CH 3

3 - A cool popular idol and the cafeteria

When we arrived at the cafeteria, we ordered the A set meal.

There was an empty table in the corner, so I sat down facing Mizuki-san.

I was expecting to attract a lot of attention from the people around me, but it turned out to be not so much.

I guess it's hard to stand out in a noisy cafeteria full of people.

I could feel the occasional glance, but not enough to cause a commotion.

Maybe I was being a little too sensitive.

"I can't believe Kazu was Kazutoto-kun. I'm surprised." (Rinka)

"I'm surprised too." (Kazuto)

I was probably a hundred times more surprised than Mizuki-san.

I was slightly confused by that and the fact that she called me by my first name as a matter of course.

It was probably reasonable, considering how close we were in the game.

I think I'll call her Rinka-san too.

.....

Absolutely impossible.

If I had the courage to do so, I could have made a hundred female friends.

"You use Kazu as player name because your name is Kazuto, don't you? I think it's too simple." (Rinka)

"I don't think you have the right to say it either, Mizuki-san. Since you just like me, you use Rin because your name is Rinka, am I wrong?" (Kazuto)

"That's right....... I wonder if we are in sync with each other. We have the same naming taste." (Rinka)

"M-maybe." (Kazuto)

Oh man, I was so nervous about something.

I was furiously happy to hear Mizuki-san say that we were in sync.

I poked at the grilled fish with my chopsticks, tore, and brought it to my mouth.

......I can't taste it.

I was so nervous that my tongue had lost its sense.

"It's like a dream come true to be able to eat like this with Kazu." (Rinka)

"I-is that so? I'm sorry, because that friend is someone like me." (Kazuto)

"You don't have to be so down on yourself. I'm relieved that Kazu's real identity is Kazuto Ayanokouji." (Rinka)

"Relieved?" (Kazuto)

"Eerm. Because he's even nicer than I expected." (Rinka)

"......" (Kazuto)

Can I die now?

It's definitely flattery, but I'm moved to tears.

I don't have a single regret in this life!　

I thought, but I still wanna play online game.

I was a greedy person.

"I wonder how likely is the chances of me getting married to a classmate." (Rinka)

"About the chances of a meteorite raining down on us, I guess. W-well, even if you say marriage, it's on the internet, though." (Kazuto)

When I said that, Mizuki-san quietly put down her chopsticks.

"Kazuto-kun. Just because it's on the Internet doesn't mean it's inferior to the real thing." (Rinka)

"Ee?" (Kazuto)

"This is my opinion, but I think that it is because on the internet, where you can't tell what a person looks like or who they are, that you can find out more about their mind and their nature." (Rinka)

"Y-yeah, I see...?" (Kazuto)

"I'll tell you the truth, out of all the players I've met, Kazu is the most sincere and pure." (Rinka)

"...I-is that so?" (Kazuto)

Whether I was sincere or not, I was definitely enjoying it with a pure heart.

There were no impure feelings when interacted with Rin.

"When my idol career wasn't going well at all and I was going through a tough time, Kazu encouraged me many times." (Rinka)

"Ah... that reminds me, something like that had happened, yes." (Kazuto)

At one point in time, Rin had been having hard times.

It was so obvious even through text chatting.

I wondered if something bad had happened to her in real life, so I tried not to ask what was going on and just followed up......

"If I hadn't met Kazuto-kun online, I would have retired from being an idol before I reached high school." (Rinka)

"You're exaggerating me." (Kazuto)

"It's not an exaggeration. In fact, it was at the beginning of the first year of high school that we, Star☆Mines, started to gain popularity. It was really really tough until then." (Rinka)

Mizuki-san added, "Well, it always has been tough even after we started selling".

According to the information on the official website, Star☆Mines was formed when the members were in the second year of middle school.

However, in the first few months after its formation, the group's popularity was low, and they were even considering disbanding at one point.

From that situation, they grew into the very popular idol group that they are today.

It must have been a lot of blood and sweat that I can't even imagine as I'm known as an "online game nerd".

