After returning home and settling into his room, Kasumigaoka Touji dove straight into editing mode. The soft hum of his computer fan blended with the clicks of his mouse as he trimmed video clips, adjusted audio levels, and recorded a few final lines of voiceover. Before he knew it, the clock read almost 10:00 PM.
"Mou... this took way longer than I thought," he muttered, slouching in his chair. Once upon a time, his mom helped with video editing, but recently, Touji had been handling everything on his own. As fulfilling as it was, it also left him feeling completely drained.
Still, the silver lining? A break. Finally. For over a week, he'd have no work to worry about.
"Maybe next time I shouldn't take on so many jobs," he murmured while stretching. "It's not like I'm hurting for cash. Besides… I should enjoy my youth a little, right?"
With a satisfied nod to himself, he uploaded the video to YouTube, shot a quick message to Kani Nayuta—
『I'm gonna go take a bath~』
—then grabbed his phone and headed downstairs.
A few minutes later…
"Beep-beep-da-beep-beep-da…"
A familiar notification tone echoed through the steamy bathroom.
Touji, freshly showered and towel-wrapped, paused as he turned off the faucet. He glanced over at his phone, sitting safely on the shelf above the bathtub. Sure enough, the screen was lit up with an incoming video call.
"…Nayuta, huh?" he muttered, raising an eyebrow. Without hesitation, he tapped the red button to decline the call.
Sliding into the bath, he wiped his hands dry and typed a response:
『Touji.』: "What do you want?" 『Touji.』: "Video chat? Show me some sincerity first!"
The typing indicator popped up almost instantly.
『Kani Nayuta』: "You'll see my sincerity if you just turn on the video, (ˉ﹃ˉ*)!" 『Kani Nayuta』: "I promise it's overflowing with sincerity!"
Touji smirked, amused.
『Touji.』: "Sounds pretty good… but I refuse!"
『Kani Nayuta』: "Ehh? Why?? (゜ー゜〃)"
The corners of Touji's mouth twitched.
Why? Why indeed?
Because it's not safe! This was social suicide waiting to happen. One accidental screenshot or screen recording, and bam! Instant scandal.
『Touji.』: "It's too stimulating. I won't be able to sleep."
『Kani Nayuta』: "Beep beep beep—, beep beep beep—!"
"…Tch," Touji clicked his tongue. "Baka. You're more shameless than I am."
...
Tokyo, Kita Ward.
At the end of a quiet slope stood a luxurious Western-style mansion. Inside, in a tastefully decorated bedroom, Eriri Spencer Sawamura—normally the picture-perfect young lady at school—was anything but elegant at the moment.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Wearing black-rimmed glasses and comfy pajamas, she sat slouched in front of her computer, tissues scattered nearby. She rubbed her nose, sniffled, and turned back to her screen, focused entirely on the game.
Suddenly noticing something odd, she typed quickly into the team chat:
Shining (Warrior):
Kanikou? Why aren't you moving? Did you run off to the bathroom?
Yamada-sama (Archer):
He's about to get wrecked, lol.
UMR (Assassin):
Let's clear the mobs around him first.
Gabriel (Priest):
Worry not—my Great Healing Spell is here!
A soft green glow bathed the Shield Warrior's avatar, and his HP bar jumped up dramatically.
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
Oh, oh—sorry, I'm back now.
Kanikou sprang into action, chaining together defensive and area skills to help finish the fight. After clearing the event dungeon, the party warped back to town to manage their inventories and restock supplies.
Curious, someone finally asked:
Yamada-sama (Archer):
So, Kanikou, what were you doing just now?
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
Eh, nothing serious. Just tried to video call someone... but they didn't pick up.
UMR (Assassin):
…
Shining (Warrior):
How shameless!
Shining (Warrior):
But honestly, that's just so Kanikou.
Gabriel (Priest):
Human urges are a mystery.
