An utterly unexpected, massive bombshell exploded.
What?
No, we're not?
Where did you get that information?
She consciously swallowed the shock that almost burst forth in her surprise.
"That is……………—correct."
Shijo Kaede was no fool. Thanks to her upbringing, she had a certain confidence in her ability to think on her feet and other such things.
"—Is there something you need from Haru-kun? He's tired from yesterday's events, so if it's all the same to you, I can pass on a message."
There was no point in hiding it now. Assuming the school was correctly aware of his situation, she chose her words carefully—words that could easily be explained away even if it turned out to be a misunderstanding on her part.
At the very least, this would allow her to determine whether they truly knew or not.
And if they did know about him, any related business would surely have a degree of confidentiality. To get them to talk, being just his 'girlfriend' wouldn't be enough.
But with her previous words, if she could make them mistakenly believe that Shijo Kaede was a 'very close girlfriend' who understood Haru Kasuga's situation completely—
"In that case, could I ask you to relay a message?"
"Yes, of course."
The position of being the girlfriend of a player who was being contacted by some organization. Add to that the credibility of the 'Shijo' name… even if the matter was confidential, it wouldn't be difficult to get them to disclose a simple message.
And so, the young lady, who had succeeded in her little scheme more easily than she'd thought, heard—
"To Kasuga Nozomi-san—we have a request to forward a message from 'Yotsuya Development.'"
"—………………Wha…?"
At the name of the 'other party' spoken through the phone, all she could do was let out a stunned voice… and from her limp hand, the device slipped and fell with a soft thud.
The cause of the couple suspicion was those guys who were smirking while creating an awkward 3-to-2 distance.