Chapter 72: It’s warm. It’s just look like chicken.

“I’ve always, always received nothing but consideration from you, Miyauchi…!”

“…Huh?”

Miyauchi, who said this, was somehow biting her lips tightly.

Consideration?

Had I ever been considerate of Miyauchi?

Rather, I felt like I was always the one receiving consideration.

She was the one who first spoke to me when I stood out in class, and whenever there was a gathering, she’d always

make suggestions to me. Even during cultural festivals, she’d side with me…

“M-Miyauchi, I… I always thought I should be thankful to you…”

“No… If I had been a little quicker to notice, there wouldn’t have been any need for you to be hurt, or

for me to offer such consideration…!”

Hurt? Such consideration?

From the way she was speaking, it almost sounded like I was the tragic heroine of some story.

What on earth was Miyauchi talking about?

Ah.

The fact that I was dragged into this gathering, and the incomprehensible story she was telling…

Could it be that I woke up in a parallel world?!

“Even though I knew somewhat, even though I was aware, I still kept making mistakes and hurt you,

Kaya…”

Well, of course, it’s easier to just let things slide like this, but this was a bad habit that would only make the situation

worse, as Koga said. At times like this, it’s better to just ask confidently.

“I’m really, really sorry…”

“Um, Miyauchi… I… I don’t quite understand, so could you explain what you mean…?”

A miracle.

Someone might call it a fuss, but for Miyauchi, it was definitely a miracle.

It might have started with admiration.

For Miyauchi, an ordinary student, Kaya Mina, who walked her own path without caring about being alone, shone

brightly.

But where there is light, darkness naturally follows.

After hearing the homeroom teacher’s words, asking Miyauchi to look after Kaya, she wanted to curse her narrow-

minded view.

What was so great about light?

All that Kaya had were wounds.

She was only pretending to shine, hiding the scars.

But the only one who knew that truth was Miyauchi in class 1-A.

Then, she had to make an effort. To make Kaya, who already carried so many wounds, smile.

But Miyauchi’s efforts never yielded the right answers.

Sometimes, it was Kaya who was considerate of Miyauchi, and with the reversal of roles, Miyauchi felt even more

guilty.

But, it seemed her efforts weren’t in vain, as Kaya nodded with a pitiful smile when invited to the winter break and

Christmas gathering.

Kaya was probably trying her best to overcome her past wounds.

And Miyauchi, who believed that without a doubt, her admiration and fantasy came crashing down in an instant.

“…Huh?”

We quickly left the classroom to avoid the gaze of others and moved to the front of the restroom.

What I realized then was that there was a huge gap between my understanding and Miyauchi’s.

What the heck is this?

For some reason, Miyauchi… no, my image in our class seemed completely distorted.

I had always thought of myself as the awkward, outsider girl with social anxiety, but for some reason, I was seen as

the pitiable girl with past scars, distancing herself from others.

The only overlap was that I was seen as a beautiful girl.

“So, it’s not like I had some terrible past…”

“I’m just, you know… shy…”

“The story that Kanae-sensei mentioned…”

“In my third year of middle school, I had issues with my homeroom teacher because of my

personality… So maybe that’s the story…?”

“…Huh?”

Miyauchi looked as if she couldn’t understand for a moment, staring blankly.

“Is, is that really true, Kaya-no?”

“Yes.”

Upon hearing my answer, her face instantly turned bright red.

“So, why have you been skipping all the gatherings until now…?”

“I-I was worried that if a classmate I’m not close to came, everyone would feel awkward…”

“That’s… unexpected…”

Miyauchi covered her face with her palm.

But, thanks to her bright red face visible through her fingers, it was easy to understand her feelings.

Why did such a misunderstanding occur?

I couldn’t understand it.

It must be because of my appearance as a beautiful girl, right?

What was an innocent act to me turned into something meaningful for others.

Scary, this appearance-based society!

“All this time, I… no, we’ve been under some misunderstanding…”

Well, of course, I don’t think I did anything wrong, but at this point, it’s kind of scary.

Should I be thankful since I’ve gained some benefits because of it?

“Sigh. At least I’m glad that Kaya-no didn’t actually have any hurt feelings.”

“…By the way, do the other classmates think, like Miyauchi does?”

“…I think everyone probably thinks similarly.”

“I want to clear up this misunderstanding…”

“…I’ll try. It won’t be easy though.”

“Please, I’ll be counting on you…”

Even so, I think it’s not good to keep this difference in perception.

Even though I don’t feel guilty, others might think I’m deceiving them.

So, from now on, I’ll be the proud antisocial loser girl of Class A…!
★

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes…”

All I did was sit in a corner reciting the Heart Sutra and return early, but since I did attend the Christmas party, I

guess I can say I had fun, right?

