Episode 17 – Their meeting, and–

Source

https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093079507847550/episodes/16818093080617056965

[Yeah!! We won, Rein-san!]

[Yeah, this is my 30th win in a row. But this is not enough to beat Sky Music and Sword Master. Let’s move on, Dragonhead san.]

[Of course, of course!]

In a small room with lights on, he was training for PVP side by side with Karina.

He lent her the computer that his sister uses because it has the same specs as Amamiya’s.

He has never seen Karina playing games. Even when they were playing against seniors in the club room, he didn’t have time to look next to her.

Amamiya had not really felt that she was dragonhead, but today’s training convinced him

He was convinced that Karina was a genuine gamer.

Her typing speed on the keyboard, her mouse handling, and everything else was very smooth.

Karina’s job is as a swordsman, and since she has to move more than Amamiya, a wizard who is devoted to logistical support, she has to operate all the time.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

Amamiya was so stunned by the speed at which her fingers moved that he could barely follow them with his eyes that he forgot to operate them, but Karina soon covered for him.

[Look, Rein-san. Don’t dawdle!]

[S-Sorry …….]

He gets a scolding chat and stamp from her.

How could he be so relaxed in the middle of a battle?

It was his fault for standing there in a daze, so Amamiya felt remorse as he unleashed a spell of great firepower at his opponent.
　
After a few seconds, the screen was enveloped in a flashy effect, and the fallen opponent was projected on the screen.

That was a little too much overkill for him.

“I’m sorry, Karina? Can I have a word with you ……?”

He calls out to Karina, who has her hair in a ponytail, perhaps because it’s in the way.

“What is it?”

With a serious expression on her face, she gazes at the screen, and one can’t help but admire her profile.

It doesn’t end there. Amamiya can’t resist blushing at her gesture as she turns her face toward him, happy to be called out.

However, he manages to keep his composure, as getting upset might make her think he is conscious of her.

“The reason we’re supposed to be training for PVP in the same room like this is so we can practice our voice interaction, right?”

“… Ah, that reminds me.”

It was a reaction that she really had forgotten about it.

Rather than just doing special training, she was simply enjoying the game.

“But this is what feels best to me. I feel like we can communicate with each other without having to speak to each other.”

Karina’s words, which sounded like those of an unaware protagonist, overtook Amamiya. That’s a word he doesn’t deserve.

“T-that’s for sure. …… me, too.”

He has known his friend Dragonhead since junior high school.

Even without exchanging words, they understand each other’s movements and small habits.

You could say that they are one and the same.

“A long time ago, you may not remember this, but Takaaki kun helped me out once you know. ……?”

“Help? Me?”

“Yes, in the guild where we first met.”

Amamiya met Dragonhead (Karina) at the first guild he joined in his life.

He and Dragonhead did not become friends immediately after meeting, but rather neither of them were close enough to interfere with each other.

At the time, his impression of Dragon Head was that she was an “introvert.”

She did not get involved with other players very much, and she was almost always solo in dungeons except for the higher difficulty levels.

She never called for help even if she was about to lose to a boss. She doesn’t talk much.

But that doesn’t mean that it was something to be concerned about.

There are many players with that style.

However, an incident occurred soon after he joined the guild.

Once a week, there is a “guild event” where guild members get together.

It is a day to enjoy recreational activities planned by the guild master, such as chatting, quiz competitions, boss laps, and so on, to the fullest.

However, the guild master to which Amamiya belonged was not a very nice person.

He was a bit negative toward members who didn’t agree with his opinions.

“Dragonhead san, everyone is having a good time, but will you quit acting like you’re the only one who’s having a hard time We’ve gone to a lot of trouble to plan this event. ……”

During a guild event, Dragon Head, who had been quiet in a corner of the bar, was warned by the guild master.

And it was over voice chat, which is open to all guild members.

“And why are you participating if you don’t have voice chat turned on? That’s why you can’t get along with your guildmates?”

Today’s plan is to talk to the guild members via voice chat.

It’s not mandatory, and I’m sure the master has said before that if you don’t want to put it on, you can chat without it, but for some reason, he was only hitting hard on Dragonhead.

[No, I’m too embarrassed to say ….]

The chat logs show,

“That’s not good enough. What’s so hard about just speaking out loud?”

The tone of voice was stronger than before, and he was talking to her in a more friendly manner.

Is it possible, that he was getting frustrated with Dragonhead for not participating in guild activities more actively? Is that the extent of this master’s frustration?

“Do as the master says. He said just speak up.”

“Just for a moment, lol”

“You’re so cute, shy dragon head, maybe you’re a girl?”

The guild members were taking advantage of the master’s situation one after another, as if in a group mentality.

It was like a scene from an abusive relationship where people are forced to do things they don’t want to do.

[….]

