kscans

Chapter 752 - Promise

Her image color aside, and her unusually expressive face aside.

She was a tricky one who rarely showed true disarray when it came to her complexion. Seeing that very person turn away with a face that was undeniably bright red brought me no small amount of amusement.

"…And then, there's an even simpler reason."

Even after baring so much, I still didn't feel much embarrassment. The anxiety and fear that should normally accompany the act of confessing one's feelings were similarly absent.

"I was won over. I grew attached… Call it whatever you want, but that's what it is."

As for why, that's simple.

"Because I was, quite clearly, adored—there aren't many men who wouldn't be swayed by the affection of a top idol, are there?"

I had simply dealt with her boisterous pestering with an air of resignation. At least, that was the stance Irori maintained in public. Mi-na, on the other hand, had always acted in a way that made it unclear if she had any intention of hiding her feelings.

Of course, considering her character of being 'friendly and engaging with everyone,' her behavior wasn't particularly special. But still, it was clear that, from some point on, the color of the gaze and emotions directed at me had gradually changed.

And so, the girl who had been looking at me had, before I knew it, come to occupy my heart.

"While we're at it, let me ask you."

"…"

In other words, the one who caught the 'sickness' first was—

"When, and why?"

—the girl who still wouldn't let go of my hand.

"………………"

"You didn't intend to hide it completely, nor did you think it was a secret from everyone, right? At the very least, among the current Ten Seats, more people know than don't."

I didn't know what her intentions were in acting that way. But if I were to venture a guess… it probably had something to do with her way of being.

The most comfortable place in the world. Companions you can trust more than anyone, like family. It was she, and no one else, who had built that relationship with that wish in mind.

For such a person, the option of hiding her own heart was never on the table from the start.

To act so openly that even Irori himself could see it was, frankly, so unguarded and defiant it was astounding…

Well, it couldn't be helped.

It was because she was that kind of person that I fell for her.

"…Hey, you know."

"What is it?"

"…You're saying some pretty incredible things, do you realize that?"

"Somewhat. I'm not even asking for a reply from the person I just confessed to; instead, I'm asking you what part of me you fell in love with, without a shred of doubt. It's quite a spectacle."

But that's precisely why it became the catalyst for Irori to look her way.

"……………………Haaaah… I can't talk, you're just as confident as I am."

"Perhaps we're more alike than we think."

"Absolutely, definitely not. Our vectors are too different. Give me a break."

Give me a break, she says… I wondered how to take that as a wry smile formed on my lips.

"…………………………………………I love my family. A lot."

Still holding my hand, still looking away, and still blushing, she muttered. I listened quietly, not wanting to miss a word of the person I loved.

"My mom and dad—and of course, Rina-chan. And her mom and dad too. There weren't any particularly complicated circumstances; we're a connected family of strangers who got together through a miraculous coincidence."

"…"

"I take after my dad. Rina-chan takes after her mom. And those two look so much alike around the eyes and stuff that you'd think, 'Are they siblings?'"

"But they're complete strangers in reality, right?"

"Yep. Just like we've told the public."

It was the first time hearing it from her directly. However, her unique upbringing, which made for a perfect idol backstory, was something that not just Irori, but fans all over the world knew.

"Two girls, born on the same day, at the same time, in the same hospital, who look so alike you'd never believe they had different parents. Our mothers hit it off and became best friends while in the hospital, and when they were discharged and went home, it turned out they were neighbors. Even we're like, 'Does that really happen?'"

"It's certainly not a one-in-ten-thousand chance, that's for sure."

"Well, there are billions of people in the world. I guess things like that can happen."

A girl who had walked a rare path in life, one filled with nothing but brightness and happiness, without a hint of darkness.

"We were already look-alike babies, and then we were raised like sisters by two families from the moment we were born, so… yeah, of course we ended up like sisters."

"…Even so, you two look so alike it's like a joke."

"Right? My mom and I still laugh about how hilarious it is."

"Which mom?"

"Both of them, of course."

Her voice was gentle. And though Irori couldn't see it, her expression was surely gentle as well. The girl, recounting the backstory Irori already knew, seemed to have finished her preface.

"Not only do I have a sister I was never supposed to have, but I have twice as many moms and dads. The total amount of love I've received is far more than double that of a normal person."

"That's a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"Right? —That's why I became greedy."

Her crimson eyes finally looked at Irori.

With a blush still on her cheeks, she showed him a mature gaze that seemed out of place with her small frame, one that was almost comically unsuited for her age.

"Friends, companions, you know? A little bit of that just doesn't satisfy me."

It was not an apology, nor self-deprecation. It was simply a bold declaration of who she was.

"It's not good enough unless we're super, super, super, super, super best friends. I hate it. It's not enough. I'm not starving, but my standards for love and affection are all messed up… a super cute, tragic monster—that's the super cute Mi-na-chan."

"…Why did you say it twice?"

"Because once isn't enough to describe how cute I am."

She possessed an astounding amount of confidence in her small body because she was raised with the boundless affection of four parents… And guessing from her earnest, caring nature, it was also because she had worked tirelessly to polish herself to be worthy of that love.

Ah, I know. Of course I know.

"That's your 'ideal'… and that's why, right?"

"Yep. Annoying, isn't it?"

"…It is. Incredibly selfish and extremely annoying—a willful girl that everyone in the current Eastern Faction's Ten Seats, myself included, who enjoys this atmosphere should be grateful to."

If it was to be called Arcadia, it was only right that there be a place to belong that was no less than reality. If there wasn't one, then she would just create it—a simple motivation.

At seventeen… when she first came to the virtual world, she was only fourteen. Even if she was already in a special position in society, to have fulfilled such a selfish wish at that age made her an undeniably extraordinary being.

