In my previous life as a guy, even the tiniest skinship made me feel shy.
If I accidentally brushed hands with that guy, I would be so shocked that I’d get angry.
Of course, part of my overreaction might have been because he was a guy, but I doubt my response would have changed even if he were a girl.
In fact, I might have been even angrier.
The thought of skinship with a sweaty guy makes me cringe just imagining it.
Anyway, what I really want to say is that skinship between girls feels a bit freer, and I like that?
Well, last year, Tateyama even said that there’s nothing embarrassing about skinship between girls.
Honestly, even until last year, I couldn’t help but wonder why some classmates would hold hands with each other while walking.
“Hehe…”
I think I finally understand the reason now.
Feeling the warmth from the other person puts my mind at ease.
“Are you okay now?”
“Um… yes.”
At Akabane’s words, I nodded.
But I had no intention of moving away from her embrace.
The time now just hit 4 AM, and Koga was still asleep. Besides, I had nothing else to do if I woke up right now.
“Ugh. I should have stopped when you told me to yesterday.”
Saying that, Akabane ruffled my hair, but I had no words to say.
It was me who insisted on continuing yesterday, even after saying it was okay to stop midway, which ultimately led to a nightmare.
Honestly, I don’t remember it, but apparently, Akabane woke up because I was sobbing in her arms.
As soon as she fully woke up, the contents of that dream popped into my head clearly, shocking me.
Fortunately, it’s all kind of hazy now.
“Then let’s slowly go back to sleep. It’s still only 4 AM.”
“Yes…”
Since Akabane showed no signs of trying to push me away, I quietly closed my eyes.
Her warm and comfortable embrace soon led me back to sleep.
‘Is it a collab for the fateful battle with the old guy? Damn it! Are they planning to destroy the world?!’
This time, luckily, I could have a good dream.
And when I woke up again…
“…What did I say yesterday? Was it a crime?”
“No. The kid is about to cry…”
For some reason, Akabane was being scolded by Koga.
★
“So for this year’s cultural festival… it’s the haunted house.”
“Eh~?”
Voices of dissent erupted from all corners of the class at Miyauchi’s words.
However, that didn’t change the results written on the board.
The haunted house got 15 votes. The play got 11 votes. The cosplay cafe got 2 votes.
The haunted house legitimately took first place in the vote.
And I voted for… of course, the cosplay cafe.
The haunted house was out of the question. It’s scary.
I also rejected the play. Tateyama suddenly proposed a play where I’d be the lead.
But I voted for the cosplay cafe because I had already done it last year and was somewhat familiar with it…
I was shocked that only one other person thought the same way as I did.
“Ah~. I wanted to see a play with Kaya as the lead…”
“W-what about my opinion…?”
When I said that, Tateyama averted her gaze and dodged answering.
Did she think I would nod if pushed?
Of course, it’s possible that I would have in the past.
But now I’m a grown-up Kayanoh Mina. I can bravely refuse things I don’t want to do.
…Maybe.
“Sigh…”
By the way, a haunted house, huh.
I’ve been struggling lately due to the dawn, and now, our cultural festival project is going to be a haunted house.
Well, it’s not like it will be professionally prepared; it will be done by students, so the quality won’t be incredibly high.
But just in case, I should ask Miyauchi to give me the role of the sign girl who welcomes guests…
★
[“For me, become Sky King #Star’s Flow#Kainoh Izumi“]
“Alright, today, just as I announced, we’re going to be playing Sky King…”
-How long will it take? haha
-Finally, Mei-chan’s day to play this game has come…
On the game screen, white feathers were beautifully fluttering.
In the center stood a masked man, arms crossed, glaring straight ahead.
His back was adorned with gigantic pure white wings, and above his head was the title of the game, [Sky King].
The reactions in the chatroom varied widely.
Some Izutomo expected me to get angry while playing, while others thought it would end quickly, knowing my usual gaming skills.
It’s true, I’m awesome at games, so I can’t blame them for thinking that~.
I feel bad for not being able to show everyone what they expect!
I am the one who has cleared the Arcana Shooter’s purgatory and cleared the ST solely with my technique!
“Alright, let’s get started…”
-Ready for viewing!
-I’m already excited before it starts haha
When I hit the game start button, the masked man flapped his wings and soared into the sky.
He advanced at incredible speed, arriving at a massive castle.
Then suddenly, the wing’s movement halted, and the masked man fell straight to the ground.
I felt the same way as last time; this game’s production is unnecessarily extravagant compared to its content.
