Chapter 115: I’m Just Passing By—You Can’t See Me, Can’t See Me, Can’t See Me

“Even though it was just a coincidence that we went home together, I suddenly had the impulse to invite Kanzaki-san to the sweet shop.”

Xiao Chun Miura looked quietly at the side of the street where pedestrians still passed by.

She didn’t have the courage to meet Kanzaki Sou’s eyes at parting, so she didn’t look at his expression.

She originally just wanted to avoid triggering Kiyono Arisa’s plot.

But in the end, it turned into Kanzaki Sou accompanying her to the sweet shop for quite a while.

Even though she hadn’t intended it that way, she had indeed made Kanzaki Sou spend time with her.

She apologized instinctively before they separated.

Xiao Chun Miura’s gaze wandered.

Actually, she felt that it was okay even if she didn’t deliberately thank him.

In the end, she didn’t even know why she had to say those extra words.

—She couldn’t even find a reason for not refusing Kanzaki Sou to walk her home.

Xiao Chun Miura’s heart was in chaos.

“It got so late, and I even made Kanzaki-san walk so far and waste so much time. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Kanzaki Sou’s gaze was gentle as he looked at her.

“After all, the sweets tasted good.”

He paused, as if searching for the right words.

“—I don’t think it was a waste of time.”

What is he saying?

How strange.

Although she felt like retorting to Kanzaki Sou’s words, she also felt that what he said was very normal.

Why did she feel both resistance and the urge to tease?

“Th—Then, see you tomorrow.”

“Miura-san, even though it’s on this street, please be careful on your way home.”

“Mm, I understand—”

Sensing the atmosphere growing stranger, Xiao Chun Miura almost fled as she turned and walked away.

She didn’t even realize that Kanzaki Sou stood behind her, watching until she disappeared around the corner before leaving.

—Until she returned home, closed the door, and leaned against it, Xiao Chun Miura could still feel her heart pounding violently.

“Hu….”

Why was she so flustered?

Too many questions? Or just too unused to all this?

Even now, she still wasn’t used to her new body.

Is that the reason?

Xiao Chun Miura pinched her cheeks hard.

—She couldn’t lose her composure like this.

She had almost run into Kiyono Arisa today.

The system’s warning still echoed in her ears.

Just thinking of that name was enough to remind her that she shouldn’t let her guard down completely.

She’d thought that the plot would only trigger after winter vacation, so she believed she could relax a little for the next few months.

But today’s encounter made her realize otherwise.

—She really couldn’t afford to take things so lightly.

Recalling the underground idol group she’d seen at the plaza that afternoon, the familiar stage outfits, and the empty Main Character Position, Xiao Chun Miura gradually calmed down.

Even though this was the Game World, it was indeed a “game,” but also a “world.”

It might advance more quickly, or events might become jumbled.

But the one thing that never happened was stopping.

Thinking this way, at least today, she was right beside Kanzaki Sou.

If Kanzaki Sou had run into Kiyono Arisa and triggered her plot on the shopping street without her knowledge, she’d really be helpless.

She needed to be even more vigilant about developments outside her line of sight,

—Without making her actions seem unnatural or strange.

“Koharu? Are you back?”

Lost in thought, Xiao Chun Miura heard her mother’s voice from the living room.

“—I’m home, Mother.”

Leaning against the door, the girl replied, then headed in the direction of the voice.

After dinner, Xiao Chun Miura returned to her room.

Even during dinner, she couldn’t help but think about Kiyono Arisa.

Maybe she seemed so distracted that even her mother asked about it.

What Xiao Chun Miura was pondering was the heroine who was originally supposed to appear after winter vacation—where was she now?

—When she saw the underground idol group performing at the street corner, she hadn’t seen any sign of Kiyono Arisa.

However, in the original game plot, Kiyono Arisa was already a rising star and a core member of the idol group before winter vacation.

—Not to mention, the stage outfits the idols wore today were the very ones Kiyono Arisa had designed for her group.

What was she doing now?

Kiyono Arisa was also a student at the same School as Kanzaki Sou and herself.

—Would the related plot differ from the original game?

In the first place, what was Kiyono Arisa’s plot like again?

She clearly remembered being deeply impressed by the school idol’s Personal Route when she played.

But now, why couldn’t she recall much at all?

“Mmm…”

The night wind blowing in through the window was chilly.

Xiao Chun Miura hugged her arms and stepped away from the window.

Though she was still confused,

Kiyono Arisa would appear sooner or later.

Even though she avoided their first encounter today, it was only temporary.

The challenges brought by the second heroine would come, sooner or later.

“—Let’s rest.”

Resolving to restore her energy for the next day, Xiao Chun Miura decisively returned to bed.

Xiao Chun Miura still underestimated the situation.

What she couldn’t have imagined was that “sooner or later” would arrive this early.

—After reconciling with Kondo Haruka and walking home with Kanzaki Sou, the following days of school life were peaceful.

Xiao Chun Miura attended class and went home on time every day, occasionally having crepes with Yui Hori and the others, or chatting about other class gossip in the classroom.

As for Kanzaki Sou.

Although his library job had ended, the LIME messages between Xiao Chun Miura and Kanzaki Sou didn’t cease.

Of course, most of them were study-related questions, with little idle chatter.

Neither too close nor too distant, it was as if two people with a quiet mutual understanding continued their parallel lives, occasionally exchanging signals.

—And because of these faint signals, Xiao Chun Miura was just about to let her guard down.

This peaceful everyday feeling was broken on a Friday evening.

Her friends had left first for their own reasons, and Xiao Chun Miura, who was on duty, stayed behind a little longer.

By the time she finished packing her bag and left the classroom, the hallway was almost empty.

The sunset had dyed the entire School a warm orange-red, making it feel lonely.

As she walked downstairs, she suddenly heard clear singing from a classroom beside the stairs.

The voice wasn’t loud, but because the hallway was so quiet, it was easy to hear.

“It’s so late… What’s going on? Is someone from the choir club practicing?”

Xiao Chun Miura was curious.

She unconsciously slowed her steps.

But as she passed the stairway, the singing abruptly stopped.

Immediately after, there was a long sigh.

“—I just can’t do it.”

A girl’s voice came from the classroom, full of suppressed frustration and resentment.

“I really can’t sing well! Why!!”

Hearing the voice, Xiao Chun Miura froze.

—That voice…?

Even though it was muffled by the classroom door and sounded different from ordinary speech,

That tone…?

It sounded familiar.

Not from reality.

—It felt like déjà vu.

Xiao Chun Miura’s eye twitched.

—Just like the stage outfits.

She’d heard it…in the Game.

That was Kiyono Arisa’s voice, without a doubt.

…No way?”