Yamada-sama (Archer):
LOL, that's totally you. Trying to video call a girl at night? Classic.
Shining (Warrior):
If she had answered… that'd be a different story entirely.
Yamada-sama (Archer):
Exactly!
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
?
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
What are you talking about? I'm the girl here!
Shining (Warrior):
Whoa, did he just claim he's a girl?
Yamada-sama (Archer):
Gross!
UMR (Assassin):
I just imagined some old man using a squeaky voice, batting his lashes with a raised pinky, going 'I'm a girl~'... gag!
Gabriel (Priest):
Far too vivid. And definitely repulsive.
Another burst of laughter filled the guild chat.
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
Even you, UMR…?
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
Seriously, does no one believe me? Where's the trust?!
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
This world is cruel...
Shining (Warrior):
I want to believe you, but that line was so fake, lol.
Yamada-sama (Archer):
For real!
Yamada-sama (Archer):
Honestly though, among all of us, the only actual girl here is me, right?
Said by none other than the elf archer—whose avatar was male.
Kanikou (Shield Warrior):
?
Shining (Warrior):
You too?
UMR (Assassin):
No way, no chance! Anyone who says 'nudity is the highest art form' while playing piano completely naked can't possibly be a girl!
Gabriel (Priest):
Agreed. Hard agree.
Yamada-sama (Archer):
...
Yamada-sama (Archer):
But I am a girl! I swear!
Shining (Warrior):
Alright, alright—jokes over!
Eriri, still sniffling, sent a single clapping emoji to the chat.
"A girl...?"
I'm the real girl here! Eriri huffed inwardly.
But she wasn't about to expose herself just to prove a point.
After all, even in real life, being hounded by confessions and creepy fanboys was annoying enough. If the same nonsense followed her in-game, she'd probably die of stress before she reached her 20s!
Thankfully, her warrior avatar was male.
Yamada-sama (Archer): "...Alright then! Since none of you believe me, why don't we meet up?"
Yamada-sama (Archer): "By the way, I recently moved to the Kanto region."
Yamada-sama (Archer): "And I bought a house. Yep, paid in full."
Yamada-sama (Archer): "All thanks to the money I earned from the anime adaptation. It's a big ol' mansion!"
Yamada-sama (Archer): "I've decided to name it—Crystal Palace!"
Eriri's eyes twitched slightly as she read the messages.
Is she showing off... or actually telling the truth?
Considering Yamada-sama's infamous spending habits, Eriri couldn't completely rule it out.
Guild Channel—
Gabriel (Priest): "Wow. Bragging now, are we? You've gone full villain mode."
Gabriel (Priest): "Since you're so loaded, how about sharing some of that anime money? I'm broke!"
Yamada-sama (Archer): "..."
Yamada-sama (Archer): "Seriously? Asking a netizen for cash with that attitude? Who in their right mind would lend you money?!"
Gabriel (Priest): "Yamada-sama, please lend me some yen. I'll pray for you and personally escort you to heaven once you die."
Kanikou (Shield Warrior): "PFFFT—!! I'm crying, I'm laughing so hard~~"
UMR (Assassin): "This sounds like extortion with extra steps."
Shining (Warrior): "Yeah, what a scam! You don't plan on paying her back and still want to send her to heaven? That's cold, man."
Yamada-sama (Archer): "Even if I had money to lend, not a single yen would go to you lot!"
Yamada-sama (Archer): "Anyway, back to the main point—how about we do an offline meetup? We've known each other for ages now, right?"
UMR (Assassin): "NOPE."
Kanikou (Shield Warrior): "+1 on that!"
Gabriel (Priest): "Isn't it way better to just game from the comfort of our homes? Grind gold, get gear, and enjoy our antisocial lives!"
Shining (Warrior): "Couldn't agree more."
Yeah, no thanks. Meeting up with netizens IRL? Hard pass.
Yamada-sama (Archer): "...They all shot me down."
...