Chapter 117: Stop thinking that if you can do it, others can do it too!!!

Right after the sports festival.

I heard that a strange nickname has been given to me.

To be more precise, the nickname “Ice Princess,” which I had already heard from Tateyama and Hinoshita-senpai, has spread to the entire school. The reason, needless to say, is because of that incident during the sports festival.

So, during break times, people I don’t even know started calling me, and of course, I refused all of it…

But after I rejected them, they started leaving letters and gifts in my shoe locker.

“Are you okay, Kayatchi?”

“Uh, this is really troublesome…”

I slowly began reading the letter while eating some quite delicious cookies.

The content was, well, similar to the ones I had received before.

I looked really cool during the sports festival. They wanted to be friends, admired me, and wrote all sorts of compliments.

Of course, I wouldn’t deny that my appearance is super S-tier, the best in the universe, and a beauty…

Anyway, these misunderstandings were seriously troublesome.

“If it’s troublesome, maybe you should just tell them the truth?”

Tateyama, the class’s most popular girl, who sat next to me this time, scratched her head and asked.

But I quietly shook my head in response.

Because that, too, would be troublesome.

I know well that people’s malice can arise from the most trivial things.

The moment people find out that I’m actually a total introvert and socially awkward, I’ll definitely start getting weird looks from everyone in the school.

What about when my classmates and the cheerleading team found out? Wasn’t there no problem?

Anyone who says that is really foolish.

The misunderstandings that started in our class were, as the saying goes, misunderstandings made up by their own imaginations.

There wasn’t a single part of that misunderstanding that was my fault, so there was no reason for anything to be said about it.

The cheerleading team was the same. They heard the wrong information and failed to relay the correct details to me.

As Hinoshita-senpai said, I wasn’t the one who caused the problem.

But who was it that started the illusion among the entire school?

It was me. I was the one who sat on that throne, resting my chin on my hand, looking at everyone.

But then, suddenly, should I say, “Actually, it was all just an act. I’m actually a socially awkward introvert who struggles to talk to people…”? Should I say that now? After the “Ice Princess” nickname has already spread?

When an illusion is created and then abruptly shattered.

I learned from the internet that some people end up resenting others in such situations.

So, telling everyone the truth is definitely not a good decision.

No, how could I even tell them the whole truth?

Who do I think I am?

It’s not like I can broadcast to the entire school just because some rumors have spread.

In other words, what I’m saying is that right now, I’m in a really tough spot.

Getting letters and gifts like this, or stepping forward to clear up the misunderstanding, or, more importantly, dealing with the aftermath when the misunderstanding is eventually cleared up—everything is troublesome.

…Wait. Did I completely ruin my school life?

Am I going to have to drop out at this rate…?

“I can’t even say, ‘Actually, Kayatchi is just super shy!’…”

“Haha…”

By the way, for some reason, Tateyama has started calling me “Kayatchi,” and I’m still not used to it.

The only person who has ever called me by such a nickname until now was Utsumi, so it’s the first time I’m being called this by a classmate…

[[Destined Final Battle] Is fate in my hands! #AkabaneYukari#StarsFlow2ndGeneration]

• Was there anything fun during Mei-chan’s birthday live yesterday?

“AkaCat! How dare you, a mere familiar, wish to know the secrets of your master and companions? How insolent.”

Yukari said that, but as she recalled yesterday’s memory, she let out a small laugh.

“…Well, fine. Normally, I’d tell you to ask someone else, but… it’s nice to have such casual chatter once in a while.”

Yukari was the type who believed that talking too much about real life would blur her identity as a VTuber, so she didn’t often share personal stories during her streams.

But today, since she had pulled the character she wanted from the “Destined Final Battle” gacha with just 30 pulls, she felt good and decided to share a little with her familiars.

After all, her familiars knew that such private conversations from Yukari were rare, so they were probably already aware of this.

“…Well, as you all probably know, Izumi is a high school student, so it’s hard for her to stay out late. That’s why, right after the live ended yesterday, we disbanded immediately.”

Of course, the real reason was that Izumi and Mina’s birthdays were the same.

But knowing Izumi’s personality, which preferred to keep private information hidden, Yukari decided to weave her words like this.

• Then, wasn’t there anything fun that happened?

“AkaCat! Listen to the whole story. If that was the case, I wouldn’t have even thought to bring it up. You really are a fool.”