[So this means I can’t use my wings from here on out… ]
The voice that quietly flowed from him seemed to foretell the hardships ahead.
The castle gate opened, and the masked man stepped inside.
And what unfolded before his eyes was a ceiling so high that it seemed endless.
[…Shall we set off then.]
With those last words, the cutscene signaling the start of the game ended.
Then the screen momentarily faded to black, and the actual game play screen finally appeared.
The masked man transformed into a pixelated character, and the map featured platforms to jump on at intervals.
Sky King.
It’s a platformer game where you use platforms to jump around.
Also, Sky King is incredibly straightforward among such games; simply put, it just involves jumping up.
There are no purchasable items.
There are no skills to use in special situations.
It’s just all about jumping and moving left and right to go up.
Yet, the reason it is famous is solely because of its extreme difficulty.
The game’s jump and platform hitboxes are the worst. If you jump just a little too hard, you’ll overshoot the platform, and if you move even a bit to adjust your position, you’ll fall off the platform.
It’s a game that seems designed specifically to torment players.
That’s Sky King.
However, these drawbacks became somewhat of a boon for VTubers; difficult games can make for great endurance streams.
Well, I’m not sure if that’s actually a benefit from a VTuber’s perspective…
But no matter what, it’s nothing for me… or so I thought.
“This is… a trash game…”
-Can’t even get up haha
-Did you maybe get discouraged? You were so confident saying you’d beat it quickly haha
More than 30 minutes had passed since I started the game, but I still hadn’t left the starting point.
Actually, to be precise, I left the starting point, but I kept falling back to that spot.
…Is this game’s hitbox really that weird?
I voiced this grumbling to my Izutomo, but…
-That’s just how the game is haha
-Didn’t you know it was a challenge before starting?
Only those sensible opinions came back.
Why don’t the Izutomo support me in times like this? I really don’t get it.
“Ugh…”
Let’s calm down for now.
Being hasty won’t help me clear the game.
In fact, rushing only increases the chance of failure.
So, I need to take a breath and keep my mind stable while looking at the kind words of encouragement in the chatroom.
-Let’s take it slow and not rush
-You can do it, Mei-chan!
As I was reading the kind messages, one specific chat caught my eye.
-I’ve started watching VTubers lately; which one should I pick as my favorite?
“My, my favorite VTuber…”
Well, since they asked that in my stream, it means they’ve already made a choice and are looking for confirmation.
“Of course it’s me, Natsune, right?”
-?
-Aren’t you supposed to introduce yourself here?
-Well, I expected Mei-chan to do that haha
Huh.
The reactions in the chatroom are strange.
The fact that they came to ask me implies they wanted to hear about Natsune’s charm, right?
If not, there’s no reason to ask me.
“Well, Natsune sings well, is pretty, and kind… huh? She’s just a perfect idol… isn’t there any reason not to pick Natsune as a favorite?”
-This guy is serious…
-But Mei-chan thinks Chino-chan’s looks are more her style…
“Hey!”
That’s a taboo subject!
It’s not like Natsune hasn’t been really conscious of that…
★
After calming my mind and becoming the Ice Heart, I started the game again.
And that method surprisingly worked wonders; I was able to pass through the area I had previously felt was a wall, the ‘Vine Forest,’ with ease.
“…What’s up with me? I’m amazing…”
-You’re still just in the first area, though…
-Cute!
Is that it?
Maybe I just needed time to adapt to the game all along…
So, having completed my adaptation, that means I’m invincible.
“Now, let me show you the majesty of the Water Avatar!”
From now on, I won’t fall even once.
The next platform was positioned about 45 degrees to the left.
At this point, I figured I just had to press the jump button a little harder and the left movement button a bit softer.
Well, easy-peasy.
Sky King, you’re not even as hard as the Arcana Shooter.
Completely analyzing my next move, I slowly pressed the keypad.
“…Huh?”
-Ah
-HAHAHA
-The screen froze
-You fell back down again
-Hello
-Welcome back~
-This is why you shouldn’t set up flags so recklessly…
-You got careless
-Good job!
-I guess that’s it for today…
-It’s okay, Mei-chan ヾ(・ω・｀)
-I should have been a bit calmer…
-What a shame
-Heart broke…
-Biizumi?
-It’s okay! Don’t give up!
-Okay, everyone, let’s disperse~
In the blink of an eye, I bounced off the wall and fell back, returning to the first area.
“…Damn.”
And that word slipped out of my mouth naturally, like a reflex.
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