CH 31

31 - Clandestine rendezvous with a popular idol

After leaving the classroom, I walk down the hallway, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

I'm about to meet a popular idol, so I don't want to sow the seeds of rumors.

I climb the stairs and the closer I get to the rooftop, the further away the hustle and bustle of the school becomes.

I reach the landing of the rooftop.

Rinka's sitting on the lower part of the stairs.

She's the girl who has been controlling 'Rin' last night.

However, from her appearance, it's hard to imagine Rinka as an innocent and cheerful person like Rin.

Her long, lustrous hair and beautiful, sharp eyes. Her whole body exudes an air of coolness that makes it hard to believe that she is a sophomore in high school.

But, hard to believe, she'll say something like "Because I'm Kazu's wife, kay!", uttering those words with heart marks fly around.

"You're late, Kazuto-kun. What have you been up to?" (Rinka)

As soon as I arrive, Rinka gets up from the stairs, and asks me in a cold voice while sweeping up her hair.

To tell the truth, my heart is going to freeze.

"Ah, that..... I was having a little chat with my friends." (Kazuto)

If I answer honestly. She may get angry.

"Well, that's right. It's good to take care of your friends, but that doesn't mean you should neglect your own wife, does it?" (Rinka)

"Umm...... not my wife, but my girlfriend." (Kazuto)

I'll correct it for the time being.

I'm not old enough to get married yet.

Then Rinka, her eyes narrow, stomps the floor and closes the distance in front of me.

"Umm, Rinka-san?" (Kazuto)

"'Indeed, we're not officially married couple, but we're married in the game, aren't we?" (Rinka)

"W-we are." (Kazuto)

"In the game, we can communicate with each other with a pure and genuine heart, without being bound by our real identities or appearances. We got married in that world, so it's no exaggeration to say that we've transcended the real world couple." (Rinka)

"No, that's an exaggeration! After all, we're just ordinary lovers." (Kazuto)

"That's if we follow the rules of the real world. If we look at our hearts, we've been married for a long time." (Rinka)

"......" (Kazuto)

T-this is so messed up.......!

"Or could it be that you don't want to get married with me, Kazuto-kun?" (Rinka)

"T-that's not......." (Kazuto) 

".......Although the other day, he confessed his love for me with such passion that it brought me to tears......." (Rinka)

"Ah, no, I did, but." (Kazuto)

As Rinka said, I confessed to her how I really felt.

I was not lying about my feelings for her, of course.

Even so......

I can't shake the discomfort of the married couple stuff, aside from the game, even in the real world as well.

"I did, but...... what? Depending on Kazuto-kun's next words......, I'll cry. I won't be able to live with being rejected by Kazuto-kun." (Rinka)

Her words don't seem to be a lie.

There're thin tears in her eyes.

I'm probably the only person in the world who has ever seen tears in the eyes of a cool idol.

"...... Ummm, yes. We're a couple." (Kazuto)

No man can resist a woman's tears.

I've just proved it myself.

"Kazuto-kun....... I love you, I really love you so much." (Rinka)

Letting out a breath of relief, Rinka hugs me, .......This is dangerous. (PTW/N: BE STRONG! DON'T GET NOSEBLEED!!!)

My head is about to boil from being hugged by a popular idol.

Rinka's affectionate appeal is not half-baked.

Although Rin and Mizuki Rinka are completely different in terms of what they say and how they act, their fondness for me is the same.

I don't know why Rinka's personality changes when she's in the game.

"Mmm-pheewww~......, by hugging Kazuto-kun like this, I can ingest Kazuto-kun ingredients." (Rinka)

"That's probably a bad thing to take." (Kazuto)

"Not a bad thing at all, because when I ingest in the Kazuto-kun ingredient, it makes me feel really good. It's addictive." (Rinka)

"Isn't it completely the same as drugs......." (Kazuto)

What if Rinka becomes a nerd sooner or later, I wonder.

"Anything is fine. Just having Kazuto-kun near me is enough to fill my heart......." (Rinka)

Letting out a blissful voice, Rinka presses the tip of her nose against my chest as she hugs me. She smells me, cooing and sniffing....... this is embarrassing.

That's when it happens.

From the bottom of the stairs, I hear the sound of several girls talking.

The voices are getting closer and closer.

"――――!" (Rinka)

I quickly gaze at Rinka's face. It's unusual, but she has a drop of sweat dripping down her cheek.

This is dangerous. We're on a rooftop landing. Since the rooftop is locked, there is no way to escape. Of course, there is no place to hide.

Should I switch to thinking of an excuse if we're found out?

"......" (Rinka)

"...... Rinka?" (Kazuto)

Rinka, who seems to have made up her mind, slowly descends the stairs.

She passes the bottom landing and went to the lower floor.

"Eh! Mizuki-san! What are you doing in a place like this?"

Naturally, she's spotted by the female students who come from below.

They're surprised by the sudden encounter with a cool and popular idol.

"I was looking for a less popular place to practice my dance. What are you guys doing here?" (Rinka)

"Eh? We came here to have lunch on the roof."

"Unfortunately, but the roof is closed. It'd be wiser for you guys to go somewhere else." (Rinka)

"Ah, just as what I guessed. Hear? I've told you, haven't I? Let's go back to class."

I stay on the roof landing instead of going down the stairs, so I can't see the girls.

But I can hear the chatter between the girls getting further and further away.

And I also can hear the footsteps of one of them coming up the stairs.

"Pheew~......I managed to do that, somehow." (Rinka)

"T-thanks for the good work." (Kazuto)

The one who comes up is Rinka, who is a little out of breath.

As expected, even a cool idol can be worn out by nerves.

"The rooftop landing is dangerous, too." (Rinka)

"Yeah, ....... If I had to go through this every time, my heart won't be able to keep going." (Kazuto)

"If so...... the place left for us is there, maybe." (Rinka)

"There?" (Kazuto)

"Emmm. it's a little far from here, but it's a classroom in the old school building." (Rinka)

The old school building, huh....... It's not used at all now, and its function has been changed to storage rooms and clubrooms.

Certainly that during lunchtime, the average student would not drop by.

However, all the classrooms there are locked.

"Actually, there's only one room was unlocked. The teacher must have forgotten to lock it." (Rinka)

"Hee....... How do you know all that?" (Kazuto)

"We were looking for a place where we could practice dancing during the lunch break. Then, we found it by chance." (Rinka)

We...... speaking of that, there's also another member of Star☆Mines who is enrolled in this school.

"Are you guys not using it to practicing now?" (Kazuto)

"Emm. We decided not to because of the risk of the teachers finding out. We stand out, for better or worse, and if the three of us were to head to the old school building every day, we'd be found out, wouldn't we?" (Rinka)

"Indeed." (Kazuto)

They are popular idols, and even if they are acting normal, they will attract attention.

The fact that Rinka was near the rooftop will probably soon become a rumor that will spread throughout the school.

"...... We'll meet at the old school building for tomorrow's lunch break" (Rinka)

"Understood." (Kazuto)

And so we appoint to meet again.

It's not easy to go out with a popular idol.

......Well, I'm starting to think that this thrilling is not so bad these days.