kscans

Chapter 247 - A Message from Four to Four

"—Alright, that's it. If you say that again, I'm going to get really angry."

"Eeeh...?"

An unbelievable, joke-like, extraordinary day that she hadn't even imagined yesterday. The sudden, dramatic turn of events, like a scene from a story: 'hiding a friend who became a world-famous celebrity overnight.'

Kaede slipped away from the circle discussing 'his' future to prepare snacks and more drinks for the long haul ahead—and shot a cold glare, uncharacteristic of her, at her clingy older sister.

"We're not lovers, and I don't have a one-sided crush. That would be far too presumptuous... that's not it. Nozomi-kun is just a dear friend."

It was probably the first time her sister had seen her interacting with a boy like that, so it was understandable that some misunderstanding arose.

But if she said 'that's not it' once, she wished her sister would just believe her.

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 had thought he was a wonderful person.

She had thought he was a charming boy.

But her feelings hadn't developed into anything special; that was the simple fact. On top of that, he had now become more of a 'favorite' than a friend, so—

"I can say with certainty that Nozomi-kun and I will never be in that kind of relationship."

Someone she wanted to watch over. Someone she wanted to cheer for. Someone she wanted to see succeed—and Kaede's desired position in all of this was none other than on the 'outside.'

Despite having the means to make it happen if she wished, she chose to be a spectator rather than a player in that virtual world. That was the proof.

Kaede simply wanted to watch that dream-like world... to watch the adventurers who journeyed there, from the outside. To watch, to cheer, and to receive just a little bit of their 'passion.'

That was her way of interacting 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 insert herself between the hero and heroine of a story—

In other words,

"It's not about me! It's about whether it's Ui-sama or Iris-sama...!"

Without a thought for anything else, the most important thing to her right now was who the heroine of her favorite protagonist (Haru) would be—

"...I don't quite understand, but, Kaede?"

"What is it now, I'm busy...!"

Her sister, slightly taken aback by her younger sister's unusual excitement, gestured with her finger. When Kaede looked in that direction—

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, hardly anyone would just call out of the blue.

Her family and friends would all just send a message unless it was an emergency. And since she had no part-time job experience, the only people who would contact her, aside from 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 displayed was the name of the university she and her friends attended.

—What could it be?—Before she could even form the obvious question, an unidentifiable, indescribable anxiety filled her chest.

She had already notified them of her absence for the day. So why was the school contacting her now?

"...! H-Hello?"

She decisively tapped the call icon and brought the phone to her ear. Her sister, though nosy and attention-seeking, was not without sense. As Kaede started the call, her sister quietly moved away, and Kaede sat down on the sofa.

"—This is Kunori from the university. Am I speaking with Shijo Kaede-san?"

"—...Yes, this is Shijo."

A woman's voice she had never heard before. But a name she recognized. Flustered by the call from such an important figure, she exchanged a greeting or two—

"...!"

Kasuga Nozomi—as expected, his name came up in the conversation, and she instinctively held her breath.

—He has been absent from his lectures since this morning.

—We can't get in touch with him.

—Do you know his whereabouts?

The flow of the conversation was exactly as she had anticipated.

In other words, it was probably that kind of thing.

It was unlikely that the university—an educational institution—would get involved in capturing a player.

So, if she were to make a very convenient assumption... the school, having caught on to the situation early like them, had moved to protect one of its students.

On the other hand, the more realistic assumption was—they were 'forwarding' a message from somewhere else.

Either way, it wasn't a bad thing.

But if it was one of those two possibilities—then it meant that others, besides themselves, knew Nozomi's true identity.

"..."

Again, there were no 'bad guys' in this exchange.

The feeling that she was being interrogated for some reason,

The way her throat was inexplicably dry,

Her restless heartbeat—all of it could be called meaningless, self-imposed tension.

But still,

"U-Um...! Why are you asking me?"

Before deciding whether or to reveal his location, first finding out the purpose of the call would be for his benefit—with that thought, Kaede voiced her question.

"Shijo-san and Kasuga-san are in a close-knit group—"

"Y-Yes."

"We received information that you are not just friends... but are in a relationship."

"Wha—"

An utterly unexpected, massive surprise attack.

What?

No, we're not?

Where did you hear that?

She consciously swallowed the shock that almost escaped her lips in her surprise.

"That, is.........—yes, that's correct."

Shijo Kaede was not a fool. Thanks to her upbringing, she had some confidence in her ability to think on her feet and other such things.

"Is there something you need from Haru-kun? He's tired after yesterday, so if it's alright with you, I can pass on a message."

There was no point in hiding it now. Assuming the school was fully aware of his situation—and even if she was jumping the gun, she chose her words carefully so that she could easily cover her tracks.

At the very least, this would allow her to determine if they really knew or not.

And if they did know about him, then any related business would have some degree of confidentiality. To find out, being just 'her' wasn't enough.

But with her previous words, if she could make them mistakenly believe that Shijo Kaede was his 'very close girlfriend' who understood his situation completely—

"In that case, would you mind taking a message?"

"Yes, of course."

The position of being the girlfriend of a player who was being sought after by some organization. Add to that the credibility of the 'Shijo' name... revealing a message of that level, even a confidential one, shouldn't be too difficult.

And so, the young lady, who had succeeded in her little scheme more easily than she had expected—

"To Kasuga Nozomi-san—there has been a request for an arrangement from 'Yotsuya Development.'"

"————.........Huh...?"

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 phone slipped and fell with a small clatter.