| Author: Resn | Original Source: Kakuyomu |
| Translator: Nomad | English Source: Re:Library |
| Editor(s): Silva | |
The exams were graded, and everyone had good enough scores, so they did not need to retake any classes or attend supplementary lessons. Everyone could enjoy their summer break without any stress.
Now they were currently in the port, waiting for their ferry that would take them to the island. The parking lot was lined with many fancy looking cars, and amidst all that was Kou, wearing a thin long dress and a summer cardigan, as well as a parasol.
“Hey, Fantastic girl.You look cute!”
“Huh? Erhm, ah…th…thank you?”
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she turned around startled and saw a foreigner with sunglasses who passed by, and then she took a few breaths to calm down again.
She was there because they did not know what half of the people they had invited looked like, which was a bit of a problem when trying to meet offline.
“I mean, just stand anywhere and they’ll recognize you instantly.” Subaru suggested that, and he was more than right. As long as Crim stood under a tree with her parasol, she would become a living beacon.
And as proof of that…
“Kouuuuu, I missed youuu!”
“Wah?! Ah, it’s been a while, Hisui!”
She was suddenly hugged by a lady wearing a T-shirt and hotpants, with a thin parka on top and sunglasses. It was Hisui, ready to enjoy her summer to its fullest. And together with her…
“Hey there.” A man who was behind Hisui spoke. He was skinny, and had some stubble on his face. This was their first time meeting, but he looked really familiar.
“Ah…wait, are you Ryunosuke?”
“The one and only. I could recognize you from a mile away. I never thought that you were using a real module for your avatar.”
“Ahahah, I could say the same, Ryunosuke.”
His appearance was also identical to how he looked in-game. His avatar had also been created through a module based on his real world appearance.
“Well, let me do this properly. I’m Kudo Ryunosuke, nice to meet you.” Saying that, Ryunosuke held out his hand.
But that name rang familiar to Kou.
“Ah…wait, are you that illustrator? I’ve seen your name attached to the designs of a lot of VR-tubers…”
“Oh… You’ve heard of me then?”
“No, I mean yes, I was just asking…”
Kou had not been prepared for him to verify it so easily.
But then she recalled that he had mentioned working on something related to graphics in the past, and now it also made sense why he was so good at being the producer for Lua Cheia’s streams.
As an aside, Kirisu Sakura who had been the host of the interview after the ranked tournament had also been designed by him.
“And do you want to know a secret? Maybe you’ve heard of Manju Sara, who I designed many years ago…” With a mischievous grin, he moved his face closer to Kou’s, wanting to whisper something to her.
“…Dear?”
“Ack! I didn’t say anything!!”
An unexpectedly bone chilling voice rang behind him, and he instantly recoiled and stood up straight as he replied. But in a way, that exchange had already communicated what that secret was.
After all, the owner of that voice, behind Ryunosuke…
“Ah…”
“It’s been a while, Mitsuki Kou. Though I guess this is the first time we’re really getting a chance to talk… I’m Ryunosuke’s wife, Kudo Sara.”
“Ah, um, nice to meet you. Thank you for everything, back at the hospital I mean.”
Kou shook her hand while greeting her back.
Hisui had mentioned before that they were colleagues, and Kou remembered passing by Sara multiple times in the hospital, so Kou could recognize her. They had seen each other many times before, but they had never really spoken to each other, even if Sara had helped with Kou’s recovery.
And just to clear things up, that Manju Sara that Ryunosuke mentioned had been a VR-tuber that was mostly active back when Kou was barely starting elementary school.
She had been a red devil girl designed to look like a red spider lily, and became really popular thanks to her cutesy mannerisms. But then one day she suddenly announced she was getting married, and retired indefinitely. At least that was all Kou recalled about her.
The woman in front of her did not resemble that character at all, but that was something Kou would not dare mention out loud.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing at all.”
It was like Sara was reading Kou’s thoughts, so Kou instantly looked away, fleeing from Sara’s inquisitive gaze.
There was one more, smaller, figure accompanying them, peering timidly at Kou. Noticing that, Kou smiled and spoke again.
“Umm, hello there?”
“Ah, erm… Nice to meet you!!”
A shy girl was hiding behind Ryunosuke, nervously finding the right words to reply to Kou. She had black hair, tied into a princess-like half up half down hairstyle, and Kou could not help but imagine she would look really good in a sailor dress.
“So… You must be Lycoris, right?”
“Y-Yes, that’s the name I use there, but here I am Kudo Miyughee-”
…She bit her tongue in the end.
