— — — — — —
After sleeping for over ten hours straight, Oikawa finally opened his eyes.
It was three in the morning.
He grabbed his phone.
There were dozens of unread messages on LINE.
Most of them were from Ayame Kagurazaka, asking exactly when he planned to come to Dengeki Bunko.
After thinking for a bit, Oikawa replied. "Tomorrow."
Then he checked the small group chats for the Service Club and the Literature Club. Everyone had been sharing photos from the camping trip.
Most were just scenic shots of mountains and rivers.
There was also a group photo taken before they left. Oikawa saved that one to his phone.
After a moment's thought…
He uploaded a few shots of Yui and the others sleeping like logs into the group chat.
Right after that, he opened his chat with the one who had humiliated him the most: Utako Kasumi.
{"Oikawa-senpai, is the camping trip over?"}
{"Playing dead and ignoring me?"}
{"Message withdrawn."}
{"Looks like you're asleep. Otherwise you wouldn't have missed my message."}
{"Senpai, it's not that I didn't send you any photos—you just didn't have the luck to see them. Honestly."}
{"Message withdrawn."}
{"Message withdrawn."}
{"Message withdrawn."}
{"Sleep well, senpai. Don't forget to dream about me! And don't regret the photos you didn't see—I just wanted to take some sexy ones for myself."}
Looking at the screen full of "Message withdrawn," Oikawa suddenly felt irritated, like he'd just lost out on a fortune.
Then again…
Maybe he'd also saved himself a fortune.
"Damn woman… just you wait. When we meet, you're in for it."
"I swear I'll deal with you on the spot. Just wait—you're done for. I'll make sure you regret it! You're all talk online. Bet you wouldn't even dare speak properly if we met. If you've got guts, come meet me. Let's see if you actually have the nerve."
"With a face hotter than any anime MC, you'll be calling me 'babe' before you know it!"
"Just wait until I get my hands on you—you'll be begging to be my girlfriend!"
Oikawa went off, venting every bit of frustration he'd been bottling up.
Then, timing it carefully, he withdrew all the messages.
"Stay calm. Gotta stay calm."
"If she actually saw those, there's no way she'd ever agree to meet. I need to catch her off guard and checkmate her in one move."
He made up his mind.
When they finally met, he'd definitely make her regret it. Even if he couldn't completely "put her in her place," at least he'd make sure she never dared to tease him like this again.
He set his phone down and stretched, heading toward the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat.
Then, a familiar notification sound rang out.
Ding!
Oikawa froze.
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
"At three in the morning? No way…"
He hesitated, then slowly picked up his phone.
A new LINE message stared back at him.
"Senpai, why did you withdraw your messages?"
Oikawa's eyes went blank. He collapsed onto the sofa.
Wait.
There are actually girls who stay up at 3 AM?
"Senpai, why aren't you replying?"
"So weird… somehow a screenshot just appeared on my phone. Senpai, do you recognize the person in it?"
"He's so rude. Saying he wants to 'deal with me on the spot.'"
"(Image!)"
"Senpai, do you know what 'a face hotter than any anime MC' even means? Is he seriously comparing himself to 2D drawings?"
"And then he said I'd be begging to be his girlfriend. Senpai, do you know what that even implies? He's a loser who hasn't even had one! Pathetic!"
"Senpai, why aren't you replying? I want to hear what you think about a person like this."
Oikawa's face twisted.
This woman… she really thought she had him cornered?
Well, since the cat was already out of the bag, there was no point holding back anymore.
He cracked his knuckles and fired back at full speed, the kind of typing he'd honed in multiplayer wars.
"Hmph. You annoying underclassman, drop the innocent act already!"
"You're nothing but a keyboard warrior, running your mouth online!"
"One day I might just change my name and become an editor in Fujikawa Fantastic Bunko, lie low for a bit, and dig up everything about you—your name, your face, your address."
"And when I find you, let's see if you can still act so arrogant."
After sending that barrage, Oikawa felt a lot lighter.
Too bad…
Chances were, he'd never get her to meet up now.
Which was a shame.
They'd been chatting for almost half a year. Come to think of it, he'd probably talked more with "Utako Kasumi" than he ever had with Kawasaki.
"Senpai, are you giving up and going all out now? I could've pretended I didn't see it, you know. Just like how you ignored my invitation last time."
"So, I'll give you one more chance. Senpai's going to Dengeki Bunko to sign a contract soon, right? I live nearby. Wanna meet up?"
Oikawa stared at the message.
For a moment, he froze.
Then he typed, "Okay."
"Senpai, don't hesitate next time. If you hadn't agreed before I could withdraw my message, I might've really decided not to meet you."
"But as for now…"
"Let's meet."
Her reply came almost instantly.
.
.
.