If I was even a little bit of support to Mizuki-san, I would be very happy about that.

"In reality, a lot of people with ulterior motives come to me, and most of the male players change their attitude when they found out I was a woman on the internet." (Rinka)

"That sounds much of troubles, yes." (Kazuto)

I'd never been popular with anyone, but I could sympathize a little bit with Mizuki-san when she spoke bitterly.

"Kazu was the only one in that situation. He was the only one who was consistent in his attitude toward me no matter what......." (Rinka)

Mizuki-san smiled nostalgically as if she was cherishing a precious memory.

Looking at her, memories of the time when I first met Rin suddenly revived.

[My name is Rin. I'm a beginner, please take care of me.] (Rin)

[I understand. Well, it's a game, so let's have fun and don't get too formal.] (Kazu)

After a week.

[Kazu-san. If you don't mind, would you like to dive into the dungeon with me again today?] (Rin)

[Sure.] (Kazu)

[I would be grateful if you could teach me some other things.] (Rin)

[Okay. Then, after diving into the dungeon, let's go mining.] (Kazu)

[Thank you very much.] (Rin)

Another month later.

[Kazu. What are we going today? Anything is fine~] (Rin)

[Hmm. Shall we do some mining today?] (Kazu)

[Let's!] (Rin)

And half a year passed.....

[I wanna go fishing!] (Rin)

[Ee, I want to mine today.] (Kazu)

[I wanna go fishing!] (Rin)

[Ummm.] (Kazu)

[I wanna go fishing!] (Rin)

[How pushy you are.] (Kazu)

......

Rather, wasn't it Rin who changed!

She's getting bolder and bolder!

"Kazuto-kun. Are you listening to me?" (Rinka)

"Y-yeah, of course." (Kazuto)

I nodded greatly when asked suspiciously.

It seemed that she knew that I just wasn't listening, and Mizuki-san's lips twitched in dissatisfaction.

"Haa~.... well. I mean, I'm not going to marry just anyone, even on the Internet. No, I think it's because of the Internet that a person's mind is more more important than being captivated by superfluous information." (Rinka)

"Ha haa..." (Kazuto)

"Or, you do think in a different way, Kazuto-kun?" (Rinka)

"No, I'm the same way. Marriage is an important event even in the online games." (Kazuto)

For the time being, I tried to keep the conversation on track, but frankly speaking, I think everyone has their own way of thinking about in-game marriage.

It's not bad to aim for the benefits of marriage, and I think it's wonderful to get married with a special feeling like Mizuki-san's did.

"It was good. I'm glad to hear that you feel the same way as I do, Kazuto-kun." (Rinka)

"Y-yeah." (Kazuto)

Mizuki-san patted her chest as if relieved.

......I wonder what this buzzing feeling is.

I feel like something is definitely off with her.

I interpreted this as Mizuki-san and I being "close enough" to get married in the game.

However, in the case of Mizuki-san, I feel like the orientation seems to be different from that of......?

"Oh, Rin-chan! It's rare for you to come to the cafeteria."

I heard a cute girl's voice that seemed to be a condensation of cheerfulness.

Then, a girl who's the owner of the voice, came over to Mizuki-san.

"Oh my, Nana. Today you're also cheerful, yes." (Rinka)

"Well, yeah! Because I've eaten a lot of food!" (Nana)

She had slightly long hair and her name seemed to be Nana.

Her unordinary lovely face, had a bright, friendly look on it.

――――No, wait a minute!　

Don't tell me this girl is......!

"Eh? This boy over here, is he Rin-chan's acquaintance?" (Nana)

"Eerm. He's Ayanokouji Kazuto-kun." (Rinka)

"I see. My name is Kurumizaka Nana! I'm one of the Star☆Mines members like Rin-chan! It's nice to meet you~!" (Nana)

With a carefree smile, she――――Kurumizaka Nana asked me for a handshake.

She was a popular idol who is said to be the closest friend of Mizuki Rinka, and Star☆Mines' center.