Chapter 82: Please help reduce the number of Izutomos abusers…

“Really suits you, Kaya-no-san.”

“Th-thank you….”

There was no hint of dishonesty in Hikari’s words.

The sight of Izumi, wearing a kimono with Hikari’s help, was beautiful enough to be called a painting.

She looked shy, her face slightly flushed, her gaze darting around. That alone was enough to stir mischievous feelings

in Hikari.

‘Was this how Yoru felt?’

Recalling the teasing Yoru always did when she was around, Hikari smiled softly and kindly.

“Well, it’s about time to leave.”

“Yes….”

With her small stature and glossy light brown hair, and those mysterious blue eyes, Hikari had been almost

mesmerized the first time she saw her.

And on top of all that, her chest was surprisingly large, which didn’t seem to match her petite frame.

It wasn’t jealousy, but it was clear that Izumi’s chest was much bigger than Hikari’s had been back when she was in middle school.

If it weren’t for the layers of the kimono, everyone would probably have noticed Izumi’s chest right away.

[W-whoa, her chest is big, and she has this sexy atmosphere… Yes, she’s pretty.]

‘That’s right. She mentioned that during the group collaboration in the second semester…’

Having met Ayaka before, Hikari found it easy to understand why Izumi’s words seemed so… daring.

In fact, considering their height difference, Izumi’s chest seemed even more noticeable than Ayaka’s.

In any case, Izumi had perfectly pulled off the kimono, and she looked so captivating that it almost seemed like a

watercolor painting should capture the moment.

Whenever Hikari thought of the term “Yamato Nadeshiko,” she would probably think back to this scene.

“So, how long will it take to reach the shrine?”

“It’ll be about 10 minutes on foot.”

Hikari found it difficult to understand how such a girl was referred to as the “Queen of Envy” in the community.

The world of VTubers was still hard to comprehend.

“By the way, Senpai, I have a question…”

“04||?”

“Isn’t it true that you’re not supposed to wear underwear with a kimono?”

“…That was an old custom from long ago.”

“Then it’s not a sexy outfit. That’s a bummer…”

Izumi whispered her words, but they were clear enough for Hikari, who was standing right beside her.

And after hearing that, Hikari immediately adjusted her previous thoughts.

‘Yep, she really is the Queen of Envy.’

★

“Kaya-no-san.”

“Yes…?”

“It’s obvious, but you can’t call me Kurokami Senpai outside.”

“Ah, I know.”

Even when Akabane-san came to visit during the cultural festival, she’d called her Akasaki-san.

Though, she had mistakenly called her Akabane-san at one point.

“So, what should I call you?”

“You can just call me… Senpai, I guess…?”

As long as she didn’t call her by her VTuber name, that should be fine.

But when Hikari heard her answer, Kurokami Senpai shook her head and made an X with her hands.

“Call me ‘Onee-chan.’”

“…Huh?”

“Call me Shiro Onee-chan.”

“Well… um…”

“How old are you, Kaya-no-san?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“I’m nineteen. I’ve already graduated high school. So, it makes sense for me to be your older sister, right?”

“Well… um, okay… I understand….”

“….”

“Shiro, Onee-chan?”

“Hmm, that’s fine. Now, let’s head out.”

After hearing her answer, Kurokami Senpai nodded with a gentle smile.

Still, was it really okay to be called by her first name so quickly? Hikari immediately dismissed that thought when

she noticed Kurokami Senpai’s half-lidded eyes watching her.

If she had refused earlier, she was sure she’d be in big trouble…

That was when her 40 years of built-up sensitivity really paid off.

“We’ve arrived.”

“Yeah…”

As Kurokami Senpai said, it only took about 10 minutes to reach the shrine.

After leaving her house, it was just a walk along the fence until they reached the stone steps leading up to the shrine.

“By the way, where are Komachi-san and Utakawa-san…?”

“Mm. I got a message earlier saying they arrived…”

One fortunate thing was that despite it being Hatsumode season, there weren’t that many people at the shrine.

Of course, it wasn’t completely empty, but with the number of people, finding the two of them shouldn’t be too

difficult.

“Ah, I found you! Kaya-no! Shirasaki! Over here!”

It was Koga who spotted us first.

Koga, dressed in a navy-colored kimono, waved her hand, and both I and Kurokami-senpai approached her.

But wasn’t Utsumi supposed to be here too?

Why is it just Koga?

“Kaayano~~!”

“Eek…!”

Suddenly, a massive shock hit me from behind, causing a chill to run down my spine, and I almost collapsed.

“Long time no see! I missed you!”

“Eek…! Utsumi—no, Utagawa, please stop!”

“No! I’m sad! Kaya-no hasn’t been playing with me, and I’m so sad! I don’t want to miss this chance!”

“Hyah!”

Utsumi clung to me for almost five minutes, touching me all over until Koga finally gave her a punch, and she

detached herself.

“Sorry.”