Her face turned beet red as she looked down in shame, and Kou had to pretend not to notice the mistake so Miyuki would not feel even more embarrassed. Kou also seemed to faintly remember Miyuki being the name of a species of amaryllis flower, just like Lycoris.1
“I never thought you’d look identical to your game avatar, Crim…”
“Ahahah, well, there’s still downsides to it and yeah.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
It was rare for someone to have pure white hair like Kou in the real world, so Miyuki was staring curiously at it, making Kou smile a bit awkwardly.
The downsides Kou mentioned were things that made various aspects of her life more cumbersome, and Miyuki quickly noticed what she herself was doing at that moment and apologized.
You didn’t do anything wrong though.
Trying to reassure that young well natured girl, Kou gently patted her head. Eventually Miyuki calmed down and seemed to get lost in thought, before suddenly looking around with curiosity.
“So…about everyone else…”
“Hm? Ahh, Subaru is over there, or Frey as you know him. Hijiri, or Freya, is right next to him, and they’re twins so they’re really easy to spot.”
“Oh, I see them! Thank you very much..!”
Kou had started by naming Subaru/Frey first on purpose, and Miyuki’s face went red before she trotted off to where the twins were. Watching that almost made one miss being young and innocent.
“Are you telling me the enemy was amongst…OUCH?!”
“Don’t start jumping to stupid conclusions again, dear. Instead, we should be going to greet Mitsuki’s parents for inviting us, don’t you think?”
Ryunosuke’s overprotective nature was starting to fill him with rage, but that was quickly put to a stop when his wife pinched his arm and dragged him away.
“…Master!” Kou turned around hearing a cheerful girly voice.
There she saw a cute girl wearing a chic blouse and a blue skirt, with her hair arranged into an elegant bobbed haircut. She was running full of excitement toward Kou.
“Are you…Hinagiku?”
“Yes, that’s me, Tone Hinagiku! I recognized you as soon as I got here, Master!”
“Do I really stand out so much..?”
Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at Kou, almost envious of her looks. That made Kou’s cheeks redden as she started looking at herself again. Shortly after that…
“Hello, are you the Master that Hinagiku keeps talking about?”
“She is, mother!”
Hinagiku’s energetic voice made Kou’s head snap back up to look at who had arrived. A lady was standing next to Hinagiku, with one hand on Hinagiku’s shoulder.
Woah, she’s pretty.
Kou just stared at her in a daze, her cheeks reddening again.
“I see… You really are just as cute as Hinagiku said you were.” The lady smiled at Kou, her smile composed of a strange mix of allure and refinement.
She had black glossy hair that reached down to her hips, and her mannerisms were all filled with elegance. She was like the epitome of good manners. She also had a youthful appearance, easily being able to pass for a college student despite the fact that she already had a daughter who was attending middle school.
“Ahh~ Those crimson eyes… if you stare at me like that I’ll feel like you’re undressing me with your gaze!”
And all of that went out of the window right away.
The lady’s cheeks turned rosy as she placed a hand on them, while also starting to shuffle her thighs around, instantly filling Kou with a sense of impending danger. And just as she instinctively took a step back.
“…You there! Kikyo, you walking R rating! Don’t you dare teach anything strange to my daughter!”
Amari appeared out of nowhere, running flustered up to Kou and hugging her from behind to protect her. It was rare for her to get so worked up, but in this case Kou was actually relieved that she had arrived at just the right moment.
“Aww, that’s too bad.” The lady, who Amari had called Kikyo, continued talking in a sultry voice which sent chills down Kou’s spine.
She’s dangerous.
All of Kou’s instincts were letting out alarms.
It was the same feeling of impending dread Kou felt whenever she confronted that vicious AI Sora had installed in her NLD, which she called the master. She was actually amazed that someone had managed to recreate that feeling in the real world.
While Kou put her thoughts in order, her mother Amari continued speaking against Kikyo. “Who would’ve thought we’d meet again like this, Vengeful Maiden.”
“Ohh? Wait, I didn’t quite recognize you, but you’re the bat granny from back then!”
“Hmph, sadly for you, I’m still full of spunk, as I don’t age like you humans. It’s you who aged the most in this time, so it’s you who’d be the granny. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I’m so sorry, but you keep using all those old af words that I really can’t tell what you’re saying half the time. Sorry granny.”
The air between the two mothers got really tense, and it almost felt like there would be sparks flying out at any moment. Kou and Hinagiku were unsure of what was happening, and could only shrug at each other.