Amamiya looked sorry for the silent dragon head.

In the game, he did not know what she looked like or what she was thinking in real life.

But it was clear that she did not feel good about being hit.

“Oh, um, you don’t have to force people to talk to you in voice chat if the person doesn’t want to,…….””

With his voice trembling as usual, Rein (Amemiya) defended Dragon Head—.

“Ah, it certainly seems like such a thing happened …… .”

Since it happened a long time ago, Amamiya let out a nostalgic sound as memories that he couldn’t remember unless he was told were brought back to him
　

“After that, Master, he went insane, didn’t he? I guess he couldn’t tolerate being rebelled against by one of his students as a member of society.”

After that incident, Dragon Head began to actively call on him.

Together, they began leveling up and doing boss laps, and from there they gradually got to know each other, and before they knew it, they were friends.

If it had not been for Amamiya’s words, they would have ended up as strangers to each other.

“Takaaki kun, you sounded so pathetic at that time,”

Karina chuckled and said

“The other party is an adult, so it’s natural for me to be afraid. ……”

Amamiya replied with a sullen expression, saying that he had gone to the trouble of protecting her.

Even though it’s in a game, the overbearing voice of an adult is scary.

However, the scene from that time flashed through Amamiya’s mind, thinking that Karina might have been more scared.

The image of a little Karina, still frightened in front of the computer when asked to turn on the voice chat.

Just thinking about it makes his heart tighten.

“I had a complex about my voice and the way I talked. Boys in my class made fun of me, saying I had an anime voice. My Japanese pronunciation wasn’t that good either, so I often couldn’t get through to them. …… so I didn’t want to have a voice chat.”

Karina said in a slightly clouded voice as she looked up at the ceiling.

Amamiya was truly surprised to hear that this fast-paced girl had a past like that.

At the same time, it was the moment that Amamiya’s prejudice against Karina as a “hard worker”, which he had held for a long time, was proven.

“At that time, Rein …… Takaaki kun helped me. It was pathetic, but it was more than that. ……”

Karina brings her face close to him, close enough that she can breathe into his ear.

“It was so cool…That I was fallen”

(Eh!?)

Surprised by the sudden words, Amamiya falls from the gaming chair.

He slammed his head on the floor, and a dull sound echoed through the room.

“I-I’m sorry! Takaaki-kun! I didn’t mean to do that. ……”

Karina rushes up to the side of the fallen Amamiya, looking worried, and puts her hand around the back of his head, putting all her strength into it.

Amamiya didn’t hit his head that hard, so he tried to get up so as not to put any strain on Karina, but…

(Hmm ……this soft feeling ……?)

Something soft, more elastic than a pillow, enveloping the back of his head.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Karina’s face looking down at him with a reassuring expression on her face.

It was closer than he has ever been, and it smelled good, too.

(Wait, could it be ……!?)

Amamiya notices.

Amamiya realizes that the soft feeling on the back of his head is not from the pillow, but from the girl’s thighs.

His narrowed eyes open fully as if they are about to pop out.

“K-Karina!?”

“Hey, didn’t you learn in P.E. class that you can’t move your head if you hit it? Stay still.”

“Eh, no, but ……”

“D-on’t m-o-v-e”

The person who was hit on the head was lightly chopped.

No, that’s not what you do to someone who’s been hit on the head.

“…. yes.”

Amamiya gave up and surrendered himself to Karina.

It would be like a dream come true, that the day would come when that beautiful silver-haired girl would make him sleep on her lap.

A person who lives in another world, a flower, a red light, whom he admired but had given up trying to reach out to, but with a look full of compassion, she gently held his head as if she were treating someone important to her. She caresses him.

“You know, I was very happy when I found out that Takaaki kun is Rein, you know? Because the man of my dreams has actually been within my reach for so long—“

She said she had a complex about her voice, but it was so pleasant to hear that it aroused Amamiya’s possessive desire to keep it to himself, not wanting others to hear it.

“Thank you for saving my life that day. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being my partner. ……”

Karina’s reddened face utters her thanks, her cheeks relaxing with happiness.

(I’m the one who wants to thank you. ……)

His childhood friend rejected him, and she was the one who healed his wounded heart. She is the one who painted his lonely days with vivid colors.

It may be a fleeting dream, but Amamiya secretly hopes that one day he and Karina will become more than friends.

It may be too early to tell her how he feels. He has decided to wait until he becomes a man worthy of her.

But for now, he wants to enjoy this happy time to the fullest. He wants to drown in her tenderness.

Thinking this, Amamiya gently closes his eyelids.

“Takaaki, Karina-san ……, what are you doing?”

Amamiya turned his eyes toward the door, and there stood the person he most did not want to be there.

His childhood friend Tojo Chika, who completely denied his existence and refused him, was looking at him, her face strained with agitation.
　

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