“What about the cake and chicken?”

“They’re here.”

Dragging my mentally exhausted body, I went to the store I had pre-booked. It was tiring.

But imagining eating chicken and cola gave me strength.

Chicken and cola are invincible and divine.

“Then go wash up first.”

“Okay~.”

To meet the divine, I should clean my body, of course.

[[Gray City] Today’s last #Kaynoyumi #StarsFlow #GrayCity

“Today was Christmas, so how did everyone spend it?”

The topic during the casual conversation before starting Gray City, of course, was Christmas.

• I just stayed at home.
• I ordered chicken and waited for Mei-chan’s stream.
• Being able to watch Mei-chan’s stream at this time is a reward.
  “Ah, thank you for waiting…”
• Luckily, the chicken didn’t get cold.
  “Ah, I’ll bring some chicken too, wanna eat it together?”
  I ate some with my mom earlier, and there was about half left.
  Come to think of it, in my previous life, I could have eaten a whole chicken alone and still wanted more, but now I can’t even eat one by myself.
  Of course, I did eat Christmas cake earlier, but I think it would have been gone even if I hadn’t.
• Did you eat it with your family?
  “Yeah. Well, my sister wasn’t here, she’s busy.”
  Because of that, I got nearly 20 DMs from my sister asking me to come home.
  Seeing her crying, saying she had no time to rest because of her busy work, I thought being a successful reader model must be tough.
  “Ah, by the way, today, I went with my classmates to a karaoke for the Christmas party…”
• Liar.
• Our Mei-chan wouldn’t do that.
• Even if she did go, it’s obvious. She would’ve just sat alone in a corner and come back.
• Mei-chan singing in front of people? ᄏᄏ
• How will she handle live streams later on?
  “What do you mean? Someone like me, an ultra social, atmosphere maker JK, would stay in the corner? I had fun, okay?”
  …These guys, don’t they know me too well?
  It’s getting a little scary.
  “So, I have a question. Isn’t it embarrassing to sing in front of others…?”
  I end up worrying about whether I’m hitting the beat or note right.
  If someone sings better than me, I feel a little disappointed.
• I don’t think someone like the ultra social, atmosphere maker JK would have doubts about that.
• Ah, there is a bit of that part, right?

“There’s definitely something nerve-wracking about singing in front of others.”

“Right? So, I wasn’t wrong for just sitting quietly at the Christmas gathering without singing anything, was I?!”

It’s the people who sang without a care who are the strange ones!

“Ah, heh, my true feelings slipped out.”

“No, that’s just because Mei-chan is an introverted, socially awkward person…”

“Being concerned and being able to sing are two different things.”

“Isn’t this the same person who just said that Mei-chan, as a super social, atmosphere-making JK, would never be sitting in a corner?”

“How confident must they be to say something like that so boldly?”

“Confident Mei-chan is cute.”

“Although no one can relate at all, heh.”

“…Huh?”

What’s going on?

In the blink of an eye, all my support vanished.

Wait, if they were never on my side in the first place…?

I see now.

“So, even the Izutomo were, in fact, all social butterflies outside, huh…”

“Mei-chan’s also a (self-proclaimed) super social atmosphere-making JK!”

“Stay strong!”

What should I say?

Realizing this, it feels like all motivation to stream has disappeared.

But I shouldn’t let that happen, so I’ll finish up this small talk for now.

I thought everyone would agree with me, but now I feel even lonelier.

It’s like the chicken has gone cold… peco…

“Are you ending Gray City today?”

“Yeah. I’ve been at it for a while, and I’ve almost done everything there is to do with the content.”

“The most fun part was definitely the Oceanus.”

“…Quiet down.”

Fortunately, there were no awkward moments with Nat-chan afterward.

I’m the type of introverted person who doesn’t get overly absorbed in games.

“So, what are you doing now?”

“For the last part, I’m thinking of blowing up the base.”

Actually, aside from me, everyone else will probably keep enjoying Gray City consistently, so I considered just

leaving it in the public storage, but in this case, an explosion ending is the classic choice.

I even learned all the alien tech for this.

Isn’t it going to be super cool if the house explodes with beams of light from the sky?

It’s a man’s dream.

“And then, uh, before, with the skills I’ve collected so far, I’m planning to do something fun with everyone…”

Heh.

I’ve gathered tons of materials for this alone.

With this, I will become the god of Gray City…!

If you’re this confident, it usually ends badly, huh?

I learned that one should always be humble, thanks to Mei-chan.

“Mei-chan’s stream is amazing even with life lessons!”