 |
| Konomi | Well, I’ll get back to you as soon as the movers are ready. |
| Ryouma | Thanks. |
| Konomi | Oh, right. This weekend, I’m meeting my brother’s friend, the one I talked about last time. |
| Ryouma | Ahh, the Zahran guy. |
| Your brother sure is amazing, having a diverse circle of friends like that. |
| Konomi | They’re members of the same theater company. |
| Ryouma | Heh, a Zahran guy in the troupe. I guess it is a global theater company. |
| I’d expect no less from the troupe that won the Fleur Special Award. Your younger brother is really cool too. |
| It’s great that he’s not only working for that trading company, but even working for a theater troupe. |
| I’m sure the plays are wonderful. Do you always go to see his performances? |
| Konomi | My brother gets shy when family members come… |
| Ryouma | I see. Do you often keep in touch with your brother? |
| Konomi | Not often, but he shows his care in his own way, and he’s detail-oriented. He’s really diligent about our parents’ birthdays and anniversaries. |
| Ryouma | You’ve got a wonderful brother. |
| Since I’ll be able to meet him soon, I hope I can get along with your younger brother. |
| Konomi | (I’ll never be able to tell him that Itaru’s an extreme video game nerd.) |
| (I’ll have to get him to keep up that ironclad facade at the next meeting…) |
| Ryouma | I’m an only child, so I’m really jealous of you for having a sibling like that. |
| Konomi | … |
| |
 |
| Itaru | Starting now, the final confirmation of operation SIS will take place. |
| The meeting will be at 2:00 pm tomorrow. What topics should we avoid? |
| Citron | Underground games & anime subculture. |
| Itaru | Off-limit words? |
| Citron | Internet slang. |
| Itaru | Alright. I’ll shoot a LIME dm about the deets. |
| Citron | Roger that! It is a walkthrough wiki. |
| Itaru | That’s right. It’s gonna be a boss fight. |
| But I didn’t expect such a request… |
| |
| --Flashback-- |
| |
 |
| (In call: Great Demon King) |
| Itaru | Alright then, Citron and I will go to the shop at 2:00 pm. |
| Konomi | “You don’t have to come.” |
| Itaru | Eh? |
| Konomi | “You’ve got nothing to do with this. You’ll just be in the way.” |
| Itaru | No, but, you’ve never met before and it’d be better if I were there as the middleman. It’s better to have an interpreter there too. |
| Konomi | “He’s good at speaking Japanese, isn’t he? I’ve studied a little Zahran myself, so there won’t be an issue.” |
| Itaru | Headstrong as always. No, it’s not that, it’s just that there’ll only be you two… |
| Konomi | “What? Is there something wrong with just the two of us meeting?” |
| Itaru | No, but… |
| Konomi | “When I’m with you, my true self might slip out.” |
| “If he’s in a certain position, why don’t you just tell me in the first place…” |
| Itaru | I don’t think you should look into every detail down from the name to the background… |
| (I have no choice but to tell her his real name since she keeps on insisting that Citron’s just a stage name.) |
| Konomi | “It’s common sense to look into a person before meeting them.” |
| Itaru | Of course… Of course… |
| Konomi | “I’ve already checked what he looks like, so I’ll be fine without you.” |
| Itaru | …Got it. I’ll go tell Citron. |
| Konomi | “Also, the face-to-face meeting between our two families is set for the first Saturday of next month.” |
| “He’s got a lot of dreams about you as an actor, so don’t break them.” |
| “Be on your best behavior so people don’t find out you’re a serious video game nerd.” |
| Itaru | …Yes ma’am. |
| By the way, about the wedding gift… I was thinking of getting you a pair of Baccarat glasses. |
| Where do you want it sent? Do you guys have a shared apartment you live in right now, or should I send it after you two move to Zahra…? |
| Konomi | “Oh, I already got a pair from an acquaintance of his, and I got a few more engagement gifts, so I guess it’s fine.” |
| Itaru | Eh, for real? |
| Konomi | “You haven’t bought them yet, right?” |
| Itaru | No, yeah, but… |
| Konomi | “If you can’t think of anything it’s fine. Just celebrate at the wedding ceremony.” |
| Itaru | You mean you want cash. |
| Konomi | “You wouldn’t be able to think of something interesting anyway. I don’t care if it’s something like that.” |
| Itaru | Ugh… |
| |
| --Flashback over-- |
| |
 |
| Itaru | Since I know my sister, I’m sure she’ll probably try to sleuth out what I’ve said about her around the troupe. |
| Just say I said she’s a great sister. |
| Citron | I know what to do! |
| But after hearing all of this, I want to know more about you and your sister. |
| Itaru | Like I said during the KniRoun performance, she’s the great sister who made my highschool debut possible thanks to her amazing production skills. Even for a recluse like me. |
| Well, while I do owe her for that time… Apparently she might’ve saved my life another time, too. |
| Citron | What do you mean? |
| Itaru | The other day when I was talking to senpai about “The History Of Taruchi,” I remembered something. |
| This viewer called “Nomin” always showed up at my streams, ever since my first, and they’ve always complained about the things I do. |
| Citron | A troubling anti? |
| Itaru | No, at first glance you’d think he was, but he gave me good advice every time. |
| The more I followed his advice, the more viewers I got too. |
| I started playing games just ‘cause I wanted to share the fun of the game worlds I love with other people who would understand my love. |
| I had enough self-awareness to know it wouldn’t pop off right away. Since I was gonna do it regardless, I knew I would make it work without worrying about the sub or viewer count. |
| Continuing to mumble to myself in front of the computer screen with no one showing up at all would make me lose my mind, though. |
| I got annoyed when he had to go, but the old viewers who came to see my streams somehow became my emotional support. |
| And I’m also grateful for all the advice that helped me gain so many more viewers. |
| …That “Nomin” might be my sister. |
| I’ve thought about the possibility, and senpai agreed, so I’m wondering if it’s really true. |
| Citron | That is amazing! How did you find out? |
| Itaru | If you think about it, all that A+ marketing advice was pretty much exactly her thing, working in an advertising agency and all… |
| While I was streaming, my sister was definitely in her room… |
| During this one long-endurance stream, I got my ass handed to me just before clearing the game and I heard what sounded like a desk slam from my sister’s room. |
| I thought it was just a coincidence. I didn’t dare to think about it since I’d probably die if I knew anyone from my family was watching me stream or something… |
| But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. |
| When I first bought my mic, I told her I was gonna be streaming games, so she would know about me streaming. |
| Definitely don’t wanna confirm that. |
| ‘Cause if that’s the case, that means my sister has saved my life twice already. |
| That’s why I wanna repay her before she leaves, but the wedding gift idea I had was a total flop. |
| She was kinda vague about it. She said that money would be fine, so maybe that’d be okay. |
| To be honest, I don’t know what would make my sister happy. |
| Citron | Then why don’t we gift her the tickets for the upcoming Spring Troupe performance starring you, Itaru? |
| Itaru | Like I said, it’s not like she’s gonna come anyway. |
| …You’ve unlocked a secret quest. Can you find out if there’s anything my sister wants? |
| Citron | I am ready to accept this quest. Confirm! |