Without hesitation, Yukari harshly scolded her familiars, but no one minded the tone in the chat.

Yukari’s streams always had this atmosphere.

When Yukari, with her chuunibyou (second-year syndrome) persona, scolded her familiars, they actually enjoyed it.

That was the necessary quality for a familiar.

“Anyway, we decided to have a quick birthday party at a restaurant during lunch. First, Ayaka was wondering what to eat, and then Izumi suddenly pointed to a cheese dakgalbi (cheese chicken stir-fry) restaurant and said she wanted to go there, so we went in.”

• Mei-chan’s taste is totally JK (high school girl) style.

“…When are you people from?”

• Uncle’s bias, haha.
• The cheese dakgalbi trend is pretty old, huh…

“Well, I’ve liked cheese dakgalbi since forever.”

As the conversation took an unexpected turn, Yukari cleared her throat and brought it back to the original topic.

“Hmm. Anyway, while we were waiting for the cheese dakgalbi to come out, we were chatting a bit, and suddenly Izumi tugged at the collar of my jacket.”

• Mei-chan had a princess sitting next to her?

“Well, in the center was Izumi, and on either side of me were Ayaka and myself. Across from us were Suzuka and Nekoto. Anyway, Izumi tugged at my collar and whispered in my ear, ‘Is it okay if I order a cola…?’ …AkaCat!”

• So cute!!!

“Ah… You guys are right. Izumi, that girl, I’ve never seen her look that cute before.”

To Yukari, Izumi was like a rival, in a way.

Their basic gaming preferences were similar, but their tastes in other little but important things were completely different, making Izumi a rival.

However, because of this, talking with Izumi was always enjoyable, though it didn’t mean that Yukari liked Izumi the same way she did with her classmates Suzuka or Ayaka.

But in that moment, Yukari felt she could understand Suzuka and Ayaka’s feelings.

The way Izumi looked up at her, sending a somewhat pitiable gaze, was just too cute.

It almost made Yukari blush.

“But, that’s not the important part. The important part is what happened afterward.”

• Is there more?

“Yeah. Seeing that, Suzaha tried to order the cola for Izumi, but Izumi said, ‘I-I’ll order it myself…’ So, when the

waiter came after pressing the call bell, Izumi quietly raised her hand… Hehe…! But the waiter couldn’t hear her ask

for the cola…! In the end, Suzaha ordered the cola for her! Akakatsu! The sight of her face turning bright red,

trembling with embarrassment, was just so cute! Even the waiter chuckled and went back.”

Hahaha

• That’s so cute!

Of course, after the cola arrived, Izumi pouted and said, “Thank you…” to Suzaha, but Yukari didn’t feel the need to mention that part.

After all, this episode would surely come up in Suzaha’s stream too.

• Mei-chan really is a woman with a magical charm.

“Ah, really. She is a woman with a magical charm… And what’s scary is that she doesn’t even realize it… Usually, people who get that nickname are very calculated in their actions, but Izumi is just pure and innocent, completely unaware.”

“Hey.”

Afterward, Yukari laughed at Izumi missing the rhythm during a live stream, among other small talk, before ending the broadcast.

But the most talked-about part was still the “Izumi’s cola order” story, and it didn’t take long for it to spread all over YouTube in the form of a clip.

[[Reading Hyperchat] Thanks so much for the birthday wishes yesterday! #KaiNoIzumi #StarsFlow2ndGeneration]

• I heard the cola story

For some reason, there were a lot of comments about cola today.

Of course, I often mention how much I like cola, but today there are more than usual?

“I’ve been hearing cola, cola, cola since earlier, what exactly is going on…?”

• Yu-chan mentioned it while eating cheese dakgalbi

“…Ah.”

Cheese dakgalbi. Cola.

When you combine these two words, I could easily guess the situation.

Akabane-san. She’s talking about that episode.

I clearly said, ‘Let’s keep this a secret…’

‘Please don’t talk about this on the stream…’

Did anyone reply to that? I don’t think anyone did…

This can’t be happening. I’ve been tricked again.

• The so-called “social butterfly” who can’t even order cola properly, hahaha

“Hey! Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses…!”

• But even I, not a social butterfly, can order cola…

“Just because you can do it doesn’t mean everyone can do it easily, okay!!!”