She loves people, and she wants people to love her. A very difficult little girl.

"That's why the circle of rankers is special to me. Everyone is so nice they'll put up with my stupid selfishness, and at the same time, they're all so quirky there's never a dull moment. I loooove them all—so I went after the new training-freak face with everything I had."

"………I see."

"I charged in, assuming I would come to love you. I rushed in, assuming you would come to love me. To understand you deeply, deeply, and become friends, I went at it with all my heart and soul."

"As expected of the one in charge of energy."

"And then I find that idiot. Before I knew it, he was suffering from a love so pure, so passionate, so intense it was embarrassing just to watch."

"…………"

"To peek in so deeply, deeply, and be shown something like that… I couldn't take it."

The heat from her hand was deep.

"I was so surprised. I was stunned. I was impressed, my heart was pounding…—and I became envious."

Deeply, deeply, she recounted the emotions she had built up since they met.

"'This guy is insane,' I thought. 'There's a guy out there who can love one person so faithfully these days.' 'Even though he'd given up on his own, he could still work recklessly hard for the person he loves.' …And to a person like that…"

Shyly, as if cherishing the words,

"If a person like that could come to 'love' me."

Even if she showed the surface, she probably couldn't have seen through to the temperature of the heat in the depths of his heart.

"I probably wouldn't stop at just loving him," she said, her face now completely red, as if steam were rising from it—and she returned his smile with one of her own.

"…There you have it. The 'when' and the 'why'."

"…So, that's how it was."

"Mhm, that's how it was. The super cute top idol Mi-na-chan had her first love stolen by that someone who was in love with Ui-chan."

"…"

"It's a tough spot, isn't it? If Irorin hadn't been in love, I wouldn't have been in love either."

"………………"

"So no matter what, I could never be 'first,' and someone was so stupidly devoted it made me fall for him just watching, so I didn't think he'd ever look at me."

"……………………"

"I was like, 'What is this artistically unrequited love?' It was so bad it was actually kind of funny."

The right hand he gently offered, the girl neither avoided nor brushed away.

And the palm that caressed her cheek—a virtual tear secretly wet it.

"…I really, didn't know. Irorin, you're amazing, you're not a model, you're an actor. I couldn't tell, I didn't realize, wow… I'm so pissed…"

"…………I was hiding it, but I never thought I was hiding it completely."

"Your reactions, and stuff, were getting softer than at the start, but…! Your fundamental attitude and responses didn't change at all…!"

"That's what happened when I tried to act in a way you'd appreciate."

"You're right about that…! It was fun, and I was happy, you got it perfectly! That's why I fell so deep into the swamp that I thought, 'I can't hide this anymore!'"

"……………………What do you want me to do, give me a break…"

Her emotions could no longer be contained, and a girl began to cry her eyes out. And then there was a man with zero experience in dealing with such things.

In that case, the only way to smooth things over, no matter how clumsy, was to keep talking.

"………………We can't date, can we? You're a top idol, after all."

"…, tch……"

She nodded.

"Are the preparations for your retirement going smoothly?"

"…Tch."

She nodded.

"Even after that, it wouldn't be good to start right away. If you're going to be sincere about the position you've built, even if you have to let it go, you should give your fans time to prepare themselves."

She nodded.

"And in the first place, the age difference… is an issue. I'm an adult, and you're a seventeen-year-old high school student. There's a chance we'll hear… well, unnecessary comments that we can't ignore."

After a moment, she reluctantly nodded.

"So, umm…………Can you wait… three years?"

Her nodding stopped, and the grip on his left hand tightened.

"…, …………That was the plan from the start, wasn't it?"

"That's a textbook look of dissatisfaction on your face."

And not just her expression, he also received a pinch on the back of his hand for his troubles.

"──Two years."

"…"

"My birthday is next month. So in two years… and two months, I'll technically be twenty, an adult."

"…You were planning to retire from being an idol at the same time as you graduate high school in March, right?"

Like a child, she nodded.

"It's still long. I don't know if I can wait…"

Seeing that face, he couldn't bring himself to say, 'that's my line.'

"……………………Alright. Then, let's both wait two years and two months."

"…Ngh, I've never resented the time acceleration technology of the virtual world more than I do right now…!!!"

Her resentful words, which seemed to contain not a single millimeter of joking, drew an involuntary, relieved smile from him—and he gently slipped his hand from her grasp, which had been holding on the whole time.

"It's okay, don't worry."

He placed both hands on her lovely cheeks, as if to soothe the hand that tried to cling to him again.

He bent down, knelt, and met her gaze, their reflections in each other's eyes.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't devoted enough to dedicate my life to one person."

"…"

"But I'm aware that my feelings are heavy enough to fall into what someone might call 'stupidly devoted.'"

"…What's that?"

"Whether it's two years, three years, or ten years… I'm not the kind of heartless man who would lose sight of a love that will be fulfilled if I wait, just because of 'time'."

"…Ngh, fufu… what is that?"

And so, with a smile finally lighting up her tear-streaked face,

"Wait for me patiently. It'll be over in a flash, I'm sure."

"Patiently? Are you saying that knowing my character?"

"Correction. Wait for me, being moderately lively."

"……………………I guess I have no choice. Really… no choice at all."

The girl, who was promised a future where her love would be fulfilled, let one last tear fall.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"Say it again."

"…………Hah."

"A sigh isn't what I want to hear…!"

She reached out with her small hands.

While pinching the cheeks of her infuriatingly handsome love, she heard the words for the third time.

"I love you—in two years and two months, I want you to be my girlfriend."

With a willful demand.

"I love you, too—…I'll be waiting."

In exchange for the feelings she had surely received.

She entrusted her heart to his hands without hesitation.