I wonder if everyone knows that the real danger was Utsumi herself, not me…

Utsumi’s enormous chest almost awakened a man’s instincts…

“Yareyare daze…” (Oh dear…)

“Do you know how embarrassing it was with everyone staring?”

“Hehe… I saw Kaya-no after a long time, and it felt like something snapped and broke…”

“At least Kaya-no’s outfit wasn’t ruined. It’s quite complicated to wear, so if it had gotten messed up,

it would have been a hassle.”

“Hehe. I know how to meet people without messing up my outfit.”

“That’s not something to brag about.”

We were in a quiet corner of the shrine, where there were hardly any people.

We had come here after Utsumi attracted too much attention earlier, so we sought out this empty spot.

“Anyway, thank you all for coming here. I hope we can count on each other this year.”

“Same here! I hope we’ll all have a great year!”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

“I… also… look forward to it.”

Although we exchanged New Year’s greetings via messages before, meeting in person gave a special feeling, even

though I was trembling with nervousness.

“Shall we go pray now?”

After everyone finished their New Year greetings, Kurokami-senpai smiled gently and spoke.

The Japanese New Year’s ritual is actually very complex.

You have to greet before passing through the Torii, wash your hands and mouth at the Temizuya, and there are set

ways to walk and act…

In simpler terms, it makes you wonder if all of this is really necessary.

But we decided to proceed with a simplified version of the prayer.

We stood in front of the offering box, rang the bell lightly, and each of us put in 5 yen.

We then bowed twice, clapped twice, and joined our hands to pray.

But I wonder what I should even wish for.

Wanting to do a live broadcast is my dream that I have to work toward, not something to ask the gods for.

The only wishes I’ve made to gods so far were along the lines of ‘I wish to be born a girl and avoid the military service,’ but…

I don’t need to wish for that anymore since I’m Japanese and don’t have to go to the military anyway. So, was

wishing for it ever useful?

It’s not like I have any complaints about my life.

…Okay.

Then, how about asking for a decrease in abuse in the school?

That should be enough, right?

“Hoo.”

After making my wish, I bowed once again and stepped back.

“Oh, Kaya-no, are you done?”

“Yes.”

“Would you like some amazake?”

“Ren, Kaya-no is still a student.”

“Eh, but it’s non-alcoholic, so it’s fine, right, Yuka-onee?”

“Then… just a little.”

Although Utsumi kindly prepared it for me, I still felt bad about completely rejecting it, so I decided to have just a little.

“Mmm…”

The unique sweetness of the amazake wrapped around my tongue and slowly slid down my throat.

…As expected.

“It’s not good…”

I’ve tried it a few times before, and the sticky sweetness of amazake is just not my taste.

“Are you okay, Kaya-no?”

“Yes? Yes. It’s just that it doesn’t taste good…”

“No, not that.”

“…?”

Utsumi stared at me intently.

Is there something she wants?

“So, drinking amazake and getting tipsy… is that something you only see in anime?”

“There’s no way that’s real, you fool.”

I couldn’t believe Utsumi actually believed that.

It’s honestly a little foolish to think that way…

“If you can’t finish it, give it to me. I’ll throw it away for you.”

“Ah, yes. Here, Shiro-onee…”

“…Huh?”

“…Hmm?”

I handed over the half-full cup of amazake to Kurokami-senpai, sighed, and for some reason, both Koga and Utsumi were staring at me.

“Um, is something wrong…?”

“You’re calling her ‘onee’?” Why…?”

“Eh?”

“Did you call Shirasaki ‘onee-chan’?”

“Why?”

“Well, Shiro-nee asked me to call her that…”

What’s going on? Did I do something wrong?

Even though I’m a mentally mature man in my 40s, it’s a fact that Kurokami-senpai is older than me, so calling her

‘onee-chan’ doesn’t seem strange at all.

Why are you looking at me like that?

“I want you to call me Yuika-nee!”

“I want you to call me Ren-nee!”

“…Eh? Well, you see, Shiro-nee is a senpai…”

In reality, she probably doesn’t want to be called ‘senpai,’ so I call her ‘onee-chan’ instead…

“Call me ‘onee-chan.’”

“I also like being called ‘onee-chan!’”

“Eeek…”

In the end, when we met in real life, we decided to both call each other ‘onee-chan.’

My confidence as a man tried to stop it, but Koga-chan’s eyes were so scary that I couldn’t resist…

[[Chat] I went to Hatsumode #KainoIzumi #StarsFlowy

“So, I went to the shrine today…”

• By yourself?

“Huh? No. Koga-chan, Utsumi-chan, Kurokami-senpai, and the four of us…”

• What did you wish for?

“If I tell you, it won’t come true, you know? Anyway, it’s been so long since I wore a kimono, but I heard that not

wearing underwear when wearing a kimono is a very old custom…”

• That’s such an outdated rumor!
• Who still believes that?
• A story a JK would know… Haha

“I thought the kimono was, you know, a revealing outfit… but I was disappointed…”

-?

• What is this…
• This guy’s thoughts are dangerous