“I sent you Rui-chan's LIME ID, okay? Add her as a friend and try talking to her right away!”
Miyama had it all wrong.
What Kuroki felt toward me wasn't affection at all; it was just a byproduct of her obsessive desire to maintain her own perfection. As proof, she’d even sent a loser like me a belly-peek selfie, desperate to make me notice her by any means necessary.
(And if Miyama sees that belly-peek selfie, I’m dead... I have to change the subject, and fast.)
“What’s the matter, Ryouta? Come on, send Rui-chan a message!”
Airi Miyama was a total airhead.
It was the same story with her job—telling half-baked lies about having a boyfriend that were bound to get exposed, then failing miserably at covering them up. Besides, a relationship isn't going to magically develop just because two people talk on LIME!
(Okay, here goes...!)
“I get it, Miyama. I’ll message Kuroki later!”
“Later”... It was a classic phrase, not just in everyday life, but especially in otaku circles. Whenever a fellow fan recommended an anime or a character, you’d say, “I’ll check it out later,” and then never actually watch it for as long as you lived. It was a standard move.
(Good, now if I can just keep things vague and successfully—)
“No way! Do it right now!”
Miyama was being unusually stubborn today. What a pain...
(What do I do? At this rate, she’s going to see my talk log with Kuroki!)
If that were to happen...
“Wait, Ryouta... what is this?”
“N-No, Miyama, it’s not what it looks like!”
“You’ve been getting photos from Rui-chan and jerking off to them every night? Gross! Stay away from me, you pervert! You gloomy otaku!”
That’s exactly what would happen!
If the innocent Miyama said something like that to me... the shock would turn me into a permanent shut-in.
(I have to prevent that. Think, Ryouta. Find a way to get through this without letting her see that belly selfie...!)
“O-Oh, wait! Kuroki’s probably at her club right now, isn’t she?”
“Oh, true. Rui-chan might be in the middle of club.”
“I’d hate to bother her while she’s practicing. I’ll message her some other time.”
“Aww, but...”
“Trust me! I’ll send you proof of the conversation later. So can we just drop it for now?”
“Hmm, well... I guess so. She did mention she has a meet coming up soon.”
Miyama finally backed off.
If Kuroki hadn’t been in the track and field club, I would have been finished. I took a sip of my frappe, finally tasting relief.